Stella Hardy

A young African boy has been murdered in a back alley. Despite running low on empathy, social worker Stella Hardy heads into the night to comfort the grieving mother. But when she gets there, she makes a discovery that has the potential to uncover something terrible from her past. Enlisting the help of Senior Constable Phuong Nguyen, Stella's investigation draws her further and further into a dark world of drug dealers, sociopaths and killers.

On a stormy night, Stella gets a call from her best friend, Detective Phuong Nguyen. Her lover is being falsely accused of police corruption and the only person who can prove he's the only innocent cop in his unit has disappeared. It's up to Stella to find him, and convince him to testify before it's too late.

Stella Hardy, the wisecracking social worker, is back to tackle crooked private contractors, an exotic cattle scam, and a delicious Mushroom Jalfrezi. All Stella Hardy wants is a romantic country getaway with her artist boyfriend, Brophy. Instead, she must head to the Athol Goldwater Agricultural Prison (aka Arsehole Bogwater) to visit her jailbird brother, Ben. But Stella has barely set foot in the prison when a prisoner, Joe Phelan, is found dead. Before she knows it, Stella finds herself tasked with investigating Joe's suspicious death. Her old nemesis Minister for Justice Marcus Pugh is pressuring her to save his election-year bacon, and Joe's old friend and former gang member, Percy Brash, is providing a much more chilling form of pressure…As the clock counts down, Stella becomes embroiled in a story of corruption, conspiracy, and high-tech cattle-wrangling. And then things get really crazy…