An Ethical Guide to Murder

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 06/11/2024 - 10:48pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris includes the tagline 'If you had the power over life and death, what would you do?'. The image has a red and pink background with a dagger to the left that's sitting upright, looking like the scales of justice. There's a woman in one of the balance cups, standing up, and a man lying down in the other, with red blood dripping from his body.

How to Kill Your Family meets The Power in this entertaining and thought-provoking read, that asks:

If you had the power between life and death, what would you do?

...Read more

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Crime Fiction

The Forsaken

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 06/11/2024 - 10:40pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for The Forsaken by Matt Rogers includes the tagline ' A Broken Assassin. A Brutal Deception. A War for Redemption.'. The image is red / brown in tone with the end of a large, solid bridge with wires / coming off a hefty brick pillar, which has a USA flag at half mast on the top and a couple of high buildings to the right.

For ten years, Logan Booth served as a contract killer for the CIA – he just never knew it. The first book in a blockbuster thriller series from Matt Rogers, million copy bestseller and 'a bright new talent shaking up the genre ' (Candice Fox).

In the twilight of his career, Logan learns...Read more

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Crime Fiction

Humidity

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 06/11/2024 - 10:51am by Karen

The image of the book cover for Humidity by Dan Kaufman has a drawing of a town pub, The Iron Castle. It's a two story wooden building with a verandah and balcony. There's a Hotel sign on the side, and it's a combination of green posts, white and tan coloured walls. There's an electricity line running in front, a TV aerial on the roof, and a white dog walking down a red dirt road. The I in the title of the book is a cricket bat.

Welcome to an Aussie town where the violence is rampant and the humidity’s hell

Ben doesn’t like being a nude model in a small country town. Then again, the local footballers don’t like their girlfriends ogling Ben.

Broke and desperately lonely, Ben...Read more

Brainstorm

BOOK ADDED: Sun, 03/11/2024 - 2:25pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for Brainstorm by Richard Scolyer with Garry Maddox includes the tagline ' A dedicated doctor. A devastating diagnosis. A chance for a medical revolution '. The image is a photo of Richard Scolyer, smiling, against a blue background, he's wearing a plain dark t-shirt.

Revealing his fight against a diagnosis of 'incurable' brain cancer, this is the remarkable story of 2024 co–Australian of the Year Richard Scolyer.

A dedicated doctor. A devastating diagnosis. A chance for a medical revolution.

Skin...Read more

The Campers

BOOK ADDED: Sat, 02/11/2024 - 3:04pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for The Campers by Maryrose Cuskelly includes the tagline 'You can't choose your neighbours' and the note 'Bestselling author of The Cane'. The image is looking upwards along the end of a house with a couple of lit windows and the hint of a face standing at one. There's a large gum tree behind it, and a bright blue sky with a few clouds and flying birds across it.

An engrossing and provocative exploration of privilege, hypocrisy and justice by the bestselling author of The Cane.

Leah has a good life. She lives on The Drove, an inner-city cul-de-sac, with her husband Moses and their two children. She and her neighbours - the...Read more

Opus

BOOK ADDED: Sat, 02/11/2024 - 1:14pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for Opus by Gareth Gore includes the tagline 'Dark Money, A Secretive Cult, and its missing to remake our world'. The image is of a hand drawn black cassock with white buttons, and the dog collar portion normally at the top in the middle of the neck band is a banknote.

A thrilling exposé recounting how members of Opus Dei—a secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sect—pushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of the world’s largest banks.

For over half a...Read more

The Cryptic Clue

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 01/11/2024 - 3:12pm by Karen

The book cover for The Cryptic Clue by Amanda Hampson includes the tagline 'Look who's back in hot water' highlighted by a magnifying glass which is making the look and in hot larger in size. The image is a white background with an orange border. To the left there's a dressmaker's dummy with a geometric shift dress on it. Out of a low down pocket on the front of the dress there's a light stick of explosive.

Look who's back in hot water! The highly anticipated new novel in The Tea Ladies cosy crime series, a runaway bestseller of the year. Available for pre-order now!

