We are very pleased to be giving away two copies of Natalie Conyer’s book ‘Shadow City’, to our GrownUps members.
All you need to do to enter the draw is be a GrownUps member, make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter and fill in your details near the bottom of the page!
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About Shadow City
New crime fiction from Ned Kelly award-winning author Natalie Conyer
Sydney, Australia: The body of a young woman is found in Chinatown. She’s been beaten, tortured – and tattooed with the image of a sun. Called to the scene, Sergeant Jackie Rose asks herself whether this was a drug murder, or something else. But before her investigation can get under way, she is ordered to hand the case over to the Australian Federal Police.
Cape Town, South Africa: A local girl recruited to study in Australia has fallen off the radar. Veteran detective Schalk Lourens – recently suspended from duty – has already made plans to visit his daughter in Sydney, with emigration in mind. He decides to search for the missing girl while he is there.
Jackie and Schalk join forces, exposing a trail of corruption and crime stretching from the foreshore of the city’s iconic harbour, back to South Africa and across the world.
Together the pair must navigate a minefield of deceit and manipulation set by an enemy more powerful and depraved than they can imagine. And failure isn’t an option, because not only their own futures, but those of hundreds of vulnerable young people, hang in the balance.
About the author:
Natalie Conyer is the author of Present Tense, which won the Ned Kelly Award for best debut crime novel of 2020, was shortlisted for the Davitt Awards and was nominated as one of 2020’s best reads by The Australian.
Her short stories have won several awards and been featured in anthologies such as The Only One in the World and Dark Deeds Down Under Volume 2. They are also shortly to be published as a collection. Natalie is based in Sydney.
Author Note:
‘I wanted to write a story set in Sydney, but I also wanted to feature Schalk Lourens, the Cape Town-based cop from my first book, Present Tense. So, I brought Schalk to Sydney and tried to see the city through his eyes, the eyes of a tourist who is perhaps thinking of emigration. That meant I had to view Sydney in a fresh way. To do that I visited or walked around places mentioned in the book, took the buses Schalk would take and ate at restaurants he eats at.
Shadow City also introduces a Sydney-based cop, Jackie Rose. Jackie is a homicide detective, and I sought help from homicide detectives and forensic officers because I wanted her world to be as accurate as possible. They were great. I got to visit homicide headquarters at Parramatta and learn about how the police service works in real life.
I don’t want to give away spoilers, but in Shadow City slavery rears its ugly head. I researched this issue by reading reports on slavery in Australia and South Africa, taking a short online course offered by UTS (The University of Technology, Sydney) and getting first-hand advice from Anti-Slavery Australia, a body dedicated to eliminating slavery and human trafficking.
Although it’s set in Sydney, the plot of Shadow City crosses international borders. I hope it’s an exciting story, and I hope readers will want more of Jackie, Schalk and the people in their lives.’
Terms and conditions
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- You must be a GrownUps member and receive our newsletter to be eligible to win.
- Competition closes on the 18th September 2024, winners will be notified via email by 19th September 2024.
- It is your responsibility to ensure you correctly enter a New Zealand postal address where the prize can be sent. GrownUps will not take responsibility for prizes sent to incorrect addresses.
- Winners are drawn at random by the GrownUps administration team.
- GrownUps employees and family are not eligible to enter.
- By entering the giveaway, you approve for GrownUps to use your name on social media as winner of the competition.
- One entry per household.
- Prize in non transferrable.
- You must reside in New Zealand – the prize can only be redeemed within New Zealand.
- You must be over 50 years of age to enter, please check your details are correct in your membership dashboard.