FICTION

A fresh, unique and tense Aussie story of two best female friends who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty for pay day.

The Wolf Tree A gripping and atmospheric debut crime thriller set on an isolated Scottish island ... where outsiders are not welcome. 'There's always someone whispering about something.'On a small island off the coast of Scotland, an isolated community is grieving. Eighteen-year-old Alan Ferguson was found at the foot of the lighthouse - an apparent suicide.DIs Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to investigate. A raging storm keeps them trapped on the island for five days. And the locals don't take kindly to mainlanders.As George and Richie question the island's inhabitants, they discover a village filled with superstition and shrouded in secrets.But someone wants those secrets to stay buried. At any cost.'Absorbing, unsettling and deeply accomplished' Dervla McTiernan'Smart, deliciously creepy and simply pitch-perfect - I tore through this spectacular debut!' Hayley Scrivenor'An impressive crime debut dripping with atmosphere and threat, Laura McCluskey's The Wolf Tree will take you to a chilling cliff edge of suspense, then hold you there until the very last page' Hannah Richell'An exciting new voice in crime fiction' Pip Drysdale'Cold Atlantic noir. An eerie debut' Matthew Spencer, author of Black River'McCluskey is masterful at building suspense' Kirkus

The thrilling sequel to Nesbo's debut novel The Bat, The Cockroaches sees Harry Hole sent to Bangkok to investigate the murder of the Norwegian ambassadorHarry Hole is back in a gripping twist-packed read.'One of Nesbo's most accomplished novels' Financial Times Harry is on a special mission. Detective Harry Hole arrives in a steaming hot Bangkok. The Norwegian ambassador has been found dead in a seedy motel room, and Harry has been sent to investigate. It's clear that the Ambassador's family are hiding some secrets of their own, but few people are willing to talk. He needs to solve a crime and avoid a scandal. When Harry lays hands on some incriminating CCTV footage, things only get more complicated. The man who gave him the tape goes missing, and Harry realises that failing to solve a murder case is by no means the only danger that faces the unwary. But in an unfamiliar city, who can you trust?*JO NESBO HAS SOLD 50 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**Watch out for The Kingdom, the new Jo Nesbo thriller, out now*

The thrilling first book in the bestselling Harry Hole series, never before published in EnglishDiscover the addictive first book in the bestselling Harry Hole series'A stunning opening to the series' Sunday Times Harry is out of his depth. Detective Harry Hole is meant to keep out of trouble. A young Norwegian girl taking a gap year in Sydney has been murdered, and Harry has been sent to Australia to assist in any way he can. He's not supposed to get too involved. When the team unearths a string of unsolved murders and disappearances, nothing will stop Harry from finding out the truth. The hunt for a serial killer is on, but the murderer will talk only to Harry. He might be the next victim.*JO NESBO HAS SOLD 50 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**Watch out for The Kingdom, the new Jo Nesbo thriller, out now*

How do you find something that doesn't exist? Find out, in the most joyful mystery of 2025... 'A perfect crime caper.' Woman & Home 'Comic, thrilling and ultimately moving.' The Scottish Mail on Sunday 'The gift of The Impossible Thing is the pure joy of reading.' VAL MCDERMID 'Extraordinary. There's a deceptive simplicity to The Impossible Thing that packs a real punch.' ANN CLEEVES From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner, Sunday Times bestselling and Booker-longlisted author Belinda Bauer, a sweeping tale about a hungry young girl, an impossible discovery, and a crime that remained unsolved for one hundred years. . . until now. It was the greatest mystery never told . . . 1926. On the towering cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. But when small and hungry Celie Sheppard finds an 'impossible' red egg, it will forever alter the course of her life - and the lives of others. One hundred years later in a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort discovers his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing- a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now. A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skulduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer's status as one of our greatest living crime writers. 'Solid gold. . . This could be her best ever.' LEE CHILD 'A captivating novel from one of the UK's most talented storytellers. I loved every page of this unique mystery.' CLARE MACKINTOSH 'Fans of Bauer know to expect something original from this most ingenious of crime writers . . . A funny, moving and beautiful written tale of misfits and oological obsession.' The Guardian  PRAISE FOR BELINDA BAUER- 'As good as Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time . . . and with more twists and coils than a hangman's noose.' Sunday Express on Rubbernecker 'Few writers who convey so well the essential sadness of life do so with such warmth and wit' Sunday Telegraph 'Belinda Bauer's fiction teems with life. She's also an ingenious creator, never afraid to improve on reality.' Daily Telegraph 'Belinda Bauer has shifted the boundaries of what makes a truly gripping, terrifying thriller.' Daily Mirror

