AUSTRALIAN CRIME FICTION JUNE 2026: RED LAKE by JASON SUMMERS and FIND ME by HOLLY CRAIG

2026 has already seen a real smorgasboard of Australian crime fiction, from the almost obligatory outback crime to big city murder and a surprising number of cosy mysteries. There have also been some promising debuts, and books by established authors that head in new directions for them. So far, Tim Ayliffe’s Dark Desert Road, Natalie Conyer’s Finding The Bones and Dervla McTiernan’s Three Reasons For Revenge, are the ones that stick the most in my mind, but there are plenty of other good books out there that are well worth reading.

June and early July bring another two Australian crime novels that make good use of their rural locations to enhance their engaging plots.

Holly Craig’s Find Me, (Simon & Schuster, 26 May 2026), mixes family drama, survivalist thriller and creepy mystery into a heady concoction of suspense.

When Pete vanished into the rugged wilderness of Tasmania’s Abel mountains three years ago, it only took a few weeks for the official search to be called off. He’d been warned, they said. Mount Mercy takes people. Now, brought together by their mother’s dying wish to find their brother once and for all, estranged sisters Hallie and Gertie head back to Mount Mercy. Their first step: to find the ‘Peakers’, an isolated and mysterious commune, who were the last people to see Pete alive.

Moving between timelines and perspectives, the book gradually reveals what happened during the initial search for Pete and what led to the sisters becoming estranged. While emails and other media provide insights into Pete’s concerns before he went missing, and, in the present time, the sisters are thrust into a dangerous fight for survival.

Find Me is a strongly atmospheric book that makes the most of its wilderness location and the folklore surrounding the remote mountain where the story takes place. The creepy feel of the setting is also enhanced by a frustrating bunch of quirky characters, and the eerie anonymous points of view that are scattered throughout the book. The plot is a bit of a slow burn, but the story eventually builds to a tense and dramatic conclusion in the wilderness. The final resolution is very surprising, albeit a bit too neat. I had some questions about the ending, but it is easy enough to just go along with it and enjoy the twist.

In all, Find Me is a well written suspense thriller that vividly evokes the Tasmanian wilderness.

Find Me was released in Australia on 26 May 2026 and is scheduled for release in the United Kingdom in October 2026. Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy of the book for review.

Jason Summers’ Red Lake, (Macmillan, 30 June 2026), certainly hits all the tropes of recent Australian outback crime fiction: a female police detective returning to her old rural small hometown, a cold case affecting her and her family, local secrets, murder and a stunning evocative cover.

Former Sydney Homicide Detective Sergeant Harper Quinn has returned to her sleepy hometown of Koorinda in the state’s Riverina area in search of a quieter life. It is going relatively smoothly, until Harper learns that the town’s now dilapidated waterpark is being reopened, on the shores of its famous Red Lake. The park holds a special place for Harper and her family, as it was the place that her little brother vanished into thin air 30 years ago.

Harper is further shocked when a body is found at the park and suddenly her family finds themselves back in the limelight and at the centre of a new investigation.

Red Lake is a smoothly written crime novel that steadily moves through its paces. Summers keeps the reader on edge throughout, initially through the identity of the murder victim, and then with some well-orchestrated twists.

The rural locale of Koorinda is nicely conveyed and the characters are sufficiently sketched to support the relatively brisk storyline. The young female reporter Camilla, through whose eyes some of the events are seen, is well developed and engaging, and Harper herself is a credible lead, and thankfully without all the quirks we have come to expect in fictional detectives these days. The supporting detectives are also very good.

The plot unfolds in a predictable manner, but Summers keeps it interesting, and the final revelations are satisfying and unexpected. In all, Red Lake is an entertaining read that will readily satisfy fans of rural noir, and those who like a good police detective novel.

Red Lake is released in Australia on 30 June 2026. Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy of the book for review.