Greymouth, New Zealand, 1866: A vicious gang from the goldfields of Australia is heading towards town, and a young surveyor from one of the country's leading families has vanished. Inspector James thought he had everything under control.
In the gold-mining town of Greymouth, where drunks fall asleep smoking and burn down their houses, the town is constantly inundated with floods, and fifty-seven hotels have sprung up in a year to accommodate the hordes of miners and gold thieves, Inspector William Henry James is tasked with keeping the town safe with a small force of troopers.
Wanganui, New Zealand, 1888: Forced into retirement by government cuts, James walks home beside the Whanganui River remembering his association with a series of murders by the notorious Burgess gang: back in 1866 he had forced the gang to leave Greymouth. The gang took a steamer up to Nelson and within days killed five men on the Maungatapu Track. Soon after, Inspector James discovered the body of a young surveyor, George Dobson, murdered by Burgess and his crew. The gang was gone, but one guilty man remained, and James was determined to bring him to trial. The events that transpired haunted him for the rest of his life.
"Wendy Wilson writes beautifully and subtly about bad men who did bad things, as well as those who struggled to bring them to justice. In A Cold Wind Down the Grey, the past, in all its complicated allure and nasty intrigue, seems to appear on the page fully-formed, so that we can live inside it for a while -- for good or for naught." Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author, Hungover: One Man's Quest for the Cure
Wendy Wilson's passion for her subject shines through in this well-researched, immensely readable novel. Linda Burgess, author, Historic Houses: A Visitors Guide to 65 Early New Zealand Homes. **
Review
"Historians should find much to appreciate in Wendy Wilson's well-researched narrative of the events surrounding New Zealand's first mass murder.
The story, told from the perspective of Inspector William Henry James, gives readers a background into what life was like in the still-new colony of New Zealand after the New Zealand Wars. The text jumps between 1888, when James is recalling the events of the murder and his subsequent investigation, and 1866, when he is experiencing them.
Readers expecting a suspenseful tale or a mysterious whodunnit may be disappointed by a story that is more reflective than active; readers interested in historical details and an attempt to illustrate what life was like for a police inspector trying to do his job to the best of his ability -- a man who, like many of us, is proud of some of his choices and regrets others -- may enjoy this novel." Nicole Dieker, Reedsy Discovery Reviewer
"Wendy Wilson writes beautifully and subtly about bad men who did bad things, as well as those who struggled to bring them to justice. In A Cold Wind Down the Grey , the past, in all its complicated allure and nasty intrigue, seems to appear on the page fully-formed, so that we can live inside it for a while -- for good or for naught." Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author, Hungover: One Man's Quest for the Cure
"Wendy Wilson's passion for her subject shines through in this well-researched, immensely readable novel." Linda Burgess, author, Historic Houses: A Visitors Guide to 65 Early New Zealand Homes