Broke Road — Matthew Spencer

In Australia’s bucolic wine country, a homicide detective is on the hunt for a killer with a ruthless agenda in a gripping novel of suspense by the author of Black River.A young woman is found dead in her isolated town house in rural Red Creek, an up-and-coming wine tourism destination outside Sydney. No forced entry. No signs of struggle. And her geologist husband has an alibi, though it’s not exactly solid. While a tabloid journalist is quick to spin her own damning narrative, homicide detective Rose Riley is questioning everything she sees—especially in a rapidly developing community that already seems on edge.While Riley and her partner, Priya Patel, work the case with a local detective, crime reporter Adam Bowman follows his own leads. Then forensic evidence matches that of a pair of unsolved murders elsewhere in Australia: two other married women, murdered months apart yet in the exact same manner. Riley realizes she’s dealing with a serial killer. But one whose victims weren’t random. These women were chosen, watched, and targeted for a purpose.As the secrets in this small town emerge, the suspects mount. Now Riley must unearth the deadliest secret of all—the true motive behind the murders—before another woman dies.