Cadaver Dog 2024 by Alan Horsfield NEUF

Set in the lonely Australian bush where the law is often treated with disdain, after his marriage breaks up Shanes father buys a plot of land that contains a long-derelict school building.

The teenage Shane and his dad move there to start a new life and grow grapes and olives. When Shanes dad leaves every day for work, Shane has long summer hours alone, apart from unwelcome visits from Clarry Johnson who owns the neglected orchard on a hill next door. Then there is his strange daughter who pushes a pram up and down the dirt road outside the school, singing softly to her baby.

Even when Shanes dad brings home Caddy, an ex-police dog for Shanes protection and companionship, bush life still remains unnerving.

One night when Shane is alone in the caravan, there is a mysterious fire in the old schoolhouse. Who was it that died in the fire? Then one day Caddy brings home some bones which Clarry insists are wallaby bones. But why is there a gold ring on one of them?