The Drowning by Bryan Brown

With sales of over 16,000 copies of Sweet Jimmy, Bryan Brown's distinctive storytelling voice continues in this unflinching, gripping novel.
'A work of rattling and serpentine suspense ... gripping and sinuous and so, so good.' Trent Dalton
The body of a local teenage boy is found on the beach of a sleepy northern New South Wales town. David went for an evening swim and got into trouble . . . at least, that's what it looks like.
Three weeks before, Leila, a young backpacker, didn't turn up for her shift at the local cafe. Benny, the owner, isn't worried. It happens - backpackers are always on the move. There'll be another one.
One of the locals, Adrian, has been a help to Benny. He's found him a nice little sideline. Not exactly legal. Is that all Adrian is arranging on the coast? He once was a cop but has he gone bad?
And in the backblocks outside town, a bikie gang is gearing up for a large consignment from South America.
Murder, drugs, liaisons and lies are stirring up this small coastal town.
With Bryan Brown's characteristic laconic storytelling - humorous, tough and suspenseful - the secrets of this seemingly idyllic town slowly come to the surface.
Praise for Sweet Jimmy
'Uniquely Australian and uncommonly good, I could hear the author's voice in every spare, haunting line. More please.' - Michael Robotham
'My friend Bryan Brown, quite apart from his other manifold talents, turns out to be an excellent writer. An authentic voice; highly imaginative yet completely believable, with a flair for fully realised characters and a gripping narrative ... a great storyteller. This is utterly baffling. I'm furious.' - Sam Neill