Review: Heist by Robert Schofield

Title: Heist

Published: Allen and Unwin June 2013

Status: Read from June 28 to 30, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}

My Thoughts:

Heist is Robert Schofield’s entertaining and action packed debut crime novel set in Western Australia’s goldfields. Gareth Ford is an engineering manager at an outback gold mine a few clicks north of Kalgoorlie. Divorced, with a weakness for gambling and grog, he is the perfect patsy for a group of mercenaries who raid the isolated mine’s vault and steal over eight million dollars worth of gold bars. After being taken hostage and then left for dead in a burning armoured van, Ford’s only concern is to ensure the thieves haven’t followed through on their threats to hurt his young daughter but instead he finds himself running from his enraged captors, the corrupt Gold Squad, and a vicious local Bikie gang.

I really enjoyed this exciting crime thriller that includes an audacious theft, deadly gun battles and car (well motorcycle) chases in the Australian outback all leading to a conspiracy of greed and profit. The plot is well thought out, the action convincing and tension runs high and fast as it moves between the remote desert scrub and isolated towns of the state.

Ford is a great protagonist, obviously flawed yet redeemed by his devotion to his daughter and his determination to ensure her safety despite burns, bullet wounds and death threats. Ford also has a great sense of humor (read: he is a smarta##) which, along with the Aussie sensibilities of his character (non withstanding his Scot origins), lightens the tone of the story considerably.
Teaming Ford with the ‘good cop’ Detective Rosie Kavanagh, poetry spouting snake charmer ‘Banjo’ and hard as nails Viper’s president, Doc in their quest to unmask the mastermind behind the gold heist is a stroke of genius. With limited reasons to trust one another, the uneasy dynamic works fabulously as they struggle to work both together while pursuing their own agendas.

An impressive debut, Heist is an exciting, fast paced and fun novel. I have no hesitation in recommending it to fans of Aussie crime fiction who enjoy thrills, spills and a laugh.