Author: Bronwyn Parry
ISBN: 978-0-7336-2549-7
RRP: $32.99
Dead Heat is my introduction to Australian romantic suspense writer Bronwyn Parry and one that is long overdue if this book is anything to go by.
I got the blurb for this a couple of weeks ago and have been hanging out to get my eyes on it. It arrived when I was in the middle of another book, as usual, and had quite a to-do list to get through. Having it sit next to me on my desk certainly spurred me to get through everything quickly so I could make a start.
Once I made the start that was the end of me and now here I am, an hour after I got prepared to call it a night with quite a chunk to read in the morning and I got handcuffed to the book, I swear I did, with my eyes propped open so I couldn’t look away. It doesn’t really matter why I’m still up, but the book is finished and it’s time to share my thoughts.
The scenery is a shining star in this novel, vividly detailing the bushland National Parks in NSW. The perspective is 3rd person but the majority of the story is focused on Jo Lockwood who is a park ranger so we still see through her eyes and she is a very observant woman who pays extreme attention to detail. As a park ranger it is to be expected that the outback holds significant fascination for her, as does the native wildlife and we are treated to that fascination with the descriptions and observations of the landscapes and animals that she comes across in her work.
Jo’s attention to detail and keen powers of observation come in handy time and time again throughout the book and go a long way to saving her life, the problem is that it is those same powers of observation that put her in danger in the first place.
Detective Nick Matheson has recently been posted to the area in a major change of pace from the undercover roles he has been playing over the past decade. Career credentials like that would make you think his powers of observation are also extremely well honed and you would be correct.
A lot of the suspense throughout this book is related to issues that I wouldn’t necessarily pair with the outback, the arguments for it are logical and plausible but they are still things that I would expect in cities rather than national parks out the back of beyond which goes a long way to making Dead Heat even harder to put down, if only for a much needed sleep.
The characters, well to be honest the main characters broke my heart. Both Jo and Nick have survived events that leave them emotionally damaged and closed off from personal attachments. They both have routines set in place to make sure their control never slips, to move past the possibility of emotional reactions and ‘get on with it’. While this can be an admirable trait in moderation and in the right circumstances it is not always good for long term mental health.
Dead Heat brings Nick and Jo together in the investigation of her grisly find, an investigation that gets deeper at every turn. Just how much are they set to learn about themselves before the dying pages? That’s something I am not going to risk revealing to you, you’ll have to read it for yourselves.
Bronwyn Parry’s writing style is fluid and engaging with suspense that builds progressively and some fabulous twists that then leave you looking back to see if you could spot the clues.
Considering I have been away from my deeply rooted love of all things horror for quite some time I have lost some of my de-sensitisation and a couple of the grislier passages made me physically shudder.
The only one issue I had with the reading of this book is a very minor one but it did stick with me and even now it just doesn’t seem to fit for me. There is a scene about halfway through where Nick walks into a room and there’s a crisp packet on the table, and it really jumped out at me. This book is very Australian and everything struck me as Australian except for that one tiny mention of a crisp packet, which I didn’t think was an Australian term.
Now I’m extremely happy with this book, I loved it! So in the long run one crisp packet is inconsequential – which begs the question why did I bring it up. To tell the truth I don’t rightly know but it did strike me as odd so I thought I would mention it in case I’m not the only one.
A great read that I am thrilled to have finally read, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more of her work.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
I read this book within a few days, but having said that, I wasn’t overly thrilled with it. It was an easy read, and I loved the description of the outback, etc, but I just couldn’t feel a real connection with any of the characters.
The storyline became a bit predictable, the reader can sense how the book is going to end before it does.
I don’t think I would recommend this book, unless outback thrillers are really your thing, but it still was an ok read. Thankyou for the opportunity to read and review it.
A very good and well written Aussie romantic novel. The story is plausible and easy to follow. Self-recrimination, guilt and self-discipline on the part of the principle characters is perhaps a little heavy? Research including N.S.W geography and fire-fighting is right on the ball. The overuse of the F-word in the last part of the novel tends to diminish the possible impact. There are a lot of Australian expletives that could have been used.
