Synopsis.

In one terrible moment, paramedic Sophie Phillips’ life is ripped apart – her police officer husband, Chris, is shot on their doorstep and their ten-month-old son, Lachlan, is abducted from his bed. Suspicion surrounds Chris as he is tainted with police corruption, but Sophie believes the attack is much more personal – and the perpetrator far more dangerous...

While Chris is in hospital and the police, led by Detective Ella Marconi, mobilise to find their colleague's child, Sophie's desperation compels her to search for Lachlan herself. She enlists her husband's partner, Angus Arendson, in the hunt for her son, but will the history they share prove harmful to Sophie's ability to complete her mission?

And could one dangerous decision cause Sophie to ultimately lose everything important in her life?

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Synopsis (German).

Das Leben ist oftmals härter als der Tod!

Der erste Fall für Detective Ella Marconi, von der Mordkommission Sydney Sie sind als erste am Tatort, sie machen die Drecksarbeit - Polizei und Rettung arbeiten Hand in Hand. Manchmal aber werden sie dabei auch zu Gegnern. Noch wissen Detective Ella Marconi von der Mordkommission Sydney und Rettungssanitäterin Sophie Phillips nicht, wo sie dieses Mal stehen. Denn in einer schrecklichen Sekunde ist Sophies gesamtes Leben zerstört worden: Ihr Mann Chris wurde vor ihrem Haus angeschossen und ihr kleiner Sohn entführt. Ein falscher Schachzug und Sophie wird ihr Kind nie wieder in die Arme schließen können. Warum aber sagt sie Ella Marconi dann nicht die Wahrheit? Eine neue, Aufsehen erregende Stimme aus Australien - hart, klar, höchst spannend!

Critics' Comments

“a fast-paced compelling mystery … a great read”  Better Read Than Dead online reviews 

“an outstanding thriller … Katherine Howell is a name to watch out for”  Crimedownunder.com

“an adrenaline rush of a thriller … I can’t wait for more” Sydney Morning Herald

Author's Comments

For years I worked on crime novels with various main characters – a forensic science student, police officers, villains. Nothing quite worked. I’d had writing teachers suggest I use my ambulance experience in my work but for so long I couldn’t get a handle on how to do this: I either went overboard with the technical details of how an emergency is run, or my emotions from whatever cases I’d recently attended would overflow into the narrative.

It was also difficult to figure out how a crime story (which it seemed I was addicted to writing, as I could not produce anything else no matter how hard I tried) could convincingly carry a paramedic as its main character – particularly when I wanted to write a series. A crime-solving paramedic? Pshaw!

Then I hit upon the idea of having two central characters, one a paramedic, the other a police detective. The main effect of the story would be on the paramedic, with the detective working the case that had embroiled her, and the two of them clashing over what they each wanted. This also enabled me to bring in the real-life detail of the ambulance life that I knew so well, as that was what my paramedic was experiencing, rather than focus only on solving the crime.