Welcome back to Zig Zag Lane in the heart of Sydney's rag-trade district, where our intrepid tea ladies, Hazel, Betty...Read more

The Lodger

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:53pm by Karen

The book cover of The Lodger by Gabriel Bergmoser is from the audio version that has an Only From Audible yellow strip across the bottom right corner. The image is of this silhouette of a male figure standing with his back to the viewer, arms out from his side looking towards an old shearing shed, grain bin and windmill, with a few trees dotted around. The view behind is across a flat plain, the sky above dark purple, fading downwards to yellow and pinkish in colour.

Ryan and Sophie are a golden couple in Melbourne, the charming, salt-of-the-earth country boy and the charismatic, gorgeous social butterfly. When Ryan’s father dies, leaving them the family farm, it seems like a chance for Ryan to get back to his roots and for Sophie to embrace the bucolic...Read more

The Consequence

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:48pm by Karen

The book cover of The Consequence by Gabriel Bergmoser is from the audio version that has an Only From Audible yellow strip across the bottom right corner. The image is of a red and yellow, firey sky above a suburban street with lit streetlamps and a complicated grid of electricity and telephone wires above. There are cars parked, trees and glimpses of houses.

To rogue ex-cop Jack Carlin, running a thug out of town and giving his stolen money to a kid struggling to escape the criminal lifestyle is all in a day’s work. Until it turns out the money belonged to a dangerous drug cartel seeking revenge against anybody who might have been involved in...Read more

The Hitchhiker

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:31pm by Karen

The book cover of The Hitchhiker by Gabriel Bergmoser has a yellow "sticker" on the front that says Bestselling Author, Must-Read Suspense, with part of the book cover and the title of The Caretaker in the middle. There's also a quote at the bottom 'I haven't found a cat-and-mouse game this captivating since Misery.' Jack Heath, author of Kill Your Husbands. The image is of a long, rough country road with electricity poles running alongside it, and a rail crossing right in front. There are fields off to the side, and a car barely visible through the dust it is kicking up. Overhead, a cloudy, grey and white vast sky.

The Driver:

Ahead he could see only the stretch of unending road, on either side brown-scorched plains of dirt and scrub, above it all a soaring blue sky and blinding sun. Desolation that looked, to him, a hell of a lot like freedom. He wasn’t playing by anyone’s rules anymore....Read more

The Inheritance

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 1:18pm by Karen

The book cover for the audio version of The Inheritance by Gabriel Bergmoser includes the tagline 'She's running from the past ... and she's running for her life', as well as 'Bestselling author of The Hunted'. There's a quote at the top 'A heroine you can't look away from, pure thrills and wallop, wilder and gamer than your average Aussie noir - this is fierce storytelling.' Kyle Perry, bestselling author of The Bluffs The image is of a hot, firey red and yellow cloudy sky over a view of a lit up city street crisscrossed with power and telephone lines.

The author of the bestselling The Hunted returns with another unmissable, white-knuckle, gritty urban suspense thriller: think Jack Reacher meets John Wick in a high-octane, high-speed chase on the dark streets of Melbourne.

A young woman is hiding out in a sleepy...Read more

Cutler

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 12:59pm by Karen

The book cover for Cutler by David Whish-Wilson includes the quotes 'Sharp and insightful' Sara Foster and 'A ripping page-turner' Tim Winton. The image is of a fishing net dragging through the ocean, some of visible above a rough sea. The sky above is grey and cloudy, and filled with gulls hovering over the net. The sea is dark grey and choppy.

Paul Cutler is a former undercover operative, now working off the books for his handler, Malik Khalil. When Cutler is tasked with investigating the disappearance of an Australian marine scientist on a Taiwanese distant water fishing vessel, Cutler realises that the apparent murder he' s...Read more

Cherrywood

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 12:07pm by Karen

The book cover for Cherrywood by Jock Serong has two quotes on it 'Sublime and haunting' Toni Jordan and 'Beautiful' Tim Rogers. The background of the image is beautifully fitted together, rounded off pieces of wood (like an edging of a frame or box). They are glowing slightly red with deep grain throughout. There's part of a barometer showing at the top with the needle just below change, on the way to fair. In the centre there's another dial (? nautical image - might be a compass / doesn't look like one), with part of a watch face peaking out on the right. At the bottom there's a perpetual calendar dial with a red painted image that overlays the surrounding wood.

