Shortlisted for NZ Booklovers Awards 2020 In an unspecified time and location, an unnamed boy is living what he feels to be an idyllic life in the faded and peeling Lido where his father is a lifeguard. He idolises his father - never more so than when he saves the life of a suicidal man - and he comes to believe that heroism is all. The arrest of his sister Lilly later that summer brings the halcyon days to an abrupt end, and his family is torn apart, with Lilly sent to jail and the boy set to a boarding house for dysfunctional boys, far away from his home - The Fell. He is young and afraid but the boys in the home become his family and they band together against their enemies, both real and imagined, they become family. The boy is an unreliable narrator, seeing the world and his place in it through a unique lens. He meets ghosts, hears voices and battles his fears but never questions his own version of reality. Anger spills over when he hears the girl he loves referred to as a twenty-dollar-whore and his actions lead him to run from The Fell. And run, And run...

Bind: paperback

Pages: 325

Dimensions: 126 x 198 mm

In Angola, South African and Cuban troops are engaged in the biggest tank battle since the second world war. Ministers want MI6 to intervene, but discreetly. The South Africans after all are battling to preserve apartheid. On the front line in Angola Thomas is exposed to the realities of war. But death is soon much closer to home. After thirty years at the heart of British Intelligence Adam Joseff has retired to his stamp collection. His loyalty is beyond question. Until he is murdered in the Caribbean. Then the questions start. Has Joseff betrayed his country? Or has he been betrayed? What was he doing in Antigua? Who could want to kill him? And why was he so interested in an Angolan student young enough to be his granddaughter? In the latest Dylan thriller Thomas and Julia confront death, betrayal and their own conscience. They start pulling the clues together to solve this latest mystery and then the politicians take over...

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 22-04-2021

SATELLITES ARE FALLING OUT OF THE SKIES When rogue junk collides with a television satellite 22,000 miles above the Earth, blind cosmologist Harry Stones approaches Film Director Nathalie Thompson to make an investigative documentary. Undeterred by Harry's lack of sight, their quest leads them from the peaks of Arizona to a mile-deep mine in Yorkshire, and finally to a Launchpad in Kazakhstan. As more and more satellites keep falling out of the sky, their curiosity turns to fear. Forewarned of the possible outbreak of World War Three, can Harry and Nathalie prevent the space collision of all time?

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 138 x 216 mm

Publication Date: 14-05-2021

A young Hungarian woman confronts her family's past in an engrossing quest for a stolen painting When Anika Molnar flees her home country of Hungary not long before the break-up of the Soviet Union, she carries only a small suitcase - and a beautiful and much-loved painting of an auburn-haired woman in a cobalt blue dress from her family's hidden collection. Arriving in Australia, Anika moves in with her aunt in Sydney, and the painting hangs in pride of place in her bedroom. But one day it is stolen in what seems to be a carefully planned theft, and Anika's carefree life takes a more ominous turn. Sinister secrets from her family's past and Hungary's fraught history cast suspicion over the painting's provenance, and she embarks on a gripping quest to uncover the truth. Hungary's war-torn past contrasts sharply with Australia's bright new world of opportunity in this moving and compelling mystery.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 15-07-2021

'A twisty and pacy thriller with an original cast of characters, and stakes and jeopardy that build right to the end'-- Philippa East 'Riveting, twisty and tense, Her New Best Friend will keep you guessing until the last sentence! A page-turning psychological thriller' --- E.C. Scullion 'A twisty look at obsession and motherhood. You're in for a treat!'-- Louise Mumford Mum-of-two Audrey is horrified when during a moment of distraction in the park, her pram with baby Wilfred in it rolls down the hill and into a pond. Fortunately for her, Claire Jones is nearby and rescues Wilfred, soothing Audrey and daughter Antonia with coffee and cake in a nearby cafe. No harm is done. However, the frightening experience dents Audrey's confidence and she replays the events over and over, convinced she can't have forgotten to put the brake on. To make matters worse she keeps spotting a shadowy figure everywhere she goes and becomes sure that someone is stalking her. Audrey's fears are escalating when a catastrophic reaction to a bee sting sends her into a coma - and into hospital - but once again her new best friend is on hand to step in. Does Claire really have Audrey's best interests at heart? And if not, why has she inserted herself so cleverly into Audrey's life? Will Audrey ever recover? And will her real friends be able uncover the truth before it is too late? A twisting tale of intrigue and deception - and of what happens when your worst nightmare comes true.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 05-08-2021

