- this edition published Pan Macmillan Australia 2022
- ISBN 978-1-76078-395-2
- 410 pages
- #3 in the Aaron Falk series
Synopsis (publisher)
At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in her pram, her mother vanishing into the crowds.
A year on, Kim Gillespie's absence casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather deep in the heart of South Australian wine country to welcome a new addition to the family.
Joining the celebrations is federal investigator Aaron Falk. But as he soaks up life in the lush valley, he begins to suspect this tight-knit group may be more fractured than it seems. Between Falk's closest friend, a missing mother, and a woman he's drawn to, dark questions linger as long-ago truths begin to emerge.
My Take
Kim Gillespie disappeared a year earlier, on the opening night of the wine festival, and so the investigation now has a cold case feel about. However her daughter Zara is convinced her mother is still alive.
There has been some talk of whether Kim committed suicide, jumping into a local dam, an effect of some mental health issues. But those who know her best think that would be unlikely, although everybody agrees that they haven't actually seen Kim to talk to since her baby was born.
Pamphlets are distributed at the wine festival asking people to think about when they last saw Kim on the night that she disappeared.
A second element is the death of a popular local accountant in a hit and run case six years earlier. Aaron Falk finds himself drawn into both cases.
This novel has a surprisingly gentle feel to it, and events seem to move very slowly, yet we know we will have the answer at the end. The setting is "South Australian wine country" and that has caused discussion in our group about exactly where.
A good one for "overseas" readers. It has a truly Australian flavour about it.
My rating: 4.8
I've also read
4.7, THE DRY- Falk #1
5.0, FORCE OF NATURE- Falk #2
5.0, THE LOST MAN
4.8, THE SURVIVORS
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