But he was guilty in the eyes of the public, and reviled as a violent pedophile as soon as people learned his identity. Nor, however, could the court prove his guilt, and the charge had been rendered as “no billing.” This meant the state could take it up again at any time, but they couldn’t pin it on him. Ted had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but couldn’t prove his innocence. He went to that remote spot in an attempt at anonymity after being released from an eight-month stint in prison for the rape and murder of 13-year-old Claire Bingley. Ted Conkaffey, 39, divorced after eight years (not by his choice), and a former cop in Sydney, has recently relocated to Crimson Lake outside of Cairns in Queensland when this story begins. And for Ted, a man already at breaking point, this town is offering no place to hide. But the residents of Crimson Lake are watching the pair's every move. Her latest target, missing author Jake Scully, has a life more shrouded in secrets than her own - so she enlists help from the one person in town more hated than she is- Ted Conkaffey. Maybe it's her murderous past that makes her so good as a private investigator, tracking lost souls in the wilderness.
Amanda Pharrell knows what it's like to be public enemy number one. Accused but not convicted of Claire's abduction, he escapes north, to the steamy, croc-infested wetlands of Crimson Lake. Six minutes - that's all it took to ruin Detective Ted Conkaffey's life. 'One of the best crime thrillers of the year' LEE CHILD 'A masterful novel' HARLAN COBEN 'A bright new star' JAMES PATTERSON 12.46- Thirteen-year-old Claire Bingley stands alone at a bus stop 12.47- Ted Conkaffey parks his car beside her 12.52- The girl is missing.