The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron: Forty Years Searching for the Phillip Island Murderer - Softcover

Petraitis, Vikki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1761820834 ISBN 13: 9781761820830

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia, 2026

Synopsis

A murdered young woman; a missing wife; a forty-year mystery.

In 1986 on Phillip Island, a young woman called Beth Barnard was savagely murdered and her boyfriend’s wife, Vivienne Cameron, went missing. The police immediately jumped to what they thought was the obvious conclusion: in a jealous rage, Vivienne had killed Beth and then herself. Vivienne’s body was never found.

But Vikki Petraitis wasn’t convinced. The official line didn’t explain all the evidence, and it certainly didn’t seem like the behaviour of a mother with two small boys. Fascinated by both the case and the bias it revealed in investigators, Petraitis wrote her first true-crime book about the murder, with Paul Daley, and decades later made a podcast on the case. Both brought new evidence and testimony to light, and asked questions that were not asked at the time.

Now, to mark the fortieth anniversary of Beth’s murder and Vivienne’s vanishing, Petraitis brings together all her discoveries and true-crime experience in a brilliant forensic investigation into what happened all those years ago, and why.

About this title

About the Author

Vikki Petraitis's true crime work includes the bestselling book The Frankston Murders and The Phillip Island Murder. Vikki has made both these cases into hugely successful podcast series with Casefile Presents, which have topped charts around the world and been downloaded millions of times. Her expertise lies in interviewing police and victims to create compelling narratives. Vikki brought thirty years of true crime writing and investigating to create her first work of fiction, The Unbelieved, which won the inaugural A&U Crime Prize. The book is now being made into an ABC and BBC co-production, DUSTFALL, to be aired in late 2026. Vikki is also a popular presenter, well known for her compelling true crime talks and keynote addresses.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1761820834
• ISBN 13: 9781761820830
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352