Dirt Creek by Haley scrivenor

12 year old Esther disappears on her way home from school. Her best friend Ronnie is determined to find her. Their “sort of” friend Lewis is holding something back. Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels is called in to investigate. Everybody has a secret and nobody in this small “dirt” town in the outbacks of Australia seems to be telling the truth. This is a great debut mystery story that reminded me of Jane Harper. Great characters, good suspense and an ending that was hard to see coming.