"Iron Creek was a small community. It was only natural that the same faces would show up all over town. Still, she had the sense they were being watched, so she made a mental note of the ute's licence number".
The Ideal Couple by Anna Willett is an intriguing, well-plotted thriller/police procedural set in Australia.
Blurb:
When detectives try to close a missing persons case, a small town’s twisted secrets begin to unravel… A couple disappear in a region of the outback known for its gold mining. Some three years on, there is still no trace of them.
Detective Veronika Pope is handed the cold case. It’s cold only in name. When she turns up to the godforsaken town where the couple were last seen, the heat is sweltering; suspicion simmering.
The detectives stay in the same seedy hotel as the couple did. The townsfolk aren’t welcoming. Nobody wants the cops probing into their affairs.
From what Pope can gather, the missing duo were the perfect couple. Loving. Happy together. The picture of marital bliss.
Assuming a murder but missing a motive, the detectives do make progress. They might even find the bodies, as the trail is hot. Almost too hot to touch. Pope is in serious danger of getting burned.
Perth-based detective Veronika Pope and her partner Jim are called to investigate the cold case of the missing couple in the outback town of Iron Creek.
The Special Crime Squad specialises in unsolved homicides and long-term missing persons declared as cold cases.
Three years earlier Laura and Jonas Rankin go on an adventure of a lifetime, exploring the old abandoned mines in the isolated areas with a hope of finding gold. Later the camp is found, with two cups of tea sitting on the table, prospecting gear still attached to the ute, the tent pitched, and no sign of Laura or Jonas.
The camp from where the Rankins have disappeared is "eighty kilometres outside the nearest town, Iron Creek, close to five hundred kilometres north-east of Perth and what felt like light years away from the Special Crime Squad offices".
Veronika and Jim stay in the same hotel where the couple stayed before their last trip. Welcome Rest Hotel bar, a one-room saloon, is quite seedy. "Like a rusting flagship, it loomed over the ramskackle streets in all its red glory". Its owner Des is sleazy and rough, the locals are distrustful of any police involvement.
While Veronika and Jim dig into the disappearance at Iron Creek, her team continue probing further in Perth, investigating the families of the missing couple.
As the information is gathered, both at Iron Creek and Perth, the Rankins appear to have been a loving couple, happy and devoted to each other. An ideal couple.
The Rankins are most likely the murder victims, but where are their bodies, and what are the motives?
Pope must wade through the fears of the local community and unravel the town's secrets... and the dangerous murderer is following her closely.
There is a heavy sense of foreboding as the investigation progresses. The fascinating social insight into the small community sets a perfect background for the mystery.
The town is hardly more than ten streets, with a hotel, a garage, a mining museum, and a bunch of unfriendly locals who don't like the police poking their noses in the local affairs. Iron Creek is not a place where you would go on a holiday, it's bleak, unwelcoming and has a weird vibe to it. The descriptions of the town create an uneasy atmosphere which sets the scene. It's hot, very dusty, oppressive and suffocating.
"It wasn't just the constant heat and the buzz of flies, but also the monotony of red and the feeling of isolation. No wonder the residents seemed so kooky. Living in the strange Mars-like environment was enough to send anyone a bit nuts. Or was it the small-town feel that had him on edge?"
The plot is well-constructed and believable. Veronika Pope makes a strong female lead, she is intelligent and shrewd, as well as humane and emphathetic.
Supporting characters are also credible and memorable.
The Ideal Couple is the fourth book in the Cold Case Mysteries series, which features detective Veronika Pope. The previous books in the series are: The Woman Behind Her, The Family Man and The Newlywed.
The Ideal Couple reads as a standalone. After finishing the book, I'm curious to catch up on the first three books.
The Ideal Couple is a tense, emotional thriller, with a compelling plot, plenty of false leads and red herrings, and convincing characterisation.
Many thanks to Anna Willett, and The Book Folks for my e-copy of the book!
Author bio:
Anna Willett was born in the United Kingdom and emigrated to Australia with her family when she was six years old. She developed a love of reading thanks to her mother who introduced her to authors such as Stephen King, Mario Puzo and John Steinbeck to name just a few. Although her reading tastes are eclectic, when it comes to writing, Anna is drawn to thrillers and dark tales.
Anna writes about the shadowy side of the human experience and how ordinary people cope in extraordinary situations. Common tropes in Anna’s writing include people who get into trouble after they leave the safety of the city and the rupturing of domestic bubbles in which those who one is supposed to trust become a threat.
Anna lives in Western Australia with her husband and their two children. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys movies, dining out and bushwalking with her dogs.
Purchasing links:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CHJXJ7W5/
Social Media links
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Author’s social media links
X: @AnnaWillett9
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Author’s website: https://www.annawillett.info/
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