Sarah Bailey in-conversation with Simon McDonald

A car crash victim clings to life and is rushed to hospital but can't be saved. Hours later, her corpse is stolen from the morgue. No one knows who the dead woman was or why her body was taken.

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in her hometown of Smithson on maternity leave when the bizarre incident occurs. She is intrigued by the case but reluctant to get involved, despite the urging of her journalist friend Candy Fyfe. But in the days after the body goes missing, the town is rocked by another shocking crime and Gemma can't resist joining the investigation.

Candy and Gemma follow the clues the dead woman left behind. As they attempt to discover the identity of the missing woman, Gemma uncovers devastating secrets about the people she thought she knew best. The closer Gemma gets to the truth, the more danger she is in. She desperately needs to confide in someone—but is there anyone she can trust?

A gripping, white-knuckle thriller from the bestselling author of The Dark Lake and The Housemate.

Sarah Bailey is a Melbourne-based writer with a background in advertising and communications. She has three sons and is currently the Managing Director of the Melbourne and Sydney offices of advertising agency VMLY&R. Her internationally award-winning Gemma Woodstock series includes The Dark Lake, published in 2017 and winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction and the Davitt Award for Best Debut, followed by Into the Night in 2018, and Where the Dead Go in 2019. Body of Lies is the fourth book in the series. Sarah has also published the bestselling The Housemate and Audible original Final Act in 2021.

Simon McDonald is a writer, avid reader of crime fiction and thrillers, and award-winning bookseller from Sydney. Find him on instagram @writtenbysime.