AustLit

'A conversation between authors Christos Tsiolkas and Angela Savage to celebrate the release of Tsiolkas' latest novel, Seven and a Half.'  (Production summary)

'A luminous and courageous story about the hopes and dreams we all have for our lives and relationships, and the often fraught and unexpected ways they may be realised.

Angela Savage draws us masterfully into the lives of Anna, an aid worker trying to settle back into life in Australia after more than a decade in Southeast Asia; Meg, Anna’s sister, who holds out hope for a child despite seven fruitless years of IVF; Meg's husband Nate, and Mukda, a single mother in provincial Thailand who wants to do the right thing by her son and parents.

The women and their families' lives become intimately intertwined in the unsettling and extraordinary process of trying to bring a child into the world across borders of class, culture and nationality. Rich in characterisation and feeling, Mother of Pearl, and the timely issues it raises, will generate discussion amongst readers everywhere.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A new case for expat private investigator Jayne Keeney.

As Jayne and Rajiv holiday in Krabi, Jayne can't stop her mind straying to thoughts of the future: a successful business, perhaps even a honeymoon. Who would have thought she could be so content?

But then their tour guide's body is found floating in the shallows and no one can explain the marks around her neck. Jayne and Rajiv are pulled into a case that the police have already decided isn't one: a case that will pull at the seams of their fledgling relationships and lead Jayne into grave danger. ' (Publisher's blurb)

'In this award-winning short story set in Melbourne, Australia, an anonymous narrator is released from prison into public housing near a child care centre. When she receives a complaint about her dog, a restricted breed, she blames a mother whose infant attends the centre. Acquiring disguises from the local op shop, she stalks the mother and sets about plotting a terrible revenge for the loss of her dog.' (Publication summary)

'Jayne Keeney is a fiesty thirty-something Aussie who has been living in Bangkok for many years. She has been hired to investigate the alleged suicide of a young Australian woman in a seedy Thai coastal town. Maryanne Delbeck was happy and harmless, her father refuses to believe she took her own life. Jayne immerses herself in the case, navigating the backstreet world of Thai ladyboys, monks, strippers, expats and corrupt officials.

'Maryanne's death is not the only mystery awaiting Jayne among Pattaya's neon signs and go-go bars. While working undercover at the orphanage where Maryanne volunteered, Jayne discovers something far more sinister. Now her life is in danger, her case is still unsolved and she barely has time for dinner with her handsome new love interest, Rajiv. With love and death both circling, Jayne now has two cases to crack and very little time to do it.

'The Half-Child is not your standard crime novel, and Jayne Keeney is not your everyday detective.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Thirty-something Australian Jayne Keeney works as a PI in Bangkok. Shaken by a serious incident, she heads north to visit her close friend Didier in Chiang Mai, though there's no relief for her there. Murder is in the air and the police, led by Lieutenant Colonel Ratratarn, have no interest in justice. But Jayne does. With some help from Arthur Conan Doyle she digs deep—past the tacky glamour of the city's clubs and bars, arrogant expats, corrupt officials, and a steamy affair—to find out just what happened behind the Night Bazaar.

'Angela Savage has brought the streets of Thailand vividly to life. In Jayne Keeney she has created a gutsy heroine.This is an unforgettable debut novel and the start of an exciting new series.' (From the publisher's website.)