Orphan Road

Book excerpt: Gary Chance is an ex-Australian army driver and nightclub bouncer turned professional thief and in need of a job. An offer comes from a former employer, once notorious Melbourne social identity, now aging owner of a failing S&M club, Vera Leigh. A shadowy real estate developer is trying to squeeze Leigh out of a rapidly gentrifying city. But she has a rescue plan that involves one of Australia’s biggest heists, Melbourne’s Great Bookie Robbery. On April 21, 1976, a well organised gang stole as much as three million dollars, a fortune at the time, from a Melbourne bookmakers club. The money was never recovered. No one was ever charged. And everyone associated with the crime has since died, either by natural causes or violently. Leigh maintains that money was not the only thing stolen that day. So was a stash of uncut South African diamonds. And she wants Chance’s help to retrieve them. Problem is, they are not the only ones looking. The heist always goes wrong and the consequences, even half a century later, can be deadly. Critical Acclaim for Orphan Road: “Orphan Road is a breakneck tale of robbery and vengeance, as lyrical and gritty as a Bad Seeds tune. Superb.” —Sam Wiebe, award-winning author of Sunset and Jericho and Invisible Dead “Orphan Road hits Mr Inbetween levels of brilliance. Stylish writing and whip-smart dialogue, this is noir done right.” —David Whish-Wilson, author of Line of Sight and The Sawdust House “I have been waiting for another Gary Chance book. Orphan Road is grimy, twisty and fast. Absolutely worth the wait.” —Iain Ryan, author of Four Days and The Student “A multi-continental heist romp, Nette’s Orphan Road is in direct lineage with Westlake/Stark’s Parker series and Thompson’s The Getaway. Filled with pulpy goodness, this crime caper scratches your thieving itch. For fans of Barry Gifford’s Black Lizard catalog, this one’s a guaranteed delight.” —Nolan Knight, author of The Neon Lights Are Veins and Gallows Dome “Some people will do anything for money…or in this case diamonds. Gary Chance is one of those people and in Orphan Road, Andrew Nette gifts us with a good, old-fashioned hard-boiled thriller that moves at a machine-gun-like pace leaving the reader gasping for air.” —Charles Salzberg, multiple Shamus Award-nominated author