The Cumal Files

Australian crime fiction. A nation’s darkest secret revealed.

By: James Keegan

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

"Strap your helmet on, because The Cumal Files is a wild ride you won't soon forget...It is fast-paced and filled with characters that are a joy to spend time with." BestThrillers.com

INNOCENCE LOST. LEGACIES DESTROYED. A NATION’S DARKEST SECRET REVEALED…

When forty teenage girls disappear from Sydney's streets without a trace the whole city is on edge. Disgruntled police officer, Dan Porter, is one of the few searching and after a brutal murder the killers dare him to hunt them down. Porter is joined by Lionel Roberts, a human-rights lawyer determined to expose government neglect, and they form the ‘Carinya’ investigation. A mysterious informant directs them to Crooked River, a hot and dusty outback town, and says clues from the past might solve crimes of the present. The Carinya team receive a hostile reception in Crooked River. Questions are answered with violent threats. What are the local town folk, and powerful members of the elite, so desperate to hide? When Porter probes deeper into the town's history the crimes uncovered are more sinister than imagined. But to identify those responsible and rescue the missing girls before more turn up dead, he must first recover historical documents that will reveal a nation’s darkest secret. Documents contained within - The Cumal Files.

An earlier edition was released as Big White Lies.

Fantastic story with plenty of twists and turns.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to The Cumal Files. It’s a bit of a slow burner but definitely worth sticking with it as the overall plot is excellent and full of mysterious sub-plots. The author builds up to a crescendo of an ending that blew my mind. The narrator takes a bit of getting used to in relation to dialogue, of which there is plenty, but that’s the nature of most audio books when sometimes one can’t be certain which character is speaking the same as one can when reading a novel. This was such a great listen that I can’t wait to get into the next book in this series to see what happens to Dan Porter next.

Story line

I will never again listen to a book that has virtual voice. This book could’ve been very good. It should’ve been narrated by an Australian that is very aware of the slang and pronunciations. The story was good, but the narration pretty much ruined it.