Cutters End (Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti #1) in Aussie Readers

Aug 16, 2021 Tien rated it really liked it

Shelves: for-review, crime, australian-author, own, australia, signed-by-author

Two nights ago, while I (in Sydney) was reading this book, I felt like some orange juice. So, I got myself a glass of orange juice with some ice. Just as finished my glass, the line I read was a thought by a South Australian protagonist;

"Orange juice clinking with ice! he thought. Is it a Sydney thing?

A bit of a funny coincidence but one I can't really answer that question because to me, it was a habit I picked up from hubby as he has ice with whatever drink he's having. But I just made it seems Two nights ago, while I (in Sydney) was reading this book, I felt like some orange juice. So, I got myself a glass of orange juice with some ice. Just as finished my glass, the line I read was a thought by a South Australian protagonist;

"Orange juice clinking with ice! he thought. Is it a Sydney thing?

A bit of a funny coincidence but one I can't really answer that question because to me, it was a habit I picked up from hubby as he has ice with whatever drink he's having. But I just made it seems like the answer is yes though, didn't I?! Do you have ice with your orange juice? Are you a Sydneysider?

As I drafted this review, I noticed that the description (which I copied from publisher's website) read, July 2021, but in the book (chapter 2), it is actually October 2021. There was a reference in the book about it being post-covid where our protagonist can travel freely. And here I am, mid August 2021, in 8th week of Sydney's lockdown and cannot foresee being able to travel anywhere by October either. Such a difficult period in writing & publishing, surely, when you can't really pretend covid didn't happen and yet, when do you set the period of your story?! Reckon they should have just set in October 2019 before the world went completely mad.

Our protagonist, Mark Ariti, is a detective with the South Australian police but he is in the middle of his long service leave when he was requested to take on a secondment due to a connection he had with a witness. This assignment took him on a lonely trip along Sturt Highway to interview witnesses and review old case files. Even as he slowly discovered the truth of this mysterious death, the question is what is justice?

While I appreciate Mark as a character as he contemplates aging, purpose in work, and just general philosophising of human nature as he investigates, I find that I'm rather sick of detective protagonists with marriage problems. The author did highlight this issue in the police force so while this is realism, I'm just over it.

Cutters End is a striking outback noir debut as it explores human nature; of secrecy, violence, and justice. It is easily a page turner even as I thought I knew the bad guy, I was completely off-based! So there is that twist on twist to look forward to. And to end with, a question you'd perpetually be asking yourself... what is justice? what would you do in his or her shoes?

My thanks to Penguin Random House for this paperback copy of book in exchange of my honest thoughts ...more

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Sep 03, 2021 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, arc-are

When public pressure results in a thirty-two year old case being reopened, Acting Inspector Mark Ariti is recalled from long service leave and tasked with reinvestigating the death of Michael Denby on a lonely stretch of the Stuart Highway. Discovered by his fire damaged car with burns and a broken leg, the original finding was one of accidental death, and there is no real expectation Ariti will learn anything new after all this time. Re-interviewing witnesses certainly seems to be a dead end, b When public pressure results in a thirty-two year old case being reopened, Acting Inspector Mark Ariti is recalled from long service leave and tasked with reinvestigating the death of Michael Denby on a lonely stretch of the Stuart Highway. Discovered by his fire damaged car with burns and a broken leg, the original finding was one of accidental death, and there is no real expectation Ariti will learn anything new after all this time. Re-interviewing witnesses certainly seems to be a dead end, but Ariti along with Senior Constable Jagdeep Kaur, stationed at Cutters End, stumble upon some information that paints the dead man in a new light and changes the direction of the investigation.

Though touted as a thriller, I feel Cutters End is better described as a police procedural. The prologue introduces some suspense with a harrowing scene, but there’s no real sense of urgency related to what may have really happened to Denby during the novel given he has been dead for several decades. There is an intriguing mystery though that unravels at a measured pace as Ariti and Kaur piece together disparate pieces of information and the reopened investigation prompts questions about a range of other suspected historical crimes.

I’d say a key theme examined by Hickey in Cutters End is the difference between the application of law and the administration of justice, particularly in regards to the poor response of police and courts to crimes against women, especially those involving sexual assault and domestic violence. This issue has relevance both in the present, as Ariti’s wife prosecutes an abusive husband, and the past, as Mark and Jagdeep learn about its secrets.

I’m not sure how I feel about Mark Ariti to be honest. Seemingly in the midst of a midlife crisis, with a failing marriage, an apathetic attitude towards his children, and shallow concerns about ageing, I felt he was quite a morose, self involved character. He is a dedicated investigator though, which I admired, and to be fair, he surprised me somewhat in the end.

