Cirrus@Austlit

It was supposed to be a quiet end to a long day: five close-knit family and friends settling in for some much-needed sleep after coming together for an early Christmas party.

Instead, it’s the beginning of a shocking night of brutality when six intruders break into the sprawling residence of Debra Hillsboro, a middle-aged romance novelist with a fierce devotion to her loved ones and a strong kinship with her home of almost thirty years.

Armed with smartphones and a modern brand of madness, the intruders – an internet-age cult disconnected from humanity and addicted to causing fear and mayhem – have come to the secluded property for one purpose: to terrorize, and ultimately kill, everyone inside all while filming their heinous crimes.

Outnumbered and cut off from the outside world, the terrified occupants find themselves trapped in a fight for survival as a once place of safety is turned into a deadly maze of darkened rooms and forbidding hallways. On this sweltering summer night, they must somehow find a way to escape before the cult turns the beloved home into a house for the dead.

Source: Publisher's Blurb

'When sharpshooter and killer Mick Taylor searches for a place to keep a low profile, he finds somewhere where his peculiar talents are appreciated: a war. And in Vietnam, an out-of-control sergeant takes the amateur murderer and turns him into a pro.

'Back home, Mick makes use of the sick lessons the army taught him, when hapless tour operators bring a Kombi-load of sightseers out his way into the Western Australian desert. Two suspicious flat tyres deliver an engaged Japanese couple, a father and son, a US army vet and his girlfriend, and a couple of cute girls to Mick's lair. Middle of nowhere, population one. The group finds themselves in hell, as Mick makes sure their once-in-a-lifetime tour stays that way. And though one of the drivers escapes and goes for help, Mick sees no reason to stop the killing spree.

'In the second Wolf Creek novel, the cult film's writer and director Greg McLean gets to the heart of Australian horror's most terrifying psycho killer. Is Mick Taylor possessed by some dark power in the landscape itself? Something ancient? Does the Red Centre demand blood?' (Publisher's blurb)

'Dense jungle reclaimed the Earth four years ago and civilization has been fighting for survival ever since. Without law and order chaos rules the world, and in the struggle between good and bad, good doesn’t always win.

Three animalistic tribes have emerged from the initial barbarity: the fiercely territorial lions; the malicious tree dwellers; and the subterranean tunnel dwellers. Having adapted to their strange, new environment, the tribes fight to become the dominant force, fight to be crowned the new kings of the jungle.

Still, even with the dawning of this new age, pockets of humanity remain. Vastly outnumbered, they scavenge for food and clothing just to stay alive, clinging to the rumour that salvation lies beyond the jungle. Their only hope is to escape.

But hope is in short supply.

This is Mother Nature’s domain and she doesn’t give up her subjects easily.' (Publisher's blurb)

Former jailbird Jim Clayton never was much good at controlling his anger, nor minding his own business. So when he winds up in the tiny mountain town of Billings, Georgia, and witnesses a man attacking a teenage girl named Darlene, he can't help but step in. Unfortunately for Jim, the man is the local Police Chief. And in Billings, the police don't bother with jail for people who assault officers - no, outsiders such as Jim are taken up into the mountains and hunted like wild animals. Only this time, the hunters aren't prepared for a tough ex-con whose will to survive is equal to their bloodlust. Nor a stranger with a most unusual possession - a human soul. A soul he's desperate to sell; a curse he's desperate to be free from. When Darlene buys the soul, unwittingly transferring the curse onto herself, Jim once again steps in to save her, discovering he must face the demons of his past to do so, while fighting to stay alive against the band of savage hunters.

Source: Publisher's Blurb

Deep within the Tasmanian wilderness lies Boolool Kiambram – Dead Tree Forest. To the local Aborigines, Boolool Kiambram means death. A curse was placed over the forest more than a century ago, and the locals know that once you enter the vast expanse of leafless trees and ash-like soil, you’re never to return.

To others, Dead Tree Forest is a legend. Some are attracted to the adventure and mystery of the fabled forest of dead trees; others, such as Ray Lambert, are drawn to the legend of the girl murdered in the forest and the treasure she took with her to her grave – a treasure that supposedly contains incredible powers.

When Ray travels to Dead Tree Forest in the hope of finding the buried treasure, what he and his friends find is the restless spirit of the murdered girl, and a curse that won’t let them leave until blood has been spilled and the wrongs of the past have been avenged.

Source: Publisher's Blurb

'Hitchhiking along the Hume Highway, a woman hunts for her daughter's killer. Driven by guilt and the desire for revenge, the mother is set on a path of self-destruction. As the search becomes an obsession, the lonely highway begins to transform her...'

Source: Back cover.

'The Lodgepole Pine Motel is the setting for nerve-wracking terror when a group of unsuspecting travellers find themselves trapped in a nightmare of violence and mayhem. Madge Fraiser is the kindly old owner of the rustic mountain hideaway, which, during one long night, will become awash with blood, as the guests are stalked one by one by a sadistic killer. Who will live to see the dawn, and who will learn that this is one motel where checking in can be murder? They only wanted to stay one night. But one night can last a lifetime at...The Last Motel.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.