Man. Made.

BOOK ADDED: Sat, 02/11/2024 - 3:27pm by Karen

The image of the book cover for Man. Made. by Ian Austin includes the tagline ' From best selling author of The Agency '. The image is a solid black background with the letters of the title on alternating grey and pale green jigsaw puzzle pieces.

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...Read more

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Ngaio Marsh Entrant 2024

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 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

Death in a Lonely Place

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 29/10/2024 - 1:25pm by Karen

The book cover for Death In A Lonely Place by Stig Abell includes the tagline 'In a quiet village, secrets stir ...' The image is of a body of still water, deep blue and mauve reflecting the sky above. There's a leafless tree in the middle of the water with birds flying around it, and across the other side there are a row of low purple coloured hills.

In a quiet village, a storm is brewing. Detective Jake Jackson left London for a quiet life in Caelum Parvum. The idyllic country village offers the peace he craves—tending to his chickens, swimming in his lake, and spending long, lazy evenings with his new love, Livia. It’s the perfect...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

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

The Bat

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 09/10/2024 - 6:28pm by Karen

The book cover for The Bat by Jo Nesbo includes a black "sticker" circle with the note - The First Harry Hole Thriller in it. The image is of a man with his back to the viewer, walking through dry red dust with a blue cloudy sky above, birds flying above, and a building off in the distance. The tagline 'Over 14 Million Books Sold Worldwide' is at the bottom

HARRY IS OUT OF HIS DEPTH.

Detective Harry Hole is meant to keep out of trouble. A young Norwegian girl taking a gap year in Sydney has been murdered, and Harry has been sent to Australia to assist in any way he can.

HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO GET TOO INVOLVED....Read more

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#ScandiNoir

In The Blink of An Eye

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 08/10/2024 - 6:34pm by Karen

The book cover of In the Blink of An Eye by Jo Callaghan with the tagline 'One Detective. One Hologram. And a case that will test them both.' and the quote 'The most original crime novel you'll read this year' Clare MacKintosh The image is of one side of a woman's face with the eye the prominent feature. Half of the image is made up of ones and 0's and the other is a human face. Her eye is half blue and half grey.

In the UK, someone is reported missing every 90 seconds.
Just gone. Vanished. In the blink of an eye. 

DCS Kat Frank knows all about loss. A widowed single mother, Kat is a cop who trusts her instincts. Picked to lead a pilot programme that has her paired with AIDE (...Read more

Fallen Angel

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 04/10/2024 - 7:08pm by Karen

The book cover of Fallen Angel by Chris Brookmyre includes the taglines 'It's 16 years since that holiday. She has been waiting.' and the quotes 'Guaranteed to keep you guessing' Ian Rankin on Black Widow and 'In the pantheon of great crime writers' Elly Griffiths The image is of a pool with the bottom of some chairs at the top, the water is very blue and just slightly rippled at the bottom left.

To new nanny Amanda, the Temple family seem to have it all: the former actress; the famous professor; their three successful grown-up children. But like any family, beneath the smiles and hugs there lurks far darker emotions.

Sixteen years earlier, little Niamh Temple died...Read more

Death of a Countess

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 25/09/2024 - 4:12pm by Karen

The book cover of Death of a Countess by Jenny Harrison is set in a tube station in muted colours with a woman with her back to the viewer. She's in shadow but you can see the outline of an oldish fashioned hairstyle, coat and a handbag over her arm. The platform in front of her is deserted and there's a way out sign to her right with the arrow pointing away from where she is looking. There is a tagline on the bottom right - 'Post-war London should have been safe. It wasn't.'

It is May 1957. In London eight friends gather for a party. They are all displaced persons who have survived the worst World War II could throw at them. This gathering will be a time to share the fragile joy of liberty. But before the night is out, one of them will be dead. Who would commit...Read more

The Beijing Conspiracy

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 25/09/2024 - 2:37pm by Karen

The book cover of The Beijing Conspiracy has the tagline 'A long-lost daughter. An explosive secret. A lethal global conspiracy.' The background is a crowded forecourt with a large temple / government building in the background. There's a high flag pole with an indistinguishable flag flying on it and another high tower in the background. In the foreground, back to the viewer, there's the figure of a man with a hooded jacket on. He's standing legs apart arms out from his body.

One man is caught up in a lethal global conspiracy in this explosive spy thriller.

“I need your support. There is no one else I can trust. Please help her. Please help our daughter.”

When ex-Marine Jack Ford receives a letter...Read more

Poison at Penshaw Hall

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 20/09/2024 - 8:41pm by Karen

The book cover of Poison at Penshaw Hall by G.B. Ralph has a mauve coloured map as the background with a pale green square in the middle and a sketch of a male goat with large horns at the right. There is a note at the bottom that says it's 'A Milverton Mystery'

Addison Harper is back, and with another dead body at his feet. Only this time, the entire town saw it happen.

