Christine Gregory’s Australian rural crime debut is loosely based on a true story. The Steel’s Creek community of the title is not, as some might suspect a cult or some form of religious retreat. Rather it is a patch of restored rainforest that members have to buy into as shareholders. It is based on the very real community of Crystal Waters a permaculture village run by a body corporate.
The cold open of The Community is set on a rainy night and has an unidentified character, grabbing what she can before running to a waiting car. Gregory then moves to the discovery of a body at a local swimming hole before winding back three days to the events that led up to that murder. Those events revolve around Skye and her best friend Amber and two Israeli backpackers who are staying in Amber’s house. Amber’s father is the head of the Steel’s Creek body corporate and is trying to push through a new development on the land. Also in the picture is journalist Lars Nilsson, fallen from grace as a top crime reporter and now filing stories for the local rag, whose daughter Annika gets tangled up with the other four when she visits.
Once the flashbacks catch up to the present day there are also local police and detectives from Brisbane, one of whom still has a bone to pick with Lars from his days working on a major newspaper in Brisbane. Lars gets more involved when he is asked by neighbour and old friend Joe to help them find Skye who went missing on the night of the murder.
There are a lot of threads in The Community, and plenty of characters but Gregory has a tight handle on them all and the action. The mystery and the multiple relationships are well handled and brought together effectively to deliver a solid crime debut with a view into an interesting Australian community.
The Community by Christine Gregory
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