The Mallee: nothing is ever as it seems.

A streetwise opportunist escapes despair and abuse in the big city by seeking opportunities in the mallee. Rose changes her name but not her attitude when she discovers wealth and privilege ripe for the taking from the influential Dowerin family of the mallee.

She uses her cunning to win the heart of the son and when he is elected to the federal electorate of Mallee, she agrees to marry him, beginning a family. She enjoys her privileged position, but the heat and dust, and children become a burden. A mysterious Murray River boating accident kills her husband, leaving her a single mother of two with a third on the way.

Rose Dowerin replaces her husband as the local federal politician. The subsequent trappings of influence and power as a minister in the federal government suit her ambitions. It’s a privileged life, a life very different from the abusive streets of Melbourne from where she escaped and the dry dusty heat of the mallee.

A crack appears in her perfect world when the mallee agonises over prolonged drought. Farmers question her influence on water policy and concede they need a more dynamic politician to represent them in Canberra.

The Persian Water Company (PWC) or its subsidiaries own everything of commercial value in the mallee. They are a criminal syndicate and the majority owner of the water licensing system in Australia. They withhold access to farmers and growers to increase price adding to cash flow and wealth. The Persians are a ruthless crime gang who discourage all competitive business in the mallee with their influence tentacles extending to the prime minister and the state premier.

Tensions increase when the PWC want to establish a Vegas styled gambling precinct on remote unused land in the mallee, using political power and commercial muscle to get what they want. The Persians hatch a plot to rid the mallee of the Dowerin family once and for all. They use their influence on the prime minister and the premier leveraging the local political party to dis-endorse Rose. Everyone wants a stronger political voice, and conspiring to replace her using their influence, extortion, and violence.

As candidates, including her son, step forward, they just as quickly fall to foul play.

Under threat Rose falls back into her malevolent ways to overcome the forces against her until an unexpected family twist changes everything.

The Mallee is an action-packed thriller with a strong female lead featuring emotional and surprising plot twists, convincing characters, and exposes the dark-arts of politics that will have you questioning the system.

If you like fast-paced, page-turning thrillers that draw you into the story then Richard Evans’ seventh book will not disappoint you.

Fighting for water should not be deadly and this book is thought provoking in its political story. The Mallee is a gripping political thriller.