True crime buff Gus Green has always felt out of place in the world. He's overweight, gay, his injured mum's primary carer, and he only has two real friends: sporty Kane and feisty Shell, who are both dealing with their own problems. Gus's life is flipped on its head one day when he finds a missing persons website with a digitally aged picture of a missing boy who looks eerily like him. Could he be a kidnapping victim? It would explain a lot about his patchy background, but what would that make his mum - his kidnapper? As Gus and his friends dive into the mystery, their investigation reveals more questions than answers. Can they unravel the case before his world falls apart? And what will they do if the truth is too much to handle? 'Page-turning mystery fun that is meta-AF, full of wit and self-discovery. Loved it!' - R.W.R. McDonald, author of The Nancys series 'Gus and the Missing Boy takes whodunnit stories up a notch, weaving the core tenets of young adult books in with the tropes of a detective novel, creating a great story that examines the mysteries of identity, family and friendship.' - Michael Earp, author and editor of Everything Under the Moon: Fairy Tales in a Queerer Light (2023) and Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories (2019) 'Gus and the Missing Boy brilliantly combines a twisty detective mystery with a moving coming-of-age message about found family and finding yourself. Troy Hunter's prose crackles with sharp wit and youthful energy. A fantastic book that skilfully blends humour and heart with a plot so pacey I didn't want to stop reading - I devoured it in a single day.' - Holden Sheppard, author of The Brink (2022) and Invisible Boys (2019) 'This book made me late for a party. I know "I couldn't put it down" is a cliche, but I don't care - I couldn't put it down. A gripping mystery, told with compassion and authenticity.' - Amie Kaufman, author of the Aurora Cycle and The Isles of the Gods, and co-author of the Illuminae Files series Troy Hunter is an adult and YA fiction writer whose short stories have appeared in a variety of publications and journals. He lives in Melbourne and works as a marketing and communications consultant. Gus and the Missing Boy is his first novel.