Cirrus@Austlit

'Murder by Drone is the fifth book in the exciting Biddy and Justin Series by Pamela Arnold. This mature but lively pair of Australian espionage agents are embroiled once again with arch ISIS enemy Suzette, who entices Biddy on horseback onto the desirable next-door property ... and into a trap of attack by drone.

'Despite a broken wrist and head scans, Biddy refuses to stay in hospital and enlists the usual intriguing characters for help. They uncover Suzette's scheme to kill innocent South Australian Anzac Day crowds with drone swarms.

'The German House described in this story is based on a century-old property that the author owned and took twelve years to restore, but it took only twenty minutes to be razed by the Ash Wednesday fire of 1983. As in the story, the author won both National Trust and State Heritage awards. Antiques were lost, but the horses were saved, as was the family dog. Badly singed, the author says of their dog, "We knew he was ours because he had one blue and one brown eye."'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

This is the story of Tran Van Tuan, a Vietnamese man struggling to survive through wars, six decades of hardship, and the ever-present threat of death, so he could realise his dreams.

'Born in North Vietnam during World War II, Tuan is abandoned in infancy by his father. The family is forced to flee the post-war fighting between the returned French colonialists and the Viet Minh nationalists. A harrowing period as refugees ends with the defeat of the French and the family exodus to Saigon.

'Journey with Tuan through the desperate years of what the Vietnamese call "the American War," the death of his beloved mother, his fight to educate himself and rise above poverty, his eventual marriage, and the chaos and drama of the fall of Saigon to the Communists.

'Tuan clings to the dream of freedom as he faces the threat of execution, forced labour camps, the collapse of his marriage, and a final daring escape by boat that almost ends in death.

'Repatriated to Australia from a Malaysian refugee camp, he strives against the odds once again to fulfil his destiny as an artist, committed to portraying the sufferings of his generation through his visionary canvases.

'Compelling, courageous, and immensely touching, The Drifting Clouds speaks simply, yet eloquently of the indomitable nature of the human spirit that sustains hope even in the darkest hours.' (Publication summary)

'Pamela Arnold has done it again: another fast-paced suspense thriller that slices through a multitude of dangers, always stays on track, and keeps readers intrigued.

'Lively seniors Biddy and Justin, with no time to unpack after returning home from an overseas assignment, are abducted and whisked away in a unique custom-designed, bullet-proof Mercedes.

'The action takes place between a luxurious South Australian hills estate called Landmark House and a Tokamak, an experimental machine that harnesses the energy of fusion, in Provence, France.

'The story embraces a multitude of interesting tech items, including Abio, a robot dog, which Justin’s dog, a Japanese Chin named Puffer, considers it nothing more than a retarded cousin that does tricks with a ball. There’s also Toots, a Google driverless car, in which Biddy traps an assassin, and Oso is a beautiful and sexy humanoid that’s been enhanced with an extra sex app.

'Biddy and Justin, expecting to enjoy a little R&R, are instead swept into action at the Adelaide Zoo, due to a terrorist threat. Going undercover, Biddy poses as an elderly blind woman accompanied by her seeing eye dog, which in reality is an attack dog.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'I was released from an in-patient mental health ward in early March 2006. A trophy pictured in the preface of this book displays the date July 23, 2006, as the initial USA competition poetry award. That date marks the deadline of the period required for a poem to be created, entered, and judged. All that was left for application after my 20 years of post grad training, was creative writing. My hidden hope was to offer in a real way, an apology via deed to all those who encountered me when I was unwell. There is something strange regarding that period’s legal progress, since society so easily ignores this as “dealing with madness.” My elderly mother watched as my life appeared to unravel, but always offered support. In 2009, as she lay upon her deathbed in hospital, she held the first volume for which she was my sounding board. She smiled and said, “Well, at least you have a little hope appearing now.” These works you hold are the collated works of this period of hurtful outpour, and are continuous from early 2006 until late 2014.' (Publication summary)

'When the world was a much younger place, Lyndon and Helen grew up in an idyllic coastal setting and fell in love. There is nothing unusual about this, except that they experienced this in many past lives. Furthermore, what they perceived as real sometimes did not make any sense, especially in their dreams. Arthur Koestler wrote that dreaming can be seen as "sliding back towards the pulsating darkness, of which we were part before our separate egos were formed." During the fourth century BC, Plato maintained that what we see and touch is not reality, but only shadows as ethereal as the reflections from a fire in a cave. The illusion of reality is how we comprehend the shadows. But beyond this imperfect perception is Logos, the intangible "collective consciousness," as Karl Jung once coined, which binds us all and permeates throughout the living cosmos. Here is an idea that the combined experiences and wisdom of all people throughout the ages lie deep like water in the well of the unconscious individual mind. Together, amidst their numerous destinies within the ever-changing interdimensional flux, Lyndon and Helen eventually found their utopia. Here they remain as young lovers, sharing their subliminal reality with us. Is this the stuff of reality, dreams, or madness? As Cervantes once declared in Don Quixote, "Maddest of all is to live life as it is and not as it should be." Perhaps Logos really is the mind of God.' (Publication summary)

