Wild Dogs (Gabe Ahern #1) in Aussie Readers

Mar 04, 2022 Brenda rated it it was amazing

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

Seventy-year-old Gabe Ahern was a loner, especially now after his wife had died four years prior. He spent his days in the rugged Western Australian bush, trapping wild dogs for station owners, earning enough to keep him going. The day he was trapping in the Nature Reserve – illegal he knew, but who would see him – and he heard gunfire nearby, he investigated, and got himself into a world of trouble. Afghan man Amin, a recent arrival in Australia, had been about to lose his life when Gabe interv ...more

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Apr 15, 2022 PattyMacDotComma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aa, mystery-crime-thriller, fiction, australian-author, aa-ce, kindle, favourites-adult

5★
“‘Thank you, Gabe. Alhamdulillah Shukur, I think the wound is not too bad.’ Amin gave him a pained smile. ‘God has smiled on me today.’

Gabe scoffed and looked about the parched landscape. ‘God forgot about these parts a long time ago.’”

Gabe is an old dogger, dog-trapper (of dingos and feral dogs), and like some of the cunning old dogs, he has accumulated a collection of tricks to hide his tracks – tricks we’d probably never think of. He has a ute that is completely fitted out for trapping and ...more

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Feb 15, 2022 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

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

Wild Dogs is an exciting and gripping crime thriller from author Michael Trant.

Dingo trapper Gabe Ahearn is somewhere he shouldn’t be in the Western Australian outback when he stumbles across a pair of thugs looming over two Afghan men pleading for their lives at gunpoint. Gabe is the first to declare he is not a good man, but he can’t simply stand by and watch a cold blooded execution and intervenes, saving one man’s life. Amin is grateful but frantic, the victim of a human trafficking ring, hi Wild Dogs is an exciting and gripping crime thriller from author Michael Trant.

Dingo trapper Gabe Ahearn is somewhere he shouldn’t be in the Western Australian outback when he stumbles across a pair of thugs looming over two Afghan men pleading for their lives at gunpoint. Gabe is the first to declare he is not a good man, but he can’t simply stand by and watch a cold blooded execution and intervenes, saving one man’s life. Amin is grateful but frantic, the victim of a human trafficking ring, his wife and son are still in danger and he needs to rescue them before his captors figure out he is still alive.

I enjoyed the fast pace and thrilling action of this story that sees Gabe and Amin pitted against a violent group involved in people smuggling and drug running. With Amin insisting police have been paid off to look the other way, the pair have no real choice but to take matters into their own hands, picking up two unexpected allies in the form of a young nurse, and a First Nations teen along the way. There are lots of tense moments as the the group are attacked and hunted by a ruthless hired killer, and quite the body count by the breathtaking, dramatic conclusion.

Gabe is a great character, as a ‘dogger’ he generally leads a solitary life, travelling throughout the WA outback in pursuit of dingos threatening station livestock. He is a man who has certainly made some mistakes in his life, and his reasons for helping Amin aren’t exactly altruistic, but has a core of decency, and I thought Trant portrayed this dichotomy well. Resourceful and canny, he proves to be a very useful ally, and I really liked the bond that developed between Gabe and Amin, despite their differences.

Trant also ably represents Amin and his plight. Seeking refuge from a tyrannical regime who would kill them, Amin and his family are exploited by the men whom they paid to get them to safety. Though he takes no pleasure in the violence, Amin is willing to do what ever it takes to rescue his wife and son. I found him to be a sympathetic character, portrayed with sensitivity and realism.

Along with the issues of human trafficking and the status of refugees, Wild Dogs also explores dingo culling practices, prejudices, outback policing, dry community policies, and the challenges of traversing, and living in, such a remote environment. Vivid description evokes the dry vast landscape, and its outposts of humanity with an authenticity borne of the author’s familiarity.

A gritty, hectic, thrill ride through the Australian desert, Wild Dogs is a wildly entertaining read. ...more

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Feb 08, 2022 Tien rated it really liked it

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

I finished reading this over the weekend and began watching Reacher on Prime with hubby. And you know what... I'd love to see this one adapted to screen; it would be so amazing!! I can just imagine the vast dry outback scenes contrasting with all the greens and wildlife ones. I can totally see too that Jack Reacher and Gabe Ahern will see eye to eye in how they approach this problem Gabe had to face.

As the main protagonist, Gabe Ahern, isn't the sort of character you'd see as a hero but he knows ...more

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Aug 05, 2022 Rhoda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

In outback Western Australia, Gabe is a wild dog trapper living a solitary life after the death of his wife. When out setting a trap one day (on a reserve where it is actually illegal to set traps) he comes across a young Afghan man, who is on the verge of being executed.

After Gabe manages to get Amin away from his captors, the pair find themselves caught up in a game of cat and mouse with a gang of people smugglers, including a kangaroo hunter with bush skills as wily as his own.

I always enjo ...more

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Dec 01, 2022 Catsalive rated it it was amazing

Shelves: amw, 2022

A brilliant, fast-paced thriller set in the Australian outback, inland from the WA coast.

Gabe Ahern, a wily old dog-trapper, happens upon an execution in progress &, despite his better judgement, steps in to save a life. Amin is a illegal immigrant, forced into labour by the people smugglers who have his wife & child held captive. When he threatened to spill the beans to the authorities he became surplus to requirements. Now they are both in danger from the smugglers & corrupt officials, & don't ...more

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Sep 27, 2023 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australia

4.5 stars.

