Cirrus@Austlit

'Part one of the bestselling saga of love and adventure on the high seas in the Pacific of the 1800s, by one of our leading historical novelists.

'When 18-year-old Kitty Carlisle's father dies in 1838, her suddenly impoverished mother hopes her beautiful daughter might at least find a good husband. But then Kitty is compromised by an unscrupulous adventurer, and she is banished in disgrace to the colonies.

'In the infamous whaling port of Kororareka - known as the Hell-Hole of the Pacific - Kitty falls in love with Rian Farrell, a mysterious sea captain with secrets of his own. Shocking events force her to flee the Bay of Islands for Sydney, but her independent heart leads her into a web of illicit sexual liaison, betrayal and death.

'Part one of the bestselling saga of love and adventure on the high seas in the Pacific of the 1800s, by one of our leading historical novelists.' (Publication summary)

'The second rivetting installment in The Smuggler's Wife series by one of our leading historical novelists.

She was Maori, aged anywhere between three and five years old. Her dirty, matted hair hung past her shoulders, and sweet, heart-shaped little face was filthy.

'When Kitty Farrell is offered a trinket by a street urchin, her implulsive response will change both of their lives forever. It is 1845, and after four years on the high seas with Rian, her wild Irish husband, she returns to the lawless Bay of Islands and a country at war.

'Kitty and Rian must battle to be reunited as they fight for their lives and watch friends and enemies alike succumb to the madness of war and the fatal seduction of hatred. (Publication summary)

'Book three in the best-selling SMUGGLER'S WIFE series by one of our leading historical novelists.

'Kitty Farrell, headstrong and passionate as ever, is heartbroken over the apparent death by drowning of her husband Rian. Alone and grieving on the goldfields of Ballarat she turns to Rian's long-time shipmate Daniel, who has loved her from afar for many years.

'The consequences will be disastrous and challenge every character in this brilliant third instalment in Deborah Challinor's extraordinary Smuggler's Wife series.

'Vividly drawn, meticulously researched and driven by a powerful page-turning narrative, Band of Gold will resonate in the hearts of readers for a long time.' (Publication summary)

'A story of love, family, adventure and intrigue, set against backdrops of the gold rushes in Australia and New Zealand and the Opium Wars in China.

'When Kitty and Rian Farrell sail their schooner Katipo III in Dunedin Harbour in 1863, they are on a mission. The goldfields have attracted all-comers, including their friend Wong Fu from Ballarat. Wong Fu reveals he is more than a mere fortune seeker: he is in fact the Cloud Leopard tong master of the Wong family, and his daughter has been kidnapped and taken to opium-ridden Hong Kong. Rian and Kitty agree to try to find the Cloud Leopard's daughter, but as they sail closer to their quarry, the stakes jump dramatically. Kitty's adopted daughter Amber is kidnapped when they are forced to stop at Manilla, and it looks like the same party is behind this crime. Kitty, Rian and their crew must not only search for two young women, they must navigate dangerous shoals of pirates, corrupt officials, greedy rulers, wronged lovers and petty grievances.

'Cloud Leopard's daughter continues the story of Kitty, Rian and Amber - now wiser and stronger - as they straddle both sides of the law against the backdrop of gold rushes in Australia and New Zealand and the Opium Wars in China.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.