Milverton is in the running for the Terrific Town Award, so a dramatic death at the opening ceremony is far from ideal. Addison had only been lending...Read more

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Ngaio Marsh Entrant 2024

The Old Woman with the Knife

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 20/09/2024 - 4:18pm by Karen

The book cover of The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-Mo has a purple background, with an orange pointed window in which the silhouette of a woman is standing, slightly bowed. The tagline 'International Bestseller" is at the very top and there is a quote 'An unparalleled story with a groundbreaking female character as captivating as any in literature.' Kyung-sook Shin, author of Please Look After Mom Translated by Chi-Young Kim

At sixty-five, Hornclaw is beginning to slow down. She lives modestly in a small apartment, with only her aging dog, a rescue named Deadweight, to keep her company. There are expectations for people her age--that she'll retire and live out the rest of her days quietly. But Hornclaw is not...Read more

Southern Aurora

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 19/09/2024 - 8:47pm by Karen

The book cover for Southern Aurora by Mark Brandi includes the tagline 'Bestselling author of Wimmera and the Rip' and the quotes 'Literary crime fiction at its best' Books+Publishing on Wimmera and 'Clarity amid the darkness ... a reminder of the novel's capacity to create empathy' Weekend Australian on The Rip The image is of a young boy in a singlet and jeans standing with his back to the viewer, and hands resting against his hips. He's looking out over dry brown grass towards a pale blue, cloudy sky. There is another tagline at the bottom 'small-town life is unforgiving when you're from the other side of the tracks'

The unforgettable new novel from the Dagger award-winning author of Wimmera. A novel that shows small-town life is unforgiving if you're from the other side of the tracks.

"We always listen out for the train when we're down in the cutting because sometimes...Read more

The Crag

BOOK ADDED: Thu, 19/09/2024 - 1:27pm by Karen

The book cover for The Crag by Claire Sutherland includes the tagline 'Sometimes the truth is just out of reach ...' and a quote 'I devoured this thrilling crime novel ... a gripping, vertigo-inducing read.' Hayley Scrivenor The image is of a female climber hanging from a horizontal rock crag out from the rock wall. She's high up above a lake and flat plain farming land. The sky is cloudy white and grey beyond her.

Will the mountain give up its secrets? While walking on an isolated track in the windswept Wimmera, rock-climber Skye discovers the body of a young woman. The body has injuries that suggest a rock-climbing accident, but it's been found more than 5km from the nearest cliffs at Mount Arapiles...Read more

The Chasm

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 17/09/2024 - 1:09pm by Karen

The book cover for The Chasm by Bronwyn Hall includes the tagline 'Every town needs a place to hide its secrets ...' and the quote 'Take a breath and strap in, because you won't put this down until the final page. A stunning debut.' Sarah Barrie, author of Unforgiven on [sic] Gone to Ground' The image is of a swinging footbridge over a heavily treed area, with a figure standing in the middle of the bridge wearing a jacket with the hood up and pants. They are facing away from the viewer, with their head turned slightly. The boards on the bridge are glowing slightly, and the title of the book is imposed over the middle in large red lettering.

Atmospheric, thrilling and twisty - a white-knuckled mystery set among Victoria's most rugged mountains from an exciting new voice in Australian noir. Perfect for fans of Wake and Exiles .

Every town needs somewhere to hide their secrets. Andy King knew she should never return...Read more

Kill Yours, Kill Mine

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 17/09/2024 - 1:00pm by Karen

The book cover for Kill Yours, Kill Mine by Katherine Kovacic includes the tagline 'Men Get Away with Murder all the time. Now it's our turn.' The image is black with an outline of a woman highlighted by reddish / pink lighting around the contours of her shoulder's, hand, face and hair. She has a finger held up to her lips in a classic "shoosh" pose. The title of the novel is in bright yellow lettering over the woman's image and there are little puffs of yellow what looks like smoke coming off some of the lettering.

Mia's grief counselling practice, The Pleiades, is named for the seven sisters from Greek mythology who were the companions of the Goddess of the Hunt—and who, in some stories, die of grief or are killed to be saved from attackers.

Mia has been gathering broken women together for...Read more

Leave the Girls Behind

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 16/09/2024 - 3:10pm by Karen

The book cover of Leave the Girls Behind by Jacqueline Bublitz includes the taglines 'a novel' and 'International Bestselling author of Bewfore You Knew My Name' The image is of a girl's face, turned to the right looking over her shoulder. She's obscured by rain on probably glass / window in front of her. Her face is light by red and blue lighting

Ruth-Ann Baker is a college dropout, a bartender—and an amateur detective who just can’t stay away from true crime. Nineteen years ago, her childhood friend was murdered by suspected serial killer Ethan Oswald. Still tormented by the case, Ruth can’t help but think of the long-dead Oswald...Read more

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Crime Fiction

Shadow City

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 16/09/2024 - 2:06pm by Karen

The book cover of Shadow City by Natalie Conyer includes, in a yellow "sticker" the quote 'Tense, gritty and insightful' Emma Viskic. The image is looking out from a dark space, probably under a bridge, towards a brightly lit night skyline with a couple of gulls flying across the sky. The title is at the top in white lettering, the author's name towards the bottom in yellow.

