Publisher: Epicenter Press, Inc.
Publication Date: November 11, 2025
Page count: 346 pages
There were eleven of them squashed into the red Ford Transit
van. All were in high spirits—except, that was, for the driver, Tommy Clarke.
He wasn’t happy.
Tommy had thought long and hard about offering his services locally as a driver and wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for Anne, his wife. She had heard that people were looking for transport into the city for a protest march and saw it as the perfect opportunity for them to earn some money—even though it was scheduled for Saturday, which would mean Tommy missing the big match: the Swans versus the Eagles.
He had tried to argue, but it was a waste of time. Anne Clarke was an unstoppable force of nature and opposing her was an exercise in futility. Still, it was that same determination and persistence that had attracted him in the first place—that and a body that could stop traffic.
Before meeting his wife, Tommy had drifted like a ship without an anchor. But Anne had plans—lots of them—and the principal one was to buy a house. Of course, properties cost money, and Tommy had no idea where they would get that. Luckily, Anne did.
She stuck a big whiteboard up in the kitchen, taping it to
the wall. Using a black marker, she split the board vertically into three
columns: incomings, outgoings, and savings. Then, she crossed the lines with
dates. Every week, she filled the boxes with numbers—money they earned, spent,
and saved together. The savings column had gotten larger and larger, but they
still needed every cent they could get, which was why Saturday’s driving job
had to go ahead.
Tommy picked the passengers up outside Absolute Muffin, Church Point’s only bakery. He stashed their banners and signs in the back of the Transit and then set off to Sydney Town Hall, where they would join the others for the Future Is in Your Hands march. After they returned, Tommy would drive them back. He would get three hundred dollars cash for the job.
Detective Ryan returns!
All Or None is the second novel in author Clive Fleury's Australian police detective series, the Detective Ryan Mysteries, which debuted with the excellent OFF SEASON in 2024. Two years have passed since the events of the previous book. Ryan has returned to Sydney from his exile to the Central Coast and has just been transferred from the Organized Crime Unit to New South Wales Homicide. To his surprise and consternation, he is partnered with his former coworker, Zoe Yang, now a detective and also a new, unwanted addition to the team like himself. Their first case, a dead man discovered in a cabin in the national park, proves to be genuinely baffling, and the partners are under extreme pressure from their chief to find the killer as soon as possible. But things only get more complicated when a second death, with connections to the first, occurs soon after.
Once again, Detective Inspector Ryan is a strong and worthy protagonist as he and Yang continue to negotiate their working relationship while conducting a well-executed investigation. Both detectives are dealing with issues in their personal lives, as well as outdated workplace attitudes that could distract a less disciplined team. Ryan's mother, one of my favorite characters, is also facing health issues and doubles down on her efforts to get her son married and starting a family, perhaps a result of confronting her own mortality. Meanwhile, Ryan reunites with another woman from his past.
The book starts with a shocking accident from 20 years earlier, but there are even more surprises in store for readers. The story unfolds from multiple points of view, including the killer's, which is creepy and unsettling, and several storylines are in play throughout. The author juggles these separate threads with ease, keeping them clear and distinct until they cleverly converge. The writing style is engaging and compelling, and I was so absorbed that I almost completed this entire book in one session. I had to know how the story was going to resolve as soon as I could.
I recommend ALL OR NONE to readers of mysteries, crime
fiction, and thrillers.
All Or None sees Detective Ryan back in the thick of things. His latest investigation into a mysterious death couldn’t come at a worse time. He discovers his mother is hiding a troubling secret and is further sidetracked by a new romance. Fans of who dunnits, crime thrillers, and cop and detective stories will love this novel.
Clive's other books include Off Season - book
one in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series; Kill Code - a dystopian
science fiction novel set in a world facing climate change; Scary Lizzy - a novel about an eight year old girl, who befriends an African child
ghost – and the teen action adventure
book - The Boy Next Door - a story of
what happens when a teenage girl has a crush on her next door neighbor, who
isn’t all he seems. He also co-wrote Art Pengriffin and The Curse of The Four - a young adult fantasy adventure
about a teenage boy who discovers his father was Merlin the Magician.
Clive Fleury will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift
card to a randomly drawn winner.
