Shooting Star: Text Classics
Text Classics
Peter Temple
Introduction by Adrian McKinty
Pat Carson’s old eyes were on me, looking for something.
‘Man is born unto trouble,’ he said.
I said, ‘As the sparks fly upwards.’
Deep lines at the corners of his mouth. ‘Know your Job. Soldier. Policeman. Haven’t been a bloody priest too, have you?’
Anne Carson: fifteen, beautiful, wayward. Abducted.
The rich Carsons have closed ranks and summoned Frank Calder, subject to strict instructions. This is not the first kidnapping in the Carson family and hard lessons have been learned.
But are the two events connected? And is greed the motivation? Revenge? Or could it be something else? To find out, Frank Calder must go beyond his brief.
And his every step into the darkness may end a girl’s life.
First published two decades ago, this standalone crime novel is Peter Temple at his brilliant best.
andShooting Star
‘[A] gritty, well-executed tale of greed and vengeance.’
‘As always, Temple is a master of the complex plot and his characters leap from the page fully realised in a taut, action-packed thriller.’
‘If you have not read a Temple thriller, you don’t know what you are missing.’
‘Displaying Temple’s keen sense of place and his sharp ear for dry dialogue, Shooting Star is a tough, contemporary crime novel that takes the reader down some very mean Australian streets…A terrific read by one of Australia’s best crime novelists.’
‘Peter Temple is, quite simply, the finest crime writer we have and Shooting Star reminds us why and how he has set a standard internationally that few come near. His Chandler-like ability to capture the dark corners of our sunniest places is as good as it gets. Temple weaves past and present beautifully…A terrific and powerful read.’
‘No summary or catalogue of details will do it justice. Read it for the writing and for where it says this sort of novel is today.’
