The novel is a procedural which introduces forensic scientist Jack McCain. Once a cop with the NSW police force Jack studied to become a scientist and now works for the Australian Federal Police based in Canberra. Though when the novel opens he is on leave and is back in Sydney. His old partner asks him to help out with an investigation into the deaths of two men who have been murdered in a particularly grizzly way. Jack (having a vastly different definition of 'being on leave' than I do) throws himself into the case.

Jack has more than his fair share of personal troubles as well, several of which come to a head as DEATH DELIGHTS progresses. His teenage daughter Jacinta ran away from home 18 months earlier and Jack and his estranged wife Genevieve are out of leads on where to look for her when police receive and anonymous tip regarding her whereabouts. Jack immediately follows up, learning facts which have disturbing repercussions for his entire family. In addition Jack has never really given up wanting to know what happened to his little sister who also disappeared as a teenager; kidnapped from near their family home when she was 13, some 25 years earlier, and never having been seen alive since then. When it appears there is a connection between his sister's disappearance and the case of the murdered men whose bodies have been mutilated Jack wonders if he will finally learn what happened to his sister.

DEATH DELIGHTS is complex and suspenseful and while there is some gruesome violence it is not gratuitously dwelt on. Lord weaves together all the elements of Jack's personal and professional lives with consummate skill and the reader is never left floundering for something interesting to look out for. I particularly like the way this novel weaves together the traditional investigative type of case, with interviews and surveillance and so on, with the scientific elements. Unlike episodes of CSI or some of the more formulaic novels I've read there's no instant case solving by finding a particularly unlikely fingerprint but the science, always well explained, offers an added dimension to matters at hand.

But the book has other layers too. It is almost like an adult coming of age story for Jack who has so many threads of his personal life to keep track of and so many past mistakes to make up for. Through Jack Lord has quite deeply explored the notion of family and of how we learn to be good parents, siblings, partners and so on. The idea that this all comes naturally seems to be a given in society but through Jack, who is by no means a deadbeat, we see how hard it can be to take on these roles and that mistakes are generally made out of ignorance. And even when he knew what the correct behaviour or gesture should be Jack couldn't always bring himself to give that hug or spend the necessary time with the person who needed him.

DEATH DELIGHTS has something for every crime fiction fan containing procedural, forensic and cold case elements as well as a thoughtful family drama. It can easily hold its own against the more well known imported offerings in these genres, with the added bonus of a thoroughly Australian sensibility. A highly recommended novel that should be seen as a classic of the genre.

Does history repeat itself? Do patterns recur in families from one generation to the next? For forensic scientist Jack McCain, recently moved from Sydney to Canberra, it certainly seems to.
The disappearance of his daughter Jacinta two years ago after an argument with her mother seems to have a lot in common with the abduction of his little sister Rosie when he was a teenager.
As Jack becomes involved in the investigation of the grisly murders of two elderly paedophiles, the police at Kings Cross, Sydney, take an anonymous call from a woman who knows where Jacinta is. Jack blames ex-wife Genevieve for Jacinta leaving, and she him. A second anonymous call from the same woman claims that Jacinta is working in a brothel. Jack discovers both the murdered paedophiles had been released from gaol early, and yet another is due to be released within days. Will he also be in danger?
As the complexity of this novel escalates, with layer piled upon layer, you can't help wondering if Australian author Gabrille Lord will manage to bring it all to a satisfactory resolution. I can report that she does, but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out how.
This is the first in the Jack McCain series, and regrettably I read them out of order. It is always a little disconcerting to know what happens in the second book in a series when you are reading the first, so take my advice, read DEATH DELIGHTS before you take on #2 DIRTY WEEKEND. DEATH DELIGHTS won the 2002 Ned Kelly Award for best novel. ( )