Author(s): Hugh Watson

Crime

Hugh Watson’s second novel The Silo, is a compelling thriller set in the brutal world of country politics. In The Silo, Hugh draws on his country roots and political background to immerse readers in a story about corruption, blackmail, murder and shadowy international investment. Intuitive Sydney detective Susan Swift must solve a troubling series of murders. Barry Kingscliff, an ambitious pollie rapidly ascending the rungs of power, appears to be at the centre of it all. A horrific murder in a grain silo, a spate of unexplained deaths and the mysterious acquisition of rural properties turns the fictitious rural town of Gwydir upside down. Can Detective Swift unravel the criminal conspiracy before it’s too late? While written as a work of fiction, The Silo’s themes of corruption, foreign interference and environmental crisis may feel uncomfortably familiar to Australian readers in 2021.