‘Shortlisted for 2024 Ned Kelly Awards, Best Debut Crime Fiction’

Esther Paul is 12 years old. She is reported missing on Vanuatu local radio. Two days later her body is found floating in the sea. Senior Constable George Wong of the Vanuatu National Police Force drops his current case to investigate her disappearance and tragic death. Limited forensics in Vanuatu means George and Probationary Constable Jayline Oli do not know if they are looking at a murder or an accident. The wound to Esther’s head suggests the later.

Given the precarious state of the Vanuatu Police Force George and Jayline have their work cut out, being transported in Port Vila's most decrepit and unsafe taxi van driven by Jayline's aspiring boyfriend. George's own unrequited love for a Vanuatu radio neewsreader also impacts the investigation.

From Mele Beach at one end of Port Vila to Pango at the other, George and Jayline experience Vanuatu’s broken roads, empty restaurants, confusing cultural norms as well as the extravagances and corruption of foreign aid as they attempt to solve the mysterious death.