The Outback
Escape to the outback in this gripping and unforgettable thriller that you won't be able to put down
Published on 3. July 2025
416 pages
978-1-5299-0553-3 (ISBN)
Description
Get ready for the trip of a lifetime, with the most gripping and tense thriller of the summer.
'Incredible pace, terrifically intriguing plot, wonderfully flawed characters and a searing hot setting.'
- Andrea Mara, bestselling author of It Should Have Been You
'A total page-turner. Compelling, immersive, and highly entertaining'
- Allie Reynolds, author of The Bay
'A summer thriller so evocative that you can almost feel the Australian summer heat.'
- Katie Bishop, author of The Girls of Summer
It was supposed to be paradise.
For one group of friends, it's a study abroad program like no other: a month-long adventure filled with sunshine, whirlwind romances, and all-night parties. But it isn't long before their trip of a lifetime unravels into betrayal, heartbreak, and one missing girl.
Until one of them didn't come home.
Ten years later, the girl's remains are found, and it's time for the group to return to Australia. All of them have secrets, but only one knows what really happened the night the girl went missing.
And they'll do anything to keep the truth buried...
***Readers love The Outback***
'There's so many twists and turns, this book will have you staying up reading well into the night.' - FIVE STARS
'Red herring after red herring. Twists and turns galore.' - FIVE STARS
'Fast paced, and gripping.' - FIVE STARS
'This is the best book I have read in quite some time!' - FIVE STARS
'Incredible pace, terrifically intriguing plot, wonderfully flawed characters and a searing hot setting.'
- Andrea Mara, bestselling author of It Should Have Been You
'A total page-turner. Compelling, immersive, and highly entertaining'
- Allie Reynolds, author of The Bay
'A summer thriller so evocative that you can almost feel the Australian summer heat.'
- Katie Bishop, author of The Girls of Summer
It was supposed to be paradise.
For one group of friends, it's a study abroad program like no other: a month-long adventure filled with sunshine, whirlwind romances, and all-night parties. But it isn't long before their trip of a lifetime unravels into betrayal, heartbreak, and one missing girl.
Until one of them didn't come home.
Ten years later, the girl's remains are found, and it's time for the group to return to Australia. All of them have secrets, but only one knows what really happened the night the girl went missing.
And they'll do anything to keep the truth buried...
***Readers love The Outback***
'There's so many twists and turns, this book will have you staying up reading well into the night.' - FIVE STARS
'Red herring after red herring. Twists and turns galore.' - FIVE STARS
'Fast paced, and gripping.' - FIVE STARS
'This is the best book I have read in quite some time!' - FIVE STARS
Reviews / Votes
A group of American students on what's euphemistically described as a "study trip" in Australia behave exactly as anyone would expect in Sara Ochs's raucous new novel...The novel has two time frames, ten years apart, allowing Ochs to indulge in some sly misdirection. * Sunday Times * Incredible pace, terrifically intriguing plot, wonderfully flawed characters and a searing hot setting to ramp up the tension. A masterclass in crime fiction, I loved it! * Andrea Mara, bestselling author of Someone in the Attic * A total page-turner. Compelling, immersive, and highly entertaining. Destination fiction at it's best! It brought back memories of backpacking down Australia's East Coast years ago and perfectly captures what it's like to be a young person far from home, thrown together with strangers: the madcap late nights, romantic entanglements and close escapes from danger. * Allie Reynolds, author of The Bay * If you like to have your pulse raised while chilling out, this one's for you. * Heat * A ripper of a thriller. Studying abroad forever changes eight young lives-in all the wrong ways...a story about secrets and how they change who we are and who we become; a tale of friendship and betrayal and those exhilarating years when our friends are our universe. It's atmospheric, emotional, and twisty, and destined to be one of the best thrillers of the year. Ace! * Alex Finlay, bestselling author of Parents Weekend * A compelling and addictive thriller that grabs you from the first chapter and never lets go! With an atmospheric and isolated setting that increases the already palpable tension between the characters, [The Outback] is a must-read. * Sian Gilbert, author of She Started It * I sped through this twisty tale of friendship, discovery and betrayal. Ochs's writing is rich with vividly-conjured landscapes, effortlessly distinguishable characters, and a rising sense of claustrophobia as the story weaves its way to an ending that you won't see coming. A summer thriller so evocative that you can almost feel the Australian summer heat. * Katie Bishop, author of The Girls of Summer * Once again, Ochs proves herself a master of that heady time of youthful independence, away from home without a safety net. I devoured [The Outback] inhaling one shocking revelation after another until the jaw-dropping epilogue. This novel reinvents the unreliable narrator. * Carinn Jade, author of The Astrology House * This suspenseful psychological thriller will keep you turning pages with its intriguing clues and gradual reveals. * CultureFly * Gripping from start to finish - impossible to put down. It keeps you guessing, constantly questioning everyone's intentions, and just when you think you've figured it out, it all shifts. A masterclass in the destination thriller! * Alice Hunter, bestselling author of The Serial Killer's Wife *More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Edition type
New edition
File size
1,07 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-0553-3 (9781529905533)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
A self-admitted travel addict, Sara Ochs has built a life around visiting beautiful and sometimes dangerous destinations. While learning to scuba dive on a remote island off the coast of Thailand, Sara heard that two backpackers had recently been murdered not far from her hotel. Horrified that something so terrible could happen in such an idyllic location, she knew she had found the inspiration for her debut novel, The Resort.
As well as being an author, Sara is an attorney and law professor, who splits her time between the United States and Sweden. You can find Sara on Instagram @saraochsauthor and on Twitter @OchsWrites.
As well as being an author, Sara is an attorney and law professor, who splits her time between the United States and Sweden. You can find Sara on Instagram @saraochsauthor and on Twitter @OchsWrites.
