Crimson Lake

This disturbing mystery is set in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, where Ted Conkaffey, a former Sydney cop, is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl and leaving her for dead. Because there is too little evidence, he is released from prison. Everyone abandons him, including his wife, who forbids him from seeing his baby daughter, so Ted moves to remote crocodile-infested Crimson Lake. For work, Ted's lawyer refers him to ex-con Amanda Pharrell, who did time for killing a school friend. She's rather eccentric but has the only PI business in town. She hires Ted to help investigate a complex case. Was local celebrity author Jake Scully murdered, did he have an accident, or did he commit suicide? It's complicated because part of his body was found in a crocodile's stomach! As the two delve into the case, they also surreptitiously probe each other's crimes. Vigilantes and corrupt cops see Ted as a pedophile and harass him. The atmospheric setting adds a prevailing sense of menace as readers are privy to not one but three criminal investigations.