Few people ever get to truly see the underbelly of the city they call home, however Chris Nyst, the Gold Coast’s top criminal lawyer has managed to see it all.
His client list boasts Brenden Abbott (The Postcard Bandit), Pauline Hanson, serial conman Peter Foster, and tennis ace, Bernard Tomic, to name a few. Indeed, Nyst has represented some of the best (or worst) of society and it has allowed him to not only carve out a stellar career as a top criminal lawyer but also as an award-winning screenwriter and crime novelist.
“I’ve always had a big fascination with the court and the law, even going back to when I was quite young. My father was a bit of a court watcher and he used to take us along to watch the great Dan Casey, who was a very famous criminal lawyer/barrister in the 60s. So I guess I had that link from a very early age,” said Nyst.
Starting his writing career in 1997, 22 years after beginning his career as a solicitor, Nyst quickly made a name for himself with his first and second novels, eventually winning the 2006 Ned Kelly Award in Crime Fiction for his third novel 'Crook as Rookwood'. From there Nyst went on to try his hand at movies, by writing the screenplay for 'Gettin’ Square', about an ex-prisoner trying to right his life. That screenplay eventually won him a Lexus IF Award for Best Script. Overall it's clear that crime is a constant in Nyst’s life.
“All of my books have featured the whole of my career in the sense that I’m very fortunate to have contact with a lot of people who are in crisis in their lives and need someone to help them. So I get to learn a lot about people's lives and what makes them tick. All of that lends well into writing because they say everyone has at least one book in them but I kind of have a lot of books because of all these peoples stories.”
His newest release, 'Millen', follows the story of a murder trial that occurs at a fictional town called Millengarra, based in outback Queensland. A police officer who has been sent out there to solve the case has a lot of issues within his own life, one of them being that he is currently under investigation for corruption. While out in this country town, he discovers an age-old missing persons report which sets him on a long chase to not only solve both of these murders but to also come to terms with his own charges. Nyst describes the story as a double mystery, where the reader is constantly guessing what's about to happen next. A true blue Aussie crime tale.
Australian crime seems to be a constant thrum in the background of Australian book sales. An undying fan base that loves to imagine the gruesome details happening in their own backyard, whether that be in the inner suburbs of Sydney or the outback of Queensland. When asked his opinion on why Australian crime is such a popular genre, Nyst paused.
“I think there are two things about crime as a genre,” he explained. “One being that most of us are not privy to the criminal world and it’s not something that we are used to and so it makes it exciting to dip into that for a limited period of time like we do with books and movies. The other thing about crime is that it really focuses on human frailties. It focuses, sometimes, on the best of people under very difficult circumstances.”
And that is the clear center of Nyst’s entire life's work, both legal and creative. His fascination and curiosity for people and why they do what they do.
“I like to think I have an empathy for people, and I like to think that forms my writing. My books really are about the people. My film writing has been the same - it’s really about the characters. I think if your characters aren’t really complex and interesting, then I don’t think it's really worth writing and certainly not worth reading.”
You can find Chris Nyst’s new book 'Millen' on his website or on online bookstores.