Devil's Apple

A gripping detective novel set in the remote New Zealand West Coast. George Todman is a recluse, drinking his way to oblivion in the remote West Coast bush. His life, though, is transformed when the striking flower-child Rainbow starts turning up on the far bank of the river to dance naked. When Rainbow is found dead, Todman is drawn into the hunt for her killer. The locals regard Todman as the primary suspect, but Linda Loveridge, a feisty and irreverent Detective Constable, soon discovers he is an ally. Together they explore the tensions in a community on the outer edge of civilisation, where prejudice, mistrust of outsiders, logging feuds, drug trafficking, rumours of witchcraft and corruption abound. Will the truth be uncovered in one of the last eccentric but beautiful frontiers?