Blood Claim
(2026)(Book 16 in the Maya Thorne Australian Outback Thriller series)
A novel by Phillip Strang
When drought exposes a body in the dam, Detective Maya Thorne uncovers a secret that's been buried for fifty years—and a family willing to kill to keep it hidden.
The Australian outback is unforgiving. When water levels drop to record lows, what should have stayed buried forever surfaces in a weighted tarp at the bottom of the Wellington farm dam. Tom Wellington has been missing for three months, but his daughter, Sarah, claimed he was travelling. The evidence says otherwise.
As Maya investigates, she discovers Tom's death is tangled with a devastating revelation—one that shattered identities, destroyed relationships, and drove someone to desperate violence. In a community where everyone knows everyone's secrets, the question isn't just who killed Tom Wellington. It's whether some truths are too dangerous to tell.
Sarah Wellington managed her father's property for 30 years and devoted her life to the farm and family legacy. Now she's the prime suspect in his murder. But the deeper Maya digs, the more she understands that Tom's demand for honesty was its own kind of cruelty—and that blood doesn't always determine family.
In Warragulla, where drought exposes more than bodies and family loyalty, Maya must navigate impossible choices and competing claims. Some secrets protect. Some destroy. And sometimes, the same truth does both.
Perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Hayley Scrivenor—rural Australian noir where the outback reveals what we bury, and justice comes at a devastating price.
Genre: Mystery
The Australian outback is unforgiving. When water levels drop to record lows, what should have stayed buried forever surfaces in a weighted tarp at the bottom of the Wellington farm dam. Tom Wellington has been missing for three months, but his daughter, Sarah, claimed he was travelling. The evidence says otherwise.
As Maya investigates, she discovers Tom's death is tangled with a devastating revelation—one that shattered identities, destroyed relationships, and drove someone to desperate violence. In a community where everyone knows everyone's secrets, the question isn't just who killed Tom Wellington. It's whether some truths are too dangerous to tell.
Sarah Wellington managed her father's property for 30 years and devoted her life to the farm and family legacy. Now she's the prime suspect in his murder. But the deeper Maya digs, the more she understands that Tom's demand for honesty was its own kind of cruelty—and that blood doesn't always determine family.
In Warragulla, where drought exposes more than bodies and family loyalty, Maya must navigate impossible choices and competing claims. Some secrets protect. Some destroy. And sometimes, the same truth does both.
Perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Hayley Scrivenor—rural Australian noir where the outback reveals what we bury, and justice comes at a devastating price.
Genre: Mystery
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