The Drowning

Fiona Lowe  | Paperback | February 2026

A body on the beach. An inheritance. A family pulled apart. Bestselling Australian author Fiona Lowe returns with her most engrossing mystery to date, perfect for readers of Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth.

CC Cilento's best memories are of spending every summer holiday running wild in and out of the Friend family beach house with her cousins, James, Ollie, Felix and Lily. It's the next best thing to having brothers and sisters. They've continued the summer tradition into adulthood, getting together at the shack with its absolute beach frontage.

But now a bombshell has dropped: the four Friend siblings have officially inherited the property - along with an unexpected fifth share to CC. What starts out as the perfect gift, and a way of keeping the family connected forever, quickly devolves into an emotional power struggle. Half of them want to keep the legacy intact, while the others want to sell - and each side will do anything to make it happen. Soon, CC can't tell friend from foe.

When a body is found on the shack's beach, has this family dispute turned deadly?

PRAISE FOR THE DROWNING:

'A tale of beautiful-but-deadly beaches, small-town tensions, family secrets and scheming siblings ... No one does dysfunctional families quite like Fiona Lowe. A terrific read.' - Cassie Hamer, author of The Stranger at the Table

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Author Info

FIONA LOWE has been a midwife, a sexual health counsellor and a family support worker; an ideal career for an author who writes novels about family and relationships. She spent her early years in Papua New Guinea where, without television, reading was the entertainment and it set up a lifelong love of books.

Authentically Australian, her stories are often triggered by a secret or a mystery, and they explore the themes of family, community and second chances. Described as gripping, thought-provoking, heart-warming and ultimately uplifting, Lowe's books have been praised for their emotional depth. She is the recipient of the prestigious USA RITA award and two Australian RuBY awards.

When she's not writing stories, she's a distracted wife, a sage to two adult sons, a rail trail cyclist, a volunteer in her community, and a newly addicted homecrafts 'show' entrant. She is often found collapsed on the couch with wine, knitting and her latest love, an audio book.