Vendor
	Fritz Agency Christian Dittus
Original language
English

RECKLESS

Marele Day

In her youth, amidst the throes of a reckless grief, aspiring Australian writer Marele Day is caught up in a shipwreck adventure and forges an unlikely bond with an international fugitive travelling under a pseudonym. For the next 30 years they correspond before reuniting, both older and wiser, in France.

Marele is now an accomplished crime writer, and while she knew of her travel companion's previous reputation as 'the high-jacker with heart' and 'brother to the poor', she is intrigued to discover his connection to the disappearance of eight million francs and a secret dossier that made global headlines.

Brilliantly crafted, Reckless tells the story of how Marele uncovers the truth about Jean Kay's identity and motives by piecing together clues from their letters, her diaries and a stash of newspaper clippings, and how, in the process of telling his story, she ultimately makes peace with the reckless ghosts of her past.

Available products
Book Published 2023-05-01 by Ultimo Press (Hardie Grant)

Comments

True crime adventure, bold memoir and investigative masterclass, but above all a breathtakingly original story. -- Robert Drewe, author of The Shark Net

Little did I suspect that crime queen Marele Day had first-hand experience of an international fugitive, part French Robin Hood, part Shantaram seeker. Every page of her crazy youthful adventure at sea and her later attempt to follow the trail of her mysterious mercenary-turned-champion-of-the-poor skipper bristles with danger and fizzes with tension as she tries to unravel an international heist that made headlines in France. Fraud, glamour, friendship, loss and betrayal create a heady cocktail as the trail heats up from Australia to Brazil. Sometimes, fiction just can't match fact. This is one of those stories. -- Caroline Baum, literary journalist and broadcaster.

Reckless is about a woman who transforms the paralysis of unexpected grief into an adventure so dazzling that readers may have to remind themselves to breathe. But that is only part of it. In later life, a profound exploration of her experience leads the author to France and Brazil and to unexplored territories of faith, trust, and friendship, revealing the differences between the charming stories we are told and the stories we have no choice but to believe. -- Brenda Walker, Author, Emeritus Professor, UWA