Deceit is usually wrong, sometimes necessary and often the best course of action DECEPTION BAY continues JP Powell’s magnificent Brisbane wartime saga. American MP Joe Washington, an investigator with the Provost Marshall’s Office, and Australian Rose McAlister are swept back together when she returns to join Central Bureau, General MacArthur’s code-breaking group of eccentrics in ‘Brisbane’s Bletchley Park’. Again and again, Joe is drawn to the Brisbane River. Reports of a man who jumped from a bridge, a code breaker allegedly drowned by suicide, and an arm with an unrecognisable tattoo fished out of the water at the submarine base. Together they follow the clues but are quickly drawn into the city’s dark tank stream, filled with predators and conmen and Joe’s nemesis, corrupt Queensland detective Frank Bischof. ‘Deception Bay reads like a compulsive thriller yet is adorned with an effortless and often breathtaking evocation of a lost Brisbane city. With The Brisbane Line and now Deception Bay, Powell has built two mighty additions to the city’s literary canon.’— Matt Condon ‘Enthralling and intriguing, Deception Bay is a finely layered murder mystery. Immaculately researched and full of great detail, Powell’s work depicts a fascinating side of Brisbane in WWII.’ — Mirandi Riwoe ‘Deception Bay draws the reader into the page and immerses them in the underbelly of 1940s Brisbane.’ ­— Sulari Gentill

As WWII ravages the world and the Japanese Empire has set its sights on Australia, the Americans have come to save us. But not all soldiers are heroes and not all heroes are soldiers. Sergeant Joe Washington, a US Military Police, loves music and photography but spends his days delving into the sordid and petty crimes committed by the thousands of American troops passing through town. While trying to find stolen gasoline stores, he is sent to investigate the body of an American soldier found dumped in a cemetery. Suddenly Joe is up against notorious detective Frank Bischof. Although ordered to leave the investigation alone, Joe fears that Bischof is protecting the most likely suspect while trying to pin the crime on an innocent – and intriguing – young woman, Rose. A woman who seems to walk between the parallel worlds of black market deals and Brisbane’s high society. ‘‘a rattling good murder mystery with a well worked plot that is fast paced and complex enough to engage the reader.’ Westender ‘Beautifully textured, thoughtful and satisfying.’ Emily Maguire