An intense psychological thriller that delves into the psyche of the criminal mind by the multi-million-copy bestselling author of LIFE OR DEATH, Michael Robotham
Alisha Barba's dreams of being a detective were shattered when a murder suspect broke her back across a brick wall. Now on her feet again, she receives a letter from an old school friend, Cate Beaumont , who is eight months pregnant and in trouble.
On the night they arrange to meet, Cate is mown down by a car that kills her husband instantly. As paramedics fight to save her life they discover there is no baby. Her pregnancy is an elaborate, mysterious lie.
Why? What happened? Alisha is drawn deeper and deeper into a dangerous quest that will take her from the East End of London to Amsterdam's red light district and into a murky underworld of sex trafficking, slavery and exploitation.
A compelling page-turner, with twists at every turn, THE NIGHT FERRY is Michael Robotham's first standalone novel.
*Includes an exclusive extract from Michael's new standalone thriller THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS *
'Will have you turning the pages compulsively' - The Times
'Robotham doesn't just make me scared for his characters, he makes my heart ache for them' - LINWOOD BARCLAY
'A terrific read' - Guardian
'LIFE OR DEATH is a nerve-shredding thriller with the heart and soul so often missing from lesser crime and suspense novels. I couldn't stop reading, yet I didn't want Audie's story to end. Robotham is an absolute master. ' - STEPHEN KING
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From Publishers Weekly
At the start of the sharply plotted third thriller from Australian author Robotham (after Suspect and Lost), London police detective Alisha Barba, a Sikh woman who's recovering from a back injury incurred in the line of duty in Lost ("After six operations and nine months of physiotherapy I am fit again, with more steel in my spine than England's back four"), receives a brief note from a school friend, Cate, whom she hasn't heard from in eight years: "I'm in trouble. I must see you. Please come to the reunion." At the school reunion, the pregnant Cate tells Ali that someone is after her baby. As Cate and her husband, Felix, are leaving the event, a car strikes them both, killing Felix instantly and fatally injuring Cate. Insp. Det. Vincent Ruiz, Ali's crotchety colleague, accompanies her to Amsterdam in search of answers that involve drugs and frozen human embryos. In keeping with the opening sentence's invocation of Graham Greene, the author's terse, resonant prose hides more than it reveals. Readers will hope Robotham has many more books of this caliber in him. (June)
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From Booklist
Robotham gave the lead role in last year's Lost to London homicide inspector Vincent Ruiz, a supporting character from the accomplished Suspect (2005). Here he shines the spotlight on Ali Barba, who served as Ruiz's able sidekick until her back was broken by a baddie. Thematic elements also link entries in this sort-of series: each follows a British professional (psychologist or cop) confronting the fallout of crimes against children. This time, Barba's drawn into an international baby-selling conspiracy that may include the forced impregnations of immigrants. Although her strong will and young runner's physique help effect full rehabilitation, the sensible Sikh detective puts off returning to the Metropolitan Police when an estranged friend is killed and discovered to have been faking her pregnancy. With an assist from the retired-but-still-salty Ruiz, Barba begins untangling a mystery as twisted and slippery as an umbilical cord. Robotham sometimes risks subverting the story to a social message, but the plot takes several unexpected turns, and Barba proves a refreshingly different kind of protagonist for a British crime novel. Frank Sennett
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