When She Was Gone (COMING APRIL 2025)
Rose once walked away from her daughter.
Now, is she the only one who can save her?
Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote Western Australian beach, and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care, Rose is asked to help bring Lou home. The police think Rose’s insights will lead them to Lou, but they don’t realise that Rose hardly knows her daughter any more.
This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood’s illustrious career, and there’s a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and while their multimillionaire grandfather is breathing down Blackwood’s neck for results, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn’t know who he can trust.
Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter’s innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she’s no longer part of Lou’s life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a much darker turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers and Rose, and soon it’s clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?
THIS TITLE WILL BE PUBLISHED BY HARPERCOLLINS (AUS/NZ) and BLACKSTONE (US/CAN) in April 2025.
Praise for When She Was Gone
“Sara Foster has a unique ability to combine complicated, vulnerable, fascinating characters with riveting plots, and she excels at this in WHEN SHE WAS GONE. It’s a thrilling race-against-the-clock mystery about the disappearance of two girls and their nanny—but it turns out that those investigating the case have secrets they’d rather keep hidden too. Masterfully told, the stakes are high in this emotionally gripping and utterly unforgettable story. Don’t plan on getting anything else done once you start reading!”
NATASHA LESTER, NYT bestselling author of The Paris Seamstress