Does It Hurt?AN AMAZON TOP 5 BESTSELLER! Who am I?I've forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I've only ever walked in stolen shoes. Could I be a girl who is searching for the meaning of life in faceless men? They were all so forgettable. Until he came along. He took me under a waterfall and made me forget my name, and in return, I took his instead. Enzo Vitale.An enigmatic man that will only ever love the deep sea. Or rather the predators that inhabit it. Turns out, he's not so different than the monsters he feeds. He lured me onto his boat like a fish in the ocean, seeking vengeance for my crime. Had I realised his intentions, and that a massive storm would leave us shipwrecked, I would've run. Now, I'm a girl who's seeking refuge in a decrepit lighthouse with a man who loathes me almost as much as he craves me. He wants to hurt me, but the old caretaker of the abandoned island may have intentions far more sinister. It's no longer a question of who I am, but rather, will I survive?

A beautifully sinister, propulsive page-turning adult debut that explores themes of obsession, identity and privilege, about a woman who takes a job as a cleaner - but what she's really after is revenge... <p>It's not dust she's looking for.It's dirt. Esmie is supposed to be invisible. Just a cleaner with a foreign accent that no one quite has time to place. Her uniform of leggings and a duster allows her to explore the homes of the wealthy, unseen; an outsider creeping around the edges of privilege. But as she sweeps through the exclusive Woodlands gated neighbourhood, cleaning is the last thing on her mind. Treading silently over the polished wooden floorboards and cloud-soft carpets, Esmie gathers up the mess of broken marriages, quiet deceptions and careless failures. She tucks away their fragments, keeping them safe. For now. Because one of the residents took from her the person she loves most. She's not here to clean; she's here for revenge - and she'll get it using the weapons her employers unwittingly handed her along with the keys to their homes- their own secrets... This beautifully sinister, propulsive page-turner that explores themes of identity and privilege is perfect for fans of Harriet Tyce and Lisa Jewell.</p>

Those Opulent Days One will lose his mind. One will pay. One will agonise. And one will die.Duy, Phong, Minh, and Edmond have been best friends since childhood. Now, as young men running their families’ formidable businesses, they make up Saigon’s most powerful group of friends in 1928 Vietnam’s elite society.Until one of them is murdered.In a lavish mansion on a hill in Dalat, all four men have gathered for an evening of indulgence, but one of them won’t survive the night. Toggling between this fatal night and the six days leading up to it, told from the perspectives of the four men, their mothers, their servants, and their lovers, an intricate web of terror, loyalty, and well-kept secrets begins to unravel.As the story creeps closer to the murder, and as each character becomes a suspect, the true villain begins to emerge: colonialism, the French occupation of Vietnam, and the massive economic differences that catapult the wealthy into the stratosphere while the poor starve on the streets.Those Opulent Days is at once both a historical novel of vivid intensity and a pitch-perfect murder mystery with a cast of characters you won’t soon forget.PRAISE FOR THOSE OPULENT DAYS‘Intricately plotted and full of dark secrets, Jacquie Pham’s Those Opulent Days is for lovers of smart and sophisticated crime fiction.’ – Mirandi Riwoe, author of Sunbirds‘Pham delivers a lush tale weaved with deceit, friendship, and privilege. The opulent language will entice you in, the mystery will keep you there. What a debut!’ – Sharlene Allsop, author of The Great Undoing‘1920s Vietnam is lushly and lovingly described, and its characters vividly realized. Rather than being a mystery, the novel has far more in common with noir: It examines the dark griminess that is part and parcel of the spectrum of humanity.’ – LA Times‘Pham debuts with a memorable and disturbing historical set in French-occupied Vietnam…Pham’s prose is lyrical, and her evocation of the period immersive…this is a tense and unique dispatch from a key period in Vietnamese history.’ – Publishers Weekly‘This historical crime thriller is rich with heart and mystery, perfect for readers who crave thrillers with more depth.’ – Books+Publishing‘As a murder mystery it is faultless’ – Artshub‘a page-turning murder mystery’—Jane Pek, author of The Verifiers

