Left for Dead

Laurence Barlow was one of the country's most respected police officers, a man who'd spent the majority of his nearly 30 years in the force on the frontline of operational policing. His work involved helping to quell riots, ending sieges, rescuing hostages, wrestling gunmen and smashing drug rings. He worked with Samantha during the 2005 Cronulla riots, and married her the following year. At the time of the attack, he was on shift work as a Tactical Commander at the riot squad where he regularly relieved as the Commander, on call 24/7. He is still in the police force and also doing his Masters in public policy at Sydney University.

Samantha and Laurence live in Sydney and have three young children.

Samantha Barlow, bright, bubbly and eager to help others, decided at the age of ten that she wanted nothing more than to be a police officer. The youngest new recruit in her year, she raced through the ranks and was tipped to be headed right to the top as one of the country's first female police commissioners. She won a host of medals for her courage and commitment as she battled to recover from a vicious attack in Sydney's notorious Kings Cross, from which she was left for dead.

Samantha and Laurence Barlow live in Sydney and have three young children.

Sue Williams is the author of a number of bestselling books, including Father Bob: The Larrikin Priest; Women of the Outback; No Time For Fear – the story of shark attack survivor Paul de Gelder – and Mean Streets, Kind Heart: The Father Chris Riley Story.

Her other books include Left for Dead; Outback Spirit; Welcome to the Outback; Peter Ryan: The Inside Story and And Then The Darkness, about the disappearance of the British backpacker Peter Falconio, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Gold Dagger Award in the UK for the true crime book of the year, and the Ned Kelly Awards in Australia.

Also an award-winning journalist, Sue was born in England, and worked in print and television in the UK and New Zealand. She spent many years travelling around the world before falling in love with Australia in 1989. Since settling here, she has written for many of Australia's leading newspapers and magazines.

Sue's book, Father Bob, inspired the first edition of Penguin's immersive, interactive online reading experience, True Stories.

She lives in Sydney's Kings Cross with her partner, writer Jimmy Thomson.