Wake in Fright, which drew on his time as a journalist in Broken Hill, was published in 1961 and a decade later was made into an internationally acclaimed film. Cook wrote more than twenty books in a variety of genres, and was well known in film circles as a scriptwriter and independent film-maker. He died in 1987, aged fifty-seven. The manuscript of Fear Is the Rider was recently discovered among Kenneth Cook’s papers. The novel started off as one of four television scripts co-written by Cook, his daughter Kerry and his son Paul in 1981. The television films did not eventuate but Cook wrote the novel in 1982, before turning his attention to his Killer Koala series. DOUGLAS KENNEDY is the author of twelve novels, including the international bestsellers The Big Picture, The Pursuit of Happiness, Leaving the World and The Moment. His most recent novel is The Heat of Betrayal. More than fourteen million copies of his books have been sold worldwide and his work has been translated into twenty-two languages.