The Reunion 'The pace spirals and the twists multiply' S. R. WHITE, author of international bestseller HERMIT The Dry meets The Hunting Party in this gripping thriller set in the isolated Australian bush, where five friends will wish they never returned . . .------------Ten years ago, six teenagers hiked into the Blue Mountains wilderness - and only five came out alive.The survivors have barely seen each other since the tragic bushwalk. Yet when an invitation arrives to attend a 10-year memorial of their friend's death, Hugh, Charlotte, Alex, Laura and Jack find themselves travelling back into the rugged landscape where it all began.The weekend at an isolated homestead in the bush - no phone signal, no distractions - should be a chance to reflect and reconnect.But each of the friends has been carrying secrets from the fateful hike. And someone will stop at nothing to get the truth.------------'An unputdownable debut that kept me guessing until the final page' Emma Styles, author of NO COUNTRY FOR GIRLS'A gripping, twisty read . . . I raced through it in one sitting!' LIZA NORTH, author of THE WEEKEND GUESTS

The Grapevine'The Grapevine took me hostage . . . Gorgeous writing, complex, nuanced characterisation . . . and the atmospheric setting of Canberra in the summer heat . . . A fascinating, engaging book.' MARIAN KEYESThere are secrets behind every closed door in the Warrah Place neighbourhood, and who killed Antonio Marietti is the biggest one of all . . . It's the height of summer in Australia, 1979, and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Canberra a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of the bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it's 3 am. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering he has just murdered their neighbour.As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti's death spreads like wildfire. Gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood, and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .'The Grapevine was a joy to read. Its flowing, witty prose and deft characterisation transported me effortlessly into a small suburban street in 1970s Australia' DIANNE YARWOOD 'I absolutely adored this debut, which instantly creeps up on you. The Grapevine is claustrophobic and sharp' LUCY ROSE'Superb . . . written with effortless grace, it's a rich tapestry of a book that's psychologically astute. The wit and humour is incisive' CHRIS BRIDGES'From its shocking opening to its impeccable conclusion, The Grapevine is a cleverly revealing close-up of a claustrophobic community. I loved it' JENNIE GODFREY'With a youthful (and wilful) detective reminiscent of Tippy Chan from RWR McDonald's The Nancys and the heady nostalgia of Holly Throsby's Clarke, Kemp's debut is an engrossing slice of deceptive life.' Books+Publishing

An exhilarating, gripping new psychological thriller from the author behind the record-breaking, multimillion-copy bestseller, The Silent PatientThis is a tale of murder.Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart, it's a love story, isn't it?One spring morning, reclusive ex-movie star Lana Farrar invites a small group of her closest friends for a weekend away, on her small private island, just off the coast of Mykonos.Beneath the surface, old friendships conceal violent passions and resentments. And in forty-eight hours, one of them will be dead.But that was just the beginning...You may think you know this story. Think again.

THE ACCLAIMED LEGAL THRILLER FROM THE QUEEN OF CRIME DRAMA

From the Walkley Award winning journalist, social commentator and author comes a gripping domestic thriller with a moral dilemma at its core.