Sharon Young

Jack Irish is thrown into a world of club owners, drug dealers and killers when he is hired by a judge to find a mysterious red book.

Jack Irish has no shortage of friends, but family members are few and far between. His wife was murdered by an ex-client and his father is a fading photo on the pubs football wall of fame. So when Des Connors, the last link to his dad, calls to ask for help in the matter of a missing son, Jack is more than happy to lend a hand. But sometimes prodigal sons go missing for a reason... As Jack begins to dig, he discovers that Gary Connors was a man with something to hide, and his friends are people with yet darker and even more deadly secrets.

Jack Irish is a man getting his life back together again. A former criminal lawyer whose world imploded, he now spends his days as a part-time investigator, debt collector, apprentice cabinet maker, punter and sometime lover - the complete man really. Jack is an expert in finding those who don't want to be found - dead or alive. He helps out his mates while avoiding the past. That is until the past finds him.

A tender story from Australia highlights the realistic ups and downs of an Australian family in the year following a parent's emergency medical procedure.