Cirrus@Austlit

'The fifth novel in the John Bailey thriller series. Bailey is trying to solve two murders, ten years apart – unfinished business from his former flame Sharon Dexter. But will it cost him his life? 

'Detective Holly Sutton has been seconded to work with the New South Wales Homicide Squad to investigate the murder of Sydney socialite, Tottie Evans, who was found dead at the Palm Beach home of a millionaire property developer.

'Alec Blacksmith isn’t like other real estate guys. He’s a former mercenary soldier who shot to fame after appearing on a reality TV show. Blacksmith is refusing to cooperate with police because he has his own secrets.

'John Bailey is an old school reporter with a nose for a story.

'He gets a call from the police about a break-in at the house he inherited from his former girlfriend, Sharon Dexter – a cop murdered in the line of duty.

'Whoever crowbarred the lock was looking for Dexter’s case file about the murder of a waitress named Sally King at an exclusive Sydney gentlemen’s club a decade earlier. After examining the file, Bailey discovers something that will blow up the Homicide Squad’s investigation into Tottie Evans’s death – a link to the murder of King.

'The only problem is that a serial killer is already serving a life sentence for the crime.

'Catching killers is Holly Sutton’s job. But for John Bailey, solving the case offers him a chance to finish a job for the woman who saved his life.' (Publication summary)

'Detective Dave Burrows has longed for the top job in the Stock Squad but never thought he'd be acting in that role while his partner and best mate, Detective Bob Holden, is treated for melanoma.

'Bob is keen to get back on the road and Dave can't wait to go bush either, expecting the trip will be much the same as usual.

'But the trip doesn't play out that way.

'Multiple bomb blasts in the small country town of Kallygarn send shock waves through the state of Western Australia, and Dave and Bob are once again drawn into the criminal underworld.' (Publication summary)

'Russian millionaire, Dmitry Lebedev, has been flying under the radar in Sydney for years. Now somebody wants him dead. Desperate to make a deal to stay alive, he contacts his former CIA case officer, Ronnie Johnson, with an offer to expose a traitor inside the Australian government, threatening a key intelligence partnership with the US.

'Journalist John Bailey has spent decades risking his life to break news stories. Along the way he’s made interesting friends, including Ronnie – who saved his life in Iraq – and Scarlett Merriman – whose night in a Sydney hotel with Lebedev left her in a coma.

'Bailey’s investigation into what happened to Scarlett plunges him head-first into the global spy game. And his old friend, Ronnie Johnson, needs his help. Because the same people going after Lebedev have framed Ronnie for murder.' (Publication summary)

'Detective Dave Burrows is devastated. After an acrimonious divorce, Dave has no choice but to let his ex-wife and her father Mark call the shots: supervised, one-hour visits are all he's allowed if he wants to see his two young daughters. And he knows he'll jump through any hoops to see Bec and Alice.

'On Leo Perry's farm, sixty kilometres out of Yorkenup, the only positive in Leo's day is the unswerving loyalty of his dog, Coffee. Thanks to yet another power outage, Leo is out in the morning heat, refuelling the water pump. But seconds later he watches in horror as the tank explodes. Flames engulf wooden beams and sparks ignite grass just as Leo realises he's at the end of a one-way petrol trail, the fire roaring straight for him.

'When Dave and his partner Detective Bob Holden are called to Leo's ravaged farm, they're unclear if they're dealing with arson, suicide or something else. There's been no sign of Leo anywhere, and his wife Jill is distraught. Leo and his dog appear to have vanished. But, when Dave and Bob begin their investigation, what they find makes no sense at all.' (Publication summary)

'A returned criminal, a cult-like family and cybercrime all clash against the backdrop of the Flinders Ranges in this thrilling new rural suspense novel from the best-selling Voice of the Outback.

