Shadow City

Shortlisted for the 2025 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction

Shortlisted for the 2025 Danger Award for Crime Fiction

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'tan option, because not only their own futures, but those of hundreds of vulnerable young people, hang in the balance.

PRAISE FOR SHADOW CITY:
'Shadow City is tense, gritty and insightful. Natalie Conyer pulls you into a chilling world where even the truth can be fatal. A must for fans of international crime fiction.' - Emma Viskic