The Crime Fiction Alphabet meme is getting closer to the end of the journey – only six more stops to go after this one! Thanks to our tour guide Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise, the tour’s been going very smoothly, except of course for all those unexpected book purchases *sigh*. 
Today we’re stopping in T-ville, and everyone’s getting ready to take a look round the shops. But I think I’ll stay here, unpack and share my contribution for this week: Adrian Hyland’s Emily Tempest.
Emily Tempest is an Aboriginal Community Police Officer (ACPO) who comes from a half-White/half-Aborigine background. She grew up in the small Moonlight Downs Aborigine encampment but left it for several years. In Diamond Dove (AKA Moonlight Downs) she comes back to her home and her return shows her that in some ways she never really left it. Here for instance is her thought about re-uniting with her good friend Hazel Flinders, who never left the community:
‘…she’d stayed put, absorbed the strength of country, while I’d been drifting about like a boat that slipped its moorings.’
Tempest is very closely connected to her community and her knowledge of that community and the people in it make her appealing. Through Tempest’s eyes we get to see the members of the Moonlight Downs community as individual people rather than just as members of some amorphous group.
Through Tempest we also get to see how the members of this community live, what they believe and what their traditions are and that makes her character appealing. She has a spiritual side that she doesn’t ignore and a deep love of the land. For instance, in Gunshot Road, it’s her strong sense that something is very wrong that leads her to pursue the investigation of the murder of former prospector Albert “Doc” Ozolins. On the surface it looks as though his death was the tragic result of a drunken quarrel, but Tempest has a real sense of unease about that explanation. So against her boss’ wishes, she follows that instinct and starts to look for the truth.
In both Diamond Dove and Gunshot Road we also see Tempest’s respect for traditional ways. For instance, in Diamond Dove Tempest gets involved in the murder of Moonlight Downs leader Lincoln Flinders, who is also Hazel’s father. It looks on the surface as though he was murdered by a local sorcerer Blakie Japanangka. And since Japanangka has since disappeared, no-one can really question him. But Tempest doesn’t think it’s that simple and she begins to look for another explanation for the murder. At one point in the novel, she’s returned to the Moonlight Downs camp only to that it’s virtually empty and that there’ve been two killings. One of her main concerns is the whereabouts of her friend Hazel, so she starts searching:
‘I took them via the Long Yard shortcut, but the track faded into a faint set of wheel marks, then disappeared altogether in a patch of whippet grass…
A little further on, at the northern gate, I picked out the first foot print. Not just any foot print, the foot print, the only one in the world I knew at a glance. The crack in the heel, the long skating arch.
‘She’s been here!’ I cried. ‘We’re on the right track!’’
It’s not that Tempest doesn’t recognise the value of modern approaches to detection, but she knows that where she lives, they don’t always make practical sense.
And that’s another appealing aspect of Tempest’s character. She’s very practical and she’s no respecter of money and privilege. To her, finding out the truth matters more than following a policy does, especially if that policy doesn’t make any sense in a given situation. On one hand, that often gets her into trouble. Tempest doesn’t always respect authority and she herself admits that she has difficulty keeping her mouth shut when it would be more prudent to do so. And yet, she’s got a lot of strength and dignity. She doesn’t kowtow to anyone.
Tempest may have what people call rough edges, but she also has a compassionate side. In Gunshot Road for instance, she shows real compassion for fifteen-year-old Danny Brambles, who’s had a difficult life. When he’s caught stealing an MP3 player from a store it’s Tempest who arranges for it to be returned intact. Then Danny’s grandmother and Tempest agree that the best thing for Danny is to go back to his people’s encampment and Tempest takes it on herself to escort him there. It turns out that Danny is important to solving the mystery of Doc Ozolins’ death, but that’s not why Tempest takes an interest in him. She does so because she cares about him.
One of the other appeals of Tempest’s character is that she’s willing to admit that she’s not perfect. She doesn’t listen to others when it would behoove her to pay attention to what they say. She has a tendency to get herself and sometimes others into trouble because of it too. But she doesn’t blame others for the mistakes she makes and she has enough integrity and courage to apologise. For instance, in Diamond Dove, she misjudges one of the other characters, thinking that person is responsible for Lincoln Flinders’ murder. Later she has to face the fact that she was wrong and that her mistake led to that character’s death:
‘I came across ____….got the wrong idea. Like I been doing lately. Well, I ran, ___followed.’
Tempest’s willingness to confront her own imperfections and get on with life is a refreshing aspect of her personality.
So is her sense of humour. She has a sometimes-sarcastic way of looking at life, and that adds a welcome lift to the novels that feature her. Here, for instance, from Gunshot Road, is Tempest’s opinion of gruel:
‘Never was quite sure what the word gruel meant – now I know. It’s a combination of glue and cruel.’
Her humour can be self-deprecating and that too is appealing; she doesn’t take herself overly seriously.
Emily Tempest may be a little impulsive and not one to take orders. But she’s smart, skilled, resourceful and compassionate. And she is deeply imbued with respect for the land without being preachy about it. Little wonder she’s become so popular. Erm, Mr. Hyland, if you’re reading this, we’re waiting for the next Emily Tempest investigation…
I still need to read this series! I must admit though the first book kind of took it’s time unfolding but there’s nothing wrong with that as most books need the time to set up the characters, structure, story, what have you. Reading this post reminds me that I need to read them and I love flawed characters. One thing I do remember from the first book was the strong sense of community. Thanks for the heads up on this, Margot.
