The Runaway Girl, #author Andrea Barton

From Jade Riley Mystery Series... The Runaway Girl (Book 4)

Three missing girls. One deadly secret.

In Lagos, Nigeria, journalist Jade Riley investigates three girls’ disappearance and uncovers a shadowy underworld of money, power and exploitation.

Far from the city, young Yinka flees a life of hardship, seeking a new start.

Their paths converge as Jade and Yinka are drawn into the same web of danger. Can they unmask the criminal mastermind at the centre of it and bring him to justice?

A gripping mystery set in Africa, THE RUNAWAY GIRL is the fourth book in the Jade Riley series by Andrea Barton.

To connect with Andrea ....
https://andreabartonauthor.com/the-runaway-girl/
https://andreabartonauthor.com/about-andrea/
https://andreabartonauthor.com/books/
https://www.instagram.com/andreabartonauthor/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-barton-0119921ba/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

It's good morning, Andrea Barton. Welcome back to Yellow Shelf. Thank you so much for having me. Number four. Yeah, I know. It's like catching up with an old friend. Like you and I have never met face to face, but we do know each other pretty well, and it's so good to be able to share your fourth book. Congratulations in the Jade Riley series. Tell us all about The Runaway Girl.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

So this one is set in Lagos, Nigeria, where I lived for four and a half years. So it's a place that's very close to my heart. The story is it's a challenging story for Jade. So she's in Lagos for her husband's work. So for the first time, she's not working. And so she's having a bit of an identity crisis, you know, who is she without work and what's she going to do? So when she's asked to investigate the disappearance of three girls, she absolutely jumps on the chance and she's up and running. And she has no idea what she's getting herself into. And uh it becomes this one's a very much um more of a it's less of a it's not a murder mystery because there's not a body at the start that you're solving, it's the disappearance of the girls that you're solving, and so the issue is about human trafficking. So um it's um it's a little bit different, it's more of a thriller almost than a mystery in some ways. So there's still mystery elements, of course, because you're trying to figure out what's where they are and what's happening, but yeah, it's um it's a bit of a wild ride.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

And so we've got characters fleeing troubled past, we've got um, you know, that idea that there's secrets and consequences and things catch up to us, and what are we what are we running from and what are we hiding from? Is that kind of a teaser, fair to say?

SPEAKER_01 1:46

It is a it's a good good way of looking at it. Um, yeah, Jay. So the runaway girl of the title is uh there's a young girl, a 14-year-old girl who um starts in her village where she lives with her two brothers and her father. Her mother's passed away and they're financially struggling, make you know, having difficulty making ends meet. And she decides she wants to go to the big city and make money and send money back to her family to help. So, and she knows if her dad um she asks her father for permission to leave, he'll say no. So she runs away. Yeah, um, so and and there are reasons she's running from the town, but it's not from her father. Um, she she loves her father, but she can't, she knows if she tells him he'll stop her from going. So off she goes. And um, it's quite some time in the book before Jade and Yinka meet up, um, but they both end up in trouble together and they have to basically they depend on one another to get themselves out of a very challenging situation.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

Yeah. And Andrea, um, you know, you're a seasoned author. The the series um is a juggernaut, incredibly successful. But if we're watching for the first time, what do you want to share about Andrea as a person, you know, as an author? Is there anything you want to kind of let us know about you?

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Well, so the Jade Riley mystery series was inspired because I lived my life as an expat following my husband's career. And so I decided we lived in Lagos for four and a half years, then we went to Houston for five years, then we went to Doha Qatar for three years, and then back to Melbourne, which is my home. And so my original concept for the series was to write a book set in each of the countries we lived. And so that's what the Jade Riley series is doing. Book one, The Godfather of Dance, as you know, is set in Houston. And book two is back in Melbourne. Book three is in Mansfield, which is another part of Victoria where we have a country property. Um, book four, this one, The Runaway Girl, is in Lagos, and book five, which will be out pretty soon, actually, within a couple of months, I would say. Um, that's called The Desert Thief, and that one is set in the Middle East.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Uh, Andrea, I you know I want you to come back and share about book five, but I know life is really busy because you are just um delivering all these wonderful stories. I'm gonna put links in the show notes to even our past interview. So if people are curious about the the series and our interviews, and I guess even um what we've chatted about over the years that we've been connecting. Um where is the best place to go to learn about Andrea? Like your social platforms point us in the direction, and I'll put that in the show notes as well.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Yeah, so everything's under Andrea Barton Author. So my website is www.andreabartonauthor.com. My on Facebook I'm Andrea Barton Author, on Insta I'm at Andrea Barton Author, LinkedIn I'm just Andrea Barton. Um I don't really post a lot on X, but I'm Andrea Barton AU on that because it's pretty long. But yeah, basically, if you search for Andrea Barton Author, you'll find me. And um, yeah, all the books are up there on my website now. And I I've even teased the cover of book five.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

So yay! Oh, I can't wait. Uh congratulations. Thanks so much for coming back again. One day we will meet face to face. But in the meantime, yeah, I'm I know you're gonna come back to talk about book five, but enjoy book four, The Runaway Girl. Thank you. I certainly will, and thank you so much again, Joe, for having me on. My pleasure. Cheers, cheers.