A missing kingpin. A reluctant son. Enemies on all sides - and one explosive underworld war.

The 2025 Australian Fiction Prize winner is an unputdownable, take-no-prisoners thriller for all fans of Animal Kingdom, Gabriel Bergmoser and Jack Reacher.


In Brisbane's criminal underbelly, chaos is the only constant.

When feared crime boss Jack Cavarly mysteriously vanishes, his reluctant son Rain is dragged into a world he's spent years avoiding. Between a volatile brother, a dysfunctional crew, and enemies circling like vultures, Rain is barely keeping everything together when a case of mistaken identity threatens to bring everything crashing down.

A disgraced cop chasing redemption becomes entangled in the Cavarlys' bloody turf war. A ruthless rival sees her chance to strike. And a wildcard with a killer vendetta is ready to burn it all to the ground.

Darkly funny, razor sharp, and drenched in tension, River City is a gritty Australian crime thriller where loyalty is fragile, violence is inevitable, and survival is never guaranteed.