Crime thriller’s Cloud travels local ground

A NEW fictional rural crime thriller from author, Sandi Wallace is set amongst territory familiar to local readers.

Black Cloud is the sixth book from Wallace, and the fourth of hers set in the Daylesford area, following Melbourne journalist Georgie Harvey and Daylesford police officer, John Franklin in contemporary times.

“They’re amongst the first responders to an explosion at a farm in the small community of Korweinguboora, and soon discover that two of the casualties are their friends,” she said.

“In a small community, this has wide ripple effects. Franklin is very driven to find answers and to hold someone accountable, and Georgie is investigating what will be her toughest story yet.”

Wallace understands the locations within a story are like another “essential” character, and there’s more within Black Cloud than greater Daylesford.

“Two police officers amongst the explosion’s casualties were called out to a farm to do a welfare check with a breast care nurse from the Ballarat Base Hospital,” she said.

“There’s the element of her side of the story and movement around Ballarat, some action in Miners Rest, and another element of the story is the small town of Gordon.

“There’s quite a few threads there that local readers will enjoy, reading about the towns and places they know very well.”

At six years old, Wallace became hooked on crime and adventure narratives.

“I decided I wanted to be a crime writer. It took me a while to achieve that dream, almost joining the police force a few times…but that great love of writing always won over.

“It wasn’t until I was in my 40s that my first novel, set in the Daylesford area, was published. Myself and my husband fell in love with the place years ago,” she said.

“Juggling locals and tourists, there’s inbuilt tension that works really well for crime stories, so it seemed a really good location to centralise this series. Each book can be read as a standalone as well.”

Visit sandiwallace.com.