AustLit

'Two flowering bottlebrush trees stand in the small front yard of the one-storey beige weatherboard house in Dubbo. As I walk towards the front door, a voice yells out the window: “Come round the back.” The door swings open just before I reach it. Mervyn Bishop, one of Australia’s foremost news photographers, stands smiling.' (Introduction)

'It begins with the Maid of Orléans, history’s most charismatic female hero, languishing in an English dungeon. Great ladies glide through and brutish guards hurl abuse, but none suspect her secret: the warrior virgin who led an army and changed the course of history has loved – and been loved in return.' (Introduction)

'“Later, the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things. One: No one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell. And two: Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you.” Jane Harper sure knows how to start a novel, and with a beginning like that, who could resist?' (Introduction)