Black River
The elite neighborhoods of Sydney are becoming a serial killer’s hunting ground. But for a city—and a detective—on the edge, not everything is as it seems in a twisting novel of suspense.
During a stifling summer in Sydney, the body of a chaplain’s daughter is found wrapped in black plastic on the deserted grounds of an elite boarding school. Is it the work of the killer who’s been stalking the privileged neighborhoods along the Parramatta River? Gut instinct tells Detective Sergeant Rose Riley something even more devious might be at play.
Eager to find the so-called Blue Moon Killer before he strikes again, Riley forms an uneasy alliance with Adam Bowman, a journalist with a valuable, and unsettling, link to the school’s history. As Riley’s investigation takes her deep into the secret lives of Sydney’s prominent citizens, Bowman delves into the darkest places of his own childhood for answers. When their paths converge, Riley must use every bit of her cunning to stop another murder.
Excavating Bowman’s past might just be the key to unlocking the case. Or it could prove to be Riley’s undoing. Because clue by clue she’s being pulled into the sights of a killer.
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Matthew Spencer
Before turning to fiction, Matthew Spencer spent two decades as a journalist at The Australian, where he ran the Foreign News desk and later served as Opinion Editor. His career took him across continents, writing for newspapers and magazines in Uganda and Kenya, and contributing to The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald. Those years sharpened his instinct for character, conflict, and the high stakes of real-world drama, qualities that now underpin his crime fiction.
Matthew holds an Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Sydney, but his imagination was seeded much earlier. Born in Parramatta, the son of teachers, he grew up with his sister Kate on the 320-acre campus of a boys’ boarding school. The long, almost empty summers on that sprawling property became his playground: bushland to explore, riverbanks to wander, and enough solitude to spark a lifelong fascination with landscape, mystery, and the hidden tensions beneath everyday life.
His debut novel, Black River, published by Allen & Unwin, announced him as a powerful new voice in Australian crime writing. It went on to win the inaugural 2023 Danger Award for Debut Crime Fiction, praised for its taut pacing and psychological depth. His second novel, Broke Road, also with Allen & Unwin, builds on that reputation, delving into human frailty, moral choice, and the unsettling places where personal histories collide with public consequences.
Today, Matthew lives in Sydney with his wife, Ritu Gupta, and their three children. When he isn’t writing, he draws inspiration from the city itself, its light and shadow, its bustling streets and hidden corners. These contrasts, both ordinary and unsettling, are the raw material of the stories he tells.
Rose Riley
Rose Riley consists of two books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
