“A gripping debut, fast-paced and wonderfully tense” - Josie Shapiro

Winner of the Allen & Unwin fiction prize 2025

A child disappears in broad daylight—and no one sees a thing… This is the premise of Anne Cleary’s first, already award-winning crime novel taking Aotearoa by storm.

Join Cleary as she talks with celebrated writer Lee Murray about taking a horrifying situation and crafting it into an un-put-downable novel with twists, turns and deep humanity. What does it take to create authentic characters? What kind of research is involved in depicting police work? What is it like to write into fear and delusion and come out the other side?

“A finely observed tale about every parent's worst nightmare” - Gavin Strawhan