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The Brotherhood

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 46 ratings · 22 reviews

One dead cop, one small island, and an impact that will last a lifetimeWhen Sergeant John White, mentor, savior, and all-round good guy, is murdered during a routine call-out, the tight-knit world of Tasmania Police is rocked to the core. An already difficult investigation into the death of one of their own becomes steeped in political complexities when the main suspect is...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published December 1st 2011 by Random House Australia (first published August 16th 2011)

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Dec 21, 2012 Sunnie rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's just another day in Hobart. A call out to a suspected burglary. A much respected sergeant and a rookie female police officer take the call.It ends in tragedy when the sergeant is fatally stabbed by one of the fleeing youths..

THE BROTHERHOOD is not a whodunit, or even a whydunit. THE BROTHERHOOD is an exploration of the effect that the death of the officer has on those around him. The rookie, colleagues, friends, the offenders, defence lawyer, journalist, the high ups in the police force. T...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Lian Tanner rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime

I found this a frustrating book. I enjoyed the writing on a line-by-line basis, and also the Tasmanian setting - I live in Tassie and a lot of it rang true. But after a while I started to get the sense that I was treading water, that there wasn't really a story happening. Partly a problem of expectations, perhaps - the book started with the killing of a cop, so I thought the story would follow the investigation. Instead, what we got was a whole lot of flashbacks from different points of view, sh...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crimepieces

Review: Y A Erskine – The Brotherhood

April 30, 2012 by Sarah | Edit

Tasmania is a region I know little about but which conjures up images of beautiful scenery in a temperate climate. The Brotherhood written by Y A Erskine, a former Tasmanian police officer, provides an alternative view of the island. In this excellent book, racial tensions and stresses of police work combine to provide a snapshot of the realities of law enforcement on the island.

The plot opens with the murder of Sergeant John Whi...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Elizabeth Lhuede rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian-author, australian-women-writers, australian-women-writers-challenge, crime

Compelling reading. A study of relations among various people associated with the Hobart police force. Told from a series of viewpoints, it builds a compelling portrait a small-city community wracked by corruption, fraught Black-white relations, political correctness, professional jealousies and peccadillos.

Don't be put off by the bad language and the occasional repeated phrases. Erskine spent 10 years with the police force and knows the lingo. It's confronting but - in my opinion - not gratuit...more

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Mar 01, 2012 A.K. Wrox rated it 5 of 5 stars

(Kylie) Where to begin? How about – wow! Y.A. Erskine totally blew me away with the clever concept and execution of this story. I hesitate to use the “debut author” tag, because The Brotherhood would have been equally brilliant if it were an author’s tenth book – the fact that it is her first, only makes it all the more impressive.

Erskine breaks out of the mould of typical of crime fiction with her original (and quite brave) approach to telling this story. Each chapter is told from the point-of-...more (Kylie) Where to begin? How about – wow! Y.A. Erskine totally blew me away with the clever concept and execution of this story. I hesitate to use the “debut author” tag, because The Brotherhood would have been equally brilliant if it were an author’s tenth book – the fact that it is her first, only makes it all the more impressive.

Erskine breaks out of the mould of typical of crime fiction with her original (and quite brave) approach to telling this story. Each chapter is told from the point-of-view of a different character: the young constable, the seasoned detective, the wife, the lover, the accused. Each of these characters have their own story to tell, their own agenda and each is developed beautifully, as though this were a collection of short stories or personal memoirs.

Except that it’s not. Each story weaves a rich tapestry that completes the full story. The tale unfolds like a torch relay; each character sharing their own memories and passing the baton on until finally – miraculously – they come full circle and the cauldron is lit with a fiery haze of arrows.

Erskine, herself an ex-police officer in Tasmania, doesn’t shy away from any issue; no subject is taboo. Each of her characters has failings, each face their own form of corruption, drugs, lust, greed or power. Issues of politics, media and race relations faced by the police force are confronted with finesse.

