Promise (The Darian Richards Series Book 1)

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But after sixteen years as the head of Victoria's Homicide Squad, he'd had enough of promising victims' families he'd find the answers they needed. He had to walk away to save his sanity. He needs him to help clear an old case. The death of Isobel Vine. The coroner gave an open finding. An open finding that never cleared the cloud of doubt that hovered over four young cops who were present the night Isobel died. Twenty-five years later, one of those young cops is next in line to become police commissioner, so Copeland Walsh needs the case closed once and for all.

In his mind there is only one man for the job. One man who would be completely independent. One man who has never bowed to political or police pressure. One man who knows how to get the job done - Darian Richards. Darian is going back to stir a hornet's nest. But once Darian is on a case he won't back off tracking down evil, no matter who he has to take down. The Darian Richards Crime Files. Compulsive reading, Promise itself is more menacing, more disturbing and much more confronting than any other crime thriller on the shelves.

It is a brilliant book. One of the most complex and uncompromising heroes since Harry Bosch. I literally tore through this book Cavanaugh again trawls through the dark recesses of humanity and you can't look away Cavanaugh isn't emulating any established international crime writers, he is joining them in his own unique right - bitethebook. Tony Cavanaugh brings new depth and dimension to crime fiction in this country. Guilt, shame, remorse, anger, feelings of retribution or hopelessness and evidence, the traces from the contact and these tendrils, both physical and psychological, never….

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The Coroner gave an open finding, unable to decide between suicide, self-inflicted accident and murder. Her father Eli always maintained that she was murdered and was convinced that four police constables and a local businessman were implicated. Twenty-five years later, one of those constables is in line to become the next Police Commissioner, and needs to be shown as squeaky clean. Current Commissioner, Copeland Walsh personally recruits ex-Homicide detective Darian Richards, now retired to Noosa, to conduct the investigation into this decidedly cold case. See 1 question about Promise….

Lists with This Book. Mar 01, Carolyn rated it really liked it Shelves: This was an excellent debut novel from screenplay writer Tony Cavanaugh. As his protagonist he has chosen Darian Richards, retired after 16y as a top homicide detective in Victoria. He now resides in Noosa where he relishes the pace of life although he is not as anonymous as he hoped.

Everyone seems to know about his past. The man he is chasing is clever and cunning and capable of staying well hidden. He is in fact a very creepy character with some unusual practices. The narrative alternates between Darian and the abductor and sometimes it is hard to initially tell the voices apart. It was an interesting angle to see inside the head of the abductor, a psychotic, sadistic man as he planned his moves. Darian himself is quite arrogant and not quite moral in the actions he takes and the way he treats his friends.

We get some insight into what made him that way when he thinks back to his days on the force and the nightmares that followed. Noosa makes a great setting with a mix of wealthy retirees, colorful locals and never ending tourists with some great descriptions of the Queeensland bush and rivers around the Noosa hinterland. All in all, an excellent psychological thriller with a very creepy killer on the loose. Feb 25, Lisa rated it did not like it Shelves: This book started off well but was a big disappointment for me did not finish.

Mar 28, Michael rated it it was amazing Shelves: Darian Richard has had enough. After sixteen long years as the head of Victoria's homicide squad he has now retired to what he hopes will be the quiet life in Noosa. But unfortuently he soon realises even the seemingly tranquil surroundings of his retired paradise is not a safe place.

A serial killer is loose on the Sunshine Coast with the victims all young and Blonde. The police put on a brave face saying they may be alive but Darian as an ex cop knows all that means is they havn't found a body Darian Richard has had enough. The police put on a brave face saying they may be alive but Darian as an ex cop knows all that means is they havn't found a body yet. Haunted by the failures to stop serial killers in Melbourne Darian with the help of connections he made during his time in force goes about finding this monster and give him what he deserves.