'One rainy Friday evening in the winter of 1993, a taxi swept through the streets of East Melbourne, on its way from the city to Richmond. That year was one of the few remaining when a great deal was known of the world, but not yet so much that the world had become over-known. Small gaps...Read more

Safe Haven

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 12:01pm by Karen

The book cover for Safe Haven by Shankari Chandran includes the taglines 'A Novel' and 'From the Miles Franklin Award-winning author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens' The image is a beautiful montage of layers of blue wavy water upwards on the image until the top which has a night, starry sky with a full moon in the centre. The outside edges have images of red, orange seaweed with various things hanging from pieces - handcuffs, swimming goggles. There's strands of barbed wire woven through that. In the centre, below the title which has the waves of the layers blended over the top of large white lettering, there is a small boat, with a bow wave around it. There are fish, flowers and a sea bed at the bottom.

The new novel from the Miles Franklin award-winning author of Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens. 

It was a beautiful evening. The wind gathered speed, lifting the frangipanis from the grove behind him, pink and yellow petals defying gravity. Beyond the trees,...Read more

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Social Justice

Social Commentary

Perversion of Justice

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 30/10/2024 - 11:34am by Karen

The book cover of Perversion of Justice by Steve Matthews includes the taglines 'The Spencer Investigations', 'In the darkest shadows, the pursuit of truth is the only light.' and 'From the bestselling author of the Hitler's Trilogy' The image is of a corridor with barred walls (cells) either side of it. The lighting is subdued. The title of the book is in orange lettering in the middle, the author's name and taglines in white.

In the scorching summer of 2004, a working-class Sydney suburb erupts in turmoil when Percy Fullwood, a respected local, is accused of a heinous crime by his own family. As the media frenzy ignites, Detective Bruce Spencer leads a high-profile raid, branding Percy guilty before trial....Read more

Madame Brussels

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 8:59pm by Karen

The book cover of Madame Brussels by Barbara Minchinton with Philip Bentley has the tagline 'The life and times of Melbourne's most notorious woman' The image is of a woman in an elaborate period dress, leaning against the bottom of a stairway.

A must-read biography of an enigmatic personality who helped shape early Melbourne

Madame Brussels, the most legendary brothel keeper in nineteenth-century Melbourne, is still remembered and celebrated today. But until now, little has been known about Caroline Hodgson, the...Read more

Cold Case Investigations

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 8:51pm by Karen

The book cover of Cold Case Investigations by Dr Xanthe Mallett has the tagline 'With one of Australia's leading minds in forensic anthropology and criminology' The image is of a blonde woman sitting with her hands held together in front of her knees. She's looking straight at the viewer, and there is a wisp of smoke behind her.

From the disappearance of the Beaumont children to the abduction of William Tyrrell to the double murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and her daughter Khandalyce, Xanthé is determined to expose the truth to maximise dignity for both deceased victims and those left behind.

Xanthé...Read more

The Dream

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 8:42pm by Karen

The book cover of The Dream by Iain Ryan has the tagline 'This ride has no brakes ....' and a quote at the top '... as hard-boiled as Australian Crime Fiction gets' - Sydney Morning Herald on The Strip. The image is of a moving rollercoaster cart which is blurred, running on a pink lighted track line. The title is at the top in very large yellow / orange lettering.

Corrupt cops, powerful criminals. A PI caught in the middle. The Gold Coast's darkest hour.

In the midst of a violent crime wave, Detective Bruno Karras (The Strip) investigates the disappearance of a wealthy family, confronting corruption within his own ranks...Read more

Present Tense

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 2:13pm by Karen

The book cover for Present Tense by Natalie Conyer includes the quote 'A truly remarkable book. South Africa comes to vivid life in these pages' Kerry Greenwood. There are two blue "stickers' with text that's very blurred in this image. The background is in black, greys and white. It's brooding and dark, with a body of water in the foreground leading towards a single hill in the background with a black, dark, cloudy sky above with a wash of whiter, lighter area just above the hill. There's a small piece of barbed wire sticking out from the right hand side.

