Day's End (The Paul Hirsch mysteries)

Day's End is the fourth book in the Paul Hirschhausen series by popular Australian author, Garry Disher. Early spring, and Senior Constable Paul Hirschhausen is kept busy with his twin roles, "law-upholder and welfare worker", which currently includes escorting Dr Janne Van Sant, the mother of a missing Belgian backpacker, Willi Van Sant around his last known locations. She is unconvinced by the story his last employers tell.

A detour on their return to Tiverton involves a body in a burning suitcase (not Willi's, his mother confirms), requiring Homicide Squad involvement, on top of the necessary follow up on the backpacker, and a visit to a recently arrived family steeped in criminal culture. And so ends another week as sole cop in a rural South Australian small town.

Before the month is out, Hirsch has dealt with racist and slanderous graffiti, online bullying, neighbourhood harassment, an internet home rental scam, the sharing of racist and elder-abuse videos, an assault on a local school teacher, and encounters with what he terms "covid morons".

He attends a light plane crash, and deals with a vicious dog at a PTSD-inducing scene, endures an uncomfortable zoom conference with his superior and an Internal Investigations interview. The exciting climax involves some very nasty members of a right-wing paramilitary group, and by the final pages there is a not inconsiderable body count.

Disher always manages to insert some (often dark) humour, as when Hirsch has a run-in with the Australian Federal Police:

"'We snatched you off the street, as you put it, because we want you to back off.'

'Back off from what?'

'Poking your nose in where you shouldn't. This is a need-to-know situation, and you don't need to know.'

It was like being in a bad spy film."

Disher is a master of descriptive prose and expertly conveys the atmosphere and attitude of the rural town: his cast of townspeople will likely be familiar to anyone who has visited such a place. Actual residents of the area would be able to say for sure, but Disher's depiction of South Australia's mid-north certainly feels authentic.

Amid a glut of flawed heroes, Hirsch is a refreshing protagonist: comfortable in his own skin; not perfect but certainly principled; not battling drugs or alcohol, not tempted by illegal or immoral activity; an essentially tireless cop, exuding integrity, dedicated to enforcement and protection tempered with the judgement calls essential in rural policing. Each additional dose of Hirsch makes him more likeable: another instalment will be very welcome.

This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Serpent's Tail/Viper.