Hicks delivers an electrifying read, filled with technicalities that come from his years on the Force.
Charlotte Callaghan (with a ‘G’, unlike ‘Dirty Harry’ – a great line from the book) is a veteran detective in a small coastal Australian town. She is hiding a dark secret from her colleagues, one which will play a pivotal role in her latest case.
The body of a young woman is found clutching a piece of Biblical text. Soon after, a second woman is found with a different piece of text but it has come from the same source. That source is none other than the Parish Newsletter of Gull Bay’s Catholic Church. To make matters even more distressing, particularly for Charlotte, the Parish Priest is well known to her. He is her brother.
So begins The Devil Inside, the debut novel from D L Hicks, a Victorian Police Officer with over 25 years of service to the Force.
Over the course of about 300 pages, Hicks delivers an electrifying read, filled with technicalities that come from his years on the Force, and a heaping hand of Aussie colloquialisms, which make for a very satisfying inclusion.
The journey of the novel is two-fold: the present-day activities of the female detective and the murderer; as well as flashbacks to the killer’s time as a young Altar Boy, a driving force for his actions both against his victims and the Gull Bay Parish.
With recent investigations into historical abuse, this novel has a timeliness and a strong sense of knowing the motivations that can push an individual to extreme acts. It also doesn’t shy away from the human toll that such an investigation can take on the officers involved.
Hicks’ decision to move into the world of crime literature is a welcome one. The plot is well-structured, not convoluted or overtly complex, and the twists and stings in the tail end of this tale are well worth it and provide a resolute satisfaction.
Reviewed by Glen Christie
Distributed by: Pantera Press
Released: February 2020
RRP: $29.99
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