On the other side of the coin is Winston a sadistic, immature and irrational man who gets his kicks by abducting the girls and then having fun with them before killing them. In Winstons mind he is the awesome one as he is the opitomy of a master serial killer. Doing all he can to not arrouse suspicion but in the end making an elimentary mistake by taking pictures of his victims instead of discarding the phones batteries that make him traceable. Like many serial killers before he sees himself as someone who when eventually caught will be talked about for centuries to come.

This was not an easy book to read as along with chapters narrated by Darian and his accociates we also have Winston who goes to great lengths to detail his delusions and the rape and torture of the terrified girls. Darian comes across as a no nonsense person and was a great character. He was smart enough after all his experience to not only find ingenius ways to pursue Winston but also knew how to play the police and even how to set up friends when it came along. Along the way we encounter a scared community, corrupt police, action galore and enough tension to keep you reading well into the night.

If your a fan of the crime genre and am not put off by a henious serial killer than Promise is a great read. Aug 12, Kathryn rated it liked it Shelves: This is a difficult book to rate and review. I liked the story line, and I was interested to read some crime noir - something a bit darker than my more usual cozy Phryne Fisher murder mysteries - and this certainly was darker…! But whereas I was happy for the plot line to be more complex, with a psychopath with disturbing issues, I could have done without the graphic descriptions of rape and murder - although this is obviously treading a fine line between getting us, the readers, into the mind o This is a difficult book to rate and review.

But whereas I was happy for the plot line to be more complex, with a psychopath with disturbing issues, I could have done without the graphic descriptions of rape and murder - although this is obviously treading a fine line between getting us, the readers, into the mind of the serial killer, and giving us too much information that is gratuitous. I think Tony Cavanaugh almost got it right - there were just a handful of times that I thought he went too far.

For the plot of the story I would give 4 stars, but I wouldn't give more than 2 stars for the writing style. So I guess that averages out at 3 stars total. I enjoyed the Sunshine Coast setting - although I may think twice before walking around Noosaville on my own in future ; Mar 28, Brenda rated it liked it Shelves: Darian Richards, top Homicide Squad boss from Victoria, with sixteen years under his belt, was burnt out.

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He was extremely successful in his job, always caught the criminals, until his last case. After getting shot in the head in an unrelated incident, enough was enough. After he recuperated, he threw in his job, packed up his possessions and headed as far north of Australia as he could. Noosa was his place to retire, and he planned on doing nothing! Until suddenly a serial killer is around, stal Darian Richards, top Homicide Squad boss from Victoria, with sixteen years under his belt, was burnt out. Until suddenly a serial killer is around, stalking the young blonde and beautiful girls of the Sunshine Coast.

The cops weren't getting anywhere, and after more girls go missing, with none of them found, Darian needed to get involved. He couldn't do anything officially, as the local cops didn't like the thought of a 'star' of Homicide division, even if he was an ex-'star', on their turf. So Darian worked out a way to be involved, without being involved!

And as he got inside the killer's head, he didn't like what he saw. The absolute evil lurking there was chilling. This killer was so diabolical, he enjoyed taunting the police, leaving clues that no-one seemed to be able to connect! Would Darian be able to stop the killer before more girls were taken? This thriller is horrifying, the chills are gripping!

Darian Richards Series

The only problem I had with it is that is written with two first persons, Darian and the killer. And with both of them speaking within the same chapter sometimes, I found myself getting lost, having to go back and re-read as I discovered I had the wrong person in my head! Hence the lower stars, but the story was good. View all 5 comments. Apr 27, Bree T rated it really liked it Shelves: Darian Richards was one of the most successful Homicide detectives in Australia. Because the Sunshine Coast has become the target of a serial killer, abducting blonde and pretty girls in their teens.

Even though the local police are saying that the girls are merely missing, Darian already knows that they are dead. Darian could leave it to the local cops, ignore the smiling faces of the girls that have disappeared and continue along in his quiet life. And this one seems to be an expert at staying under the radar, staying out of sight and being utterly unremarkable in every way.

