Loved this book. Small town Queensland, queer and military history, all wrapped up in a wonderfully written true crime novel.

As a young queer person struggling with identity this was obviously a hard read, the outright proof of hatred so engrained in our nation for so many decades, the afteraffects still being felt and lived through to this modern day, the vile bigotry throughout the multiple systems - military, civilian police, and civilian societies as a whole, the book makes me remember just how hopeless I felt first coming to terms with it all.

Overall, I read this book in one sitting which tells you enough about how much I enjoyed it. My advice - Dont start it at 10pm or you wont finish until 2am, and you'll be left with a heavy heart.

A very interesting insight into the intersection between the Aus military and the LGBTQI+ community

Jonathan Butler delves into an important and often ignored part of our history - how we as a nation and its people treat those from the LGBTQIA+ community.

The story focuses on the unsolved murder of Australian soldier Warwick Meale, beaten to death up in Townsville - no witnesses, no explanation, no motive. But did his death hint at another persona that Warwick kept secret? Others who were suspected of being gay in the military were often bashed and vilified but never came forward, if they survived, for fear of being dishonourably discharged due to their sexuality.

At the same time, Butler takes the reader on his own journey of how to live confidently with his own sexuality and his honesty and openness touches you deeply.

The book raises many issues about the military, the competition and rivalry between the Australian and US forces here in WWII, how anyone who did not identify as heterosexual became a target, but how this was not only a military issue, this was (and still is) a societal issue.

An engrossing human story where some mysteries will be solved and others left to ponder.