AustLit

2013 Davitt Winner - Best Adult Novel : Judges Report

This debut novel by Maggie Groff is instantly appealing – there’s the great title, yarn bombing, the Byron Bay setting and the delicious names of Scout and her sister, Harper. Scout Davis is a freelance investigative journalist given the job of investigating an American cult which has moved to the Gold Coast. She is also asked by her sister to quietly look into who is cutting up students’ underwear at an exclusive girls’ school.

Marketed as light relief, à la Janet Evanovich, there is more to Mad Men... than a kooky and impulsive accidental investigator stumbling from one crazy scenario to the next. For one thing, Scout is a bit older than the usual protagonist of such books, and for another thing, she’s not actually kooky, irrational or silly at all. Sure, there are raging hormones and a sexy love interest, but Maggie also deftly tackles some very sensitive issues. What she handles so well is the balance between the humour and dark subjects, such as losing a loved one to a cult and bullying. This is a very impressive debut, and Maggie Groff, and her heroine, Scout Davis, are welcome additions to the Australian crime writing scene.' (Source: Sisters in Crime Australia)