The First Law of the Bush

Geoff Parkes

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English

Penguin
06 January 2026

Crime & Mystery; Thriller & suspense; Australian Crime Fiction

Set in the 1990s in New Zealand's King Country, The First Law of the Bush is the scintillating new rural noir from the author of When The Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole.

It's a beautiful day to be alive, Bill Dickerson thought, seconds before he tumbled from the viaduct onto the jagged rocks below . . .

His awful death made national news. But still, one year on, Bill's widow Carol has received no explanation about what happened. Was it suicide? An accident? Maybe murder?

So Carol hires lawyer Ryan Bradley in her fight for justice. Ryan has just returned to the remote town of Nashville after ten years away, so he's in no position to turn down work.

Except the case seems hopeless from the start. Bill's employer is denying responsibility, Carol's friends are shunning her, and the only witnesses - co-workers Gav Coates and Wati Reynolds - can shed no light on the tragic fall. Even Senior Sergeant 'Stinger' Nettle is too busy turning a blind eye to Wati's illegal schemes to dig deeper into the death.

But in small towns, nothing is quite what it seems. And for one Nashville resident the wrong question will come at a deadly price . . .

By: Geoff Parkes
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 432g
ISBN: 9781761349317
ISBN 10: 1761349317
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 06 January 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Born and raised in rural New Zealand, Geoff Parkes now lives in Melbourne. For the last twelve years he's written a weekly opinion column for The Roar, Australia's leading on-line sports website. He is the author of When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole and The First Law of the Bush, both featuring lawyer Ryan Bradley.