What if justice isn't enough?

Schalk Lourens got out his phone and started filming, something Pieterse taught him years ago. Keep a record. Do it yourself, boykie, every time. That way you can be sure. Cover your arse. Don't trust any of them.

Schalk began...Read more

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Crime Fiction

Last One To Leave

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 25/10/2024 - 2:22pm by Karen

The book cover of Last one to Leave by Benjamin Stevenson includes the tagline 'A twisty mystery' at the very top of a blue green solid background with a stylised "house" in the middle with lights showing in all the windows, and a round "sticker" to the right of that saying that "By the author of the bestselling Everyone on this Train is a suspect (including the eagle that features on that book cover). The background is divided into two blue green sections, the title of the book in large slanted yellow lettering at the top, and the author's name at the bottom in white. The penguin logo is at the top left.

How far will they go to win the prize?

Seven strangers are invited to compete to win a clifftop mansion. The rules are each contestant must have at least one hand in contact with one part of the house at all times. The last one to take their hand off, wins the...Read more

The Woman Who Knew Too Little

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 24/10/2024 - 2:19pm by Karen

The book cover for The Woman Who Knew Too Little by Olivia Wearne includes the tagline '1948, Somerton, Adelaide. A Dead Man. An unsolved mystery.' at the bottom with the title of the book in slanted lettering in the middle across the image of a woman in a 1940's style coat with rolled hairdo, a handbag and a hat in her hand. She's walking away from the viewer towards a car with headlights lighting the cobblestone roadway she's walking on. The overwhelming colour is green with a foggy green sky light by a single street light.

1948. An unidentified dead man is found on Somerton Beach, Adelaide. Officer Kitty Wheeler yearns to work the case - but the city's women police are typically assigned to more domestic matters. A wryly funny, sharply observed novel about one of Australia's great mysteries, and the...Read more

Woman, Missing

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 23/10/2024 - 3:44pm by Karen

The book cover for Woman, Missing by Sherryl Clark includes the tagline 'Will her first case be her last?' and the quote 'A pacy race against time that keeps you turning the page.' Vikki Petraitis, author of The Unbelieved The image is of a stairwell with a window to the right tiles, and wooden steps to the left. There's a female figure running up the stairs, she's got blond hair trailing behind her, as is her skirt. She's taking a big step up the stairs and is only partly visible.

She's the one to turn to when you need saving. But first she has to save herself...

Lou Alcott is turning over a new leaf as a private investigator. Formerly police, she was forced to resign when she attacked a domestic violence perpetrator. She's always vowed to be...Read more

Dark City

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 22/10/2024 - 4:10pm by Karen

The cover of Dark City by John Silvester shows a narrow alleyway with a brightly lit multi-level old building at the end. The alley is in deep shade. There's a male figure standing back to the view in the centre of the alley, the title of the book in large white lettering above him, the tagline 'True Stories of Crimes, Cock-ups, Crooks and Cops' in red lower down.

'Silvester is the doyen of Australian true crime. No one else comes close.' Nick McKenzie

From madmen to matriarchs, stooges to heroes, eye-watering bungles to sweet justice - strap yourself in for a masterclass in storytelling from Australia's most formidable crime...Read more

Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 22/10/2024 - 4:03pm by Karen

The book cover for Everyone this Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson is a white background with a greyed out dotted line joining the words of the title: Everyone - green with a Christmas light forming the o This - slightly angled in two shades of green Christmas - red with a Christmas tree with white lights on it forming the a Has A - slightly angled two shades of green with a white dove to the left standing on top of the S in the next word down Secret - Green lettering, slightly angled, with a top hat in front of / slightly under the T with a red explosion coming out of the top, pushing the T slightly upwards The Author's name is at the top of the book directly under the line 'The International Bestseller' with a quote at the very bottom 'An ingenious and hilarious meta-murder mystery.' Sunday Times

If Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club kissed under the mistletoe...

