NEW AUSTRALIAN CRIME FICTION JULY 2026: FOR ALL THE DEAD GIRLS by SHERRYL CLARK and MIRE by MATT NABLE

July brings two new Australian crime novels that buck the recent trend of outback murder and damaged detectives returning home.

Australian/New Zealand author Sherryl Clark has been steadily improving as an author over her first four books and her latest, For All The Dead Girls (HQ, 30 June 2026), is her strongest and most gripping novel to date.

For All The Dead Girls is the second entry in her series about ex-cop turned PI, Lou Alcott. Still recovering from the trauma of her last case, Lou is asked to help with the extraction of a woman and her son from a dangerous domestic situation near Goulburn. She gets the pair out, with some difficulty, but then finds herself the target of a mysterious dark-web, misogynist, hate group. As the violence escalates around her, and others involved in the rescuing of women from domestic abuse, Lou and her firm desperately try to find the person behind the group known as SYB. Meanwhile, Lou also becomes involved in a missing person case with unexpected ties close to home.

I really enjoyed For All The Dead Girls. The pacing is good and there are enough twists to keep it interesting. Lou is a well-developed, and likeable, character, who has believable grit to her and a good sense of practical justice. Her unique family situation, her father is a senior cop and her grandfather a well-known criminal figure, plays out better this time around, and the supporting characters, especially her police friend Kayla Benson, have a credible tinge to them.

The themes around gendered violence and internet misogyny are prominent, but do not overwhelm the story. The details around the rhetoric of the hate groups and their acts of abuse are distressing, but are not used in an exploitative manner. They are also given additional relevance by the recent rise in right wing groups in Australia and America that condone and enable these groups.

After some tense moments the book builds to a gripping ending, that also hints of possible future directions that the series might go in. I had some reservations around the identity of the figure behind the attacks, but not enough to detract from the enjoyment of the story.

There have been some very good Australian crime novels so far this year, and For All The Dead Girls is right up there with the best of them.

For All The Dead Girls is released in Australia on 30 July 2026. Thanks to the publishers for the copy of the book for review.

Also with a dark tinge to it, is Matt Nable’s Mire (Hachette, 7 July 2026).

Dan Milligan has spent his whole life chasing something. Fast cars, leggy blondes, the rush of making a lot of money, and the cocaine high to celebrate. But as the stock market plummets in 1987, his world comes crashing down. He moves to the South Coast of New South Wales and starts a lawn mowing business that allows him to enjoy the outdoors and a less hectic life. An unexpected find and a bad decision, however, leads him back into trouble, this time involving a local drug syndicate and the New York mafia.

A bit like Marty Byrde in Ozark, Milligan has to use his financial skills for illegal purposes in order to keep himself alive. It makes for some tense moments, and the book generally travels along at a reasonable pace. Milligan, however, is not a particularly pleasant person and it is hard to feel too much sympathy for him.

The 1980s and early 1990s settings are well handled, and Nable captures well the hedonistic feel of those times. As with Nable’s previous novel, Still, the characters are well crafted and drive the story along. There are events which stretch credibility, but also convincing scenes of small moments, especially those set on the South Coast.

In all, Mire is a solid, gritty thriller that is just a little different from most Australian crime fiction presently being produced.

Mire is released in Australia on 7 July 2026. Thanks to the publishers for the copy of the book for review.