This week, Michael Popple recommends an outstanding Australian crime fiction debut to start 2025 with. You can find more of Michael’s book reviews on his blog: unseenlibrary.com 

Gunnawah by Ronni Salt

Hachette Australia, $32.99

One of the first Australian books released this year is the compelling Gunnawah by Ronni Salt, a brilliant read that quickly draws the reader in.

Set in the Riverina in 1974, it features teenage farmgirl Adelaide Hoffman who joins the Gunnawah Gazette, hoping it will lead to a life outside of her small town. Taken under the wing of the paper’s owner, Valdene Bullark, Adelaide is given a routine assignment covering an important irrigation project. However, this seemingly simple story leads Adelaide and Val towards a conspiracy involving local farms and their water supply. It soon becomes clear that there are many dark secrets in Gunnawah that people are willing to kill to keep quiet.

Gunnawah is an amazing debut novel from Salt that combines an intriguing crime fiction narrative with a moving Australian story. Focusing the plot on various townsfolk, Salt crafts a captivating character-driven tale that draws you into the small town and its many stories. The resulting spread of focus allows for a more elaborate crime fiction narrative, as the reader is forced to unravel everyone’s secrets to get to the truth, and you really get drawn into the author’s fantastic story.

The narrative is supported by its excellent setting, as Salt successfully recreates the feel of an Australian rural town in the 1970s. Bringing in elements of the Whitlam era, and emerging criminal issues, she has created a cool mystery narrative that reflects the times. Enhanced by touches of subtle humour, Gunnawah has a very distinctive flair that sets it apart from other Australian crime fiction.

2025 is off to a very good start when it comes to Australian fiction, as Gunnawah is a striking and powerful novel that will strongly appeal to crime fiction fans. Ronni Salt really impresses with this debut, and she is an author to keep an eye on in the future.