By Jena Carr
A Lara writer and former television journalist will release her debut thriller novel, taking readers through twists, turns, suspicion and murder.
Alexia Boland Herrick’s new book, Truth Stays Buried, released on Saturday, September 7, which follows the story of a graveyard shift newspaper reporter who goes missing.
“Superstar investigative reporter Harrison Marks gets the greatest stories, all the glory and all the awards, but he mysteriously goes missing the night of the latest award,” Ms Herrick said.
“Tasman Hill, he’s the hero, he starts to cover it and so the paper begins covering the disappearance of their own colleague. As they follow the story, there’s more twists and turns.”
Ms Herrick said the novel drew inspiration from her time as a field reporter, including an incident that occurred while driving around Merton Gap with her camera operator.
“Sometimes the truth is crazier than the stories we can make up… There was an overturned truck that was half off the road and there was no one else around,” she said.
“We’re first on the scene and called the police as we couldn’t find the truck driver. We’re looking around the scene, and the cameraman gets the camera out and starts filming.
“The driver then approaches and he’s in total shock. He is holding a spanner like he was going to approach us in a really hostile way and I remember being so terrified… Nothing happened, but it felt like it was about to.”
Ms Herrick said she started writing the book three years ago while expecting her second daughter and had already begun writing her second thriller novel ahead of the release of her first book.