Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth

It takes a rare writer to find the beauty in brutality whether it is from nature or the people living there but this is exactly what Paul Howarth does when he tells the story of two teenage brothers in the 1880's Australian outback. After they come home to find their family savagely murdered and their younger sister near death, they take her to the neighboring wealthy landowner. The brothers are invited to join the vigilante group who are going out to hunt down the men responsible and anyone else who gets in their way. The landowner and the Inspector who is leading the witchhunt seem certain that the crime was committed by the boy's old Aborigine stockman. They are more than happy to find guilt in any indigenous Aborigine they find and eliminate them from the landscape as well. Tommy and Billy have not had an easy time trying to ranch in this unpredictable harsh land which has pushed them to grow up early. Nothing could have prepared them for this group of violent hard men and the hatred, racism and violence they would be invited to participate in as they search for justice. The beauty and savage landscape of the Australian outback blends seamlessly with the violence and hatred of the settlers against the native Aborigines to portray one absolutely stunning western saga.