AustLit

'A serial killer is roaming the outback roads of Australia's top end in Kerry McGinnis's new rural mystery

'‘There’s a killer roaming the roads and you're out here on your own, picking up strangers …’

'When Emily’s beautiful cousin Aspen goes missing somewhere in the Outback, no one seems to take it seriously, not even the police. After all, Aspen has a history of drug use and a string of broken relationships to her name. Emily knows that her disappearance is totally out of character, even for the family’s wild child, so she books a flight to the Northern Territory to find her.

'Emily’s search takes her south of Darwin to every road stop and tourist trap she can find, but the only person who turns up is the last person she expected to see, her ex-husband Ben. But there is a violent killer on the loose, a man the media have dubbed ‘The Outback Killer’ – and after two brazen attempts on Emily’s life, it soon becomes clear that someone wants Emily gone too, someone who is willing to do anything to stop her following Aspen’s tracks.

'Set in the bustling streets of Darwin and in an alternative-lifestyle commune outside of Tennant Creek, and told with McGinnis’s trademark colourful and poetic style, this is a gripping tale of the danger and lawlessness of Australia’s wild and remote places.' (Publication summary) 

'Set against the stunning backdrop of the Gulf country's monsoon season, this is a dramatic story of betrayal and forgiveness from bestselling author and Australia's authentic voice of the land.

'Penny Carter's quiet life in Southbend, running a nursery with her ex father-in-law, is turned upside down when Lisa, the young daughter of her late husband, is unexpectedly deposited on her doorstep. The unwelcome houseguest stirs up more than just memories of Penny's husband's betrayal, when a cyclone leads to the discovery of a skeleton buried next to the town cemetery.

'As the mystery around the unsettling discovery grows, Penny, supported by her enigmatic neighbour Flint, begins to question everything she thought she knew about her own childhood and her mother's death. Family secrets long thought buried come bubbling to the surface, as other shocking revelations see Penny and Lisa in an ultimate race for survival.

'But what other secrets will the Wet season uncover, while the whole town is cut off from the rest of the world?' (Publication summary)

'A highly evocative family mystery of secrets and betrayal from the bestselling author of Croc Country.

'The darkest secrets are buried the deepest.

'Meg Morrissey has just lost her job, and her partner to an overseas assignment, when she is called back to the family home of Hunters Reach in the picturesque Adelaide Hills. Her ailing grandmother, who raised her when she was orphaned as a child, has always been a formidable figure in her life, and this is hardly a welcome summons.

'When Meg arrives at the ramshackle old homestead, she learns that the place is up for sale. She is expected to care for the property with its extensive garden, while packing up the contents of the house. As she begins the arduous work of bringing the grand old homestead back to its former glory, she is forced to examine the question that has plagued her all her life – why nobody loved her as a child.

'As the house unfolds the history of an earlier age, it also spills out secrets Meg had never imagined – in particular, the discovery of an aunt she never knew, her mother’s twin sister, Iris. The discovery brings horror in its wake, as Meg learns the secrets of the missing girl and the truth behind a wicked heart where love simply never existed. The more she uncovers, the more questions she has. With her grandmother unwilling to share what she knows, Meg must seek out the truth for herself.

'Set against the stunning backdrop of the Australian bush in summer, with the ever-present threat of bushfire at its back, this is a highly evocative story of secrets and betrayal from the bestselling author of Croc Country.' (Publication summary)

'Why would the police come back looking for a dead man?

'Young widow Tilly is making a new life for herself, keeping house for the rangers at the Binboona Wildlife Sanctuary in the isolated wilderness of the north-western Gulf Country. Caring for injured wildlife and helping to run the popular tourist campsite are just the distraction she needs from everything she left behind when her husband, Gerry, and young daughter were lost at sea.

