Author(s): Charity Norman

Thriller | Staff Picks- Read our reviews

From the author shortlisted for Best Crime Novel in the Ngaio Marsh Awards for Crime Fiction, and for Best International Crime Fiction in the Ned Kelly Awards 'An atmospheric and emotional tale of family, mystery and love ... an extraordinarily talented storyteller.' Kelly Rimmer, author of bestselling The Warsaw Orphan They never found Leah Parata. Not a boot, not a backpack, not a turquoise beanie. After she left me that day, she vanished off the face of the earth. A close-knit community is ripped apart by disturbing revelations that cast new light on a young woman's disappearance twenty-five years ago. After years of living overseas, Emily Kirkland returns to New Zealand to care for her father, Felix, who suffers from dementia. As his memory fades and his guard slips, she begins to understand him for the first time - and to glimpse shattering truths about his past. Truths she'd rather were kept buried. A heartfelt, page-turning suspense novel from the bestselling author of The Secrets of Strangers - ideal reading-group fiction, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Liane Moriarty.

When the flu took me out in July, I found myself deeply immersed in the pages of Charity Norman's latest novel, set in the beautiful Hawkes Bay at the foot of the Ruahine Ranges.

If you haven't read a book by Charity yet, then you are in for a real treat. Her writing has such a depth and heart to it that you often end up empathising with who would traditionally be the 'bad guys' in her stories, because her characters are raw, real, authentic and never black and white.

Emily, our main character, unexpectedly finds herself leaving her life in the UK to return to NZ to temporarily care for her father who has Alzheimers. They have never been close, she has craved his love and attention her whole life and now must confront a quickly deteriorating Felix in a rural town with many secrets. 25 years ago a young woman, Leah, disappeared and was never found again. She was the sister of her childhood best friend on the neighbouring farm. As Emily's fragile bond with Felix takes a surprising turn, he begins to reveal snippets about a past with Leah that make Emily very worried about what really happened all those years ago. Over the course of this summer, she is drawn ever deeper into the web of the past and the heartbreaking truth.

A phenomenal read.