When you’re the only cop in a quiet cop shop in a corner of South Australia’s farming community, Christmas should be a doddle, shouldn’t it? Not so for Constable Paul ‘Hirsch’ Hirschhausen in Garry Disher’s follow up to the excellent Bitter Wash Road. It’s all going swimmingly until one of the locals decides to enter the local pub without actually leaving her car, and then there’s a vicious attack on the animals at a pony farm, followed by a double murder and suddenly the season of goodwill is anything but. Once again, Disher serves up a tasty helping of immersive and totally engrossing crime fare. Enjoy.