This Thursday temptations post is upcoming releases, or books that are out now.
Criminally Bad
Dubious ninja training. A scam religion. Swords, guns and homemade bombs. Extortion gone wrong. All cooked up in a cosy lounge room over a nice cuppa in Australia's least-likely-to-succeed capital, Hobart.
Criminally Bad is journalist and comedian Claire Sullivan's deep dive into the jaw-dropping true story of a cult-ish ninja crime gang that self-imploded in 1990s Tassie.
Drawing on old evidence and intrepid new research, Claire takes us on a fascinating, darkly funny ride through power, friendship, free will, toxic masculinity and almost unimaginable ineptitude. It won't surprise you that not everyone gets out alive.
Completely true and utterly bonkers, Criminally Bad uncovers an until-now buried batshit slice of Australian true crime history.
Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
Strap in.
Death Hits the Heart
Alexander Thorpe is back with another hilarious Australian cosy mystery, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Kerry Greenwood.
Disgraced journalist Elsie Ashworth is starting 1929 on a low note. She’s lost her job, her home and her reputation, and the one friend in her corner is an irritatingly erudite wandering monk. So, when a young man washes ashore with a harpoon in his chest, Elsie sees opportunity in tragedy. If she can solve the murder ahead of the police and her watchful ex-colleagues, the tide might still turn in her favour, giving her one last shot at redemption.
Last Bastion
While his co-conspirators enjoy a government amnesty, Sam Willard is in prison, paying the price for exposing war crimes. Surrounded by enemies eager for revenge, his greatest challenge is survival.
But then a mysterious federal agent offers him a dangerous proposition: his freedom in exchange for infiltrating an extremist group to rescue the son of a radical politician. With an old adversary lurking in the shadows, Sam must navigate a web of deception and danger.
Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Jill Wilkie is on the case of a series of racially motivated attacks and as tensions escalate, so does the danger. As Hobart becomes a battleground for competing ideologies one slip will expose Sam – and ignite the very attack Jill Wilkie must stop.
Will Tasmania become the last bastion for far-right extremists?
This most recent Sam Willard and Jill Wilkie crime novel explores the harsh realities of loyalty, betrayal and the fight against extremism.
The Numbers
F1RST Y0U SEE THEM. THEN YOU D15APPEAR.
It started with the numbers. Spray-painted in red on street signs, outside homes and train stations.
Then came the messages. At random, thousands upon thousands of complete strangers received a text on their phones: 10 15 is coming. It wasn't a clue - it was a warning.
Last night, the first twelve were taken from their homes. No ransom, no note, just the numbers scrawled on their bedroom walls.
Discovering who - or what - is behind the kidnappings, and what the numbers could mean, quickly becomes paramount, as the entire country waits on high alert for news of their fate. Anyone could be responsible, and anyone could be next.
One thing is clear - this is only the beginning.
The Crack
Sometimes, the truth will cost you everything
A sleepy coastal town. An unsolved disappearance. A sister who can't forget.
Ren Holbrook was a teenager on a family holiday when her younger sister, Daisy, vanished from Crackerly Bay. With few leads, the case quickly went cold, leaving heartbreak in its wake.
But Ren has always known who killed Daisy. So when another girl goes missing from the same place eighteen years later, she knows Arthur Bicknell's murderous habits have resurfaced.
But Ren is facing uncomfortable questions of her own in relation to her mother's death. This might be her last chance to expose the killer for the monster he is and finally force Arthur Bicknell to pay for the things he has done.
As old secrets and new lies collide, a desperate Ren is forced to ask herself, what lines is she prepared to cross to get her revenge?
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