The Night Whistler (Mick Goodenough, #1) in Aussie Readers

Nov 04, 2020 PattyMacDotComma rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, australian-author, kindle, mystery-crime-thriller, arc-netgalley-done, aa

3.5★
“By the time they’d wheeled the bike two blocks past the pub the sun was low and their shadows were giants. They had hardly noticed it getting darker in the street until, a hundred yards ahead, they heard a man’s boots crunching the gravel. He started whistling. Hal stopped. Stared ahead as the mournful strains of ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ drifted over to them.”

Hal Humphries, 12, and Allie Tenpenny have been down at the waterhole he calls ‘The Crack in the World”, to go crawbobbing and have ...more

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Jul 22, 2020 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: debut, read-on-kindle, 2020-release, thriller, own-read, crime, aussie-authors, net-galley, arc, mystery

In 1966 Hal Humphries and his brother Evan arrived in Moorabool from Sydney with their parents for their father’s work. The small town – not much more than 3000 people – was a slow, quiet place with mostly friendly people, both Aboriginal and white. When Hal and Evan discovered the brutally murdered dog near an old caravan while exploring, they covered it with brush and twigs and Evan said a prayer.

Constable Mick Goodenough (pronounced Good-no as he always had to tell people) had been demoted fr ...more

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Aug 06, 2020 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, arc-are, netgalley-reviews

The Night Whistler is an impressive rural crime fiction debut from award-winning screen writer/director Greg Woodland.

Set in the summer of 1996/1967, in a small country town in the New England District of NSW, The Night Whistler begins when newcomer twelve year old Hal and his younger brother, stumble across a dog, with its skull crushed and throat slit, stuffed in a barrel near a derelict caravan. Situated near a creek Hal dubs ‘The Crack in the World’, the caravan is a source of fascination fo The Night Whistler is an impressive rural crime fiction debut from award-winning screen writer/director Greg Woodland.

Set in the summer of 1996/1967, in a small country town in the New England District of NSW, The Night Whistler begins when newcomer twelve year old Hal and his younger brother, stumble across a dog, with its skull crushed and throat slit, stuffed in a barrel near a derelict caravan. Situated near a creek Hal dubs ‘The Crack in the World’, the caravan is a source of fascination for the boy, particularly when he learns of its macabre history and the evil spirits said to dwell there from new friend Ali. But it’s not ghosts that worry Hal, it’s whoever is prowling around their yard late at night while his father is travelling for work, and making anonymous phone calls to his mother, whistling ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’. A mystery Hal, who is a fan of Sherlock Holmes, is determined to solve.

Sharing the narrative with Hal is Constable Michael Goodenough (pronounced good-no), a disgraced Sydney homicide detective demoted and exiled to Moorabool, he is the only officer concerned by the violent death of several pets, and the incidents plaguing Hal’s family. His experience tells him the two may be connected but his lazy and venal colleagues seem determined to brush them off as harmless incidents.

Woodland takes his time to set the scene, his experience in film writing coming to the fore in creating a vivid sense of time and place. With broad but precise strokes he brings the town of Moorabool and its residents to life, before delving into its many secrets.

Hal and Goodenough work well as a team, the contrast between the fierce and idealistic boy, and the world weary Mick engaging. I’d like to see Goodenough again, though clearly struggling with the reason for the recent implosion of his career, an impending divorce, and separation from his daughter, he is a good man, and a good police officer, who can’t ignore his instincts.

As the violence escalates and the mysteries deepen, so too does the tension. My heart was in my mouth during the last quarter or so of the book.

Compelling and thrilling, The Night Whistler is a terrific read and I hope for more from Woodland. ...more

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Jul 28, 2024 Catsalive rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2024, amw

An excellent debut, I enjoyed it immensely despite the awful nature of the crimes committed by a budding psychopath. The setting in 1960s rural Australia made it even more interesting.

