Skull River: In a fading gold town, the seams of violence run deep
Mar 2025 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
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About this ebook
A gripping Australian historical crime novel set in 1912. Skull River by Pip Fioretti follows Detective Gus Hawkins into a violent goldfields town full of secrets, trauma, and murder, perfect for readers of Garry Disher and Chris Hammer.
'I was like a man washed ashore on an island, half mad and only my warrant card and blood-soaked uniform to vouch for me. But I had to act as if I knew what the hell to do.'
In Autumn of 1912, mounted trooper August Hawkins arrives at his new post in the fading gold town of Colley, NSW. On his first day, he is ambushed by a hidden gunman, his junior officer is killed before his eyes, and he escapes back to town to find the police station burning to the ground. Someone has it in for the mounted troopers.
A traumatised veteran of the Boer War, and a stranger to Colley, Hawkins is deeply shaken and ill-equipped to solve the case. But with only green troopers and a drunken, incompetent detective available to hunt down the murderer, he is forced to take the lead. Soon he finds that Colley hides a lot more than gold beneath its surface, for anyone who knows where to dig.
In Skull River, Gus Hawkins returns for a gripping and immersive hunt through a small town at the edge of a troubled empire. With black humour, Fioretti weaves a story that's both a cracking murder mystery and a razor-sharp portrayal of a country on the verge of transformation.
'I was like a man washed ashore on an island, half mad and only my warrant card and blood-soaked uniform to vouch for me. But I had to act as if I knew what the hell to do.'
In Autumn of 1912, mounted trooper August Hawkins arrives at his new post in the fading gold town of Colley, NSW. On his first day, he is ambushed by a hidden gunman, his junior officer is killed before his eyes, and he escapes back to town to find the police station burning to the ground. Someone has it in for the mounted troopers.
A traumatised veteran of the Boer War, and a stranger to Colley, Hawkins is deeply shaken and ill-equipped to solve the case. But with only green troopers and a drunken, incompetent detective available to hunt down the murderer, he is forced to take the lead. Soon he finds that Colley hides a lot more than gold beneath its surface, for anyone who knows where to dig.
In Skull River, Gus Hawkins returns for a gripping and immersive hunt through a small town at the edge of a troubled empire. With black humour, Fioretti weaves a story that's both a cracking murder mystery and a razor-sharp portrayal of a country on the verge of transformation.
A gripping Australian historical crime novel set in 1912. Skull River by Pip Fioretti follows Detective Gus Hawkins into a violent goldfields town full of secrets, trauma, and murder, perfect for readers of Garry Disher and Chris Hammer.
'I was like a man washed ashore on an island, half mad and...
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Ratings and reviews
2 reviews
ian mankelow
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June 1, 2026
a very exciting suspenseful read. Captures you immediately and doesn't let go. Wonderfully written you feel you are right there with the main character in colonial Australia loved it
About the author
PIP FIORETTI has a professional background in visual arts, both practice and teaching, and took up writing fiction in 2008. She had had three commercial women's fiction novels published by Hachette Australia and Pan MacMillan. Her first crime novel in the beloved Gus Hawkins series was Bone Lands, published by Affirm Press in 2024 to broad acclaim and won the 2025 Danger Award for Crime Fiction. Its follow-up, Skull River was published in 2025 with the third in the series, Blood Moon due for publication in 2027. Pip lives in Sydney and likes reading, looking at art, bushwalking and hanging out with friends and family.
PIP FIORETTI has a professional background in visual arts, both practice and teaching, and took up writing fiction in 2008. She had had three commercial women's fiction novels published by Hachette Australia and Pan MacMillan. Her first crime novel in the beloved Gus Hawkins series was Bone Lands...
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