Hugh Watson
The Silo
Halstead Press, 2021
Intuitive Sydney detective Susan Swift must solve a troubling series of murders. Barry Kingscliff, an ambitious pollie rapidly ascending the rungs of power, appears to be at the centre of it all. A horrific murder in a grain silo, a spate of unexplained deaths and the mysterious acquisition of rural properties turns the fictitious rural town of Gwydir upside down. Can Detective Swift unravel the criminal conspiracy before it’s too late?
While written as a work of fiction, The Silo’s themes of corruption, foreign interference and environmental crisis may feel uncomfortably familiar to Australian readers in 2021.
A compelling thriller set in the brutal world of country politics. In The Silo, Hugh Watson draws on his country roots and political background to immerse readers in a story about corruption, blackmail, murder and shadowy international investment.
About the Author
Hugh Watson was born in Bega. When he was in second class at Bega Primary School, Hugh’s teacher Mrs Ubrihien gave him back his composition and said: ‘You write very well Hugh. Keep it up.’ In his varied career as teacher, academic, political advisor, public servant, consultant, Olympics executive, song writer and author he has.
As a former Private Secretary to a Cabinet Minister and senior executive with the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games in Sydney, Hugh has had to opportunity to observe politics and politicians closely. This is reflected in his novels. He was also Partner-in-Charge of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Canberra and more recently he has been a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University and a director of his own consulting company.
With degrees from Sydney, Oxford, Canberra and Oregon Hugh decided to turn from academic writing to fiction. His first novel Home Grown, a political thriller, led us on an imaginative and twisting plot of terrorism and political intrigue. His second novel The Silo, draws on his county roots and political background to take readers on a compelling story of political corruption and dogged pursuit.
Hugh is also a musician and with his band Willie and the Correspondents (previously called West Texas Crude) he has written and released two albums, Writing on the Wall (2010) and Take Your Chances (2012) including the song Sons of the Somme which was added to the National Collection of the Australian War Memorial in 2013.
Find out more about Hugh at his website HERE
