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  • Published: 26 January 2027
  • ISBN: 9781761356353
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $38.00

The Number One Insta Detectives Agency




The heart-stopping new crime-romance series by bestselling Australian authors Rachael Johns and Mercedes Mercier.

Do you suspect your online date is seeing other people? Or catfishing?
Or that you’re just a number in your situationship’s roster?
It’s time to call in The Number One Insta Detectives Agency.

Olivia, Sheridan, Juniper and Emery – an unlikely team of friends bonded over their love/hate relationship with the online dating world – have gone viral for cracking the toughest digital dating crimes. If only their own romance dramas were as easy to solve.
Juni has decided to go boy sober after leaving behind a string of heartbroken exes . . . that is, until a ‘hot cop’ moves in next door. Their instant connection is threatened when the Insta Detectives stumble on something far more criminal than a red flag – the photo of a dead woman with a knife in her heart.
This chilling case leads them from dodgy dive bars to a maximum-security prison and then deeper into the world of online sex work. Suddenly, the Insta Detectives have more than just their hearts on the line – it’s their very lives in danger.
Two bestselling Australian authors join forces in this genre-bending crime–romance series that will steal your heart – and your breath – and prove that while dating can be difficult, making it out alive can be deadly.

  • Published: 26 January 2027
  • ISBN: 9781761356353
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $38.00

About the authors

Rachael Johns

Rachael Johns is an award-winning Australian author whose novel The Patterson Girls won the 2016 Australian Book Industry Award for General Fiction. After a brief stint as an English teacher, she turned to writing and never looked back. She lives in the Swan Valley, co-hosts the podcasts Reading Between Deadlines and Dear Rach and Soph, and runs the vibrant RJ Book Club. Readers can connect with Rachael and sign up to her newsletter at www.rachaeljohns.com for book news, behind-the-scenes updates, and a glimpse into her writing life.

Mercedes Mercier

Mercedes Mercier writes ‘just-one-more-page’ crime with twisting plots and relatable characters. As well as writing books, Mercedes has worked in the criminal justice system for over a decade, giving her unique insight into the world of crime and offenders. After a brush with death, Mercedes threw herself into life. She lived overseas, became a black belt in Karate, skydived, and volunteered with animals. Mercedes lives in Adelaide, in a tree-top home surrounded by kangaroos, koalas, kookaburras and the occasional echidna. Her home is busy, fun and slightly chaotic, with her very patient husband, identical twin daughters and beloved German shepherd dog who rules the roost.