Murderer's Thumb

Book excerpt: Adam Statkus and his mother are new to Falcon Ridge, a dairy farming community in rural Australia. Within days of their arrival Adam discovers the body of a girl buried in a silage pit. Is it one of the teenagers who went missing from the area six years ago? And who wrote the diary that Adam finds in the old farmhouse? The discovery of the murder affects the lives of many of the locals. Some are willing to do anything to get their hands on the missing pages. With the help of the diary, Adam pieces together the mystery of the body in the pit, despite the threat to his life. Murderer's Thumb is a marvellous evocation of a close-knit community trying to cope with a mysterious crime against one, or perhaps two, of their local teenagers. It is a novel that speaks to young and old about what happens when outsiders uncover secrets that have been hidden for too long. Beth Montgomery has an enviable prose style of perfect pitch. She has created a cast of distinctive characters - the idiosyncratic locals, a boy sleuth who also has to deal with his strange parents, and a feisty teenage girl whose voice is compelling. Murderer's Thumb is a page-turner that will haunt you.