DEEP WATER

A suspenseful mystery about a missing boy and a group of teenagers, one of whom knows something but isn't telling, from the award-winning author of Small Spaces.

Sixteen-year-old Chloe Baxter returns to The Shallows, the Southern Highlands town she called home before her parents bitterly separated. For the last few years she's been bouncing between her mother in Sydney and the rural town with her dad, their motel and the circle of friends she grew up with. But this visit is marred by a recent incident: three months ago, Chloe's friend Henry Weaver disappeared during a violent storm. With a troubled home life and his bike found at the train station, thirteen-year-old Henry was labelled a runaway, and Chloe feels responsible. She could have stopped him if she hadn't turned him away that night in favour of a secret tryst with Raf Nolan. Within days of being back, Chloe realises the struggling water-damaged town isn't the only thing showing cracks. Her friends Tom and Sabeen are guarded whenever she mentions the Weavers. Raf is being distant, and Henry's brother, Mason, lies to her face. Chloe retraces Henry's steps around town looking for answers, but what she discovers doesn't add up. And at least one of her friends knows more about Henry's disappearance than they're saying. Thrilling, atmospheric and brilliantly plotted, Deep Water leaves you guessing until the last page. Sarah Epstein is a writer, illustrator and designer. She grew up in suburban Sydney and now lives in Melbourne with her husband and two sons. Her first novel Small Spaces, a YA psychological thriller, was an Honour Book at the 2019 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards and won Best YA Crime Novel at the Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards. It was also short-listed for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, the Australian Book Industry Awards, the Aurealis Awards and the Readings Young Adult Book Prize, and long-listed in the Indie Book Awards.