AustLit

'Trapped in rugged country in scorching summer heat, pursued by ruthless gunmen who can't afford to fail, Jo and Nick will need all their skills and courage to survive.

'The national parks where Ranger Jo Lockwood works, on the edge of the NSW outback, are untamed stretches of dry forest cut through with wild rivers. She's often alone, and she likes it that way until she discovers the body of a man, brutally murdered, in a vandalised campground.

'Detective Senior Sergeant Nick Matheson knows organised crime and gang violence from the inside out. He's so good at undercover work that his colleagues aren't sure which side he's really on. His posting to Strathnairn is supposed to be a return to normal duties, but the murder victim in the campground is only the first of Jo's discoveries.

'As Jo and Nick uncover drugs and a stash of illegal weapons, the evidence points towards local young men already on the wrong side of the law. But as far as Nick s concerned, it doesn't add up. When the body count starts mounting, each brutally punished before death, he becomes convinced that one person is behind the killings, one person is manipulating the men to commit horrific crimes, forming them into his own private drug-dealing cartel.

'Jo has seen the man's face, and now she's his next target. Nick's determined to protect her, but trapped in the rugged outback he and Jo will have to act quickly if they are going to survive.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Life is falling into place for National Parks ranger Erin Taylor. She has a job she loves, she's falling for her colleague, Simon - and she is finally leaving the past behind. Until a woman is murdered. But the victim is not just any woman - she's Simon's wife, Hayley. The wife he's not mentioned to Erin. The wife he's not seen in fourteen years. On the edge of the national park, the alternative lifestyle community of 'Simple Bliss' denies knowing Hayley, but Simon and Erin suspect otherwise. As Simon uncovers shocking details about the group, Erin is drawn further into their midst and finds a web of lies, decades old - and a charismatic, manipulative, dangerous cult leader who will let nothing and no-one stand in his way. On the wrong side of a river in flood that has become a lethal torrent, Erin and Simon must race to expose the truth and prevent a tragedy.' (Publication summary)

''Dammit, Tess, he doesn't seem worth protecting.'

''I'm not protecting him, sarge,' she said. She dropped her gaze, biting her lip, and for the first time in his experience she spoke in a small voice. 'I'm protecting me.'

For police officers Steve Fraser and Tess Ballard, a split-second decision saves the lives of fifty members of a cult ­- but also puts their careers on the line. Tess's work is everything to her; she's forged a new life through sheer determination, so when her past returns to haunt her, Steve must race through wild country if he is to save the people he most cares about.' (Publication summary)