The Brotherhood surprised me. I honestly didn’t expect it to come together so perfectly – at one point I was wondering why I needed to hear so many mundane details of a character’s life. What about the murder? But I was wrong, those details were far from mundane, each of them critical to the telling of the whole story and all of them related to the events surrounding the crime.

I finished this book in the wee hours of morning and then couldn’t sleep – I so desperately wanted to share this book with someone. I sat in my bed, muttering to myself like a mad woman, “oh my God, oh wow!”

I cannot speak highly enough of this book or of its fantastic author – a new force in crime writing has emerged.

(This review was first published at: www.sistersincrime.org.au
You can also find my interview with the author on the same site.)(less)

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Jan 20, 2012 Oanh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-thrillers, women-authors, australian-authors

This novel was not what I expected.

It starts, almost exactly as I expected, introducing an investigator, a victim and mysteriousness. What exactly happened? And why? The first, brief chapter is very good - lots of detail, no substantial information. And then we plunge in; the story progressing with a different narrator each chapter.

Had it not been for the many positive reviews of this book, coupled with the fact that I have listed it as one for the Australian Women Writers Reading Challenge 201...more

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Aug 31, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: australian, crime, review-books

I remember reading the first book in what is now one of my favourite series quite a few years ago, I really really hoped that the author felt better about life once they'd finished. I think the same sort of reaction to THE BROTHERHOOD bodes well for what I hope is going to be an ongoing series.

Mind you, you can't help but wonder if Yvette Erskine's going to be able to get back into Tasmania for research purposes if a few of the upper echelon characters in THE BROTHERHOOD are recognisable real pe...more I remember reading the first book in what is now one of my favourite series quite a few years ago, I really really hoped that the author felt better about life once they'd finished. I think the same sort of reaction to THE BROTHERHOOD bodes well for what I hope is going to be an ongoing series.

Mind you, you can't help but wonder if Yvette Erskine's going to be able to get back into Tasmania for research purposes if a few of the upper echelon characters in THE BROTHERHOOD are recognisable real people!

THE BROTHERHOOD is a debut book which promises quite a bit. The front cover even telegraphs some expectations with the lines "one dead cop", "one small island" "an impact that will last a lifetime...". Kind of makes you sit up and pay attention. But to be honest, at the beginning, I was feeling a little leery. There's a prologue which is obviously telegraphing something that is coming up in the book, and prologues of this nature are a device that's been done to death. We've got our dead cop pretty quickly, then we're into the action and slowly the investigation into the cop's murder starts to build some momentum. Then we start wandering down some byways and lane-ways with some nicely expressive, but distracting rants and what felt a bit like point scoring. On their own sort of interesting - or perhaps telling is a better description, but this reader was getting impatient to get back to the main thread. Which isn't a bad sign really - there was something interesting going on here. Something that kind of snuck up on me. There was a plot building, slowly worming it's way into a fascinating story.

There are some issues touched on here that are uncomfortable. The main suspect in the cop's murder is a boy with an Aboriginal background, and there's some quite confrontational writing about the politics and tensions between the Law and Aboriginal identity. It's almost a given that this aspect of the book is going to be a "talking point". But this is not the only searing and uncomfortable portrayal, there's more than a big swipe at Police Culture and the hierarchy to say nothing of the politics and corruption within the Police Force itself.

THE BROTHERHOOD is a debut novel, and as anyone who has ever noticed any of my reviews before will know, I'm inclined more towards a bit of leeway for a debut that seems, on the face of it, to be tackling a lot of stuff up front. The book I alluded to in the opening of this review had the distinct feeling of part getting everything off the author's chest, part this could be my only run at this so I'm going to give it a red-hot go. THE BROTHERHOOD did engender many of the same feelings. And that's got to be a good thing. If a book can make me want it to become part of a much loved new series, then all power to it.

