S&S Summit Books

Book title: The Leap by Paul Daley

Reviewer: Garth Thomas 

Paul Daley’s The Leap is the latest offering from the Australian bush-noir genre. In a similar style to ‘Wake in Fright’, ‘Scrublands’ or ‘An Isolated Incident’ – the hero of ‘The Leap’ is an outsider dropped into contemporary outback Australia. Benedict Fotheringham-Gaskill is a British diplomat with past trauma, hoping to coast out his remaining years with a cushy posting in Canberra. But that dream fades when an Australian air hostess is murdered in Saudi Arabia, and the two British women accused of the crime face the death penalty. Under Saudi law, those found guilty can be spared if the victim’s family accept a ‘diyyeh’ – in this case, one million pounds from the British government – and it’s up to Benedict (he prefers ‘Ben’) to approach the deceased’s father at The Leap, plead for mercy and save the lives of the women.

But it’s not going to be that simple: Ben is forced to endure hard lessons in another kind of diplomacy: the rough diplomacy of outback Australia. What unfolds is an odyssey into the gritty underbelly of the nation with its outdated attitudes, outlandish rituals and haunting secrets. There’s a heap of beer, drugs and violence along the way as Ben not only battles to maintain his moral compass but his ever-dwindling sanity as well.

Daley’s writing is very readable. His dialogue is natural, his descriptions, effective. The book clips along at a rollicking pace. The characters feel real and are easy to visualise. It’s an immersive experience as it is intriguing.

There are similarities to other noir fiction: The evil land baron Howard Sloper evokes Noah Cross (played by John Huston) in the 1974 noir film ‘Chinatown’, where a powerful farmer’s lust for real estate has repercussions on those around him, including his estranged daughter. The pig shooting chapter is very reminiscent of the kangaroo hunt from ‘Wake in Fright’.

Being Australian bush-noir, indigenous relations play a part. It’s dealt with honesty and realism without being condescending and is an essential overarching theme of the work. The main indigenous character, Nelson, really shines. Daley’s dialogue rings as authentic, as Nelson articulates what the reader is already thinking about Ben’s out-of-control behaviour. The plot doesn’t shirk from the history of The Frontier Wars; in a sense we’re still continuing to live them today, and Daley is bold enough to point it out.

‘The Leap’ is an entertaining work of fiction that contains a lot of truths about human nature in our wide brown land. The Australia it portrays isn’t very flattering, and many city people would say ‘well, that’s not me’. But as Ben suggests towards the end, perhaps the average Australian is still not that far removed from the likes of Chisel, Knuckles and Ferret. Scratch away the surface and the basic traits remain – everywhere. Paul Daley presents us with a mirror where we confront our own wants, ambitions and actions. The remote town called The Leap could be just down the road after all.

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Reviewer’s bio:

​​Garth Thomas spent 35 years at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation editing for the programs The 7.30 Report, Lateline, Australian Story and Foreign Correspondent (winning an Ellie Award in the documentary category), but now in retirement wants to tell his own stories. Garth completed the Year of the Novel course at Writing NSW in 2023. He was praised for his ‘clear, strong narrative voice’, ‘vivid characters’ and ‘sharp, clear, inviting prose’. His thoughtful remembrance True Drug, True Story appeared in the online magazine Ink. He is also a member of a regular writing group who meet to discuss all things writing and reading, as well as tapping out some new paragraphs. In 2025, Garth was inducted into the WestWords Academy Program. His short story, The Oort Cloud won a Highly Commended prize in the Living Stories competition and was published in the anthology Only I Can Say. The judges described his work as ‘humorous, contemplative and emotionally resonant’. Garth continues to develop his writing craft, penning novel manuscripts and short stories while enjoying the camaraderie that WestWords encourages and provides.