'Moonstone Magic is a detective novel that takes readers along on a time travel journey from a moonstone to ghosts, and ultimately, to love. When a writer finds a link allowing her to travel in time, she discovers many things, including how to win the lottery! But she also uncovers a shocking revelation that she is unable to write about. The story unfolds as she must find her own way to handle the situation in which she has she has found herself, as well as the consequences. Stories of different themes follow, including murder, ghosts, cosmetic surgery, heartbreak, and love, which readers will find absorbing and interesting. Violet Apted's mother used to say she was born with a pen in her hand. She grew up during World War II in Ashford Kent, UK. At that time it was a quaint little market town steeped in history. Now it is the main train link to France by the Channel Tunnel. ' (Publication summary)

'In The Procurers, amateur but lively senior sleuths Biddy and Justin find themselves back on board the Pacific Queen Royale, as agents for the Australian National Veterans Network. They are tasked with uncovering increasing and unexplained passenger disappearances at sea, and also to keep an eye on Professor Witherspoon, who is working with a world consortium to provide free, clean fusion energy via a Tokomak reactor in France.

'ANVN and Detective Inspector Brien Schultz from Adelaide Crime, also seeks help from celebrated Australian yachtsman, Sir Tim Harvey, to uncover terrorists at sea, whom Biddy suspects of abducting boat people as fodder for body parts, and processing them aboard the Goliath, a giant fishing trawler fitted with huge freezers.

'As one of the abductees is an American National, the U.S. Coast Guard is involved, providing use of a Black Hawk helicopter to track the Goliath, which escapes for concealment to an Indian ship demolition graveyard to continue its macabre butchery.

'Will Justin and the Black Hawk crew be in time to save Biddy and the abductees on the disabled trawler from imminent demolition?'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'The year 2015 saw the development of a nanomachine, which combines in a symbiotic relationship with bacteria to perform mineral recovery of recyclable metals, necessary in a world economy enduring persistently high consumption. Scientists succeeded, but a test sample was freed by accident during development. Within a few short weeks, in the UK, a mass exodus of people fleeing the towns and cities ensues, as a massive cloud engulfs and consumes iron, titanium, aluminium and other metals. When it touches humans, the result is usually death. Professor Geoffrey Short is a shy academic, who to some level was one of those responsible for the situation. He vows to find a way to stop the nanomas but will need help. Bringing together the remnants of the student body at Southampton University, the professor heads out to the relative safety of the New Forest. Equipping themselves as best they can, about eighty students, a few adults, and young children set up camp to ride out the enveloping cloud sweeping across the Southern UK. Without the luxuries of modern city life and everything we take for granted, the group must rediscover and learn old skills to survive. But the cloud is not the only threat to the professor's group.' (Publication summary)

'Pacific Incident 9-11-13 is a fascinating, well-plotted thriller, with compelling characters and genuine suspense. While on a cruise, jet-setting retiree couple, Biddy and Justin uncover an extremist jihadist plot designed to punish Australia for deploying troops to Afghanistan. Extremists have smuggled a suitcase sized nuclear device aboard the ship the couple are cruising on, and plan to destroy the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge. But to prevent the plan from being carried out, Biddy and Justin must stop Rukan, a Christian born woman who was kidnapped by the Taliban as a child and brainwashed into becoming a nuclear terrorist. Having infiltrated the ship as an aesthetician, Rukan is intrigued by the ways of the west. But will her curiosity be enough to dissuade her from carrying out this spectacular act of terror? It's a race against time as Biddy and Justin, aided by detective inspector Brien Schultz must attempt to thwart the catastrophic detonation in Pacific Incident 9-11-13.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Murder in Tusmore Park is the first in the Biddy and Justin Series, the forerunner to the second book Pacific Incident 9-11-13. This novel has the same compelling characters and is a fascinating, well-plotted thriller with genuine suspense. Another page turner by Australian author Pamela M. Arnold!

'Lively sixty-year-olds Biddy and Justin are embroiled in a series of homicides, two of which are committed in the park opposite Justin’s duplex. Due to Justin finding both bodies, the couple become police suspects.

'The murders continue and Biddy becomes an amateur sleuth to exonerate them both. Targeting Biddy, the wily psychotic killer eventually manages to trap her. While Justin and the police desperately search for her, Biddy, who is drugged, tortured, and her dog killed, prays they will find her in time.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'"Stink" in Australian slang means a "fight" or something or someone that is not welcome. The Chronicles of a Stink Chicken: Episodes features eight short stories describing the madness that can come from using illicit drugs.

'The stories are about some of the author's school friends who are mainly deceased due to substance abuse.

'The book also includes health and legal issues, financial truths, and the social negativities that come with using drugs. Humour is used to show how easily a user's mind may be led into absurd beliefs.' (Source: Author website)

'"The future has arrived. Fast forward 150 years. In a bleak future world, the sparse population in the United Kingdom has returned to a pre-industrial era, nature having reclaimed the cities. Abalus: In the Beginning looks back at the year 2015, when a professor documented how American scientists were developing a biomechanical life form capable of adapting, as part of a major research project to find more efficient ways to reclaim and recycle Earth’s finite mineral resources. The pressure was on. 150 years later the world consists of re-education centers that suppress the events of the past. Fifteen-year-old Abalus has just witnessed the slaying of his father, and he is incarcerated with his mother in a re-education centre. Abalus escapes and embarks on a quest for forbidden knowledge. Searching for the truth about his ancestors, he discovers the professor’s journals from long ago. Will he survive? Will the future of mankind survive?' (Publication summary)