Compared to other countries, it's always seemed that there's a shortage of contemporary, informed, realistic, dark and confrontational Australian Police Procedural crime fiction being written. At the very least there's room for a lot more and THE BROTHERHOOD is an uncomfortable, interesting, enlightening and clever debut entry in that classification.
(less)

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May 07, 2012 Greg Barron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this one when I read it a few months ago. The author, being an ex-cop, really knows how the Tassie police force works. She pulls no punches and is often very critical of the "system." The way she presents the situation from the pov of all concerned gives this novel depth. It's not just a procedural yarn but better than that, and I found it highly readable. As so often with Goodreads I wish I could give four and half stars because that's probably what it deserves.
Greg Barron http:/...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Brenda rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was really looking forward to reading this debut novel by Australian author, YA Erskine. I am terribly disappointed as it is nothing like I expected! I read a lot of police procedures/crime/mystery novels, and I guess I was expecting something along the lines of those.

But after reading the first few chapters, I couldn’t get beyond the fact that Erskine seemed to need to use foul language on a continual basis, and to extreme excess, to try to get her point across. I found I wasn’t thinking abou...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ozzie-gems

Sergeant John White is a Tasmanian Police legend. Mentor, saviour and all-round good guy he is the apitomy of what all other officers want to be. But when White and and rookie cop Judy attend what is thought to be a routine burgulry things will go horribly wrong when he is killed after being stabbed. His death will rock the local police to it's core. The investigation will be futher complicated when it is revealed that the alleged killer is a local Aboriginal youth and if the authorities don't p...more

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May 03, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Brotherhood is a gritty police drama by debut author YA (Yvette) Erskine. It was on the recommendation of Bernadette (http://ReactionstoReading.com) that I picked this up at my local library for the AWW Challenge, delighted to discover another Australian crime novelist.

The Brotherhood begins with the shooting of an experienced and well liked police officer during a routine break and enter investigation in suburban Tasmania. His murder however, is almost incidental to the story in that the ho...more The Brotherhood is a gritty police drama by debut author YA (Yvette) Erskine. It was on the recommendation of Bernadette (http://ReactionstoReading.com) that I picked this up at my local library for the AWW Challenge, delighted to discover another Australian crime novelist.

The Brotherhood begins with the shooting of an experienced and well liked police officer during a routine break and enter investigation in suburban Tasmania. His murder however, is almost incidental to the story in that the how, who and why are quickly deduced. Instead the death serves as a catalyst to explore the issues of crime and justice.

Given Erskine's eleven years on the force it seems that she could be walking a fine line between fact and fiction with The Brotherhood. She doesn't hesitate in exposing the contradictions of a law and order which operates under political, financial and social pressures. Hampered by petty politics and woefully under resourced, Erskine reveals a police force where corruption and sexism is rife. Officers struggle to maintain their integrity in an environment where they are increasingly undervalued and at risk. The author highlights the challenges and frustrations of modern policing with unflinching honesty.
Erskine also exposes a justice system that fails to uphold the principle that 'all should be treated equal under the law'. In this instance the perpetrator's identity as an Australian Aboriginal complicates the open and shut case. Justice is swayed by the suspect's cultural heritage, his socioeconomic status, his background and the very real tensions between the indigenous community and police.

There is a brutal sense of authenticity about The Brotherhood, enhanced by the uncensored language and spare style of writing. The story unfolds from several points of view, beginning with the probationary constable who was present at the scene, and then continuing through a diverse cast related to the case including the Police Commissioner, the suspect and a local journalist. It's an unique approach that allows the story to move forward but with shifting perspective. Surprisingly it doesn't feel disjointed but instead adds a depth that wouldn't have been possible with a more traditional narrative. Each character has a different relationship with the murdered officer and the crime, and as they join the story, they help build a more complete picture of the situation, and the victim, even as the issues become murkier.