Firstly, I must say how much I enjoyed the descriptive nature of the book. She uses some very laid back Aussie language, such as “It was the Australian bush, dammit, not the back streets of some city”. There’s just one example. I love her use of simple and yet so meaningful language. Really enabled me to relate to the text, being Australian myself.
I really related with the character of Jo, always helping and so determined. She’s a strong person and someone I’d see myself endevouring to be in the situations she faces with Nick.
I love these sorts of texts. It was really interesting and engaging. 8/10!
Thanks for the chance to read 🙂
I didn’t really have any expectations when I picked up “Dead Heat” – I wanted to read it to see if it handled the Australian bush setting well, but beyond that I hadn’t any expectations. I was therefore really pleased to find myself reading an enjoyable and well written romantic thriller.
This is a “softer” novel than a lot of crime novels – in particular, Parry glosses over the violence. We don’t get the forensic details of each injury to a murder victim, for example. I didn’t see this as a flaw – it wouldn’t have fitted the tone of this novel, and although that can be a vital part of some books I don’t actually go looking for explicit violence and gore.
Parry does handle the Australian setting very well, making it quite distinct from a lot of American and English novels. Police here often find themselves responsible for large areas of land with a relatively small (and scattered) population – that’s not common in most overseas locations. I thought Parry depicted related issues well – police that are two hours away, ambulances that take half an hour to get to you, and so on. In addition she described the Australian bush and wildlife vividly, but in a way that didn’t seem like she was straining to stuff them into the novel. It came out naturally.
The two central characters, Nick and Jo, are strongly drawn and empathetic characters. I liked that Jo is strong and has skills she can apply to her suddenly difficult situation, but that she isn’t superwoman and can’t cope with everything or do everything. It was nice to see a competent, realistic woman who was more than a foil for a male hero. A lot of readers will get very involved with Jo’s plight and care a lot about what happens to her and Nick.
It’s not perfect– for me the crime aspects didn’t ring entirely true. In particular, I felt that maybe Parry hadn’t really thought through the logic of drug traffickers moving drugs through such an area, or the completely unproductive number and kinds of murder they engaged in. My understanding is that a lot of the big drug syndicates are more professional about it than this… Anyway, it’s a fairly small quibble. My only other reservation was that while the main two characters were strong, I felt that most of the others were a little sketchy. I’d have liked to see some of them come to life a bit better.
Overall though, this was a really enjoyable novel which was very readable. I’m not a huge romance fan but Parry found a good balance in the novel and her realistic characters, in particular, made this an engaging read.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for letting me review this book as it’s probably not one that I would have chosen otherwise. I think my dislike of Australian TV shows and movies has coloured my view on other Australian things, particularly Australian authors. But I love a good romantic thriller and the blurb made this book sound like it was worth the ‘risk’. I couldn’t put it down!
The descriptions of the outback gave me enough to visualise the scene without going over the top and I really loved the characters. The only part I didn’t like was that the story kept going over how independent and strong the main female character “Jo” was and I did think ‘yeah, I get it, she can do it all and doens’t need anyone else’. I don’t know, are there really people out there with memories like Jo’s and who knows exactly what to do in whatever situation she’s placed in? I don’t know anyone like that! But I still loved the book, there’s a twist and a turn and although the ending is predictable, it’s definately worth the read
Thanks again Beauty and Lace >:o)
Nothing worse than a review that says to much, and there’s heaps I want to say but will stick to: A GREAT READ indeed!! Suspense, murder, this book’s action packed, with romance too. A bit of everything to keep you interested. A plot that held me captive from cover to cover with it’s great detail. I could not put it down!
I too found ‘Dead Heat’ suspenseful, action packed and interesting. I loved the mix Parry added to the book. It was nice to read an Australian novel that recognised places and the distances between them – this is true Australian outback. I also liked how she portrayed the communities with the rotary club running the BBQ, and National Parks and Emergency Services working together, checking out the pub for information – highlighting outback networks.
