AustLit

'From the critically acclaimed author of Jennifer Government and Lexicon comes a mind-bending speculative psychological suspense about a serial killer pursuing his victim across time and space, and the woman who is determined to stop him, even if it upends her own reality.

''If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.'

'In Queens, New York, 22-year-old real estate agent Madison May is showing a house. The buyer, a man she's never met, is friendly, engaging . . . and claims to be her soulmate from a parallel life. She's in danger, he tells her. He's come to save her.

'Later that day, newspaper journalist Felicity Staples is assigned to report on Madison May's murder. Discontent with her own life, Felicity finds herself drawn into a shocking conspiracy involving a powerful group who have harnessed the ability to slip between lives - to move between one version of reality to another.

'On the run, turned into an imposter in her own life, Felicity is forced to seek the truth behind Madison May, the woman who is murdered over and over, in different ways, wherever she goes. For only by saving Madison May can Felicity reassemble the broken pieces of herself.' (Publication summary)

'A dazzling, inventive, and thought-provoking new novel from the ingenious author of Jennifer Government and Lexicon.

'Gilly, Talia, Anders, and Jackson are astronauts captaining a new and supposedly indestructible ship in humanity's war against an alien race. Confined to the ship for years, each of them holding their own secrets, they are about to learn there are threats beyond the reach of human ingenuity--and that the true nature of reality might be the universe's greatest mystery.

'In this near future, our world is at war with another, and humanity is haunted by its one catastrophic loss--a nightmarish engagement that left a handful of survivors drifting home through space, wracked with PTSD. Public support for the war plummeted, and the military-industrial complex set its sights on a new goal: zero-casualty warfare, made possible by gleaming new ships called Providences, powered by AI.

'But when the latest-launched Providence suffers a surprising attack and contact with home is severed, Gilly, Talia, Anders, and Jackson must confront the truth of the war they're fighting, the ship that brought them there, and the cosmos beyond.' (Publication summary) 

'The truth sets you free...but what happens when everything you believe in changes in the blink of an eye?

'All I ever wanted was for my fiancé, Samuel Stone, to remember me. And now that he does...all I want is for him to forget. Through tragedy, I found myself and who I was destined to become. But more importantly, I found who I was destined to be with.

'With a single word, Saxon Stone changed my life forever. He taught me how to live again. But now that Samuel remembers and all secrets have been revealed, I'm left to wonder which life I'm meant to lead.

'Divided by my head and my heart, I'm torn between duty and desire. Samuel is my past while Saxon is my forever. The choice should be easy.

'But love never is...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'My name is Lucy Tucker, and my life...it was perfect.

'I worked the dream job. I had the most incredible family and friends. My home, Whispering Willows, a ranch in Montana, was everything I could ever wish for. My adoring fiancé, Samuel Stone, loved me unconditionally.

'I had everything a girl could ever want.

But one fateful event shattered my perfect life. It's unimaginable how simple, ordinary words can change a person's life forever. For me those words were, "There's been an accident."

'I thought Sam was my forever, but that forever came to a close the day Saxon Stone, Sam's identical twin brother, came back. Saxon returned to Montana to help save Sam, however, the moment he entered my life, he turned my world upside down. But through chaos I somehow found clarity--clarity of who I was meant to be.

'As time progressed, as seasons changed, and as a fire began to burn, I soon realized that Saxon was there for another reason...he was there to help save me.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'From the author of The Ruin comes a compulsive new crime thriller set in the fiercely competitive, cutthroat world of research and academia, where the brightest minds will stop at nothing to succeed.

'When Dr. Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit-and-run outside Galway University early one morning, she calls her boyfriend, Detective Cormac Reilly, bringing him first to the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. The dead girl is carrying an ID that will put this crime at the center of a scandal--her card identifies her as Carline Darcy, heir apparent to Darcy Therapeutics, Ireland's most successful pharmaceutical company. Darcy Therapeutics has a finger in every pie, from sponsoring university research facilities to funding political parties to philanthropy--it has even funded Emma's own ground-breaking research.

'As the murder investigation twists in unexpected ways and Cormac's running of the case comes under scrutiny from the department and his colleagues, he is forced to question himself and the beliefs that he has long held as truths. Who really is Emma? And who is Carline Darcy?

