The author is himself the son of Greek migrants and grandson of refugees and this is the background to the book's fictional detective George Manolis who returns to his country Australian home town from his city life to help solve a crime many years after his family left it suddenly as a child.

The searing heat, misogyny, racism, and desperation of this outback town in the present day clash with George's childhood memories as he himself struggles with his own personal demons.

The police station is a shambles led by a drunken and belligerent sergeant. A popular school teacher has been found tied to a tree and stoned to death. The locals believe it was the refugees from the 'brown house' the recently established detention centre which was supposed to bring economic relief to the dying town, but it has only served to fuel the simmering tensions which are set to explode.

This is gritty and at times confronting Aussie crime noir at its best. Would love to read more in the future with these characters. Loved it.

At first I thought this was going to be another "the Dry", but aside from a city policeman going outback, that is really the only similarity.
George Manolis is tasked by his boss to go to Cobb, a town in the outback that appears to be where life has become stagnant for it's occupants who have nearly all turned to drink or drugs. A teacher has been found stoned to death and the occupants of the local detention centre are being blamed causing tensions to run high.
His investigation hits one brick wall after another in the blistering heat, but then the action gathers pace, it really gathers pace.
The reader is left wondering who will live and who will die.

Peter Papathanasiou writes a gritty Aussie outback noir set in the remote town of Cobb, a place that just might make you lose all your faith in humanity and despair. A broken down, sweltering Cobb seethes with sky high racial tensions, violence, and demonises the asylum seekers imprisoned in the Brown House, run by the officious and unhelpful Frank Onions. The sexism, misogyny and never ending harassment, abuse and disrespect, makes life for women hard, DC Kate Kerr carries a bat in her boot for those instances when the men of Cobb want to express their undying 'love' for her. The pubs are segregated into black and white, and the young Aboriginal DC Andrew Smith, aka Sparrow, is gay, and upfront about it, resulting in him being constantly beaten up, a fate he cannot avoid. A life of the demon drink, has residents comatose, belligerent and aggressive and drug use is open, prolific and blatant, all self destructive efforts to escape the tedium of life and Cobb.

In this volatile and incendiary climate, the local schoolteacher, Molly Abbott, is found taped to a tree, stoned to death. Virtually everyone is certain the killer is one of the hateful, sponging asylum seekers, who are finding themselves firebombed, and pelted with rocks and stones. Greek DS George Manolis is sent to Cobb, a place he lived in as a child, to find a murderer, but shockingly he finds mayhem and incompetence, the officer in charge, Sergeant Bill Fyfe, is a drunk, incapable of providing any case details, and a police station where what evidence has been gathered is unsecured. There is nothing in the way of an investigation, and Manolis has to start from the beginning, Fyfe is a lost cause, and he has the task of training and directing Sparrow and Kate. It's a dangerous investigation, of lies, secrets and silence, with Manolis made to feel unwelcome right from the beginning.

It is not made clear if this is the start of a series, but I was so impressed with this that I sincerely hope that it will be. The story is from the perspective of Manolis, a vegetarian, separated from his lawyer wife, Emily, and desperately missing her and their young son. His father, Con, has recently died, and Manolis remembers him running Cobb's popular Milk Bar, but why, when he was 8 years old, did his father pack up everything, take his family, and leave for the city in the middle of the night? This is very dark, intense, and riveting Aussie crime fiction, set in a economically impoverished, run down town, with a prejudiced and fearful community that has no future, sees all its problems emanating from asylum seekers and will not be persuaded otherwise, and an outsider police officer determined to get to the truth, despite the obstacles he faces. I can see this appealing to those who love Aussie noir and many other fans of the crime and mystery genre. Highly recommended! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This was a thrilling read, a great who dunnit that kept me guessing right up until the very end. When a local school teacher is found after being stoned to death, the biased locals direct their suspicions immediately towards the detention centre on the edge of town, home to refugees who are new to Cobb. Relations were strained already and this latest crime adds considerably to the tension between the locals, the indigenous people and all recent immigrants. In an attempt to solve this heinous crime Detective Sergeant George Manolis must return to the town from which he first hailed to investigate the crime where he discovers a town far removed from the one of his memories. This is a fast paced read, and is the first in a series which makes me really really happy, I can't wait to read Peter Papathanasiou's next installment.

