Watching rock climbing is visceral. In the 2018 celebrated documentary Free Solo, climber Alex Honnold attempts to climb across sheer drops without ropes in Yosemite National Park. Close-up shots of Honnold’s fingers grasping onto a rock – the only thing stopping him from plunging to his death – make the heart race.
Documentaries such as Free Solo and The Dawn Wall, along with a massive surge in the popularity of obstacle courses and parkour through programs such as the Ninja Warrior franchise, have increased appreciation of rock climbing.
It is no wonder that Claire Sutherland, journalist and amateur rock climber, sets her debut novel against the backdrop of Mount Arapiles in Western Victoria. The setting is perfect for a murder mystery, and it is clear that Sutherland understands rock climbing and the local scenery intimately. It makes for a gripping page-turner.
Rock climber Skye discovers the body of a young woman on an isolated track in Wimmera. Her injuries make it look like a rock-climbing accident, but she’s too far from the nearest cliffs for the death to make sense.
Skye becomes involved with the investigation. Skye is the quintessential thriller heroine: whip-smart and daring, occasionally bucking against police protocols and procedures.
Sutherland touches on themes of domestic abuse and partner violence with more grace than most other writers in her genre. Apart from this, the novel is not particularly innovative. It is a typical murder mystery, but it is executed with unusually high skill for a debut novelist.
Sutherland’s prose and chapters are tight, concise and paced. The intricate plotting pays off with a handful of genuine surprises. The dialogue is occasionally contrived, but not so out of place that it would feel incongruent with an ABC weeknight procedural (which it feels almost destined to become).
Read: Book review: All You Took From Me, Lisa Kenway
The Crag draws on all the tropes of Australian Gothic crime, including the ever-present force of the natural landscape. It is vaguely reminiscent of a Candice Fox or Jane Harper. A delightful and gripping read.
The Crag, Claire Sutherland
Publisher: Affirm
ISBN: 9781923022881
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320pp
Release date: 30 July 2024
RRP: $32.99
