The summer of 1966â7. Hal and his little brother have just come to live in Moorabool. They're exploring the creek near their new home when they find the body of a dog.
Not just dead, but killed.
Not just killed, but horribly maimed.
Constable Mick Goodenough, recently demoted from his big-city job as a detective, is also new in townâand one of his dogs has gone missing. Like other pets around the town.
He knows what it means when someone tortures animals to death. They're practising. So when Hal's mother starts getting late-night phone callsâa man whistling, then hanging upâGoodenough, alone among the Moorabool cops, takes her seriously. But will that be enough to keep her and her young sons safe?
Nostalgic yet clear-eyed, simmering with small-town menace, Greg Woodland's wildly impressive debut populates the rural Australia of the 1960s with memorable characters and almost unbearable tension.
âTroubling undercurrents swirl in a seductively involving story of small-town secrets and obsessions.' GARRY DISHER
âA haunting, tense and unforgettable debut.' CHRISTIAN WHITE