Vanished by James Delargy

 

Set in the outback of Australia, a young family who have run from their troubles, have now vanished. Lorcan Kane, an analyst employed by a data company which is owned by two brothers with a shady past, has stolen some valuable data from them; Naiyana, Lorcan’s wife, is an activist who has almost bankrupted a major foodstuffs conglomerate, and upset some powerful people in the process; their six-year old son, Dylan, is an innocent along for the ride through no fault of his own. They ran to the abandoned mining town of Kalyee, where they tried to renovate an old wreck of a house. But they soon discovered an illegal mining operation, and with the past chasing them, something happened and they've disappeared. 

Detective Emmaline Taylor is put in charge of finding out what happened to them and it isn’t long before she discovers that it’s something bad. Whether it’s the miners, someone from Lorcan’s past, or someone from Naiyana’s, it’s apparent that the family’s hopes of reinventing themselves in the middle of nowhere has gone seriously awry.

Vanished is told from various character’s perspectives in the past (the period of the Kane family’s stay in Kalyee) and from Detective Taylor’s perspective in the present day (after the family has been reported missing). The narrative pieces together all that has happened, reveals how the family’s dreams soured, and what has happened to them. 

I don’t want to divulge spoilers, so will say no more, but this is a deftly plotted novel which keeps you guessing until the last page. It’s well worth a read.