100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Auckland Bookstore open Sunday until 5:00pm ๐Ÿ“š

Dying to Know

The gripping new crime thriller novel from the Ned Kelly Award shortlisted author of THE GOOD MOTHER, for fans of Patricia Wolf, Ashley Kalagian Blunt and Candice Fox
4.04 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 801 ratings, 111 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Dying to Know by Rae Cairns is a gripping crime thriller that follows a protagonist thrust into a world of danger as they investigate a series of mysterious deaths. Intrigue and suspense drive the narrative, as the protagonist's determination to uncover the truth unravels hidden secrets and dangerous adversaries. As the stakes grow higher, the tension builds, creating an engaging read for crime and thriller enthusiasts.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3499
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you love gripping psychological thrillers that explore the complexities of family secrets and the pursuit of justice. With a fast-paced plot and richly developed characters, it's perfect for readers who revel in suspense and intrigue.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A desperate phone call. A decade of questions. A deadly race to the truth.

A new heart-stopping thriller to keep you up all night, from critically acclaimed Rae Cairns

Twelve years ago, budding journalist Geneva Leighton received a phone call that stopped her life in its tracks. Her terrified sister, Amber, was locked in the boot of a moving car and begging Geneva for help. Amber was never heard from again.

Since that night, Geneva's days have revolved around caring for her traumatised niece and nephew, despite the unpredictable behaviour of their father... and keeping the search for her sister alive. But the knowledge it should have been her in the boot of the car haunts her waking hours.

When Sergeant Jesse Johns turns up with shocking new evidence about Amber, Geneva's world is thrown into chaos again. The police leads hit a dead end and desperate for answers, Geneva becomes Amber's lone warrior for justice.

As she edges closer and closer to the truth, she uncovers dangerous secrets that have the power to destroy everyone she loves.

Trust no one. Your life depends on it.

PRAISE FOR Dying to Know

'This book is a cracker - a genuine page turner. It kept me guessing all the way. Geneva Leighton is a brilliant protagonist - tough and resourceful, yet vulnerable and caring.' CHRIS HAMMER, author of The Tilt

'Cairns shows us what ordinary people can do in extraordinary situations... A thrilling and wild ride with love at its core.' HAYLEY SCRIVENOR, author of Dirt Town

'Smart and suspenseful... Another high stakes original thriller from Cairns that does not ease up until the last page. I dare anyone to read it slowly.' SARAH BAILEY, author of The Housemate

'What a ride! All the ingredients of the perfect thriller: a brilliant start, twists and turns, and characters you really care about. I couldn't put it down.' SARA FOSTER, author of The Hush

'This fast-paced thriller hooked me in and kept me guessing. A gripping read with high stakes and blurred lines between good and evil.' PETRONELLA McGOVERN, author of The Liars

'I raced through this addictive, twisty book, desperate to solve the mystery of Amber's disappearance. An expertly plotted and wholly absorbing thriller.' NICOLA MORIARTY, author of You Need to Know

'Intriguing, heart-wrenching and compelling, Cairns draws you in and holds you until the final gasping twist.' SULARI GENTILL, author of The Woman in the Library

'Cairns is the master of gripping thrillers with big hearts... All the more terrifying because of how much you care about the characters ensnared in its dark and twisty tale.' ANNA SNOEKSTRA, author of Out of Breath

'A rollercoaster ride from the first page to the last and confirms Cairns as a genuine mistress of mystery and mayhem! Breathtaking, believable and utterly unputdownable - this is the rollercoaster ride you don't want to miss!' NINA D CAMPBELL, author of Daughters of Eve

'What a read! Shocking, gut-wrenching and real. It doesn't get any better... Brilliant writing and an outrageously tense plot combine in a cleverly crafted, heart-stopping, action-packed thriller that won't let you go. Cairns is a true, grab-you-by-the-throat thriller writer. Be prepared for some sleepless nights as you devour every last word.' SARAH BARRIE, author of Retribution

'Kept me up late at night dying to know what happened to Amber... and the family she left behind. In Gen Leighton Cairns has created a character that you'll want to root for and villains you'll love to hate.' R.W.R. MCDONALD, author of Nancy Business

'Twisty, feisty and full of intrigue. Cairns infuses her characters with so much warmth and nuance that you can't help but be drawn into their world and fully invest in it. This kept me up late guessing and moved me to tears. Loved it.' VANESSA McCAUSLAND, author of The Beautiful Word

'Effortlessly combines a propulsive and gripping plot with a story that will pull at your heartstrings... People are not who they seem, twists appear that you won't see coming. I flew through it!' ALI LOWE, author of The Running Club

'Original and frighteningly realistic. I was enthralled and on the edge of my seat as I raced to the last page.' BM CARROLL, author of You Had it Coming

'Was I dying to know! This is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller right from the opening scene... I could not turn the pages fast enough. What a ride!' ANNA LODER, ReadA Book, www.readabook.com.au

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781460761953

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 April 2023

Country: Australia

Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 27.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 233.0mm

