Dusk

Paternal twins plunge themselves into danger after joining the hunt for a bloodthirsty puma in this arresting novel from Australian author Arnott (The Rain Heron). Iris Renshaw and her brother, Floyd, are 37-year-old vagabonds who travel from place to place in search of work, food, and shelter. When they learn of a hefty bounty for a man-killing puma named Dusk, they leap at the opportunity. As they traverse the expansive and unforgiving Australian highlands on horseback, Floyd’s chronic back trouble tethers him to Iris. The dynamic is nothing new; their tight-knit bond originates from looking out for each other during their hardscrabble upbringing, when they were raised by violent and alcoholic parents. Now, they are happy to have fled another town where “nobody they knew wanted to know them.” As the puma continues her slaughter, the twins head farther into the bush along with fellow bounty hunter Patrick. Arnott imbues his descriptions of the pumas and Tasmanian highlands with an air of myth, as the twins pick up local lore on their travels, and the slow-burning narrative gains heat as the twins’ attempts to track the puma are jeopardized by the devious Patrick and others. The striking landscape descriptions (“pumas stalked the wet air; hunters bled into the clouds. ­ Great caches of ancient bones blended into the whiteness”) are a perfect fit for the story’s primal treachery. Readers will be utterly captivated by this atmospheric tale of danger and survival. Agent: Peter Straus, RCW. (Aug.)