The First Law of the Bush by Geoff Parkes

Geoff Parkes returns to the small New Zealand town of Nasvhille in his second novel The First Law of the Bush. The First Law of the Bush is set ten years after the events of Parkes’ debut When the Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole. Many of the characters return for this book particularly Ryan Bradley, a law student in the first book, who has returned and taken over the local solicitor’s practice.

The First Law of the Bush opens with a suspicious accident. Railway maintenance worker Bill Dickerson falls to his death from a rail bridge. A year later, Bill’s wife Carol comes to see Ryan. She has received no compensation for the death as it was ruled a suicide, a finding that she has evidence to disprove. Ryan, despite misgivings, takes the case on. Meanwhile, swirling around the town, there are criminal goings on, in part facilitated by the ranking police officer Senior Sergeant ‘Stinger’ Nettle who sees keeping the wheels greased as part of his job. Until suspicious activity comes to the attention of Ryan’s best friend and wannabe detective Senior Constable Lance Peterson.

Ryan is at the centre of the narrative. But, as with the first book in this series, The First Law of the Bush presents a mosaic of points-of-view from all of the major, and some minor, characters. This is a feature of this series, in that readers get a view of a range of the residents of Nashville. But this focus also means Parkes ends up digging more deeply into the motivations of some of the characters which might be better off not explained. And this technique also tends to slow the plot down, making the whole enterprise feel a little ponderous at times.

Parkes evokes the town of Nashville through a large cross-section of its residents and once again uses them to explore dark issues involving violence, abuse and drugs. The interesting aspect of this series is the time jump. Parkes takes his setting from the early 1980s into the 1990s and so is able to reference a completely new set of cultural touchstones. But, as is the problem with many series set in small towns, it also means that, even with the time jump, he ends up repeating some of the beats of the first book.

Assuming more books of this series are planned, Parkes leaves his characters in a place where another time jump might find them in another interesting part of their lives. Overall, The First Law of the Bush is another solid piece of Southern Cross rural noir.

The First Law of the Bush by Geoff Parkes

7

7.0/10