Star investigative journalist Louise Milligan has spent her career working on some of the most high-profile criminal cases in Australia. This incredible breadth of experience informs her first novel Pheasant’s Nest, which follows the abduction of a young journalist and provides a unique insight into the media, policing and politics that surround a crime like this. This week, Michael sits down with Louise to discuss the leap from reporting to fiction and why writing this book was a kind of therapy. 
Reading list:Cardinal, Louise Milligan, 2017Witness, Louise Milligan, 2020Pheasant’s Nest, Louise Milligan, 2024
A Year of Last Things, Michael Ondaatje, 2024
You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. 
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