Cirrus@Austlit

'Mrs Beatrice Dark, the wife of powerful cabinet minister, Joseph Dark, enters the office of a tabloid newspaper and shoots her husband’s enemy, the editor of the tabloid on the eve of World War Two.  

'A sensational murder trial occurs, with its unfolding secrets, lies and sex scandals, mesmerising the nation, with those who believe she should be acquitted and those who think she should hang. But what is the real reason she killed Steven Hood, the editor?' (Publication summary)

'Tom Hope doesn’t think he’s much of a farmer, but he’s doing his best. He can’t have been much of a husband to Trudy, either, judging by her sudden departure. It’s only when she returns, pregnant to someone else, that he discovers his surprising talent as a father. So when Trudy finds Jesus and takes little Peter away with her to join the holy rollers, Tom’s heart breaks all over again.

'Enter Hannah Babel, quixotic smalltown bookseller: the second Jew—and the most vivid person—Tom has ever met. He dares to believe they could make each other happy.

'But it is 1968: twenty-four years since Hannah and her own little boy arrived at Auschwitz. Tom Hope is taking on a batttle with heartbreak he can barely even begin to imagine.' (Publication Summary)