AustLit

'Secrets can pull you under…

'In a remote, boat-access only house, Liz Dawson's lifeline to the real world is her window, where she watches the people who live in the three identical houses that sit side by side across the creek. But it's the middle house Liz finds herself drawn to most: the beautiful young mother, Delilah Waters, and her baby.

'When Dee and her baby go missing, last seen by the murky waters of Oyster Creek, it is a suspected murder-suicide. After all, it's no secret that Dee Waters never wanted children. She wasn't coping with the baby. Everyone in the town believes she leapt to her death, taking her child with her. Everyone except Liz.

'Wrestling with her own demons, Liz risks everything to uncover a truth that becomes more complex with every twist. Of all people, Liz knows that just because someone is a reluctant mother, it doesn't mean they don't love their child. And it doesn't mean they're capable of murder… does it?

'The Woman in the Window meets The Hand that Rocked the Cradle, Across the Water explores the darker side of motherhood, the pressure to conform, and how women's choices shape their fate.' (Publication summary)

'Belle was the last person who expected to become friends with the gorgeous, remote, new guy who became a student at their high school in their last year, but, as she learns, she’s the only one he can trust.

'SOOTHING THE UNTAMED HEART

'Even though everything about Belle’s life is difficult, she finds great joy in her art. Everyday, she rushes home after school to watch her brother, who has cerebral palsy, while her single mother works two jobs to keep a roof over their head in the small town of Pitts, Australia. In her last year of high school, Belle has the opportunity to win an art competition, but her teacher pairs her with the gorgeous, arrogant, cold, new guy in school. And while getting to know Noah Cole starts out as another chore, Belle learns there’s a wounded soul under all that bravado, and a love that makes her see herself clearly for the first time in her life.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Lucy Jones has a gift, but to her it’s a curse – she is constantly trying to decipher whether the emotions around her are her own or if they belong to other people.

'DO YOU FEEL…

'Lucy Jones isn't like other teenagers. She has spent her entire life feeling. Feeling everything from the anxiety of an upcoming test, to despair that runs so deep it threatens to shatter her. The catch? She can’t tell if these feelings are her own, or if they are the emotions of the people around her. When her father commits suicide, Lucy knows she won’t survive her mother’s dismantling and flees Sydney to settle on family property in the sleepy coastal city of Duruga. Population 200.

'LIKE I DO?

'In Duruga, Lucy begins to find herself again. When the mysterious and captivating Heath Stone enters her life, Lucy is overwhelmed by unfamiliar sensations in his presence. Despite the sinister warnings from the townsfolk, she cannot fight the force of her attraction to Heath. As strange events occur, and the truth about Duruga’s sordid history is unveiled, Lucy suspects there may be more to the quiet town, and Heath, than she first imagined. As the mystery unravels, and danger draws nearer, Lucy may learn more about her past—and her gift—than she ever dared to believe possible.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'You’ve only just met.

'But she already knows you so well.

'When Rachel moves into the spare room in Mary’s flat, everyone is quick to jump to the conclusion that there’s something strange about her. Everyone apart from Mary.

'And when Rachel starts sleepwalking, everyone’s fears grow. But there’s something about the new girl that Mary can’t help but trust, and having recently escaped a toxic relationship, she needs the support.

'Rachel becomes a friend and an ally, and Mary soon discovers that they have more in common than she ever could have imagined.

'In fact, Rachel seems to know more about Mary than she knows about herself…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When a collision of two parallel worlds creates a portal, Ella’s eyes—and heart—open to the impossible.

'Eighteen-year-old, tell-it-like-it-is Ella Beuchene is about to graduate from a prestigious high school, and yet she’s never felt more trapped. Her family is hell-bent on forcing her into a future she doesn’t want. Her boyfriend no longer gets her. And her best friend is keeping something secret. Something that could shatter their friendship for good. Ella is desperate to escape her "privileged" existence.

'Then, one warm summer night, Ella finds herself in the woods behind her house. The forest is lusher than ever before, the creatures of the night louder, and the moon brighter. Beneath its green canopy, she meets a mysterious, striking stranger. A man who gets her, who shifts her perspective of the world, and who...wait for it...glows in the dark.

'From that moment on, Ella’s not sure that it’s just her life she wants to escape. It may be her world.'

(Publication summary)