Beneath The West Coast Pines: An undercover Policeman 'vs' Cult

A young woman is found dead beneath the pines. The evidence says suicide. Her final message says otherwise.Deep on New Zealand's West Coast, The Clearing is a secluded community built on a simple promise: a quieter life, away from the pressures and compromises of the outside world.For twenty three year old Tessa Keegan, it was once a refuge.Then she discovered the ledger.Hours after Tessa walks alone into a rain soaked pine plantation, her body is found hanging from a tree. At first, there seems to be an obvious explanation.But Detective Constable Rachel Ngata is not convinced.There are tyre tracks near the scene.Another set of footprints.And clenched in Tessa's hand is a message pointing back towards the community she called home.Then a package arrives at her mother's house.Inside is a key and six words: If I disappear, go to police.What begins as an investigation into one young woman's death soon reaches into years of disappearances, hidden debts and favours that were never really free.At the centre of it all is Peter Rourke, a man who has spent years protecting The Clearing and the people inside it.But protection and control can look remarkably similar.And beneath the West Coast pines, some secrets have been buried for a very long time.Beneath the West Coast Pines is an atmospheric New Zealand crime mystery about loyalty, obligation, family and the terrible things good people can convince themselves they are doing for the right reasons.