AustLit

'Two women abduct and hide out with their four-year-old granddaughter Avery, who they suspect is being harmed. They both love Avery ... shame they can't stand each other. A wise and witty novel for readers of Sophie Green and Brooke Davis.

'What would you do to protect a child?

'Beth's daughter Cleo and Shirley's son Daniel used to be married. Now Cleo is in gaol for supposedly contravening a family violence order, and Daniel has full-time care of their four-year-old daughter, Avery.

'When Shirley suspects that Daniel is harming Avery, she enlists Beth to abduct their own granddaughter, even though the two women can't stand each other. They are joined on the run across country Victoria by Winnie, Shirley's own 89-year-old tech-savvy mother, and Harthacnut, Beth's miniature schnauzer.

'The abduction gives rise to crises both personal and social, as Shirley's large and interfering family - including her toxic son - struggle to come to terms with her actions, amid a whirl of police investigation and media excitement. This heartfelt, wise, witty and wholly original novel explores the lengths we may go to for those we love, and the unintended damage folded into daily life.' (Publication summary)

'In 2023, with global conflict escalating, a paranoid billionaire develops a force field designed to provide safety to those shielded beneath. Five hundred years later, the society under the shield is very different. Gods rule with an iron fist and the lives of everyone else revolves around serving their interests or reproducing the dwindling population. But the balance of power is about to shift. Now eighteen, Grady Pryndot sets out on the travels that mark her coming of age. Her mother has never told her the truth about her father. Her teacher has never told her the truth about her legacy. Grady is about to challenge the world order because Grady is not who she thinks she is. She is much, much more.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'It was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime ...

'When Nell Forrest's life hits a speed bump (which is most definitely not a midlife crisis) a cruise around the Mediterranean seems like just the ticket.

'Unfortunately, that's an idea shared by her mother, her ex-husband, his new partner, and a police detective with whom Nell has a stormy history. Fortunately, meditation is just one of the many activities offered aboard the luxury liner, but Nell will need more than that to face what lies ahead.

'A tragic death in Rome is quickly followed by another in Turkey. Then an unexpected discovery provides a link between the two, and Nell must stow her plans for relaxation once and for all.

'One of her shipmates is a cold-blooded murderer, and it seems that Nell is the only one with the wherewithal to figure it out. But figure it out she must, because the murderer, like the cruise, has only just begun ...' (Publication summary)

'This time it's personal ...

'The last thing Nell Forrest expected when she tried to plant a tree was to unearth the skeletal remains of a former resident. Now her new backyard is swarming with police, there's a television news crew camped next door, and once again she is smack in the middle of a murder investigation. And the timing is dreadful. Two of Nell's daughters are about to give birth and she is surrounded by new in-laws with agendas of their own.

'But it soon becomes clear that this time the investigation is personal – so personal that enquiries bring her long-estranged father back into the family fold, and the answers shed some very uncomfortable light about the proclivities of her parents when they were young. Who would have thought that the little country town of Majic had ever been such a swinging place to live?' (Publication summary)

'For Nell Forrest, life in the little town of Majic is not going smoothly. One of her five daughters has just swapped university for fruit-picking, another is about to hit puberty, while a third keeps leaving aggrieved messages on the answering machine. On top of all this, her mother is infuriating and it’s only been a matter of months since Nell lost her husband of twenty-five years. It’s no surprise, then, that she is even struggling to write her weekly column.

'But the floodgates of inspiration are about to swing open, almost knocking her out in the process. Murder and mayhem, arson and adultery, dungeons, death threats and disappearances are just around the corner. Despite Nell’s abysmal aptitude for investigative work, she manages to shine the light on the local Richard III Society and that’s when things really start to heat up. Throw in some suspicious widows, nosy neighbours, a canine witness, plus a detective who is getting a little closer than he should, and it’s clear that nefarious doings are well and truly afoot.' (Publisher's blurb)

'There are secrets in the sleepy town of Majic, where the past trips over the present ... and then looks the other way.

'The country town of Majic is about to celebrate a milestone. It's been 150 years since the founding father, Petar Majic, rode into the bush after a liquid lunch, vowing to build a house at whatever spot he reached by sunset. However, what happened next isn't quite what town legend would have you believe.

'A minor act of cemetery vandalism lands local columnist and amateur detective Nell Forrest right in the path of historical inevitability. An apparent murder-suicide leads to the unveiling of a century-old scandal and a trail left by a trio of long-dead women.

'Nell's investigations are hampered both by the arrival of the handsome district detective and by her family – whose dramas almost eclipse that of the town itself. With directionless daughters, unplanned pregnancies, a spot or two of adultery and an ex-husband who wants her house, Nell barely has time for the case, let alone the energy to keep her wits about her at the same time.

'And Nell will need her wits about her as the mystery of Majic begins casting its shadow into the present day, putting Nell and her family in grave danger. In the end, Nell must decide whether it is a tale of epic fortitude, or treachery and ill-gotten gains, before the past catches up with her.' (Publication summary)

'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

'"What a ridiculous saying."

'Jenny nodded. "Bruises heal, eventually, but the words - they're there forever."

'"Actually the words are like sticks and stones," said Fiona quietly. "Sharp and spiky and painful. Like little missiles."

'Maddie had thought the support group might help her. But with a sense of almost giddy relief she can't identify at all with these women. She knew what Jake would say - sad, sorry bunch of females... drowning in bitterness and the inability to move on. And she felt relieved that she didn't belong.

'But she had been wrong about so much lately. Wrong to think that everything was over, wrong to think that the law would protect her, and wrong to think that after six long years she could finally drop her guard and enjoy family life free of fear.

'Because now Jake's found them. And he's taken the children. And he's going to make Maddie pay.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Everybody has a book in them, or so the saying goes. For Kate Painter - wife, mother, freelance editor and aspiring writer - it's just a matter of finding a spare five minutes, a little peace and quiet... and something to write about.

'When her cousin Angie announces she has a room to let, Kate's spur of the moment decision to move temporarily out of the family home and in with Angie takes everyone, not least her husband and teenage children, by complete surprise. Yet Kate's sure that in this room of her own, she'll finally be able to write the novel she's always wanted to.

'But it doesn't happen so easily. Writer's block, dirty laundry and emergency babysitting duties all conspire against her. Amid the endless distractions, Kate is drawn into exploring the story of her family: her less than normal childhood with Angie on the family farm, her father's recent death, and the mystery behind Angie's enigmatic, absent mother.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Once upon a time Chris Beggs and her husband had a dream - to own a farm, with cows and chickens and a white fence surrounding a quaint cottage. So what could possibly be wrong with fulfilling that dream 15 years later as a 38-year-old divorced mother of two?

Chris says goodbye to her city life and hello to dawn egg collections, strange noises in the night, a feisty alpaca and poultry named after political figures. Meanwhile her teenage daughter is bent on world domination, the bookkeeper is out for revenge and the tractor has a mind of its own. And soon Chris realises that the least of her worries is dressing in a chicken suit and learning how to waddle.

With the enthusiastic help of her family, old friends, new neighbours, and a stranger on the end of daily emails, can Chris succeed in making this spur of the moment decision revitalise her life, or has she put all her eggs in the wrong basket?' - back cover