AustLit

'The Rangers set a trap for an old enemy in the latest blockbuster adventure from New York Times bestselling author John Flanagan.

'Will and his apprentice, Maddie, are in Toscana to help with negotiations between the Toscans and the Arridi. When a scout brings word that their old enemies the Temujai are moving into Toscana, Will and Maddie leap into action, knowing that a Temujai advance is always bad news. To have any kind of chance, Will must convince another former foe, the Genovesans, to contribute crossbowmen to the fight - but the mercenary Genovesans require payment. A trap is set for the Temujai in the valley of Sorato, but can Will and his uneasy new allies make sure the Temujai fall for it?' (Publication summary)

'It is not wise to anger the gods ... or to fall in love with one.

'Psykhe has always been different. Fair as Venus, the goddess of love, and with the hard-won ability to save the lives of those of mortal blood, she is both shunned and revered.

'When she unwittingly provokes Venus, she and her sisters lose everything. Psykhe must find a way to make amends and support her family.

'Befriended by an old woman, Nokturna, Psykhe finds herself irresistibly drawn to her young friend, Ambrose. But neither is what they seem.

'For Psykhe has fallen in love with a man whose face she is forbidden to see. After disobeying this injunction, she must risk everything to try to save him, even if it means travelling down to the shadowy Underworld to face Proserpina, queen of the dead.

'The way to the realm of the dead is easy. A thrust of a sword, a sudden fall, a careless bite of toadstool, and the soul is sucked away. It is the return journey that is difficult ....

'The story of Psyche and Eros has been told for more than two-and-a-half thousand years. Kate Forsyth infuses it with new vigour as a life-affirming celebration of female strength, sexual desire, and empowerment.' (Publication summary)

'When a city's heroes become its boldest criminals . . .

'For years the firefighters of New York's Engine 99 have rushed fearlessly into hot zones, saving countless lives and stopping devastating blazes in their tracks.

'They've also stolen millions from banks, jewellery stores and art galleries. With their inside knowledge and specialist equipment, they've become the most successful heist crew on the East Coast.

'Their newest member, Andrea 'Andy' Nearland, is not what she seems either. She's an undercover operative, hunting the men of Engine 99 for a host of crimes - including the murder of an off-duty cop and the disappearance of a mother and child.

'As the clock counts down to the gang's most daring heist yet, loyalties begin to fray and mistrust boils over. Andy's career is all smoke and mirrors, but infiltrating this crew of 'heroes' might prove to be her most dangerous job of all . . .' (Publication summary)

Most people wouldn't buy an infamous murder house to renovate for fun . . . but Sarah Slade is not most people.

"This debut novel deftly explores our shadows-the dark parts of ourselves we don't want others to see. I couldn't stop reading."-Julia Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Writing Retreat

'A therapist and self-help writer with all the answers, SarahSladehas just bought a gorgeous Victorian in the community of her dreams. Turns out, you can get a killer deal on a house where someone was murdered. Plus, renovating Black Wood House makes for great blog content and a decent distraction from her failing marriage. Good thing nobody knows that her past is just as filthy as the bloodstain on her bedroom floor.

'But the renovations are fast becoming a nightmare. Sarah imagined custom avocado wallpaper, massive profits, and an appreciative husband who wants to share her bed again. Instead, the neighbors hate her guts and her husband still sleeps on the couch. And though the builders attempt to cover up Black Wood's horrifying past, a series of bizarre accidents, threatening notes, and unexplained footsteps in the attic only confirms for Sarah what the rest of the town already knew- Something is very wrong in that house.

'With every passing moment, Sarah's life spirals further out of control-and with it, her sense of reality. But as she peels back the curling wallpaper and discovers the house's secrets, she realizes that the deadly legacy of Black Wood House has only just begun.' (Publication summary)

'In this picture book that is both heartwarming and exciting, join Yoshi, a sea turtle, on her remarkable journey as she swims farther than any animal in recorded history--23,000 miles!--to return to the beach where she first hatched, to lay her own eggs.' (Publication summary)

'A funny, biting, satirical, madcap and moving rollercoaster ride through the crap side of Hollywood showbiz as seen through one man's descent into grief and madness.

