The scarecrow - Ronald Hugh Morrieson

14-year-old Neddy Poindexter and his mate Les proceed to take swift revenge on the chook-rustling Lynch Gang, but things turn sinister when the vulture-like Hubert Salter stalks into the small community of Klynham. There's a rapist killer on the loose - and Neddy is in terrible fear for the safety of his sister. In this lost masterpiece, first published in 1963, forgotten New Zealand writer Morrieson combines Boys' Own adventure, psychological thriller, small-town saga and family farce to produce a brilliant, hallucinatory mixture.