Cirrus@Austlit

'A powerful and poignant tale of rural suspense told by the acclaimed Fleur McDonald, bestselling author of Voices in the Dark and Shock Waves.

'Left alone on the vast cattle station with her baby while her husband, Alex, works the farm, Hallie Donaldson is having trouble adjusting to the flies, dust, snakes and isolation in the Flinders Ranges.

'At least today, Hallie knows that she and their daughter Ruby can watch Alex on the security camera erected at the windmill where he'll be working. But something goes horribly wrong and he suddenly disappears from view.

'Alex is found later, dead at the bottom of the windmill.

'After Alex's death, Hallie discovers an alarming series of phone messages sent to a still-shared link on Alex's phone. A short time later, one of Alex's close friends from agricultural college, Danny Betts, loses his life in another tragic rural accident.

'When Hallie reveals the horrifying information she's been keeping secret to Detective Dave Burrows and his partner, Constable Mia Worth, they quickly realise that all is not what it seems.' (Publication summary)

'Dumped by her husband of twenty-five years, Jo Peck—smart, successful and sixty—is totally floored.

'There’s the complete bombshell of the news, the cliché of a younger woman—a much younger woman—there’s the disappointment of cancelled retirement travel plans, and there’s the foundation-rocking loss of her sense of identity—if she’s no longer Rex’s wife, who the hell is she?

'She’s lost and angry and hurt and confused.

'But not for long!

'There’s the comfort and support of excellent friends and newly forged connections with extended family, there’s therapy. And there’s internet dating.

'This inspiring, witty and at times hilarious memoir tells the story of the road from shock and despair to an unexpected new life, of friendship, romance and racy sex—proof that being suddenly single at sixty is not the end, it’s an opportunity for a fabulous new beginning.' (Publication summary) 

'A powerful and poignant rural family story told by the acclaimed Fleur McDonald, bestselling author of Broad River Station and Into the Night.

'When Sassi Stapleton receives a middle-of-the-night phone call to tell her that her beloved grandmother is unwell, she quickly puts her job on hold, packs her ute and sets off on the long drive home, knowing her grandfather will need her.

'Less than an hour away from Sassi's hometown, Barker, she swerves to miss a roo and her car rolls down an embankment. By the time Sassi is found, her grandmother has already passed away.

'On the other side of the world, Sassi's estranged mother, Amber, receives a similar call and shocks the whole family when she flies home from South Africa.

'With everyone under the same roof, tensions escalate as Amber's secrecy and odd behaviour become unsettling. What is she really doing at home with a father she's barely spoken to since she left years ago? And will Amber and Sassi ever be able to reconnect?' (Publication summary)

'A Sydney family's picture-perfect life is upended in an unputdownable new novel from the bestselling author of The Mothers.

'What if the worst day of your life turns out to be the making of you?

'With two bright children, a beautiful home and a husband she's always depended on, Lilian Hogarth considers herself blessed. Until, on her son Jamie's final day of high school, he fails to come home. Hospitalised by a coward's punch, Jamie has been the victim of a muck-up day celebration that went too far.

'Lilian's support is unflinching, even as her world begins to crumble. A son whose fate hangs in the balance, a teenage witness who refuses to name the one who threw the punch, and a husband who's hiding a secret that could destroy their marriage . . .

'Is this the end of the Hogarth family's good luck? Or will Jamie's determination—and Lilian's love—be the making of them?' (Publication summary)

'Nine years ago, thirty-year-old Chelsea Taylor left the small country town of Barker and her family's property to rise to the top as a concert pianist. With talent, ambition and a determination to show them all at home, Chelsea thought she had it made. Yet here she was, in Barker, with her four-year-old daughter, Aria, readying herself to face her father, Tom. The father who'd shouted down the phone nine years ago never to come home again.

'With an uneasy truce developing, Chelsea and Aria settle into the rhythm of life on the land with Tom and Cal, the farmhand, who seems already to have judged Chelsea badly. Until a shocking discovery is made on the riverbed and Detective Dave Burrows, the local copper, has to tear back generations of family stories to reveal the secrets of the past. Chelsea just wants a relationship with her dad but will he ever want that too? Or will his memory lapses mean they'll never get that opportunity?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Brianna Donahue was three years old, her mother mysteriously disappeared while farming in Merriwell Bay, Western Australia. Committed to the family's farm, Brianna works the same land with her father, while raising her two children as her husband works as a fly-in fly-out lawyer in Perth. One scorching summer's morning, her son Trent goes missing and, while frantically searching for him, Brianna must come to terms with the fact that her marriage has large cracks in it.

'Over two thousand kilometres away in South Australia, Detective Dave Burrows receives a phone call reporting stolen sheep from an elderly farmer. It becomes clear that Guy has early signs of dementia and Dave becomes intrigued with his family history. Was there a child, or was there not? No one seems to know. While trying to save her marriage and battling the threat of bushfires back in Merriwell Bay, Brianna is faced with challenges: her father's new girlfriend, who on the surface seems pleasant, seems to have a hidden agenda; Trent is having nightmares, triggered by his accident; and Beau, her youngest, is afraid to let her out of his sight.

'So how will Dave's investigation impact Brianna's world? Suspenseful and incendiary, Suddenly One Summer is an intriguing and heartfelt story of the unlikely connections of life on the land.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Sometimes you have to resolve the past before you can face the future. The moving and heart-warming new novel from Fleur McDonald.

'Lauren Ramsey was adopted at birth. Now a teacher, her mantra is to never let a child fall through the cracks. But she's so concerned about the welfare of a little boy in her kindy class she doesn't notice that her teenage daughter needs help.

'At fourteen, Skye Ramsey is on the cusp of womanhood, but she's also teetering on the edge of an abyss. Battling with the usual pressures faced by a teenage girl, including the pitfalls of social media, she's flirting with outright rebellion.

'As a child, Tamara Thompson felt unloved and overlooked. She's now the manager of a successful business and has a partner who adores her, but her fear of rejection is threatening to overwhelm her.

'All three women are searching for a happier future, but the answers may lie in shedding light on secrets from the past.

'From the bestselling author of Red Dust and Crimson Dawn, comes a moving and intriguing novel about love, friendship and how the truth can set us free... ' (Publication summary)

'Fiona Forrest is devastated when her husband Charlie commits suicide after the accidental shooting of his mate Eddie. Though Fiona decides to keep farming their successful property, rumours that she intends to sell keep circulating.

'When Detective Dave Burrows arrives to sign off on the investigation into Eddie's death, his suspicions are aroused by some strange anomalies at the scene. As Dave becomes increasingly convinced that something sinister is going on, Fiona finds herself dealing with a series of disasters on the farm . . .

'By the bestselling author of Crimson Dawn, this suspenseful novel about a woman fighting to preserve her husband's dream, and a detective determined to uncover the truth will keep you guessing till the very last page.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.