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True West
Western Australia, 1988. After betraying the Knights bikie gang, seventeen-year-old Lee Southern flees to the city with nothing left to lose.
Working as a rogue tow truck driver in Perth, he is captured by right-wing extremists whose combination of seduction and blackmail keeps him on the wrong side of the law and under their control.
As the true nature of what drives his captors unfolds, Lee becomes an unwilling participant in a breathtakingly ambitious plot – and a cold-blooded crime that will show just how much he, and everyone else, still has to lose.
Working as a rogue tow truck driver in Perth, he is captured by right-wing extremists whose combination of seduction and blackmail keeps him on the wrong side of the law and under their control.
As the true nature of what drives his captors unfolds, Lee becomes an unwilling participant in a breathtakingly ambitious plot – and a cold-blooded crime that will show just how much he, and everyone else, still has to lose.
264 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2019
8 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
David Whish-Wilson
23 books93 followersDavid Whish-Wilson is the author of eleven novels and three creative non-fiction books. He was born in Newcastle, NSW but raised in Singapore, Victoria and WA. He left Australia aged eighteen to live for a decade in Europe, Africa and Asia, where he worked as a barman, actor, streetseller, petty criminal, labourer, exterminator, factory worker, gardener, clerk, travel agent, teacher and drug trial guinea pig.
David is the author of four novels in the Frank Swann crime series and two in the Lee Southern series, two of which have been shortlisted for Ned Kelly Awards. David wrote the Perth book in the NewSouth Books city series, which was shortlisted for a WA Premier’s Book Award. His latest novel, Cutler, was shortlisted for a WA Premier's Book Award and the BAD Sydney Danger Award.
He currently lives in Fremantle, WA, with his partner and three kids, and teaches creative writing at Curtin University
David is the author of four novels in the Frank Swann crime series and two in the Lee Southern series, two of which have been shortlisted for Ned Kelly Awards. David wrote the Perth book in the NewSouth Books city series, which was shortlisted for a WA Premier’s Book Award. His latest novel, Cutler, was shortlisted for a WA Premier's Book Award and the BAD Sydney Danger Award.
He currently lives in Fremantle, WA, with his partner and three kids, and teaches creative writing at Curtin University
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 19, 2020
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**3.5 stars**
True West by David Whish-Wilson. (2019).
It's 1988 in Western Australia. After betraying the Knights bikie gang, 17 year old Lee flees to Perth with nothing left to lose. Working as a tow truck driver, he is captured by right-wing extremists whose combination of seduction and blackmail keeps him on the wrong side of the law and under their control. As the true nature of what drives his captors unfolds, Lee becomes an unwilling participant in a breathtakingly ambitious plot and a cold-blooded crime that reveals how much there is still left to lose.
This may sound corny but I liked that this book is set in my hometown of Perth, it really made everything seem so familiar for me and easy to picture in my mind. I found Lee's story and journey quite interesting, although I couldn't help but think of him as early to mid twenties rather than 17. I found it intriguing that he basically escaped one dangerous environment and landed in another different one immediately on his arrival to Perth. The narrative moves along quite fast and is always engaging. If a gritty crime style book is your thing, you'll quite enjoy this one.
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**3.5 stars**
True West by David Whish-Wilson. (2019).
It's 1988 in Western Australia. After betraying the Knights bikie gang, 17 year old Lee flees to Perth with nothing left to lose. Working as a tow truck driver, he is captured by right-wing extremists whose combination of seduction and blackmail keeps him on the wrong side of the law and under their control. As the true nature of what drives his captors unfolds, Lee becomes an unwilling participant in a breathtakingly ambitious plot and a cold-blooded crime that reveals how much there is still left to lose.
This may sound corny but I liked that this book is set in my hometown of Perth, it really made everything seem so familiar for me and easy to picture in my mind. I found Lee's story and journey quite interesting, although I couldn't help but think of him as early to mid twenties rather than 17. I found it intriguing that he basically escaped one dangerous environment and landed in another different one immediately on his arrival to Perth. The narrative moves along quite fast and is always engaging. If a gritty crime style book is your thing, you'll quite enjoy this one.
January 3, 2020
He followed Brad through the car graveyard, an acre of car bodies and engines on jarrah blocks, pulling into the open bay of a cement shed where forklifts and dozers slept in the darkness.
