The Girl in the Basement by Dianne Bates

A man lurks in the shadows, spying on a girl in a red party dress.

The girl, Sophie, is trying to shrug off a bad date. Not for a moment does she suspect that this night is the end of life as she knows it. The man pounces; Sophie is grabbed and driven away. Held prisoner in a basement, she grapples with constant fear, all the while sustaining herself with thoughts of escape. Meanwhile, her captor is engaged on another mission, that of abducting a young boy to complete his 'family'. Will Sophie ever escape? Or will the man kill her? And what of the boy who refuses to submit to the man's demands? Can he possibly survive the man's merciless anger?

Enter the minds of a psychopath and a defenceless teenager in this mesmerising and timely page-turner with its unforeseeable twists and edge-of-the-seat suspense.

Author: Dianne Bates

Dianne (Di) Bates has published 120+ books over the past 30 years. Some of these books have won national and state literary awards; others have sold overseas in translation. Di has received Grants and Fellowships from the Literature Board of Australia Council and is the recipient of The Lady Cutler Prize for distinguished services to children's Literature.

Her most recent books are Crossing the Line (short-listed for the NSW Premier's Award) and Nobody's Boy (2013 CBCA Notable Book). Di lives in Wollongong, NSW, with her author husband, Bill Condon. Their website is www.enterprisingwords.com.

The Girl in the Basement is available in paperback and can be bought from Morris Publishing Australia, Dennis Jones and Associates, James Bennett Library suppliers and The Nile Bookshop. You can also purchase an ebook version via Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple and other online stores.

Posted on June 01, 2013