4.5★s
The Falls is the second book in the Taylor Bridges series by Australian author, B. Michael Radburn. It is five years since his rather fraught spell in Tasmania, and Parks Victoria Ranger, Taylor Bridges is now happy to be working and living in Cheyenne Bridge with Maggie and his four-year-old daughter, Erin.

When his boss’s daughter asks him to assist with a Police investigation in Eldritch Falls, he resolves to try, despite Maggie’s misgivings (she wonders if Taylor is really stable enough emotionally to deal with more violent crime), and not just because he feels indebted to Brian Ross. When his own daughter, Claire went missing, Brian was his rock, but more than this drives him to help.

Aroha Ross and her partner are sure they have located the site of Jacob Muller’s fabled goldmine in a hidden canyon when they come across a grisly find: a young woman’s body. They manage to snap a photo of the body, and a recent boot print, before fire races through the valley. Later examination of the scene by Police is remarkable for the absence of said body.

Effective communications between investigators are hampered as fire has taken out the local mobile phone tower, making service frustratingly erratic. Sent in by chopper to solve the puzzle of the killer’s access to this apparently impermeable valley, Taylor makes a gruesome discovery when a rainstorm washes away the ashes and fire debris. Are they dealing with a serial killer?

For Taylor’s second foray into the realm of law enforcement, Radburn once again gives the reader a fast-paced crime thriller with plenty of tense moments that build up to a gripping climax in an underground cavern. It includes a murderous heritage from an unbalanced preacher, caves, mineshafts, a fortune in gold, size 9 boots, guns, knives and sacrificial slaughter.

Radburn’s characters are anything but one-dimensional: a police sergeant shafted by the system, a female detective determined to break through the glass ceiling, and a probationary constable eager for some excitement are three who demonstrate the good side of policing, doing their best to do their jobs well despite the challenges.

Also featured are an ageing matriarch not ready to yield control, a young man obsessed with his macabre ancestor, and a courageous young woman who makes an unwise decision. The many perspectives are shown through multiple narrators, and stigma of mental illness and the associated vulnerability are well portrayed. While the descriptions are excellent, a map would have enhanced the reader’s experience.

The astute reader may have suspicions about the killer early on, but Radburn throws in a good few red herrings to confuse the issue. There’s just a hint of paranormal which is very well done, and, although this is the second book in a series, it can easily be read stand-alone. Excellent Aussie crime fiction.