Cirrus@Austlit

'A gripping new Australian crime novel from the international bestseller, perfect for fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer, Garry Disher and Peter Papathanasio.

'A REMOTE HOTEL. FIVE GUESTS. ONE MURDER.

'A rising star of Australian crime fiction ' SUNDAY TIMES 'S. R. White is the real deal.' CHRIS HAMMER, author of SCRUBLANDS

'During a broiling heatwave, the inner circle of a high-profile charity attend a critical meeting at White Ash Ridge, a small hotel nestled in the Australian wilderness.
As the temperature rises, a body is found lying in the thick bush, bludgeoned to death. 

'One of the four remaining guests is a murderer - but who, and why, is a mystery.

'Detective Dana Russo knows the national spotlight will be sharply focused on the case.

'The charity was formed when the founders' teenage son was killed after intervening in a vicious assault - sparking public outrage and a damning verdict on the police investigation.

'But under huge pressure and with few clues - plus suspects who instinctively distrust the police - how can Dana unravel the truth?' (Publication summary)

'One outback town. Two puzzling murders. Fifty suspects.

'In Unamurra, a drought-scarred, one-pub town deep in the outback, two men are savagely murdered a month apart - their bodies elaborately arranged like angels.

'With no witnesses, no obvious motives and no apparent connections between the killings, how can lone police officer Detective Dana Russo - flown in from hundreds of kilometres away - possibly solve such a baffling, brutal case?

'Met with silence and suspicion from locals who live by their own set of rules, Dana must take over a stalled investigation with only a week to make progress.

'But with a murderer hiding in plain sight, and the parched days rapidly passing, Dana is determined to uncover the shocking secrets of this forgotten town - a place where anyone could be a killer.'  (Publication summary)

'When a man is found savagely 'crucified' amidst a murky swamp in northern Australia, detective Dana Russo and her team are called to a shocking scene. The victim is a convicted rapist, just released from prison, who years earlier committed an atrocious crime yards from where he was killed.

'Who murdered him - and why? With several potential leads, the investigation quickly becomes more complex, and sinister, than anyone imagined. And Dana realises she'll have to confront her own troubled past to understand the true motives of the killer...' (Publication summary)

'HE DISAPPEARED FOR 15 YEARS...SHE HAS 12 HOURS TO FIND OUT WHY.

'Compulsive, atmospheric and stunningly accomplished, HERMIT introduces a thrilling new voice in Australian crime fiction, perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Chris Hammer.

'After the puzzling death of a shopkeeper in rural Australia, troubled detective Dana Russo has just 12 hours to interrogate the prime suspect - a silent, inscrutable man found at the scene of the crime, who simply vanished 15 years earlier.

'Where has he been? And just how dangerous is he? Without conclusive evidence linking him to the killing, Dana must race against time to persuade him to speak. But over a series of increasingly intense interviews, Dana is forced to confront her own past if she wants him to reveal the shocking truth.' (Publication summary)