Quintus Huntley: Botany

When his sole poetry collection is found in the case of a gruesomely murdered violinist, the police think Huntley did it. But he's innocent, and the best way to prove it is to find the killer himself.

Variously assisted by Detective Everest, PR writer Aphra Massey and octogenarian computer hacker Henrikson, Huntley tries to solve a series of deaths (and one coma) that result from plant poisonings. While he has no idea what he's doing, his ability to see stories, identify motives and predict endings enables him to zero in on the "weed killer". For Huntley, all the answers are in the stanzas.

But there are bigger pieces in play, including a new subdivision being built on Perth's southern wetlands, drug deals aplenty, a police force that looks out for themselves, a politician intent on making WA a separate country, and Huntley's loose-cannon teenage daughter Verity. Can Huntley put all the pieces together to find the killer before the killer finds him?