The crimes of Billy Fish Book

'The day is a cold one in August, just light, and it is coming down in buckets on six unsheltered prisoners waiting for their ride.'

We first meet Billy Fish when, aged 29, he is released from Long Bay Prison. He's on parole, after serving three years for a violent robbery. What is behind Billy's cycle of drugs, crime and custody? Billy is a 'special category parolee': his freedom dependent on following a set of processes mandated by officialdom. Billy has to attend the Centrelink office, meet with support workers, attend counselling at the methadone clinic. He has nothing much else to do. Can he stay drug-free?

Billy has a sister, Rose. Rose has an infant son, caring for him and working gives her a comforting routine, a buffer from the past.

Gradually we learn about the past, about what happened, and how Billy tried to protect Rose. But trying to protect Rose has its own costs to Billy and partial knowledge has not really protected Rose. Both are fragile.

'Children aren't replaceable, Billy, nor childhoods. There isn't any missing piece that can be found and put back.'

Billy's former partner in both crime and drug addiction, Jason, tempts him. And then there's Ned, a young impressionable teenager. Billy may be able to help him. But which path will he choose?
The death of Rose's son in an accident forces both Billy and Rose to revisit the past in order to try to face the future.

The more I read, the more I wanted Billy and Rose to triumph. Both stepped off the page for me and became real. It is not an easy read: aspects of the story are harrowing. But I've seen enough of life to know that what I find difficult to read about is distressingly real for many.

This was Ms Hopkins's first novel (published in 2007), and I read it after reading 'The Subjects' (published in 2019). I recommend both.

'So deeds get stored in some hidden place.'

Jennifer Cameron-Smith