My best friend wore her name Esther like a queen wearing her crown at a jaunty angle. We were twelve years old when she went missing. On a sweltering Friday afternoon in Durton best friends Ronnie and Esther leave school together. Esther never makes it home. Ronnie's going to find her she has a plan. Lewis will help. Their friend can't be gone Ronnie won't believe it. Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels can believe it she has seen what people are capable of. She knows more than anyone how in a moment of weakness a person can be driven to do something they never thought possible. Lewis can believe it too. But he can't reveal what he saw that afternoon at the creek without exposing his own secret. Five days later Esther's buried body is discovered. What do we owe the girl who isn't there? Character-rich and propulsive with a breathtakingly original use of voice and revolving points of view Hayley Scrivenor delves under the surface where no one can hide. With emotional depth and sensitivity this stunning debut shows us how much each person matters in a community that is at once falling apart and coming together. Esther will always be a Dirt Town child as we are its children still.
