Reckless

SHORTLISTED FOR THE NED KELLEY AWARD FOR BEST TRUE CRIME A bank robber on the run. A young woman at a crossroad. A true story like you've never read before. Jean Kay, my skipper, fellow adventurer, my friend. My brother. Jean Kay, soldier-of-fortune, opportunist, embezzler, hijacker. In her youth, amidst the throes of a reckless grief, aspiring Australian writer Marele Day is caught up in a shipwreck adventure and forges an unlikely bond with an international fugitive travelling under a pseudonym. For the next 30 years they correspond before reuniting, both older and wiser, in France. Marele is now an accomplished crime writer, and while she knew of her travel companion’s previous reputation as ‘the high-jacker with heart’ and ‘brother to the poor’, she is intrigued to discover his connection to the disappearance of eight million francs and a secret dossier that made global headlines. Brilliantly crafted, Reckless tells the story of how Marele uncovers the truth about Jean Kay’s identity and motives by piecing together clues from their letters, her diaries and a stash of newspaper clippings, and how, in the process of telling his story, she ultimately makes peace with the reckless ghosts of her past.