Three Reasons for Revenge, by Dervla McTiernan

Melbourne detective Judith Lee takes a report of a sexual assault that echoes one from 10 years earlier. Determined to do better investigating this time, she finds herself plunged into a murder plot of revenge and generational trauma with a personal twist. This is the Irish-Australian writer’s first novel set in this country and she is keen to demonstrate her knowledge of local geography and policing. Judith is a maverick with a dark past and it’s difficult to believe she was accepted into the police force in the first place, let alone survived within it. The fast-paced plot grows increasingly improbable, but it’s an easy read despite its very dark subject matter.