Following on from her acclaimed debut novel, Everywhere We Look, Left Behind is a stand-alone mystery following a camping trip on K'gari (previously known as Fraser Island) that goes awry when people start to go missing. A devastating storm complicates rescue efforts and leaves one camper alone on the island to battle the elements - and a potential serial killer.
Martine specialises in gripping crime fiction that also gives voice to women and contemporary social issues - the Brisbane Times said ‘Hailed as a new Liane Moriarty ... Kropkowski deepens the definition of crime fiction.’
Martine says: ‘At its heart, Left Behind is a book about change: change that's inevitable but also change that's forced; change that's slow and incremental but also change that's sudden. The four characters at the centre of Left Behind react to change in different ways, trying to slow or stop it, or sometimes embracing and accepting it. K'gari, a sand island that's constantly shifting, tests these characters to their limits.’
Publisher, Brigid Mullane, says: ‘Martine Kropkowski returns with another stunning novel complete with ominous dingoes, strange occurrences, an oncoming cyclone and with the kind of psychological tension and high stakes that will keep readers guessing. The result is an undefinable look at the things that scare us – the fears that we give our attention to and those that we bury, too frightened to confront.’
Left Behind will be published in October 2025
“Hailed as a new Liarne Moriarty, Kropkowski deepens the definition of crime fiction with her brooding debut novel.”