Chris NystCritiques

A pure rollicking airport fiction whodunnit. A great read.
Read Feb 2004

Chris Nyst is a high profile barrister, based in Queensland. His clients have ranged from high-ranking politicians and sporting identities to a notorious hit-man and petty criminals.

In his spare time, he writes novels that the critics have described as ‘Sydney noir meets John Grisham’ – which is pretty much spot on. He wrote the screenplay for one of my all time favourite films, GETTIN’ SQUARE, an absolutely hysterical romp through the Gold Coast underworld, with David Wenham in an unforgettable role as a minor criminal.

What do murders, lawyers, politicians and property developers have in common? To find out you'll have to read Nyst's latest offering, CROOK AS ROOKWOOD.

First an explanation of the title. In Australia, when things aren't good they are “crook”. When things are really, really bad they are “'crook as Rookwood”. At 700 acres, Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery is one of the largest burial grounds in the world and one of Australia's oldest cemeteries. Rookwood is where you'd likely end up when things got as crook as they could get.

It's a corrupt world we live in and heaven help the men and women who try to do something about the underhanded deals of the filthy rich and deviously powerful. CROOK AS ROOKWOOD is a deliciously colourful novel that is partly legal thriller, partly political satire and full of sharp dialogue that comes straight from the murky heart of Sydney.
For Michael Wiltshire, things become as crook as Rookwood very quickly after he threatens to blow the whistle on a couple of his Labor Party mates. Not one to listen to advice warning him that it wouldn't be a good idea to go up against some pretty heavy hitters, Michael soon finds himself arrested for murder with a truckload of corroborating evidence that could put him away for a long time.
That's what happens to whistle-blowers when men with power feel threatened.
Enter Edwin Moran, a defence lawyer from Queensland with an abrasive attitude but a brilliant delivery when in a courtroom. In fact, Eddie completely steals the show with his steel-trap mind, his abrupt casual manner, a shockingly poor dress sense and a fondness for the melodramatic delivery. Through a private investigator acquaintance, Wiltshire somehow manages to get Eddie to represent him. Both inside the courtroom and out, the case is set up to be completely engrossing thanks to some fancy lawyering and a succession of corrupt policemen and Labor Party head-kickers.
Nyst is a keen observer of personalities and creates memorable characters. He also has a feel for writing dialogue which is witty and sounds authentic. He knows the legal system and how it works. He also knows criminals; and he knows how they think and how they speak. CROOK AS ROOKWOOD is filled with corrupt politicians, big time businessmen and colourful racing identities in a storyline that rings very true. It's very Australian both in the language and the attitude that will strike a familiar chord with Australian readers, while possibly leaving overseas readers a little confused. But this is a thoroughly entertaining thriller that lays bare Australia's political heart. It's dangerous and amusing, entirely believable and very hard to put down.

It’s reasonable to expect that the most honest and trustworthy members of the community are the detectives charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order. But what would happen if the local police are actually at the centre of the majority of crimes committed in their jurisdiction? Cop This! presents policing at its most - fabricating evidence, confessions beaten out of suspects and the notorious “verbal” are the tools by which this mob of crooked cops work. Woe betide anyone suspected of a crime when the Fortitude Valley police get their mitts on you. Alibi or not, when they have to get a conviction they’ll get it any way they can.

Chris Nyst writes with a vast background in the Australian legal system behind him. He nails the dialogue and ideology of the career criminal perfectly and even captures the contempt felt by the police for both the defendant and his solicitor with admirable precision. Added to this is a deft touch when exploring the more delicate introspective moments that defines the all important motivating factors required by Michael to make the momentous decision to take on the against-the-odds case before him. Nyst passes the credibility test with flying colours.

I think living in Brisbane and recognising so many of the places described in this novel added my engagement with the characters and the story.

This is Nyst’s first novel – and he has succeeded in writing a convincing thriller that entertains while making a rousing social statement. His later novels show him honing his skills and delivering even more cracking reads.½

In the summer of 1965 in the northern NSW coastal town of Brighton Bay a couple of children go missing on their way to the local swimming pool. It’s a heart-breaking mystery that captures the attention of the entire nation as news of the children’s fate was awaited. But for 30 years the mystery would go unsolved. Gone is the second novel by Australian lawyer turned bestselling author Chris Nyst and is an extremely entertaining legal thriller.

Bill Keliher was a young constable in Brighton Bay at the time of Michael and Catherine McCabe’s disappearance and it is a case that would haunt him for the rest of his career. But there is more to Keliher’s motivation for revisiting the case year after year than first meets the eye. Keliher was irretrievably personally involved in the case and the secrets he kept in 1965 are about to be brought devastatingly out into the open.

First one suspect is winkled out into the open, then a second and suddenly the McCabe case has recaptured the attention of the country. But the evidence is thin, the suspects don’t seem right for it and it looks as though any courtroom action will be perfunctory at best.

Introduced into this slight lull in proceedings is young defence lawyer Eddie Moran. Moran is an irreverent whirlwind of a man who bullies, threatens, ridicules and derides his way past police, prosecting attorneys and even judges in his bid to fight for his client. He’s unashamedly in it for the money and the public recognition making sure his clients have his fee up front and that the media has been duly notified before he enters a court or exits a police station.

Eddie is a real scene stealer, despised by all yet his performances in court are real theatre, particularly when he sets out to butt heads with a police witness whose evidence may be fabricated.

Following the introduction of the 1965 disappearance, the story is taken forward to the mid-1980s and, after the murder of a Gold Coast drug dealer, the McCabe children’s case is dragged back into the headlines. What follows is an intensely fiery legal battle that forces together former adversaries in a stoic united front as all the evidence points unwaveringly towards Bill Keliher.

Starting out with the tragic disappearance of the McCabe children forces the story to begin slowly with the construction of a carefully founded base. Once we move ahead in time and the suspects begin cropping up, the presence of Edwin Moran injects not only more energy but a considerable amount of levity into proceedings.

Nyst slips easily from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s painting a tragic picture with economical grace, gradually filling some of the vital details later. The simple symbol of a small collection of pre-decimal coins kept by Michael and Catherine’s mother along with a photo of the children are enough to act as an emotional reminder of the tragedy that started the story. Occasionally returning to them focuses the reader on the fact that someone still has to answer to that long-unsolved crime.

Where Chris Nyst really excels is in the courtroom where every scene is lively and constructed to ensure maximum entertainment as the advantage swings wildly from the prosecution to the defence. Nyst uses his vast experience as a defence lawyer to ensure that the legal procedures are as real-life as possible, although one feels he allows a fair amount of latitude for the flamboyance of Eddie Moran.

This is an Australian thriller of outstanding quality, well-balanced in the simple sentimentality that isn’t overblown and unrelenting in its entertainment value thanks to some larger than life characters. Gone is certainly a book of two distinct moods and Chris Nyst does a mighty job of merging them together into a cohesive story.½

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