＊本书有原文书稿
 
‘When you get a good book, it's like someone gifted you a piece of their imagination.’
——出自剧中角色Dana Russo的台词
 
随着一连串紧张的侦讯，侦探Dana想在侦讯结束前，试着对着嫌疑犯Nathan问出真相。其实还有其他潜在嫌疑犯的存在，但随着剧情发展，你反而不太想知道谁是嫌疑犯，怎麽会这样呢？
 
本书作者把鲜明生动的角色与错综复杂的情节融合一起，故事布局架构层次分明丶精实巧妙，并饱含悬疑刺激气氛。以采取双人组的典型搭配方式，巧妙地拟出比喻的人物角色--Dana和Nathan。剧中两人在短短12小时侦讯过程里，呈现出你来我往丶精彩精密的算计对话，以及戏剧性攻防，可以说作者间接用一种优雅的方式，掀开Dana和Nathan之间所看不见的一种对称性⋯⋯以及那些连结两人关系之间的心痛悲伤音符。这本小说不仅完美捕捉了小镇生活的低调性，也巧妙地让内心世界和谐。这是一本用犀利笔锋来描述剧情，却同时带有一面温馨巧智情感的犯罪小说。尤其对於喜爱Ian Rankin丶Jane Harper丶Michael Connelly丶Don Winslow 和Val McDermid等等以人物导向为主的犯罪小说作家的读者来说，可算是一本非常亮眼的处女作。
 
部分原文内容参考：
Lou Cassavette, a local shop owner, lies dead from a single stab wound. At first glance, the case appears to be a typical robbery gone wrong. The main suspect, Nathan Whittler, is already in custody, arrested at the scene.
 
But Whittler proves an enigma - awkward and silent, he has no traceable past, no connection to the victim, and no motive. He appears to have been living off grid for fifteen years, with no human contact. What would drive him to kill a total stranger, and why now? Without any forensics connecting him to the body, it's a race against time to extract a confession.
 
Enter Detective Dana Russo, who's put in charge of cracking Whittler before time runs out. But this is no normal day for Dana - it is The Day, the one day a year she allows herself to reckon with the demons from her past. Traumatised and vulnerable, she pulls herself back from the cliff edge and into the interrogation room. In a series of seven interviews, Dana must open herself up, despite what this will cost her, to persuade Nathan to reveal himself.
 
Headline出版社将於2021年推出这本初次登场的精装版犯罪小说，并预计筹办大型宣传活动，加上强势行销攻势，其中包括操作本书成为2020年的「哈洛盖特犯罪小说节」（Harrogate crime festival）的聚焦点，本书绝对会成为年度主打的出版品之一。
 
目前作者正在撰写第二本续集，故事着重於Dana的过往细节，情节大致如下：澳洲某小镇上出现一具令人震惊丶被人用刀砍出十字形状的尸体，侦探Dana Russo为此受命主导调查此案。正当所有发现的证据慢慢导向到两位同住一个屋檐下生活的姐妹，这一刻Dana必须再回到侦讯室，然而在那里她被迫面对自己的过去⋯⋯。
 
关於作者 
Steve White 在重返学校到诺丁汉特伦特大学修读创意写作硕士之前，曾在英国警察厅工作12年。他目前居住澳洲昆士兰。《Hermit》是他笔下的第一本小说。