The Brotherhood is a confronting yet compelling novel that combines police procedural with crime drama. I really enjoyed the way in which Erskine confronts the grey areas of law and order that are too often reduced to headlines manipulated for controversy or ignored in favour of political expediency. I am eagerly awaiting the publication of Erskine's next novel, The Betrayal.(less)

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May 13, 2012 Bree T rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aww2012, australian, crime, library-reads, series

It’s a routine call out for a rookie probationary constable and a sergeant - a reported break and enter in progress. But that routine call out turns tragic when Sergeant John White, all-round good guy and respected copper is murdered, fatally stabbed. One of the suspects is apprehended at the scene but the other escapes. And it proves to be a political hotpot when the suspects are revealed as a pair of brothers who identify as Aboriginal.

Although well known to police and having been in and out o...more It’s a routine call out for a rookie probationary constable and a sergeant - a reported break and enter in progress. But that routine call out turns tragic when Sergeant John White, all-round good guy and respected copper is murdered, fatally stabbed. One of the suspects is apprehended at the scene but the other escapes. And it proves to be a political hotpot when the suspects are revealed as a pair of brothers who identify as Aboriginal.

Although well known to police and having been in and out of trouble for most of their young lives, the two teenagers embraced heritage means that everything has to be done by the book, even more so than usual. And the local media looks set to do their part too, stirring up a controversy by painting the youthful offender as the victim, betrayed and spat out by a useless system and a cycle of abuse.

The Brotherhood is told from a myriad of perspectives: the probationary constable on the call out, the state Commissioner, the detective in charge of investigating the case, the journalist looking for the perfect angle that will get him out of here and off to the big smoke, the victim’s ex-lover, the suspect’s lawyer, the victim’s wife, a constable working the same shift as the victim, the suspect himself and a friend of the victim who is also a cop. It paints a grim picture of the policing system, the legal system and the so-called justice system where criminals get off on technicalities and crying racist or foul treatment, anyone has the potential to be corrupt and everyone has something to hide.

When I constructed a rough list of books I wanted to read for the Australian Women Writers Challenge this year, I realised that although I had intended to read as widely as possible, I lacked in crime fiction. Fortunately Bernadette, a fellow Australian blogger who focuses on just that, pitched in with several recommendations, one of which was this novel. She had highly enjoyed it and wrote a very positive review of it that had me immediately keen to read it, for many different reasons. Firstly, it helped add to a genre that I do enjoy but perhaps don’t own a lot of, secondly it was set in Tasmania which made a lovely refreshing change from procedurals set in either Sydney or Melbourne and lastly, because it touched on a very sensitive topic, that of Aboriginal offenders and the law. It took my library some time to have it available and I requested it as soon as it was added to the catalogue.

As mentioned above, the narrative takes turns and I thought that was a perfect way in which to construct this novel. There’s a large cast of characters and by giving them their own chapter/section where the focus is on them it perfectly establishes relationships for the reader without the confusing of characters wandering in and out and viewpoints changing. Each of the characters are starkly believable, incredibly well written from the young, green probationary constable that opens the book right through to the end. They are secretive, they have faults -glaring ones- and mostly, they’re all not very nice people. There are some exceptions but mostly this little cast of characters are not people you’d want to befriend. And with the power some of them wield in society, it’s a little alarming with the things some of them are up to.

There’s no denying that this book is gritty, harsh and raw. The author, Yvette Erskine spent 11 years in the Tasmanian police force according to her bio, in both front line and detective policing so there’s no doubt a lot of what occurs in this novel is grounded in realism. There’s a surety in the writing, an authenticity. It’s rough – if you’re offended by language or prefer it not to pepper your novels, don’t pick up this one. I read widely but I do think this one might just take the cake for language… I certainly can’t recall any other book I’ve read which is so free with ‘the worst’ word in society today! It did prove a little distracting at times as it littered every page repeatedly, but I could overlook it in the terms of reality because I do think that the sort of people populating this novel talk quite similarly to this. If I thought it was gratuitous for simply shock’s sake, it would have really bothered me.

This book does address a very hot issue, that of an Aboriginal offender playing the race card. Whilst the book plays on emotions vying against each other by portraying Sergeant White as an extremely good, kind and generous police officer, it also seeks to assert the fact that some people just don’t have much of a chance in life and that there are some flaws in the systems that should protect and encourage. But it doesn’t preach, or choose a side at all, it simply…is. And I really liked that. I felt it gave the freedom to form my own opinion and beliefs without feeling manipulated into it.

