The Crossing, BM Radburn

This is a great debut novel. The characters are believable, the cliches are absent and to some extent inverted and the location is eerie enough to host a missing young girl and a small sliver of hope.

Meet Taylor Bridges, a park ranger whose 8 year old daughter goes missing. As a consequence his otherwise happy marriage, begins to crack and chip prompting him to take a break and move an island away to Tasmania, to the small town of Glory's Crossing.

Being under the attentions of a mining group is never fun, being the recipient of a local government dam project is even less so. Glory's Crossing is literally, slowly sinking as the local river is flooded and the dam being built. To this town of old friends and foes arrives Taylor.

Here he is on the outskirts of a community tragedy until another little girl goes missing. This little girl had enchanted Taylor with her cheeky behaviour one day prior. A chronic sleepwalker since the disappearance of his daughter, Taylor begins to worry he is the cause of these disappearances.

Needlessly, might I add. The group of characters gathered to tell this story are the novel's forte. Believable, funny at times and with the potential to be someone you know, these characters allowed me to acknowledge the many ways in which humans, as a species are really quite fragile.

It's a great mystery with enough elements of surprise to make for a engaging read. I'm looking forward to reading more from this new author.

3stars

You can find out more or download the first chapter here!