Sarah Bailey will be in conversation with Chris Hammer on her new novel Body of Lies, the latest in her award-winning Gemma Woodstock series

Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in her hometown of Smithson on maternity leave when a bizarre incident occurs. A car crash victim clings to life and is rushed to hospital but can't be saved. Hours later, her corpse is stolen from the morgue. No one knows who the dead woman was or why her body was taken.

Gemma is intrigued by the case but reluctant to get involved, despite the urging of her journalist friend Candy Fyfe. But in the days after the body goes missing, the town is rocked by another shocking crime and Gemma can't resist joining the investigation.

Candy and Gemma follow the clues the dead woman left behind. As they attempt to discover the identity of the missing woman, Gemma uncovers devastating secrets about the people she thought she knew best. The closer Gemma gets to the truth, the more danger she is in. She desperately needs to confide in someone—but is there anyone she can trust?

A gripping, white-knuckle thriller from the bestselling author of The Dark Lake (2017), which won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction and the Davitt Award for Best Debut. It was followed by Into the Night (2018), and Where the Dead Go (2019). Body of Lies is the fourth book in the Gemma Woodstock series

Sarah Bailey is a Melbourne-based writer with a background in advertising and communications. She is currently the Managing Director of the Melbourne and Sydney offices of advertising agency VMLY&R. Sarah's standalone best-selling novel The Housemate was published in 2021 and is currently being developed for TV.

Chris Hammer's first book, Scrublands, became an instant bestseller when it was published in 2018. It won the prestigious UK Crime Writers Association John Creasey Award for a debut crime novel in 2019 and has recently been released as a TV series on Stan. subsequent novels - Silver (2019), Trust (2020), Treasure & Dirt (2021) The Tilt (2022), The Seven (2023) - have also been bestsellers.

The vote of thanks will be given by longtime Canberra crime fiction reviewer Jeff Popple

This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase on the evening in the Cultural Centre foyer. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm, and available again after the event.

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A podcast will be made available after the event.

Symposium by University House Wine bar (Shop 13, 152 University Avenue, Acton, which is just next to the Kambri cultural centre) will now be open for dining after meet the author events. Food and wine details at https://unihouse.anu.edu.au/eat/symposium/. No bookings necessary.

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