The Betrayal is a fantastic novel from a debut author, rich and complex with amazingly believable characters. I have to admit to finishing the book and feeling a bit “What? Is that it?!” but then I realised that Erskine’s second novel, entitled The Betrayal, published less than two weeks ago, seems to deal with the same characters, which pleased me a lot. Even though I didn’t like a lot of them, there’s a little unfinished business with several and I’m very much looking forward to revisiting this world and seeing what comes about next.(less)

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May 18, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-crime-fiction

An absorbing Australian police procedural set in Tasmania and written by debut author and former Tasmanian policewoman YA Erskine. I read this over a couple of days and literally could not put it down. Perhaps the use of language was a bit gratuitous in parts, but I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of looking at a significant event and the lead-up individually through the eyes of each of the main characters. No suspense or intrigue as such, but an honest and enjoyable police drama.

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Aug 26, 2011 Sophie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because a crime novel set in Hobart is something I can't resist, and it doesn't disappoint. I may have gotten an extra kick out of recognising places etc, but I think despite my added enjoyment it still stands out as a well told story that doesn't run along the lines of standard crime. The ending did leave me wanting to know what happened next as it seemed like there's a whole other story in that, that wasn't told.

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Jul 07, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Kim by: Harry McCue

Growing up in Tassie and having knowledge of the Police environment, I can highly recommend this book. I was captivated from the first page and the author has accurately captured the state and the characters that make up this intriguing tale. I thoroughly enjoyed the alternative perspectives and story lines of each character and I am looking forward to reading more from Yvette Erskine!

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Jan 26, 2012 Terri Baran rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good, but not great. A lot of the "rude" language I found to be unnecessary. Predictable storyline, anti-climatic ending. Maybe I'm a little numbed to the story because both my parents are/were in the Tasmanian Police force, so I'm at the point where I've "heard it all". Still a good read, just don't expect it to be a showstopper.

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Jan 17, 2012 Nic added it

Enjoyed this a lot, after I'd struggled through the first chapter. Each of the characters, while obviously of a "type", is deftly portrayed with a clear voice; and the web of interactions betweem, again, while somewhat contrived, is satisfyingly constructed. The local references were a bonus.

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Jul 10, 2011 Kylie Fox rated it 4 of 5 stars

Incredibly clever! All of the elements in the early chapters that I thought were going to make me hate this book were what made the book so damn clever. Unique in it's storytelling,it is engrossing.

Full review to come soon.

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Jan 07, 2012 Deb Bodinnar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book one that I did not want to put down!! I thought the characters were interesting and believable. Storyline was great and gives the reader an insight into the camaraderie of the police. I believe that the way the Author has written this book it has allowed her the ability to write further novels featuring some of the same characters. I will be most definitely be watching out for the next Y A Erskine instalment of Aussie crime.

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Jan 10, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Toni

This novel weaved an incredible story that was hard to put down. The murder of a police officer in Tasmania is definitely not a storyline that comes up frequently. Great realistic characters. Erskine uses a little too much foul language and jargon for my liking, though I know this is the necessary evil of an Australian police force story. A great first novel by Erskine.

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Feb 06, 2013 Ystyn Francis rated it 3 of 5 stars

This novel is in equal parts interesting and unsatisfying. We navigate a nasty day in the Tasmanian police department through the eyes of a different character each chapter which is a unique way of doing things, but this also means that no character is fully fleshed out and many story threads are left hanging. There were some nice reveals but other moments seemed obvious or forced. Also, I really wanted more dedication to the Hobart/Tasmanian setting but it really was peripheral. A solid novel,...more

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Sep 29, 2011 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyed this one. Be warned: high level course language and sex references. Tells the story from a series of people's perspectives. Clever plotting.

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May 16, 2013 Richa Mehta rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Shelves: australian-authors

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