A family disappears without a trace after a road-trip along the West Coast highway.
More than 30 years later, the body of one of the children is discovered. But he's several years older than when he went missing.
This is the head-cratching scenario for the latest literary thriller by Christchurch writer Carl Nixon. He talks with Lynn Freeman about The Tally Stick.
The Tally Stick by Carl Nixon is published by Vintage, part of Pengun Random House. It was reviewed recently on Nine to Noon.