Western Australia, 1988. 17-year-old Lee Southern is on the run from the bikie gang, the Knights, operating out of Geraldton, after a leadership tussle turned sour, his father presumed dead. He heads to Perth, where the girl he loves now lives with her family, to gain work as a freelance tow-truck operator. In doing so is up against an established tow-truck company, “True West”, run by right-wing extremists with an anti-Asian agenda, underpinned by crime. He is given two choices: to join them as a “prospect” or be handed to the Knights for a ransom – dead or alive. Choosing the former, he is groomed by a sociopathic former army veteran.
He’d robbed four banks now and was getting to like it. He wore a kerchief over his face like an old-time bushranger and Brad wore the same. The banks they were knocking over were two-man operations, and there was always a driver in the car outside. His name was Mick and he was also a veteran…
There is an undercurrent of racism, drug-fueled violence, hidden weapons caches and undiagnosed/untreated PTSD, from a darker episode in Australia’s recent history, tempered with Lee’s memories of his upbringing and his observations of the landscape, streetscapes and knowledge of trees and birds gained from living in the bush.
This is a fast-paced page-turner – without literary pretension – and while I enjoyed author David Whish-Wilson’s earlier books with West Australian PI Frank Swann, in hero Lee Southern he‘s nailed the gritty, noir thriller.
Western Australia, 1988. 17-year-old Lee Southern is on the run from the bikie gang, the Knights, operating out of Geraldton, after a leadership tussle turned sour, his father presumed dead. He heads to Perth, where the girl he loves now lives with her family, to gain work as a freelance tow-truck operator. In doing so is up against an established tow-truck company, “True West”, run by right-wing extremists with an anti-Asian agenda, underpinned by crime. He is given two choices: to join them as a “prospect” or be handed to the Knights for a ransom – dead or alive. Choosing the former, he is groomed by a sociopathic former army veteran.
He’d robbed four banks now and was getting to like it. He wore a kerchief over his face like an old-time bushranger and Brad wore the same. The banks they were knocking over were two-man operations, and there was always a driver in the car outside. His name was Mick and he was also a veteran…
There is an undercurrent of racism, drug-fueled violence, hidden weapons caches and undiagnosed/untreated PTSD, from a darker episode in Australia’s recent history, tempered with Lee’s memories of his upbringing and his observations of the landscape, streetscapes and knowledge of trees and birds gained from living in the bush.
This is a fast-paced page-turner – without literary pretension – and while I enjoyed author David Whish-Wilson’s earlier books with West Australian PI Frank Swann, in hero Lee Southern he‘s nailed the gritty, noir thriller.
December 1, 2019
Australian crime fiction doesn't get better than this; a lean, raw, spare yet lyrically perfect novel which brings the smells and the grit and the colour of Western Australia right off the page. Based on true events surrounding the rise of far-right politics and inexcusable racism, told through the eyes of its 17 year-old protagonist, this is politically charged, thrillingly evoked and if you haven't discovered David Whish-Wilson yet, stop what you are doing and start with this, then go back and digest the Frank Swan series.
August 11, 2019
Whish Wilson delivers another terrific book. As has been the case with all his work, True West combines dark crime with political commentary and a wonderful writing style. Recommended.
March 21, 2020
I liked Whish Wilson's 'Frank Swann' trilogy but I really liked this.
July 28, 2020
I enjoyed this story of the seedier side of the Perth drug, crime and bikie community of the late 1980s. The story is told from the perspective of teenager Lee Southern, who finds himself caught up in an audacious crime, while his father gives evidence against bikie gangs.
It's a book rich in a sense of time and place that was a side of Perth at the time. A knowledge of the locations and era make it all the more interesting.
It's a book rich in a sense of time and place that was a side of Perth at the time. A knowledge of the locations and era make it all the more interesting.
August 9, 2022
Classic no nononsense Aussie PI stuff. No glamour just grit as befits the location and the characters. David Whish-Wilson always delivers.
March 13, 2020
A gritty truly Australian story where a young lad clings to values of family and loyalty while up against opposition that would usually be terminal. Powerful and provocative, with a background of bikie gangs and corruption, his courage and resilience are constantly tested. A brilliant story.
January 1, 2020
Another great read - always good to recognise settings in my home town, Lee is running away towards a better life and is caught up in being part of a bigger political crossfire.
March 9, 2020
What a wild ride around my city of Perth. I lived in Melbourne in the 1980’s at the time of the novel. I remember the inner city posters of “Asians out”. When I moved to Perth in the 1990’s there were few signs left of the neo Nazi eruptions of the 1980’s. Conflict moved towards Aboriginals, Muslims and Africans.