I found the book easy to read and follow and even with a busy life – finnished in less than 4 days (which is good for me). I would be happy to read more of Bronwyn Parry’s books and enjoyed experiencing Parry’s tale – the thrill and possible romance.
I really enjoyed this book, it’s a real page turner all the way through. I loved the Australian Outback setting and the plot was very believable. Combining romance with a crime novel worked really well and I certainly look forward to reading more from this talented author. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced entertaining read.
Bronwyn Parry’s “Dead Heat” is described as a “thriller romance” on the cover and that quote, combined with the reference to a body “brutally murdered” in the first sentence of the blurb, prepares the reader for a fast-paced, action-filled plot. I, for one, was happy to discover that after only a few paragraphs of slightly perfunctory Australian outback descriptions to set the scene, the atmosphere is shattered as we discover the “coldly, brutally, tortured and murdered” body of victim Number 1 on the seventh page. I find nothing more frustrating than a crime novel that takes chapters to find a body or delve into the crime scene, so this book certainly received a nod of approval for diving head first into the plotline.
Throughout the book, we follow as the discovery of that first body opens up a chain reaction of more murders, conspiracies and lies as the central characters, Jo Lockwood and Nick Matheson, fight to piece together the evidence and stay one step ahead of criminals involved with a Mexican drug cartel. In the background, you also have the blossoming “romance” part of the novel between the two protagonists, which I thought provided an intriguing, subtle balance to the fast action of the story, softening the reading between violent attacks and deaths (though Parry does quite significantly tone down the graphic details – the imagery and details of the violent crimes are merely implied or quickly skimmed over). The book definitely moved at a quick pace which kept the plot alive, keeping the reader interested to continue reading. Indeed, as the pace quickened towards the end, I certainly found myself putting other tasks on hold just to “finish this chapter”.
Disclaimer: some spoilers below.
The ending, however, was frustrating. As I found myself drawn to the building of the action-packed climax, I had countless thoughts on how it could end. So when Jo and Nick are captured by the criminals and taken straight to the notoriously calculated and violent head of the group (in the middle of nowhere in the Australian outback, might I add), I prepared myself for a brilliantly pieced together set of events as Parry drew on her imagination and the strengths of her protagonists to plan and pull off the ultimate, nail-biting escape from their capturers. Whilst this was partially true once Jo and Nick escaped into the woods, their escape in itself was not a smooth-talking deception plan, an ammunition fuelled take back of control or even a good old fashioned rescue. Instead, the cold, calculated, unforgiving and methodical killer mentioned above lets them escape (you read right) so that his remaining minions – for lack of a better word – can prove their criminal worth by re-capturing them. To me, this just wasn’t plausible with the character profile I built of the relentlessly violent and loose-end-cutting criminal as he is depicted throughout the book.
Overall, despite some weak moments in the plot and some turbulent flow of words (for instance, the paragraph describing Nick, Hugh and Grace’s relationship required a few reads to work out which “he” was being referred to in each line), I did find the novel an easy, fun read and enjoyed discovering the background of many of the characters along with the unfolding crime cases. Parry certainly struck an intriguing balance between crime, thriller, action and romance, for which this novel can fall into the lines of many genres and should thus entertain a large audience range. Numerous times throughout the novel, I also thought how much potential there is for this book to be adapted for the screen. Though there is much I can continue to say about the novel, evidently I have a habit of over-analysing on occasions, so I will sign off here by thanking Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this book and save further verbosity for another review! 🙂
I have made several attempts to write this review from a positive perspective however although Dead Heat was well written, the story line for me was rather boring in its predictability.
I found that I really had to push myself to read this novel and complete the task I had committed to.
I did have mild admiration for Jo,s relationship to the Australian outback but in general I felt that the characters were not strongly developed or convincing.
My personal view is that we are being swamped with crime shows and crime books which seem to be becoming ever more explicit in their descriptions of brutality, so this novel did not stand out as unique.
The romantic aspect I found very ordinary and its direction was obvious from the beginning.
Overall, for me this was just another novel and nothing outstanding either in a negative or positive sense.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review.