A deadbeat dad. A curious boy. A journo drowning in the past ... and a town full of secrets. Can the truth ever be found in a town called Treachery?

'One of the Australian crime novels of the year ... A new Australian talent' The Australian

'One of a kind' Malcolm Knox

'The best journo-noir debut since Scrublands ... Mesmerising authenticity' Jack Heath

Winner of the Danger Awards Best Debut Crime Fiction 2025

Longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2025

Shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Awards Best Debut Crime Fiction 2025

A brutal murder in a town called Treachery? It's a story most journos would kill for, but for Stuart Dryden, it's a major inconvenience. He didn't take the gig at the local rag for its bustling crime beat. He'd sacrifice a career-making story for happy hour at the pub, but not even he can let a grisly murder through to the keeper. Especially when he keeps getting scooped by a persistent kid with a disposable Kodak.

Life's tough for eleven-year-old Matty Finnerty. His mother's gone, his father's gone most of the time and, as hard as he tries, he just can't get the kids at school to like him. When his favourite teacher Wendy Millburn turns up dead on the beach, it puts his dad Robbie in the crosshairs of a town that never liked him anyway. Worse than the bricks through the window, the dead animals on the lawn and the fish heads in the mailbox is the fact no one seems to be looking for the killer.

Matty starts to wonder whether Robbie knew Wendy better than he's let on. He needs a hero, and Dryden will have to do – that is, if he can just stay sober for a night or two. He might even cast off the ghosts of his own past.

As they stumble their way to answers, can they find the truth about Wendy – and what they're really made of?

Praise for A Town Called Treachery

'Thrilling. Thoughtful. Complex ... One of the Australian crime novels of the year. Jennings writes with humour, intensity and candour. A new Australian talent' The Australian

'One of a kind ... A coming-of-age story, a crime investigation and a gripping dark drama brought to life with affection, humour and sharp insight' Malcolm Knox

'The best journo-noir debut since Scrublands ... Mesmerising authenticity, balancing darkness with laugh-out-loud wit' Jack Heath, bestselling author of Kill Your Husbands

'Comes alive on the page ... Filled with affectionate detail, shot through with a profound understanding of the darker parts of our natures, and the light that keeps us going. I'll be putting this book in the hands of every reader I know' Hayley Scrivenor, bestselling author of Dirt Town

'A gripping mystery suffused with warmth, humour and authenticity. A Town Called Treachery is clear-eyed about the sometimes brutal reality of small towns without ever losing sight of the humanity and heart of those who live in them. Uniquely Australian in the best way possible' Gabriel Bergmoser, bestselling author of The Caretaker

'A brilliant and accomplished debut, chock-a-block with Aussie spirit. Mitch Jennings delivers a complex crime story bursting with humour that will keep you guessing until the last compelling page. Australia has a new star of small-town crime' Matthew Ryan Davies, author of The Broken Wave