T W Lawless

A decent man in an indecent time ... When Jack Furey has his 100th birthday celebrations forced upon him, his mind turns to his experience of WWII as a police sergeant in 1942 in Far North Queensland. As Sergeant Furey of the Wangamba Police, he welcomed the arrival of the Americans to set up an Air Force base near the new RAAF base outside town. Despite personal misgivings about the separation of the black soldiers from the whites' camp, Furey gains the agreement of the US colonel to co-operate with local law enforcement. But with so many soldiers around, the town changes. A new Americans-only dancehall is only the start of the trouble. Among rumours of prostitution, teen pregnancies and backyard abortions, the bodies start to pile up. When the wife of a returned Australian soldier claims a 'blackfella' murdered him in their home, Furey is determined to uncover the truth - no matter how unwelcome the US brass and local dignitaries find his investigations.

Peter Clancy is in the US to see Stella Reimers receive a Pulitzer for the story he uncovered. As the newly-appointed news editor at her hometown newspaper, the San Francisco Daily, Stella convinces Peter to become its chief crime reporter. But Peter is tired of crime reporting, and wants to do more serious investigative journalism--hoping to earn a Pulitzer in his own name.Using crime reporting to open doors, Peter is soon using his new informants and SFPD contacts to investigate multiple leads that might result in that big story--will it be the unsolved serial killings, the hate crimes against San Fran's gay population, or the dodgy goings-on at a new evangelist church?As his boss, Stella wants Peter to leave some stories in the past--including her own past. When the death threats start coming in from 'the Flamekeeper', Peter is more determined than ever to join the dots. There will indeed be a day of reckoning, but not the one the Flamekeeper has planned--not if Peter Clancy has anything to do with it."I think Lawless is on his way to being a crime writer to watch..." The Blurb "Peter Clancy is an amalgam of characters from crime fiction and film noir--a world-weary type" Sydney TelegraphFlamekeeper is the fifth book in the Peter Clancy series.