After a courtroom scandal derails her career in Adelaide, journalist Zara Ellison relocates to Kalgoorlie for a fresh start at a small local newspaper. Determined to rebuild her reputation, she’s joined by her partner, Jack Higgins, a former detective who sacrifices his role in major crimes to don the uniform once more in Western Australia.
Both face a chilly reception. Zara is met with cold shoulders from her editor and colleagues, while Jack finds himself ostracised by fellow officers due to his relationship with a journalist. Despite the tension, they remain steadfast in their professional commitments.
While pursuing local stories, Zara interviews a female prospector in the remote mining town. On her drive back, she witnesses a fatal accident involving an elderly couple – grey nomads. At the scene, she discovers a GPS device and a lockbox containing gold ingots – raising suspicions and drawing in the Gold Squad.
Meanwhile, Jack is unexpectedly promoted back to detective to investigate the crash and its suspected links to outlaw bikies. In a town where gold fever runs deep, long-buried secrets begin to surface.
Though Jack and Zara keep their investigations separate, their paths cross as they each uncover threads of a sophisticated gold-smuggling operation.
Fleur McDonald is often hailed as the Queen of Rural Crime. With The Prospect she crafts a compelling, fast-paced narrative filled with intrigue, corruption and suspense. Her writing is crisp and accessible, making this novel both an easy and thrilling read. The ending is unexpected and satisfying, tying up the plot in a way that will leave readers eager for her next book.
Reviewed by Sue Stanbridge
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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 lives in Esperance, Western Australia with her two children, Rochelle and Hayden, who come and go as they please and an energetic border collie Shadow.
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