FICTION

Night Swimmers is a humorous and touching family tale featuring an unconventional heroine in a unique seaside village. Think Olive Kitteridge meets The Shipping News, set on the coast of the Irish Sea.

For many years, Hilde Hinton was a secondhand book dealer who read in her spare time. Then she found the courage to write her first novel and was brave enough to share it with a publisher. That critically acclaimed novel, The Loudness of Unsaid Things, made a number of bestseller lists. Her second novel, A Solitary Walk on the Moon, proved Hilde's talent was developing and now she is about to publish her third novel. Hilde is still a reader, and now a bestselling writer. She lives in Melbourne and is an avid collector of glass fruit, Lego and interesting stories.

Hidden NatureThe beloved multi-million copy bestselling author is back with a brand-new novel about an injured cop in a race against time to find a twisted serial killerFrustrated and bored, injured cop Sloan Cooper is looking for anything to distract her from staring down the barrel of months of slow, painful recovery. When a woman mysteriously vanishes without trace from a supermarket car park, Sloan knows there is more to this case than meets the eye. As she begins to investigate she quickly uncovers similar cases across three states. Men and women, old and young-all with seemingly nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.With no clues to speak of and a list of the missing growing almost daily, it will take every ounce of Sloan's endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case. And she's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes...

I Hope You're Happy Exceptional short stories featuring young millennial women, blending dark fantasy and quasi-horror with humour and intellectual dash Announcing the arrival of a major talent, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY is more a warning than a wish. Photos of women eating go viral, a cookie communicates a threat, and women working dead-end jobs become entangled in the performances around them. Everyday experiences of friendship, family, dating and desire catapult the reader into a creepy vortex of horror. Characters reveal themselves in slippery glimpses, through positive affirmations, social media accounts and secret appetites. With this collection of haunting and haunted stories, Marni Appleton immerses us in a world of fleeting encounters, empty couplings, break ups, bust ups, threesomes and ghosts, giving us a kaleidoscopic overview of twenty-first century life. 'These beautifully written, female-focused stories stayed with me long past closing the cover. Sensual, alive and haunting. Dark wisps of womanhood.' Lucy Prebble, Executive Producer and writer on the Bafta, Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning HBO drama Succession 'This collection of wry and incisive stories explores navigating the sticky, glorious and more-often-than-not absolutely horrific terrain of late girlhood and early womanhood.' Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, author of The Centre 'Truthful, dark, and walking the line between delicious and disturbing, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY is a rich and haunting read. Savour or gorge, this is a very special collection of deceptively cutting stories.' Lottie Hazell, author of Piglet 'Smart, surprising, and witty, these stories are a joy to read.' Naomi Booth, author of Animals at Night 'These tense stories of the zeitgeist show how the conditions of late capitalism promise women freedom while keeping them trapped in their economic and social circumstances. Clever, convincing and wry, they bowled me over. Like Mary Gaitskill and Miranda July before her, Marni Appleton writes about how it is to live now.' Julia Bell, author of Hymnaland Radical Attention 'Marni Appleton writes with insight, honesty and inventiveness into the raw, brutal spaces of girlhood and early womanhood. A powerful, political collection that maps intimately the minds and bodies of its characters, these stories stayed with me long after I'd finished.' Fran Littlewood, author of Amazing Grace Adams 'Such a wonderful collection, the writing so sharp, witty, dark, carefully observed and full of the realities of present day life.' Gerard Woodward, author of Legoland and I'll Go to Bed at Noon 'Raw, fluid, intimate and believable.' Mariel Franklin, author of Bonding 'Deliciously dark, incisive and original, Marni Appleton has clearly mastered the short story, but more than that, she has mastered the art of winding her readers in ribbons of mess and mundanity that make up both fantastical and real life in a truly compelling collection.' Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us 'Glittering behind every fixed-on smile in this collection is a crystallised seam of horror. An illegally acquired cocktail of weirdness, body laughs, love and spite. I could not have liked it more.' Ben Pester, author of Am I in the Right Place? 'Tender, skewed and affecting stories told with a keen eye for the absurd and unsettling nature of being alive. A bewitching and twisted kaleidoscope of stories.' Isy Suttie, award-winning comedian and writer 'Appleton knows all the ways that women are seen, surveilled, and regarded. These excellent stories stare right back, and they brim over with insight and sharp intelligence.' Manuel Muoz, author of The Consequences 'Marni Appleton's debut collection of short stories is like a shot fired across the bow of contemporary feminism. Prophetic and profound at once, her stories are oblique glimpses of girls' and womens' lives in the age of Instagram, anxiety and heightened scrutiny of women and especially of their bodies. Fresh, surprising and invigorating, Appleton's stories resonate long after finishing them with a restless energy and a humane heart.' Jean McNeil, author of Day for Night: A Novel

