Bad Debts: Jack Irish, Book One

by Peter Temple

Book Overview

Melbourne in winter. Rain. Wind. Pubs. Beer. Sex. Corruption. Murder. A phone message from ex-client Danny McKillop doesn't ring any bells for Jack Irish. Life is hard enough without having to dredge up old problems- his beloved football team continues to lose, the odds on his latest plunge at the track seem far too long and he's still cooking for one. But then Danny turns up dead and Jack has to take a walk back into the dark and dangerous past.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1925773299
• ISBN13: 9781925773293
• Release Date: April 2019
• Publisher: Text Publishing Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Ther are sections of this that just sing

This guy is really talented. The book ebbs and flows---some parts better than others, some sub plots better than others. But if you take the kind of distance from the plot that one needs for a Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett ---you'll find that you've found a true heir to the masters of the genre. Am going to see what else this guy wrote. He's very good.

Best thriller I've read in years

I'v read more thrillers and mysteries than I'd care to admit, and this is the best I've read in years. "Bad Debts" gives new meaning to that tired genre "thriller." People say, "I couldn't put it down." I had to put it down several times. It was too intense to read uninterruptedly. Apart from strong characterization -- characters with whom one could genuinely empathize, exceptional plotting and engaging settings, the language is fresh and startling, the tough-guy argot of Australia. Without giving away the plot, there's one moment in which a high official explains all of the events that have driven the action to that point so as to undermine the assumptions of the reader as well as the hero. It's a daring authorial moment that draws the reader to stronger identification with the hero's shifting perspectives. Buy this book. If you don't find it compelling, you should give up reading thrillers altogether.

A complex and richly told tale with a fascinating protagonist

It was somewhat distressing to discover that Peter Temple has been active for years in Australia with nary a whisper in the United States. He has won three Ned Kelly awards for crime fiction, including one for BAD DEBTS as "Best First Novel." Indeed, with no slight to the other nominees that year, upon reading BAD DEBTS one can see why. It is a complex and richly told tale with a fascinating protagonist. That protagonist is the wonderfully named Jack Irish, a rumpled knight with an enigmatic and fascinating backstory that undoubtedly will provide the impetus for many volumes in the years to come. Irish is what is known as a suburban solicitor, which means that he practices law in some way or another. He is not a shady character himself, though most of his friends and clients are, and the adage about lying down with dogs certainly holds true in Irish's case. His first marriage ended in divorce, and his second wife was murdered by one of his clients. This resulted in Irish going on a functioning bender of a number of years' duration during which time he came close to losing his license to practice. As part therapy and part recreation, he assists a cabinetmaker and is also a fan of the local football club. Occasionally he is involved in the business end of horseracing with a former jockey named Harry Strang and his assistant, Cam Delray, an extremely capable gentleman who quietly and unobtrusively steals every passage in which he appears. The impetus behind the novel is a telephone call that Irish receives from Danny McKillop, who claims to be one of Irish's former clients. Irish has no memory of the man or his case; when McKillop turns up dead in an unfortunate police confrontation before Irish can talk to him, it arouses Irish's curiosity. He is crestfallen to discover that he represented the man in what appeared to be a straightforward vehicular homicide case, occasioned by McKillop's intoxication, that resulted in McKillop's incarceration, from which he was only recently released. Wondering if he could have done a better job on his former client's behalf, Irish begins to do some digging into McKillop's case and circumstances both before and after his release from prison. It soon develops that McKillop might have been a pawn in a clever plot that reaches to the uppermost levels of government. As Irish continues his thoughtful digging, he finds there are those who want the past to lay undisturbed and the present to remain unimpeded --- and are willing to do whatever must be done to ensure that matters continue as they have been. American readers who are not well-versed in Australian ways will not get the gist of everything in BAD DEBTS, and some of the slang terms can be deciphered only within a carefully nuanced context. Temple, however, is such a master of his narrative that I think one is better served by plowing through any colloquial custom or expression that isn't understandable after two or three run-throughs and proceeding apace. I sh

Jack Irish Is An Across The Board Winner!

I like Jack Irish. I like him a lot. Fortunately for me MacAdam/Cage now publishes author Peter Temple's noir novels, featuring Mr. Irish, in the US. By the way, he is not Irish at all, but the great-grandson of I. Reich, a German Jewish immigrant to Australia. In a market chock-full of detective type anti-heroes, Jack stands above the pack as the only Renaissance sleuth. He's also a man from Melbourne who gives great Aussie slang! Literary points for that! Professionally his moniker reads "licensed criminal attorney," but he branches out into debt collecting and is not above doing his own investigative work either. A horse-racing man and habitual gambler, barfly, apprentice cabinetmaker and Australian Rules Football fanatic, Irish is just pulling himself off the rails, and a serious bout with self destruction involving alcohol, when the novel begins. His wife was murdered by a disgruntled former client and Jack is only now beginning to cope with the rage and guilt while sober. As he surfaces, he discovers that Danny McKillop, supposedly a former client, has been leaving a series of desperate sounding messages on his answering machine. Jack needs to refresh his memory since the Danny McKillop part of his past is a blur. The files show him the man was convicted of a hit and run accident, while under the influence of considerable alcohol, which resulted in a young woman's death. There were witnesses and plenty of evidence, so Irish could not have done much on Danny's behalf...even if he had been sober with his act pulled together. Recently released after serving ten years in the penitentiary, McKillop apparently wants to speak with his old lawyer ASAP. When Irish starts returning the multiple phone calls, he is informed that Danny has been murdered, like yesterday - by a cop, no less, who claims self defense. Jack is also tipped-off that Danny may have been innocent - that the woman's death, which he supposedly caused, might have benefited some politically powerful people. A few too many convenient murders later, (inconvenient, however, for Irish who is trying to shed some light on what appears to be a series of crimes, scams and cover-ups), Jack is warned off the case. It's those powerful people again. He is scared enough to seriously consider dropping it too. I told you he is a Renaissance sleuth, and not ashamed to be called a coward either. Seriously, there is wonderful dark humor throughout, but Temple's prose communicates a sense of evil menace quite effectively. It is not difficult to understand Jack Irish's fear given what fuels it. Although plot driven, I am extremely drawn to the protagonist and his supporting cast. These characters, and Irish's interaction with them, give wonderful depth to the book. Jack works part time for Charlie Taub, a master cabinetmaker, and is dedicated to learning the craft despite the flack he frequently takes from his employer and teacher. It is obvious that the concentration required for the demanding

Unsung (in the US, that is) genius, due for a far bigger readership

I love Peter Temple's Jack Irish books, and have been evangelizing about them for the past year on my blog (http://jennydavidson.blogspot.com). I'm so glad they're being published now in the US. This is some of the best crime fiction--the best fiction, period--you will ever read. They are elegantly written and constructed, but they also pack a punch; and they've got this great Australian vocabulary thing going on that works as a kind of minor enjoyable brain-teaser as you're luxuriating in the compelling first-person voice.