D. A. FLETCHER
UNSPOKEN
A novel
She’s discovered their secrets.
They’ll kill to keep them buried.
“Anchored in deep political experience, this is a compelling look inside the machinery of power, driving towards a dangerous and unequal showdown with those who have the courage and tenacity to fight back.”
- David Owen, author
Authentic and unflinchingly relevant, Unspoken is a gripping debut told from a perspective rarely seen in political fiction - a staffer who understands the minds of politicians and the machinery that drives their decisions.
Fletcher strips away the Canberra polish to reveal a shadowed world where crime, politics and power collide, driving the story forward with clarity and momentum. A page-turner from start to finish. Think Erin Brockovich meets House of Cards.
We meet political adviser Francis McGuire on the last sitting week before the federal election. Inside the pressure cooker of daily politics, she’s carrying responsibility for the launch of the opposition’s centrepiece health policy, her boss’s legacy. Everything is in place until the opposition’s campaign machine kicks in to action.
When the policy launch unravels in ways no one anticipates, the party hierarchy moves quickly to contain the damage and Francis just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She’s their scapegoat - cast out by her own, publicly shamed and hounded by the press.
With her reputation in ruins, Francis retreats to a small south-coast town in Western Australia she swore she’d never revisit after her father’s fatal car accident when she was a teenager. But instead of the anonymity she’s desperate for, she’s swept up in something much more sinister than the scandal she escaped ...
Questions over the father’s death. Corruption at the highest levels. A ruthless contest for power and control. And a murder that will unravel democracy as we know it.
As Francis begins to peel back the past, will she expose the secrets the powerful will kill to protect, or will the truth remain Unspoken?
Available from May 2026
A note from the author:
The powerful make speeches about change.
The brave make it happen.
Unspoken honours those who choose courage over comfort.
Unspoken is the product of decades watching power wrestle with integrity and conviction within systems where appearances matter more than truth.
Twenty years in politics has taught me a lot about leadership. What it is. What it is not. And it’s not defined by office or position, but by depth of character.
Occasionally we witness leadership from our ‘leaders’, but mostly it bubbles to the surface far from the media spotlight - found in people who see themselves as ordinary, often second-guessing their ability to get the job done, yet still they are driven to achieve the extraordinary within their local communities and beyond.
It’s these quiet, selfless acts that have shaped this story and the characters who fill its pages. If you’ve found your way here, perhaps you’re one of those people who has inspired me in some way.
Whatever your story, I invite you to share this journey with me as Unspoken makes its way into the world.
The best way to stay in touch is by subscribing to my newsletter where I’ll share behind-the-scenes glimpses in the leadup to the book launch - author updates, sneak peaks, the book trailer and so much more.
It’s going to be an exciting countdown to May 2026.
I can’t wait for you to be part of it.
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About the author
Based in Tasmania, Denise Fletcher has spent nearly twenty years working at the heart of Australian politics - across the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Tasmanian House of Assembly. She gained a front-row seat to power and policy as an adviser to a former President of the Senate, a campaign strategist and team leader for backbenchers, head of media and communications for a shadow minister, and held senior executive positions within a major political party.
Unspoken is her debut novel - inspired by her years inside the corridors of power - and offers readers a rare glimpse behind the veil, into the people and pressures that shape political life.
Before politics, Denise worked in corporate finance in Western Australia and was a teacher in Tasmania.
She lives just outside Launceston with her husband. They have two adult children.