AustLit

'The elegant Miss Phryne Fisher returns in this scintillating collection, which features four brand-new stories.

'The Honourable Phryne Fisher - she of the Lulu bob, Cupid's bow lips, diamante garters and pearl-handled pistol - is the 1920s' most elegant and irrepressible sleuth.

'Miss Phryne Fisher is up to her stunning green eyes in intriguing crime in each of these entertaining, fun and compulsively readable stories. With the ever-loyal Dot, the ingenious Mr Butler and all of Phryne's friends and household, the action is as fast as Phryne's wit and logic.' (Publication summary)

'Surrounded by secrets, great and small, the formidable Miss Phryne Fisher returns to vanquish injustice.

'When a mysterious invitation arrives for Miss Phryne Fisher from an unknown Captain Herbert Spencer, Phryne's curiosity is excited. Spencer runs a retreat in Victoria's spa country for shell-shocked soldiers of the First World War. It's a cause after Phryne's own heart but what could Spencer want from her?

'Phryne and the faithful Dot view their spa sojourn as a short holiday but are quickly thrown in the midst of disturbing Highland gatherings, disappearing women, murder and the mystery of the Temperance Hotel.

'Meanwhile, Cec, Bert and Tinker find a young woman floating face down in the harbour, dead. Tinker, with Jane and Ruth, Phryne's resilient adopted daughters, together decide to solve what appears to be a heinous crime.

'Disappearances, murder, bombs, booby-traps and strange goings-on land Miss Phryne Fisher right in the middle of her most exciting adventure.' (Publication summary)

In The Saltwater Battle, 'war machines attack and it's 'Proto-Suffragettes vests the Martians!' in an amusing re-framing of Wells as a kind of girl's-own adventure; with some appropriately scandalous post-modern romance for good measure. Are the martians ridding the Earth of 'toxic masculinity' or merely being pragmatic with future plans for sustainable industrial food production?'

Source: Foreword.

'Corinna Chapman, baker extraordinaire, talented sleuth, stalwart friend and lover is back! When a distraught Scottish veteran from Afghanistan is knocked unconscious, waking up to find his beloved ex-service dog missing, Corinna and her lover, Daniel, find themselves inextricably drawn into the machinations of a notorious underworld gang of drug runners. Corinna and Daniel need to pull together all the strings to find the connections between their wandering Scottish veteran, his kidnapped dog, a student dramatic society that's moved into Corinna's building, burglaries, and the threatening notes that begin to mysteriously appear in Corinna's apartment. Between her forays into danger, there is still time in Corinna's life for tender encounters as the delicious aromas of newly baked breads, muffins and treats waft out of Corinna's bakery, Earthly Delights.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Tales of love and lust between heroic and adventurous men across the ages from Ancient Egypt to a future in space.

'Kerry Greenwood's historical detail and sense of time and place sets the many scenes for a wonderful collection of happy-ever-after male-male love stories. Heroticawill take you around the world in 30 stories of adventure, romance, lust, exploration, war and peace, and above all love.

'Or as Kerry herself says: Wonderful stories of gorgeous gay men shagging each other senseless in impeccable historical settings.' (Publication summary)

'It was 1914 and Dusty and Bluey were headed for adventure. They were Anzacs, members of the Australian Light Horse, on their way to the Great War. The story of Dusty and Bluey is one of family and friendship. This beautifully illustrated picture book is the story of Gallipoli for young readers.' (Publication abstract)

'The divine and fearless Miss Phryne Fisher returns in her 20th adventure in a vastly entertaining tale of murder, spies, mathematics and music.

'To the accompaniment of heavenly choirs singing, the fearless Miss Phryne Fisher returns in her 20th adventure with musical score in hand.

'An orchestral conductor has been found dead and Detective Inspector Jack Robinson needs the delightfully incisive and sophisticated Miss Fisher's assistance to enter a world in which he is at sea. Hugh Tregennis, not much liked by anyone, has been murdered in a most flamboyant mode by a killer with a point to prove. But how many killers is Phryne really stalking?

'At the same time, the dark curls, disdainful air and the lavender eyes of mathematician and code-breaker Rupert Sheffield are taking Melbourne by storm. They've certainly taken the heart of Phryne's old friend from the trenches of WW1, John Wilson. Phryne recognises Sheffield as a man who attracts danger and is determined to protect John from harm.

'Even with the faithful Dot, Mr and Mrs Butler, and all in her household ready to pull their weight, Phryne's task is complex. While Mendelssohn's Elijah, memories of the Great War, and the science of deduction ring in her head, Phryne's past must also play its part as MI6 become involved in the tangled web of murders.

'A vastly entertaining tale of murder, spies, mathematics and music. ' (Publisher's blurb)

'A. D. Hope is well recognised as one of Australia’s greatest poets, who redefined what it means to be Australian. He was for some time also the best known Australian poet internationally, with his uniquely satirical style. Over the years, his work collected numerous accolades, but here I want to focus on the impact Hope had on me personally.' (Introduction)