'Emma Cameron, a recently divorced farmer and a local in Barker, runs Deception Creek, the farm that three generations of her family have owned before her. Every day Emma pushes herself hard on the land, hoping to make ten-year-old memories of a terrible car accident disappear. And now there are more recent nightmares of an ex-husband who refuses to understand how much the farm means to Emma.

'When Joel Hammond is released from jail and heads home to Barker, Detective Dave Burrows and Senior Sergeant Jack Higgins are on high alert. Joel has a long and sorry history with many of the townsfolk and they are not keen to see him home to stay.

'Not all of the Barker locals want to see Joel run out of town though. Some even harbour doubts about Joel's conviction. The town finds itself split down the middle, families pitted against each other with devastating outcomes.' (Publication summary)

'Red Dirt Country features the thrilling return of Detective Dave Burrows, now a member of the stock squad in Western Australia.

'Recovering from an undercover case in outback Queensland, Dave Burrows finally returns to Perth, to join his pregnant wife, Melinda, and their small daughter, Bec. Things have been off-kilter between Mel and Dave for some time and nothing he says or does seems to make it right. Once Dave starts waking violently in the dark nights, reliving the horrors of the Queensland job, Mel issues an ultimatum.

'But Dave's work, despite its dangers, means everything to him. He's finally achieved his long-held dream and is now a Detective Senior Constable in the stock squad. And as soon as his shoulder wound is declared fully healed, Dave jumps into an investigation of stock theft in the north of Australia. There's a standoff between two stations and a history of disappearances and grief to uncover.

'It's also a long way away from his problems with Mel.

'With the prospect of going back to Queensland to give evidence as a protected witness, a dangerously ruthless enemy on the loose, and a family to protect, Dave's first experience on the stock squad is deep in an underbelly of racial divide with family secrets, long-repeated lies, kidnapping and murder.' (Publication summary)

'Detective Dave Burrows had never even heard of Nundrew in Queensland before. He'd certainly never would have guessed that this was where he'd be risking his life. In Barrabine, as Dave's workload skyrockets, his wife Melinda is unhappy about being left alone to raise their eighteen-month-old daughter. It's not how Dave wants it either, but crimes still have to be investigated and he's the only one able to do it. Melinda's interfering father isn't helping. He's never thought that Dave was right for his daughter and he's not shy about telling him. When things come to a head at home, Dave's policing mate, Spencer, comes up with a plan. In the most dangerous mission of his life, Dave knows what he needs to do. If he's found out, he'll never see Melinda again. Of that he's sure.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Catching the world's most wanted terrorist was supposed to be someone else's job...

'John Bailey has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The former war correspondent has been kidnapped and tortured – twice. Finally he’s living something that resembles a normal life. But all that changes when a terrorist murders a woman in front of Bailey in London.

'The mastermind behind the attack is Mustafa al-Baghdadi – No.1 on the FBI’s most wanted list – and the man who tortured Bailey in Fallujah a decade ago.

'Mustafa has a deadly axe to grind with Bailey. He taunts him with threats of more attacks in other cities, closer to home. Back in Sydney, the people who matter most to Bailey have become targets.

'Bailey turns to the only man who can help – ruthless CIA veteran Ronnie Johnson – to bring down the world’s most deadly terrorist.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Newly badged Detective Dave Burrows' first posting to the far West goldfields town of Barrabine holds everything he's looking for, but Melinda, his wife of two weeks, is devastated at leaving behind her family, friends and career. More comfortable in heels than RM Williams, Melinda walked away from her much-loved job in the city as a paediatric nurse to follow Dave into the bush. Dave settles in easily to the plain-speaking toughness of his new town, determined to do well, knowing that Barrabine could be his stepping stone into the elite Stock Squad. But will his marriage last the distance?

'As Dave investigates reports of mysterious late-night trespassing, a missing person and guns being drawn on strangers, a local prospector phones in with horrific news that could hold the key to everything . . . Written with Fleur's trademark warmth and outstanding storytelling, this first book in the Detective Dave Burrows series is a compelling and exciting beginning.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.