AustLit

Almost every graduating class had a girl who disappeared. A decades-old crime threatens to tear apart three generations of women in this unputdownable mystery that will keep you gripped until its last heart-wrenching page.

'1949 It is the coldest winter Orcades Island has ever known, when a pregnant sixteen-year-old arrives at Fairmile, a home for 'fallen women' run by the Catholic Church. She and her baby will disappear before the snow melts.

'2013 Frankie Gray has come to the island for the summer, hoping for one last shot at reconnecting with her teenage daughter, Izzy, before starting a job as a deputy sheriff. They are staying with her mother, Diana, at The Fairmile Inn, soon to be a boutique hotel, but when an elderly nun is found dead in suspicious circumstances, and then a tiny skeleton is discovered in the grounds of the house, Frankie is desperate for answers.At once an evocative, unsettling tale of past misdeeds and a crime thriller that will have you reading with your heart in your mouth, The Only Child is compulsively addictive storytelling from the international bestselling author of The Silk House.'  (Publication summary)

'Burma, 1945: Bea, Plum, Bubbles, Joy and Lucy are five young women in search of adventure. Attached to the Fourteenth Army, fighting a forgotten war in the jungle, they become embroiled in life-threatening battles that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

'Oxford, 1976: At the height of summer, a woman steals several rare Japanese netsuke from the Ashmolean Museum. These tiny, exquisitely detailed carvings are never seen again.

'London and Galway, 1999: Olivia, assistant to an art-dealer, meets with the elderly Beatrix, who wishes to sell her late husband’s collection of Japanese art. Concealing her own motives, Olivia accompanies Beatrix to a party where friendships will be tested as secrets kept for more than fifty years are revealed.' (Publication summary)

'Weaving. Healing. Haunting. The spellbinding story of a mysterious boarding school sheltering a centuries-old secret...

'Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first intake of girls in its 150-year history. She is to stay with them in Silk House, a building with a long and troubled past.

'In the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell leaves her village to work in the home of an English silk merchant. She is thrust into a new and dangerous world where her talent for herbs and healing soon attracts attention.

'In London, Mary-Louise Stephenson lives amid the clatter of the weaving trade and dreams of becoming a silk designer, a job that is the domain of men. A length of fabric she weaves with a pattern of deadly flowers will have far-reaching consequences for all who dwell in the silk house. 

'Intoxicating, haunting and inspired by the author's background, THE SILK HOUSE is an exceptional gothic mystery.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A cache of unsent love letters from the 1950s is found in a suitcase on a remote island in this mysterious love story by top ten bestselling author, Kayte Nunn.

1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed to an isolated mental asylum by her husband. Run by a pioneering psychiatrist, the hospital is at first Esther's prison but soon becomes her refuge.

2018. Free-spirited marine scientist Rachel Parker embarks on a research posting in the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast. When a violent storm forces her to take shelter on a far-flung island, she discovers a collection of hidden love letters. Captivated by their passion and tenderness, Rachel determines to track down the intended recipient.

Meanwhile, in London, Eve is helping her grandmother, a renowned mountaineer, write her memoirs. When she is contacted by Rachel, it sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to reveal secrets kept buried for more than sixty years.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Discovery. Desire. Deception. A wondrously imagined tale of two female botanists, separated by more than a century, in a race to discover a life-saving flower . . .

'In Victorian England, headstrong adventuress Elizabeth takes up her late father's quest for a rare, miraculous plant. She faces a perilous sea voyage, unforeseen dangers and treachery that threatens her entire family.

'In present-day Australia, Anna finds a mysterious metal box containing a sketchbook of dazzling watercolours, a photograph inscribed 'Spring 1886' and a small bag of seeds. It sets her on a path far from her safe, carefully ordered life, and on a journey that will force her to face her own demons.

'In this spellbinding botanical odyssey of discovery, desire and deception, Kayte Nunn has so exquisitely researched nineteenth-century Cornwall and Chile you can almost smell the fragrance of the flowers, the touch of the flora on your fingertips . . .' (Publication summary)

'When something is taken away, it can make what’s left all the sweeter – in winemaking, they call it the ‘angels’ share’.

'Mattie Cameron thinks she’s got it all figured out: an impressive career in London, a gorgeous boyfriend and brilliant friends. But after a freak skiing accident leaves her with serious injuries, a broken heart and a job she can no longer do, moving back to Australia to recuperate at her brother Mark’s winery in the Shingle Valley seems like the only option.

'Meanwhile, Mark is preoccupied with a catastrophic threat to the future of the valley, and his partner, Rose, is juggling the demands of her burgeoning restaurant and being a stepmother, all the while secretly longing for a child of her own.

'As Mattie’s injuries heal, she begins to wonder where her future might lie, especially when she finds herself struggling with her growing feelings for winemaker Charlie Drummond – who happens to be engaged to someone.

'Featuring the cherished cast of characters from Rose’s Vintage, this new tale of life and love in the spectacular Shingle Valley is set to charm and delight.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'With her heart in tatters after a relationship break-up, Rose Bennett trades her hometown of London for the sunny shores of Australia – but she arrives to find the Shingle Valley shrouded in winter.

'As the weather improves, Rose starts to unlock the secrets of the Valley – from bonfire ceremonies and wine-making traditions to eccentric locals and their histories.

'And despite herself, Rose starts to fall in love: with the valley, the wines, the two children she’s helping to look after – and with handsome and brilliant Mark Cameron, owner of the troubled Kalkari Wines estate.

'But what will happen when Mark’s estranged wife, the tempestuous Isabella, returns? Will Rose find a future in the Shingle Valley, or will she be forced to leave?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.