Poetic justice: Cam Jefferys introduces a uniquely Perth detective in Botany
Perth-raised, Germany-based author Cam Jefferys, writing under the pseudonym Royce Leville, is set to release his new book, Botany, on Monday, October 13, 2025. Set in Perth, the book is the first in his new series and follows the washed-up detective Quintus Huntley, who discovers he can solve crimes using poetry. PRUDENCE ACKRILL spoke with Cam Jefferys to discuss the new series, the book’s Perth setting, and writing in the detective genre.
Botany is the first part of your series featuring Quintus Huntley. How long has this character been waiting for his day, and what can you tell us about him?
Like a lot of book ideas, it started out as a “what if” question. What if you could solve a crime using poetry? That was such an offbeat and weird idea, I kept it to myself for years. But it kept gnawing at me, and the character slowly came to life. In 2019, I floated the idea to some friends in a Cottesloe cafe, and when they didn’t look at me like I was insane, I decided to explore it some more, starting with Quintus Huntley, who he is and the journey he’s on. He’s a boy from the country who makes it in the city with his first poetry collection, but then he stagnates, as he can’t follow that early success. He floats through life, crippled with doubts, until becoming a murder suspect sparks him into action. Huntley is a brilliant idiot who has a way with words. His discovery that his poetic gifts can solve crimes surprises him more than anyone else.
It’s always exciting to see new releases that are set in Perth. Are there any local spots featured in the book that you knew you wanted to feature from the get-go?
The geography of the city has always fascinated me, the desert meeting the ocean. We’re kind of backed up against this huge expanse of water. Cornered. A lot of crime fiction is dark and rainy and grim. But here’s Perth, this beautiful sunburnt city, where it seems like there’s nowhere to hide, but there are actually plenty of places to hide in broad daylight. The way the city has these divides: western suburbs, the hills, Fremantle. The way everyone seems to hate the traffic, yet they drive on, day after day. The roles that water and weather play in everyone’s lives. The heat. The wind. The sun is so bright, the sky so blue, and the water so pristine. So much of the Perth experience is elemental, and that makes it such a unique setting for a sunlit noir crime series.
Now based in Germany, was it difficult to look back and feel that you were getting the setting right? Or did you feel like this was a way to connect with back home?
Botany, which I wrote in Perth, is the benefit of both. Being outside looking in, and being inside looking out. I get back to Perth for a few months, just about every year. I enjoy living in Germany, but I miss Perth so much. I find myself being drawn back home. But distance is also useful to gain a different perspective on the city, the people, the establishments, the history, the values, and also my relationship with all of that. Writing under a pseudonym, Royce Leville, afforded me a little more freedom to take some risks, ruffle some feathers and move the story into areas I might otherwise avoid.
With Quintus Huntley being a poet himself, does this reflect your relationship with poetry in any way? Is this a form that often crosses into your works of fiction?
Poetry has appeared in my previous works. A book under my own name, True Blue Tucker, featured a character who was a bush poet, and those poems were included in the story and at the back of the book. Another book, Rowan and Eris, had a main character who was a musician. I have no idea if I’m good at poetry or not, but it’s a form I enjoy experimenting in. Let’s face it. We could all use a bit more poetry in our lives. With Huntley, I really like the way he sees the entire world in terms of poetry, being metrics, order, rhythm, rhyme, conflict, resolution, cause and effect, metaphor, and double meanings. These are the tools he uses to cope with life and understand it.
And how about the detective genre? Were there any authors or even writers from other crafts (e.g., filmmakers, comics) that you drew ideas from?
Crime is a very popular genre in Germany. I learnt German by watching crime shows and films. But those stories were so often by the numbers. They also followed the global trend from a wide range of books, films, TV, etc. of glorifying anti-heroes. With Huntley, I wanted to create a character who’s enjoyable to be around, even when he’s screwing up and getting things wrong. He’s funny and charming. German has a fitting adjective for a person like this: sympathisch. Someone who’s likeable but with undertones of sympathy. Huntley has his faults, but deep down, he cares. With empathy in such short supply these days, I think this is a wonderful aspect of his character.
Could you share any plans for the series as a whole?
Without giving too much away, I plan for Huntley to solve a number of mysteries, together with Elenore, Aphra and Henrikson, and for him to grow into his role as an amateur sleuth. The books will always have a strange element to them, such as with the use of plant poisons in Botany. The second book, which I’m already working on, is titled Taxidermy.
I hear there are also ideas of adapting the book for TV! How do you see that playing out in the near future?
There has already been some quiet interest. I think Quintus Huntley has fantastic TV potential, with each book being a limited series. Film and TV projects are keeping me very busy right now. My first screenplay is in pre-production in Germany, where I also have two other films and a TV show idea in development. For Huntley, this could only be done locally, in Perth. If it happens, it could be the first really great TV crime series set in Perth. I think we’d all like to see that.
Royce Leville’s new book, Botany, is set for release on Monday, October 13, 2025. For more info, head to rippplemedia.com
