Author(s): John Tully

Crime and Thrillers | Tasmanian Fiction

The work falls generally into the genre of fictional crime writing, although it does have broader social and historical dimensions. It is set in Tasmania in the early 1990s, with flashbacks to post-war Hobart and Europe during World War II. Although dealing with dark secrets, crime and Nazi plots, the book is written from a humanistic rather than a nihilistic perspective.Tully creates a fictional world strongly embedded in authentic details of real locations and well-conceived characters. The protagonist, Jack Martin, is richly drawn: A typical copperdetective anywaystressed out most of the time, running on adrenaline, nicotine and coffee Running to flab from a diet of meat pies and sauce, chips and the deep-fried dog's turds they called Chiko rolls, gobbled down on the run between cases 'The author captures persuasively the tensions and dramas of other eras, conveying in uncompromising yet poetic language a richly drawn web of intrigue, murder and justice. The novel's tightly controlled plot cleverly weaves familiar domestic tensions of family life and marriage with tangled mysteries and a sense of brooding violence just below the surface, keeping the reader totally involved. Dark Clouds on the Mountain is a suspenseful and ultimately satisfying reading experience.