Before the murders. Before the enemies. Before everything changed.

Promoted out of the field and into senior command, Detective Inspector Terry Stratton feels like a detective in exile — buried under reports, meetings and political maneuvering, missing the clarity of real police work, where evidence matters more than appearances.

When long-buried evidence resurfaces in the death of Matthew Preston, a young man from a powerful Tasmanian family, Stratton gets a rare chance to step back into an investigation. The complication: the original case was run by someone who now outranks him.

In the historic Midlands town of Oatlands, Stratton finds a community shaped by old loyalties, quiet resentments and secrets that refuse to stay buried. What looked like a burglary gone wrong begins to fracture under scrutiny. Timelines don’t align. Motives multiply. And the people most eager to see the case closed again may have the most to lose.

Digging deeper earns Stratton the attention — and hostility — of Assistant Commissioner Morton, an adversary who treats the truth as an inconvenience and Stratton as a threat. With pressure from above and resistance below, Stratton has to decide how far he’s willing to follow the evidence.

Book one of the Detective Inspector Stratton Mysteries, Crossing the Patriline is a sharp, character-driven Australian crime mystery — psychological tension, dry humour, and a strong sense of place. It’s where Stratton’s story begins, and where he forges the enemies who haunt him long after.

Narrated by Glen Lloyd, whose Australian performance brings Stratton, the Tasmanian Midlands and every hard-won place name to life — the cleanest way to step into Stratton’s world, now in audio.