Wed 7 Apr 2021
Reviews by L. J. Roberts
GARY DISHER – Consolation. Constable Paul Hirschhausen #3. Text Publishing, hardcover, November 2020. Setting: South Australia.
First Sentence: Did Hirsch own the town?
Hirsch’s territory covers a large area of not much in Tiverton, South Australia. It is up to him to keep the peace. Someone is stealing women’s underwear. Although that seems a small thing, it is the sort of thing that can escalate. And so they do, exacerbated by a woman who has developed an obsession about Hirsch.
A very good introduction presents Constable Paul Hirschhausen “Hirsch” and the scope of his job, which is impressive in its scope and diversity. Issues range from the seemingly innocuous to the potentially dangerous. The jump from one incident to the next brings the residents into play. Hirsch isn’t a cop who sits behind a desk, but he spends his time walking the street, and driving the territory.
Disher is a wonderful wordsmith. One understands the words, and the meaning behind them: “Hirsch the mediator. He seemed to spend most of his time as father confessor, therapist, social worker, fixer and go-between. What he’d give for a plain old criminal and a plain old vanilla arrest.”
It is not all serious. Hirsch’s relationship with Wendy and her daughter provides normalcy, offset by his unwillingness to confront the woman who is stalking him as she becomes a threat. We see the openness of Southern Australia and the bone-chilling cold of late winter.
As the story progresses Hirsch finds one should be careful of for what one wishes when things turn violent and deadly: “…his ABC of policing said: assume nothing, believe nothing, challenge everything.”
Consolation is a story of lives intertwined; the domino effect begun by the actions of one crashing into the lives of others. This is an author well worth reading.
Rating: Very Good.
The Paul Hirschhausen series —
1. Bitter Wash Road (2013)
2. Peace (2019)
3. Consolation (2020)
April 7th, 2021 at 3:35 pm
Gary Disher is a very dependable author, you’re almost guaranteed a good, solid, enjoyable, hard-boiled read when you pick up one of his books. He’s kind of the Max Allan Collins of Australia.
April 7th, 2021 at 4:12 pm
I’ve not read anything by Disher, but he’s quite a prolific author: a long series about a character named Wyatt, for example, and quite a few standalones. Using Max Allan Collins as a reference suggests he’s worth looking into, as does LJ’s review.
April 7th, 2021 at 4:15 pm
There are nine Wyatt books in the series, and a quick look on Google tells me he’s a “professional hold-up man.”
April 7th, 2021 at 6:43 pm
The Wyatt books are still his best I think, compared and rightfully so to the Parker books. The Hirsch books have great characters. He is a rural cop and has some nice human touches with character, which you usually don’t see in mystery novels. My only quibble with the book is that I thought it ended too quickly. Anything Disher writes is worth reading though, one of the best in the business and should be better know in the US.
April 7th, 2021 at 6:52 pm
Sounds like a writer I need to look into.
April 7th, 2021 at 8:56 pm
You can really start anywhere with his books. His Challis/Destry books are police stories, the Wyatt books caper novels, and the Hirsch books rural cop. Plus a couple of good stand alones.
April 8th, 2021 at 7:02 am
I Liked the first in this series, BITTER WASH ROAD, and I’m looking forward to the rest of them.
Let me also recommend his 2017 UNDER THE COLD BRIGHT LIGHTS, set in the suburbs around Melbourne for the most part. I’m hoping this will be the first in another series.