The debut crime novel by Ronni Salt
It’s 1974 in the Riverina. The weather is hot – but the body in the Murray River is stone cold.
A captivating and compulsive crime thriller about guns, drugs and a young woman dead on the money
When nineteen-year-old farmgirl Adelaide Hoffman applies for a cadetship at the Gunnawah Gazette, she sees it as her ticket out of a life too small for her. The paper’s owner, Valdene Bullark, seeing something of the girl she once was in young Adelaide, puts her straight to work.
What starts as a routine assignment covering an irrigation project soon puts Adelaide on the trail of a much bigger story. Water is money in farming communities, and when Adelaide starts asking questions, it’s like she’s poked a bull ant’s nest.
Someone will do whatever it takes to stop Adelaide and Val finding out how far the river of corruption and crime runs.
Shady deals. Vested interests. A labyrinth of lies. It seems everyone in Gunnawah has a secret to keep. And too many are already dead quiet.
Set deep in the heart of rural Australia during the era of Gough Whitlam, pub brawls and flared jeans, Gunnawah is a compulsive crime thriller of corruption, guns and drugs from Australian Noir’s most arresting new voice.
‘This compelling rural crime story, embedded in the politically charged Australia of the 1970s, will intrigue fans of Margaret Hickey, Richard Osman and Lainie Anderson.’
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About Ronni Salt
Ronni Salt first made her name as a witty, take-no-prisoners political and media commentator on Twitter, where she built up a following of almost 110,000 followers across Australia. She began writing regularly for The Shot (published by The Chaser), before appearing regularly on The Shot podcasts.
From a very young age, she has been consumed with delving into crimes and what makes criminals tick.
Ronni has a rural and legal background and a strong interest in environmental issues. She hails from the Riverina and much prefers dogs to people. Gunnawah is her debut novel. Her name is a pseudonym.
" A classic Aussie crime novel arrives, like a full-throttle ute through a fence. I gobbled it up like a Pine Lime Splice on a hot day. "
