A missing woman . . . a townful of suspects. The haunting debut crime novel that transports the reader back to the 1980s and a small rural town in New Zealand.
'She wasn't the first and she wouldn't be the last; swallowed into the deep, dark recesses of the King Country bush, never to be seen again.'
It's January 1983. During his university summer break, Ryan Bradley returns to the remote town of Nashville in New Zealand's rugged King Country.
It's a bittersweet trip- he's working long, punishing hours as a woolpresser, he needs to sell his late mother's house, and he's increasingly feeling like an outcast in his childhood town.
But mostly he's haunted by memories of Sanna Sovernen, a Finnish backpacker and his secret lover, who worked with him in the shearing shed the summer before - then vanished without trace.
Now Sanna's sister Emilia has arrived from Finland, determined to get answers - and as he's the workmate who reported Sanna missing, she wants Ryan's help. Because Emilia knows her sister was not the first female traveller in the area to disappear . . .
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Geoff Parkes has written a great addition to the ever-popular rural crime genre, this time set over the pond in Aotearoa and its own, comparatively lush bushland. A story that weaves together the many different rural lives through its varied perspectives, Parkes creates a very personal mystery in an insular bush community. - Sam (QBD)
Guest, 02/02/2025
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An interesting murder mystery set in the lush greenery of remote Nashville, NZ. We follow Emilia sovernen as she journeys from her home of finland to uncover the truth behind her sister, Sanna’s, disappearance some years before, her only clue, Ryan Bradely and his mysterious entanglement in her late sister’s life. What does he know? Who’s involved? And why was Sanna not the first to disappear??? - Rhys (QBD)
Guest, 01/02/2025
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Geoff Parkes debut novel When the Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole strikes a deep dark cord within its audience, as the sister and secret lover of one Sanna Sovernen are determined to find out where she went, and if she was the only woman missing on the trail. Set in lush New Zealand, Parkes immediately sets the scene amongst the green rolling hills and builds a tense atmosphere for the reader. - Zoe (QBD)
Guest, 01/02/2025
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In Geoff Parkes debut fiction crime, thriller we’re transported back to the 1980s in a small-town in New Zealand, where a murder mystery takes place in a community steeped in secrets. A Finnish backpacker goes missing and now her family are back to where it all began to find answers. - Monique (QBD)
Guest, 31/01/2025
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In January 1983, Ryan Bradley goes to his childhood home in New Zealand, to work in the shearing sheds while trying to sell his late mother’s home. Wile there he is haunted by the past year when he ha a secret lover who vanished without a trace. This book follows both Ryan and his secret lover’s sister, Emilia to uncover what happened to her. They soon discover she was not the first. - Lana (QBD)
Guest, 31/01/2025
