Dogwatch

DOGWATCH

The Debut Novel from Antony Broad

Brisbane, 1996. The bitumen holds the heat long after the sun drops. The city doesn't sleep; it twitches.

A nameless boy arrives with nothing but a wired pulse and a history he's desperate to bury. In the humid dark of the Valley, he meets Azza; a skater built of nerve and chrome. Together, they claim the city, one drainpipe and train line at a time. One word becomes an obsession. Four letters carved into the concrete: RAZE.

The Game and the City
Like the sprawling urban decay of The Wire, Dogwatch explores a Brisbane where the institutions are as crooked as the backstreets. This isn't just youth rebellion; it's an ecosystem. While RAZE scales cyclone fences to leave his mark, the machinery of the city; unmarked cars, men with leverage, and the low hum of the drug trade; is already grinding to find him.

The Weight of the Tag
Drawing on the raw, subcultural authenticity of Going All City, the act of writing becomes a high-stakes war for visibility. Every tag is a heartbeat; every piece is a middle finger to a city trying to scrub him out. But as the sirens stalk closer, the paint begins to mix with blood. When a friend is hurt, the "rules" of the street harden into something far more lethal.

The Choice and the Cost
In the tradition of Richard Price's Clockers, the pressure builds until the air feels thin. Enter Colin Mason: old ties, heavy reach. He offers RAZE a choice that isn't a choice at all; betray the Mason family or watch the ground give way beneath the only friends that remain.
Brisbane runs on cash, fear, and the echo of spray cans in the night. In the end, a name either carries weight, or it's buffed into nothingness. RAZE is about to learn that the highest price is paid by those you leave behind.

What Readers are Saying
"Compelling reading. Gripping and taut. This young man has a future."
"Gritty and dark with a perfect balance of raw emotion. One of the best books I have read in a long time."

Who it is For

• Fans of the "Social Realism" Crime: If you love the atmospheric weight of Peter Temple or Garry Disher.
• Urban Explorers: Readers of Going All City who want to feel the grit of the tracks under their fingernails.
• Brisbane Locals: Anyone who wants to see the 90s River City written in steel and sweat.

Content Guide

Restrained but Raw.
Includes depictions of youth crime, police contact, violence, and trauma recovery. It does exactly what it says on the tin.

Summary
A nameless boy, a city of heat, and the four letters that changed everything. Dogwatch is a visceral journey through the 1990s underground; a story of how we earn a name, and what we have to break to keep it.