The Fortress of Us

By Diane Hester

Eight year old Kelsey once believed her father could do anything, an illusion shattered the day he failed to save the woman at the center of her world. With her special needs, Kelsey struggles to process her grief and instead begins to slowly withdraw. Until she meets a girl with no name and vows to protect her against the deadly threat she faces.

In the year since his wife's passing Ryan has watched his beloved only daughter slip further and further away from him. Desperate to save what remains of his family, he moves them from Adelaide to Port Lincoln, leaving behind the house where Kelsey's mother died.

Through the bond she forms with their new neighbour, Shannon, Kelsey seems to find what she needs to finally overcome her loss. Ryan rejoices in the changes he sees in her. Until he learns the true reason for his daughter's recovery is her caring for the neglected runaway she's been hiding up in her tree house. A girl gone missing from Adelaide the same day they shifted house, and the object of a madman's search whose aim is to silence both girls forever.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0995371342
• ISBN13: 9780995371347
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Slender Thread
• Length: 355 Pages