Pride of place
Author brings crime to hometown.
Connection to place has laid strong foundations for bestselling Newcastle author Lee Christine’s novels, the latest of which is set in her own backyard.
“It’s a little daunting setting a book in your hometown,” Christine tells Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine.
“You wonder how it’s going to be received.”
Her tenth novel, Glenrock, is set in – you guessed it – the lush, enveloping landscape of the Glenrock State Conservation Area. It’s a thrilling tale of suspense that follows detective Senior Sergeant Callan O’Connor as he unravels the mystery of murdered judge Justice Maurice Tempest and two missing lawyers.
Released in January, it follows Christine’s hit alpine crime trilogy, Charlotte Pass (2020), Crackenback (2021) and Dead Horse Gap (2022), set in the Snowy Mountains.
“A lot of fiction writers will construct their own towns, but I like to set my books in real places,” Christine says.
“I had such a great response from readers in the Snowies, in Jindabyne and Cooma, that even they thought I was a local.
“That’s what I’m hoping Newcastle readers will embrace with references to iconic locations such as Newcastle harbour, King Edward Park and Christ Church Cathedral.”
Location is the first piece of the puzzle for Christine when writing a new novel.
“When my editor asked me, ‘What are you going to write next?’, she said, “I had such a great response from readers in the Snowies, in Jindabyne and Cooma, that even they thought I was a local.
“So, I thought, where do I know better than anywhere? That’s when I landed on Newcastle.
“We have so many beautiful natural landscapes, a pristine coastline and a changing city. It didn’t take me long to think of Glenrock.
“My first visit to Glenrock was in year 12 on a geography excursion in 1976. My overwhelming memory of that day is a boy slipping around the cascades and breaking his leg. To have the [novel’s] murder victim found there…just the sheer expanse of the place would be a nightmare.”
Read the full article in our Autumn Edition of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.
Story by Georgia Osland, Photography by David Diehm Photography.
