This crime novel is about as topical as it gets, starting with the killing of a Melbourne underworld figure. Tough yet tender Detective Rubens McCauley is framed for the hit. McCauley fights to save his life and restore his name to the former level of disrepute it once enjoyed. In the course of McCauley’s quest for the truth, he teams up with hottie Constable Cassie Withers. In the tradition of many crime stories, we wonder if they will connect in other ways. We are set up nicely for a sequel, and ‘Huzza!’ for that.

Henry has obviously done his research. One of the vicarious pleasures in reading a novel like this is to learn more about crime and its detection. Henry makes us feel like armchair sleuths. This in-depth knowledge is also integrated into a highly entertaining tale. However, some of the early parts of the novel lack the energy of the later ones. Raymond Chandler’s advice from 1943 about sexing up thrillers is just as pertinent today: ‘When in doubt have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.’ Not all of the dialogue rings true, particularly that of the underworld thugs, who mostly appear to talk like middle-class bureaucrats. For example, Jimmy Favian, the president of the Vikings bikie club, asks one of his henchmen in anger: ‘And since when do you get off second-guessing my judgment?’ The questions posed by such a figure would be much more visceral and generally involve words of one syllable and four letters.

Henry knows the genre and knows how to write within it. Pity he doesn’t know a good proofreader. The numerous typos and misuses of semicolons don’t do justice to this promising crime writer.