The Shallows Launch with Holly Craig

Her best friend is dead.

Emma and Ariella, neighbours in one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs, appear to have it all - perfect homes, perfect husbands, perfect lives. But they both know dark secrets lurk beneath the surface and shallow waters can't hide Ariella's. Now she has been found murdered.

Her daughter filmed the killing.

Not knowing what she's filmed, Emma's daughter Kiki innocently uploads footage of Ariella's brutal death. Emma fears the worst - the killer will know what she and Kiki have seen. Their safe suburban lives no longer exist.

Her husband knows more than he's revealing.

Emma's husband Charles forces the family to leave their perfect life and escape on their yacht. His dangerous plan to flee means Emma is trapped and desperately seeking answers. What are they hiding from? What did Ariella have to confess? And who else knows Emma's own secret?

Her secret isn't safe and neither is she.

Holly Craig lives on the Western Australian coast. She spent her childhood on boats and on Rottnest Island, inspiring her second novel The Rip, which is out in 2024 with Thomas & Mercer. The beach and river were her playground and have shaped the settings in her novels. Holly is an English teacher and now teaches adults how to write their novels, preparing their manuscripts for publication. She also co-hosts a podcast, Off The Page, which focuses on the highs and lows of author life.

Matthew Spencer was a journalist at The Australian for twenty years, with long stints running the Foreign News desk and as Opinion Editor. He has written for newspapers and magazines in Uganda and Kenya and been published in The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald. Matthew has an Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Sydney. Black River is his first novel.