Cirrus@Austlit

'Who will pay the ultimate price?

'Vanessa and Kate live a glamorous life in the South of France helping the rich stay richer by hiding their money. While they know it's wrong, that their clients are corrupt, they are professionals and good at their jobs. Plus, there is the money . . .

'When their boss draws them deeper into his web of corruption, the chic veneer of their existence falls away, along with their excuses, leaving both women dangerously exposed to the lures of greed, gambling and hazardous liaisons. Vanessa and Kate become desperate for an escape route, a way to beat the system without destroying themselves, but the only ones available make them worse than those they are seeking to evade. While one woman pulls away from corruption, the other is drawn in. But just how far will each of them go for money - their clients' and their own - before a woman is killed?

'Amidst the opulence of the Cote D'Azur, Bay of Thieves explores the distorting power of wealth and its ability to destroy beliefs held over a lifetime.'  (Publication summary)

'We first meet Molly Darrow in 1789 in Lancashire, England, where she is living unhappily with her grandmother. Head strong and tomboyish, she evades a threatened assault by dressing as a boy and fleeing on a stolen horse. Her new-found freedom is short lived, however, when she is arrested for theft while trying to sell the horse. Originally given the death penalty, her sentence is reduced to transportation and her true identity is unveiled when she boards the ship bound for Australia.

'On the voyage Molly reunites with the deeply traumatised Aliza, with whom she had bonded while awaiting sentence in prison and strikes up an unlikely friendship with the young first mate, Angus Thistle, a trader when on land, who is impressed by the teenager's strength, sharp intelligence, and commercial sense. When Molly and Angus reconnect after their arrival in Sydney, their friendship deepens and they marry, despite Molly's doubts that a freeman would ever consider a convict as a wife.' (Publication summary)

'A single mum with a secret. A kind teacher navigating newly single life. A lonely doctor who is struggling at work.

'Grace, Zoe and Imogen are three women whose worlds are linked by unseen connections to friends, family and lovers. In this psychological drama, set in contemporary Hobart, they move inexorably towards an event that will change them all forever.

'The Accident is an insightful exploration of the ways our formative years shape us, the resonating influence of first love and the impact of social rejection set against the healing power of friendship.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'1906
'A high-spirited, unconventional girl who can turn her hand to anything, Molly Sparkes is on the verge of a big adventure. At just eighteen, she is leaving her convent school in the heart of rural Kent to accompany the formidable Mrs Alexa Nagel on a tour of Australia, acting as her companion and nursemaid to Alexa's motherless granddaughter, Fay.

'After a long voyage at sea, they finally arrive In New South Wales. Living in rural Australia and far away from everything she knows, Molly is forced to do some rapid growing up. Fascinated by a cool, laconic stockman, Molly is heartbroken when he tells her he is about to return to his native Denmark. Desperate to forget him, she turns her attentions to Rory Kelly, a circus acrobat. Will Molly flout convention and be tempted by the romance of a circus life? And what does the future hold for the irrepressible Molly Sparkes?'  (Publication summary)

'A phenomenal novel of resilience and survival from bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris.

'In the midst of World War II, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again.

'Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brooke merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooke lies broken on the seabed.

'After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side by side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness and determination.

'Sisters under the Rising Sun is a story of women in war: a novel of sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of circumstances, from the multimillion-copy bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey and Three Sisters.' (Publication summary)

'When Vivienne George decides she can't go through with her high-society wedding, she flees to a tiny town in North Queensland. Hidden away in a secluded lodge, she spends her days swimming in the beautiful lake nearby. It may seem like the perfect place to escape her troubles, but there's something about the lake which puts Vivienne on edge. When she meets local girl Josie Monash, Vivienne learns about the curse which has plagued the town for years ... Is there any truth to the legend of the girls of Lake Evelyn? And how will Vivienne find the life she's always wanted when her past comes back to haunt her?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A promise to stay together.
'An unbreakable bond.
'A fierce will to survive.

'From international bestselling author Heather Morris comes the breath-taking conclusion to The Tattooist of Auschwitz trilogy.

'When they are girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make a promise to their father - that they will stay together, no matter what.

'Years later, at just 15 years old, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis. Cibi, only 19 herself, remembers their promise and follows Livia, determined to protect her sister, or die with her.

'In their hometown in Slovakia, 17-year-old Magda hides, desperate to evade the barbaric Nazi forces. But it is not long before she is captured and condemned to Auschwitz.

'In the horror of the death camp, these three beautiful sisters are reunited. Though traumatised by their experiences, they are together.

