A While Ago: "Black Tide" by Peter Temple

A While Ago: Black Tide by Peter Temple, 2005, 9781596921306.

A read this a while ago and will be brief.

Short: Jack Irish helps an old man find his son and gets involved in international skullduggery, bribery, and murder.

Long: Jack Irish is still working with a horse racing guru and living off the bets. He still works building furniture with an elderly, expert cabinet maker. He still does some minor lawyering work.

Irish is visited by a man who knew Irish's deceased parents way back when. In fact, Des was there when Irish's parents first met. Des's is elderly and faces losing his house after his no-goodnick son conned him out of Des's house and borrowed a few thousand bucks. Now Des's son has gone missing and Des asks Irish to help.

Irish soon finds that Des's son was mixed up into something big. National politics and political fixers, uber rich people, international companies, mysterious deaths, etc.

I do not have much more to say about the plot except that this novel is better than most I have read lately. Temple plops you right into Melbourne. Rainy weather. Australian rules football. Class differences. Issues in national politics.

Irish is still lonely. Irish is still a bit grouchy. Irish still hangs out at the local bar with his father's elderly contemporaries. Irish still has minimal contact with his adult daughter.