by Leah Swann
To early readers, your insights and feedback have kept me going, draft after draft. Thanks to Marguerite Swann, Ruby Williams, Julia Inglis and Annika Glac.
A special thank you to Ray Swann for all those conversations and often hilarious text messages, and for kindly but firmly encouraging me to go further into the harrowing aspects of the story. The book wouldn’t be what it is without you.
To Frederick and Lachie Swann, thank you for your unwavering support. My thanks also to dear Biserka, Karen, Kaye, Penny, Sue, Pete, Victoria and Adrian and darling nieces and nephews Maya, Rose, Kaspar, Micah, Mia, Louis, Maddison, Elias, Elizabeth, Genevieve, Alastair, Stephanie and Christopher.
Thanks to Mark ‘Trigger’ Tregellas for insights into Victorian policing and detective work, Effy Lagos for family law, Scott McGrath, John Nussbaum and Ian Wallis for information on light aircraft.
I’d like to thank friends Esta Kanellopoulos, Halima Vos, Martin Garrett, Luke Hunter, Sophie Wise, Karen Manton, Tony Esta, Sharon Thompson, Dinusha Joseph, John Tesarsch, Marcus Struzina, Bec Starford and many others who’ve encouraged me, often without knowing it!
To everyone in the creative team at World Vision, your high standards are inspiring. I’ve learned a lot from writers who’ve worked there, including the chaotic genius of Mary-Louise O’Callaghan, the irreducible sentences of Ruth Lamperd, and the need for atmospheric perspective from Stuart Rintoul.
Finally, to my amazing children, Brigita, for your cheerfulness, fire and clarity, and Amos, for your quiet wisdom and kindness, thank you. And to John Hare, thanks for your steadfast counsel, existential questions that sometimes send me into a spin, and for making me laugh even when I don’t want to! Truth is, when I see you my heart still skips a beat.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LEAH SWANN is the award-winning author of the short story collection Bearings, shortlisted for the Dobbie Award, and the middle-grade series Irina: The Trilogy. Her short stories and poetry have been published in numerous literary magazines, and she works as a journalist and speech-writer. Sheerwater is her debut novel. Leah lives in Melbourne with her family.
COPYRIGHT
Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
First published in Australia in 2020
by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Leah Swann 2020
The right of Leah Swann to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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ISBN 978 1 4607 5863 2 (paperback)
ISBN 978 1 4607 1240 5 (ebook)
ISBN 978 1 4607 8236 1 (audio book)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia
Cover design by Hazel Lam, HarperCollins Design Studio
Cover painting © Sabrina Garrasi