Cirrus@Austlit

'In the darkest shadows, the pursuit of truth is the only light.

'‘Brilliant … a captivating new voice in Australian crime fiction’

'In the scorching summer of 2004, a working-class Sydney suburb erupts in turmoil when Percy Fullwood, a respected local, is accused of a heinous crime by his own family. As the media frenzy ignites, Detective Bruce Spencer leads a high-profile raid, branding Percy guilty before trial.

'Enter Diane Spencer, Bruce's wealthy and determined sister, who refuses to accept the verdict. Teaming up with enigmatic lawyer Otto, Diane launches a daring quest for justice.

'While Percy languishes in prison, Diane and Otto risk everything to uncover the truth, delving deep into the labyrinth of corrupt officials and Sydney's dark underbelly.

'Against a backdrop of political intrigue and personal vendettas, the investigators navigate treacherous waters to unravel the conspiracy. As they dig deeper, Diane and Otto realise that the powerful forces at play will stop at nothing to protect their web of secrets.

'Will truth triumph against the odds, or will the Spencer team be consumed by the darkness they seek to defeat?'  (Publication summary)

'Ted Watts’ Diary is a coming-of-age love story.

'An orphaned seven-year-old English boy arrives in Sydney to be adopted by his ne’er-do-well Aunt during the early 1900s. The story finishes 60+ years later, after we have followed Ted’s tumultuous journey into manhood. Ted Watts’ Diary has everything a ripping Australian yarn should have, and more: larrikins, mateship, humour, heroes and villains, whores and brothels, retribution, tears and laughter, thieves, spies, war and tender love.

'Ted’s difficult initiation into adulthood in Sydney leads him to Corowa, NSW where he meets and falls in love with Maddie ‘Dimples’. Before he settles down, Ted wants to follow his destiny – go to war and return to Corowa a hero. Like most young men, he has a problem expressing himself, so he promises Maddie he will write his life story in the pages of an old bible given to him previously by a dying old soldier from the Boer War. Under-age, Ted enlists and Dimples promises to wait for him – forever, if she has to. He undertakes to return with the bible, complete with his life story.

'Much of the story unfolds through the eyes of Gertie, a German woman living in Bremen who finds an old bible among the WW1 paraphernalia belonging to her deceased stepfather, Ernst Bauer. This point of view allows us to witness the Great War from the German perspective as well as the Allies’.' (Publication summary)

'Nazi Germany has been crushed, but is the war really over?

'Klara, Hitler’s personal cook, swears she glimpsed him fleeing the Berlin bunker via a secret tunnel.

'The world needs undeniable proof of the Fuhrer’s death, but it’s not that simple. While Allied intelligence agents scour Europe to find such proof, and a Hitler double – ‘the Wolf’ – lays a false trail across two continents, the real Hitler hides out in a Polish monastery, desperate to find his gold train so he can fund the Fourth Reich.

'Klara, already pregnant with Martin Bormann’s child, is one of the countless women brutally raped as Russian forces take Berlin. She miscarries and can’t help wondering if she will ever be  free of the war’s burden.

'Meanwhile, her sister Natalka is working with the Polish government, tracking down and executing Nazi fugitives. She locates Klara and recruits her to help track Hitler: as his former cook, Klara can infiltrate his inner circle. They find Hitler’s hideout via a tip-off. Klara makes tentative contact: the Fuhrer, weakened and isolated, is thrilled to have her back as his cook – and companion. He feels no threat from her but – profoundly traumatised by the war, the death camps, the rape and miscarriage – Klara can take no more. Following a defining act of conscience, she gains closure at last, for both herself and the crippled world.

' But one final twist awaits, revealing a future she couldn’t possibly have imagined!' (Publication summary)

'1938, as the world spirals towards war, Klara Koch is employed as Hitler's personal cook. While Germany reveres the image of the Fuhrer, Klara and the household staff are privy to the real Hitler – his secrets, his ailments and his addictions. As Klara observes those circling the Fuhrer, she realises that not all of them are his admirers. Hitler is right to be paranoid.

'This thoroughly researched and compelling story takes readers right up close and personal with Hitler as he spirals increasingly out of control in pursuit of his drug-fueled quest for world domination. This novel – the second volume in Steve Matthews’ gripping Nazi trilogy – takes you on a journey through World War II in Nazi Germany as seen through Klara’s eyes. It is a uniquely clever re-imagining of Hitler, his inner circle, and the absurdities and contradictions of his daily life.' (Publication summary)

''War and what it does to people. No one escapes it’s clutches …’

'Two sisters are cruelly separated by war in tragic circumstances. Ania is imprisoned in a concentration camp in Poland and Danuta’s search for her sister leads her into the Polish Underground. They each do what they must to survive long enough to find each other. Their dream of being united ends in shocking circumstances. Amazingly, the opportunity for revenge presents itself 60 years later in New Jersey, USA. But faced with the ultimate decision what will be the outcome: seek justice or revenge?

'Spanning 60 years, Hitler’s Brothel follows the lives of two Polish sisters, separated by the vagaries of war. It examines their lives as well as those of their German masters.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'A story of silence that must be told.

'Shy, petite Daisy Croucher lives in other people’s shadows and is practically invisible, even in her own family. She is surprised and flattered when popular pub local Jeff Singleton looks her way. ‘Skinny Minnie,’ he calls her.

'Jeff has a golden rule when it comes to women – never keep one for more than thirty days. Then he meets Daisy.

'Life with Jeff is a roller-coaster ride, the likes of which Daisy never imagined. She soon discovers that marriage consists of more than playing happy families in the suburbs. Daisy’s marriage has its secrets. Matthews positions the reader to walk a mile in Daisy’s shoes. Can she step out of the shadows and shine?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.