The Reach

B. Michael Radburn

Feb 2021 · Pantera Press

About this ebook

An isolated town with a dark past...

Devlins Reach in the Hawkesbury River is known for its secluded location and picturesque beauty. But within its tight-knit community of loggers, store owners and tight-lipped locals, a killer is on the loose.

When three bodies are unearthed in an excavation site, park ranger and wilderness expert Taylor Bridges is called in to help local police, and he discovers the town has an unsettling history. But Taylor has a past of his own that still haunts him and his family.

As a torrential storm grows closer, The Reach goes into lockdown. With no way in or out, Taylor finds himself in race against the power of nature to catch the killer before the whole town goes under.

Ratings and reviews

The third instalment in B. Michael Radburn's Taylor Bridges series takes us to the Dharug National Park, in the Hawkesbury River region of NSW's central coast. In the course of documenting an archaeological dig at (fictional) Devlins Reach on the Hawkesbury River, a Sydney photojournalist stumbles across the remains of three men, whose mutilations suggest that a particularly vicious serial killer may be active in the area. Newly promoted Detective Sergeant Ryan Everett is dispatched to the scene, in advance of a full contingent from the NSW Crime Command and Forensics Services. Junior constable Neve Fisher is already in attendance, guarding the crime scene. Meanwhile, in eastern Victoria, Park Ranger Taylor Bridges receives a request from NSW police to assist. On arrival in Devlin's Reach, he meets Jaimie Barlow, the parks ranger stationed at Dharug National Park, and liaises with D.S. Everett over how they should proceed. An approaching severe storm prevents the expected police backup from reaching them and requires the removal of evidence from the crime scene, before the river level rises and the whole area is flooded. Making the best of a difficult situation, Everett and Bridges team up to begin investigating the murders, with Fisher and Barlow's assistance. Devlin's reach is an insular community, built around the river ferry and logging activity in the hills behind the town. The locals are suspicious of the incoming police and reticent to provide any helpful information. When another man is brutally murdered after leaving the local hotel, the tension rises, as the weather worsens. Bridges and Everett begin to build tenuous relationships with some of the locals, uncovering decades of troubling history at Devlins Reach - the abduction of two young girls from a now closed children's home, the unexplained disappearances of several workers from the logging camp and a vengeful presence, watching and waiting in the bushland surrounding them. B. Michael Radburn's depictions of his Australian bushland settings are really high quality, with the landscape and weather closely interwoven with his plots. While I'm not familiar with this area myself, I found Radburn's writing brought to life the scrubby hillsides, dilapidated bush tracks and struggling town on the banks of the river. The central and supporting characters are also well-developed and believable.Radburn is insightful in depicting Taylor's inner dialogue, as well as that of D.S. Everett, who feels completely out of his depth at various stages of the investigation. The Devlins Reach locals, including the drunkard ferry operator and his two rather helpful and willing young sons, Taylor's loquacious host at the local cafe-cum-B&B and the irascible loggers whose work is on hold due to the storm, are three-dimensional and convincing. Radburn has also managed to incorporate his own recreational interest in Harley Davidson motorcycles into the plot on this occasion. However, I found that I really had to suspend my disbelief with regard to several aspects of the plot, as well as the behaviour and motivations attributed to certain characters, which I won't detail due to spoilers. Like other reviewers, the limited cast of characters meant that I'd indentified the most likely murderer very early, and was proven correct. Nevertheless, it was an action-packed and thrilling read, with a few shocking turns of events and twists right up until the final pages. I'd recommend The Reach to readers who enjoy well-plotted Aussie noir, but would warn that this may not be a suitable book for all readers, due to the frequent references to child sexual abuse and exploitation. My thanks to the author, B. Michael Radburn, publisher Pantera Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

4.5★s The Reach is the third book in the Taylor Bridges series by Australian author, B. Michael Radburn. Caught between the frustrating delays imposed by official channels and an impatient editor, Sydney photojournalist Brewer Hutch takes up the offer of two local teens who claim they can get him into the dig site at Devlins Reach. Hutch wants shots of the boat hulks that lay buried in reclaimed land north of the town; they enter via a sinkhole; he gets something far grislier. “The three figures sat crossed-legged against the far wall, shoulder to shoulder… bodies placed beside each other, several months apart… the lacerations were pre-mortem.” At the request of NSW Police, Victoria Parks Ranger Taylor Bridges arrives in Devlins Reach, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River. Jaimie Barlow, the local National Parks ranger, escorts him to the site, where he meets a newly-minted Detective Sergeant, Ryan Everett, whose remit, with the assistance of a young Constable, is to secure the area and hold the fort until the State Crime Command’s task force arrives. Below ground, the scene is indeed as hideous as the photo suggested: three men sit, dead, posed; their injuries prevented escape; the mutilations clearly send a message, but to whom, exactly, and about what? A symbol painted on the back of a cabin door intrigues them: a clue, a distractor? Taylor alerts Everett to the weather implications: a severe weather event heading their way, creating a sense of urgency. To his dismay, Everett learns of the mounting probability, both of the river surging through his crime scene and of the winds preventing the helicopter from landing with reinforcements. While he tries to keep a tight rein on information, with regards the locals, might Everett’s approach to the case be unhelpful? He’s told: “You’re gonna find the Reach a whole lot different to the city. People here are used to cleaning their own laundry, not having others come in to clean it for them.” Taylor is one of several who point out that involving the townspeople may foster greater co-operation. And anyway, “It’s a small town and word travels faster than the internet around here” The young detective does his best to identify the three, figuring this will point to motive, but before he gets a result, there’s another murder, with similar features: clearly the killer is not yet done. He and Taylor hasten to make sense of snippets of information they garner: itinerant loggers, a now-closed children’s home, and a decades-ago abduction. The storm rages, a felled tree plunges the town into darkness, the river laps at the top of the levee banks and a case of dynamite is reported missing: the story rushes headlong into a dramatic climax, and by the final pages, there’s a sizeable body count for this small service town. Radburn’s characters have depth and appeal: his novice police detective is smart and resourceful, a talented improviser, but still inexperienced, thus well out of his depth, and trying to channel his deceased mentor for inspiration; he gives sound advice to a young woman who seems to be a police officer almost by default. Radburn’s fans will already be familiar with the Victoria Parks ranger, a model of dedication and integrity. There’s a hint of paranormal concerning Taylor’s daughter that will likely fascinate readers, and Taylor has cause, more than once, to recall his wife’s admonition on his departure: “‘Family first,’ she said. ‘If things get too hot, you walk away. And when it’s done, leave it out there.’” This third book of the series could easily be read as a stand-alone, but it does have some spoilers for the previous books. Radburn expertly builds the tension, and his descriptive prose superbly renders the wilderness setting. Excellent Aussie crime fiction. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Pantera Press.

About the author

B. Michael Radburn is an award-winning writer of short stories, novels and screen plays. He is also the founder of Dark Press Publications and the former editor of the Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine. He is the author of Blackwater Moon, The Falls and The Crossing, which is being made into a film by Chris Haywood. He lives in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales with his family. B. Michael Radburn's new book The Reach will be released in September 2020.