Broke Road

Matthew Spencer

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English

Allen & Unwin
01 July 2025

Crime & Mystery; Thriller & suspense; Australian Crime Fiction

Series: Rose Riley

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'Enthralling. Matthew Spencer nails it.' Chris Hammer

'A tightly plotted, fast-moving, beautifully written whodunnit.'

Jane Caro

'A great read.'

Michael Brissenden

'Spencer is a master of the craft; Broke Road satisfies on every level.'

Malcolm Knox

A late-night phone call is never good news for Homicide Detective Sergeant Rose Riley. This time she's being sent up to the Hunter Valley, where a woman has been found dead in her home.

Rose grew up further along the valley. She knows that for every vineyard and golf course resort visited by tourists to the 'wine country' there are as many dilapidated fibro houses and drug dens, in the shadow of one of the state's largest prisons.

A media hound points the finger at the husband, angering Rose but capturing the attention of journalist turned true crime author Adam Bowman. His book on the 'Blue Moon Killer' made him famous but the case nearly cost Rose her life, and she's not sure how she feels about seeing him again.

Suspects abound, from the grieving husband to sinister business interests and suspicious locals. But when new evidence connects the crime to an old case, Rose realises they have no time to lose. The murderer is ready to strike again.

'If you like a good police procedural, you'll love this.' Chris Hammer, author of The Valley

'Broke Road is a real page-turner. I even stayed up late to finish it ... and that never happens!' Jane Caro, author of Lyrebird

'Place, pace and brilliantly detailed police procedure. Matthew Spencer's Broke Road has everything you'd want from a crime thriller. Well drawn characters driving an intricate sophisticated plot.' Michael Brissenden, author of Smoke

'Black River showed Matthew Spencer's expertise in building a world with familiar surfaces and dark undercurrents. Broke Road is another taut, compelling crime thriller set in a community in transition: wineries in the sunshine, struggling mining towns in the shadows. The suspense builds in each scene as Riley and Bowman try to unlock the secrets behind a brutal slaying.' Malcolm Knox, author of The First Friend

'Spencer has a few writerly superpowers but one of his strongest is his meticulous police procedural. When you open a Spencer book, you are not only in safe hands, you are watching a meticulous craftsman at work. You are in for a fast intelligent ride on Broke Road. Best buckle up!' ABC Bookclub

By: Matthew Spencer
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Country of Publication: Australia
Volume: 2
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781761069208
ISBN 10: 1761069209
Series: Rose Riley
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 01 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Matthew Spencer was a journalist at The Australian for twenty years, with long stints running the Foreign News desk and as Opinion Editor. He has written for newspapers and magazines in Uganda and Kenya and been published in The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was born in Parramatta. The son of teachers, he lived with his sister Kate on the 320-acre campus of a boys' boarding school. Long summers on the largely deserted property while exploring the remnant bush with its tributary of the Parramatta River inspired his first novel, Black River. Matthew lives in Sydney with his wife, Ritu Gupta, and their three children.