AustLit

'When I wake up in the middle of the night, it’s not a sound that disturbs me. It’s a feeling. Silently, I creep to my daughter’s room, breathing a sigh of relief when I see her sleeping, her night-light twirling, butterfly shapes moving their pink wings. Quickly, I lock the door. I won’t let anything happen to my little girl.

'You tell him everything. The husband you adore, the father of your child, your best friend.

'He knows, just by looking at your sage-green eyes, when something is wrong. The two of you can communicate with a glance, or a touch of the hand.

'Except what if you can’t?

'What if your happy marriage has plastered over one huge lie? A lie you have even started to believe yourself, in order to survive?

'What if you have a secret, something you have hidden from your beloved husband and your strawberry-scented baby girl, to keep them safe? What if the guilt has kept you up, night after night, for as long as you can remember?

'Because, after twenty-eight years, that secret is refusing to stay buried. The past you have tried so desperately to outrun is catching up with you. A faded photograph, torn in half, threatens to expose the truth and everyone you love, everything you cherish, is in harm’s way…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I will not think about it anymore. I won’t think about her. My lost little sister with her beautiful smile, her chestnut-coloured eyes. My sister who I couldn’t protect.

'If you passed Alice on the street, you couldn’t help but smile. At how she holds hands with her husband, Jack, who she has been with since she was at university. At the way she admires her three boys, the centre of her universe.

'But if you looked very closely, you’d see how tightly she holds Jack’s hand, afraid to let go. You’d see how carefully she watches her boys, scared to look away. You’d see her smile fading in a matter of seconds, and the pain she hides behind her eyes.

'She has told Jack that she ran away from home when she was younger – but she didn’t tell him the whole story. Her husband doesn’t know about the guilt she bears about her little sister she failed to save.

'Now, after a lifetime of fresh starts, Alice can feel her past playing catch-up. She is sure she is being watched, certain she is being followed. She may not be able to stop her secret coming out – but can she stop the world she has lovingly built collapsing in on her?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'They find her just as the sun is beginning to rise in the early morning mist. They had begun at dawn, the group of searchers keen to get going. A missing child spurred everyone on. In the end, it was a flash of colour, a bright neon pink that caught her eye. They had been looking for pink.

'Nothing tests your faith like being a mother. The first time your children walk to school alone, their first sleepover, when they finally fly the nest. As a parent, you have to believe that everything will be OK.

'It’s why, when Lydia’s sixteen-year-old daughter Zoe goes on a school camping trip, she has no idea of the horrors that will unfold. It’s why, when Lydia gets a call saying that her daughter has disappeared, she refuses to give up.

'As she searches the mountains, her voice hoarse from calling Zoe’s name, she imagines finding her. She envisions being flooded with relief as she throws her arms around her child, saying, ‘you gave us such a scare’. She pictures her precious girl safely tucked in bed that evening.

'It’s why, when they find Zoe’s body, Lydia can barely believe it. It is unthinkable. Her little girl has gone.

'Something terrible happened, she is sure of it. Something made Zoe get out of her sleeping bag in the middle of the night, walk out of the warmth and safety of the cabin, into the darkness of the mountains. Driven by the memory of her youngest child, Lydia needs to find out the truth. What kind of mother would she be if she didn’t?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'My baby girl, I’ll never forget you – your smile, your laugh, the way your hair sparkles in the sun. I cannot comprehend this pain. I cannot breathe through it.

'In the middle of the night, Claire wakes up to discover that her beloved daughter, Julia, is dead – and life, as she knows it, is over.

'Searching for answers, Claire stumbles upon a pile of letters, hidden under Julia’s bed in an old, battered shoebox, and feels closer to her daughter than ever before. They tell her that Julia was happy, that she was thriving at university, that she was in love.

'But as the letters go on, Claire starts to feel uneasy at something hidden between the lines. Even as she grieves, she must prepare to face a shocking discovery. Because Julia was hiding a terrible secret – and when it’s uncovered, it might make Claire question everything she thought she knew about her daughter…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Six years ago

'Megan waits at the school gates for her six-year-old son, Daniel. As the playground empties, panic bubbles inside her. Daniel is nowhere to be found. Her darling son is missing.

'Six years later

'After years of sleepless nights, and endless days of missing her son, Megan finally gets the call she has been dreaming about. Daniel has walked into a police station in a remote town just a few miles away.

'Megan is overjoyed – her son is finally coming home. She has kept Daniel’s room, with his Cookie Monster poster on the wall and a stack of Lego under the bed, in perfect shape to welcome him back. But when he returns, there is something different about Daniel…

'According to the police, Daniel was kidnapped by his father. After his dad died in a fire, Daniel was finally able to escape. Desperate to find out the truth, Megan tries to talk to her little boy – but he barely answers her questions. Longing to help him heal, Megan tries everything – his favourite chocolate milkshake, a reunion with his best friend, a present for every birthday missed – but still, Daniel is distant.