Offering a well crafted mystery that takes place in an atmospheric rural Australian setting, Cutters End is a solid crime fiction debut from Margaret Hickey. ...more

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Aug 29, 2021 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, mystery, australian, crime, rural-lit, aww2021

The Australian outback is such a perfect setting for a crime novel. It’s probably the perfect setting for crime in real life. There are parts of this country where it’s probably possible to go days, maybe even weeks, without coming across another soul. There are no doubt, loads of places to bury a body and have it not be discovered for years – maybe never.

This is a dual timeline beginning in 1989 with Ingrid waiting for her friend Joanne so they can continue hitching north from South Australia i The Australian outback is such a perfect setting for a crime novel. It’s probably the perfect setting for crime in real life. There are parts of this country where it’s probably possible to go days, maybe even weeks, without coming across another soul. There are no doubt, loads of places to bury a body and have it not be discovered for years – maybe never.

This is a dual timeline beginning in 1989 with Ingrid waiting for her friend Joanne so they can continue hitching north from South Australia into the Northern Territory and Alice Springs. It’s incredibly hot, dusty and bored of waiting, Ingrid accepts a lift. And then in 2021, a strange case of “accidental death” from that time period in 1989 is reopened and Acting Inspector Mark Ariti is put in charge of examining whether or not the correct decision was reached all those years ago. He’s chosen because he went to school with both Ingrid and Joanne and there’s feeling that perhaps they know more than they let on all those years ago.

I was a bit young, but from what I can remember, hitchhiking used to be pretty common in the 80s. And probably into the 90s. I definitely feel that Ivan Milat most likely is the reason it definitely became less popular but I forget that it probably was very prevalent, even in these remote areas – maybe especially in them, where other modes of transport were few and far between. The idea though, of a couple of girls just out of school hitchhiking their way up the middle of the country is, in this day and age, very troubling. And for good reason.

I did enjoy this but I thought that it might’ve been better to choose a woman as the main investigative viewpoint. Mark is, to be honest, the sort of character I’ve read in a thousand previous crime novels: middle aged, going ‘through some stuff’ in his marriage, certain things in his past that have contributed, etc. He’s on annual leave and is basically strong-armed into this with promises of potential to move up the ladder and not being sent back to where he was working before his leave. Mark had background with both Ingrid and Joanne, having gone to school with both and even been in a relationship with Ingrid for a time. I actually think that Senior Constable Jagdeep Kaur would’ve been an interesting perspective to read from, particularly as a character like Mark arrived from elsewhere. Her attitude towards him was quite amusing at times and she had some pithy comments about police hierarchy. It also kind of astounded me that as a cop, Mark once asked his wife in the present day if she’d ever felt afraid in the presence of a man or because of one. It seemed a terribly shortsighted sort of question in 2021 in general, especially from someone who had been a police officer for 20+ years. This book did have some really interesting things to say about violence towards women and the ways in which certain crimes were/would’ve been looked at by the police in 1989. Back then, it was very much an attitude that domestic issues were personal business and most people looked the other way when a woman had a black eye or a bruise. And in the present day, Mark’s wife is a lawyer attempting to prosecute violent husbands, often with disastrous results. How much has really changed?

I did really enjoy the setting of this, which is important in a rural crime novel. I haven’t read a lot set in South Australia, but the desolate country, dusty and barren landscape with its small towns and cast of characters, many of whom are probably hiding something or other, worked well for me. I wasn’t super taken with Mark as a main character though, mostly just because it felt like he had nothing else that set him apart from others in the genre. There’s a real emphasis on middle-aged male detectives who are either divorced or about to be or hanging onto a failing marriage grimly and wondering why whilst spending endless days and nights away doing the job. I did however, enjoy the dynamic between both Joanne and Ingrid and why things were the way they were.

A quick and easy read.

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

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May 26, 2023 Averil rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2023

I mistakenly read the second one in this series first, so it was good to return to the start and get more of the backstory.
Hickey makes strong use of the desolation of the middle of Australia. Her books have certainly made me want to stay away from the Stuart Highway! While riding the endless wave of outback noir, they are at the upper end of quality for me.
Her main detective character Mark Ariti is well-formed, very human and somewhat flawed. I also enjoy his little crew and how they interact, ...more

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Oct 24, 2022 Karen rated it liked it

A mystery crime story that takes place in the Australian outback. Acting Inspector Mark Arita is seconded to re investigate a crime that took place 30 years ago. A man’s body was discovered in the scrub off the Stuart Highway, and Mark knows two of the women who were in the vicinity and interviewed at the time. When his interviews with witnesses go nowhere he takes the long journey from Adelaide to Cutters End and with the help of local detective Jagdeep Kaur he discovers that this case is not t ...more

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