White Throat is the second crime novel from Sarah Thornton featuring disgraced ex-lawyer Clementine Jones. We find ourselves in Queensland – beautiful one day, murder the next – where Clem is house-sitting on the shores of Paradise. Easily bored, unable to resist a noble cause, she joins a local environmental group trying to save an endangered turtle. Suddenly, a corpse is found in a local quarry. Police believe it was suicide; Clem does not. So, she investigates with her mate Torrens, a beefy ex-con, providing a bit of muscle (when he’s not dealing with his own loose ends). Thornton has created a feisty and fearless detective who doesn’t mind playing dirty if she must. The novel is crisply composed, unspooling with finely judged pace and suspense. A good bet for anyone casting about for a new Australian crime series to read over summer.