Tell Me Why by Sandi Wallace is a solid debut in what promises to be an intriguing series from a new voice in Australian crime fiction.
About Tell Me Why
Georgie Harvey’s bad day is made worse when her kindly neighbour, Ruby, is taken ill and Georgie is guilted into searching for Ruby’s friend who may or may not have gone missing from her home near Daylesford, Victoria’s premier resort district. Susan Pentecost hasn’t been seen for a few days, which is unusual, but no one seems unduly concerned, least of all Senior Constable John Franklin who writes off sexy outsider Georgie as a flake. Franklin has his own troubles—a surly teenage daughter who seems bent on trouble, and a perplexing series of threatening poison-pen letters quoting scripture and denouncing single mothers. Georgie’s blunt questions stir trouble and soon Franklin, caught up in his own case, has to concede that Susan Pentecost’s absence may be a cause for concern. But John Franklin’s change of heart may have come too late for both Georgie and Susan.
My Thoughts
Tell Me Why is solid storytelling with a heightened sense of place. From the opening line true Aussie voices leap from the page and there is a great sense of rising tension as both mysteries deepen. For a good half of the book it is unclear whether Susan is missing or just away and it is easy to feel Georgie and Franklin’s frustration with the case and each other. There is an attention to detail which transports you straight to the location, though some, like the realistic rendering of daily police life, tend to slow the action in places. The structure and the choice to switch between points of view was effective and worked well during climactic moments, yet occasionally there was too little time to connect emotionally with the character before moving to the other’s point of view. Nevertheless, Wallace makes us care about the characters and the fate of Susan and keeps us guessing about the reason behind the escalating events. In Tell Me Why Wallace builds a great sense of the community and their uneasy acceptance of the outsiders who invade their townships. The slow revelation of the reason for Susan’s absence is beautifully handled.
Tell Me Why is a great start to Wallace’s Rural Crime Files series with plenty of baggage for Franklin and Georgie to contend with in future stories. Wallace leaves both main characters contemplating major changes in their circumstances and I’m intrigued to see where her next novel takes this series.