AustLit

'From the scene-stealing star of Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids comes a refreshingly candid, hilarious, and inspiring book about her unconventional journey to Hollywood success and loving herself.

'For decades, Rebel Wilson had single-mindedly focused on her career, making a name for herself through her iconic roles in Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids, and Isn't It Romantic. Now she's ready to chronicle the emotional and physical lessons she learned, as well as her most embarrassing experiences. A malaria induced hallucination? An all-style-martial arts fighting tournament? Junior handling at?dog shows? And this was all BEFORE she moved to Hollywood!

'Rebel Rising follows Rebel Wilson's incredible journey of "making it," constantly questioning "Am I good enough?", "Will I ever find love?" and "Will I ever change and become healthy?" Rebel writes for the first time about her most personal and important moments in her life- from fertility issues, weight gain and loss, sexuality, overcoming shyness, rejections and, well...okay there's at least one story thrown in about Brad Pitt! It's all here. This memoir shows us how to love ourselves, while making us laugh uncontrollably.' (Publication summary)

'A powerful debut novel that continues the legacy of ‘Master of the Genre’ Desmond Bagley with a thriller set in Australia, also appealing to a new generation of readers of who adore Jane Harper and Chris Hammer.
The Sequel to Desmond Bagley’s DOMINO ISLAND

'Insurance investigator Bill Kemp had never wanted to trek deep into Australia’s remote interior. But when his clients Sophie and Adam Church inherit an abandoned opal mine, triggering some explosive long-lost secrets, they – and Kemp – find themselves facing an unknown enemy even more deadly than the vast, forbidding wilderness of the Outback…

'The Desmond Bagley centenary novel honours the legacy of the bestselling thriller writer with a new adventure featuring Bill Kemp, described by Jeffrey Deaver as ‘part James Bond, part Philip Marlowe, and all hero’. Writer Michael Davies, who completed the first Kemp novel Domino Island for publication nearly 40 years after the author’s death, now weaves an original tale of danger and death under the blistering Australian sun.' (Publication summary)

'The wealthy island nation of Singapore seems like an oasis of luxury and order, but it owes everything to the immigrant women who no one sees...

'Corazon, Donita, and Angel are Filipina domestic workers--part of the wave of women sent to Singapore to be cleaners, maids, and caregivers in its decadent homes.

'Corazon: A veteran domestic worker, Cora had retired back to the Philippines for good, but she has returned to Singapore under mysterious circumstances. Now she's keeping a secret from her wealthy employer, who is planning an extravagant wedding for her socialite daughter.

'Donita: Barely out of her teens, this is Donita's first time in Singapore, and she's had the bad luck to be hired by the notoriously fussy Mrs. Fann. Brazen and exuberant, Donita's thrown herself into a love affair with an Indian construction worker, and started a lively social media account that says more than it should.

'Angel: Working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly employer, Angel is feeling blue after a recent breakup with the woman she loves. She's alarmed when her employer's son suddenly brings in a new Filipina nurse who may be a valuable ally, or who may be meant to replace her.

'Then an explosive news story shatters Singapore's famous tranquility--and sends a chill down the spine of every domestic worker. Flordeliza Martinez, a Filipina maid, has been arrested for murdering her female employer. The three women don't know the accused well, but she could be any of them; every worker knows stories of women who were scapegoated or even executed for crimes they didn't commit.

'Shocked into action, Donita, Corazon, and Angel will use their considerable moxie and insight to piece together the mystery of what really happened on the day Flordeliza's employer was murdered. After all, no one knows the secrets of Singapore's elite like the women who work in their homes...' (Publication summary)

'KATE, 2019

'Kate flees London – abandoning everything – for Cumbria and Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great-aunt. There, a secret lurks in the bones of the house, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

'VIOLET, 1942

'Violet is more interested in collecting insects and climbing trees than in becoming a proper young lady. Until a chain of shocking events changes her life forever.

'ALTHA, 1619

'Altha is on trial for witchcraft, accused of killing a local man. Known for her uncanny connection with nature and animals, she is a threat that must be eliminated.

