A chilling and timely crime fiction debut, winner of the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Prize and perfect for fans of Chris Hammer’s Scrublands and Jane Harper’s The Dry.
 
Moving back to her quiet coastal hometown in the wake of a catastrophically failed case in Melbourne, Senior Detective Antigone Pollard finds there are some things you can’t run from. A month into her new life, she is targeted by a would-be rapist at a local pub. When the male witnesses and even her own colleagues close ranks in defence of her attacker, it becomes clear this is only the tip of the iceberg.
 
As Antigone searches for answers, she encounters a wall of silence built on secrets, denial and fear. The women of the town are scared, and they know the law is not on their side. In the face of a society that would rather she lie down and keep quiet, Antigone decides to take a stand. To do whatever it takes to get justice for all the survivors in Deception Bay, no matter the cost to herself.

Gripping from the first page to the last, The Unbelieved offers a raw and uncompromising look at a small-town world that is all too real, and introduces a stunning new voice in Australian crime fiction.
 
‘A brilliant crime debut’ CHRIS HAMMER, bestselling author of Scrublands
 
‘Tight, tense and unrelenting’ CANDICE FOX, author of The Crimson Lake   
 
‘Compelling, clever and utterly convincing’ JACQUELINE BUBLITZ, author of Before You Knew My Name

‘Be warned: once you pick up The Unbelieved you won’t be able to put it down!’ Good Housekeeping

Vikki Petraitis is best known for her true crime books, including the bestselling The Frankston Murders about serial killer Paul Denyer, and her first book, The Phillip Island Murder, which has been featured in several TV shows and podcasts. She began a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University in 2017 to continue to expand her writing skills, and brought thirty years of true crime writing and investigating to creating her first work of fiction, The Unbelieved. In a parallel career, Vikki is also a teacher with a Master's degree in IT Education, and runs creative writing workshops and short courses in schools and local libraries.