The Missing

A landscape to die for … The next compelling mystery set in the wild outback town of Kalgoorlie, from the bestselling author of The Prospect ‘This land is millions of years old and has held secrets that we are able to uncover to this very day, yet the same land seems to have swallowed Max without a trace.’

In the middle of Missing Persons Week, teenager Max Galbraith disappears after a party at the two-up ring on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie. With hundred-year-old mine shafts hidden in the area, no one can sure whether he become lost while he was under the influence of drugs or if something more sinister has happened.

Lily Carter, a talkshow radio host, receives information about Brendan Cook, another Kalgoorlie teenager who disappeared in similar circumstances the year before. But the police didn’t launch a full-scale search for Brendan. Why not?

Enter Detective Angie Sullivan, new to Kalgoorlie and yet to understand how the town works. With no clear links between the two cases, and Lily accusing the police of incompetence, the town is tipped into uproar. What secrets are hiding out there in the bush? And can Angie discover them before any more kids go missing?

Praise for The Prospect:

‘Superb writing and storytelling’ The Australian

Praise for Fleur McDonald:

‘McDonald brings all her passion for the land to her rural suspense’ Australian Women’s Weekly

‘Fleur McDonald is a master of the rural suspense novel, her characters and storyline crackle with authenticity’ Family Circle

Author Biography

Bestselling rural crime author Fleur McDonald has always had a strong affinity with the land and the vast Australian outback. Raised in Orroroo, South Australia, Fleur loves the open roads, red dust and magical sunsets. With 24 fiction novels and more than 850,000 book sales to her name, Fleur has built a strong following of loyal readers with an insatiable appetite for her craft and characters, most notably Detective Dave Burrows.

She spends much of her year behind the wheel, traversing our big country, scouting inspiration and potential storylines for future books, and appearing as a guest speaker at a range of events, including country shows, ladies’ days and writers’ festivals. A trailblazer in all aspects of her life, Fleur has been a jillaroo farming the land for more than 20 years, founded DVassist to help regional dwellers access crucial support for family and domestic violence, and raised two children with developmental and speech delays, teaching them Makaton sign language to communicate. These days, in between putting out two books a year, she has her sights set on learning to fly a plane. Fleur now lives in Esperance, Western Australia with her two children, Rochelle and Hayden, and two fur children, border collie Shadow and energetic kelpie, Jack.