Part of Series
Gemma Lincoln wakes up one morning to discover her clothes laid out as an effigy of a woman with a slashed throat and crotch. As the 30-something proprietor of a successful security and surveillance business, Gemma decides to video the effigy and compare notes with her friend, Detective Sergeant Angie MacDonald. Angie has a similar video - except the victim is a real woman. Meanwhile, Gemma s father, psychiatrist Dr Archie Chisholm, is due to be released from prison, where he has been held for many years for the murder of Gemma s mother. Gemma has always believed her father innocent, and has assembled evidence to prove it. Her sister Kit, however, is convinced of his guilt, and the relationship between the sisters has been deeply troubled since the time of the murder. As the serial killer s violent crimes escalate, the trauma of 30 years before resurfaces, and Gemma and Kit find themselves drawn ever-deeper into a situation they never thought possible, where the horrors of past and present become increasingly entwined ...
Author
Gabrielle Craig Lord is an Australian writer who has been described as Australia's first lady of crime. She survived being ‘razed’ by the nuns, acquired an education despite this, and after working in many different areas, sales, teaching, brick-cleaning, peach-picking and packing, and in the Public Service as an employment officer, started writing seriously aged 30. Her first two manuscripts ended up composting the tomatoes at her market garden – another attempt to make a living – but the third one FORTRESS was picked up internationally and made into a feature film starring Rachel Ward. A later novel WHIPPING BOY was made into a telemovie starring Sigrid Thornton. The film rights money, coinciding with her daughter leaving school, allowed Gabrielle to resign and instead of getting up at 4.30am and writing for several hours before heading off for work, she could write full-time and lead a more ‘normal’ writer’s life – hanging around with scientists and detectives, badgering forensic anthropologists (she studied some Anatomy at Sydney university) and doing work experience with a busy private security business and of course, writing. Research is everything, she says. ‘Out of my contacts with experts (who are always far too modest to describe themselves that way) I get not only the fine-tuning necessary for today’s savvy readers, but also wonderful incidents and images that enrich and enlarge my books.’ Gabrielle’s interests are very simple. ‘After a misspent youth, I don’t have many brain cells left so I enjoy walking, meditation, singing, gardening, chatting with close friends, being with my family and grandkids, feeding my goldfish and keeping up to date with bodywork and enlightened psychotherapy.’ Gabrielle has now written fourteen adult novels and a novel for young adults. Once the 12 books of Conspiracy 365 are completed, this tally will be a tad bigger! Following this mammoth endeavour she already has plans for another three adult novels and two more YAs. 2013
