The Stolen

‘Gripping, heartfelt, and intelligent, The Stolen is an emotionally rich thriller that crackles with tension.’ Christian White, author of The Ledge

‘The Stolen is compelling, down-to-earth Australian crime fiction that delivers on absolutely every page. Vikki Petraitis is the real deal!’ Hayley Scrivenor, internationally bestselling author of Dirt Town and Girl Falling

Detective Antigone Pollard is fearless. Armed with a trained police dog, a black belt in judo, and the will to speak her mind, she faces opposition head-on.

After six months, Antigone is feeling more settled in Deception Bay. Crime rates are down after a slow start to the summer holiday season, but when a distraught mother, Maddy Muir, calls the station to report her baby is missing, Antigone and Wozza begin a race against time to find the baby and the person who brazenly took him.

In the middle of the frantic investigation, Antigone’s mother, Dr Jilly Pollard, arrives for an unexpected visit and shares a tragic family secret, which she needs Antigone’s help to resolve.

Just when things at the Deception Bay police station are running smoothly with a new commander, Senior Sergeant Amanda Filipovic, circumstances change one stormy night. In the blink of an eye, Antigone’s old boss, Bill Wheeler, is back, making the missing baby investigation harder every day.

While Antigone juggles both cases, Mum and Nan move into the farm to unravel the family secret. Meanwhile, Antigone takes a DNA test with two very surprising results.

Once again, Antigone faces the questions: who’s protecting the women? And what happens when we don’t believe them?

‘To read a Vikki Petraitis crime novel is to be let in on the secret of how things really work, both at a procedural level, and in terms of the best and worst ways humans behave. It was a treat to revisit Senior Detective Antigone Pollard as she unravelled another twisty and topical mystery with the help of her authentic and (mostly) faithful support crew. Like The Unbelieved, The Stolen is a clear-eyed, fast-paced take on the reverberating effects of a crime on survivors and their community, making it a must-read for anyone who likes to go beyond the headlines, to where the true story waits.’ Jacqueline Bublitz, bestselling author of Before You Knew My Name and Leave the Girls Behind

‘Vikki Petraitis knows how to draw us into a story and hold us there. She has the gift of making us become emotionally invested in her characters. If you begin The Stolen, you will finish it, and you will have experienced a richly satisfying range of emotions along the way.’ Robert Gott, author of The Port Fairy Murders and Naked Ambition

Author Biography

Vikki Petraitis has written eighteen books, including her bestseller, The Frankston Murders, about Frankston serial killer Paul Denyer. In 2023, she released a podcast of the same name which helped put the case on the international radar. Working as part of a dedicated team, Vikki was in Parliament in November 2023 to witness the passing of the amendment to keep Denyer in prison for life. Vikki has written on topics from Lawyer X to police dogs. She has made several true-crime podcast series with Casefile Presents that have been downloaded eight million times. Vikki’s first novel, The Unbelieved, won the inaugural 2022 Allen & Unwin Crime Fiction Prize and the 2023 Readers’ Choice Davitt Award. She has just submitted her PhD in Creative Writing and is really hoping she passes.