Gabi's Review

Iain Ryan’s highly enjoyable crime thriller The Strip is based on real events. Set in the Gold Coast in the 1970s and 80s, the novel focuses on murder and corruption in the ‘entertainment’ strip of brothels and gambling houses. Typical of the crime fiction genre, The Strip is a well-conceived page-turner written in spare language, with bleakly humorous moments that add to our reading pleasure. The characters are all well-developed, the dialogue is pitch-perfect, and the atmosphere of a sleazy environment full of sleazy inhabitants is brilliantly evoked.

The story centres on Detective Constable Lana Cohen, whose services have been called upon from NSW PD to add heft to Strike Force Diablo: a team of Queensland homicide detectives investigating the brutal murder of a local doctor. When Lana, resented as an outsider, fails to get the co-operation she needs from the task force, she initiates a partnership with Detective Henry Loch, a man with a decidedly shady past. The more enmeshed the pair becomes in the murder case, the more they reveal the dark underbelly of the Gold Coast "Strip" of illegal gambling, prostitution and entrenched police corruption. In the midst of an investigation, with evidence strewn across two boardrooms in an atmosphere of increasing chaos, the Diabolo taskforce appears inept and incompetent. It is down to Lana and Henry to follow the various trails and apprehend the perpetrators before more disaster ensues.

If you’re in the mood to meet a gang of chain-smoking, mullet-haired, foul-mouthed cops whose snouts are firmly in the trough, as well as the smart women pulling the strings behind the scenes, I can thoroughly recommend The Strip.

Publishers Reviews

‘This is as hard-boiled as Australian crime fiction gets, and it's very good.’ – Sydney Morning Herald

'tense and compelling' – Garry Disher 

'The Strip is an eye-popping, nightmarish miasma that sets a new bar for Australian crime. A total triumph in every respect.' – Chris Flynn 

When a local doctor is brutally murdered, Detective Constable Lana Cohen joins Strike Force Diablo on the notorious Gold Coast, where she finds herself navigating a world of chaos and corruption.

As she delves deeper into the case, Lana reluctantly pairs up with Henry Loch, a detective with a tarnished reputation who sees an opportunity to redeem himself amidst the mayhem.

But as Lana and Henry unravel the threads of violence and deceit, they uncover a dark side to the Gold Coast that shocks them to the core. With six unsolved murders already haunting them, will they be able to untangle the web of lies before it's too late?

Inspired by real-life events, The Strip is a gripping crime thriller that paints a vivid portrait of a time and place where corruption and ambition reign supreme.

PRAISE FOR THE STRIP AND IAIN RYAN:

‘The real-life history of vice and corruption on the Gold Coast in the 1970s and 80s has inspired this pacy, tense work of crime fiction’ - The West Australian

‘Page-turning from the start, this book ratchets up the tension tenfold as the pieces fall into place and the novel reaches its thrilling pinnacle.’ - Books + Publishing

‘The Strip is bingeworthy reading – a gritty crime thriller reeking of corruption, murder and sex. If you like your heroines flawed and kick-ass and your cops dirty as hell, you’ll love Ian Ryan’s gripping foray into the underworld of the Gold Coast. Hardly took a breath from first page to last.' – Kate Mildenhall, author of THE MOTHER FAULT and THE HUMMINGBIRD EFFECT

'Fast paced, gritty, sharply observed noir that goes hard into the sleaze and corruption of the moonlight state.' – Andrew Nette, author of ORPHAN ROAD and GUNSHINE STATE

'Steeped in the bitter lore of old-school policing and backlit by the gaudy neon of the Gold Coast streets, The Strip is hands down one of the finest Australian crime novels you’ll ever read.' – David Whish-Wilson, author of LINE OF SIGHT

'an exciting new voice in Australian crime fiction' – Adrian McKinty, author of THE CHAIN and THE ISLAND