Into the Night

Author/Guide: Sarah Waters

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: A movie star is stabbed to death in Melbourne

ISBN: 978-1786494894
Genre: Crime, Police Procedural

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What you need to know before your trail

Senior Detective Gemma Woodstock is a small-town policewoman working on the biggest homicide cases in Melbourne. When an up-and-coming movie star is stabbed to death while the cameras are rolling on his new blockbuster, Gemma, eager to prove herself, is assigned to the case.

With the whole thing caught from multiple angles, how hard can it be to catch the crazed culprit? And who would want to hurt Australia’s adored boy-next-door? As Gemma uncovers the deadly underside of fame, her investigation turns into a dangerous game against those with money, power and everything to lose…

Locations

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Travel Guide

Melbourne

A Zombie move is being shot on the streets of Sydney. spring street is the main setting:

“The scene instantly conjures up memories of doomsday films. Odd how eerie an abandoned city street can be. So unnatural.”

There’s always a little bit of Australia which creeps in, jerking back to the present:

“ A possum jumps from a power line into a tree above us”

The fact that this crime takes place in the middle of Melbourne, in a busy Melbourne,street is key. There are now zombies walking around dazed and confused, the police station is full of them since they are potential witnesses so the setting is indeed very unique.

Gemma is from small town Smithson and Melbourne is quite the shock with its busy streets, crowds and stabbings. This is chaotic Melbourne already full of people now full of zombies and actors and the usual hangers on who even head to the hospital to trail the victim.

How does Gemma deal with it all?

“I love being a detective, I’m instinctively driven to right wrongs, but truly ridding the streets of crime wouldn’t suit me at all – the death and horror keep me going.”

Streetview Maps

A) Australia - VIC - Melbourne - Little Collins Street

B) Australia - VIC - Melbourne - Spring Street

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

Melbourne is quite a different setting for Gemma than small town Smithson that’s for sure! They say New York never sleeps, well Melbourne doesn’t even get a chance in this book!

A movie is in town and she’s on the case of a movie star stabbed on set. The city is evoked with style and there’s lots of street references and nuances such as when a possum lands on her as she’s on the job.

What works here for me is the fact that Gemma speaks in the first person so the action is all the more immediate. There’s a lot of procedural detail here which was interesting but it did get a bit bogged down in this from time to time. Soon moved on though, and back to the zombie filn set which I thought was very interesting. Not been on a movie set in a book in a while.

And with what goes on behind the scenes of movie sets being in the news recently, there should be no surprise that this plays a role in the novel. The novel seems more real and immediate as a result. There are a LOT of secrets on this movie set!

As for Gemma – an interesting character. Bit of a loner who has random sex and has a drink issue (yawn) but she loves her job and is passionate about what she does.

Book three please!