Category Archives: Australian noir

Orphan Road now available

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

My latest crime novel, Orphan Road, is now available.

Orphan Road is available from the publisher Down and Out Books. It is also available from Amazon and other online platforms, and bookshops are able to order it via Ingram Spark.

And Melbourne friends, a heads up that I’ll be launching the book at my local bookstore, Brunswick Bound, 361 Sydney Road, Brunswick, on Tuesday, July 11.

Please put that date in your dairy and more details come soon.

Orphan Road – a sequel to my last novel, Gunshine State – sees my (not so) professional thief Gary Chance become involved in the murky aftermath of one of Australia’s largest heists, Melbourne’s Great Bookie Robbery. In April 1976, a well organised gang stole as much as $16 million from bookmakers in the Victoria Club, located on the second floor of a building in Queen Street and the City. The real amount of what was stolen was never confirmed and the culprits, although they are known now, were never identified at the time or apprehended.

But, of course, the heist always goes wrong and while the police never arrested anyone for the Great Bookie Robbery, the various members of the gang fell out amongst themselves, leaving a trail of bodies.

As the starting point for Orphan Road I posited the question, what if a large amount of cash wasn’t the only thing stolen that day in April 1976.… Read more

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Posted in Australian crime fiction, Australian crime film, Australian noir, Australian popular culture, Orphan Road, True crime

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Pre-orders open for my new novel, Orphan Road

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

Just a quick heads up to let you know that you can now pre-order my new crime novel, Orphan Road.

You can order it from the publisher, Down and Out Books. It is also available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

For pre-order information, check out this link. You should also be able to order it through your local bookstore, closer to the date.

Orphan Road is a sequel of sorts to my last novel, Gunshine State.

The pitch is as follows:

Gary Chance is an ex-Australian army driver and nightclub bouncer turned professional thief and
in need of a job. An offer comes from a former employer, once notorious Melbourne social
identity, now aging owner of a failing S&M club, Vera Leigh.

A shadowy real estate developer is trying to squeeze Leigh out of a rapidly gentrifying city. But she has a rescue plan that involves one of Australia’s biggest heists, Melbourne’s Great Bookie Robbery. On April 21, 1976, a well organised gang stole as much as three million dollars, a fortune at the time, from a Melbourne bookmakers club. The money was never recovered. No one was ever charged. And everyone associated with the crime has since died, either by natural causes or violently.

Leigh maintains that money was not the only thing stolen that day.… Read more

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Posted in Australian crime fiction, Australian crime film, Australian noir, Garry Disher, Gunshine State, Heist films

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Cover reveal: Orphan Road, my follow up to Gunshine State

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

I am a fast nonfiction writer, but a much slower writer of fiction. So, it has been a while between novels for me. In fact, since Gunshine State was first published in 2016, to be precise. But I have a new crime novel, Orphan Road, coming out via Down and Out Books in late May.

And here is the cover, designed by J. T. Lindroos.

While the story of Orphan Road had been bouncing around in my head for a while now, I finally managed to find the time to write it during Melbourne’s three Covid lockdowns. It is a short, sharp sequel to Orphan Road, featuring the same character from that novel, Gary Chance.

The pitch is as follows:

Gary Chance is an ex-Australian army driver and nightclub bouncer turned professional thief and
in need of a job. An offer comes from a former employer, once notorious Melbourne social
identity, now aging owner of a failing S&M club, Vera Leigh.

A shadowy real estate developer is trying to squeeze Leigh out of a rapidly gentrifying city. But she has a rescue plan that involves one of Australia’s biggest heists, Melbourne’s Great Bookie Robbery. On April 21, 1976, a well organised gang stole as much as three million dollars, a fortune at the time, from a Melbourne bookmakers club.… Read more

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Posted in Australian crime fiction, Australian noir, Gunshine State, Heist films, Orphan Road

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The noir genius of Mr Inbetween

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Andrew Nette| 1 Comment

Late year I chaired a panel in which several American crime writers discussed their most memorable discoveries in terms of noir television and film during the various COVID lockdowns we have all endured. As the moderator I did not get any time to discuss my own discovery, but if I had it would have been the Australian/American television production, Mr Inbetween.

My first piece for the US CrimeReads site for 2023 is a love letter to one of my favourite Australian television shows, Mr InBetween. You can read it in full on their site at this link.… Read more

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Posted in Australian crime film, Australian noir, Australian popular culture, Australian television history, Neo Noir, True crime

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Wake in Fright is a Christmas film

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

As we dive into the Yuletide season, this is just a quick reminder that Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 film Wake In Fright definitely qualifies as a Christmas film.

I recently took part in a discussion on Kotcheff’s amazing film for the Journey’s Into Darkness film discussion group in the US. I talked about what Wake In Fright says about Australia in 1971 and now, conceptions of masculinity, and urban Australians uneasy relationship with the outback and our bloody colonial past. We also discussed how the film functions as a crime film, and outback noir and an Australian folk horror. You can watch the talk in full on Youtube here.

… Read more

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Posted in Australian crime fiction, Australian crime film, Australian noir, Australian popular culture, Australian pulp fiction, Crime fiction, Crime film, Horror, Noir fiction, Ozsploitation, Rural noir

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