Probationary Constable Mick Goodenough has been demoted from Detective Sergeant & banished from Sydney to the rural wilds of small town Moorabool. He had thought himself settling into the community reasonably well until one of his dogs went missing only to turn up killed & mutilated. He can't help wondering if this ...more

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Feb 22, 2021 Tien rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, australia, historical-fiction, australian-author, thriller

tba

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Aug 06, 2020 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, australian, arc, mystery, crime, netgalley, kindle-version, historical-fiction

I feel sort of obliged to give a content warning on this – mutilated animals and pretty graphic descriptions thereof.

Hal Humphries and his family – dad, mum, younger brother – are new to the town of Moorabool, where they’ve moved for their father’s job. Their mother is not very happy with the move, even less so when it seems that her husband’s new job will take him on the road for large stretches of time, leaving her isolated in this small town with two young boys. Shortly after they arrive, Hal I feel sort of obliged to give a content warning on this – mutilated animals and pretty graphic descriptions thereof.

Hal Humphries and his family – dad, mum, younger brother – are new to the town of Moorabool, where they’ve moved for their father’s job. Their mother is not very happy with the move, even less so when it seems that her husband’s new job will take him on the road for large stretches of time, leaving her isolated in this small town with two young boys. Shortly after they arrive, Hal and his younger brother find the mutilated body of a German Shepherd, which they do their best to bury.

Mick Goodenough (pronounced Good-no) was once a detective in Sydney. However a case went very wrong and he finds himself demoted severely. He’s now a probationary Constable in this town, under the jurisdiction of a less-than-ideal Sergeant boss who has no time for what he deems to be Mick’s whims and fancies. In disgrace, Mick should be making coffee and sucking up, not trying to rock the boat in their small town by asking questions and definitely not poking around in the business of respected local residents.

Mick finds plenty to get involved in – not only is his dog one of the animals that is brutally murdered but he also finds himself tangled up with the Humphries family when he’s the only one who takes seriously the call by Mrs Humphries about a man making frightening phone calls to her, as well as the fact that she’s seen a prowler outside her house at night. The rest of the police staff mostly dismiss this as the pranks of a “harmless pervert” but Mick isn’t so sure. And the more he investigates, the more he thinks the person making the phone calls, nicknamed the Whistler because of the fact that he whistles a song down the line, is connected to other, more sinister happenings in the town.

Set in a small town in New South Wales during a scorching hot summer, this is a stellar debut compromising everything that a lot of people will find familiar about Australian rural life. It’s set before my time (the 1960s) but with a complex history and tension between the white and local Aboriginal population that still seems familiar. When the Humphries family moves to the town, it’s at the behest of Dad John and his wife Corrie isn’t particularly pleased. There’s the boss to impress as well as some subtle indication from his wife about who in the town Corrie should and shouldn’t be directing her attention to. Their young sons, particularly Hal enjoy a freedom that was probably common of the time – out riding bikes and scooters, exploring the local area, particularly a place with a caravan which was the site of a gruesome crime some years before.

There is a lot going on here but without the plot feeling overcomplicated. A lot of the story is seen through Hal’s eyes – he’s about 12, and sometimes this shines through as he watches incidents without really understanding a lot of what he’s seeing. In some cases, he’s probably trying not to as he’s negotiating the adult relationships of people he cares about where he’s set in what he wants to see vs what he is actually seeing. The rest of the story is told from Mick’s perspective as he deals with his humiliating probation, forced to do general dogsbody duties for a bunch of mostly incompetent at best, country cops when he used to be a detective in Sydney. Mick isn’t a snob however – he treats this case in Moorabool, which starts with a mutilated animal, as seriously as he would’ve treated a case in Sydney. He doesn’t seem to consider this demotion beneath him and he develops a real rapport with Hal. He’s the only one that really takes anything seriously and the deeper he digs the more he wonders what secret is being kept in this town. His ‘superior’ officer definitely knows more than he’s letting on and is almost doing backflips to order Mick to leave it alone, which makes Mick even more suspicious. Mick also has quite a few personal demons that plague him throughout the story as well. His dogs are really all he has in Moorabool. To be honest, I’m not sure I’d have been able to get up every day and go to work to be treated like a nuisance who doesn’t know anything, like Mick was but obviously he knows and wants nothing else than to be a cop. He is clever, he listens, he doesn’t let things go.