'And as they struggle to connect, Megan begins to suspect that there is more to the story. Soon, she fears that her son is hiding a secret. A secret that could destroy her family…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In a single day, a simple mistake will have life-altering consequences for everyone involved.

'A moment of distraction, an unlocked car and a missing baby. How on earth could this happen?

'All Malia needed was a single litre of milk and now she’s surrounded by police and Zach has disappeared.

'Detective Ali Greenberg knows that this is not the best case for her, not with her history - but she of all people knows what Malia is going through and what is at stake.

'Edna is worried about the new residents at the boarding house. She knows Mary would turn in her grave if she knew the kinds of people her son was letting in.

'And then there is someone else. Someone whose heart is broken. Someone who feels she has been unfairly punished for her mistakes. Someone who wants what she can’t have.

'What follows is a heart-stopping game of cat-and-mouse and a race against the clock. As the hours pass and the day heats up, all hope begins to fade.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

''I am here because they suspect me of something. I am here because I am a suspect. I know that, she knows that. Everyone knows that.' Anna

''It wasn't my fault. None of this is my fault!' Caro

'Caro and Anna are best friends... they were best friends. Over a decade, Caro and Anna have bonded while raising their daughters, two little girls the same age but living two very different lives. The women have supported each other as they have shared the joys and trials of motherhood, but now everything has changed.

'There's been a terrible car accident, an unimaginable tragedy that leaves both families devastated. Over two days as Caro and Anna each detail their own versions of events, they are forced to reveal hidden truths and closely guarded secrets.

'The complicated lives of wives and mothers are laid bare as both women come to realise that even best friends don't tell each other everything. And when hearts are broken, even best friends need someone to blame.

'A hard- hitting, provocative and gripping read from the queen of white-knuckle suspense and searing family drama.' (Publication summary)

'A celebrity wife. A damaged young woman. How did they both end up in prison and what is the secret they share? White-knuckle reading from the queen of domestic suspense.

'Birdy thought she would have to wait until she was free again to see Rose, but now Rose has been convicted of a shocking crime and she and Birdy will be together. Birdy has been saving all her anger for Rose. It is Rose who should have protected her and kept her safe. Birdy was little but Rose was big and she knows Rose could have saved her.

'This is a story about monsters who hide in plain sight and about the secrets we keep from ourselves. It is about children who are betrayed and adults who fail them. This is the story of Birdy who was hurt and Rose who must be made to pay.

'A provocative and compassionate read from the queen of white-knuckle suspense and searing family drama. You won't be able to put it down.' (Publication summary)

'Step into the fragile domestic world of Roar and discover the unforgettable voice of Nicole Trope, bestselling author of The Secrets in Silence, Three Hours Late and The Boy Under the Table.

'The baby sleeps peacefully, filled with milk and contentment. The man on the bed breathes his way into the darkness, filled with rage.

'Was there ever really a choice?

From the queen of searing family drama and suspense comes a short story about the fierce bonds between mother and child, the things we sacrifice to protect the ones we love and the desperate choices we make when there's nowhere left to run.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Tara has lost her voice. She knows there was pain and fear but she cannot remember anything else. Now she can only answer the questions with silence. Minnie has buried her voice for years, losing herself in silence and isolation, keeping her secrets safe and her broken heart concealed. Liam finds refuge in silence; it is a place to go to when he cannot get the words out. Kate cannot speak for herself just yet. People are only separated from each other by moments, by fate and coincidence. One teenage mistake, one shocking choice and one terrible night will lead to courage found, voices raised and the truth finally spoken.' (Publication summary)

'Once, so very long ago, she had watched him like this when he came to pick her up from a date...Her stomach fluttered and burned with infatuation and desire. She would watch him walk up the path and think, 'This must be love.'

'But that was so very long ago. Now Liz is wary and afraid. She has made a terrible mistake and it cannot be undone.

'Alex believes that today will be the day she comes back to him. Today will be the day his wife and young son finally come home. Today they will be a family again.

'But Liz knows that some things can never be mended. Some marriages are too broken. Some people are too damaged. Now the most important thing in her life is her son, Luke, and she will do anything in her power to protect him.

'So when Alex is a few minutes late bringing Luke back Liz begins to worry and when he is an hour late her concern grows and when he is later still she can feel her whole life changing because: what if Alex is not just late?

'The terrible secrets of a marriage, the love that can turn to desperation, the refuge and heartbreak of being a parent, the fragile threads that cradle a family...Three Hours Late is a gripping and deeply emotional novel of almost unbearable suspense from a writer of great insight and empathy. ' (Publication summary)