Scream Black Murder: A Worldkrime Mystery

Rating:
Summary: A Dark, Compelling Mystery Down Under
Review: The best books are the ones that after you read, you realize you've learned a great many things you didn't know before. Such is the case with Scream Black Murder, by Aboriginal writer Philip McLaren.

To begin with, this is a suspensful, white-knuckled thriller. The author does an amazing job getting in the head of a deranged killer who targets aboriginal women in and around Sydney, Australia. Assigned to crack the case is Gary and Lisa, the first aboriginal detectives in the history of the force. Not only must they compete in a thrilling game of cat and mouse with the killer, but they must also perform under a prejudiced police department, many of which would like to see them fail.

Apart from a superb story, McLaren also succeeds in illuminating the social and racial issues of Australia--a history of a people oppressed that isn't included in most high school textbooks. It is a relevent, realistic story that will give you a glimpse of a culture suffering from many of the same prejudices as our own.

I highly recommend this book; and I am looking forward to "investigating" the other WorldKrime books put out by the publisher, all of which apparently offer similiar multi-culured views of different countries.