AustLit

'It is the winter of 1942. In the wartime blackout, a midnight bus breaks down near the small, semi-rural town of Bexford North, 30 miles from Sydney. Outside the bus, a passenger screams as torchlight fall on the body of a soldier stabbed to death. Inspector Peters is summoned to solve the mystery, but soon another more horrific murder follows.

In the midst of a country at war and a town in terror, the fabric of this close-knit and respectable community is torn asunder. Inspector Peters struggles through the complexities of the lives and attitudes of the villagers: their loves, jealousies, fears, prejudices, their silent heroism and, equally, their silent anguish and despair -- all lived out against an overwhelming fear of invasion.

With the help of the eccentric Annie Watson, Inspector Peters arrives at a startling truth.

War continues, life returns to normal ...and the Dance Goes On.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'It is late summer 1942-1943. The close-knit community of Bexford North is brought face to face with one of the by-products of war when one of their own is admitted to the newly established Army Mental Hospital. As the ladies of the village, led by the eccentric Annie Watson, come to know the young hospitalised soldiers - especially the black American soldier - they become alarmed.

In this period of the White Australia Policy, all is not as it seems. Their consternation turns to anguish when murders occur which appear to be motiveless. Inspector Bob Peters and his team have their work cut out to solve the problem - but how do you find a particular mad-man in a mad-house.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Not even the imminent threat of a Japanese invasion can stop the notorious Lady Emily Gascoigne-Ridley from courting disaster - or even death - wherever she goes. When she decides to spend the winter of 1943 in Bexford North, simply to spite her relative, Annie Watson, she begins to wreak havoc in the villagers' lives. Within a week, she has the village in turmoil with her insinuations, her Russian Communist propaganda and her evil tale-bearing. When murder is discovered, Inspector Peters and his team do not have to search for the suspects - they are in bewildering abundance. It seems as if, finally, Lady Emily has received what she deserves... or has she?' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'1944. King’s Cross. The red light district of Sydney is alive with noise, bright lights, American soldiers on leave – and vice. 

'Nearby, Annie Watson is hoping for a few days’ vacation with her cousin, Monica Jeffrey. But when Annie intervenes to save an orphan girl, she is enmeshed in a murder conspiracy involving gangsters, drug addicts, thugs and prostitutes. Discovering the time and place of the arranged murder, Annie tries desperately, in her inimitable manner, to avert the tragedy.

'Unorthodox methods are called for, and Annie, as usual, is not afraid to use them.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Jean Harris, the pretty Land Army Girl from Kelly’s dairy, was enjoying the war. She threw many of the Bexford North men – young and old – into a frenzy of excitement. So when Jean is found brutally murdered, Inspector Bob Peters and his team are not short of local suspects. But their enquiries expand when the murder victim is revealed to be a pivotal figure in criminal war-time activities.

The blackmailing exploits of a precocious and unpleasant child of eleven distract police and hamper their work still further. Annie Watson is determined not to get involved. But then another murder – and a conspiracy to assassinate her daughter’s husband – draw her into the far-reaching investigation. Is it too late to reveal what she knows?' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Spring of 1952. Annie Watson, now widowed, is assisting her daughter Lady Penelope Sheridan with the first formal dinners to be held at the renovated Big House. 

Even the reputedly troublesome Dowager Lady Edwina cannot cast a shadow over the triumphant success of the first dinner. But in all the planning, none of them expected murder to be served as one of the courses.

With the ever-loyal assistance of Superintendent Peters and team, Annie inveigles Edwina into the murder investigation. Little does she know she will involve the Dowager in a hair-raising confrontation with a serial killer — as an after-dinner mint!' (Source: Publisher's blurb)