Apologies – this event has been cancelled.
Matthew was a journalist at The Australian for twenty years, with long stints running the Foreign News desk and as Opinion Editor. He has written for newspapers and magazines in Uganda and Kenya and been published in The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald. Matthew’s first novel, Black River won the 2023 Danger Award for Debut Crime Fiction and was shortlisted fora 2023 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction.
He was born in Parramatta. The son of teachers, he lived with his sister Kate on the 320-acre campus of a boys’ boarding school. Long summers on the largely deserted property while exploring the remnant bush with its tributary of the Parramatta River inspired his first novel, Black River. Matthew lives in Sydney with his wife, Ritu Gupta, and their three children.
BROKE ROAD
From the bestselling author of Black River. Perfect for fans of Jane Caro and Chris Hammer, this gripping mystery unravels a string of unexplained murders set against the haunting backdrop of the Hunter Valley. Broke Road was inspired by a conversation Matthew Spencer had with a forensic pathologist, exploring the complexities and chilling realities of what it would take to commit the perfect murder.
A late-night phone call is never good news for Homicide Detective Sergeant Rose Riley. This time she’s being sent up to the Hunter Valley. A young woman found dead in her new townhouse in Hunter Valley wine country. No forced entry, no signs of struggle. The victim’s husband is a mining geologist, and there’s a hole in his alibi. Detective Rose Riley unearths undercurrents of discontent between the coal industry and grape growers in the district.
Forensic evidence leads to two unsolved cases—two more women dead in their homes, hundreds of kilometres apart—and Riley fears she’s looking at a killer on a spree. Broke Road combines place and pace with expertise as we follow Detective Rose Riley and Journalist turned true-crime writer Adam Bowman race through a gripping police procedural you won’t be able to put down.
Broke Road combines place and pace with expertise as we follow Detective Rose Riley and Journalist turned true-crime writer Adam Bowman race through a gripping police procedural you won’t be able to put down.