Weight: 460g

Pages: 384

About the Author

Rae Cairns writes crime with heart: thrillers featuring everyday people facing extraordinary circumstances. Her debut novel The Good Mother was shortlisted for Best Debut Crime Fiction in the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards and longlisted for the 2021 Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards, and draws on her background as a youth worker in Northern Ireland during the final years of 'The Troubles'. Rae's second novel, Dying to Know, is a standalone Sydney based thriller and centres around a woman's determination to uncover what happened to her missing sister. Rae has also co-managed a crisis refuge for street children, worked as Program Director for the Sydney Olympic Youth Camp and holds a degree in Performing Arts. She is currently busy writing her third novel. Rae lives in Sydney with her husband, two children and her dog, Alfie, who snores at her feet when she writes. www.raecairns.com

Also by Rae Cairns

View all
  • The Good Mother
    Past and present collide on and off the page in this explosive debut Sunday Telegraph This story wouldn't let me go - Michael Robotham Shortlisted for the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction She's protected them from the truth. Can she save them from her past? Sarah Calhoun is a regular Sydney soccer mum, but she's keeping...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Good Mother
    This story wouldn't let me go - Michael Robotham Fierce, action-packed ... A wild, original ride from start to finish - Sarah Bailey Taut, propulsive ... Brilliant - Anna Downes Shortlisted for the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction She's protected them from the truth. Can she save them from her past? Sarah Calhoun is a regular...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Crime & Thriller

View all
  • New Release
    Every Lake
    Scary stories are fun... until your life becomes one. When Alice was fifteen, her father killed Mia Heywood in their lakefront cottage before vanishing into the trees. At least that's what the locals think happened. Over a decade later, Alice has lost her job as a journalist, she's going through an expensive divorce and she desperately needs to sell the...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    It Could Have Been Her
    PREPARE TO BE HOOKED: The no. 1ย Sunday Timesย and MULTI-million-copy bestselling author is back with a brand-new spine tingling thriller. It was the night she almost died. Jane Trevally, newly divorced and feeling a little lost, agrees to accompany a man she doesn't know to his house in the darkest corner of Hampstead Heath. She's offered a drink, goes in, and...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    26 Beauties
    The twenty-sixth thrilling novel in the globally bestselling Women's Murder Club series. Beautiful young women are disappearing by the dozen. A celebration is cut short when a concerned father crashes Detective Inspector Lindsay Boxer's party. His daughter is missing - and she's not the only one. DI Lindsay Boxer has been tracking a chilling pattern: a Jane Doe washed ashore,...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Secrets We Hide
    The stunning new North Falls thriller by the bestselling author ofย We Are All Guilty Here 'Quite simply, Karin Slaughter is the best of us' Dervla McTiernan Welcome back to North Falls -- a small town with big secrets. The house at 1601 Iris Drive looks like any other in the quiet, residential street. But rumours are rife about the Vickery...
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Parkwood Murders
    They came for an escape, but can they escape a killer? Detective Nicola Bridge returns in another gripping and immersive mystery For its loyal guests, Parkwood Holiday Village in west Dorset is a haven- woodland walks, a tranquil lake, service around the clock. Until, just after midsummer, a body is found floating in the swimming pool. Detective Nicola Bridge, exhausted...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Hope Rises
    'BALDACCI IS STILL PEERLESS' - THE SUNDAY TIMES REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD . . . Walter Nash, working under the alias of Dillon Hope, is on the road to revenge after becoming an informant for the FBI against a global criminal operation headed up by Victoria Steers. Steers has ripped everything Nash held dear away from him....
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Slash
    A year after a brutal shootout left her lover dead, ex-police sergeant Honey Chalmers is a hot mess, drinking too much and eating too little, working casual gigs for a shady firm of private investigators โ€” while holding conversations with a ghost. A desperate father asks her to investigate his missing son โ€” a double-murder suspect last seen during the...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    A River Red With Blood
    The players call it the Game, and its aim is simple: to abduct and kill a stranger without getting caught. They're very good at it. They've been playing it for a long time. And they can keep playing as long as everyone sticks to the rules: No Killing Close to Home and No Killing Outside the Game. But those rules...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Shadow Step
    The new Detective Miller thriller from bestselling author Mark Billingham, full of tension, wit and incredible twists. The Shadow Step: One taken simultaneously by a pair of dancers facing the same direction, one of them behind and slightly shifted leftwards ('in the shadow') Typically, such a step perfectly demonstrates synchronized elegance. It showcases a couple in near telepathic harmony with...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • Blue Lightning
    New Release
    Blue Lightning
    Blue Lightning The fourth Shetland novel A remote island on lockdown. A killer on the loose . . . Shetland detective Jimmy Perez knows it will be a difficult homecoming when he returns to Fair Isle to introduce his fiancรฉe to his parents. With the autumn storms raging, the island is cut off from the rest of the world. Then...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Red Bones
    New Release
    Red Bones
    Red Bones is the third Shetland novel featuring detective Jimmy Perez. Sometimes the dead won't stay buried... When a young archaeologist uncovers a set of human remains, the island settlers are intrigued. Is it an ancient findโ€”or a more contemporary mystery? Then an elderly woman is shot in what appears to be a tragic accident in the middle of the...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Last to Drown
    New Release
    The Last to Drown
    Praise for Noelle W. Ihli: 'Hands down one of my favourite reads of the year' - FREIDA MCFADDEN 'A true classic in the genre' - LISA JEWELL 'A propulsive story that haunts and mesmerizes' - KARIN SLAUGHTER FIVE DAYS. TWENTY STRANGERS. NO PHONE SIGNAL. The rafting trip was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. But now that Kaia's...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.