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Random House Australia, 2008
Reviewed by Kerrie Smith
Crime fiction, thriller
A dinner at the boss's place becomes a nightmare: a home invasion with one
of the intruders wielding a machete. One of the victims is pretty sure
that he recognises the man with the machete despite the fact that he is
wearing a balaclava. In the moment of recognition when their eyes lock, he
thinks the invader recognises him too.
The Sydney police know there have been at least five brutal home invasions
in the last month, each more violent than the previous. They are almost
sure that the invasions are being carried out by the same gang, and that
the increasing violence is being perpetrated by just one or two members of
the gang.
Detective Sergeant Jill Jackson, whom we met in the first of the series,
VODKA DOESN'T FREEZE, has been shifted from comfortable Maroubra to
Sydney's Western suburbs to be part of a newly formed Home Invasion Task
Force. Not only does the new job mean a long commute to work, it also
means she has to learn to work with a new partner, Gabriel Delahunt, a
Federal police agent seconded to the taskforce because of his interviewing
skills. Jill has to re-establish herself and again prove herself worthy in
her male dominated profession. Her first impression is that working with
Gabriel is not going to be easy.
VOODOO DOLL is a real page turner. Each of the major characters is
carrying a legacy of traumatic events that affects the way they relate to
other people. Their traumas surface in nightmares, waking dreams, and
flashbacks. As the police narrow their net and identify the home invaders,
the tension builds. The major characters, police and civilian, each
attempt to locate the psychopathic leader of the home invaders before he
strikes again. As in her earlier novel, Leah Giarratano's experience as a
clinical psychologist working with offenders who have severe personality
disorders surfaces in the description of realistic scenarios.
This novel has an authentic Australian flavour and feel to it. It isn't
just conveyed in the setting, in the way the characters treat each other,
but also in the language used. VODKA DOESN'T FREEZE was remarkably
accomplished for a debut novel, but VOODOO DOLL demonstrates that Leah
Giarratano is a force to be reckoned with in Australian crime fiction.
VODKA DOESN'T FREEZE
was long-listed for the 2008 Ned Kelly Awards for Best First Fiction, and
I won't be at all surprised if VOODOO DOLL is long-listed for Best Fiction
in 2009.
Sep 2008 review originally posted on Murder and Mayhem
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