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Tony Cavanaugh is a writer for film and television but Promise is his first novel. Darian Richards has jacked in his job as a Homicide hotshot in Victoria and retreated to Noosa in Queensland to hopefully live a life of obscurity. When it becomes obvious that a serial killer is stalking young, blonde girls on the Sunshine Coast, Darian can see that the local cops are mostly clueless. He uses his connection with a local, a man from his past, who is dating a female police officer, to obtain information. Darian is a difficult character to get a handle on.

You need to back yourself, have faith in your instincts and your abilities to catch these people and I guess a lot of them probably do bend the rules when they need to and suit themselves quite often. I think the average person would probably be horrified if they knew a lot of the inner workings of very successful detectives. Cavanaugh certainly knows how to set an atmosphere in his novel. This one is decidedly creepy and sinister, with Richards and often the female police officer creeping around remote areas, empty buildings and bushland.

The novel gives you a glimpse inside the mind of the killer, as well as Darian in his attempt to catch him and that is incredibly eerie. He does some pretty reprehensible things including one very dangerous thing that I really could not believe he did, to someone he supposedly cares about. And what the serial killer was doing?

Promise is a very tight debut, kept me turning the pages. May 02, Bec rated it really liked it Shelves: The fifth book in this series, Kingdom of the Strong, was published last year and made it into my Top 15 of I decided to go back and start this series from the start, in the hopes of a new release this year.

One of the things that sets the Darian Richards series apart is the setting — the Sunshine Coast in Australia. As an Australian, my family holidayed in Queensland, and often on the Sunshine Coast so the descriptions of the setting are particularly vibrant to me. Promise is a tightly wri The fifth book in this series, Kingdom of the Strong, was published last year and made it into my Top 15 of Promise is a tightly written, plot driven serial killer thriller with one of the creepiest killers creating chilling havoc on every page.

The baddie is hilarious and strange letting me know he got his duct tape on special at Bunnings for 3. However, Cavanaugh goes more the police investigation route as opposed to the vigilante. It would be remiss of me to review this book, or any book in this series without talking about Darian Richards — Promise sets him up as such an interesting and complex character.

Cavanaugh has done a wonderful job building a fabulous lead character, that I want to follow over multiple books. This leads me to one of my few complaints about this book — the background characters are weak. Casey, Maria, the police officers and Detectives all seem like caricatures of actual people. The ending was good, if a little dissatisfying, and certainly left me hankering for the next book in the series. Mar 10, Jocelyn foxonbooks rated it it was amazing Shelves: Darian Richards has retired from life as a high profile homicide detective in Melbourne and retreated to Noosa to try to escape the ghosts that accompany that kind of career.

I read this book in about two days and lived it the whole time, which is appropriate because the plot itself is set over only a handful of days. With about twenty pages to go I had Darian Richards has retired from life as a high profile homicide detective in Melbourne and retreated to Noosa to try to escape the ghosts that accompany that kind of career.

With about twenty pages to go I had to put it down and go to work and was really stressed about it until lunchtime when I dashed upstairs to read the conclusion! Cavanaugh captures the creepy, skewed perspective of this creature uncannily well. Both main characters are basing their actions largely on what they expect their foe to do, and this to and fro makes the novel both intriguing and confronting.

Richards is a classic anti hero, and his character rings true: The plot has enough twists to keep you guessing and more than enough tension to impact on the rest of your day! Jun 02, Sunnie rated it liked it. Darian Richards is a retired homicide detective. Former head of homicide, in fact. He walked away from the job after one too many murders and too many haunted dreams. He has taken the law into his own hands more times than he cares to admit. Living in the beachside town of Noosa, Darian believes those days are behind him. But then young teenage girls start to disappear without trace Ill be honest, mav Dark and disturbing.

Ill be honest, maverick outside the law investigators aren't my favourite of the genre, however Cavanaughs's talent kept me engrossed. It's fast paced,witty and dark. The story unfolds with different voices, principally Darian's, and also those of the victims and most disturbingly from the serial killer himself.

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I read this book in just a few days so it is compelling. Ill admit though my slight antipathy for outside the law investigators probably resulted in me rating the book less than it deserved. Will I read more from this author?

