*** LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD ****** A SUNDAY TIMES CRIME PICK OF THE MONTH ***''A scorchingly good novel'' - MICHAEL ROBOTHAM''Disher is the gold standard for rural noir'' - CHRIS HAMMER''An utterly compelling mystery with rare heart and humanity'' - DERVLA MCTIERNAN________________________________________AN ACT OF INEXPLICABLE CRUELTY. A FAMILY DESTROYED.Constable Paul Hirschhausen runs a one-cop station in the dry farming country south of the Flinders Ranges. He''s still new in town but his community work - welfare checks and a light touch - is starting to pay off. Now Christmas is here and, apart from a grass fire, two boys stealing a vehicle, and Brenda Flann entering the front bar of the pub without exiting her car, Hirsch''s life has been peaceful.Until he''s called to an incident on Kitchener Street, a strange and vicious attack that sickens the community. And when the Sydney police ask him to look in on a family living on a forgotten back road, it doesn''t look like a season of goodwill at all...A hugely atmospheric police procedural set in the dust of the Australian outback. Perfect for readers of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Dervla McTiernan.________________________________________ ''In this brilliant novel, Disher takes his readers on a harrowing journey'' - JOCK SERONG ''An atmospheric and nail-biting novel by one of Australia''s finest writers'' -THE TIMES ''Disher is brilliant at rural noir, capturing the stifling atmosphere of a small town where resentments simmer'' - SUNDAY TIMES