There’s a lot to his backstory that is yet to be filled in so if this ends up being a series, I’m sure there’s ample opportunity in the future to explore more of Mick’s Sydney career as well as what awaits him. I found him a very intriguing type, one that could easily carry more books. I enjoyed the way that this played out and thought that the author handled various topics such as racism, sexism, rural policing in a way that felt uncomfortably real.

***A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review*** ...more

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Oct 11, 2020 Donna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian_author, 1960s, rural_noir, 2020

Gee ... thanks for ruining Elvis for me.

Woodland's a master of tension and suspense. Graphic, violent and atmospheric. Australian rural noir at its best. Read in summer to truly feel that overwhelming sense of small town oppression. ...more

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Jul 23, 2020 Rhoda rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for a kindle version of this book to review!

In 1966 twelve year old Hal and his family arrive in Moorabool, a country town in New South Wales. As Hal and his brother explore the creek nearby their house, they stumble across the body of a dead dog that has been mutilated.

Mick is also new to Moorabool having been demoted from his city job as a detective to a probationary constable. When one of his dogs goes missing and he finds it mutilated, he ...more

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May 10, 2021 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australia

4.5 stars.

Set in 1966-67, The Night Whistler by Greg Woodland is a gritty mystery set in rural Australia.

Twelve-year-old Hal Humphries, his younger brother, Evan and their parents, John and Corrie, have recently relocated from Sydney to Moorabool. Hal’s dad is a traveling salesman whose recent promotion is intended to ensure he is home more. Much to Corrie’s dismay, John is soon back on the road but family friend Doug Slocombe keeps a close eye on the family. Hal and Evan’s horrid discovery of a 4.5 stars.

Set in 1966-67, The Night Whistler by Greg Woodland is a gritty mystery set in rural Australia.

Twelve-year-old Hal Humphries, his younger brother, Evan and their parents, John and Corrie, have recently relocated from Sydney to Moorabool. Hal’s dad is a traveling salesman whose recent promotion is intended to ensure he is home more. Much to Corrie’s dismay, John is soon back on the road but family friend Doug Slocombe keeps a close eye on the family. Hal and Evan’s horrid discovery of a murdered dog sets the scene for frightening occurrences that include eerie phone calls to Corrie, someone lurking outside their home and eventually, murder.

The rural setting is quite atmospheric as Hal spends his days riding his bike and exploring an abandoned caravan. He is equally obsessed with and a little scared of the ramshackle caravan that has a terrible past. His new friend Allie resists his entreaties to explore the inside and she cuts a wide berth around it as much as possible. But curiosity brings him back the caravan time and again until he makes a gruesome discovery.

Former detective now probationary Constable Mick Goodenough is a member of the Moorabool police station. He is the only officer who takes what is happening to the Humphries family seriously. Unfortunately, his boss does not think there is anything to be concerned about and he orders Mick to stay out of it. Mick stubbornly continues trying to lend assistance to Hal and Corrie. However, his actions are just not enough to prevent the horrifying series of events that are about to unfold.

The Night Whistler is a riveting mystery with a well-written, engaging plot. Hal is a typical boy with an active imagination who refuses to give up trying to find out who is tormenting his mum. He is very observant and some of what he sees changes his viewpoint of the adults around him. Mick is a little disgusted by his co-workers’ lack of professionalism with the townspeople. He is also dismayed at the absence of an investigation for the first murder. With plenty of suspense, Greg Woodland brings this thrilling mystery to a tension-filled conclusion. ...more

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Oct 16, 2021 Dee-Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian-authors, five-star, mystery, movie-material, mental-health, thriller-suspense, friendship

This was really harrowing, suspenseful and raw for much of the book and the two main characters were compelling. It is worrying that the corruptness, racism especially in small towns (and bigger) may not be fictional. Look forward to reading more from this author.

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