The Stoning opens with a gruesome murder that is set to be ‘handled’ by the local police force until reinforcements are sent from the city. Two environments collide as they navigate solving a murder and dealing with a refugee centre that threatens the small town stability. But which side of the tracks is the murderer from? Plenty of ups and downs in this book and no chance of guessing until the end. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy of The Stoning, the first novel in a projected series set in the Australian outback to feature DS George Manolis.

When the local schoolteacher is found tied to a tree and stoned to death DS Manolis is sent from the city to the town of Cobb to investigate. He finds a town fallen on hard times and seething with resentment at the recently opened refugee detention centre.

I enjoyed The Stoning, which is an atmospheric novel with an interesting plot and a well disguised perpetrator. It is told entirely from Manolis’s point of view, so the reader sees and learns what he does. His point of view is original because of who he is. He spent his formative years in Cobb, moving to the city when he was eight, so he is a sort of native son, but not really. This is nuanced by the fact that his parents were Greek immigrants, so again not quite a native son. Now he’s a big city detective in a rural location so the outsider status builds and builds. I think it’s fair to say that he has nothing in common with the locals and the contrast couldn’t be starker.

The novel isn’t exactly a police procedural as the local officers couldn’t care less about procedure and there is no forensic support, but apart from that there are things that could be done and aren’t. But then, I don’t get the impression that the investigation is the author’s main focus. He is much more interested in the plight of refugees and the hostile reception they receive in local communities, which doesn’t seem so different in any corner of the world. It is interesting but depressing and the same could be said of his portrayal of Cobb and its inhabitants. The author also has room to present the treatment of Aborigines and I found that informative as his aboriginal character, Sparrow, is trenchant in his views. There’s not a lot of space for optimism on the human condition in this novel.

I think the plot is well conceived. Manolis spends a lot of time investigating in the dark as information is hard to come by, possibly by intent on the author’s part, as some of it lacks a little credibility. The solution, however, when it comes, is surprising, but entirely in keeping with the location and its problems.

I was very taken with DS George Manolis, who, despite being a seasoned homicide detective, is a bit of an idealist, determined to get justice for the victims. I like his attitude.

For a crime novel The Stoning is a bit issue heavy, but that didn’t stop me from devouring the pages, so I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

I am a fan of Australian mystery writers but had never come across author Peter Papathanasiou before but his book was a pleasure to read.
The Stoning started slowly (reminded me of The Dry with the detective returning to his home town) but when it got going I was hooked.
The cast of characters were diverse and added to the story with a couple of excellent twists that kept me guessing.
A thoroughly enjoyable book and I will be keeping a look out for other books from the author.

The murder of a local school teacher in a small town in the Australian outback causes fear and anger in the small community.
A gritty novel with some interesting characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great read. This book benefits from an unusual outback setting, a really thrilling ride. Absolutely loved it and the writing was sublime

Very good novelist. Exciting, engrossing, page turner. Keeps you involved even if you know it's fiction.

There is a real sense of the heat, dust, isolation of Australia's Outback. The location is not specified but one gets a very true picture of what Cobb is like. The crime is horrific, the town is one to be avoided, and most of the people are definitely the product of their environment. The novel touches on the controversial internment camps for refugees which plays a role in the plot. And, regarding the plot, one doesn't wish to give anything away because it is a mystery, who-done-it, and why. I would recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries, police procedurals - especially when set in foreign locations.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacLehose Press for an ARC.

This was an excellent read- Outback noir with a weirdly compelling cast of characters, a small town mystery and a culture clash of prejudice into which our main protagonist arrives to try and discover the truth behind a death.

The writing is superb, immersing you into these people's lives and experiences and the plot is both socially relevant and entertaining. It is in a lot of ways a quietly observant novel, telling a truth of our time and is hugely thought provoking throughout.

The unpredictable mystery is more of person than it is of action and this is a book that affects you on many levels without you realising it until you are done.

Recommended.

Possible spoilers

I do enjoy a bit of outback noir ,always full of racist,sexist behind the times people that you just can't fathom in these times.
Throw in a police force that just works to its own idea of rules and you've usually got a winner.
This one goes a step further,having our copper return to his childhood hometown and confront it,now he's used to more civilized city ways.
A good mix of investigating the crime of murder,and keeping himself alive I'd say.
Some great characters,that give you hope things might improve in the future.

I look forward to seeing what comes next.