Child protection worker Dana Gibson has had marriage issues after the loss of her own child, and leaves Sydney for a job in Queensland regional town Toowoomba. She visits nearby Crows Nest to assess the children of Sandra Kirby. Soon after, Sandra and her friend Debbie are shot dead in Sandra’s car late at night. Potential killers all seem to have alibis. The police declare it a murder suicide and close the case, but to Dana it doesn’t make sense. She continues to investigate, despite getting into trouble at work over it.There are people who would rather she didn’t…
The novel is set in 1996, mentioning the Port Arthur massacre in the first chapter.
I enjoyed this novel very much. Dana is someone you can cheer for, though she has many woes. This is the first of a series, so hopefully she will have developed past her troubles by the next novel. There is also a delightful child, Angus, who looks set to be her assistant sleuth in future books; he does pretty well in this one, coming up with ideas Dana hasn’t thought of.
I’m looking forward to future books in this series. It’s a fine debut novel for the author, who is herself a child protection worker.
Thanks to the publisher University of Queensland Press and Victorian Sisters In Crime for sending me this!
It’s now available from all good bookshops and websites.