Wild HorsesThe heartwarming new rural romance by the bestselling author of Brumby's Run. Christy Peacock is devastated when an unfounded scandal throws her life as a drama teacher at a prestigious Sydney school off track. With her dream career in shreds, she spontaneously answers an ad to work at Currawong Creek, a horse therapy camp for troubled children nestled among the picturesque Bunya Mountains. Celebrity chef Tyler Ward hopes that Currawong Creek might hold the answer to reconnecting with his surly son, Leo. In a last-ditch attempt to bring the teenager out of his shell, Christy introduces Leo to Lofty, a wild ex-racehorse who trusts nobody. Their lives now intertwined, Christy and Tyler can't help falling for each other. But old secrets and unsolved mysteries refuse to remain buried, and their fledgling romance might be over before it truly begins... Wild Horses is a moving tale of second chances and finding love in unexpected places, set against the beautiful backdrop of the Darling Downs countryside.

Set against the wild backdrop of an intense heatwave in Europe, this is a story about sibling relationships - what holds a family together and what might fracture it forever. Family is everything, even when it falls apart.  There is a heatwave across Europe. Goose and his three sisters gather at the family's house by Lake Orta in Piedmont, Italy. Their father, a famous artist, has recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his masterpiece. Now he is dead and there is no sign of a painting.  Alhough the siblings have always been close, as they search for answers over that summer, the things they learn - about themselves, their father and their new stepmother - will drive them apart before they can come to any kind of understanding of what their father's legacy truly is. Extraordinarily compelling, at heart this is a novel about sibling relationships and those hairline cracks that can appear within a family- what what happens when they splinter, and what it would take to mend them.

They knew they were changing history. They didn't know they would change each other.  Following the unlikely friendship of four of the first ever women to study at Oxford University- a captivating debut novel about sisterhood, self-determination, courage, and what it means to come of age in a world that has changed forever.  Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its 1000-year history, the world's most famous university has admitted female students. Giddy with dreams of equality, education and emancipation, four young women move into neighbouring rooms on Corridor Eight. They have come here from all walks of life, and they are thrown into an unlikely, life-affirming friendship.  Dora was never meant to go to university, but, after losing both her brother and her fiance on the battlefield, has arrived in their place. Beatrice, politically-minded daughter of a famous suffragette, sees Oxford as a chance to make her own way - and her own friends - for the first time. Socialite Otto fills her room with extravagant luxuries but fears they won't be enough to distract her from her memories of the war years. And quiet, clever, Marianne, the daughter of a village vicar, arrives bearing a secret she must hide from everyone - even The Eights - if she is to succeed.  But Oxford's dreaming spires cast a dark shadow- in 1920, misogyny is still rife, influenza is still a threat, and the ghosts of the Great War are still very real indeed. And as the group navigate this tumultuous moment in time, their friendship will become more important than ever.

A major upmarket thriller launch- a famous film actress starts therapy to prepare for a new role, triggering a cat-and-mouse game of obsession and revenge.  Famous film star Lila Crayne is America's Sweetheart- she's generous and kind, gorgeous and magnetic. A golden girl. She and her fiance, visionary filmmaker Kurt Royall, have settled into a stunning New York apartment, and are embarking on a new movie- a modern feminist adaptation of a classic twentieth-century novel.  To prepare for the leading role, Lila begins work with charming and accomplished therapist Jonah Gabriel to dig into the trauma of her past. Soon, Lila's impeccably manicured life begins to unravel on the therapy couch - and Jonah is just the man to pick up the pieces. But everyone has a secret, no one is quite who they seem, and before long, careers, reputations and lives are in danger of being irrevocably destroyed . . .

