It starts in a suburban backyard with Darren Keefe and his older brother, sons of a fierce and gutsy single mother. The endless glow of summer, the bottomless fury of contest. All the love and hatred in two small bodies poured into the rules of a made-up game.
Darren has two big talents: cricket and trouble. No surprise that he becomes an Australian sporting star of the bad-boy variety—one of those men who’s always got away with things and just keeps getting.
Until the day we meet him, middle aged, in the boot of a car. Gagged, cable-tied, a bullet in his knee. Everything pointing towards a shallow grave.
About the Author :
Jock Serong’s novels have received the Ned Kelly Award for First Fiction, the Colin Roderick Award and the inaugural Staunch Prize (UK). He lives with his family on Victoria’s far west coast.
Review :
‘Blow me down if I didn’t hang on every word.’
‘Funny, sad and oddly touching…Beautifully written and acutely observed, The Rules of Backyard Cricket is a noir tour de force…Original Australian crime fiction of the first order.
‘The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong, while classified as ‘crime’, is a compelling literary novel dissecting toxic sporting culture and its fallout.’
‘Suffice it to say the back cover blurb that draws a parallel between The Rules of Backyard Cricket and Peter Temple’s best work is no exaggeration. Serong pulls off what I
consider an Australian crime writer’s most sought-after quinella (to
use a metaphor from another sport): a literary crime novel that
qualifies as genuine Australian noir.’
‘Serong writes pithy, pin-sharp dialogue…The book is expertly
plotted, and its noirish climax with its dark drama and its final
twists, is devastating. Get out and buy this book; it is the best new
novel I've read this year.’
‘The Rules of Backyard Cricket hits all other cricket books
I’ve read to date for six. This tale is not just about cricket, it’s
about the good, the bad and the ugly and a timely story, too, with
sporting integrity often in question.’
‘Serong is an elegant writer who can move effortlessly from laugh
out-loud funny to elegiac to downright touching…Those of us who played
back garden cricket and remember how seriously it was taken by all
concerned will lap up every single run and wicket in this book.’
‘The writing is sharp and the flawed characters compelling...Serong bowls with a wry eye.’
‘Jock Serong’s gripping narrative is a compassionate exploration of
masculinity and humanity as he chillingly questions whether we truly
know those who are closest to us.’
‘One of the great novels written about sport…Delicious. It’s the top read of the summer.’
‘My favourite reading experience of the year (and I don’t even like cricket).’
