The Dragon Man

THE FIRST CHALLIS & DESTRY NOVEL

It was as easy as that. Inspired, really. That first one, last week, she hadn’t been a challenge at all. Drunk, half-drugged, hitchhiking, she’d been too easy. At least he’d got to use his head a little tonight. His headlights probed the darkness as he carried her away, high above the rottenness thatwas always there under the light of the sun.

Summer on the Peninsula. The heat’s ramping up, the usual holiday madness building. D.I. Hal Challis is already recycling his shower water and starting to dread Christmas.

But this year there’s something more. Women abducted and murdered on the Old Highway. A pall of fear over the scorched paddocks. The media are demading answers—and Challis’s sleepy beat is set to explode.

Praise for The Dragon Man:

‘An intelligent, atmospheric police procedural…Fans of such gritty yet cerebral crime novelists such as Ian Rankin and Jack Harvey should be well pleased.’

Publishers Weekly

‘The Dragon Man is unquestionably Disher’s masterpiece, an astonishingly told caper that’s tough, tender, poignant and totally captivating.’

Age

‘Challis is a fine creation: strong and resourceful, yet with enough human frailtyto satisfy the tastes of readers raised on Connelly, Rankin or Patricia Cornwell. This is intelligent, well-crafted fare, enlivened by a sharp awareness of society and the dark undercurrents beneath it.’

West Australian