Book Review: The Build Up by Phillip Gwynne
An Australian Thriller Set in the Northern Territory
Aug 26, 2008
With the lush tropical background of Darwin and Australia’s far north, The Build Up (Pan Macmillan, 2008) by Philliip Gwynne, is an earthy Australian thriller set in one of the country’s least known and most exotic locations.
Plot Summary – The Build-Up
The novel is set in the pre-monsoon season in Darwin, referred to locally as “The Build Up”. Hot humid days and the oppressive tropical climate weigh down on the inhabitants of the city, sapping energy and attention.
Detective Dusty Buchanan is undeniably annoyed when she is taken off a long-term murder case that she has been investigating. Her frustrations increase when she is sent to investigate a report of a body found near a local Vietnam veterans’ camp site, only to have the body go missing before the forensics team can arrive.
Dusty is demoted to uniform and sent to a desk job in disgrace, but she can’t let go of either her previous investigation or the new murder case. As she digs deeper, she finds unexpected connections and must work to not only solve the case but restore her own tarnished reputation.
A Town of Quirky Characters
With a population of approximately 118,000, Darwin is a gateway into south-east Asia for Australians and is home to a mixture of cultures. It is separated by large distances from other major Australian cities and as such attracts many people who are trying to escape from past mistakes or simply looking for a fresh start.
The climate is tropical with the pre-monsoon oppression finally relieved when “The Wet” arrives, bringing torrential afternoon rain. Darwin is a city of extremes, of big personalities and exotic people and locations.
Dusty Buchanan and several other characters in the novel conform to the quirky, getting-away-from-the-past background that finds such secluded locations attractive. Dusty’s unique style and dry humour make her a very likeable heroine and adds to the appeal of the novel.
Australian Tone and Flavour
The Build Up is an overtly Australian novel in a similar style to the Robert Barrett novels. The language, mannerisms, pop culture references and general atmosphere of the novel are recognisably Australian in tone and content. Readers unfamiliar with Australian culture and language may struggle to clearly understand some of the dialogue and references, however some readers will find the blatantly Australian flavour refreshing when novels of this genre are predominantly set in the US and UK.
As a location, Darwin is exotic and unfamiliar even to Australian readers, which adds to the appeal of the story. References are made to previous major crimes in the Northern Territory including the 1980 disappearance of baby Azaria Chamberlain and the 2001 disappearance and assumed murder of British tourist Peter Falconio, lending an authenticity to the events of the story. Frequent use of profanity by most of the central characters may offend some readers.
Author Phillip Gwynne
Phillip Gwynne has lived and worked in Darwin, which enables him to paint a very rich and authentic picture of this interesting town. He is an AFI award-winning screenwriter of Australian Rules and has previously written the award winning and best-selling youth fiction novels Deadly, Unna? (Puffin, 1997) and the sequel Nukkin Ya (Puffin, 2000)
The Build Up is an appealing thriller with a humorous undercurrent, probably best suited to Australian audiences. While the action of this novel is resolved, the conclusion leaves the central characters open for a sequel in the future. The parochial nature of the writing and the frequent profanity may exclude some readers, but the overall story and character development offers an enjoyable read for fans of the crime thriller genre.
The Build Up (ISBN: 978-1-4050-3849-2, 339 pages)
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