‘Deceit’ Richard Evans
‘Deceit’ is the first novel of Richard Evans’ proposed Democracy Trilogy.
Evans is a former Australian federal politician. He was elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1996 as Liberal Party MHR for the WA seat of Cowan. Consequently, he served in Opposition while Keating was PM, and with the government during Howard’s first term as PM. Otherwise, his career has been in business and consulting. Evans’ insider understanding of the workings of federal parliament and the business world make this work of political thriller fiction (mostly) very believable.
‘Deceit’ can be described as an accelerating thriller about present day Australian politics. Not wishing to give away any more information about the plot than the publicity and book cover already does, I’ll simply say that it is is about a very unlikeable and corrupt Australian PM, whose plan to defraud the government in order to build a substantial retirement nest-egg, pits him against an about to retire Clerk of Parliament, a largely inept Opposition and an investigative journalist. The political manoeuvring is complicated by the death of eight MHRs in a plane crash.
This book should prove to be a hit with Canberrans and those who enjoy reading or gossiping about Australian federal politicians and what they get up to in Parliament House and their Canberra haunts. The author has set out to highlight the resolution of frequent struggles between political power and the integrity of Parliament.
What I particularly like about this book is that it is so full of present day reality – making it much more than another work of fiction. The book’s detailed settings in Parliament House and around Canberra are very real, as are previous Australian events referred to by the characters. What our politicians and parliamentary staff get up to is not far removed from what is known publicly or by insiders. Even the issues concerning parliamentary conventions and procedures are real – though I suspect that some of us will undoubtedly argue over some of the legal and constitutional issues.
While only a few of the characters are fully developed, they are mostly believable and memorable, thanks in no small part to the author’s skill in writing genuine Australian speech in the context of familiar Australian urban behaviour and misbehaviour.
Although the book’s intrigue and “naughty bits” may prove insufficient to outweigh some potential readers’ disinterest in or dislike of Australian politics and political gossip, this is a well written, easy to read, and thoroughly enjoyable page turner.
