When She Was Gone

A powerful family. A cascade of dark secrets. One woman intent on the truth.

A powerful family.
A cascade of dark secrets.
One woman intent on the truth.

Twenty years ago, Rose was denied the chance to know her daughter, Louisa - but now Louisa and two children have vanished from a remote Australian beach, and Rose, a former policewoman, might be the only one who can save them.

When She Was Gone: the idea for the story

The foundations of the idea for When She Was Gone came after a conversation with my good friend Dervla McTiernan about books we might set in Perth - the next day I woke up with an idea about what might happen if a nanny for a wealthy family went missing and took the children with her. But the story has ended up being about so much more than that, with themes around toxic masculinity, wealth and power.

When She Was Gone: the publishing story

When She Was Gone will be published by HarperCollins Australia and Blackstone in the US in April 2025. I’ll be writing about the process and all the publication adventures here on Substack.

For preorder links and more about the book, visit my website.