Q&A: Darcy Tindale, Author of Burning Mountain

Q&A: Darcy Tindale, Author of Burning Mountain

BRIEFLY TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOOK

In April 2006, fifteen-year-old Oliver mysteriously vanished without a trace while hiking on Burning Mountain. His school friends Bob, Bell, Phil and Paul were the last people to see him alive, yet despite intense investigations and endless search efforts, the teenagers were never able to offer a clear explanation, leaving Oliver’s fate shrouded in mystery.

Almost two decades later, the haunting case resurfaces when Detective Giles is called to nearby Mount Wingen. A skull has been unearthed, stirring the buried secrets and unresolved tensions that have plagued the town for years.
As the past and present collide, Detective Giles must navigate through a maze of deceit and danger to uncover what truly happened to Oliver.

Burning Mountain is a candid portrait of rural Australia, the unspoken secrets that small communities often harbour and the devastating ramifications they can cause.

WHAT WAS THE RESEARCH PROCESS LIKE FOR THE BOOK?

I never would have imagined when I started Burning Mountain where my research would take me and the adventure I would embark—starting with a hike up Burning Mountain in Wingen, a road trip to the country town of Crookwell, completing a Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology certificate from Durham University UK, meeting up with Homicide Detectives from the NSW Police Force’s State Crime Command and ending with a week residency in a lighthouse at Nobbys-Whibayganba headland site in Newcastle. Writing this novel has been an enriching undertaking.

HOW DID YOU THINK OF THE TITLE OF THE BOOK?

Burning Mountain is near Wingen, New South Wales, Australia. Approximately 230km north of Sydney. It’s a smouldering coal seam running underground through sandstone and has been ablaze for over 6,000 years.
It’s both fascinating and eery, as the cooked ground has left behind skeletal trees and white ash. At the peak, it smells of sulpha. It’s also considered to be the longest burning fire in the world. The atmosphere and landscape make a fabulous location to set a crime novel – and a great title.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE READER WILL TAKE AWAY FROM READING YOUR BOOK?

The novel explores the lengths we go to in order to protect those we love and the way our upbringing and the actions of our past selves shape the people we become. It looks at the choices and actions of each character, whether impulsive or calculated, its ripple effect, enduring consequences and the impact it can have on a community.

WHAT WOULD YOUR INTERNET HISTORY REVEAL ABOUT YOU?

I’m terrified that at any moment a SWAT Team will come crashing through my window because they’ve been tracking my search history. Either that or my household budget fairy will smack me over the head with her financial planning wand and burn my debit card.

Buy a copy of Burning Mountain here.

Reviews

Your Preview Verdict: Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

Review | Preview

6 May 2025

Your Preview Verdict: Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

    Dark and Wild: Read an Extract from Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

    Review | Extract

    28 April 2025

    Dark and Wild: Read an Extract from Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

      Better Reading Preview: Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

      Review | Preview

      17 March 2025

      Better Reading Preview: Burning Mountain by Darcy Tindale

        Publisher details

        Burning Mountain
        Author
        Darcy Tindale
        Publisher
        Penguin
        Genre
        Fiction
        Released
        29 April, 2025
        ISBN
        9781761049774

        Synopsis

        Five went up. Only four came down . . .
        In April 2006, fifteen-year-old Oliver went hiking to the lookout on Burning Mountain - and vanished without trace.

        His schoolfriends – Bob, Bell, Phil and Paul – were the last ones to see him on the trek, yet the teenagers were never able to explain his disappearance.

        Almost twenty years later, Detective Rebecca Giles is called to bushland on nearby Mount Wingen. There a skull has been dug up, reviving the mystery that has haunted the Upper Hunter area for years.

        Giles is convinced that they have finally found the missing boy, and that his four friends – all now in their mid-thirties – have always known much more than they revealed. In particular, about the argument that caused Oliver to head down the mountain on his own.

        But when she discusses the case with her father, retired Superintendent Benjamin Giles, another suspect is thrown into the mix. One that for Giles is uncomfortably close to home . . .

        Darcy Tindale
        About the author

        Darcy Tindale

        Darcy Tindale is an actor, author, theatresports player and director, and has appeared in television commercials, film and on stage. She has written comedy for radio, stage, media personalities, comedians, and theatre restaurants. Her short stories, plays and poems have been published in anthologies, journals, and magazines. The Fall Between is her first novel.

        Books by Darcy Tindale

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