Hostile territory:

Single women trying to forge new lives are at the heart of two trans-Tasman crime debuts.

-  GREG FLEMING

ECHO LAKE, by Joan Sauers (Allen & Unwin, $36.99)

In the wilderness of the New South Wales Southern Highlands, recently divorced historian Rose McHugh decamps from Sydney to start a new life.

She buys a house in an isolated part of the district, but within days she's threatened, someone blocks her plumbing, and the woman whose house she bought is found dead a day after Rose visits her.

Rose also discovers a roll of film buried in her new home's backyard that includes a picture of a woman who's been missing for six years.

Rounding out the cast is an enigmatic detective - who isn't quite sure whether Rose is a victim or suspect - her trusty dog Bob, a distant adult son and Rose's sister who's always ready with an inappropriate comment and wry chuckle.

Rose is a protagonist who's easy to warm to: she's determined to make this new start a success, is personable and smart, but also, we sense, vulnerable and lonely, still bruised from her ex-husband's infidelity.

Sauers - who made her mark as a screenwriter for numerous Australian TV shows - brings those skills to her crime fiction debut. The dialogue is crisp, and the plot moves with confidence and pace, the mystery element being enhanced by the location and a colourful cast of local characters.