The Reckoning - Vikki Petraitis

A dark, morally uncompromising crime novel about overturned justice, institutional failure, and the price paid when the system looks away, perfect for fans of Chris Hammer's Scrublands and Jane Harper's The Dry. �Justice is overturned. The consequences are just beginning. When the convictions of two men accused of rape are suddenly quashed, their return to Deception Bay is celebrated at a packed Australia Day cricket match. Before the day is done, dozens of people collapse with symptoms of poisoning - including the newly freed men themselves. Detective Antigone Pollard and her partner Wozza are thrown into a mass casualty crisis as emergency services are pushed to breaking point. With medical resources exhausted, Antigone's mother, Dr Jilly Pollard, agrees to assess a sick child on a nearby farm. When she fails to return, Antigone retraces her journey - and walks straight into a siege. Negotiators take control. Protocol is enforced. Time is allowed to run out. With lives on the line and no good options left, Antigone makes a choice that will change everything. She goes in.