Paradise by Patricia Wolf

In a beach paradise, an unspeakable crime is committed. The only witness lies in a coma, fighting for her life...

Australia's Gold Coast: On a stunningly beautiful stretch of coastline, a young mother is brutally murdered and her daughter, Gabby, is left in a coma, with her life hanging in the balance.

DS Lucas Walker has just arrived in Surfer's Paradise for some much-needed recovery after injuries sustained in his last investigation. But he is soon pulled into the dark twists and turns of this home invasion gone wrong, vowing to find the men responsible.

As Walker digs deeper into the dark underbelly of this shimmering city by the ocean, a case from his own past resurfaces, with deadly consequences.

And as eight-year-old Gabby, the sole witness to her mother's murder, wakes in her hospital bed, Walker is in a race against time to stop those responsible before they return to silence her forever...

Don't miss the next instalment in the tense and gripping DS Lucas Walker series. Fans of The Dry by Jane Harper, Cara Hunter and Chris Whitaker will be hooked from the very first page until the final breathtaking conclusion.

About the author

Patricia Wolf has been a journalist for more than 15 years, a regular contributor to titles including The Guardian, the Financial Times, The Independent and The Telegraph, among others. She grew up in outback Australia, in a mining town called Mount Isa in far north-west Queensland – eagle eyed readers will have spotted a small reference to it in her first book, OUTBACK. Patricia loves the rugged beauty, indigo sky and wide horizons of the outback, but left Australia after university to travel the world and became a journalist. She lives in Berlin, Germany, but the outback always calls her home. In 2019, just before the covid pandemic locked us all in, Patricia spent two months in northwest Queensland, taking a four-week road trip. As she drove and spent nights and days surrounded by the beauty and rugged harshness of the outback, DI Lucas Walker and his stories came to be.

Review

‘Paradise’ is the shocking follow-up to ‘Outback’ and I was very excited to pick this one up as I really fell for DS Lucas Walker. ‘Paradise’ did not disappoint as it was filled full of tension and drama! Although this is the second book in the series you can pick this one up as a new reader as the threads which continue on to this book are explained perfectly by the author.

After the events in ‘Outback’ DS Lucas Walker has been sent to the Gold Coast partly to recuperate but also on secondment to a desk job while his internal investigation is being finalised. He lands in Surfers Paradise, full of swanky flats and hotel but there is a seedier side the paradise being shown to tourists. Walker ends up being on a team which is investigating a horrific home invasion, where the mother has been killed and the daughter put into a coma. Meanwhile Stefan Markovich, the leader of the Vandals motorcycle chapter has also relocated to the area and has scores to settle with Lucas Walker.

I really enjoyed that there were multiple threads to ‘Paradise’, some following on from the first book with the Vandals etc but all of them intertwined perfectly towards the end! The pacing of the book was great for 90% but I felt the ending was slightly rushed and could have been teased out for a bit more engagement with the reader. Basically, I just wanted more to read and that is never a bad thing. Lucas is a great character - fierce when it comes to justice and a sweetie to those he loves! A perfect combination in my eyes. I liked how he knows he has roots in the bush and his grief for his grandmother felt real and true to his character.

I’m excited to see what is going to happen in the next book! I’m secretly hoping that is it going to be based in Berlin…

Let me know if you pick this one up!