AustLit

'A woman who thought she could run away from her past…

'At fourteen, Kate Collins ran away from home. Ten years later, she’s forced to return when her mother disappears without a trace. Kate’s convinced her stepfather’s responsible, but he’s a highly decorated police officer. Who’s going to take her accusations seriously?

'Banished to a small country town after reporting his city superiors for corruption, Detective Riley Munro is never going to accuse the town’s recently retired Police Commander of murder. But Kate’s fear and distress seem genuine and her mother does seem to have disappeared. With reluctance, he agrees to investigate.

'After making rudimentary enquires, he’s told Kate’s mother is on a cruise. The information pans out. On the verge of closing the case, Riley is taken by surprise when he receives a subtle threat from his boss, the new Police Commander, to leave Kate’s stepfather alone.

'Why would the new Commander feel the need to warn him off? With his instincts on alert, he digs deeper and discovers not only is Kate’s mother in a wheelchair, she also hates the water.

'Is Kate telling the truth? Is her stepfather, the former Police Commander, guilty of murder? Or is Riley allowing the sad vulnerability in Kate’s beautiful eyes to cloud his judgement?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.