David Whish-Wilson’s novel captures the sad and desperate life of the right wing characters in his book, whether they are bikers, right wing speakers, secret infiltrators, or highly placed members of society. Do they ever change? Learn to reach for a better future? I hope to run into David Whish-Wilson around Fremantle or somewhere and discuss what else he has discovered.
David Whish-Wilson’s novel captures the sad and desperate life of the right wing characters in his book, whether they are bikers, right wing speakers, secret infiltrators, or highly placed members of society. Do they ever change? Learn to reach for a better future? I hope to run into David Whish-Wilson around Fremantle or somewhere and discuss what else he has discovered.
May 27, 2020
I loved this book. In describing Lee's childhood David Whish-Wilson has created are world so very different from anything I have ever imagined but made it real and so Australian. Looking forward to reading more DWW.
June 24, 2020
A pull no punches tale. Gritty, raw and unflinching in its delivery, painted on the backdrop of Australia's most isolated city.
January 22, 2020
with a 1/2: how have I NOT read anything by this more than competent writer. That will change this year. I found this an engrossing read and was eager to see how the story panned out. Set in Western Australia which was aptly depicted and was a perfect backdrop for this story about Lee Southern, a well read misfit son of a bikie gang leader. Good book for a summer read.
December 22, 2019
Whish-Wilson is one of the current crop of crime writers nurtured by Fremantle Press in Western Australia. Perth-noir at its best
June 26, 2021
My introduction to this author and the first scene was perfect. Great to see my city as the setting for a cracking good crime story.
April 21, 2024
This book took me back! Back to an uncomfortable time in our country's history, when extreme political movements with racial intolerances were on the rise and cultural tensions were heightened. Set in Perth, Australia, this gritty, edgy thriller captures the thriving Neo-Nazi movement of the late 1980s.
This book is the first in a series that I have taken on back to front, having accidentally read book two before book one. The main character, Lee Southern, is six years younger here, but every bit as tough and fearless as the private investigator I knew him as in the second instalment.
The action kicks off immediately, with Lee captured by right-wing extremists who blackmail him to keep him on the wrong side of the law and under their control. At the same time, the seventeen-year-old is trying to find a way to reach out to his father, who is also being coerced from his new place behind bars.
This dark, visceral narrative is a smorgasbord of political drama, action and suspense for readers who enjoy smart crime novels based on historical fact. The author takes readers deep inside a world where right-wing extremism, drugs, murder and blackmail are a way of life and, for the characters we encounter, the necessary path to power and their pursuit of nationalism.
Although I was a bit confused at the start with who was who, I found this book a gripping, albeit unsettling, read. And I can already tell you that book two is even better! ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
This book is the first in a series that I have taken on back to front, having accidentally read book two before book one. The main character, Lee Southern, is six years younger here, but every bit as tough and fearless as the private investigator I knew him as in the second instalment.
The action kicks off immediately, with Lee captured by right-wing extremists who blackmail him to keep him on the wrong side of the law and under their control. At the same time, the seventeen-year-old is trying to find a way to reach out to his father, who is also being coerced from his new place behind bars.
This dark, visceral narrative is a smorgasbord of political drama, action and suspense for readers who enjoy smart crime novels based on historical fact. The author takes readers deep inside a world where right-wing extremism, drugs, murder and blackmail are a way of life and, for the characters we encounter, the necessary path to power and their pursuit of nationalism.
Although I was a bit confused at the start with who was who, I found this book a gripping, albeit unsettling, read. And I can already tell you that book two is even better! ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
April 30, 2020
Lee Southern has fled north west Western Australia after the disappearance of his father, the first president of the Knights bikie gang. Lee believes that the new Knights president has killed his father Jack Southern, and as a parting gesture Lee has burnt their latest plantation. So he is fully expecting the Knights to come after him.
The reader is introduced to a tough world that he/she is probably not familiar with: violent, racist, drug-taking, extremist. Lee imagines he will be able to earn money as a tow truck driver and does not realise the monopoly that a local group has on the trade. His involvement eventually leads to him being used in various "jobs" which give the gang a further hold over him. In addition Lee has contacted Emma, his girlfriend from Geraldton and this eventually puts her in jeopardy.
After the gang helps Lee locate his father the action ramps up even further.
The publisher's page contains a pdf for book clubs.
The reader is introduced to a tough world that he/she is probably not familiar with: violent, racist, drug-taking, extremist. Lee imagines he will be able to earn money as a tow truck driver and does not realise the monopoly that a local group has on the trade. His involvement eventually leads to him being used in various "jobs" which give the gang a further hold over him. In addition Lee has contacted Emma, his girlfriend from Geraldton and this eventually puts her in jeopardy.
