Gunnawah by Ronni Salt
- Wardley Love
- Jul 11
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 23
“Somewhere where the Murray River streamed down from the Great Dividing Range, flowing sinewed and calm before hitting the swampy flat lands, somewhere down in the water’s depths, a human skull sat settled and still... There were two hands in all. Two feet. One spine. One skull.”
Ronni Salt’s debut is not just a thriller. It is a slow reckoning. Set in a fictional rural community during the Gough Whitlam era, Gunnawah explores organised crime, corruption, and the kind of silence that keeps everything in place.
The result is a gritty, deeply political story that feels disturbingly close to true.
📍 The Setup
Riverina, 1974.
Nineteen-year-old Adelaide Hoffman wants out. Out of the farm. Out of her mother’s wine-soaked silence. Out of a town where everyone knows everything and no one says a word.
She takes a cadetship at the Gunnawah Gazette. Her boss, Valdene Bullark, is a veteran editor who sees something of herself in Adelaide that's worth backing.
A local irrigation story seems harmless enough for a first gig. Until it isn’t.
Beneath the dirt, there is money. And beneath the money, something much darker.
🔎 What’s Good
The writing is lean, sharp, and grounded. Salt’s background in investigative journalism gives the story its edge. Every observation feels earned. The characters are vivid and flawed, from the brilliant and blunt Valdene to the quietly damaged but determined Adelaide.
There is a past trauma hanging over Adelaide. Salt doesn’t exploit it for drama. She lets it shape the space between words. And when the truth arrives, it hits hard.
The town itself is masterfully drawn. Its people, its rhythms, its refusals all feel lived-in. Salt knows these places. And she knows what power looks like when it wears a smile and keeps records off the books.
⚠️ What’s Slightly Less Good
The story takes its time. The early chapters introduce a wide cast, build the setting, and set the tone. It rewards patient readers, but some might want the plot to kick in faster.
That said, when it moves, it moves. And the payoff feels real.
📰 Final Thoughts
Gunnawah is not a loud book. It does not shout. It builds pressure slowly. It makes you sit with the rot.
This is Australian noir at its best. Political. Personal. And perfectly placed in a genre that is finally starting to speak for more than just its detectives.
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