The Old School


           The Old School                







'PM Newton's bitter-sweet thriller is an arresting debut: astonishingly accomplished and as authentic as a .38 bullet wound. File between D for Disher and T for Temple and sweat on the sequel.' - Andrew Rule

Sydney, 1992. Nhu 'Ned' Kelly is a young detective making her way in what was, until recently, the best police force money could buy. Now ICAC has the infamous Roger Rogerson in the spotlight, and the old ways are out. Ned's sex and background still make her an outsider in the force, but Sydney is changing, expanding, modernising, and so is The Job.

When two bodies are found in the foundations of an old building, Ned is drawn into the city's past: old rivalries, old secrets and old wrongs. As she works to discover who the bones belong to – and who dumped them there – she begins to uncover secrets that threaten to expose not only the rotten core of the police force, but also the dark mysteries of her own family.

P.M. Newton worked in the New South Wales Police Force for thirteen years and brings an unparalleled authenticity to her portrayal of police life. The result is both a gripping crime novel and a brilliant portrait of Sydney's recent past.

'The writing is razor-sharp and the dialogue sizzles with tough-as-nails authenticity. Newton is a writer to watch.Matthew Reilly

'Relentless… what a multi-layered, powerful piece of writing. This novel puts P.M. Newton in the company of Marele Day, Gabrielle Lord and Peter Temple.' Graeme Blundell


Reviews for The Old School

'I thoroughly enjoyed this book. P.M. Newton is a great new voice in Australian crime fiction and I eagerly await any further novels.' Pages and Pages blog

“This is a gripping crime novel that sweeps up the reader in its enthralling multi-layered plot, powerful characters and spot-on descriptions of Sydney.”
Canberra Times 24/07/2010

“Newton pulls off a neat trick in that her tale has all the elevated anxiety, pace and snippy dialogue of classic crime fiction, yet it somehow comes across as a true story. And a well-plotted, multi-layered one to boot … As a foray into detective fiction, The Old School is a cracker. There's a new voice on the beat.”
The Weekend Australian 24/01/2010

“P. M. Newton delivered one of the year's finest debuts with The Old School.”
Canberra Times 11/12/2010

“The clash of old and new styles of policing and racial prejudice are themes that run throughout the book, with tension between cops and Aboriginals making it a slick crime story with a conscience.”
The West Australian 14/08/2010

“Much more than a whodunit, the story is told with ruthless and disturbing honesty about problems that include immigration and indigenous rights, and learning who to trust_ who to love.”
Woman’s Day 9/08/2010

“The Old School is pungently genuine … credibility springs from its dialogue.”
FHM October 2010

“Newton delivers a resonating authentic procedural and raises the bar for Australian crime fiction.”
Men’s Style 1/10/2010

“I like detective and thriller novels with interesting settings where one can learn something new about a topic or a foreign society while enjoying the story line and the writing. A few of my favorites from 2010: [...] +The Broken Shore -- and the sequel, Truth, by Peter Temple, one of the best Australian writers of crime noir, and The Old School, by P.M. Newton, a first novel by a rising star about a woman detective in New South Wales, provide hours of enjoyment.”
Derek Shearer, Huffington Post



"Crime novel" simply doesn't work in describing The Old School (though I don't see anything wrong in that particular appellation). Ultimately it is something more, and something more unsettling. It is an experiment in genre fiction and cultural history, and it is challenging, engaging and constantly intriguing.”
Walter Mason, author