'But Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…

'Weaving together the stories of three women across five centuries, Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Love is in the air . . .

'Sarah has everything she ever wished for; she lives with her gorgeous boyfriend and their cat in Sydney and life couldn’t be better. If only she wasn’t so anxious about turning the big 4 0.

'Meanwhile Cat is happily loved-up with Jean-Luc, except she lives in London, and he lives in Paris. She loves their long-distance relationship so why is she worrying about their future.

'But a surprise wedding proposal is about to change everything for these sisters. And with all their family and friends gathering at a vineyard in Tuscany to celebrate, love, laughter and mayhem are about to ensue.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Home is where the heart is . . .

'When Jaelee Tan leaves her high-flying PR job in Miami for a sabbatical in Bali, the last thing she expects is for it to become permanent. But when her boss demands the trip be cut short, Jae does the only thing she can think of and quits on the spot.

'With two months in Bali, a new group of friends and the gorgeous scenery and beaches, Jae is determined to make the most of her new-found freedom. And when she locks eyes with hunky Scot, Alistair, Jae wonders if she’ll lose her heart to more than just a Balinese sunrise.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'You will not recognise me, she thinks, when I find you . . .

'Mim’s husband is missing. No one knows where Ben is, but everyone wants to find him – especially The Department. And they should know, the all-seeing government body has fitted the entire population with a universal tracking chip to keep them ‘safe’.

'But suddenly Ben can’t be tracked. And Mim is questioned, made to surrender her passport and threatened with the unthinkable – her two children being taken into care at the notorious BestLife.

'Cornered, Mim risks everything to go on the run to find her husband – and a part of herself, long gone, that is brave enough to tackle the journey ahead.

'From the stark backroads of the Australian outback to a terrifying sea voyage, Mim is forced to shuck off who she was – mother, daughter, wife, sister – and become the woman she needs to be to save her family and herself.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Combining the emotional power and dual narrative style of Before We Were Yours with the nuanced, layered, and atmospheric mystery of The Dry, a powerful debut novel revolving around a shocking disappearance, two neighbor families, and shameful secrets from the past that refuse to stay buried.

'It is 1997, and in a basement flat in Hackney, Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father phoning from Sydney.  30 years ago, in the suffocating heat of summer 1967, the Greens’ next-door neighbour Mandy disappeared. At the time, it was thought she had fled a broken marriage and gone to start a new life; but now Mandy’s family is trying to reconnect, and there is no trace of her. Isla’s father Joe was allegedly the last person to see her alive, and now he’s under suspicion of murder.

' Isla unwillingly plans to go back to Australia for the first time in a decade to support her father. The return to Sydney will plunge Isla deep into the past, to a quiet street by the sea where two couples live side by side. Isla’s parents, Louisa and Joe, have recently emigrated from England—a move that has left Louisa miserably homesick while Joe embraces this new life. Next door, Steve and Mandy are equally troubled. Mandy doesn’t want a baby, even though Steve—a cop trying to hold it together under the pressures of the job—is desperate to become a father.  

' The more Isla asks about the past, the more she learns: about both young couples and the secrets each marriage bore. Could her father be capable of doing something terrible? How much does her mother know? What will happen to their family if Isla’s worst fears are realized? And is there another secret in this community, one which goes deeper into Australia’s colonial past, which has held them in a conspiracy of silence?

'Deftly exploring the deterioration of relationships and the devastating truths we keep from those we love, The Silence is a stunning debut from a promising literary star.' (Publication summary)

'Featuring children's own words and heart-warming pictures, this is the perfect book for children living in, or visiting Australia.

'`I love Australia because... `

'This beautiful book combines endearing things said by children about Australia, with fun illustrations of cute Australian animals. And from the beautiful scenery to the plentiful outdoor activities, there is certainly a lot to love!

