The Long Game

The Long Game is a tightly-wound crime thriller set in and around Melbourne, featuring Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer and her unconventional partner with superior instincts – a service dog called Harry.

When a local surfer named Ray Carlson is found dead at the local beach with a silver-handled kitchen knife in his chest, DS Zoe Mayer is assigned the case. Scarcely back from extended leave, and still wrestling with her demons, she works the case in the blazing summer heat alongside Harry.

There’s an obvious suspect for the murder, and Zoe makes an arrest. But it’s all too neat, and none of Zoe’s colleagues believe her theory that the whole thing is a set-up… until they discover that someone wants Zoe and her theories out of the picture.

Superbly plotted, and vividly set in the beachside suburbs and hilly retreats around Melbourne, The Long Game is a mystery about a tough and clever investigator who won’t give up.

Simon Rowell has worked on outback oil rigs, managed nightclubs, been a tour guide and run marketing campaigns. His first book, The Echo of Others, was longlisted for the Ned Kelly Awards for Best First Crime in 2018. He lives with his wife, Karen, in rural Victoria on a farm full of rescued animals.