Marriage, motherhood, sex- excellent!Madeleine Gray A sexy, funny, surprising tale of female friendship, bedrooms and marriage.  Escaping her 'model migrant' family life in Australia, Meena flourished in London. After falling pregnant, she and her boyfriend, Owen, fall in love with baby Sasha and bravely head to Sydney. But now Owen barely looks at Meena.  Â On a backpacking holiday, Sophie meets Todd. After a whirlwind romance she throws in her rising career in New York and follows Todd to Sydney, where she has committed to being the perfect wife, mother, and BFF to Meena. But now Todd's talking about a treechange, and Sophie's not sure if the life she built is the one she wants. Rani came to Australia as an international student and met her husband Daniyal. But raising her son Ali while navigating her husband's late nights has left her lonely. A simple act of rebellion threatens to upend her marriage, but could it also set her free?  Â When their paths collide, Meena, Sophie, and Rani form an unlikely alliance. Over coffee, cocktails, and confessions, they share the messy, hilarious truths about marriage, motherhood, and what they really want.  Â Raw, funny, and heartbreakingly relatable, The Sex Lives of Married Women is an unflinching exploration of the secret lives we all lead and the friendships that keep us going.

From the author of the USA Today bestselling Priest and New Camelot series comes the second in a high-heat, gothic, dark academia fairy tale full of lantern-lit rituals, foggy moors, and obsessions that last for a lifetime. All Poe, Auden, and St. Sebastian want is the chance to be together, but Thornchapel's secrets might unravel them-if they don't unravel each other first. From the author of the USA Today bestselling Priest and New Camelot series comes the second in a high-heat, gothic, dark academia fairy tale full of lantern-lit rituals, foggy moors, and obsessions that last for a lifetime. He's an outcast and a loner, named for death itself. Fate wasn't supposed to have plans for him.  But then she came back-the girl St. Sebastian Martinez once kissed in a thorn-covered chapel in the woods. She came back, and Saint could no more resist her than he could pry out his own heart. And by some trick of fate, she wants him as much as he wants her. The only problem? She also wants the man who owns Thornchapel, Auden Guest.  And so does Saint.  Eight years ago, Saint did something to Auden, something terrible. Auden hurt him back the only way he knew how, and so here they are- their hatred seasoned with pain and Saint's loneliness seasoned with longing. The only thing they can agree on is Proserpina Markham, and she wants them to find a way to be together-all three of them.  If Auden wants to earn her as his submissive, then he has to earn Saint as well.  But with the discovery of bones behind the altar and the carnal revel of Beltane fast approaching, it's becoming clear that Thornchapel's secrets are much deeper and older than any of them could have ever guessed. And no matter how bright and merry a feast of sparks may be, it's always followed by ashes.  And darkness.

Painting Portraits Of Everyone I'Ve Ever Dated A wry, tender, and funny debut novel about art and love – and how the act of seeing lies at the heart of both. All Ellie Robertson has wanted to be since childhood is a painter: after all, that’s the easiest way to speak without actually having to say anything. But now she’s turning thirty, has had a major career win, and is only just realizing that she might have let some minor things slide. Like, for instance, working out how to love another human being. So Ellie decides to do what any normal person would do: paint a portrait of each of her exes, from the childhood crush to the woman she may or may not still be madly in love with. The only problem is that she now needs to get in touch with everyone she’s dated, and not everyone is exactly happy to talk to her. Hilarious and bittersweet, Painting Portraits of Everyone I’ve Ever Dated is a story of a young woman who decides to finally try and see other people – even if she runs the risk of (god forbid) finally seeing herself.

