"An assured and bittersweet coming-of-age tale with a vivid sense of time and place."—Books + Publishing

It's the 1950s and Sylvie lives in Burley Point, a fishing village on Australia's wild southern coast. She tries to make sense of her brooding mother and her father's violent moods. She worships her older brother Dunc, but when he goes missing, Sylvie is terrified it's her fault. The bush and the birds and the endless beach are Sylvie's only salvation, apart from her teacher, Miss Taylor.

Sylvie is a charming narrator with a big heart and a sharp eye for the comic moment. In the tradition of Anne Tyler, The Lost Child is a beautifully written story about family and identity and growing up. It's about what happens when the world can never be the same again.

In the style of Henry James's masterful What Maisie Knew, Suzanne McCourt's novel reveals the perspective of a sensitive observer of irresponsible adults.

After a career in teaching, marketing, public relations, and private employment, Suzanne McCourt is a full-time writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her family, and is the publisher at Posh Dog Publishing. The Lost Child is her first novel.

After a career in teaching, marketing, public relations and private employment, Suzanne McCourt is now a full-time writer. She lives in Melbourne with her family, and she is the Publisher at Posh Dog Publishing, which publishes photo-based gift books. THE LOST CHILD is her first novel.