'They make another promise: that they will live. Their fight for survival takes them from the hell of Auschwitz, to a death march across war-torn Europe and eventually home to Slovakia, now under iron Communist rule. Determined to begin again, they embark on a voyage of renewal, to the new Jewish homeland, Israel.

'Rich in vivid detail, and beautifully told, Three Sisters will break your heart, but leave you amazed and uplifted by the courage and fierce love of three sisters, whose promise to each other kept them alive. Two of the sisters are in Israel today, surrounded by family and friends. They have chosen Heather Morris to reimagine their story in her astonishing new novel, Three Sisters.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'An irresistible story of family, secrets and love.

'Will their mother's scandalous past decide their futures?

'The Sunday train which snaked into Noah Vale that verdant, midwinter afternoon brought with it fire, sending an inferno of small-town gossip roaring up the valley...

'Beautiful, irrepressible Esther Hamilton had a reputation in the small Queensland town of Noah Vale. That was until she ran away, twenty years ago, under a cloud of shame. It's now 1955 and following their mother's death, the Hamilton sisters - Sonnet, Fable and little Novella Plum - have returned to Noah Vale to live near their aunt and uncle.

'Sonnet, twenty years old and legal guardian to her siblings, has never stepped foot in Noah Vale, yet has been the talk of the town for decades. Fable, at twelve-years-old, is a talented artist and lovelier than even her heartbreaking mother had been. And three year old Plum is just a little girl who's lost her mother and been taken away from the only home she's ever known.

'As the years pass, the three sisters settle into their new life, working in the town, going to school and swimming in the perfect waterfalls nearby. But suspicion and judgment continue to follow the Hamilton sisters wherever they go. In a small town where everyone thinks they know everything about each other, it's hard to escape the past. And when Fable falls in love with Noah Vale's golden boy, is history destined to repeat itself?' (Publication summary)

'1820 Sarah McCaffrey, fleeing arrest for her part in a failed rebellion, thinks she has escaped when she finds herself aboard the Serpent, bound from London to the colony of New South Wales. But when the mercurial captain's actions drive the ship into a cliff, Sarah is the only survivor. Adopting a false identity, she becomes the right-hand woman of Molly Thistle, who has grown her late husband's business interests into a sprawling real estate and trade empire. As time passes, Sarah begins to believe she might have found a home - until her past follows her across the seas.'(Publication summary) 

'Her beauty saved her life - and condemned her.

'Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, in 1942. The Commandant at Birkenau, Schwarzhuber, notices her long beautiful hair, and forces her separation from the other women prisoners. Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly given, equals survival.

'After liberation, Cilka is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to Siberia. But what choice did she have? And where did the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was sent to Auschwitz when still a child?

'In a Siberian prison camp, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she makes an impression on a woman doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing. Cilka begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions.

'Cilka finds endless resources within herself as she daily confronts death and faces terror. And when she nurses a man called Ivan, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Winner of the best unpublished manuscript category of the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize: a fast-paced adventure story set in the Australian outback. 1853, Victoria. Five bushrangers raid a homestead. When they ride away, nineteen-year-old Toby O'Rourke's parents lay dead at his feet. Forced into adulthood, he and his brother Paddy will seek to restore the family fortunes and outwit not only the rich businessman who conspired to rob them of their birth right, but the vicious men who murdered their family.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Based on the life of an incredible historical heroine, a harrowing journey in search of love, justice, and freedom, told by the daughter of best-selling author Thomas Keneally (Schindler's List)

'Tall and lanky, more suited to sailing and fishing than to keeping a house, Jenny Gwyn has proven herself a survivor. When she's caught stealing to support her impoverished family, the King's justice demands she be hung from the neck until dead. Instead, she and dozens of other prisoners are sent across the world to help settle England's newest colony in Australia.

'But the harsh landscape of Sydney Cove isn't welcoming to its new settlers, and Jenny is still a prisoner under the strict watch of Governor Edward Lockhart. After being contained on a filthy ship, selling her body for better rations, giving birth to two children, and fighting to better her position in the colony, Jenny refuses to succumb to the barren land unable to support the growing population. Determined to provide a better life for her children, she braves the sea, and a journey of over three thousand miles in a small rowboat, for a chance at a future worth fighting for.

'Based on the true story of Mary Bryant, an iconic figure in the foundation lore of Australia as Great Britain's penal colony, Fled is a sweeping, heart-wrenching account of one woman's life-long search for freedom.'  (Publication summary)

'The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught, he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

'There have been many books about the Holocaust - and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov's incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners, and he was determined to survive - not just to survive but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also - almost unbelievably - a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale - a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer - it was love at first sight, and he determined not only to survive himself but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story - their story - will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.

'Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story. ' (Publication summary)