Where the Dead Go by Sarah Bailey is the final novel in the award-winning Detective Gemma Woodstock trilogy that began with The Dark Lake and Into the Night.
Four years after the events of Into the Night, wanting to escape the aftermath of personal loss, DS Gemma Woodstock pleads to be sent to investigate the case of a missing girl in the small coastal town of Fairhaven, NSW. She is accompanied by her young son, Ben.
Abbey Clark, age 15, has been reported missing after a late-night party. Her boyfriend, Rick Fletcher, age 17, has been found viciously beaten to death at his home. Could Abbey have murdered Rick or is she also a victim of Rick’s killer? And who is the mysterious Robert Weston, who was keen to link up with Abbey, but has now also disappeared?
As Gemma questions Abbey’s parents and other residents of the town, their answers reveal secrets of abusive relationships and tensions that still exist from the past.
Meanwhile, Gemma is coping with her own and her son’s grief and questioning her relationship with Mac back home in Sydney, while becoming increasingly troubled by a similar case from the past, which ended badly.
Can she trust her instincts and find the truth in a town that is closing ranks, including the local force?
Gemma’s anguish in both her private life and the workplace continue in this third novel. She not only battles to solve the crime, but is also thwarted by the resentment of fellow officers and the closely intertwined relationships that occur in a small town.
The many and varied characters are well portrayed. The veiled narrative indicates that there is much more going on beneath the surface.
The twists and turns of the investigation keep the reader on the edge of their seat until the very end when all is revealed.
If you enjoy suspenseful crime this is must-read for 2019.
Where the Dead Go is available in paperback.
ISBN: 9781760529321
Publisher: Allen and Unwin
About Sarah Bailey
Sarah Bailey is a Melbourne-based writer with a background in advertising and communications. She has two young children and is currently the Managing Partner of advertising agency VMLY&R in Melbourne. Over the past five years she has written a number of short stories and opinion pieces. Her first novel, the bestselling The Dark Lake, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2017, followed by Into the Night in 2018.
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