Wild Card is the second book in the Detective Zoe Mayer series by best-selling Australian author, Simon Rowell. A murdered bikie at a popular camping spot on the banks of the Murray River brings Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer and her partner, Detective Senior Constable Charlie Shaw, along with her service dog, Harry to Echuca. Turns out that Freddie Jones, a member of the River Thunder gang, is from over the border in Moama, so they need to liaise with NSW police Sergeant Mick Kovacks and his team.

Mick’s arrangement with his one-time friend is unconventional but effective: Freddie and his mates keep their nefarious activities out of Moama. But no one admits to have any idea who might have wanted to shoot him and set fire to his Maserati. Freddie’s mates and family are unforthcoming, making Zoe’s job that much harder.

Someone does give them a potential lead, but it doesn’t pan out: town gossip, and comments from a certain loose-lipped NSW constable almost lead to tragedy for a certain unfortunate. Then, another body is found, close to the site of the first, this one apparently a local Mafia figure. Alibis crumble, and Zoe and her team begin to wonder if they are in the middle of a turf war. And whether some of their NSW counterparts are either incredibly naïve, or corrupt, while in the background, an undercover drug op must be kept quiet.

This is another tightly-plotted instalment, and Rowell throws Zoe the added challenge of working within another jurisdiction as well as the distraction of a relationship complication. Causes of death include gunshots, snakebite, a car bomb, and a motor vehicle collision. And even when it becomes clear just who the guilty and the (relatively) innocent are, something still niggles at Zoe. The death of a certain character will be a gut-punch for the reader, and this instalment ends on a very sad note. The third book to feature this cast, The Good Dog is eagerly anticipated.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Text Publishing.