Tracking Jacky

Ever wondered about Detective Bannon's tracking skills? This short story will help to solve the mystery.

Young Mark Bannon and his girlfriend Rita return to the homestead after a successful hunt to get a kangaroo for Rita's pop and nan. Rita informs him she is going quondonging with her cousin Jacky and they can practice tracking. Jacky is good at hiding his tracks and has a secret hidden in his backpack he is sure will prevent Mark from finding him.

For those of you who don't know what a quondong is, it's an Australian native fruit tree that grows throughout the outback of South Australia. The fruit when ripe is ruby red, luscious and tart.

This would be one of the first stories I wrote many years ago now. I'm surprised it survived the many house moves on paper and eventually on floppy disk then transferred to computer to again survive crashes, until I found it in a dusty archive on an external hard drive while sorting out some files.

Well here it is, tidied up, polished and fit for publication.

Get it for FREE here now
 

 

The Lion’s Den

First the Goats. Then the Women. It Started with a Big Cat. It Ends with The Devil.

In the remote Australian outback of north-west Victoria, a farmer dies confronting a predator stalking his livestock. Constable Madeline Kerne calls it in to Sergeant Michael Ryan, who along with homicide detective Mark ‘The Devil’ Bannon are enjoying a quiet weekend gathering at local farmer Joe Cooke’s property.

What starts as a routine stock theft investigation turns sinister when women vanish from the community. Then Constable Kerne herself disappears, and journalist Condamine Baxter … Detective Bannon’s love interest.

Rural whispers of conspiracy harden into grim reality.

Bannon assembles an unlikely team: methodical Sergeant Ryan, stoic Senior Constable Scott Jackson, and eager rookie PC Caleb Jones. Together they hunt a predator who knows the mallee scrub around Mara better than they do … one who understands that out here, people disappear and questions go unanswered.

To catch a predator this cunning, Bannon must become what the outback already believes him to be. The man behind the legend. The monster they whisper about when darkness falls.

The Devil is coming.

And he doesn’t play by the rules.

Some hunters become the hunted.
Some crimes require a monster to catch a monster.
In this forgotten corner of Australia, a killer is about to meet their match.

This is the third book in the Mara Mysteries Series.

Pre-order Ebook now available. 

 Five days to go to ebook pre-order day. Excitment's growing. 😀

 

 Pre-order release day for The Lion's Den is getting closer. Just over three weeks away. 😱
Am I ready? Almost, I hope. All edits going well, I'm not up to the final read through and a few small touch ups that could be needed.

If you haven't started reading The Mara Mysteries yet why not start now with book one, Enter The Devil available through Amazon as ebook, paperback or Kindle Unlimited.

 

 If you've read Enter The Devil and Skeletons In The Closet you'd know who this is.
If you guessed Constable Richard Parry you're correct.

Parry left at the end of Skeletons In The Closet. Will we see him again?

No spoilers here! What happens to Parry you'll have to wait and see.

 

 A Weekend At Joe's

In between Skeletons In The Closet and The Lion's Den is this little gem. 
Joe's much anticipated doo. If you can't get enough of Mark Bannon, Mick Ryan and all the colourful characters from the fictional town of Mara you can join them for a weekend of fun and laughter at Joe's with a spot of shooting, a barbeque and an old fashioned outback country dance.
While this is not a necessary part of the Mara Mysteries who can't resist a little fun in between the serious stuff? 

You can download this little short story for FREE HERE. 

 

 A sneak peek at the opening paragraphs for The Lion's Den. 

Editing is coming along and on track for an early December release. Chapters will begin drifting into my proof-readers inboxes within the next two weeks. 

Meanwhile enjoy this tantilising, spine chilling excerpt.

 

 

Betrayal In The Dust - Jack Smith Series Raw … Outback … Action When ex-detective Jack Smith discovers the body of missing backpacker Grace Wilson during a hunting trip, he faces an impossible choice: walk away and return to his quiet exile, or risk everything to uncover the truth behind her death. Jack can't let it go. His discovery haunts him, driving him from isolation to investigate—and he quickly realises Grace’s murder is connected to something far more sinister than a random killing. Her death pulls him into the grim underworld of Ethan Kelly’s human trafficking empire. A brutal network shielded by corrupt officials at every level. Jack can't take on Kelly alone. He reaches out to his former partner, ex-Detective Senior Constable Alice Saunders, and the morally questionable drifter ex-Detective Sergeant Jasper Mitchell—a man whose past makes him as dangerous as the criminals they're hunting. Together, this unlikely team of damaged ex-cops must navigate a web of corruption, betrayal, and violence to bring down Kelly's network. But in a game where the rules are written by criminals and the system itself is compromised, can three flawed heroes deliver justice—or will they become the next victims? A gripping thriller about redemption, justice, and the price of doing what's right when the system has failed.

