It is 1978. A family - Mum, Dad, four children ranging in age from 13 to just a few months old - recently migrated to New Zealand from the UK, on a road trip prior to taking up a new job opportunity in Christchurch. Only problem is they never arrive in Christchurch to their new home, to the new job. Instead, like many visitors and new arrivals to NZ, the parents - more specifically the dad - has little appreciation for the tricky NZ climate or the even trickier NZ roads. There is an accident, because no one knows where they were, no one knows to look for them. Only a few family back in the UK to mourn. But four years later the body of one of the children is found, somewhere on the west coast of NZ, with his father's watch and a wooden stick with grooves notched in it - a tally stick. So where was the boy all this time, and did any of the other family members survive?
Back in England, the family left behind endeavour to pick up the pieces. An aunt makes regular trips to over the decades to New Zealand doing her own detective work. She almost gets there, almost, but for a fraction of a moment in time, she turns away never learning the complete truth.
This sounds a pretty gruesome plot line, set against the wild and treacherous west coast region of NZ. And just like many NZ novels it is replete with violence, dark sinister overtones of the isolated rural life, maltreatment of children. But I have every faith in Carl Nixon as an author, having adored The Virgin and the Whale and read good reviews of some of his other books. And yes it is very very good. Excellent story line, great level of tension held throughout, very real characters, who evolve and change through time. Unexpected outcomes. Read it and support NZ writers.
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