When The Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole
"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, author, 'The Girl in the Mirror'
"A deftly wrought novel, compelling and complex. I loved it."
Margaret Hickey, author, 'Cutters End', 'The Creeper'
"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 . . ."
Genre:Fiction
Released:4th Feb, 2025
Publisher:Penguin Random House