After the gang helps Lee locate his father the action ramps up even further.
The publisher's page contains a pdf for book clubs.
September 22, 2020
Well, I guess it serves me right for breaking my vow never to read another crime novel where the main protagonist is a teenage boy. For 'True West' I was seduced by all the positive reviews this work attracted and the fact that it is shortlisted for ‘Best Crime Fiction’ at this year’s Ned Kelly Awards. In my opinion it doesn’t deserve to win. Set in Western Australia, initially I thought this covered ground already well trod by Tim Winton in his far superior ‘The Shepherds’ Hut’. But then it takes a few strange turns, espouses even stranger politics and the actions of seventeen year old Lee Southern beggar belief. Throw in a lot of grisly violence and gore, just for the sake of it and this is not an enjoyable read. I guess by the end Lee sort of 'comes of age', but by then I just wanted the whole thing to end so I didn't have to spend any more time with these nasty characters and their deplorable actions.
September 9, 2020
Lee's father has headed up a gang called the Knights for as long as Lee can remember. Because of this, Lee has grown up training in preparation for an invasion. He has gone on trips with his father to bury caches of ammunition and supplies. But now his father has gone missing, presumed dead, and Lee needs to get out of Geraldton. On the run from the Knights, he tries his hand at tow truck driving down in Perth, but is abducted by a different group of underworld conspirators. Beaten badly, he becomes at their mercy as they hook him on drugs and tell him they know about his father.
This is a gritty story dealing with a time in the 1980's when politicians and radical groups were making Asian Australians feel very unwelcome. Lee seems caught in a very tight situation, but the resolution of the novel moves at a great pace and is wholly satisfying.
This is a gritty story dealing with a time in the 1980's when politicians and radical groups were making Asian Australians feel very unwelcome. Lee seems caught in a very tight situation, but the resolution of the novel moves at a great pace and is wholly satisfying.
March 23, 2020
I really loved True West. It offers some dreamy hardboiled escapism from this new virus world. Dave's found a tough and muscular language to describe Western Australia and his descriptions of country - his nods to bottlebrush, red granite, wattlebirds, and freshwater springs - are truly lush. Like all the best crime books, it eases you in, and then picks up pace, racing toward a tooth-grinding finale. Well worth a read, and Dave, look forward to the next one :) M
December 17, 2023
If I could give a 3 and a half I would.
A fascinating tale of a young man's attempt to survive when his father vanishes: presumed dead.
Having been brought up in the north of WA by a Vietnam Vet with post war issues he heads to Perth.
Not an easy story with violence and corruption. It gripped me. The stars are possible due to the descriptions of violence rather than the quality of the story.
The ending was slightly shorter than I would have liked.
A fascinating tale of a young man's attempt to survive when his father vanishes: presumed dead.
Having been brought up in the north of WA by a Vietnam Vet with post war issues he heads to Perth.
Not an easy story with violence and corruption. It gripped me. The stars are possible due to the descriptions of violence rather than the quality of the story.
The ending was slightly shorter than I would have liked.
December 30, 2019
Fast and furious.
So much murder and mayhem! Suspend credibility and go along for the ride. Can’t say I enjoyed this book but it kept me involved right to the end.
Many actual historical references got me thinking that we should never take our peaceful country for granted.
So much murder and mayhem! Suspend credibility and go along for the ride. Can’t say I enjoyed this book but it kept me involved right to the end.
Many actual historical references got me thinking that we should never take our peaceful country for granted.
June 13, 2024
Enjoyed the book however the violence was pretty horrendous our book club enjoyed the book and although it is true to those times I felt Lee was the best of the bad bunch having said that I am going to read the next book to see if I feel differently
March 17, 2020
Love his books, easy reading, and having lived in WA in the 80s can relate to the places and people.
July 7, 2020
Another fantastic book by David Whish-Wilson. Gritty and honest with my home town as one of the leading stars. Highly recommend it.
February 19, 2021
Just could not get into this book, disappointing. gave up.
January 18, 2022
A frightening coming of age story
August 4, 2022
A bit too dramatic for my tastes. Warnings for drug usage, torture and abuse of essentially a minor.
June 5, 2024
Quick read. Good story. Kept it tight. Kept it moving brought some interesting history into it . Which I hadn’t been aware of in WA.
June 19, 2024
Great read - Lee Southern will become a great character. Enjoyed the setting around Perth and WA.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews