Sorry. It's just that, after sitting through what seems like a dozen series of Underbelly, the popular - and glamorised - Australian crime programme, and then reading a book containing many of its elements, it becomes natural to slip into the lingo of the Sydney streets.
Drive By is the third novel from former crime reporter Michael Duffy. The story is that he was at a court one day and eavesdropped on the conversations of some local, er, characters, whose discussions inspired this idea.
Our twin protagonists are each, in their own way, balancing an inherent sense of goodness with an acceptance their lives are intertwined with ''badness''.
John Habib - or Honest John - is the good boy in a Lebanese family. He has one brother in jail, another one running the ''business'', and a younger one on trial for murder. John's a mechanic, eager to please and naive.
Bec Ralston is a detective. Honest and passionate, she is pulled into the court case and embarks on her own journey of discovery and disillusionment.
At the heart of the plot is the simple question of whether John's brother, Rafi, committed the murder for which he has been charged. And it fair races along. Duffy's writing is punchy, clipped and heavy on staccato bursts of dialogue.
The author uses dual points of view as the case progresses and does a fine job capturing the voices of the respective characters.
Comparisons with the Underbelly phenomenon are inevitable, and Drive By is worthy of being put in the same sphere.
- Hayden Meikle is ODT sports editor.