Sydney, The body of a young woman is found in Chinatown. She's been beaten, tortured - and tattooed with the image of a sun. Called to the scene, Sergeant Jackie Rose asks herself whether this was a drug murder, or something else. But before her investigation can get under...Read more

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Crime Fiction

Butter

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 13/09/2024 - 12:50pm by Karen

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There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.

Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Center convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has...Read more

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 13/09/2024 - 12:40pm by Karen

The book cover for Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack has a bright blue background that has some watery shadows towards the bottom. There's a woman with long black hair, in a red bikini floating face down right at the bottom in the right corner. There is a spray of yellow lemons to the left at the top. The quotes 'Fabulous!' Liv Constantine and 'A madcap Italian odyssey!' Jessa Maxwell are at the top of the cover in yellow. Then the author's name in white, and the title of the book in large black shadow lettering.

Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation...Read more

Unblessed

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 10/09/2024 - 1:34pm by Karen

The book cover for Unblessed by Roger Simpson includes the taglines 'A thrilling journey into the dark places where genius, money and murder meet.' and 'A Jane Halifax novel'. The image is of a city skyline with only the tops of the buildings visible, there's fog or mist swirling below. The sky is dark orange and red.

Jane Halifax will need all her forensic experience to unlock the secrets of one of the world’s most formidable a Silicon Valley billionaire whose ex-business partner has just been murdered … A thrilling journey into the dark places where genius, money and murder meet....Read more

The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night

BOOK ADDED: Wed, 04/09/2024 - 2:51pm by Karen

Image of the cover for the short story The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night - a short story by Gregory Pakis. The image is of Asian styled temple buildings with elaborate rooflines, against a dusky, darkening sky. There's a palm tree to the left, and everything is very gloomy looking. There's a quote at the bottom "He was sick of his stinky boots."

Hookers and hawkers. 

Mosques and mosquitos.

Paul has had enough of Southeast Asia.

He's only here ‘cos it's cheap. 

And he's on the run from police after leaving Australia.

No, that place wasn't much better either. ...Read more

The Sentence is Death

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 03/09/2024 - 3:50pm by Karen

The book cover of the audio version of The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz is on a bright red background with an old style arch bridge across the top, with two male figures standing by the ornate railings. There is shrubbery at either end of the bridge and the book title and author's name are displayed over and around the bridge in very large lettering.

"You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late…"

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer. Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine – a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise....Read more

The Body at Back Beach

BOOK ADDED: Tue, 03/09/2024 - 3:45pm by Karen

The book cover for The Body at Back Beach has the author's name at the bottom, the title at the top. It's overlaying a red / orange cloudy dusky sky hanging over a bay with a pier that has a lot of lights along it, and a small boats tied up. There are hills in the background.

Helena Statham never imagined herself as a sleuth. But when she stumbles upon the body of a young woman while on a walk, she can't resist the urge to discover who she was and how she got there. Even if it means upsetting the tight-knit community of the small New Zealand town she lives in,...Read more

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

BOOK ADDED: Mon, 02/09/2024 - 4:02pm by Karen

The cover of The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai has the tagline 'The Japanese Bestseller'. The cover is blue green with three white bowls with different blue decoration on them. They hold (from the top down) a liquid of some sort, a smiling contented looking ginger cat and noodles with chopsticks sitting across the bowl. There is a note at the bottom which says 'Translated by Jesse Kirkwood'

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that’s not the main...Read more

No One Will Know

BOOK ADDED: Fri, 30/08/2024 - 7:27pm by Karen

The book cover for No One Will Know (A Novel) by Rose Carlyle has the title down the page in large white lettering with the tagline's 'They're the Perfect Couple / They have the perfect plan / All they need is the perfect victim) interspersed. The background is predominately mauve in colouring with a small point jutting out into calm water, there's a woman standing on the point. There are two yachts moored on the water and a range of hills in the far background. At the bottom there's the line '#1 International Bestselling Author of The Girl in the Mirror'

They’re the perfect couple. They have the perfect plan. All they need is the perfect victim.

Julia and Christopher Hygate have the picture-perfect Gobs of money thanks to their lucrative shipping enterprise, an estate on a secluded island, and a baby on the way.

...Read more

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