by Nikki Mottram
Publisher: University of Queensland Press, 2024
Publisher’s blurb
Child protection worker Dana Gibson arrives in the sleepy rural town of Killarney with one goal in mind: locate the whereabouts of foster child Jayden Maloney and return him to care. What she isn’t anticipating is an unexpected attraction to her colleague’s younger brother, Sean, or to become embroiled in their simmering family feud. When criminal allegations surface against a member of the local parish and a police task force discovers an increase in drug trafficking across the border, Dana is forced to consider that Jayden’s disappearance is not simply a case of a teen on the run. To complicate matters further, torrential rain causes the Condamine River to break its banks, and the town gets cut off.
As Dana continues to ask questions, tensions peak with the rising flood waters, and she soon realises that the tight-knit community is not all that it seems. Long-held secrets start to unravel, and loyalties are questioned, forcing Dana to make a decision about who she can trust and how much she is willing to fight for what she believes in.
Review
by Sarah Jackson
Dana Gibson, a child protection worker based in Toowoomba, accompanies her colleague Lachlan to Killarney to locate missing teenager and client, Jayden Maloney. While in the small town, the two are stuck at the local pub as torrential rains cause major flooding in the district.
With Lachlan’s extended family involved in almost everything in town, he hands Jayden’s case over to Dana. Our protagonist finds herself embroiled in local business and parochial politics. Killarney is a busy town. Not only is Jayden missing, but a local worker has been killed in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident, the floods are creating mayhem, the local priest is suspected of engaging in unsavoury practices with young boys, and there appears to be a drug ring trafficking their wares into New South Wales. Dana must unravel all the strings to locate the missing child without interfering with police business.
Dana is a complex and flawed character. While she is trying to locate the client in question, she is dogged by her relationship issues, past disappointments, and the need to find time to assist her dying neighbour and friend. The support characters are believable, some likeable and many relatable. Each offers something different to Dana’s life and adds colour to the story.
Mottram’s descriptions of Killarney, Warwick, Toowoomba, and the surrounding districts offer the reader insight into the sights, smells, and sounds of that part of south-west Queensland. It is easy to place yourself in the scene as you observe the actions of the characters.
The story covers incidents like death, murder, suicide, child abuse, and natural disasters in an even-handed way, avoiding gruesome, voyeuristic descriptions, and replacing them with thoughtful and caring sentiments. The only unrealistic element of the book is that in the real world, Child Protection Workers with their caseloads of around 150, would never have the opportunity to dedicate this much time and resources to an individual case. Let’s hope this fiction becomes a reality in the future.
The plot builds smoothly, with many twists and turns and engaging subplots. The main plot, the fate of Jayden, keeps you wondering until the end, and there are big surprises in the wrap-up of some of the subplots. The story is absorbing, and you find yourself eager to learn the fate of the various characters. The book is hard to put down.