The Paul Hirsch mysteries

''Disher is the gold standard for rural noir'' CHRIS HAMMER''The equal of Joseph Wambaugh and James Lee Burke'' THE TIMES''A superb chronicler of cop culture'' SUNDAY TIMESWHEN HATE RUNS DEEP, THE INNOCENT SUFFER Constable Paul Hirschausen''s rural beat in the low hills of South Australia is wide. Daybreak to day''s end, dirt roads and dust. Every problem that besets small towns and isolated properties, from unlicensed driving to arson. But now, just as Hirsch has begun to feel he knows the fragile communities under his care, the isolation and fear of the pandemic have warped them into something angry and unrecognisable. Hirsch is seeing stresses heightened and social divisions cracking wide open. His own tolerance under strain; people getting close to the edge. Today he''s driving an international visitor around: Janne Van Sant, whose backpacker son went missing while the borders were closed. They''re checking out his last photo site, his last employer. A feeling that the stories