Truth
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Review
'Peter Temple's Truth may well prove to be the year s best thriller... It's the fierce energy of Temple's writing that is the book's outstanding feature the dialogue and linking prose almost vie to outdo each other in brilliance' Sunday Times.
'A thriller of dazzling richness... leaves the reader ravaged, furious and marvelling at his technique... a stunning piece of psychological portraiture' Guardian.
'One of the world's most distinguished literary crime novelists' Independent.
'Tautly constructed and compulsively paced... his dialogue is entirely distinctive, full of the mangled poetry and beautiful solecisms of ordinary speech' Observer.
'What makes Temple so compelling is his divine use of language. The novel is written with grace and subtlety, elegant but also violent, dark and yet suffused with sympathy for the protagonists, cast in dialogue that is both distinctive and surprising' Daily Mail.
'With crackling prose and sparkling dialogue, Temple has fashioned a fashioned a fast-paced atmospheric police work of genuine class' Mail On Sunday.
'Vivid, fascinating portrait of a society and its capital city, and of a flawed but fascinating hero' Literary Review.
'A thoughtful, intelligent novel' The Times.
'Temple's award-winning The Broken Shore was good; this is better' Independent.
'Doesn't disappoint for a single second' Daily Mail. --Reviews.
'A thriller of dazzling richness... leaves the reader ravaged, furious and marvelling at his technique... a stunning piece of psychological portraiture' Guardian.
'One of the world's most distinguished literary crime novelists' Independent.
'Tautly constructed and compulsively paced... his dialogue is entirely distinctive, full of the mangled poetry and beautiful solecisms of ordinary speech' Observer.
'What makes Temple so compelling is his divine use of language. The novel is written with grace and subtlety, elegant but also violent, dark and yet suffused with sympathy for the protagonists, cast in dialogue that is both distinctive and surprising' Daily Mail.
'With crackling prose and sparkling dialogue, Temple has fashioned a fashioned a fast-paced atmospheric police work of genuine class' Mail On Sunday.
'Vivid, fascinating portrait of a society and its capital city, and of a flawed but fascinating hero' Literary Review.
'A thoughtful, intelligent novel' The Times.
'Temple's award-winning The Broken Shore was good; this is better' Independent.
'Doesn't disappoint for a single second' Daily Mail. --Reviews.
Review
'Peter Temple's Truth may well prove to be the year's best thriller... It's the fierce energy of Temple's writing that is the book's outstanding feature - the dialogue and linking prose almost vie to outdo each other in brilliance' Sunday Times. 'A thriller of dazzling richness... leaves the reader ravaged, furious and marvelling at his technique... a stunning piece of psychological portraiture' Guardian. 'One of the world's most distinguished literary crime novelists' Independent. 'Tautly constructed and compulsively paced... his dialogue is entirely distinctive, full of the mangled poetry and beautiful solecisms of ordinary speech' Observer. 'What makes Temple so compelling is his divine use of language. The novel is written with grace and subtlety, elegant but also violent, dark and yet suffused with sympathy for the protagonists, cast in dialogue that is both distinctive and surprising' Daily Mail. 'With crackling prose and sparkling dialogue, Temple has fashioned a fashioned a fast-paced atmospheric police work of genuine class' Mail On Sunday. 'Temple's award-winning The Broken Shore was good; this is better' Independent. 'Doesn't disappoint for a single second' Daily Mail.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Truth" is a superior police thriller set in Melbourne, Victoria. Plot, character, setting and style reinforce one another brilliantly to make a rich, dark and satisfying whole.
Stephen Villani is Melbourne's Head of Homicide. In this book - which despite the minor reappearance of some characters from the also excellent "The Broken Shore" is standalone rather than part of a series - Villani faces two major cases. In the first, a young woman is found murdered in a VIP apartment in the city's new casino complex; in the second, three thugs are found tortured and murdered in the suburb of Oakleigh. This description does not do justice to Temple's extraordinary weave of sub-plot and sub-sub-plot. "Truth" encompasses politics, business, the media, race, intra-team and inter-team police dynamics, family issues across three generations, adultery, bush fires, technology, corruption and ghosts, both threatening and benign. A story diagram for "Truth" would look like the wiring blueprint for an Airbus A380. Yet, Temple pulls it off. The reader does not get lost but rather is absorbed in a complex and vaguely disturbing world.
Temple does not lose the reader because all the strands are held together in Steve Villani's head. He has a sharp and fluid intelligence and an internal compass that largely keeps him level despite the almost overwhelming accumulation of stresses and events. The rest of the large cast is strong too, ranging from Villani's tough gruff father, through Dove, his aboriginal assistant, and Rose Quirk the mother of a man killed by the police in an earlier case to various examples of Victoria's great and not- so-good.
"Truth's" Australian setting is refreshing, along with its idiom of barbies, sunnies, long blacks (a type of coffee), branchstackers (your guess is as good as mine) and Blind Freddy. It meets the crime book's challenge of finding something new without dragging us into the dreary depths of the Scandinavian soul or the artificial fog of Victorian London. Melbourne, here, is a complete world at once familiar and unfamiliar to the average British or American reader.
Temple writes beautifully. He favors short, tight sentences but does not write down to his readers. This is intelligent prose, with powerful images, flashes of humor and convincing dialogue. There is plenty of torque.
Temple's publishers have made comparisons to Coetze and Wolfe but this is not a novel that aspires to transcend the crime genre. It is satisfied to perfect it.
