An iron rose by Peter Temple

'An iron rose' by Peter Temple. This book is published by Quercus in 2011 and has 384 pages.

McArthur John Faraday, a cop is on to a drug smuggler and about to bust the entire operation when everything goes wrong and he is terminated. He turns black smith. Best friend of his father, an aboriginal, and also his good friend, Ned, commits suicide by hanging. 

Is it a suicide? Mac is suspicious. A doctor Ned visited, commits suicide in same fashion. Mac investigates. What will he find?

The story is set in rural Australia. The laid back life style, sparse population and Australian toughness are on display. It's probably my first Australian novel. Everything sounded different. A good change. Mac, divorced, is a blacksmith, plays ball, enjoys life until Ned dies. He finds clues in Ned's belongings and starts investigating. A facility run for women comes into question.

Narration is decent. It's a foregone conclusion that Ned's murder and Mac's termination, years ago, has to converge. And so they do converge at the end of book. The culprit behind it is identified. 

Is it a thriller? Well, may be a mild one. It involves murder, investigation, double cross, falsification, love and sport. It mainly depicts the rural Australian life.

Why is it called Iron Rose? No idea. Probably because the protagonist is a black smith.

Why did I read this book? To try something different. 

What I didn't like? Pace. 

What did I like? Rural Australian life.

Give it a miss.