Book review: High Wire by Candice Fox

It occurred to me when reading High Wire by Candice Fox that the Aussie author has moved more into the thriller territory with her standalones. They’re less about the mystery (the who or why) and more action-packed edge-of-your-seat stuff. I was unsure how I felt about that as I very much enjoyed Fox’s earlier character-driven series. I needn’t have worried however as she’s still able to deliver on the character development front, it’s just that they’re underpinned by a race against time and the inevitable, rather than Ah-ha! moments.

And though I think of myself as less of a thriller-fan, here I was gripped. We know who the baddies are and learn fairly quickly about their agenda, but Fox manages to keep some secrets from readers and (as we’ve come to expect from her) is somewhat callously irreverent with readers’ fragile hearts and allegiances.

A notorious unmarked track through outback Australia, the ‘Wire’ crosses slabs of lawless land, body dumping grounds and mobile phone blackspots.
Harvey Buck is certainly desperate. Racing to be with his dying girlfriend, he encounters Clare Holland, whose car has broken down. He offers the hapless traveller a ride . . . and then their nightmare begins.

The pair are ambushed by a vengeful crew - and strapped into bomb vests. As part of a deadly game, Harvey and Clare are forced to commit a series of increasingly murderous missions, or else be blown to smithereens.

Senior Sergeant Edna Norris is dealing with a runaway teenager; not an unusual job in a place where people go to disappear. But an unfolding crime spree turns this outback cop’s night into a fight for survival. Hot on Harvey and Clare’s trail, Edna finds a burnt-out car, a missing woman, a bank robbery and a bullet-riddled body.

And this road trip from hell has only just begun . . .

In true Fox style we’re given some really great lead characters. There’s Clare, a woman who’s less-than-forthcoming whose car exploded on the remote (secret) track known as the High Wire. Harvey, the ex-military hero who picked her up despite his misgivings. And then there’s Edna, a cop who’s been shafted to outback Australia and her accidental passenger Talon, a teen with a big attitude and imagination but also street smart.

And then of course there are the support cast – other cops, the husband of the woman rescued and those seeking revenge on Harvey. Fox also introduces us to others along the way, many becoming pawns in the games being played by Harvey’s captors.

I rushed through this in two sittings, eager to see how things played out. And knowing Fox, remaining conscious that some of the bodies left behind may indeed be those I’d preferred to have made it through the novel as opposed to the more disposable baddies.

I know Fox likes her research, much of which she gleans from those with lived experience. Her references to the Afghanistan war and life in the military seem all very complex and credible, including the detail on bomb-making. Similarly I loved the texture and tension that the setting itself provides – the High Wire, a (fictional I do believe) track between Broome and Sydney preferred by those up to nefarious deeds. Indeed when Harvey sets out on the road he knows the risks but – in a race against time – takes the road anyway.

This is certainly one of my favourite of Fox’s standalones; though of course we could indeed meet some of the characters (the – ahem – survivors) again and I wouldn’t be at all mad about that.

High Wire by Candice Fox will be published in Australia in late September by Penguin.

PS. I’m trying to remember if it was this book or her last, Devil’s Kitchen, that captured the interest of Ridley Scott and has been optioned for the screen. This certainly would be a worthy contender.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.