In the opening pages of Holly Throsby’s latest novel, Clarke, a team of policemen arrive at a suburban house bearing excavation tools and ground-penetrating radar. Across the road and over the fence, the neighbours who knew the house’s former owners watch with dread and relief. The day they’ve waited years for has finally arrived.
It’s a familiar premise to anyone who has followed the real-life case of New South Wales woman Lynette Dawson, whose 1982 disappearance was brought to light by the award-winning podcast The Teacher’s Pet. This August her husband, Chris Dawson, was found guilty of her murder 40 years ago, a conviction Dawson is appealing.
