Cirrus@Austlit

'Deep down, there’s something we’d all kill for.
I know I would. I know I have. I know I will.

'Recovering addict Eric Johnstone is turning his life around until one small moment sends him down a dark path. Just months after he takes a job at the retirement village in Point Imlay, the ebbing tide reveals Eric’s body, trussed to the town’s oyster beds.

'When Senior Detective John Darken’s business card is discovered in the dead man’s pocket, J.D. transfers to Point Imlay to help with the investigation. But J.D.’s life is in shambles: his job is precarious, his marriage is on the rocks, and his past haunts him constantly.

'Two men whose lives are entwined – but how does one end up dead?

'Together, J.D. and homicide detective Emma Capsteen – another unwelcome new face in the sleepy seaside town – work to unravel the final days of Eric’s life. But instead of answers, all they uncover are more questions. Why does a local bikie have free reign? What are the residents at Seascape Gardens retirement village hiding? And, in a town whose beating heart is community, why isn’t anyone prepared to tell the truth?' (Publication summary)

''Do not fear what you are about to suffer.' Revelation 2-10

'In a peaceful coastal town, a young woman is found brutally murdered, a piece of scripture held tightly in her hand. Local detective Charlotte Callaghan is put on the case, and she's glad for the distraction: Gull Bay can be a hard place to keep a secret, and she's holding on to a few.

'After Charlotte asks her brother, Father Joseph Callaghan, about the verse, her suspicions fall on his parishioners. Then a second victim is found, along with another biblical message.

'A dark betrayal is concealed within the small community. For Charlotte, there's something personal about this case, something that threatens the very core of her beliefs. Can she unravel this mystery before it tears her town apart?

'A gripping crime novel about murder, betrayal, and the monsters who hide in plain sight,' (Publication summary)