AustLit

The girls occupying a business girls' hostel run by Mother Paul are caught up in a mystery when anonymous letters begin circulating and then a man's body is found in the hostel grounds.

'As 1959 dawns, Billy Glasheen is in deeper trouble than ever. The past has caught up with him in the form of Fred Slaney, Sydney's meanest, most corrupt cop, who's got Billy framed up for the murder of his crooked partner. Not that Slaney wants to arrest him - what he wants is ten grand. He gives Billy a choice - pay up within six months, or take early retirement, forever. Billy can't think of a legal way to come up with the money that fast, and anyway, earning an honest living has never been his strength. 

'So what's the answer? Up the ante on Uncle Dick's mailorder scams? Rig a horse race or two? Rob a bank? Maybe all of the above? Surely something will work...and it does, though not in the way you might expect - and not before Billy's situation gets a whole lot worse.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (2019 ed.).

A female doctor finds herself up against doctors who seems to revel in their power over life and death.

'David Nichols tells the story of Australian rock and pop music from 1960 to 1985 – formative years in which the nation cast off its colonial cultural shackles and took on the world.

'Generously illustrated and scrupulously researched, Dig combines scholarly accuracy with populist flair. Nichols is an unfailingly witty and engaging guide, surveying the fertile and varied landscape of Australian popular music in seven broad historical chapters, interspersed with shorter chapters on some of the more significant figures of each period. The result is a compelling portrait of a music scene that evolves in dynamic interaction with those in the United States and the UK, yet has always retained a strong sense of its own identity and continues to deliver new stars – and cult heroes – to a worldwide audience.

'Dig is a unique achievement. The few general histories to date have been highlight reels, heavy on illustration and short on detail. And while there have been many excellent books on individual artists, scenes and periods, and a couple of first-rate encylopedias, there’s never been a book that told the whole story of the irresistible growth and sweep of a national music culture. Until now ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The return of Maggie Byrnes, heroine of Murder in the Telephone Exchange, finds her married, with a young son, and living in an outer Melbourne suburb. But violent death dogs her footsteps even in apparently tranquil Middleburn. It’s perhaps not that much of a surprise when widely disliked local bigwig James Holland (who also happens to be Maggie’s landlord) is shot, but Maggie suspects that someone is also trying to poison the infant who is his heir, and turns sleuth once more to uncover the culprits.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Verse Chorus Press edition)

'When someone takes advantage of a duck hunt to murder publisher Athol Sefton at a remote hunting inn, it soon turns out that almost everyone, guests and staff alike, had good reason to shoot him. Sefton’s nephew Charles believes he can solve the crime by applying the traditional “rules of the game” he’s absorbed over years as a reviewer of detective fiction. Much to his annoyance, however, the killer doesn’t seem to be playing by those rules, and Charles finds that he is the one under suspicion.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When it comes to sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll, Billy Glasheen’s always been in the vanguard, but as the swinging 60s turn into the 70s, he’s living a quiet life. He has kids now, and he’s in debt to the mob, so he keeps his head down, driving a cab, running some low-level rackets. He may as well have gone straight, it’s so boring. Then one day everything changes. He finds a trashy paperback in his cab whose plot seems weirdly familiar. Billy himself seems to be a major character in it. He can’t think who could’ve written it other than Max, his old partner in crime who double-crossed him and left him in the mess he’s in. Only Max is dead. He went up in flames, along with lots of cash, after a bank heist. But if Max is alive, Billy has a score to settle. And if he didn't get fried to a crisp, maybe the money didn't either. Billy has to find out, by following clues planted in that strange little book. He soon discovers he’s not the only one on Max’s trail, and has to deal with enemies old and new in his strangest adventure yet.' (Publication summary)

'June Wright’s debut stars feisty young telephonist Maggie Byrnes. When one of her more unpopular colleagues at Melbourne Central is murdered – her head bashed in with a “buttinsky,” a piece of equipment used to listen in on phone calls – Maggie resolves to turn sleuth. A couple of her co-workers are acting strangely, and Maggie is convinced she has a better chance of figuring out who is responsible for the killing than the stodgy police team assigned to the case, who seem to think she herself might have had something to do with it. But then one of her friends is murdered too, and it looks like Maggie might be next in line. ' (Publication summary)

'To some, black skin and country music may seem unlikely bedfellows. But from early stars like Jimmy Little and Herb Laughton through Dougie and Wilga Williams to Vic Sims, Bob 'Brown Skin baby' Randal, Bobby McLeod, Issac Yama and Roger Knox. Aboriginal country music is a very real phenomenon. A long rich tradition that's still alive today in Troy Cassar-Daley and Archie Roach.' (Source: On-line)

'The definitive account of AC/DC's rise to fame, when the ribald lyrics and charismatic stage presence of singer Bon Scott, along with the guitar work of Angus and Malcolm Young, defined a new, highly influential brand of rock and roll. Drawing on many interviews and featuring a gallery of rare photos, Clinton Walker traces the band's career through the life of their original front man, from small-time gigs to international success, up to Scott's shocking death in 1980. AC/DC's undiminished superstar status (they're the fourth-bestselling band of all time), and their indelible influence on a succession of genres from metal to grunge to rap, ensure that Bon Scott's presence continues to be felt strongly. HIGHWAY TO HELL offers the full story of this seminal rock figure.' (Publication summary)

The bands that spearheaded the late 1970s punk scene in Australia ― the Saints, Birthday Party, Radio Birdman, and the Go-Betweens ― are among the most important of their time. 

Inner City Sound is the classic account of the explosive development of that scene. Original articles from fanzines and newspapers, together with almost 300 photographs, vividly portray the creative ferment of the period and the dozens of bands that sprang up in the wake of the pioneers. First published in late 1981, Inner City Sound soon fell out of print. It became a lost classic, so sought after that it has been bootlegged like the rare singles listed in its discography. This new edition contains 32 extra pages of articles, photos, and discographic data, which take the story through to 1985, when Nick Cave, the Go-Betweens, the Triffids, and others began to break through internationally.

Source: Publisher's blurb.