'But when the police show up asking questions about Gerry, the peaceful routine she's built is disrupted as she begins to question what really happened to her family. The arrival of botanist Connor stirs up even more emotion and has Tilly questioning who she can trust. When she and young ranger Luke stumble across evidence of wildlife smugglers on a visit to the local caves, suddenly her sanctuary is no longer safe and it becomes clear the past has well and truly come back to haunt her.

'Set against the lush backdrop of the Northern Territory with its vibrant birds and deadly wildlife, this is a chilling and highly evocative family mystery about the wild and dangerous things that can happen in the most remote and untamed corners of our country.'  (Publication summary)

'When aspiring actress Charlie Carver learns that her cousin Annabelle has died, she immediately leaves Melbourne to fly home to the remote family roadhouse east of Alice Springs. It has been years since her last visit and her relationship with her mother, Molly, is strained but Charlie is determined to patch up their differences.

'The reunion, however, is interrupted when Molly suffers a heart attack. With her mother airlifted out for life-saving surgery, Charlie is left to take the reins of the struggling family business, alongside friends old and new, including the captivating local stockman Mike.

'The authorities declare Annabelle to have taken her own life, but when a woman’s body turns up at an abandoned mine site, Charlie begins to wonder what else is being covered up, and why.

'Beginning a search for the truth, a perilous bush chase unfolds that threatens her own life, causing Charlie to wonder whether she ever knew Annabelle at all…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'‘The Heartwood is the core of this district. It always has been so, but it’s still just a building. It’s your family – you and Adam and old Tiger – who animate it, keep the heart beating, so to speak.’

'In the abandoned railhead town of Tewinga, now almost a ghost town, Lyn and Adam Portman struggle to keep the Heartwood Hotel afloat. Lyn loves her husband and longs to be a mother. But she’s kept busy caring for her elderly father, her community, and Max, the young worker who reminds her of the brother she’s lost and dearly misses.

'When he fails to return from a day trip, Lyn’s concern deepens as the length of his absence grows, the more so with rumours of criminal activity at a nearby station. Meanwhile, a chance meeting uncovers a family bombshell that leaves Lyn reeling. The community must pull together as never before, proving that sometimes the smallest towns have the biggest hearts – and hide the darkest secrets.

'From the bestselling author of Secrets of the Springs, this is the new outback mystery from Australia’s authentic rural writer and beloved voice of the bush.'  (Publication summary)

'When Orla Macrae receives a letter asking her to return to the family cattle property where she grew up, she does so grudgingly. Her estranged uncle Palmer may be dying, but he is the last person she wants to see, not when she’s made a new life far away from where she lost so much. But on his deathbed he utters a few enigmatic words about a secret locked away and a clue as to its whereabouts.

'Intrigued, Orla decides to stay, reconnecting with old friends and taking a chance on a long-time dream of opening the homestead to tourists. Continuing the search for her uncle’s elusive secret, she discovers far more than she bargained for – a shocking truth about her parents’ marriage, and the confession of a chilling murder.

'Set in the stunning countryside north of the Barrier Ranges near Broken Hill, this is an authentic tale of life on the land and a gripping mystery about old family secrets and finding love in the harsh Australian bush. ' (Publication summary)

'From the bestselling author of Pieces of Blue and Wildhorse Creek comes an evocative and heartfelt story about how in the remotest of places lives can be lost . . . and found.

'When Sara Blake takes up a position as governess on Redhill Station in Central Australia, she isn't expecting to encounter a family in crisis, or to uncover a tragedy of her own.

'With the owners' son critically ill, Sara is called upon to take care of their young daughter. As the family struggles to make a living from the drought-stricken land, everyone pitches in – and Sara finds herself letting people in to the empty spaces in her heart.

'But the longer she spends out bush, the more she becomes plagued by elusive visions of her dark and troubled childhood. The fragments of memory lead her deep into the red centre of Australia, where at picturesque Kings Canyon she must confront the horrifying secrets of her past. ' (Publication summary)

'Kelly Roberts finds refuge in the rugged and remote cattle country of northern Australia, but when tragedy strikes she is forced to find a new life for herself and her children outside of Rainsford Station.

