Join us at Books@Stones on Tuesday 2 December for a special event with Michael Burge in-conversation with Poppy Gee discussing Michael's latest rural noir crime novel, Dirt Trap - the anticipated sequel to Tank Water (2021).

Journalist James Brandt lives in a brittle truce with his partner Dylan and his family, never talking about the homophobic attacks he exposed in his rural hometown, including the brutal death of a beloved cousin twenty years ago.

But this illusion of peace is ripped apart by the start of the state's historical gay-hate crime inquiry, and the reappearance of the Joneses, who waltz back into Kippen professing to be queer allies. Yet when one of that notorious dynasty is found dead at a local water tower, it is James who stands accused.

With an under-resourced sergeant and a tech-savvy podcaster on his heels, James refuses to trust in a police force that has proven its inadequacy with gay-hate crime. In order to clear his name and flush out which member of this remote community took justice into their own hands, he will need to expose every secret, including his own.

Michael Burge is an Australian author and journalist who lives at Deepwater in the New England region of NSW with his husband and their dogs. After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Michael undertook media studies in the UK. Michael is publisher at High Country Books, an imprint of The Makers Shed, the creative hub he co-manages at Deepwater, NSW. His non-fiction debut Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love lifted the lid on familial and institutional homophobia in Australia during the marriage equality campaign. His first novel, Tank Water, was published in 2021 by MidnightSun Publishing, followed by the sequel Dirt Trap (2025). The Watchnight, an historical gothic crime thriller set in Australia's Jenolan Caves, will also be released in September 2025. His complete works can be found at burgewords.com.

Poppy Gee is a Brisbane based writer with two internationally published crime novels: Bay of Fires and Vanishing Falls, both set in Tasmania where she grew up. She has worked as a journalist, book reviewer and subeditor for the Courier Mail; chief-sub editor of Girlfriend magazine; and has taught journalism at QUT. Poppy has a Masters in Creative Writing from UQ. She currently leads creative writing workshops for the Queensland Writers Centre and is an active member of Sisters in Crime, hosting Brisbane's Wine & Crime Literary Dinners, supported by Books@Stones. Find out more about Poppy at www.poppygee.com

Sign up to our Books@Stones newsletter to stay up to date.

All our events are free to attend, but bookings are required as seats are limited.