It was just OK. The writing was fine but I didn't particularly care about any of the characters. ( )

This was a really good story. I hesitate to call it a murder mystery, because at least for me the author tipped his hand a little to early and I was able to figure out who the killer was less than a third of the way through the book. The story takes place in an area south of Melbourne Australia and the police procedures are vastly different than those in the USA, which help to make the story interesting. The other nice thing was there were a few side story/crimes going on and for once an author was able to tie them all together. This really was a good book. ( )

It was interesting reading this, the first in the series, right after the seventh instalment. The police officers seemed a lot more morally compromised here (apart from Hal and Pam). Did Ellen pocket $500 from a crime scene or did I misunderstand that bit? The ending was satisfactory to me, but I wish Hal wouldn't cosy up to the reporter - when has that ever ended well? ( )

The Dragon Man by Australian author Garry Disher was a good, solid police procedural featuring Inspector Hal Challis and his investigative team who are tracking a number of crimes, among them a serial killer who is targeting young women along an isolated highway.

The book is set in the Peninsula, a rural area south-east of Melbourne. Challis is nicknamed the Dragon Man because of his love of airplanes, in particular his Dragon Rapide that he is is restoring. Although he lives a rather solitary life, we soon learn that his wife has spent the last seven years in prison for trying to murder him. The rest of Challis’ team are a varied yet interesting group. From the young constable, Pam Murphy who is both idealistic and ambitious to Ellen Destry who is a very capable detective that is dealing with a troubled marriage.

The Dragon Man is well written and engrossing. This is the first of the Inspector Challis series and so a lot of the book was aimed at introducing and developing the characters. I guessed the culprit but still enjoyed reading how the team painstakingly followed the few clues they had to a successful conclusion. I also enjoyed the fact that although hunting a serial killer was a top priority, the police also had to deal with investigating both a series of burglaries and the threat of an arsonist. The Dragon Man has lured me into adding yet another series to my reading. ( )

Nice minimalist mystery with fairly complex characters. Author to his credit doesn't attempt to wrap up anything other than the main mystery. Complicated characters have issues that all are not completely worked out by the end of the novel but that doesn't make it any less satisfying. ( )