The Redline

Adrian Hyland

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Ultimo Press
25 November 2025

Crime & Mystery; Australian Crime Fiction

Series: The Jesse Redpath Novels

An open road. A dead cop. A killer in the hills …I flicked on the torch, swept the surrounds. Nothing. Then I directed the beam into the trees on the other side of the road.

Up on a high, jutting branch, something moved. It may have been a white face, a pale body, a curved leg. Or it may have been none of those things. Was it human? Too quick for me to tell. A ripple, a blink and it was gone. But it seemed to leave an afterglow, an impression upon the fabric of the night.

I took a deep breath. What had I seen? It had appeared to be a pair of piercing eyes in a pale visage. It could almost have been an owl, so compelling was its gaze, so swift its departure. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, a distorted shadow?

There was a crunch of leaf in the litter below and it was gone.

Whatever it was, it sent a chill through me.

It’s the festive season in the Windmark Ranges and Sergeant Jesse Redpath’s day is going from bad to worse. It begins with her having to arrest the usual drunks and troublemakers and ends with the death of a colleague out on the Redline road. A death that may or may not have been an accident.

Jesse learns there have been other deaths and disappearances in the ranges, and that the local rumour mill suggests the perp is an elusive, semi-mythical character who goes by the name of ‘Anarchy’.

Beneath the charm of a close-knit community, a darker truth festers, and Jesse’s driven to expose it, no matter the disruption to the valley’s fragile tranquillity.

PRAISE FOR ADRIAN HYLAND: ‘Adrian Hyland writes superior crime fiction with a keen eye for setting and characterisation ...’ ―The West Australian

‘As always, Hyland pays exquisite attention to the environment, as Jesse probes the undergrowth to root out the inevitable crime.’ — The Age

‘Hyland has mastered the architecture of noir – his sinister tale seethes with small-town atmosphere and satisfying twists, set against the dangers and harsh beauty of the Australian landscape.’ ― Sydney Morning Herald

By: Adrian Hyland
Imprint: Ultimo Press
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 420g
ISBN: 9781761153556
ISBN 10: 1761153552
Series: The Jesse Redpath Novels
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 25 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Adrian Hyland is the award-winning author of Diamond Dove, Gunshot Road and Kinglake-350, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Award for non-fiction in 2012. Since 2021 he has published three crime novels featuring intrepid rural cop Jesse Redpath: Canticle Creek, The Wiregrass and The Redline. His books have been published internationally, including in Britain and the US, and translated into a variety of languages, including German, French, Swedish and Czech.