Summer reading: Three Dog Night by Peter Goldsworthy

Set in Adelaide and the South Australian desert, 'Three Dog Night' explores themes of selfishness, jealousy, loyalty, friendship, and betrayal.

Returning to Australia after 10 years in the UK, Martin sets out to reconnect with his estranged friend, Felix, taking his new English wife, Lucy, with him.  Martin and Felix's friendship is typically masculine, but friendly rivalry builds into malicious one-upmanship, with Lucy caught in the cross-fire.

This is a stark, uncomfortable, and, at times, painful story, that subtly weaves human foibles into a complicated and heart-wrenching mass of emotion, set against the darkening sky of the outback.