Updates - Week Ending 21st June

Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with tracking down an agent of influence sending highly classified material against the Kremlin to embassies all over Europe.

A deadly conspiracy is aligning the West against Russia. But who is behind it? And to what end?

The clues lead to a secret meeting of businessmen, terrorists and mercenaries on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean, which de Payns must infiltrate. What he discovers sets off a Europe-wide manhunt in a desperate scramble to prevent an international catastrophe.

Former DGSE spy Jack Beaumont's Dark Arena is another chillingly plausible thriller delivering all the taut plotting, superb action and authentic spycraft that made The Frenchman a critically acclaimed bestseller.

One of Australia's most experienced court reporters goes on a judicial road trip.

Outback Court Reporter is a sometimes funny, sometimes tragic look at the comings and goings on inside the country courtrooms dotted across Australia.

From the case of the stolen cat flap, to missing lollipops and exploding chocolate milk in a country supermarket, to a custody dispute over a camel - Jamelle has seen the lighter and quirky side of outback courts but has also witnessed the harsh, dark, and petty side of outback life - including the high rates of Indigenous incarceration, alcohol-related and domestic violence.

After spending almost twenty years in city courtrooms reporting for the ABC on some of the country's highest profile cases, in Outback Court Reporter, Jamelle Wells takes you into our country courtrooms, from the grand sandstone edifices of Cobar and Grafton to the repurposed community halls and police stations in outback Queensland the Northern Territory - introducing you to the court staff - the solicitors, prosecutors, magistrates, witnesses and the accused, in cases that shock, captivate and divide communities.

Outback Court Reporter is also a timely reminder of the need for reform as country magistrates struggle with massive caseloads and limited resources, the fall-out of failing regional health system and limited bail and sentencing options in a justice system that is under pressure and communities still disadvantaged by the vastness of our continent.

Mrs. Sidhu – unofficial Aunty to everyone, caterer, and amateur sleuth from Slough – spices up the lives of Berkshire's elite with both her mouth-watering dishes and her sharp detective skills. But when she stirs up trouble among the rich and ruthless, she finds herself an outsider in her own community.

Banished to the kitchen by her boss and sentenced to an endless loop of aubergine bhajis, Mrs. Sidhu seizes the opportunity to whip up a new recipe for success – getting a job as a private chef at an exclusive celebrity rehab retreat. But when a therapist is found dead in the quiet village, Mrs Sidhu’s appetite for mystery is rekindled.

As the plot thickens, it becomes clear that the killer is picking victims through a twisted raffle at the village fete. Is a vengeful spirit returning to exact a horrifying revenge, or is there an impostor among the residents hiding a deadly secret?

Man. Made. is the fifth book in a crime thriller series which features Dan Calder.

Calder is an ex-cop who specialised in covert surveillance and undercover operations during his career in the UK Police. Dan's very unique set of skills have enabled him to investigate crimes and criminals in the UK and also in his new home country of New Zealand. On opposite sides of the world, the two countries could not be more different in many ways and yet when it comes to the good guys up against the bad, some things never change.

Man. Made. is set against the backdrop of the hottest weekend of Summer 2000 and it's a public holiday to boot. Dan Calder’s at home with his girlfriend and she is packing up to leave when a call-out from Headquarters comes as a blessed relief. A run-of-the-mill job like a hundred the team’s done before. Once he and his surveillance colleagues are all in position, all they can do is wait for the target to move.

Fortunately for Dan, this job calls for the Obs Van which is his happy place. It’s mechanical idiosyncrasies make them kindred spirits in many ways. Plus double time for just sitting and watching the target’s front door. ‘Money for jam.’ As his best friend Nick would say.

To take his mind off the end of his latest domestic disaster, what could be better than whiling away the solitary hours by listening to all of his favourite songs, freshly installed on his brand-new iPod.

But Dan’s life is about to be turned upside down and ripped apart to the soundtrack of his past and present-day life.

The result could destroy him completely… or it could just be the making of him.

When loathed landholder Fred O'Donnell is found dead in a locked room with a bullet in his chest, rookie Detective Hartley must seek help from a mysterious wanderer to solve the case. And it's one where everyone, including his family, has a motive and a secret to keep. 

Featuring the mendicant monk from Thorpe's previous novel, Death Leaves the Station, readers will be drawn into the world of small-town Western Australia in the late 1920s, delighting in the characters as they navigate the strained sensibilities and dark secrets of the past. 

Full of twists and turns, this seemingly impossible murder mystery is cosy crime writing at its finest. 

Melbourne 1925. Jasper Fitzalan Howard is found stabbed to death in his room at the exclusive Hotel Windsor. In a bizarre twist, he is clutching a tarot card, the Ten of Swords, in his hand. Initially, the police identify him as a wealthy investor and a cousin of the Duke of Norfolk, but Reggie da Costa, The Argus’s celebrated crime reporter, uncovers a web of lies and deception surrounding Howard’s carefully constructed façade. And, as the truth emerges, that Howard is a confidence man, swindling wealthy businessmen whilst blackmailing their wives, Reggie embarks on a hunt for his killer.  

A terrible accident burns down a family's life on the same day a murder is committed. From the ashes of these acts comes revelation, darkness, and the truth. Psychological suspense and profound family drama meet in this heartrending and original Australian novel.

1975, Ballarat Alice is happy in her world and in return for her happiness the world is good to her. She has everything she needs - a lovely house and children, and a devoted husband. Even though her journalism job doesn't pay much, she doesn't have to worry about the bills. All is well with her world until a terrible accident rips a child from her, a profound betrayal is uncovered, and things fall apart.

On the same day Alice's world collapses, a man is found brutally murdered on respected teacher Ellery's farm. Ellery can't remember what happened but there is blood on his clothes, and he is arrested.

Neither Alice nor Ellery realise that their paths in life are about to intertwine and a desperate bargain is about to be made. A bargain that could save or destroy them in their quest to draw some light and fathom the darkness that surrounds them.

Old loyalties and decades-long feuds rise to the surface in this stunning crime novel, set in a spectacular Australian landscape known for its jagged cliffs and hidden caves.

Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti has taken a few days’ holiday in Broken Bay at precisely the wrong time. The small fishing town on South Australia’s Limestone Coast is now the scene of a terrible tragedy.

Renowned cave diver Mya Rennik has drowned while exploring a sinkhole on the land of wealthy farmer Frank Doyle. As the press descends, Mark’s boss orders him to stay put and assist the police operation.

But when they retrieve Mya's body, a whole new mystery is opened up, around the disappearance of a young local woman twenty years before . . .

Suddenly Mark is diving deep into the town’s history - and in particular the simmering rivalry between its two most prominent families, the Doyles and Sinclairs.

Then a murder takes place at the Sinclairs’ old home – and Mark is left wondering which is more dangerous: Broken Bay’s hidden subterranean world or the secretive town above it . . .