Price of an Orphan - Softcover

Carlon, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1569471959 ISBN 13: 9781569471951

Publisher: Soho Crime, 2003

Synopsis

Johnnie is a nine-year-old city orphan recently placed with a couple on a cattle ranch in the Australian outback. But he is not quite the foster child they had in mind. He is "cheeky and lazy, cowardly and stubborn." When he claims to have witnessed a murder, they remind him of the boy who cried wolf. Finally, he admits he was lying. As he is about to be sent back to the orphanage, they are invited on a camping trip. A special treat and one last chance for Johnnie, or a cunning trap?

About this title

About the Author:

Patricia Carlon was born in Wagga Wagga and now lives in Sydney, Australia. She has written fourteen crime novels, including The Running Woman, The Souvenir, and The Whispering Wall, all available in Soho Crime paperback editions.

From Publishers Weekly:

Offering a thrilling glimpse into the Australian outback, the fifth title by Aussie author Carlon (Crime of Silence) to be published here by Soho brims with suspense. Kay and Stuart Heath's nine-year-old foster son, Johnnie, is a troublemaker, with a penchant for spinning tall tales. When he brags about witnessing the murder of an unknown woman in a red dress, Kay and Stuart, who manage the Quidong cattle ranch, are reluctant to believe him, assuming that his story is merely another example of the boy who cried wolf. Eventually, Johnnie decides to say he's been fibbing, figuring that once he's reunited with his birth father, the two of them can investigate and find the owner of the license plates Johnnie discovered at the crime scene and later hid. Kay and Stuart, seeking to work on their marriage and their relationship with Johnnie, bring their son along as they accompany the ranch's owner on a camping trip to the wild brush. The familial retreat becomes a life-threatening hostage situation when the murderer's true identity is revealed. Johnnie and Kay are left at the will of this cold-blooded, ruthless killer, as countless chances of being saved come and go. Carlon's struggling, sharply drawn characters provoke sustained interest in their fates; her evocation of tough Johnnie's hidden loneliness is especially poignant. Her usual assured prose and expert pacing will lure readers deeply into her tale, from its mysterious opening to its nail-biting conclusion. Agency, John Johnson. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Soho Crime
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1569471959
• ISBN 13: 9781569471951
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272