'It's 2002. Hector Singh is an eccentric, moderately talented yet extremely confident aspiring TV writer hell bent on 'making it' in LA. He's Puerto Rican and Indian but also post-race (or so he thinks) and spends most of his time at the gym or watching TV and movies with his college friend/roommate Laura, a somewhat successful Black screenwriter, and smoking marijuana with his writing classmate Gabriela, a Guatemalan-American MBA/dope dealer whose writing is, well, not great.
When his mother dies, Hector's grief turns into depression, triggering dark thoughts and a binge eating disorder that threatens to undo his 54-kilo weight loss. Laura helps him get a potentially career-launching job as a writers' assistant on a TV drama, but Hector remains emotionally unstable. He goes on anti-depressants that erase his ability to perceive social cues. He can no longer mask his objections to the casual racism of the white writers he works with, his resentment for the career he's chosen and his hatred for his own body.

'Hector unravels. He dates a white woman with questionable views on race, he considers becoming a born again Christian, he gains weight from binge eating and chases down celebrities to hand them his script, all while alienating himself from the people closest to him.

'Can Hector navigate Hollywood racism, diet culture oppression and crippling grief to survive this emotional crisis? Does he pull himself together in time to sell his TV show in a meeting with big producers? Will he catch an extremely fit Tom Cruise and give him a script?

'Seems unlikely.' (Publication summary)

'The most dangerous person in the courtroom isn't the killer. . .

'A childhood spent moving around the world left Revelle Lee with an unusual gift - the ability to fluently speak 11 languages. Now, Revelle spends her days translating for witnesses, victims, and the accused across London crime scenes and courtrooms. It's a stressful job, though not as stressful as the process she is currently going through to adopt little boy, Elliot. She is determined to be the mother to him that she never had, and to make up for her own past mistakes.

'But when it seems a murderer will go free, Revelle puts the adoption and her job at risk, deliberately mistranslating the alibi to ensure he is found guilty. No one can ever find out that she interfered or she will lose her son and her livelihood.

'The problem is someone already knows what she's done. And they want justice of their own.' (Publication summary)

''Did you have to kill them all?'

'It's the question Gabe Ahern has been running from since he bust open a major criminal operation - and left a dozen men dead. He knows that one day the 'bad guys' will come for revenge.

'A skilled dog-trapper, Gabe has one rule- leave no sign, leave no trace. And for the last year he's been successfully hiding out on a friend's remote cattle property in the Pilbara.

'But when Goldmont Station opens its gates to a bunch of city folk eager for an authentic outback experience, Gabe can feel eyes on his back. Are all these visitors really tourists?

'In the space of 24 hours, the station's helicopter falls from the sky . . . the phones and internet go down . . . and one of the guests turns up dead . . .

'With major flooding suddenly cutting off all exit roads, Gabe fears he's as trapped as the dogs he hunts. And that his bloody past has finally caught up with him.' (Publication summary)

'A married couple launch a deadly plan to find their missing child.
A half-dead man washes up on a Los Angeles beach.
A rookie cop is fired on her first day.

'Ryan and Elsie Delaney don't accept the official line that their young daughter drowned on Santa Monica beach. Her body has never been found and their pleas for a proper investigation are rejected.

'So now the desperate pair are raining hellfire on the police.

'Taking three hostages at the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, they give law enforcement an ultimatum- if Tilly isn't located in the next 24 hours, they will destroy evidence in several major cases.

'Detective Charlie Hoskins only just survived five years embedded with the ruthless gang known as the Death Machines. All his work is in that lab. If the police won't look for Tilly, he will. Even if that means accepting help from Lynette Lamb, the rookie officer sacked for blowing his cover - and having him thrown to the sharks.

'Finding Tilly is now a matter of life and death - for the Delaneys, for their hostages, for Charlie and Lamb, and for the little girl who one day simply vanished . . .' (Publication summary)

'John Flanagan gets spooky in the latest adventure in the New York Times bestselling Ranger's Apprentice The Royal Ranger series!

'Will and Maddie are sent to neighbouring kingdom Celtica to investigate reports of terrifying direwolves – an ancient species thought to be extinct. What they discover is even more of a threat – a sorceress who has enslaved direwolves and Wargals to her will and is building an army of creatures both living and supernatural.'  (Publication summary)

'A bold and expansive history that traces the changing and contested project of Australia's national story. You will think about this country differently after reading this book.

'Australian history has been revised and reinterpreted by successive generations of historians, writers, governments and public commentators, yet there has been no account of the ways it has changed, who makes history, and how. Making Australian History responds to this critical gap in Australian historical research.