Keishon – I’m with you. I really like flawed characters as long as they’re not stereotypical. And Emily Tempest is not. I know what you mean too about stories evolving a bit more slowly. That can work really well if the author uses that time as you say to build up the story and characters and so on. And there’s no doubt that the sense of community that there is in this series is quite strong. I love the sense of place too.
After posting here I went back to see where I stopped. It was after she reconnected with her father. I’ll have to start all over. Is this still an ongoing series as I haven’t seen anything newly released unless it takes that long for him to write these….
Keishon – Thus far there are two novels: Diamond Dove (AKA Moonlight Downs) and Gunshot Road. I really hope there’ll be a new one soon.
Margot, thanks for a great profile. I like how Emily Tempest is not quite the stereotypical detective. I also found it interesting that she goes back home to find that she has mixed feeling about having left. Often, I find stories go the other way and the character invariably comes back to home only to be reminded of why they got out in the first place.
Peter – I like that about Emily Tempest too. Not only does she not behave stereotypically but she really is deeply tied to the land. It just took going away to help her realise that.
Margot: I found Tempest more than impulsive in Gunshot Road. I thought she was reckless. I admire Hyland for not shying away from Tempest paying a severe personal cost for her actions. I hope she comes back to just impulsive in the next book.
Bill – You’re not alone in thinking that Tempest goes from impulsive to reckless. And you’ve got a well-taken point that the story is made better because Tempest isn’t magically unscathed. I’ll certainly be interested too to see how the incidents in Gunshot Road affect her in the next novel.
I like Tempest’s humour- glue and cruel! Ha ha! If not for anything else, I will pick up her book just for this. Thanks for the recommendation!
She really does have a terrific sense of humour. And what’s best about it is that she’s not afraid to take a look at herself with that humour.
This is an excellent series and I just love the setting and the character of Emily Tempest. I can’t wait for his next book but I think it may be a while…
Sarah – Oh, I hope it’s not a long time; we’ll have to see. I’m glad too that you brought up the setting in this series. Hyland does a superb job I think of depicting the environment and the lifestyles of the people who live there.
I like the fact that she’s willing to ignore policy if it means finding out the truth. A unique character, too, with an interesting history. I’ll look for Diamond Dove.
Elizabeth – Tempest is definitely a unique character and Hyland does I think an excellent job of sharing her story in the right ‘doses’ without ‘dumping.’ And yes, indeed, Tempest is not afraid to go against policy if doing so means that she gets answers. One has to admire her passion if not her prudence.
Emily Tempest is a great character in a wonderful so-far series of two books. I, too, can’t wait for book three and book four, etc. I found it a bit off-putting that she had to pay such a high price when she over-investigated. Lots of fictional detectives go where perhaps they shouldn’t, and may get beaten up somewhat, or even end up in jail, or get in trouble with the higher-ups if they’re police.
V.I. Warshawski has been beaten and landed in the hospital too many times to count. But her writer hasn’t made her pay an even higher price, thankfully.
Kathy – I agree; Emily Tempest is a fabulous character and I like her personal strength. Like you I really am eager to read the next one in that series – if there is one (which I hope there will be). You’re right too that a lot of sleuths (as I read your comment I was also thinking of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone and Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone) pay a price for taking risks. I think that’s realistic actually since in real life, one doesn’t get away with taking risks for too long without something happening.
This is a new one for me! I’m off to see if my library has any! thanks for a nice review Margot.
Peggy – I hope you’ll like Hyland’s work. An Australian friend described Hyland as ‘A national b***** treasure,’ and I think she has a good point.
Also a new author for me. The premise sounds very interesting. I will keep my eyes open for these books.
Tracy – Oh, I really do hope you like the Emily Tempest series. The novels are, in my opinion, superb. Nothing more to describe them.
In addition to Emily Tempest, the book is so incredibly well-written. The words are to be savored in some parts, line by line. The geography, environment, cultures and more are painted by an artist’s brush. These are books to be read slowly and carefully, not to rush through a sentence.
Kathy – Right you are indeed! There really is so much to love about those books and the writing style is definitely one of those things. Sometimes one really does want to ‘sit back’ and just savour what one’s reading.
I love the two Emily Tempest books, too, and like others I hope he writes another one. She’s a truly individual character in a crowded genre.
Maxine – You put that very well. Emily Tempest is indeed an individual character. And the other aspects of the stories are beautifully done, too.
One thing I like about your essays, is that you introduce me to an international sampling of writers. Have you ever seen the movie – THE LAST WAVE with Richard Chamberlin? It is an OLD movie, about a lawyer who defends an Aborigine. The thing is the Aborigine does not want to defend himself. “They” know something the white men do not know. They become interested in Chamberlin’s character, when he (Chamberlin) has a significant dream (about the Aborigines). “A dream is a shadow of something real,” is what they try to explain to Chamberlin.
I never forgot that. I find the Aborigine culture interesting. I want to check out this character – Emily Tempest. Thanks!
I’ve never seen The Last Wave, but it does sound interesting! And I hope you do get the chance to read Diamond Dove/Moonlight Downs and then Gunshot Road. They are top-quality novels I think. And thanks for the kind words.