My name’s Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found...Read more

Everyone on this Train Is A Suspect

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 22/10/2024 - 3:45pm by Karen

The book cover for Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson is a white background with a greyed out train line joining the words of the title: Everyone - grey with a poison bottle with an orange label as the o On this - grey with a wedgetail eagle in flight to the left, holding a burning twig in its talons Train - large orange lettering with go fast echoes Is A - grey letter slightly smaller Suspect - grey lettering with the U showing signs of fire on the inside lines. The Author's name is at the top of the book directly under the line 'The International Bestseller'

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously,...Read more

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 22/10/2024 - 3:35pm by Karen

The book cover for Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is a slightly blurry white background with an elaborate overlay in the style of a family tree with connectors between the various words in the book title: Everyone - blue with the o shaped like a coffin In My Family - blue with the L shaped like a handgun pointing upwards Has - two different shades of blue with a pigeon standing to the left of it, feet balanced on the next work Killed - in red with the i shaped like a downward pointing knife Someone - back to the different shades of blue All of those then connect to the two words of the author's name just above the quotation: 'Utterly original, hugely entertaining. A must-read for every fan of the mystery genre.' Jane Harper

Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but it is the truth. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate.

I'm Ernest Cunningham. Call me Ern or Ernie. I wish I'd...Read more

Liars

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 22/10/2024 - 10:43am by Karen

The book cover for Liars by James O'Loghlin includes the tagline 'Speak your truth. Or at least the truth you want others to believe.'. The image is looking out across a small beach to a small cluster of buildings. There are green trees amongst the buildings and grass rolling down a small hill to the sand. The sea is yellow green in colour with small waves. The sky above is blue green, cloudy with a shelf of cloud above the buildings. The title of the book is in large white lettering in the middle of the sky and there are seagulls flying around.

A sleepy coastal town. Deep secrets. Deadly truths.

'Speak your truth. Or at least the truth you want others to believe.'

Handywoman Barb Young has lived in the sleepy coastal town of Bullford Point for over fifty years - and frankly, in...Read more

We Are the Stars

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 21/10/2024 - 8:24pm by Karen

The book cover of We Are the Stars by Gina Chick has the subtitle 'A misfit's story of love, connection and the glorious power of letting go'. The image is of Gina's smiling beautiful face looking upwards to the right. There is a blurred tree in the background, Her hair is swept back and her shoulders slightly bare.

Gina Chick, the inaugural winner of Alone Australia, tells the story of her extraordinary, indomitable life in one of the most powerful, moving memoirs you will ever read.

From day one of her wildly unconventional...Read more

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 21/10/2024 - 8:08pm by Karen

The book cover of Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne with the tagline 'Can she trust her memories?'. There's a quote at the top 'A book you will devour.' Sally Hepworth. The book cover is red, with the caricature of a female figure with her head forwards, hands over her eyes. She has a lot of wavy black hair and is wearing a yellow top and shoes, and black skirt. The title of the book is very large below that figure in white lettering.

Lenny Marks is excellent at not having a life.

She bikes home from work at exactly 4pm each day, buys the same groceries for the same meals every week, and owns thirty-six copies of The Hobbit (currently arranged by height). The closest thing she has to a...Read more

Life & Crimes

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 21/10/2024 - 7:52pm by Karen

The book cover for Life & Crimes by Andrew Rule with the tagline 'True stories from Australia's underbelly', with a quote at the top: '...one of the most compelling storytellers in Australian journalism' Australian Media Hall of Fame. The cover is mostly black, with the title of the book in large yellow solid lettering, and the quote / tagline in white. There is the figure of a man in a suit and tie on the right, with a blackout line across his eyes.

Journalist and podcaster Andrew Rule brings us eighteen Australian crime stories that have fuelled fears, fired outrage and broken hearts and dreams. Among them are events so infamous that a word or phrase propels us back to a time and place. The disappearance of the Beaumont children from...Read more

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