General News
13 August, 2024
Mount Arapiles sets scene in Claire Sutherland's debut thriller 'The Crag'
In the isolated crags, stark beauty can conceal horrific truths.
Wimmera
Mount Arapiles takes center stage in a gripping new thriller, The Crag, penned by veteran journalist and avid rock-climber Claire Sutherland.
Set against the dramatic backdrop of one of the world's premier rock-climbing destinations, this whodunit weaves suspense and intrigue, exploring the dark undercurrents of human nature amid the towering cliffs.
Sutherland, who has spent years scaling the sharp, rugged faces of Mount Arapiles, draws from her own harrowing experiences to craft a narrative that is as beautiful as it is haunting.
"It took me a long time to become comfortable as a climber," she said.
"I've luckily not had any accidents while climbing, but there have been a handful of slightly hairy moments.
"I once finished a climb in the pitch dark and abseiled off without complete certainty that our rope was actually touching the ground.
"Another time I went on an all-day climb in a heatwave and ran out of water halfway up. I finished it in a dangerously dehydrated and near-delirious state."
Near-death incidents, and war stories about near misses and disasters, made Sutherland consider the mountain as a backdrop for a thriller.
"That's not because it's inherently dangerous when done right, but because there are so many ways things can go wrong - or be made to look like they've gone wrong," she said.
In The Crag, Sutherland introduces readers to Skye, a rock climber who stumbles upon a body on a remote walking track.
The victim appears to have fallen from the cliffs-yet the body is found more than five kilometers from the nearest rock face.
What begins as a mystery of a possible climbing mishap quickly spirals into a dark, twisty investigation, touching on themes of violence against women and deception.
The Crag will appeal to readers of Candice Fox and Jane Harper and fans of documentaries Free Solo and The Dawn Wall.
Sutherland was a metropolitan journalist with the Herald Sun for more than 20 years, during which time she held roles including books editor, film writer and features editor.
She was the editor-in-chief of mX and News Corp's national head of entertainment before leaving to pursue a career in freelance writing.