AustLit

'Perfume blogger Polly is in crisis. Will her husband's absence break her ... or make her? A novel of perfumes, exploring life, love, loss and forgiveness - Maggie Alderson's new bestseller.

'On New Year's Eve, Polly Mackay is contemplating her life. She had been happily married with two grown-up children, a thriving business as a perfume blogger, and a glamorous, ageing, ex-model mother who keeps things ... interesting. But when her husband announced that he needed time away from her and promptly vanished, everything she took for granted was thrown into disarray.

'As Polly grapples with David's disappearance she clings to a few new friends to keep her going. Shirlee, the loud-mouthed yoga student; Guy, the mysterious, infuriating and hugely talented perfumer; and Edward, an old friend from university, who sparks a new sense of possibility ...

'But while she distracts herself with the heady world of luxury perfume, she can't keep reality at bay forever, and eventually she is forced to confront some difficult truths - about her husband, about herself, and about who she really wants to be.' (Publication summary)

'Is it ever better to tell? Even the closest families have secrets ... it's when they are shared that things begin to change. The lives of three very different sisters collide in this witty new novel from bestseller Maggie Alderson.

'Recently divorced Rachel is juggling her new dream job in interior design PR with the demands of two young daughters. She's full of creative ideas but - even with a colourful childminder or two - some days she can't make it into the office on time and in matching shoes. Her life is balanced more precariously than she cares to admit.

'Tessa, a talented muralist, is feeling flat. Her kids are growing up and she's feeling upstaged by her husband's new-found celebrity as the host of a reality TV fireplace restoration show. But everything turns on its head when she gets a surprise from her past.

'Youngest sister Natasha leads a glamorous jetsetting life - she's one of Vogue's favourite make-up artists who regularly creates the looks for the biggest shows in Paris and Milan. Single and childless, she's been focused on her career - but when the lie she's concealed for years threatens to come to light, the truth will make her question everything.

Meanwhile their mother, Joy, a hippy vegetarian caterer, is carefully ignoring the letters that keep arriving at her door.

'Into the mix comes Simon, Rachel's urbane boss, hiding secrets of his own. And everything lurking beneath the surface of this seemingly happy family is about to come out ...' (Publication summary)

'Loulou Landers is about to turn forty-nine and she's feeling seriously overlooked. She hasn't had a relationship for twenty years, her 21-year-old daughter Theo is giving her the cold shoulder, and is that really a bunion making it so painful to walk, or is Christian Louboutin losing his touch? Theo can't see what her mum is so hung up about. It's only another birthday.

And she has more important things to think about- mainly herself. For not only is Loulou permanently single, but so is Theo - despite her legendary good looks. But over the course of a summer, everything changes. Two men set out to get both women back in the love game. The only problem is that both mother and daughter keep their burgeoning romances secret from each other. Because, in each case, there's a thirty-year age difference. And that's only one of the issues.' (Publisher's blurb)

'In Bed With - a collection of sexy bedtime stories by award-winning, bestselling women novelists.

'To protect identities, each writer has adopted an x-rated pseudonym - the name of their first pet combined with that of their first street.

'Who are Pom Pom Paradise, Minxy Malone, Tutty Monmouth and Sunset Proudfoot? Can you work out who is who? And who wrote that?

'Read about lavish boudoirs, sleazy brothels, shady adulterers, sci-fi seducers, and more. This is a short story collection where the blinds are down and the sex is hot. Entertaining and unashamedly erotic, In Bed With is a delicious collection of fiction provocateur.' (Publisher's blurb)