Two detectives, one from the city and one from the bush, team up to find a missing child. Both are haunted by their respective pasts. Detective Isabella O’Connor is the local cop brought back from stress leave for her knowledge of the scene of the abductions-the isolated rural community she grew up in. She is haunted by her failure to save another girl in similar circumstances. Detective Alex Goddard is the city cop in charge of the investigation, also fighting demons from his past. Can they save the girl? Can they keep their hands off each other? If this seems pretty standard romantic thriller territory, that’s because it is. Having won romance writers’ awards both here and in the US in manuscript form, this debut novel does what is required without ever really exceeding expectation. Crime fans may find themselves frustrated by the somewhat pedestrian mystery, but romance readers should find a lot to like, and the portrait of a small community slowly destroying itself is surprisingly powerful. This is a strong debut from an author who could be a future star of Australian romance.

Beau Taylor is a bookseller at Pulp Fiction in Brisbane

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