Off Season by Clive Fleury | Australian Crime Mystery Book Review
A coastal Australian mystery filled with buried secrets, escalating danger, and a detective trying to rebuild both his career and his confidence.
There's something especially satisfying about a mystery that takes a seemingly quiet setting and slowly reveals just how much danger is hiding underneath the surface. Off Season does exactly that. What begins as Detective Ramesh Ryan's humiliating transfer from Sydney to a sleepy coastal town quickly spirals into overlapping investigations involving overdose deaths, missing persons, organized crime, and long-buried secrets. Clive Fleury combines police procedural elements with strong atmosphere and a steady sense of tension that kept me curious to see how everything would connect in the end.
Ready to head to the Australian coast and meet Detective Ryan at the start of the series?
About Off Season by Clive Fleury
Off Season By Clive Fleury
Series: Detective Ryan Mystery #1
on February 2024
Genres: Mystery
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 363
Detective Ryan navigates drug overdoses, a mysterious foot on the beach and a long-buried cold case.
Detective Ramesh Ryan's career with Sydney's prestigious Organized Crime Unit is on the up, until he loses a court case against the city's most powerful drug dealer. In disgrace, the detective is relocated to the tiny Australian beach town of Barton.
It is off-season in Barton-when its few criminals usually take a well-earned rest. But not this year! With the detective's arrival, the town suddenly becomes murder central. Two bodies are discovered in the space of days, both victims of drug overdoses. Then a mysterious foot is found washed up on the beach, and memories are awoken of an unsolved cold case of the teenager who disappeared fifteen years ago. Add to this a blossoming romance, along with a contract taken out on Ryan's life, and it's clear that the detective has jumped out of the Sydney frying pan into the Barton fire.
What follows is an action-packed adventure, thrilling at every turn-where truth and lies are almost impossible to separate, and unexpected twists are the order of the day.
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Review at a Glance
| Genre: | Mystery / Crime Fiction / Police Procedural |
| Series | Detective Ryan Mystery #1 |
| Setting: | Coastal Australia |
| Length: | 370 pages |
| My Rating: | ★★★★½ |
Quick Take: A layered Australian mystery with strong atmosphere, multiple investigations, and an engaging detective lead.
Content Considerations
Content Considerations: Murder investigation, drug-related crimes, overdose deaths, violence, organized crime themes, severed body part discovery, mild romance subplot, racial prejudice/discrimination themes, moderate suspense and danger.
Why This Book Stands Out
What makes Off Season especially memorable is the contrast between its laid-back coastal setting and the escalating danger underneath it. Barton initially appears to be the kind of sleepy off-season town where little happens, yet nearly every layer Ryan uncovers reveals another hidden connection, buried secret, or dangerous player.
The Australian setting also gives the novel a distinct identity compared to more familiar US or UK police procedurals, while Ryan's mixed cultural background adds emotional depth beyond the central mystery.
My Thoughts
As the first book in Clive Fleury's Australian-set Detective Ryan Mysteries series, Off Season does a solid job introducing both Detective Ramesh Ryan and the complicated world surrounding him. The story moves quickly and includes a fairly large cast of characters, so I definitely needed to pay attention as the various investigations and connections unfolded. Thankfully, the pacing stays steady, and Fleury balances the heavier procedural elements with moments of humor and genuinely witty dialogue that keep the story from ever feeling too dense.
One of the strongest elements for me was the camaraderie between Ryan and Constable Zoe Yang. Their working relationship feels natural and believable, adding warmth and personality to the investigation without overpowering the mystery itself. Ryan is also an interesting lead because he arrives in Barton carrying both professional embarrassment and personal frustration, which gives him room to grow as the series progresses.
The novel also touches on racial prejudice and cultural tension at times. While there is some racial dialogue included, it felt contextually appropriate to the story and was handled thoughtfully rather than for shock value. Fleury uses those moments to add realism and further develop Ryan's experiences rather than simply inserting conflict for drama.
By the end, enough of the major threads are resolved to make Off Season feel satisfying as a standalone mystery, while still leaving enough lingering curiosity to make readers want to continue with Book Two. Since I had already read All or None, it was especially interesting to go back and see where Detective Ryan's story began.
In Conclusion
Off Season delivers an engaging start to the Detective Ryan Mysteries series with layered investigations, strong atmosphere, and a detective lead who feels both capable and realistically flawed. Clive Fleury balances procedural mystery, personal tension, and moments of humor in a way that keeps the story moving while still allowing the characters room to breathe. While the large cast occasionally required extra attention, the payoff was a mystery filled with interconnected threads and satisfying reveals.
Readers who enjoy police procedurals with international settings, small-town secrets, and character-driven investigations will likely find plenty to enjoy here. And while Off Season works well as a standalone mystery, it also leaves just enough unresolved personal and professional tension to make continuing the series very tempting.
I previously reviewed Book 2, All or None, if you'd like to continue Detective Ryan's journey.
Read an Excerpt from Off Season by Clive Fleury
Here's a quick glimpse into Detective Ryan's complicated home life - a lighter moment that adds warmth and personality beneath the larger mystery.
Ramesh paused outside his unit. He could hear the sound of a TV inside. The detective lowered the file and laptop onto the floor. Reaching into his blue suit jacket, he unholstered his Glock semi-automatic gun. Holding the weapon in one hand, he unlocked the door, twisted the handle, pushed hard, and entered.
"Ramesh?" the portly middle-aged woman said as the detective burst into the living room, his arm out, the Glock gripped tight.
"Mom?"
She peered up at him from the couch. "Why have you got that gun out?"
Ramesh looked at the weapon before hastily holstering it.
"What are you doing here?"
"Watching the TV, of course. What does it look like?"
Ramesh squinted his eyes. "How did you get in?"
"With a key."
Ramesh strode across to his mother, lifted the remote, and turned the TV off.
"A key?"
"That is the way you usually enter an apartment. And thank you, Ramesh. Now I won't know if anyone won the million dollars today."
Ramesh sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"
The detective's mother stood up and brushed down her green sari over her substantial stomach.
"Curry."
"You've cooked curry?"
"Yes, for you. It's your favorite. Now come over here and kiss your mother."
Mumta opened up her arms to embrace Ramesh.
"That's better," she said. Releasing her son, she walked out of the living room into the kitchen.
Ramesh, still confused, followed.
"You have a key?"
"You gave me one last year, don't you remember?"
"That was for you to let the electrician in while I was at work."
"For which you never thanked me properly."
"I did, mom." He thought about that. "But you gave me that key back?"
Mumta dipped a wooden spoon into the pan of curry and offered the liquid to Ramesh.
Even detectives investigating murder still have to answer to their mothers.
Meet the Author
About Clive Fleury
Clive Fleury is an award-winning writer of books and screenplays and has worked all over the world as a Film/TV director, writer, and producer. He has written six books, most recently 'All Or None', the second novel in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series.
'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 whodunits, 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.
Explore more from the author:
Website | Amazon | Goodreads
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Tour dates: May 4 -May 25, 2026. To see the full schedule of stops, visit the
Goddess Fish Promotions - Off Season Tour Page.
Giveaway
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