'A few years ago Anna Clark saw a series of paintings on a sandstone cliff face in the Northern Territory. There were characteristic crosshatched images of fat barramundi and turtles, as well as sprayed handprints and several human figures with spears. Next to them was a long gun, painted with white ochre, an unmistakable image of the colonisers. Was this an Indigenous rendering of contact? A work of history?

'Each piece of history has a message and context that depends on who wrote it and when. Australian history has swirled and contorted over the years- the history wars have embroiled historians, politicians and public commentators alike, while debates over historical fiction have been as divisive. History isn't just about understanding what happened and why. It also reflects the persuasions, politics and prejudices of its authors. Each iteration of Australia's national story reveals not only the past in question, but also the guiding concerns and perceptions of each generation of history makers.

'Making Australian History is bold and inclusive- it catalogues and contextualises changing readings of the past, it examines the increasingly problematic role of historians as national storytellers, and it incorporates the stories of people.' (Publication summary)

'Pirates have stolen the Skandians' best ship and it's up to Hal and the Heron brotherband to find them in the unputdownable ninth adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.

'Outnumbered but determined, the Herons are ready for action. The scene is set for an epic battle at sea . . .

'For years now, the Skandians have been the guardians of the Stormwhite Sea, stopping piracy wherever they find it. But there are some who don’t like the Skandians' new role.

'When their enemies strike at the heart of Hallasholm, damaging every ship and stealing the pride of the fleet, there is one hope. Hal's ship, the newly rebuilt Heron, was being repaired so the attackers didn't find her.

'Hal and the Heron brotherband - along with the Oberjarl, Erak - set off to find Wolfwind. But when they discover the thieves are using Wolfwind to plunder ships and towns - and blame the Skandians - Hal knows these pirates must be stopped, whatever it takes.' (Publication summary)

'The fourth short story in Judy Nunn's Otto Bin Empire series is a heartfelt tale of love, tragedy and the universal need to belong.

'Down by the docks the homeless men and women who call themselves the ‘Otto Bin Empire’ gather together for companionship and support. But a recent newcomer always keeps himself to himself. Reginald, it turns out, is a poet and he simply wants to observe.

'Only two members of the ‘Empire’ dare to approach him: a vivacious teenage runaway named Sally, and the scruffy stray kelpie that hangs around the bins.

'Both the young woman and the dog are about to inspire Reginald’s life and work - in more ways than he ever imagined …'

Source : publisher's blurb

'The stakes have never been higher for the Rangers of Araluen in the New York Times bestselling series.

'Will and Maddie are imprisoned at Chateau des Falaises. Baron Lassigny is scheming to recruit them as spies for hire, but Maddie raises the stakes when she challenges Lassigny's garrison commander to a duel on horseback. Will is horrified - especially when he realises the treacherous baron won't fight fair.

'If Maddie can survive the duel, they still need to escape the heavily guarded chateau and rescue the kidnapped prince they were sent to retrieve. It will take all their ingenuity, courage and determination to triumph this time - and to solve the mystery of who betrayed them.'(Publication summary)

'First, the bad news: an ancient evil–you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal–is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

'Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

'And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

'Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

'When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

'Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes–and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Robot ruler or cyborg slave!

'A chance encounter with an escaped mini-bot leads you to a military science facility. The place is filled with giant robots ready to unleash destruction upon the city. Unless you can stop them, a mechanical future with cyborg slaves awaits!

'Can you overpower the mighty machines, or will you be crushed beneath their marching feet?' (Publication summary)

'The third of Judy Nunn’s short stories featuring the citizens of the Otto Bin Empire is an inspirational tale of finding family in the unlikeliest of places . . .

‘I have no family,’ Adam said, the blue eyes in the baby face now ice-cold. ‘I have no mother and I have no father.’

'Adam is just fifteen years old when he stumbles upon the Otto Bin Empire, a community of homeless men and women who gather at the colourful wheelie bins down near the docks.

'The teenage runaway is fleeing from his violent, alcoholic father, and now has one goal: to stay lost.

'But parents can come in all shapes and sizes - as Adam is about to discover, following a chance encounter one winter night . . .'

Source : publisher's blurb

'In a battle of Skandians vs Temujai, the brotherband are facing their most formidable enemy yet.

'The Heron brotherband are home in Skandia – but their usually peaceful country is in danger. The Temujai have never given up on their ambition to claim Skandia for their own. The ruthless warriors from the Eastern Steppes waited a number of years after the Skandians thwarted them last time - with the help of the legendary Rangers of Araluen - but now they're on the move.