'A gripping and atmospheric follow-up to The Ruin, an "expertly plotted, complex web of secrets that refuse to stay hidden" (Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King's Daughter), The Scholar is perfect for fans of Tana French and Flynn Berry.' (Publication summary)

'“‘Oh! How adorable! I didn’t know you had a cat!’ she exclaimed. I am always surprised how many people make this observation. Why should His Holiness not have a cat? ‘If only she could speak,’ continued the actress. ‘I’m sure she’d have such wisdom to share.’ And so the seed was planted . . .

'I began to think that perhaps the time had come for me to write a book of my own—a book that would convey some of the wisdom I’ve learned sitting not at the feet of the Dalai Lama but even closer, on his lap. A book that would tell my own tale . . . how I was rescued from a fate too grisly to contemplate to become the constant companion of a man who is not only one of the world’s greatest spiritual leaders and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate but also a dab hand with a can opener.”

'Starving and pitiful, a mud-smeared kitten is rescued from the slums of New Delhi and transported to a life she could have never imagined. In a beautiful sanctuary overlooking the snow-capped Himalayas, she begins her new life as the Dalai Lama’s cat. Warmhearted, irreverent, and wise, this cat of many names opens a window to the inner sanctum of life in Dharamsala. A tiny spy observing the constant flow of private meetings between His Holiness and everyone from Hollywood celebrities to philanthropists to self-help authors, the Dalai Lama’s cat provides us with insights on how to find happiness and meaning in a busy, materialistic world. Her story will put a smile on the face of anyone who has been blessed by the kneading paws and bountiful purring of a cat.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Galway 1993: Young Garda Cormac Reilly is called to a scene he will never forget. Two silent, neglected children - fifteen-year-old Maude and five-year-old Jack - are waiting for him at a crumbling country house. Upstairs, their mother lies dead.

'Twenty years later, a body surfaces in the icy black waters of the River Corrib. At first it looks like an open-and-shut case, but then doubt is cast on the investigation's findings - and the integrity of the police. Cormac is thrown back into the cold case that has haunted him his entire career - what links the two deaths, two decades apart? As he navigates his way through police politics and the ghosts of the past, Detective Reilly uncovers shocking secrets and finds himself questioning who among his colleagues he can trust.

'What really did happen in that house where he first met Maude and Jack? The Ruin draws us deep into the dark heart of Ireland and asks who will protect you when the authorities can't - or won't.' (Publication Summary)

'A 14-year-old boy vanishes on his way home from school. His frantic mother receives a ransom call: pay or else. It's only hours before the deadline, and the police have no leads. Enter Timothy Blake, codename Hangman. Blake is a genius, known for solving impossible cases. He's also a psychopath—the FBI's last resort. But this time Blake might have met his match. The kidnapper is more cunning and ruthless than anyone he's faced before. And Blake has been assigned a new partner, a woman linked to the past he's so desperate to forget.

'Timothy Blake has a secret; one so dark he will do anything to keep it hidden. And he also has a price. Every time he saves a life, he takes one . . . Hangman is a mesmerising dissection of the criminal mind and a bulletproof thriller.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Anasoma, jewel of the Mahruse Empire, has fallen.

'As Caldan and his companions flee the city, horrors from the time of the Shattering begin to close in.

'With Miranda’s mind broken by forbidden sorcery, Caldan is forced to disobey the most sacrosanct laws of the Protectors if he is to have any chance of healing her.

'But when one of the emperor’s warlocks arrives to take control of him, he begins to suspect his burgeoning powers may be more of a curse than a blessing, and that the enemies assailing the empire may be rivaled by even more sinister forces within.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Damianos of Akielos has returned.

'His identity now revealed, Damen must face his master Prince Laurent as Damianos of Akielos, the man Laurent has sworn to kill.

'On the brink of a momentous battle, the future of both their countries hangs in the balance. In the south, Kastor's forces are massing. In the north, the Regent's armies are mobilising for war. Damen's only hope of reclaiming his throne is to fight together with Laurent against their usurpers.

'Forced into an uneasy alliance the two princes journey deep into Akielos, where they face their most dangerous opposition yet. But even if the fragile trust they have built survives the revelation of Damen's identity – can it stand against the Regent's final, deadly play for the throne?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Caldan’s parents are brutally slain, he is raised by monks and taught the arcane mysteries of sorcery.

