Author(s): Geoff Parkes

Fiction

A missing woman. A townful of suspects. The haunting debut crime novel that transports the reader back to the 1980s and a small rural town in New Zealand.

'She wasn't the first and she wouldn't be the last; swallowed into the deep, dark recesses of the King Country bush, never to be seen again.'

It's January 1983. During his university summer break, Ryan Bradley returns to the remote town of Nashville in New Zealand's rugged King Country. It's a bittersweet trip- he's working long, punishing hours as a woolpresser, he needs to sell his late mother's house, and he's increasingly feeling like an outcast in his childhood town. But mostly he's haunted by memories of Sanna Sovernen, a Finnish backpacker and his secret lover, who worked with him in the shearing shed the summer before - then vanished without trace.

Now Sanna's sister Emilia has arrived from Finland, determined to get answers - and as he's the workmate who reported Sanna missing, she wants Ryan's help. Because Emilia knows her sister was not the first female traveller in the area to disappear.

'A gripping murder mystery set in 1980s small-town New Zealand, capturing the stifling atmosphere of a community steeped in secrets. With relentless suspense and a rich cast of characters, this impressive debut keeps the reader guessing to the very end.' ROSE CARLYLE

Bookseller Review

'The disappearance of Finnish backpacker, Sanna, shakes a small town in King Country, New Zealand in this debut novel by Geoff Parkes. Darkly atmospheric from beginning to end, this book grew on me slowly but surely like the lichen growing on the fence posts in the fictional town of Nashville. Jumping between before and after Sanna goes missing, the story unfolds through the voices of the many townspeople, focusing on Ryan who was closest to her. The suspense builds as each chapter gives you an intimate glimpse into the lives of the community as their secrets come spilling out. My favourite thing about the novel was its strong sense of place. Capturing small-town mentality perfectly, Geoff has woven a gritty, suspenseful, and unsettling story set in our own backyard.'

– Reviewed by Rachel at The Booklover Bookshop, Milford