Man at the Window

A Detective Cardilini Novel

Robert Jeffreys

Echo Publishing

ISBN: 9781760683306

RRP $29.99

 

Description:

An atmospheric crime novel with a burning moral dilemma at its heart.

 

When a boarding master at an exclusive boys’ school is shot dead, it is deemed accidental. A lazy and usually drunk detective is sent to write up the report. Cardilini unexpectedly does not cooperate, as he becomes riled by the privileged arrogance of those at the school. He used to have instincts. Perhaps he should follow them now…

 

With no real evidence he declares the shooting a murder and puts himself on a collision course with the powerful and elite of Perth. As he peels back layers, the school’s dark secrets being to emerge. But is his dogged pursuit of justice helpful or harmful to those most affected by the man’s death?

 

Man at the Window is the first in the Detective Cardilini series, set in 1960s Western Australia.

 

 

My View:

Superb! I have discovered a new author to add to my must read list.

 

Should I assume Robert Jeffreys lives in Perth Western Australia? Maybe he is an amazing researcher? Jeffreys writes 60’s Perth like he has lived there, like he is walking through my distant memories of when we first arrived in Perth (1966). I can see the houses, the street scapes, the city, not the privilege of private schools but even in the  public schools I attended teachers were top of the hierarchy and not to be questioned, as a child in those times you did everything you were told by an adult. And so it begins.

 

What a fabulous read! Jeffreys crates empathetic main characters based upon grief and isolation. The protagonist and his son are grieving the loss of a wife and mother, many of the boys in the private school are isolated (by distance) and some grieving the loss of their family during term time. Both groups are vulnerable, both groups elicit empathy. The reader genuinely cares about the main characters here.

 

This is a narrative of contemporary social commentary in a fast paced mystery studded with many ethical dilemmas.  “There’s the law and then there is justice. Who gets to decide?”  A fantastic read that will make it onto my top reads of 2018 list.

 

**I expect to see a film/tv series of this sometime soon.**