Stephen Villani is Melbourne's Head of Homicide. In this book - which despite the minor reappearance of some characters from the also excellent "The Broken Shore" is standalone rather than part of a series - Villani faces two major cases. In the first, a young woman is found murdered in a VIP apartment in the city's new casino complex; in the second, three thugs are found tortured and murdered in the suburb of Oakleigh. This description does not do justice to Temple's extraordinary weave of sub-plot and sub-sub-plot. "Truth" encompasses politics, business, the media, race, intra-team and inter-team police dynamics, family issues across three generations, adultery, bush fires, technology, corruption and ghosts, both threatening and benign. A story diagram for "Truth" would look like the wiring blueprint for an Airbus A380. Yet, Temple pulls it off. The reader does not get lost but rather is absorbed in a complex and vaguely disturbing world.
Temple does not lose the reader because all the strands are held together in Steve Villani's head. He has a sharp and fluid intelligence and an internal compass that largely keeps him level despite the almost overwhelming accumulation of stresses and events. The rest of the large cast is strong too, ranging from Villani's tough gruff father, through Dove, his aboriginal assistant, and Rose Quirk the mother of a man killed by the police in an earlier case to various examples of Victoria's great and not- so-good.
"Truth's" Australian setting is refreshing, along with its idiom of barbies, sunnies, long blacks (a type of coffee), branchstackers (your guess is as good as mine) and Blind Freddy. It meets the crime book's challenge of finding something new without dragging us into the dreary depths of the Scandinavian soul or the artificial fog of Victorian London. Melbourne, here, is a complete world at once familiar and unfamiliar to the average British or American reader.
Temple writes beautifully. He favors short, tight sentences but does not write down to his readers. This is intelligent prose, with powerful images, flashes of humor and convincing dialogue. There is plenty of torque.
Temple's publishers have made comparisons to Coetze and Wolfe but this is not a novel that aspires to transcend the crime genre. It is satisfied to perfect it.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read all of Temples books... he's one of my favourite authors. His style is unique and takes some adjusting to, he introduces a lot of characters (usually known by several nicknames!) and generally its an idea to read his books in as few sittings as possible or you may find yourself scratching your head and flicking back through the pages.
In this offering, I felt the clipped prose was overdone, and at times it was hard work to establish who was saying (or more typically, implying with a nod and a wink) what to whom. I found myself regularly re-reading bits to make sure i'd got it.
The author is intelligent with a dry wit, but its a leap of faith to accept that all his characters in reality would share those traits with him... though I guess that's a trade off for a more entertaining read. Maybe the book was too smart for this reader, but whilst it never lost my interest I found it all a bit hard work to be honest.
If you're new to Temple I'd start elsewhere in his back catalogue before dipping in to this one.
In this offering, I felt the clipped prose was overdone, and at times it was hard work to establish who was saying (or more typically, implying with a nod and a wink) what to whom. I found myself regularly re-reading bits to make sure i'd got it.
The author is intelligent with a dry wit, but its a leap of faith to accept that all his characters in reality would share those traits with him... though I guess that's a trade off for a more entertaining read. Maybe the book was too smart for this reader, but whilst it never lost my interest I found it all a bit hard work to be honest.
If you're new to Temple I'd start elsewhere in his back catalogue before dipping in to this one.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have read all of Peter Temple's books and he keeps getting better. This book is incredible in its evocation of place, it's authenticity of language and development of character. I find myself re-reading whole pages, the dialogue is so good. This morning on the tube on the way to work I had to fight back tears after reading Villani's childhood memories of time with his father Bob. In a sense, the 'thriller' plotting of this book is like a skeleton, on which so much is hanging. The subtleties of relationships, their frailties, our capacity to love each other and hurt each other, have so much truth in them.
I have always considered James Lee Burke and John Le Carre to be the top protagonists of this genre, Peter Temple is as good as these guys.
I have always considered James Lee Burke and John Le Carre to be the top protagonists of this genre, Peter Temple is as good as these guys.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Five Star Temple
I'm English and found the 'Australian' feel one of the best features of the book - a really fascinating taste of the differences in cultures. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Moose Molloy
Really Disappointing
I read The Broken Shore and quite liked it despite the late introduction of the culprits! So I ordered Shooting Star and Truth. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Paul-San
What has happened to Peter Temple?
Now Ive been a fan, read all his books as they have been re-released in the UK over the last 3 or 4 years. But Im afraid its gone to his head. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Anthony Pinckard
Very different to, and miles behind, "The Broken Shore"
Quite a contrast here to the last Temple novel I read and this one just didn't do it for me, I'm afraid. Read more
Published 15 months ago by johnverp
A new Boss in town
There is a new boss in town and his name is Peter Temple. No wonder this guy won so many awards in his homecountry. I thought The Broken Shore was very good. Read more
Published 15 months ago by J. Ligthart
Dark, complex account of personal and institutional crimes
TRUTH is such a rich book that it's hard to know where to start a review. On one level, it's a police procedural set in Melbourne, as the new head of homicide, Inspector Stephen... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Maxine Clarke
Temple's hardest and best yet
I love Temple's books, really enjoyed Broken Shore. But in TRUTH, depite all its qualities, his (over? Read more
Published 19 months ago by Rosemary Wills
One of the best crime reads of the year
This is a wonderful book by an Australian master of the crime genre. Homicide chief Vilani is one of the great crime characters - a complex man, flawed but deeply moral and "real"... Read more
Published 19 months ago by TheDon
Brutal and incomprehensible
Peter Temple has followed up the brilliant "The Broken Shore" with an absolute clunker. "Truth" is about as nasty a book as you'll read this year; a tale of murder, brutality,... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Jl Adcock
Frustratingly betwixt and between...
Ah, how frustrating is this? There are parts of this novel that leave you nodding at the undoubted skill of the author. Read more
Published 20 months ago by bloodsimple
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