Dead Horse Gap in Aussie Readers

Jan 31, 2022 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, 2022-release, romantic-suspense, reviewing-by-request, 3500-2022, crime, arc, own-read

Coming in to land at the Khancoban Airport in the dark of night, in a storm, with no lighting to direct him, was an adrenalin rush to the pilot of the Cessna but as he touched down with a woop of delight, it turned to horror as he spotted a tractor in the middle of the landing strip. The crash and subsequent fire were devastating, and it started a murder investigation right there in the Snowy Mountains of NSW. Detective Constable Mitchell Flowers from Sydney’s Homicide squad arrived on the scene ...more

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Feb 05, 2022 Helen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: review-copy-from-publisher

This is the third book set in The Snowy Mountains in NSW and it is another awesome read, Lee Christine takes us on another suspenseful ride to uncover a drug ring and the death of a pilot and with characters that we have gotten to know and think very highly of, I loved being back in this part of the world with Ryder, Flowers and Sterling as they work together to uncover the truth.

Detective Constable Nerida Sterling is working undercover in the snowy mountains searching for answers about the deat ...more

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Feb 14, 2022 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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

Following the success of Lee Christine’s Charlotte’s Pass, and Crackenback, Dead Horse Gap is the third engaging crime novel set in the NSW southern highlands.

In this instalment, while Homicide Squad Detective Sergeant Pierce Ryder and his colleague, Detective Constable Mitchell Flowers, are drawn back to the Snowy Mountains into the midst of a family feud when a light plane collides with a deliberately placed tractor, killing the pilot, Detective Constable Nerida Sterling is working her first ...more

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Jan 22, 2022 Bree T rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, series, mystery, australian, suspense, rural-lit, crime, romance

This is the third book featuring Detective Pierce Ryder set in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales and it’s become one of my favourite suspense/crime series to read. They can be read stand-alone but there are some things that extend through all of the books so it’s probably a much better experience to read them all (and they’re all wonderful so you should do that!).

The book opens with a light aircraft lining up to land at night, on a remote runway and it all goes horribly wrong. Called This is the third book featuring Detective Pierce Ryder set in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales and it’s become one of my favourite suspense/crime series to read. They can be read stand-alone but there are some things that extend through all of the books so it’s probably a much better experience to read them all (and they’re all wonderful so you should do that!).

The book opens with a light aircraft lining up to land at night, on a remote runway and it all goes horribly wrong. Called in to investigate alongside the ATSB is Detective Mitch Flowers, who starts the investigation while Ryder is still wrapping up some things elsewhere. Mitch has been Ryder’s partner in all of the books and he takes a more prominent role here although he’s also got a little something going on that no one seems to know about.

As well as reconnecting the reader with Ryder and Flowers, we also get to see Nerida Sterling, who has been chosen to go undercover to try and bust a drug ring and solve a murder. She’s working as a waitress trying to gather information and after the victim in the plane crash is identified, Nerida’s position becomes even more valuable as she’s in prime place to potentially gather information on that too, for Ryder and Flowers. But it’s a hard job being undercover, keeping your story straight, not letting anything from your real life seep over into the life you are living for your cover and it’s taking its toll on Sterling. She is feeling the pinch of days where it feels like she’s not doing anything and she’s ready to step up her role a bit. Ryder and Flowers check in with her constantly but when she draws some attention from the wrong person, it adds another element of danger to her position.

We’re in the middle of a heatwave here in Victoria – as I write this is about day 6 of an 8-day stretch of 33-34*C days and I’m over it. It was fun to escape into winter in the Snowy Mountains region of NSW and feel the cold a little as Flowers in particular, straps on his snowshoes and explores some of the area. I’ve only been to the Snowy Mountains once as a kid and have very little experience with snow but it makes for a great setting and not one that you generally associate with Australian crime. A lot of authors pick the desert and some of the warmer areas up north so this is refreshing in multiple ways!

I really enjoyed the direction this book went in, the mystery of the plane crash deepened the more Ryder and Flowers looked into the family of the victim and exposed a feud revolving around a stately home. The more they uncover, the more they seem to find in terms of motives and strange happenings that might be the reason behind the crash.

I like that we got to experience more of Flowers taking the lead in this book – Ryder is approaching the time that he and Vanessa will be making a change and so he’s been preparing Flowers I think, for a step up in responsibility and his role. Flowers has his own things going on though, that he still hasn’t told Ryder about. Flowers is also having quite a lot of complex feelings about Sterling, especially with her being undercover and with him investigating in the same area he does get a chance to see her, although he’s of course supposed to ignore her.

Sterling is pretty good at undercover, she can do the job and talk to people but the loneliness takes her by surprise. It’s a very isolated life – she’s not there to really make friends other than as a way to get information and she has to make sure she doesn’t make mistakes that might give her away. She has to be careful when meeting up with Ryder who seems to be her point of contact – they meet in public as if by chance and only briefly. And Flowers calls her late every night when she’s safely at her accommodation away from anyone who might overhear. I haven’t thought a lot about being undercover before but I think Dead Horse Gap did an excellent job of what it might be like for a young officer on their first stint in a remote location.

This was another tightly plotted, enjoyable instalment in a series that gives you interesting characters and very intriguing mysteries to solve. It was good to see Eva and Jack again briefly as well as Vanessa and there’s enough left open here for more books featuring this crew and I can’t wait.

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

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