This raw, outback thriller is available Free for newsletter subscribers for a limited time.

 

Are you looking forward to the first book in the Jack Smith Series?

Would you like to receive it for Free?

Yes, you got that right, Betrayal In The Dust will be available for Free for my newsletter subscribers for a limited time.

Already a subscriber? You'll still get your copy.

Not a subscriber? Sign up now so you won't miss out.

 

 

 

 Jack Smith is off to the proof readers. All looking good so far. 😊

 

 

In case your wondering what's happening with Jack Smith. I'm currently close to final edits and almost ready to send off to my proof readers. As this is a shorter story they will receive the full book in one file instead of chapter by chapter.

So far this accidental novel is looking good. 😃

 

 

Book three in the Mara Mysteries - The Lions Den is up to the first editing stages. Expected release is currently early-December 2025 just in time for Christmas.

If you haven't already read the first two books in the series you can find them on Amazon.

 

 Skeletons In The Closet.

*Now Available in Ebook and Paperback*

Amazon Ebook       Amazon Paperback

These links will take you to Amazon Australia if you live outside Australia go to your country's Amazon website and search for the ASIN numbers B0FBS5XX7J for Ebook or 1763849511for paperback.

 

 

 

Signed Paperbacks now available.

Price $25 each for local pickup or delivery or $40 each includes postage Australia wide.

Overseas shipping available contact with your address for price.

Contact me if your interested in purchasing one.

 

 

 

 Skeletons In The Closet an outback Australian crime thiller. Available now on pre-order through Amazon http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0FBS5XX7J

 

 Skeletons In The Closet is now available on Pre-Order

Two Skeletons. A 57-Year-Old Double Murder. One Missing Child. A Detective Running Out of Time.

When urban explorers stumble upon skeletal remains in an abandoned farmhouse outside Mara, they unearth more than just bones. They resurrect a forgotten tragedy buried by decades of dust and silence. This discovery forces Sergeant Ryan to once again call Mildura police for assistance.
Detective Mark Bannon, known as "The Devil" for his relentless pursuit of justice, arrives at the grim scene. Two victims, bound and executed at point-blank range. But the discovery in an adjacent room chills him to the core. A child's pink polka-dotted dress, sized for a toddler, preserved in the stillness of the abandoned home.
Fifty-seven years have passed since that fateful day. Witnesses have died, evidence has deteriorated, and memories have faded into whispers. With potential suspects lying cold in Mara's cemetery, their secrets buried forever. Bannon faces his most challenging cold case yet.
As Bannon peels back layers of small-town secrets and generational silence, one haunting question remains. What happened to the child who wore that dress? And is it too late for justice—or is someone still alive who fears the truth?
In a race against time and age, can Bannon solve a murder that time forgot before the final threads of evidence disappear forever?

This is the second book in the Mara Mysteries Series.

 

http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0FBS5XX7J

 

 

 I created a video for my book Enter The Devil. It turned out pretty good, I'll give it another go and maybe add a voice over or music to the next one. This has been made for a Facebook reel therefore it doesn't format to Blogger dimensions.

 

 Five days to go and Skeletons In The Closet will be live on pre-order. 

 

 

 

Nine days to go before Ebook pre-orders open.

Final small niggly edits almost completed.

Final cover design completed.

Happy days. 😄

 

 

 Jack

 What's in a name? So many authors use the name Jack for their protagonist. 

I can name a few: Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, Jack Taylor, Jack Lisbon, Jack Paige. I bet you could add to this list.

I don't read a lot of books with female leads but I have noticed in general: Alice, Anne, Dawn, Jenny are popular as well as Elizabeth, Lisa or Lucy. You could probably add to these as well.

 Watch this space and be ready for the introduction of: ex-detectives Jack Smith and Alice Saunders as they battle against a human trafficking ring in outback South Australia.