I really enjoyed my challenge book selection, Wild Dogs by Michael Trant. This adventure thriller set in the Western Australian Outback is full of non-stop action. The characters are well-drawn and the good guys are very likable. The isolated setting springs vibrantly to life. The storyline is engaging and well-developed. I am very much looking forward to reading the sequel, No Trace.

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Feb 16, 2022 Bree T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, rural-lit, australian, crime

This was an incredibly fun, fast-paced rocking read.

When we first meet “dogger” Gabe Ahern he’s setting traps in the outback for “wild dogs” that cause havoc for farmers. These are feral mixes of dingoes and domestic dogs who were maybe dumped or escaped, who roam often in packs, taking down sheep and cattle and Gabe is hired by people to remove the threat from the land. He uses a mix of poison and traps, setting them where there’s been activity and revisiting later to see what he’s caught. Gabe This was an incredibly fun, fast-paced rocking read.

When we first meet “dogger” Gabe Ahern he’s setting traps in the outback for “wild dogs” that cause havoc for farmers. These are feral mixes of dingoes and domestic dogs who were maybe dumped or escaped, who roam often in packs, taking down sheep and cattle and Gabe is hired by people to remove the threat from the land. He uses a mix of poison and traps, setting them where there’s been activity and revisiting later to see what he’s caught. Gabe also has a hand in some other things, some of them definitely not legal but I think Gabe’s ability to care about anything has been eroded by the death of his wife which it’s clear he feels a guilt over. Gabe is busy seeing to his business when he overhears something he should definitely not have. He has a choice – he could melt into the bush unseen and unheard, forget about what he stumbled across and pretend he was never there. Or he could intervene and save a life and that’s the choice Gabe makes.

It’s a choice he rues more than once, when he saves Afghan refugee Amin from an execution and realises just what he stumbled across. He agrees to help Amin find his wife and child and ends up firmly in the sights of a people smuggling ring that goes much higher up than anyone could ever realise. Gabe is a man that mostly shuns contact with other humans but now has to kind of assume responsibility for Amin, a man in a strange country he doesn’t know but is determined to go and find his wife, despite not knowing really where she is in relation to where he is (or even where he is). They’re also being tracked – but Gabe has a few tricks up his sleeve that means he’s not going to go quietly.

This was gripping – I could not put it down once I had started it. Gabe is such an incredible character. A very stereotypical Australian bushie in many ways. A man of few words, leading a solitary life (a self-inflicted solitary life) setting traps and settling in to camp each night, with a few drinks. He has a tricked out Land Cruiser that has everything he needs and he only heads to town for supplies like fuel and water. Gabe makes a lot of assumptions about Amin (that he’s an Arab) but gets himself a thorough education on Amin’s situation as well as his routines such as praying and what he will and will not eat. Gabe adapts to these and the two find an easy harmony with Amin’s gratitude for Gabe not only saving his life but also assisting him in ways that continue to put Gabe in danger, routinely expressed. I really loved the bond the two of them ended up developing, this burgeoning trust. Gabe accepts Amin’s story unquestioningly, even though it forces him to confront some of his own opinions and also trust that what they’ve uncovered is something that causes a huge scandal that will envelop some people quite high up in authority.

As I’ve mentioned recently, I haven’t been to the western side of Australia (this is set in rural northern Western Australia) and I think it’s quite hard for people to understand quite how vast that area is and how sparsely populated. It would honestly be the perfect place for a scheme such as the one that unfolds in this book, to be hidden. And in order to get around it, you need someone who has not only excellent local knowledge, but a streak of the wily in them and Gabe is just so perfect for it. This would make an amazing movie or television adaptation and it has so much potential – remote, isolated country setting, lots of fun traps and a couple explosions and a cast of characters that end up together in the most random of ways and have to outwit, outsmart and outlast a sneaky roo shooter whose mission it is to basically kill them all. Plus they have to find and rescue Amin’s wife and child and maybe just blow the whole scheme wide open while they’re at it. It’s a great story, so engrossing and I found myself utterly invested, cheering their every victory and on edge when it felt like they were going to be caught or outmanoeuvred.

I enjoyed all the characters but man did Gabe work his way into my heart. He put me through an emotional wringer at times – he’s this gruff man, some of his views were definitely not my views and he is this reluctant helper at first but when Gabe is in, he is all in. I loved his commitment to foiling plans and using his knowledge and supplies for the greater good even if what he was doing was…..not exactly good. But Gabe’s form of justice…..look, normally I wouldn’t condone it but in some cases, it’s just satisfying. And I found myself very much enjoying the way Gabe’s mind worked.

This was excellent. Such a good read, the pacing was excellent and there was so much character development. Getting to know Gabe and his past was heartbreaking too, Amin’s story was devastating as well, a reminder of what happens when foreign countries go in to “help” and then think the job is done and leave, with little thought to the people left behind, including (and especially) those locals that assisted them in their work in that country. It’s also a strong reminder of the fact that boat people don’t tend to get much sympathy in this country in some circles (especially conservative political ones) for being “queue jumpers” but they all have a story as to how and why they ended up in that situation and Amin’s story is just one of these examples. Michael Trant also works in some Indigenous community issues beautifully and seamlessly into the story and everything just works.

And the ending…..no I didn’t cry. What?

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

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