{"product_id":"the-girl-who-didnt-come-home-paperback","title":"The Girl Who Didn't Come Home - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJose F. Nodar\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMallard W. Benson thought retirement would be simple: early runs, awful coffee, and the quiet hum of a small private investigation agency above a bakery.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen Evan Harrow walks through his door.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNearly thirty years ago, Evan's twelve-year-old sister Lily vanished on her walk home from school. Mallard was a rookie cop on the case then-eager, idealistic, and powerless to stop the investigation from going cold. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe file was closed, and the family never received an answer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow the police have given up for good. Evan hasn't. And neither has Mallard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the help of his sharp-witted assistant Donna Fletcher-a single mum juggling case files and a six-year-old tornado named Becky-Mallard pulls at threads everyone else ignored: hidden letters from a mysterious \"H\", a sealed basement room beneath a primary school, a wealthy benefactor with immaculate suits and filthy secrets, and a supervising sergeant who buried more than evidence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs witnesses talk and old ghosts stir, Mallard finds himself in the crosshairs of people who have spent decades staying untouchable. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTyres are slashed. Offices are ransacked. Someone quietly approaches Becky at school. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe message is clear: drop it, or they won't just tidy up his files.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Mallard has lived with the guilt of failing Lily Harrow for too long. With Donna and Becky increasingly tangled in the danger, he pushes forward-into police corruption no one wants uncovered and a predator who wasn't working alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Girl Who Didn't Come Home\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is a gripping Australian crime novel about the cases that never let go, the cost of telling the truth, and the found family you'd burn the world to protect.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd when an anonymous tip hints that Lily's story is only one part of something much darker, Mallard realises this isn't the end of the investigation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's the beginning of a war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 178\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.48 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 01, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49377599127691,"sku":"9781764542586","price":30.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0670\/2579\/7259\/files\/97S3ILlsOn9781764542586.webp?v=1789624271","url":"https:\/\/thetaletrade.com\/products\/the-girl-who-didnt-come-home-paperback","provider":"The Tale Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}