'The perfect keepsake for residents and visitors of Australia!' (Publication summary)

'Lemon Fresh has seen better days. After the climactic battle in Babel, she finds herself separated from Ezekiel and Cricket in the wastelands. Lemon's abilities to manipulate electricity mark her as a deviate, and deadly corporate operatives are hunting her to use as a weapon in the war between BioMaas Incorporated and Daedelus Technologies. Instead, Lemon finds herself falling in with a group of fellow deviates—a band of teenagers with astonishing abilities, led by an enigmatic figure known as the Major. Meanwhile, Cricket finds himself in possession of the puritanical Brotherhood, a religious cult set for a head-on collision with the Major and his band. Searching for Lemon, Ezekiel uncovers a plot that may see him reunited with his beloved Ana. And inside Babel, a remade Eve hatches a plan to bring an end to the world.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

''Rules are great. I love rules. Rules are what differentiate us from the chimps'—Kitty Flanagan.

'As we travel through life, we discover that many, many people are very annoying—and that is why we need rules. 488 rules for life is Kitty Flanagan's way of making the world a more pleasant place to live.

'In this book, Kitty Flanagan combines ancient wisdom with decades of experience and lots of time spent at home with her cat to provide four hundred and eighty-eight profound and challenging principles for how to live a meaningful life, from making sure you do a final check before exiting the toilet to not chewing with your mouth open. Gripping, thought-provoking and deeply rewarding, 488 Rules for Life offers an antidote to the idiot in your life: eternal truths applied to our modern problems.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'‘Her name is Sammy Went. This photo was taken on her second birthday. Three days later she was gone.’

'On a break between teaching photography classes, Kim Leamy is approached by a stranger investigating the disappearance of a little girl from her Kentucky home twenty-eight years earlier. He believes she is that girl.

'At first Kim brushes it off, but when she scratches the surface of her family background in Australia, questions arise that aren’t easily answered. To find the truth, she must travel to Sammy’s home of Manson, Kentucky, and into a dark past. As the mystery unravels and the town’s secrets are revealed, this superb novel builds towards a tense, terrifying, and entirely unexpected climax.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

'Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father's failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she wanders a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and its thugs. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the hearth of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

'Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her with the Church’s halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the only thing she desires.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Imagine trying to live a normal life in a world which changes daily and where nothing is certain …

'Hannah has deep roots in Beirut, the city of her birth and of her family. Her American husband, Peter, has certainty only in her. They thought that they were used to the upheavals in Lebanon, but as the war in neighbouring Syria enters its fifth year, the region's increasingly fragile state begins to impact on their lives in wholly different ways.

'An incident in a busy street brings them into direct contact with a Syrian refugee and her son. As they work to reunite Fatima with her family, her story forces Hannah to face the crisis of the expanding refugee camps, and to question the very future of her homeland.

'And when their close friend Anas, an artist, arrives to open his exhibition, shocking news from his home in Damascus raises uncomfortable questions about his loyalty to his family and his country.

'Heartrending and beautifully written, An Unsafe Haven is a universal story of people whose lives are tested and transformed, as they wrestle with the anguish of war, displacement and loss, but also with the vital need for hope.' (Publication summary)

'THE PULSE OF DANGER is an Australian novel from the award-winning Jon Cleary, author of the Inspector Scobie Malone series.

'In the valleys of Bhutan, a small botanical expedition prepares to return to India after seven months field work. However Chinese forces have crossed the Indian border, and suddenly an Indian colonel appears in their camp with a captured Chinese general, closely pursued by his troops.' (Publication summary)

'Carl Strassberger's comfortable life in the south of France is shattered when his brother-in-law Larry Lucas, the heir to the family banking business, suddenly vanishes after landing a multimillion-dollar deal.

'Investigating Larry's disappearance, Carl uncovers a sinister travel company that helps wealthy, unhappy clients disappear to a new life. But Carl fears Larry is dead—or worse.

'Vanishing Point is a story of flight and pursuit, of financial intrigue, of old and menacing secrets unearthed and of normal lives thrown suddenly into violent confusion.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Larissa and Marc open their own backyard travel agency to earn the money to buy Benjamin Brown's old red wagon. The trips become wilder and wackier by the minute, culminating in an out-of-this-world travel experience for Bruno Kombobski, the neighbourhood bully.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.