'She retreats to the family's only asset – a freehold block of land owned jointly by her eccentric father-in-law, Quinn. In the valley at Evergreen Springs, Quinn hopes the fractured family might all come together to start over again.

'Life in Queensland's far north is wildly unpredictable, with daily challenges and the wet season, in all its wild majesty, to survive. But when twelve-year-old Rob makes the gruesome discovery of a dead body in the valley, real peril comes far too close to home.

'Tracking North is a beautiful family story about life in the stunning Gulf Country, one of the world's most unique and fascinating places.' (Publication abstract)

' . . . when it all goes wrong, where is there left to run to but home?'

Kate Gilmore hasn't been home in years, but since she lost her job and her marriage, she doesn't have anywhere else to turn. Seeking comfort in the country she still carries in her heart, she heads back to the family farm in South Australia's Mallee country, even though it's a place filled with dark and disturbing memories.

She is offered a job on neighbouring Rosebud Farm, where she meets the colourful old Harry Quickly and an intriguing young boy called Maxie. And then there's the handsome harvest contractor, who's not shy about making his intentions known.

When one catastrophe leads to another, Kate is confronted with a devastating secret from her past. The revelation gives her power to transform the lives of those she loves. If she can sort out who to trust and who is a threat to her, she might just find a way to rescue them all. ' (Publisher's blurb)

'Young Billy Martin runs from home, burying his past in the quest for a future. He finds it in Queensland's spectacular Gulf Country, on the sprawling cattle runs. The Gulf breeds tough men, and Billy is quickly drawn to the excitement and adventure of working with the fiery cattleman and ex-con, Blake Reilly, and his daughter, Jo.

'Billy finds mateship, danger and romance in the Gulf, but he also finds an untamed land with a history of violence. In the brooding heat and unpredictable storms, the future he had sought unfolds - in ways as turbulent and unexpected as the country itself - and Billy discovers a place where he can at last belong.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Two branches of the McAllister family lead very different lives on cattle stations in Central Australia. Rob, a stickler for correctness, manages a wealthy, company-owned property while his easygoing brother Sandy struggles to support his wife and son on an impoverished leasehold. When tragedy throws the families together, ultimately driving them even further apart, it's Sandy's young son Jim who suffers the most. Left to rebuild his shattered world, he falls back on the larger-than-life station characters and the comfort of horses.

This is tough country, where personal hardship is kept in perspective by drought, fire and isolation. The times are just as unforgiving, and as the years pass, Jim discovers that he must pay for his father's mistake as well as his own. Yet this harshly beautiful land is full of promise, a source of strength to Jim on his road from innocence to independence.' (Publisher's blurb.)

'After seven years on the road with her family, Kerry McGinnis is tired of the wandering life and yearns for a proper home. When her father, the irascible but loveable Mac, buys a property in Queensland's Gulf Country, it seems like she might have found one.

'But not everything goes smoothly. In their struggle to make a go of things, the McGinnis family encounters fire, flood, a three-metre python, and other, human obstacles. Sian, the eldest son, is at loggerheads with his father, while Mac soon develops itchy feet. And Kerry and her sister Judith discover that life in a man's country is far from easy. At a time when young women are expected to settle down and have a family, Kerry must make some difficult decisions about love, marriage and her passionate desire to write.

'Full of exuberance, humour and courage, this sequel to Kerry McGinnis's highly successful Pieces of Blue is an uplifting account of life in a land of incredible beauty and harsh demands.' (Publication summary)

'At the age of six, Kerry McGinnis loses her mother. Her father, left with four young children to raise, gathers up his family and leaves the city to go doving. For the next fifteen years, the McGinnis clan travels the continent, droving, horse breaking and living off the land. Kerry grows up in the harsh outback, and the animals that inhabit the land are her closest friends.

'With the memory of her absent mother ever present, Kerry begins her difficult journey into young womanhood.' (Publication summary)