Cirrus@Austlit

'Looking back, Talbot Blair realised that it all began that Monday morning when his best friend, Rick Lawrence, abruptly became a disconnect...

'In the near future, all communication devices are linked to individual users no-one can use an electronic item belonging to someone else. The worst possible fate is to lose that link and become a disconnect. If you can't connect with your friends, you might as well cease to exist.

'In Talbot Blair's world, changes in brain structure have been detected in young people, who have never known a world that didn't contain computers and the Internet. They have always been immersed in an electronic sea of interconnectedness and instant communication. Social psychologist Carter Renfrew's theory is that constant exposure to this electronic environment has re-wired adolescent brains so they are developing into a different species. Renfrew dubs this next evolutionary leap in humankind Homo electronicus. But what happens when Homo electronicus is taken offline?' (Provided by publisher)

'Stone the crows—Aussie Kylie Kendall returns!

'Kylie’s relationship with paramour Ariana Creeling has reached a new level—until she disappears. There’s no sign of violence, no ransom demand—she simply vanishes. Kylie is distraught, not knowing whether she’s alive or dead. Convinced there’s a link to the prestigious Clarice Turner Evenstar Home, where aged show business stars fade not-so-gently away, Kylie disguises herself as a volunteer and finds herself on the trail of the culprit—but will she be too late to save the woman she loves?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Kylie Kendall thought Los Angeles was far enough away from the meddling affairs of her family Down Under. But then comes word that her cousin “Dingo” O’Rourke is not only in town, but in trouble. Word is that Dingo is working as a security guard on the hit new TV series, Darleen Come Home, a modern-day Lassie starring, what else—a dingo—and one that kidnappers would love to wrangle.

'Add in a ruthless real estate developer, a pair of mysterious “feds,” and another relative showing up at her agency, and suddenly Kylie’s got her hands full. Oh, and Kylie has accidentally just been cast in a small role in Darleen.

'You think being a private investigator is tough? Try acting!'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Ads R Us is set in a modern city in the near future, where advertising is a constant stream of noise and information, and corporations sponsor everything from music to schools.

'Teenager Barrett Trent has been raised in total isolation from mainstream society in an eco-cult called Simplicity, but after the death of his uncle, he must now live in the city with his rich and powerful Aunt Kara and Uncle Adrian, and spoiled cousin, Taylor.

'As Barrett finds out, his aunt and uncle have a hidden agenda - there is a lot to gain from finding out the effects of advertising on an untouched mind. Barrett is the perfect guinea pig for their experiments.

'But Barrett may prove harder to crack than they think - and Taylor is certainly not the cousin he expected...' (From author's website)

'Frustrated, transplanted Aussie Kylie Kendall mostly hangs out with her secretary and samples LA nightlife. Owning half a detective agency is boring when your partner won’t let you detect. But twins Alf and Chica Hartnidge, hosts of Australian hit children TV show The Oz Mob ask who smuggles opals into the U.S. inside their Kelvin Kookaburra plush toys, and murder follows.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Kylie Kendall is hired for a routine security detail to prevent an academic rival from disrupting Dr. Oscar Braithwaite’s keynote address at UCLA’s Global Marsupial Symposium. Sounds easy enough to be downright dull, but then Dr. Braithwaite is murdered, and his sister, the sexually voracious and irresistibly attractive Dr. Penelope Braithwaite, hires Kylie to investigate his death. Can Kylie keep from mixing business with oh-so-much pleasure? Can she remain true to her barely requited love for her ice-queen business partner, Ariana Creeling? Oh yes, and can she figure out who killed Oscar? All of these questions and more are answered in this latest installment of Claire McNab’s Kylie Kendall mystery series.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Aussie dyke Kylie Kendall leaves tiny Australian outback Wollegudgerie pub when unknown dad leaves her 51% of his LA detective agency. Lovely enigmatic Arianna Creeling offers to buy her out, but Dr Deer, celebrity psychiatrist to the stars, hires them to investigate his stolen records, and apparent suicide of successful reviled film director client.'

Source : publication summary

'Is Carol playing into a killer's plan? A series of random deaths suddenly fall into a pattern when reclusive, eccentric billionaire Thurmond Rule dies, leaving an immense estate, but no valid will. With no close relatives - Rule's son and only heir vanished mysteriously years before - the search begins to find more distant kin who may have a claim to the Rule billions. And there would be several more applicants vying for the money, but for the disturbing fact that many of them have recently died or been killed. Detective Inspector Carol Ashton speculates that one among the remaining would-be heirs could be responsible for thinning the field so drastically but is baffled that a killer would draw such oblivious attention to themselves. As the authorities contemplate protecting anyone with a blood link to Thurmond Rule, Carol fears she may be unwittingly shielding a killer and playing into a deadly plan ...'

Source: Publisher's website http://www.bellabooks.com/ (Sighted 22/6/10)

'Australian top cop Carol Ashton must outsmart a fiendishly clever killer. A careless jogger plummets from a great height. A man is the victim of a fatal hit-and-run. A woman topples over a cliff while sightseeing. Tragic accidents occur everyday. When Detective Inspector Carol Ashton is called in to investigate Captain John Trelawney's fatal fall from Sydney's scenic North Head, she discovers that his brutal demise may fit into a disturbing state-wide pattern of apparently accidental deaths. Carol's suspicions are heightened when a closer look at these accidents reveals that they effectively eliminate a problem person and provide a substantial insurance payout. But before Carol can catch the killer she must prove that these seemingly unrelated deaths are, in fact, murder and very much related.'

Source: Publisher's website http://www.bellabooks.com/ (Sighted 16/6/10)