Monterini, Italy. 1921. Yacobo Levi, an intellectual dreamer, works in the family bookshop. Angelo Ghione, a contadino, makes good wine by singing to the grapes. Lifetime best friends, their Jewish and Catholic families live side by side amidst a backdrop of village communal life, Etruscan tales and the growth of Benito Mussolini. Born on the same day, their children grow up and fall in love. When the 1938 racial laws are passed, the love between Bella and Rico thrives amidst and perhaps because of the fear and uncertainty. When Angelo discovers their liaison he suggests they marry but life is complicated and tensions simmer beneath the surface of love and friendship. When war is declared on the day of Bella's wedding to Michele a fellow Jew, the peaceful village they live in is torn apart, and the Levis find themselves displaced and fighting for their lives. Will life ever be the same again? The Tears of Monterini is a story of love and betrayal, loyalty and friendship. Inspired by true events in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, this beautifully written debut will appeal to readers interested in history, Italy, romance, family dynamics and conflict.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 36

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 30-07-2020

In a Brazilian favela a young couple is ageing before their very eyes In a New York biomedical research organisation, a ground-breaking trial is allowing researchers to harvest time from individuals and redistribute to those who want more In a Manhattan office block a highflying lawyer finds himself grappling with a moral and ethical dilemma Suddenly you are able to buy yourself more time. But should you? Julia Madison is about to take a break from her career in the family corporate law firm. A little disheartened by the excesses around her she decides to travel to Brazil to work with some of the poorest people there. Geoff Madison is on the verge of retirement, feeling his age and ready to slow down. His long-time best friend and client, Larry is just the opposite. Full of life and energy he is excited by the massive breakthrough his research company has made into harvesting time from one human, to give to another. He wants Geoff to represent him in this, the biggest opportunity of his life. Geoff isn't sure, but Larry ploughs on anyway, beginning trials with this new method. Gabriel and Isabella live in a favela and willingly give up some of their years for the money they are offered. But the drugs haven't been checked rigorously enough and they are ageing early - and quickly. By chance, Julia meets Gabriel and hears his shocking story. As Gabriel and Isabella's bodies race towards their untimely demise, Julia vows to bring their case to trial back in New York, placing her father's friendship with Larry at risk and causing Geoff to think carefully about right and wrong as he faces his own terminal diagnosis. A twisting and twisted drama that spans the favelas of Brazil to the courtrooms of NYC.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 30-07-2020

It's 1960, and pregnant with her lover's child, Heather Fontwell makes a plan to visit her husband William at the tea plantation he manages in Kenya. She books passage on the SS Uganda, hoping to convince him that the baby is his. In Kenya, William is distracted by news of financial misconduct at the plantation, something he suspects may be down to Mombasa harbourmaster Carruthers – currently on the SS Uganda making his way back to Kenya... During her journey, Heather meets resistance, travelling as a single woman, particularly from the unpleasant Carruthers. The morning sickness she is hiding leads her to rely more and more on the thaliadomide tablets that the ship matron is handing out like sweets. When events take a tragic turn,William arrives at the port in Mombasa to find no wife and a captain and crew who seem to be hiding the truth...

Bind: hardback

Pages: 336

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 21-05-2020

"There is a safe, in a house, inside a secure compound in South America. Your job is to bring me the contents of that safe." Disgraced security consultant Tom Holt accepts a job from a mysterious lawyer, on behalf of a client named Capricorn. Holt's team comprises Anil, a safe-cracking ex-con; Ray, a disgruntled logistics man, and Becca, a fiery red-headed thief with as much attitude as she has talent for picking pockets. On arrival in the alluring Argentine city of Buenos Aires, Holt's past swiftly catches up with him. As he begins to question the client's motives, he finds there are darker, more sinister characters who show loyalty to his employer. Who is Capricorn? What's inside the safe? Tom Holt is about to discover how far he will go to expose the truth, even if it means risking everything, including his own life...

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 28-05-2020

How can you ever live up to the memory of someone you hardly remember? Annie is five when her sister Gemma leaves for school one day and never returns. The family's lives are changed forever with Gemma's disappearance and Annie feels neglected and unloved. When she is just sixteen, she decides she can no longer live in the shadow of her perfect but absent sister and she leaves home, falling in and out of jobs and relationships, her resentment for Gemma always there, bubbling under the surface. Many years later she reluctantly returns home to care for her mother, ill with cancer. Her anger only grows when she sees Gemma's room still kept as a shrine while hers is now her mother's sewing room, but as she cares for her mum she begins to soften and egged on by her best friend Priti she realises she has to uncover what happened to Gemma, for all their sakes. Her research puts her in danger but with the help of a fabulous cast of characters and a satisfying twist in the tale, she finally discovers the truth - but can she ever accept it?

Bind: paperback

Pages: 336

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 14-05-2020