An excellent entry in the Hal Challis series. Several things going on at once, both professionally and personally, with Challis and his team of detectives on the Mornington Peninsula southeast of Melbourne. Love the setting, the characters, and Disher's style. He strikes exactly the right balance between revealing and holding back, so the reader should never feel bewildered or cheated by the outcome. ( )

Most mystery writers are content to solve one case per story, but Garry Disher has successfully juggled several crimes and perpetrators in this book.

There's the chaplain of an exclusive boarding school found beaten to a pulp. Almost everyone at the school loathed him.

There's the murder of a lovely young woman who has the difficult job of enforcing land use regulations. Her husband is abusive, her boss is slimy, and she's not popular with the rich folks who violate the law to build their dream mansions. Anyone might have killed her or had her killed.

Then there's Schoolies week, a term that reminds us we're in Australia. School kids on holiday are flooding the town of Waterloo for a bit of fun by the sea. Drug-related crimes and rape are likely, if not inevitable.

The title of this book is inspired by the eclipse of the moon that will take place during Schoolies week, staining the moon red and, it's feared, inflaming the students.

In the midst of so much criminal anger and passion, the passions of the police force are very much in evidence too. Inspector Hal Challis is sleeping with his sergeant Ellen Destry, and certain members of his staff are in bed together as well. The mix of private lives and public duty is very skillfully handled and makes for a complex story with never a dull page. ( )

Book 5 in the Hal Challis series. This one involves the brutal attack on the chaplain of a prestigious private school who turns out to have many enemies. Then, a government official charged with enforcing land use laws is found murdered. There's humor and romance, in addition to the multiple crimes, major and minor, facing the police department, all featuring an ensemble cast.

I didn't like this one as much as the others I've read, but it was still good.

3 stars ( )

I'm known for being on the cutting edge, for having my finger on the pulse; for example, I just bought a smart phone. It isn't really surprising to learn that I've only recently discovered Gary Disher's work, despite him having been an award winning author since before I entered highschool.

The first novel I read of Gary's was Wyatt, after hearing him speak at the Sydney Writers' Festival. I enjoyed that novel and now have plenty of good novels to catch up on.

This is my first Challis and Destry novel set in a small seaside town in Victoria Australia. It follows the assaults, rapes, murder and sex lives that keep the local police busy. The intertwining characters and investigations are deftly handled by Gary to give an engaging crime novel. ( )

Police procedural centred around a Westernport Bay town that sounds suspiciously like Hastings. Nicely paced plot with multiple possible bad guys and a couple of sub-plots adding spice and late climaxes. Liked it. ( )