‘Disher is one of this country’s finest writers.’

‘Disher is the gold standard for rural noir.’

‘A giant not only of crime fiction but of Australian letters.’

‘A new crime novel from the prolific old master is always a treat, and this one is no different. The past intrudes into the present as Charlie Deravin, banished from his job in the police sex-crimes unit, still puzzles over his mother’s disappearance 20 years earlier that had his father fingered as a possible murderer. You will be intrigued, very intrigued.’

‘Ned Kelly Award winner Garry Disher has been producing high quality Australian crime novels for over 30 years and his latest, The Way It Is Now, is another terrific read…A well written and gripping mystery.’

‘Garry Disher is arguably Australia’s greatest living crime writer.’

‘Take this to the beach when you can – and don’t leave it unattended.’

‘Plenty for readers to sink their teeth into…more evocative, topical and well-constructed than most crime fiction out there.’

‘This is another assured and modest crime novel by Australian grandmaster Garry Disher, whose books are so enjoyable precisely because they lack even the slightest glimmer or pretension. In a genre that increasingly demands a killer hook boiled down to a single sentence, Disher’s focus is on character, and scalpel-sharp dissections of his selected themes.’

‘Disher’s output is soaked in quality: crisp prose, fascinating characters, rich settings. Maybe his quiet, unflashy nature and consistent excellence mean he gets a little overlooked in some quarters, but those cognisant of the global boom of Australian crime writing know he is a giant on whose shoulders many of the hottest new stars are standing.’

‘The prolific master of Australian rural noir returns to his home turf…a subtle, slow-burning standalone mystery.’

‘Examining the insular culture of the police force has been another staple of Disher’s fiction, and it is deployed here to great effect…Each summer I see people lying by public swimming pools, or in the sand on beaches, sometimes along the Mornington Peninsula, reading crime fiction. Readers often tell me they enjoy the genre as ‘light relief’, a puzzling response considering the endlessly macabre ways that crime fiction writers concoct new ways to torture, murder, and dismember characters. A Garry Disher novel is never an exercise in light reading. He respects the genre and his readers. His novels can also disturb a reader, for his characters are quite ordinary people, in the best sense. They are men and women like you and me – characters capable of good and bad, courage and murder.’

‘Lyrical and haunting…Read the The Way It Is Now for its big heart and the way in which it lyrically captures a moment in time.’

‘Disher is, as always, a deft and compelling crime novelist, and he has crafted a provocative whodunnit that is grounded firmly in the current moment.’