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Geoff Parkes for Cowra Library

Photo credit: Penguin Random House Australia

Event

Geoff Parkes for Cowra Library


Time & date

2:00pm - 3:00pm, 12th February 2026


Location

Cowra Library View map

77 Darling Street, Cowra, NSW 2794


Tickets

Bookings Essential

Free

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About

Set in the 1990s in New Zealand’s King Country, The First Law of the Bush is the scintillating new rural noir from author Geoff Parkes

Set in the 1990s in New Zealand’s King Country, The First Law of the Bush is the scintillating new rural noir from the author of When The Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole - geoff Parkes.

It’s a beautiful day to be alive, Bill Dickerson thought, seconds before he tumbled from the viaduct onto the jagged rocks below…

His awful death made national news. But still, one year on, Bill’s widow Carol has received no explanation about what happened. Was it suicide? An accident? Maybe murder?

So Carol hires lawyer Ryan Bradley in her fight for justice. Ryan has just returned to the remote town of Nashville after ten years away, so he’s in no position to turn down work.

Except the case seems hopeless from the start. Bill’s employer is denying responsibility, Carol’s friends are shunning her, and the only witnesses – co-workers Gav Coates and Wati Reynolds – can shed no light on the tragic fall. Even Senior Sergeant ‘Stinger’ Nettle is too busy turning a blind eye to Wati’s illegal schemes to dig deeper into the death.

But in small towns, nothing is quite what it seems. And for one Nashville resident the wrong question will come at a deadly price…

About author Geoff Parkes

Born and raised in rural New Zealand, Geoff Parkes now lives in Melbourne. For the last twelve years he’s written a weekly opinion column for The Roar, Australia’s leading online sports website. He is the author of two crime novels, When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole, and The First Law of the Bush.

Meet author Geoff Parkes at Cowra Library. His latest book The First Law of the Bush will be available for sales and signings with support from Collins Booksellers.

Book

The First Law of the Bush
Set in the 1990s in New Zealand’s King Country, The First Law of the Bush is the scintillating new rural noir from the author of When The Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole.
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