For the Crime Stack in August, UQP is generously donating twenty copies of Helidon, the third rural mystery in the bestselling series by Nikki Mottram.
Like Crows Nest and Killarney, Helidon features child protection worker Dana Gibson. This time Dana is called to attend a fatal shooting at the pub in Helidon, another town near Toowoomba, where a bikie gang war has exploded. Nineteen-year-old Savannah and her younger sister, Maddie, have been caught in the crossfire, and the rural town finds itself divided between two cultures – the commune on the edge of town where Savannah’s family live and an outlaw motorcycle gang.
As Savannah clings to life, Dana uncovers corruption that runs rivulets through the small town, eroding the community’s trust in law enforcement. When Maddie, the primary witness to the shooting, goes missing and Helidon is at the mercy of surrounding bushfires, Dana must expose the truth and find Maddie before it’s too late.
Nikki Mottram has a background in child protection. She has a psychology degree from The University of Queensland and has worked in London and Australia in positions protecting and promoting the welfare of children at risk of harm. In 2018, she was the recipient of a Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre Fellowship. She grew up and resides in Toowoomba, and brings to her work an understanding of rural communities.
Crime Stack is a reward for signed members of Sisters in Crime.
Join now and be in the running for a complimentary paperback copy of Helidon.