Book review: No Good Deed by Katherine Kovacic

No Good Deed by Katherine Kovacic is aptly named as it centres around a retired woman travelling Australia who comes across a burning car and stops to help and prevent the fire spreading to surrounding bushland. Unfortunately there’s a very crispy dead body inside the vehicle and Rena’s presence at the scene and subsequent interest in the case means she comes under some suspicion by the police when it becomes obvious the man’s death preceded the fire and the driver was once known to Rena.

About this book

Rena and Tom have been planning this trip for years: just the two of them, retired, setting out into remote bush country to enjoy nature's dramatic beauty--and each other's company. When Tom dies unexpectedly just before they are to depart, Rena almost cancels, but there's nothing left at home but painful memories. She hits the road in her kitted-out truck, vowing to follow the itinerary she and Tom had mapped, hoping the trip will at least distract her from her devastating loss.

Not far from her first planned stop, Rena notices a fire burning some distance off the highway. Being a good citizen, she ventures off road, and is horrified to find a vehicle consumed by flames, with what's left of the driver still inside. When she learns that the victim is a fellow geologist–a less-than-reputable character whom she hadn't seen in 20 years–Rena begins an unofficial and unwelcome investigation fraught with deceit, diamond theft, and murder.

My thoughts

This is set in the West Kimberley. I’ve not been to Fitzroy Crossing but did travel to Derby several times while working for World Vision’s First Nations program a few years ago. So, even though I’m not a visual reader, I could certainly picture the red dirt and iconic boab trees and Kovacic does a brilliant job at placing readers (more visually-inclined than I) in the region, imbuing a real sense of ‘place’.

Either side of the road was red earth, yellow grass, and scattered low trees and shrubs, a magnificent expanse as potentially hostile as it was beguiling. 2% through novel

I really liked Rena though was a smidge frustrated by her propensity to refer to herself as ‘old’ or elderly (dotty old brid). Her age came up in almost every conversation and in her internal monologues. I’d assumed her character to only be in her early 60s so I’m not sure if that’s Kovacic’s perception of herself or that age group, or Rena was older than I’ve envisaged, but the constantly age-related self-deprecation was a little unsettling. (Ahem… hitting too close to home as a 58yr old who still grapples with the fact she’s ‘middle-aged’ #apparently 🙄 )

As Kovacic does with all of her novels  she either knows a shitload about geology, mining and the diamond business (including how they’re formed or have colour) or she’s done her research. Similarly the level of detail she offers about the setting and locale is an indication she’s road-tripped in the area (or again… done her research). The way she effortlessly inserts specifics without belabouring them is always flawless, whether it’s greek mythology, architecture, art or (here) rare minerals.

This book is also very much about grief and purpose. She realises her discovery of the body and her subsequent investigation is a distraction from her grief. She describes the fact she’s attempting her and her husband’s bucket list and grey nomad experiences alone as ‘one long funeral procession’ at the same time realising Tom’s death would feel more real if she returned home. Having a sense of purpose helps revive Rena.

Never did she acknowledge the fact that the thing she’d been running from all this time was herself. Until now. Rena had finally woken up, and she’d decided. Stuff that. 39% through novel

This is a very enjoyable read which I need to flag with a friend who’s daughter is a geologist and will certainly appeal to mystery-lovers or those consumed with wanderlust.

No Good Deed by Katherine Kovacic was published by Poisoned Pen Press (Sourcebooks) and is now available.

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