Nikki Mottram has used her professional social-work experience to create a likable but troubled character, Dana Gibson. Dana has accepted a short-term contract as a child protection worker in Queensland. She has left her job, home and husband in Sydney after her infant son died tragically. Her marriage is breaking down.

On Dana’s first day in the office, she injures a police officer, infuriates her new boss, and botches an interview with an allegedly abusive mother. The next evening, that mother, Sandra Kirby, and her best friend are discovered murdered in bushland. Sandra’s husband is the obvious suspect, but he has an alibi and two witnesses to him being at home.

Dana is preoccupied with the murder, and the Kirby family history. She becomes concerned for Sandra’s two teenage half-sisters when they disappear. Dana’s manager, Helen, reminds her she has been employed to close the backlog of cases. When she is suspended for a week for conducting an interview under false pretences, she edges closer to the secrets and unusual alliances in the town of Crows Nest.

Dana’s fragile state makes her feel immune to danger. A brick is thrown through her window; she is followed while jogging, and she angers local drug dealers. Her role is to protect children, yet she becomes the one most in danger. With the town, police and colleagues against her, she becomes even more determined to solve the case, persisting with the insight of her landlord’s clever eleven-year-old grandson.

Mottram has portrayed a rural town and highlighted political and social issues – it’s refreshing to see a community through the eyes of a social worker and I was impressed by the rich characterisation. This novel is ideal for fans of Jane Harper and Mark Brandi, and readers can already look forward to the next Dana Gibson novel, Killarney, which will be published in 2024.