Table For One Funny, fierce and life-affirming, TABLE FOR ONE is a love letter to you.If in doubt, date yourself.'A fast-paced, funny and touching story about smart young women’ ELIZABETH GILBERT'It's a fabulous read' RUTH JONES'Funny, warm yet galvanising' JENNIE GODFREY‘Joyful and affirming, this is a dopamine hit of a book' CLAIRE DAVERLEYWillow has everything worked out.*The steady partner*The successful career*The grown-up houseUntil she doesn’t – and she’s cast adrift on the sea of heartbreak, grieving a future with no clear path.With her life transformed beyond recognition, and her friends busy ‘moving forwards’, Willow has never felt more alone.But she’s in good company.And when inspiration arrives from an unlikely source, she rekindles the relationship she longs for – but has long neglected… The one with herself…PRAISE FOR EMMA GANNON:‘Culturally relatable, powerful and funny!’ ??????????‘Fantastic and super relatable’ ??????????‘I felt like I was reading it as a reflection of my life’??????????‘A lovely read with emotional and relatable themes throughout’ ??????????‘Comforting, funny, uplifting, emotional and ultimately just like a big hug in book form’ ??????????

The Patterson GirlsThe 10th anniversary edition of the ABIA award-winning novel from bestselling author Rachael Johns, with new epilogue!How can four sisters build the futures they so desperately want, when the past is reaching out to claim them?When the Patterson daughters return home to Meadow Brook to be with their father after their mother's death, they bring with them a world of complication and trouble.The eldest sister, obstetrician Madeleine, would rather be anywhere but her hometown, violinist Abigail has fled from her stellar career, while teacher Lucinda is struggling to have the children she and her husband so desperately want. The black sheep of the family, Charlie, feels her life as a barista and exercise instructor doesn't measure up to that of her gifted and successful sisters.Dealing with their bereft father who is determined to sell the family motel, their loves old and new and a series of troublesome decisions doesn't make life any easier, but when they go through their mother's possessions and uncover the shocking secret of an old family curse, they begin to question everything they thought they knew.A warm and wise novel about secrets revealed, finding your soulmate and the unique bond between sisters.

Before We Hit The Ground 'A moving exploration of family, migration, class, queerness and belonging… beautifully rendered' JESSICA ANDREWS 'A deeply observant, perceptive writer' JOANNA CANNON 'Evocative, layered and emotionally resonant… deserves to be on your reading list' GLAMOUR 'Masterful… It will stay with you long after you finish it' JJ BOLA Elom can’t make sense of love. It’s like a language he can’t speak, though he’s heard the words before. He wants to feel understood – by his well-meaning yet misapprehending family, his self-assured partner Ben, and his boisterous friends – but he never knows the right thing to say. How can you know yourself, in a world that’s constantly changing? Set across Ghana and Scotland, this is an intimate portrait of one man’s search for belonging, a family’s attempt to love, and the choices that make a life. GLOWING READER REVIEWS ‘Fiamanya's writing is just gorgeous – it's tender, it's unflinching, and it's totally immersive’ ?????????? ‘This is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I truly hope more people discover it’ ?????????? ‘All in all this was an absolutely stunning debut novel, I cannot wait to read more of Fiamanya's work in the future’ ?????????? ‘Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, this took my breath away. Wow, what a gorgeous novel. I can't recommend this enough’ ??????????

An intricately woven love story about mothers and daughters, and the ties - of both nature and nurture - that can never be broken. From the bestselling author of Star-crossed.THREE DRESSES . . . THREE DAUGHTERS . . . ONE SEARCH . . .In 1980, designer Claudie Miller is a household name. Girls are begging their mothers to make them her famous dress, the 'Juliet'. But there's a big hole in Claudie's life - sixteen years ago she was forced to give up her baby for adoption. Now she's in a race to track her daughter down before it's too late. In 1980, Roisin, Miranda and Bindi are turning sixteen on the same day. Raised in different families, in different parts of the country, they know nothing about each other . . . or their connection to the dress every teenager is talking about. But the Juliet was designed with one of them in mind - and its threads are slowly pulling them closer to the truth.'Three Juliets is unmissable. Exquisitely crafted, this story of adoption, longing and family is heartbreaking, tender and beautiful. Stitched together with Minnie Darke's ever vibrant characters and deep humanity, this story, like every baby born, is a small miracle.' HEATHER ROSE