Harvey Buck is on a mercy mission to Sydney see his ex who is dying of cancer. With all planes out of action he takes to the High Wire, a secret road that runs across the barren heart of Australia – used by those wanting to stay off the radar. Despite the risks, Buck can’t help but stop when he sees a woman stranded by a burning car. But she is not the one he needed to be worried about, not long after he picks her up both are kidnapped and strapped into bomb-vests by some shady characters who have a bone to pick with Buck from their days in the army. As the carnage starts to escalate, local cop Edna Norris, is trying to piece together the clues while also trying to help a wayward teen but finds her own past coming back to haunt her.
Fox acknowledges the influence of Lee Child in her Acknowledgements. And there are echoes of a Jack Reacher style of character in the creation of at least Harvey Buck. But anyone familiar with Fox’s other work will be aware of the way she builds complexity into the DNA of her characters. Buck might be a resourceful lone-wolf style hero but he carries a truckload of guilt. Edna is an intuitive cop and a force for justice who does not let the rules stand in her way but also has skeletons in her closet. The side characters too have shades of complexity to them that make this much more than just a chase narrative.
After setting her last few books in the US, Fox returns and, as always, uses her Australian setting to great effect. The High Wire runs through the arid center of the country and Fox brings the small towns, the isolated properties, the long stretches of lonely road to life.
From its opening sequences, High Wire delivers plenty of action and mayhem as it slowly builds to a potentially explosive finale. But Fox, as always, has all of the elements under control, slowly turning the screws, revealing backstory and upping the tension (and the body count) as the story progresses. And keeps readers fully invested in the outcome though a pair of conflicted protagonists with tarnished hearts of gold.
Robert Goodman
For more of Robert’s reviews, visit his blog Pile By the Bed
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Devil’s Kitchen (Candice Fox) – book review
- Black Buck (Mateo Askaripour) – book review
- The Creeper (Margaret Hickey) – book review
Robert Goodman is a book reviewer, former Ned Kelly Awards judge and institutionalised public servant based in Sydney. This and over 450 more book reviews can be found on his website Pile By the Bed.