Under the Cold Bright Lights is a gripping page-turner of a book with a truly likable hero. Auhl must wrestle with his own morality as he faces a flawed system that threatens to allow for more harm than it prevents. Award-winning author Garry Disher expertly weaves together Auhl’s different cases and dilemmas to create an authentically Australian standalone police procedural with a memorably different kind of protagonist—one I’m hoping will be able to take his big heart and keen sense of empathy to more crime novels in the future.
Under the Cold Bright Lights is something of a problem novel. Readers expecting another stolid and heroic detective are forewarned that Disher has a somewhat different objective in mind. Fraught with moral ambiguity, the story forces us to decide whether we’re on Auhl’s side at the end or not. It’s a challenge. Under the Cold Bright Lights is well written. It reads quickly and holds our attention throughout. Disher’s characters, as always, pop from the page. The bottom line? It’s a Disher crime novel, so don’t you dare miss it.
There are many twists to a tale that opens with one of those closely observed vignettes of outer suburban life that Disher does so well ... Here's hoping we meet this Equalizer again.
In any novel by old pro Disher...the characters have substance, the plots are strong, the action is credible and swift. This outstanding work will appeal to all detective-o-philes.
The cases are interesting enough, but what lends above-average texture and interest is Auhl himself ... A bighearted brooder who’s been part of the justice system long enough to see many instances of justice unserved, Auhl may just be primed to tackle things on his own. As always, Disher writes with clear eyes and a sure hand. Strongly recommended.