'Vowing to discover for himself who his parents really were, and what led to their violent end, he is thrust into the unfamiliar chaos of city life. With nothing to his name but a pair of mysterious heirlooms and a handful of coins, he must prove his talent to earn an apprenticeship with a guild of sorcerers.

'But he soon learns the world outside the monastery is a darker place than he ever imagined, and his treasured sorcery has disturbing depths.

'As a shadowed evil manipulates the unwary and forbidden powers are unleashed, Caldan is plunged into an age-old conflict that brings the world to the edge of destruction…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I’ve always been a bad boy, with a very wicked reputation.

'But then I met Madison – sweet, vulnerable, innocent Madison. She makes me feel as if there is hope for me. As if I could be a good man. I need her more than I need air to breathe.

'There’s just one problem: Juliet. She’s a temptress who won’t take no for an answer. If I resist her, she’ll use our dirty secret to ruin everything with Madison.

'I don’t want to lose Madison, but can I really change?

'This is my chance to prove that I can. But it’s going to be one hell of a ride. Are you ready?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I knew she was bad news when she walked into my office, but I just couldn’t help myself…

'Filthy, sexy and full of surprises, Juliet is so hot she has me on fire. I’ve met my match and I can’t help going back for more.

'Then there’s Madison… she’s sweet, funny and awakens in me a fierce need to protect her.

'But I don’t do relationships. I don’t usually do the same woman twice.

Juliet and Madison: Two very different women have got me completely hooked.

'Who will I choose?

'I know who I should choose, but I never said I was the hero of this story, or even the good guy. And besides, who wants to be good, when it feels so good being bad?

'My tale isn’t for the faint-hearted. If you’re game, strap yourself in and expect the unexpected. But don’t say I didn’t warn you…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that has laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair, one is an Alpha—physically perfect in every way; and the other an Omega—burdened with deformity, small or large. With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world’s sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort, Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: whenever one twin dies, so does the other.

'Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side-by-side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Simon and Schuster).

'Damen is a warrior hero to his people, and the rightful heir to the throne of Akielos, but when his half-brother seizes power, Damen is captured, stripped of his identity, and sent to serve the prince of an enemy nation as a pleasure slave.

'With their countries on the brink of war, Damen and his master Prince Laurent exchange the intrigues of the palace for the sweeping might of the battlefield as they travel to the border to avert a lethal plot.

'Leading a band of loyal men against desperate odds, Damen must fight together with Laurent to overcome machinations, ambushes and betrayals. With the future of both their nations at stake, a single misstep could be fatal.

'Despite himself, Damen is increasingly drawn to the dangerous, charismatic Laurent. But even as the fledgling trust between the two men deepens, their enemies are poised to deal them a final devastating blow . . .'

Source: Publishing blurb.

'He asked the water to lift him, to carry him, to avenge him. He made his muscles shape his fury, made every stroke declare his hate. And the water obeyed; the water would give him his revenge. No one could beat him, no one came close.

'His whole life Danny Kelly's only wanted one thing: to win Olympic gold. Everything he's ever done - every thought, every dream, every action - takes him closer to that moment of glory, of vindication, when the world will see him for what he is: the fastest, the strongest and the best. His life has been a preparation for that moment.

'His parents struggle to send him to the most prestigious private school with the finest swimming program; Danny loathes it there and is bullied and shunned as an outsider, but his coach is the best and knows Danny is, too, better than all those rich boys, those pretenders. Danny's win-at-all-cost ferocity gradually wins favour with the coolest boys - he's Barracuda, he's the psycho, he's everything they want to be but don't have the guts to get there. He's going to show them all.

'He would be first, everything would be alright when he came first, all would be put back in place. When he thought of being the best, only then did he feel calm.

'A searing and provocative novel by the acclaimed author of the international bestseller The Slap, Barracuda is an unflinching look at modern Australia, at our hopes and dreams, our friendships, and our families.

'Should we teach our children to win, or should we teach them to live? How do we make and remake our lives? Can we atone for our past? Can we overcome shame? And what does it mean to be a good person?

'Barracuda is about living in Australia right now, about class and sport and politics and migration and education. It contains everything a person is: family and friendship and love and work, the identities we inhabit and discard, the means by which we fill the holes at our centre. It's brutal and tender and blazingly brilliant; everything we have come to expect from this fearless vivisector of our lives and world. ' (Publisher's blurb)