Lucky Thing

When brilliant young student Jessica Mowbrie is left in a coma after being abandoned in a remote patch of New Zealand bush, the local Masterton police dont have a clue what happened. Isolated and under-resourced, the detectives struggle even to begin piecing it together.

Police records clerk Lorraine Henry will not accept that Jessie simply had a lucky escape. She thinks whoever hurt her needs to be hunted down, and worries that her employers are a bit hopeless.

As Jessies life hangs in the balance, it looks as if Lorraine will do the hunting. Shes not getting any younger, of course. But she has all the police records at her fingertips - and as much information about who hates who as anyone in their small town. Plus, shes used to being under-estimated. And you should never under-estimate a middle-aged woman with justice in her sights . . .

In this follow-up to his award-winning crime novel Paper Cage, Tom Baragwanath delivers another bone-deep exploration of life in the margins of small-town New Zealand.

Praise for Paper Cage

A protagonist who is impossible not to root for . . . breathtakingly compellingDaily Mail

An astonishing debut with a wonderfully flawed character . . . full of heart and determination James Oswald, author of All That Lives

A truly crackling mysteryPublishers Weekly