AustLit

'Fifteen-year-old Samantha crouched in the darkness, listening to the rise and fall of voices through the open window. A tear rolled unchecked down her face. She had not beaten the odds after all - the police were one step ahead of her. But she was still free. Detective Andrew Hallen felt as though he's been punched in the stomach. Missing! His stepdaughter was missing and he was under house arrest...' (Publication summary)

'Winter has arrived and fifteen-year-old Shaye searches for somewhere warm, safe and dry to sleep. When he comes across an unlocked window at the back of Mrs Carr’s house, he slips in – thinking that the elderly lady won’t know he’s there. But on the fourth night, as he slips in under the cover of darkness, she is waiting for him.

'Sensing that something is not quite right over at the Carr house, Detective Sergeant Scott Backer pays his neighbour a surprise visit and is met with a surprise of his own...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When thirteen-year-old Kelly Smith first meets Joanna Acosta, an attractive newcomer to her class, she is intrigued by the new girl’s secretiveness and timidity. But as soon as Kelly befriends Joanna, she becomes entangled in an international saga involving bodyguards, electronic surveillance and a mysterious ‘Death Squad’. Determined to do her bit and protect her friend, Kelly soon crosses paths with the Smith kids’ guardian, Detective Sergeant Scott Backer. Why is Scott coming between Kelly and her new friend? Why does Joanna need a bodyguard?' Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Just as he’d done for the last few mornings, fifteen-year-old Aaron Smith leaves home in the early hours of the morning and rides his bike to the park to take pictures for his photography assignment. On his way home, he’s knocked from his bike and left for dead on the side of the road.

'Soon he’s running from everybody – from whoever it is who’s out to get him and from the one person who can protect him, his guardian, Detective Sergeant Scott Backer. And now the SAS is involved . . . '

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When fifteen-year-old Rick Charters discovers little Christine Tracket bleeding and bruised in his front yard, he vows to hide her until he’s convinced that her parents can look after her properly. Unfortunately for Rick, the twins, Keryn and Aaron Smith, arrive at his house not long after he’s discovered Christine.

'The problem is that not only do Keryn and Aaron know his secret, but their guardian is Detective Sergeant Scott Backer. And Scott Backer doesn’t give up easily when he suspects something . . . '

Source: Publisher's blurb (Bushytail Books, second edition)

'After the death of his parents, Doug fears that he and his brother and two sisters will be separated. Rather than face the break-up of what’s left of his family, they run away to Perth with a family friend. For over a year they evade the authorities and are happy, but then Detective Sergeant Scott Backer comes after them, and a very large net begins to close in . . .

'For a cop working on a simple missing persons/child welfare case, why does Scott Backer have such an amazing array of technical back-up from the highest levels of the police department?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.