The Outback

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

It was supposed to be paradise.
A group of friends are studying abroad in Australia, having the time of their lives. Sun-kissed skin, whirlwind romances, all-night parties – they think it will never end, that nothing bad will ever happen to them.

But not all of them came home.
Accepted onto the exclusive Adventure Abroad Programme, they travel the country, swim with sharks, hike in the national park. But it isn’t long before their trip of a lifetime ends in violence and betrayal.

And now they have to go back...
Years pass, but none of the surviving friends forget what happened that night. So when the remains of a girl are found in the outback, they know it’s time to face up to the past. All of them are guilty of something, but who is really to blame?

© Sara Ochs 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

A group of American students on what’s euphemistically described as a “study trip” in Australia behave exactly as anyone would expect in Sara Ochs’s raucous new novel...The novel has two time frames, ten years apart, allowing Ochs to indulge in some sly misdirection.
Sunday Times
Incredible pace, terrifically intriguing plot, wonderfully flawed characters and a searing hot setting to ramp up the tension. A masterclass in crime fiction, I loved it!
Andrea Mara, bestselling author of Someone in the Attic
A total page-turner. Compelling, immersive, and highly entertaining. Destination fiction at it's best! It brought back memories of backpacking down Australia's East Coast years ago and perfectly captures what it's like to be a young person far from home, thrown together with strangers: the madcap late nights, romantic entanglements and close escapes from danger.
Allie Reynolds, author of The Bay
If you like to have your pulse raised while chilling out, this one’s for you.
Heat
A ripper of a thriller. Studying abroad forever changes eight young lives—in all the wrong ways...a story about secrets and how they change who we are and who we become; a tale of friendship and betrayal and those exhilarating years when our friends are our universe. It’s atmospheric, emotional, and twisty, and destined to be one of the best thrillers of the year. Ace!
Alex Finlay, bestselling author of Parents Weekend
A compelling and addictive thriller that grabs you from the first chapter and never lets go! With an atmospheric and isolated setting that increases the already palpable tension between the characters, [The Outback] is a must-read.
Sian Gilbert, author of She Started It
I sped through this twisty tale of friendship, discovery and betrayal. Ochs’s writing is rich with vividly-conjured landscapes, effortlessly distinguishable characters, and a rising sense of claustrophobia as the story weaves its way to an ending that you won’t see coming. A summer thriller so evocative that you can almost feel the Australian summer heat.
Katie Bishop, author of The Girls of Summer
Once again, Ochs proves herself a master of that heady time of youthful independence, away from home without a safety net. I devoured [The Outback] inhaling one shocking revelation after another until the jaw-dropping epilogue. This novel reinvents the unreliable narrator.
Carinn Jade, author of The Astrology House
This suspenseful psychological thriller will keep you turning pages with its intriguing clues and gradual reveals.
CultureFly
Gripping from start to finish – impossible to put down. It keeps you guessing, constantly questioning everyone’s intentions, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, it all shifts. A masterclass in the destination thriller!
Alice Hunter, bestselling author of The Serial Killer’s Wife

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