The Quiet Girls by J.M. Hewitt

‘Hattie!’ Carrie called, an edge to her voice. ‘Hattie, this isn’t funny, come out now.’ Carrie moved forward through the woods on shaking legs. She tried calling, shouting, screaming, but everything was quiet. Her little sister was gone.

Detective Carrie Flynn’s sister Hattie was kidnapped when they were both just little girls, but the face of the man who took her is a blank in Carrie’s memory. After the police never found the culprit, Carrie swore she would become a detective.

Twenty years later, when eleven-year-old Melanie Wilson, a quiet girl who loves books, is reported missing, Carrie drowns in memories of her lost sister. Searching for Melanie, Carrie finds grainy black-and-white footage of the young girl with her parents at a harbour, boarding a boat and disappearing. Carrie realises they have headed for a deserted wasteland, the river island Pomona. What could make a family so desperate to escape their home?

Then the police receive a mysterious message from another young woman, calling from the same docks where Melanie vanished: I gave you his name, where to find him, but you did nothing. My blood is on your hands.

Carrie is sure Melanie and her family are in terrible danger. She knows what it’s like to have the authorities give up on you, and something in the voice sounds horribly familiar. It may have nothing to do with her lost little sister, but she will never ignore a plea for help.

To find Melanie, Carrie must unlock the memories she has buried for years – but will it be too late? Can Carrie use her own demons to bring Melanie home safely and finally get justice for her beloved sister?