Kittyhawk Down is the second book in the Australian police procedural series by Garry Disher. Once again we follow Inspector Hal Challis and Sergeant Ellen Destry along with the other team members of the Peninsula Police Force as they investigate a variety of cases. From a missing two year old to discovering the identity of a male body found in the ocean and arresting a serial rapist who has been terrorizing the area, they are kept busy.

Along with the police business we also get caught up in their personal lives with Challis dealing with his wife who is in prison for trying to murder him, Ellen sympathizing with her daughter over her love life while still trying to sort her own marriage out. The mixture of police affairs with the juggling of personal issues moves the book along quickly. The multiple threads that run through the story keep the pages turning and although everything wasn’t cleared up by the end of the book it felt realistic.

Kittyhawk Down is a good addition to the series and I am enjoying the development of the characters’ personalities, their relationships with each other as well as the police work. I will be continuing on with this series. ( )

This ended abruptly, but was intriguing while it lasted. ( )

Kittyhawk Down is the second in the Inspector Challis series by Aussie author Garry Disher, and it proved to be an extremely fast paced police procedural. There were multiple threads running through the book, with the ending pulling them all together. Twists and turns throughout, the plot was intriguing with the eventual killer being a total surprise. Highly recommended. ( )

Nice Australian mystery novel. Of its unique features is that part of the police work described seems to have nothing to do with the case, just like in a real police station. All loose ends are not completely wrapped up, but the case is solved. The book is clearly written by an Australian and doesn't bother to explain any cultural references, doesn't get in the way of the story, but might annoy some people. It is the second one in a series, but could probably be read without reading the first one. ( )

In this second Hal Challis investigation, Hal's aerodrome colleague, Janet Casement (known as "Kitty" because her vintage plane is a Kittyhawk) seems to be the target of a murderer. A toddler has been missing for months, and the man everyone suspects of killing her is free for lack of evidence. A man known to the local paper as "The Meddler" takes pleasure in squealing on scofflaws, and may have stirred up something dangerous. It's all told in relatively short segments from various points of view (coppers and perpetrators), keeping the reader very well-engaged. A great escape. ( )