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)

'A high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an 'old maid' to protect other women in a new and fiercely feminist historical mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.

'Welcome to the secret life of the Colebrook twins: unnoticed old maids to most, but unseen champions to those in need - society be damned.

'Lady Augusta Colebrook, 'Gus', is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents itself: to rescue their friend's goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband.

'The sisters set out to Caroline's country estate with a plan, but their carriage is accosted by a highwayman. In the scuffle, Gus accidentally shoots the ruffian, only to discover he is Lord Evan Belford, an acquaintance from their past who was charged with murder and exiled to Australia twenty years ago. With Lord Evan injured and unconscious, the sisters have no choice but to bring him on their mission to save Caroline. What follows is a high adventure full of danger, clever improvisation, heart-racing near misses, and a little help from a revived and rather charming Lord Evan.

'And so begin the beguiling adventures of the Colebrook twins ...' (Publication summary)