Cutler

Paul Cutler is a former undercover operative, now working off the books for his handler, Malik Khalil. When Cutler is tasked with investigating the disappearance of an Australian marine scientist on a Taiwanese distant-water fishing vessel, he realises that the apparent murder he’s investigating points to a slew of much darker crimes. Onboard, Cutler discovers that the vessel’s crew members are kept as slaves, subject to brutal punishment and forced to work long hours with little rest. And when he learns of the recent massacre of the crew of an Indonesian fishing vessel in the same waters, he realises his quest for the truth will be meaningless if he cannot escape with his life. Based on real events, and years of research, this crime novel shines a light on the criminogenic nature of the distant-water fishing industry, and the human and environmental cost of its operations. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK ‘A ripping page-turner about shameful secrets just across the horizon – the subsidised rape of our oceans and the enslavement of the mariners who labour in the ravenous maw of industrial fishing.’ Tim Winton ‘Sharp and insightful, Cutler is a highly charged slow-burn thriller and an unflinching portrayal of the perilous state of our oceans and the dark side of the fishing industry. A prescient, urgent story for our times.’ Sara Foster ‘Cutler is remarkable. Taut, powerfully written, and utterly gripping, it starkly captures the horrifying human and environmental costs of industrial fishing without ever losing sight of the extraordinary beauty and wonder of the ocean or the humanity of its deeply-damaged protagonist.’ James Bradley, author of Deep Water: The World in the Ocean and Clade ‘A page-turner, set in the world of illegal industrial fishing – the background data deeply researched in all its massive horrors to the environment, to fish species and the trafficking of humans beings. Highly recommend.’ Miriam Cosic ‘A tough, exciting novel, that also takes a sharp look at the environmental destruction, and human horror, caused by industrial deep-sea fishing.’ Canberra Weekly ‘David Whish-Wilson has written a taut and evocative crime novel that’s also a brooding, and increasingly grim, odyssey that dives into the ecological rape of the oceans, and all the inhuman exploitation that goes under the radar when it comes to illicit, and industrial-scale, overfishing in international waters and more.’ Sydney Morning Herald ‘We need more Paul Cutlers and writers like David Whish-Wilson that are willing to turn the wrongs that they see into illustrations for the rest of us.’ Australian Crime Fiction David Whish-Wilson David Whish-Wilson is the author of twelve novels and three creative non-fiction books. He was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, but raised in Singapore, Victoria and Western Australia. At eighteen, he left Australia to live for a decade in Europe, Africa and Asia, where he worked as a barman, actor, street seller, petty criminal, labourer, exterminator, factory worker, gardener, clerk, travel agent, teacher and drug trial guinea pig. David is the author of four novels in the Frank Swann crime series and three in the Lee Southern series, two of which have been shortlisted for Ned Kelly Awards. David wrote the Perth book in the NewSouth Books City series, which was shortlisted for a Western Australian Premier’s Book Award. Cutler was the first in the Undercover series. He currently lives in Fremantle, Western Australia, with his partner and three kids, and teaches creative writing at Curtin University. David Whish-Wilson is the author of twelve novels and three creative non-fiction books. He was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, but raised in Singapore, Victoria and Western Australia. At eighteen, he left Australia to live for a decade in Europe, Africa and Asia, where he worked as a barman, actor, street seller, petty criminal, labourer, exterminator, factory worker, gardener, clerk, travel agent, teacher and drug trial guinea pig. David is the author of four novels in the Frank Swann crime series and three in the Lee Southern series, two of which have been shortlisted for Ned Kelly Awards. David wrote the Perth book in the NewSouth Books City series, which was shortlisted for a Western Australian Premier’s Book Award. Cutler was the first in the Undercover series. He currently lives in Fremantle, Western Australia, with his partner and three kids, and teaches creative writing at Curtin University.