Book excerpt: Black Tide is the second of Peter Temple's Jack Irish thrillers. Jack Irish - lawyer, gambler, part-time cabinetmaker, finder of missing people - is recovering from a foray into the criminal underworld when he agrees to look for the son of an old workmate of his father's. It's an offer he soon has cause to regret, as the trail of Gary Connors leads him into the world of Steven Levesque, millionaire and political kingmaker. The more Jack learns about Levesque's powerful corporation, the more convinced he becomes that at its heart lies a secret. What he's destined to find out is just how deadly that secret is... Black Tide has been made into an ABC tele-movie starring Guy Pearce as Jack Irish. Peter Temple is the author of nine novels, including four books in the Jack Irish series. He has won the Ned Kelly Award for Crime Fiction five times, and his widely acclaimed novels have been published in over twenty countries. The Broken Shore won the UK’s prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger for the best crime novel of 2007 and Truth won the 2010 Miles Franklin Literary Award. 'The real wonder is why this wasn't bottled for export sooner...Whether they're drawn to twisty plots, atmospheric mysteries, taut suspense, wry humor, or all of the above, crime-fiction fans will want to spend time Down Under with Jack Irish.' Booklist 'Black Tide rips, snorts and crackles with a delicious pace.' Age 'Gritty Melbourne atmosphere and lots of weather; a suitably alienated , macho anti-hero; a satisfying...mystery; and lots of Aussie Rules business. Confirms Temple's rep as the top hard-boiled crime writer on the local scene.' Courier-Mail 'Black Tide is certainly compulsive, but Temple's laconic, utterly natural style and his instinctive command of the genre elevates it to a new level well above the standard...paranoia thriller. Temple is the business.' Australian Book Review 'Hallelujah, Jack Irish - lawyer, punter, dyed-in-the-wool Fitzroy follower and part-time cabinetmaker - is back...a stunning and welcome return...A fast, funny, fabulous thriller.' Adelaide Advertiser