In a stunning debut that will keep you guessing till the last chapter, unhealed wounds are reopened when new DNA evidence gives a mother one last chance to discover the secret of her son’s murder.

Fifteen-year-old Darren Davies is found facedown in the Weymouth River with a gunshot wound to his chest. The killer is never found. Ten years later, his mother receives a visit from the local police. Sandra’s best friend has been found dead on a remote Pilbara road. And Barbara’s DNA matches the DNA found under Darren’s fingernails. When the investigation into her son’s murder is reopened, Sandra begins to question what she knew about her best friend. As she digs, she discovers that there are many secrets in her small town, and that her murdered son had secrets too.

Karen Herbert has worked in aged care, disability services, higher education, Indigenous land management, social housing and the public sector, and is a board member of The Intelife Group, Advocare Inc., and President of the Fellowship of
Australian Writers WA. Born in Geraldton, Karen now lives in Perth, with her husband, Ross. The River Mouth is her first book. Her second, Cast Aways, is out in 2022.