Cirrus@Austlit

'There are some things about Seagulls Nest that 11-year-old Skye Starling likes ...

• Egg sandwiches (tick)

• Admiral Mittens (her cat), who's always trying to get her attention (tick)

• Writing mystery stories about star detective Red Fox (tick)

• Spying on suspicious townsfolk with her new friend Bailey (tick)

• The Annual Squawk Awards (tick)

'and there are some things she doesn't like at all ...

• Winston, the Mayor's chicken (he pecks!) (cross)

• Her freshly finished novel being stolen (cross)

• The crimes in her novel happening in REAL LIFE! (cross)

• Everyone in the town acting suspiciously (cross)

• Being the only one who can find the real criminal! (cross cross cross!)

'Will Skye uncover the culprit in time to save the town?'(Publication summary)

'Rory observes the world from the safety of her third-floor apartment. But she's being watched too and will soon learn that no lock will protect her. The compelling, unsettling new psychological suspense novel from the bestselling author of Other People's Houses.

'Even a locked door can't keep you safe

'Twenty-six-year-old Rory rarely leaves her apartment, though her little dog Buster keeps her company. Days are spent working for her aunt's PI business, and watching and imagining histories for the homeless men, the Dossers, across the road. At night she walks Buster on the roof, gazes at the stars and wonders.

'The night before New Year's Eve, one of the Dossers is murdered, an incident which brings the world - police, new neighbours, her dark past and new possibilities - crashing through Rory's front door.

'She thought she was keeping her fears at bay. But has her sanctuary turned into her prison? Or is it safer for everyone if Rory stays locked away?'(Publication summary)

'The funny, whimsical and quirky new adventure from Australian rising star Kelli Anne Hawkins.

'When seven strangers arrive at a small Australian caravan park to tell Hadley Boggs that her dad is the long-lost heir to the kingdom of Ludrovia, she can hardly believe it.

'Her dad -- the world's most indecisive man, a man who takes the advice of their pet budgie, a man named BARRY -- is king?!

'Soon, Hadley jets off to an exciting new life, where she meets dancing goats, learns of an ancient Ludrovian prophecy and comes face to face with the country's hair-obsessed president.

'Hadley quickly falls in love with her quirky adopted home, so when she and her new friends discover the president's secret deal to sell the country to a cheese-loving billionaire, she knows they must act.

'But can the Birdbrain prophecy help them save Ludrovia before everything turns to fondue?' (Publication summary)