Cirrus@Austlit

'Twenty chests of minted Spanish gold in a sunken galleon—this is the lure that brings historian Renn Lundigan to a tiny island off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

'Renn enlists islander Johnny Akimoto to teach him scuba diving, but soon realises there's a far greater danger in the reef than the sharks. Gambling den owner Manny Mannix has followed him to the island, and now he threatens not only Renn and Johnny, but also the beautiful young scientist Pat Mitchell.

'Gallows on the Sand is a fast-paced story of high adventure, with the rich characterisation that made Morris West one of the bestselling writers of his day.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Allen & Unwin, 2017).

'Though eight years old, his body is so small, his face so pinched, you would take him for five or six.

'Antonino is an abandoned child struggling for survival in the dark alleys of Naples. He is one of thousands whose waking hours are spent in petty crime and whose bed is a street grating above a bakers oven.

'Yet there is hope, in the shape of a young priest, Mario Borrelli. In a journey of self-transformation and love, Father Borrelli befriends the street children and sets up a support network for them: The House of the Urchins.

'Morris West spent time in the slums of impoverished postwar Naples. His chilling account of the local street urchins in his international bestseller Children of the Sun drew the world's attention to their plight, and offers a timeless insight into child poverty. West's portrayal of Father Borelli has inspired many others to follow in Borelli's footsteps.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Allen & Unwin, 2017).

'At high noon on a hot summers day, a beautiful young woman shoots the mayor dead.

'So begins a story of passion and betrayal in a Quiet Tuscan village, leading to a sensational trial. The defence team, headed by the brilliant but unhappy Carlo Rienzi, uncovers a sinister conspiracy of silence that threatens to split the community.

'Can Carlo persuade the judge to grant clemency in what appears to be an open-and-shut case? Can the law intervene in the brutal tradition of vendetta?'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Allen & Unwin, 2017).

'Richard Ashley is a journalist who cares about the truth, and he's about to break the greatest story of his career.

'Italy's ruling clique is rotten to the core. A scandal centred around Vittorio, Duke of Orgagna, points to a web of corruption and deceit emanating from his estate in the south.

'But Ashley finds that the truth is not all it seems when he falls in love with Orgagna's wife. Everything is more complicated, more passionate, than before—and tainted by death. Suddenly Ashley's greatest story threatens to be his last.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Allen & Unwin, 2017).

'Winter 1945. The Second World War is over, but it is a time of armistice, not peace. Austria is grieving its defeat and the loss of a generation of men; it is a land without leaders. To men like Major Mark Hanlon, Occupation Commander of the alpine town of Bad Quellenberg, falls the task of destroying the legacy of the Nazis once and for all.

'When his driver is murdered by an Austrian soldier, Hanlon is determined to bring the man to justice. But investigating the crime proves difficult in a community where nearly everyone has something to hide.'

Source: Publisher's blurb (Allen & Unwin, 2017).