Three missing children, a burnt out lawyer on the edge, a multi-billion dollar mining deal and an entire government about to be brought to its knees. This is the gravamen of Sugarshed Road, a mystery/thriller in the style of a John Grisham type novel where the lawyer is the main protagonist and the conspiracy just grows and grows to an explosive climax with a twist you'll never see coming! Steve Creal is in the middle of his legal career but is feeling burnt out and beginning to rely heavily on alcohol to get him through week by week. He's tired of defending the rights of society's worst and stupidest criminals and feels like every day is the same, until one day he arrives home and checks his emails. The Chief Magistrate has emailed Steve requesting that he assist and effectively take the lead of an investigation into the disappearance of three young teenage children in the regional community of 'Macktown'. The police have no leads and the case has gone 'cold', but the community is in deep shock and, because all the children are indigenous, racial tensions are very high. Steve accepts the request and travels to Macktown to assist the investigation. What follows is a tour de force through modern day regional Australia at the height of the Mining boom. Race relations (both Indigenous and migrant), Economic impacts on communities, Native Title and corporate and political corruption are all intertwined as Steve Creal is also forced to face his own internal demons and identity. As Steve makes steady progress towards unravelling the fate of the children and the surrounding conspiracy, more people will die, hearts will be broken, a government will crumble and the entire nation will mourn one of it saddest days.
