Overview
Shooting Star (1999) is a Ned Kelly Award-winning novel by Australian author Peter Temple.
Dedication
"For Nicholas - with thanks for all the joy."
Plot
Frank Calder, an ex-soldier whose post-military career as a police hostage negotiator ended after he got into a physical altercation with a sadistic fellow officer, now works as a private mediator. Outwardly a hardened loner, on the inside, he nurtures demons from his military days and is plagued by constant self-doubt. When the novel opens, Frank has just taken a job with the very rich Carson family—they need Frank to negotiate with the kidnappers who abducted 15-year-old Anne Carson on her way home from school.
Awards
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).