AustLit
Latest Issues
AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Stephen Villani is the acting head of the Victoria Police homicide squad. But his first months on the job have not gone well: two Aboriginal teenagers shot dead in a botched operation he authorised in the provincial city of Cromarty; and, no progress on the killing of a man in front of his daughter outside a private girls' school.
Now five men are found dead in horrifying circumstances on the outskirts of the city. Villani's superiors and the media are baying for arrests. To add to his woes, some of the country's richest people are alarmed by the baffling killing of a young woman in the high-security tower where they live.
Villani, a man who has built his life around his work, begins to find the certainties of both crumbling. As the pressure mounts, he finds that he must contemplate things formerly unthinkable. Truth is a novel about murder, corruption, family, friends, honour, honesty, deceit, love, betrayal and truth.' (from Quercus website)
Adaptations
-
form
y
Truth ( dir. John Polson ) Australia : 2012 Z1762206 2012 single work film/TV
Reading Australia
This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.
Unit Suitable For
AC: Year 12 (English Unit 3 and Unit 4)
Themes
corruption, justice, masculinity, parenting and childhood, Power, redemption and the media., The nature of truth
General Capabilities
Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Information and communication technology, Literacy, Personal and social
Notes
-
Sequel to The Broken Shore.
-
Dedication: For Anita and for Nick: the lights on the hill. And for MH, whose faith has transcended reason.
-
Reading Group Guide available through the Text Publishing website.
-
Nominated for Ned Kelly Award for Crime Fiction, but Temple withdrew from contention to clear space for many talented crime writers who haven't won or been shortlisted. (Source: https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/truth-and-fiction-20100623-yyzt.html)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
- Braille.
- Sound recording. (German)
Works about this Work
-
Tell 'em You've Told 'em
single work
review
— Review of Truth 2009 single work novel -
Australian Fantasy, Crime and Romance Fiction in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries
2023
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Cambridge History of the Australian Novel 2023; -
Cover Stories
2019
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 17 August 2019; (p. 26)'Are words and images allies or enemies on book covers? Book designer WH Chong has some thoughts on striking the right balance between the two.' (Introduction)
-
'Peaches and Lemons'
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Bukker Tillibul , no. 10 2016; -
The Representation of Aboriginality in the Novels of Peter Temple
2016
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Coolabah , no. 20 2016; (p. 9-21) 'Identity politics is fraught with difficulties. Of few places is this truer than in Australia when it comes to the representation of Aboriginality. On the one hand the absence or invisibility of Aboriginality in Australian life and culture maybe interpreted as a deliberate exclusion of a people whose presence is uncomfortable or inconvenient for many Australians of immigrant origin. Equally, the representation of Aboriginality by non-Aboriginals may be seen as an appropriation of identity, an inexcusable commercial exploitation or an act of neocolonialism. Best-selling and prize-winning South African-born author Peter Temple appears to be very much aware of these pitfalls. In his crime novels, written between 1996 and 2009, he has obviously made the decision to grasp the nettle and attempt to represent Aboriginality in a way that would be as acceptable as possible. This paper traces the evolution of Temple's representation of Aboriginality through the three major Aboriginal characters present in his novels: Cameron Delray (Bad Debts, 1996; Black Tide, 1999; Dead Point, 2000; and White Dog, 2003), Ned Lowey (An Iron Rose, 1998) and Detective Sergeant Paul Dove (The Broken Shore, 2005 and Truth, 2009).' (Publication abstract)
-
Fiction Books
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 26 - 27 September 2009; (p. 22)
— Review of Truth 2009 single work novel -
Well Read
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 26 September 2009; (p. 24)
— Review of Truth 2009 single work novel ; Stealing Picasso 2009 single work novel -
Gangland Crime, Summer's Ravages
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 26 September 2009; (p. 15)
— Review of Truth 2009 single work novel -
The Hard Truth
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , October vol. 4 no. 9 2009; (p. 14-15)
— Review of Truth 2009 single work novel -
Cover Notes
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 11 October 2009; (p. 17)
— Review of Truth 2009 single work novel -
Wriitng to His Own Tune
2009
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 26 - 27 September 2009; (p. 20-21) -
Burning Issues in a Quest for Truth
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 26-27 September 2009; (p. 26-27) The Age , 26 September 2009; (p. 26-27) -
The Unvarnished Truth
2009
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 3-4 October 2009; (p. 8-9) -
The Truth Will Out
Matthia Dempsey
(interviewer),
2009
single work
interview
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , September vol. 89 no. 2 2009; (p. 36) -
Prophecy from the Temple
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 29 November 2009; (p. 28)
Awards
- 2012 winner Deutscher Krimi Preis — International
- 2010 winner Victorian Premier's Literary Awards — Prize for Fiction
- 2010 shortlisted Australian Booksellers Association Awards — BookPeople Book of the Year
- 2010 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian Book of the Year
- 2010 winner Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — Australian General Fiction Book of the Year
- Victoria,
- Docklands, South Melbourne - Port Melbourne area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,
- Urban,
- 2000s