Sarah Reeves Books in Order
The complete DSC Sarah Reeves series by Phillip Strang — all 6 Alice Springs outback thrillers in reading order
Detective Senior Constable Sarah Reeves works out of Alice Springs, at the heart of Australia's Red Centre — a place of quirky desert festivals, remote communities, and secrets the outback is very good at keeping. Across six self-contained cases she takes on corruption, cover-ups and killers, from art forgery and mining conspiracies to a cold case reaching back two decades, always up against powerful people who would rather the truth stayed buried in the red dust. Atmospheric, procedural and unmistakably Australian. Perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, and Garry Disher.
Sarah Reeves Series — All Books in Order
1. Red Centre Justice
When a respected community leader is found dead on the outskirts of Alice Springs, Detective Senior Constable Sarah Reeves takes on a case that cuts deep into the fabric of Central Australia. What looks like a suspicious death unravels into a web of corruption, betrayal and violence hidden beneath the outback's unforgiving surface. As Sarah follows the trail, she runs up against powerful figures desperate to protect their reputations, families torn apart by lies, and a community where silence is survival — and every revelation brings her closer to a truth someone will kill to keep buried. With the desert closing in and time running out, Sarah must rely on her instincts, her partner, and the fragile trust of those who dare to speak.
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2. Painted Lies
Detective Senior Constable Sarah Reeves is called to the death of Maxwell Reid, a gallery owner found poisoned among his prized Aboriginal artworks. What looks like a single murder soon exposes a sophisticated forgery ring exploiting Indigenous artists and their cultural heritage. As rival gallery owners, exploited artists and powerful locals close ranks, Sarah uncovers a dangerous mix of greed, appropriation and resentment — and when the evidence ties Reid's death to his plan to publish sacred cultural knowledge, the case becomes a race against a relentless dust storm threatening to cut the town off entirely. With millions in fraudulent sales at stake, each revelation brings Sarah closer to a truth powerful people will kill to keep buried.
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3. Murder at the Henley-on-Todd
At the Henley-on-Todd Regatta — a quirky Alice Springs festival where boats race on dry sand — mining executive Richard Hargrove dies in what first looks like a tragic accident. Detective Senior Constable Sarah Reeves soon finds it was a meticulously staged murder. As she digs, she uncovers ignored safety reports, millions in mining profits at stake, and powerful figures determined to bury the truth. When a key witness is silenced in a staged suicide, Sarah realises she is in the crosshairs of professional killers operating with political protection. From corporate boardrooms to government offices, the conspiracy runs deep — and in a land where red dust conceals blood and silence protects power, Sarah must rely on the forensic evidence and one threatened whistleblower before the killers reach everyone who knows the truth.
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4. Shadows of Uluru
At dawn in the Red Centre, Detective Senior Constable Sarah Reeves is called to the base of Uluru, where Sydney accountant Michael Foster lies dead. What looks like a suspicious fall turns darker: a controlling man with a taste for other people's secrets, a luxury resort holiday, and a circle of friends hiding far more than they admit. As Sarah and her partner Tom Bradley question the group, the contradictions mount — affairs, embezzlement worth millions, long-buried betrayals — and it becomes clear Foster wasn't only a victim but a blackmailer, and every friend had reason to want him silenced. Methodically, Sarah dismantles their stories, exposing lies beneath lies, in a place where the truth may be as dangerous as the fall itself.
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5. The Devil's Puppet
In the scorched heart of Alice Springs, Detective Senior Constable Sarah Reeves faces a chilling spree. Curtis Langford believes fragments of his missing prison cellmate live on inside innocent people — and he is hunting them down, one by one. As bodies surface across the outback, Sarah must decode the twisted logic behind his "rescue mission" and trace the ties each killing reveals to the local drug trade, and to a system riddled with neglect and failure. With time running out and the next victim already marked, she races across brutal terrain where the heat distorts everything, and justice is anything but clear.
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6. Dust and Echo
On a remote track in Central Australia, Detective Senior Constable Sarah Reeves is called to the body of Ruby Tilmouth, wrapped in a canvas swag and bound in wire. What begins as a murder inquiry soon reaches back twenty years, to the disappearance of Aboriginal teenager Jessie Coolwell. As Sarah digs, she uncovers two decades of corruption and silence — a retired police officer, a youth worker, and a young man shaped by their influence — and every step brings her nearer a truth powerful figures will kill to keep hidden. With a false confession threatening to derail the case, Sarah must confront not only a killer but a whole system built to protect power at the expense of justice. In a land where tracks vanish with a single gust of wind, two young women, separated by twenty years, have left signs only Sarah can read.
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If you enjoy the Sarah Reeves thrillers, explore Phillip Strang's other Australian outback crime fiction — same red country, same hard-edged detection.
DI Maya Thorne — Australian Outback
Phillip Strang's flagship outback series. DI Maya Thorne works the same harsh interior as Sarah Reeves, across eighteen novels of remote-community crime where the landscape is the first obstacle and everyone keeps their own counsel.
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DS Kate Hayes — Australian Outback
Another South Australian outback investigator. Kate Hayes begins with remote desert murders much like Sarah's, before the series widens into a larger conspiracy. A strong next read for outback-noir fans.
See the Series →Explore the Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What order should I read the Sarah Reeves books?
Each Sarah Reeves novel is a self-contained case, so you can begin with any of them — but publication order, starting with Red Centre Justice, is the natural way in, and lets you follow Sarah and her partner Tom Bradley as the series develops.
How many Sarah Reeves books are there?
There are 6 DSC Sarah Reeves novels, from Red Centre Justice to Dust and Echo, all set in and around Alice Springs and Central Australia.
Where is the Sarah Reeves series set?
The series is set in Australia's Red Centre — centred on Alice Springs, with cases ranging out to Uluru, the dry-riverbed Henley-on-Todd Regatta, and the remote tracks of Central Australia. The outback landscape is woven through every book.
What kind of crime novels are the Sarah Reeves books?
They are Australian outback police procedurals with a strong Outback Noir atmosphere — grounded in forensic detection, remote communities, and the corruption that power can hide in an isolated place. Readers who enjoy Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, or Garry Disher tend to find the series a natural fit.
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