Most likely but only after a considerable gap. Jul 28, Jill rated it really liked it Shelves: It is generally not my kind of book, but is written with such panache it gripped me from start to finish. Imagine an anti-hero similar to Peter Temples' Jack Irish but much darker and even more complex.

And instead of murky Fitzroy, the Noosa hinterland in Queensland's Sunshine Coast is the setting; it's a key part of the story and evocatively described, but it's definitely not that of the idyllic tour 'Promise' by Tony Cavanaugh is a chilling story, full of suspense, terror and outright horror. And instead of murky Fitzroy, the Noosa hinterland in Queensland's Sunshine Coast is the setting; it's a key part of the story and evocatively described, but it's definitely not that of the idyllic tourist brochure. This is a crime novel that haunts you from the moment you begin reading, but beware that the topic of the torture of young teenage girls is horrifying and disturbing and not for everyone.

The only niggle I have is that a lot of the detective work to catch the killer wasn't done by our hero at all. Luckily for him and the reader , he had a technology friend capable of accessing vital information no-one in the police force could actually get their hands on.

Stretched credibility a bit. Jan 01, Charmaine Clancy rated it it was ok. The crimes are too graphic for my enjoyment. I don't mind this in some novels but here the victims are little girls. It was too disturbing for me. I was left with a feeling of hopelessness as the top homicide detective or so he keeps telling me keeps missing this guy and another little girl is horrifically abused, raped, tortured and murdered. I did like the premise of a serial killer hitting a sleepy town and the local cops not being able to cope.

And I enjoyed the setting descrip Not for me. And I enjoyed the setting descriptions. I'll also add my dad loved this book - so you decide for yourself. Oct 16, Veronical rated it it was ok. Oct 04, Suzie Flohr rated it really liked it. I loved this book. It was set in australia. I hope tony writes another one. Darian spends the first few months enjoying his retirement and a certain notoriety in his new, small town.

He has a similarly retired friend in Casey Lack, a fifty-something ex-brothel owner who also migrated from Melbourne, after his club was blown to high heaven. And then girls start going missing. Young girls, aged between 13 and 16, all with blonde hair have been reported missing. At first the local police were happy to write the disappearance of one girl off as a runaway case. The local police are showing a disturbing level of incompetence, and in once case cover-up, and he is compelled to reach for his gun once again.

This is a highly-anticipated novel. A few years ago Scottish crime writer, Ian Rankin, made the explosive statement that "the people writing the most graphic violence today are women Cavanaugh has written a bloody and masochistically violent killer, and he vividly documents the abuse of the missing girls in stomach-churning detail. Because Darian is a very interesting ex-cop. Cavanaugh places a lot of emphasis on Darian having been the top homicide detective in Victoria — with a kill-rate and arrest record that had him being courted by other states to clean up dragging cases and nagging cold cases.

And I, for one, completely believed that Darian was that good. He receives some geeky tech-support help from a friend back in Melbourne called Isosceles by all accounts a brilliant recluse but for the most part Darian relies on his own wits throughout the investigation. Darian has been in the force since he was nineteen-years-old; and in his many years he has collected insights into the cop psyche that are Raymond Chandler-esque for their accuracy; Cops have this thing about loyalty. I used to be like that. Sometimes it takes a little while for a cop to discover that.

He is fascinating for his brilliance, but certainly lacking a more substantial warmth and, possibly, long-lasting interest.

Darian is a solitary being, and by no means perfect. He admitted to being an alcoholic at one stage in his career. At one point he reveals that his father abandoned the family when Darian was ten, to go and live in Thailand. But personal insights like that are far and few between, and I did wish that as a reader I had more of a human connection to Darian, more understanding of what makes him tick and future interesting human entanglements. The more interesting character, really, is Maria who becomes a sort-of sidekick for Darian.

Darian is not surprised, since he maintains that female cops are always smarter. Thanks to Cavanaugh, I went away and researched these juicy morsels of history.

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