Cirrus@Austlit

'Belinda and Hazel find themselves on the island of Guernsey where they are invited by Sir Mark's mother, Melba, Lady Sallinger. Other house guests include her parents, a handsome interior designer, a slovenly bookseller, a Jesuit priest, and Catherine, a mysterious woman writer. Soon after, the residents of the old Tudor mansion are thrown into confusion with the discovery of human remains buried in the garden.

'The priest tells of the Guernsey Martyrs, burned alive in 1556 for theft, and he believes a silver cup from that theft, is hidden in the house. One murder and a second mysterious death lead to revelations of past crimes that resonate to the present day and result in an exciting resolution tinged by the island's history of Nazi occupation.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Belinda Lawrence returns to her home town of Melbourne, to discover a murder that's close to her heart.

'A murder which leads to the seat of political power, Parliament House.

'The various threads of deceit and intrigue are gradually unravelled and, with Hazel Whitby at her side, Belinda is confronted by warring political factions.

'The mystery deepens with the discovery of a priceless historical item, of value to both political powers, and which places Belinda's life in jeopardy.' (Publisher's blurb)

'The third adventure for Belinda and Hazel continuing the pace and humour that readers have come to acknowledge and appreciate.

'Excitement and tension begin on the first day of filming a Restoration drama on location at the historic Jacobean mansion, Ham House in Surrey when one of the leading players collapses and dies. With the death ruled non-accidental the director, producer and members of the cast are all suspects.

'An award winning Hollywood star is brought in to replace the dead actor and Belinda is employed as her stand-in. When another member of the crew is found stabbed to death, Belinda is forced to prove her innocence. In all this tumult, Belinda finds herself torn between her longtime English lover, Mark and the energetic and exuberant Australian, Brad she met again on a trip to Australia.' (Publisher's blurb)

'The ancient walled city of Canterbury has held many secrets over the centuries but none more mysterious than the death of Professor de Gray.

'Called in to evaluate the contents of his Tudor Manor House, Belinda and Hazel are confronted with a number of suspects who would benefit from the book the Professor was about to publish; a book he promised would re-write the history of St Thomas Becket who was murdered in the Cathedral in 1170.

'Confirming the Professor was murdered proves to be a challenge and, gradually, as they get to know those associated with the Manor House, Belinda and Hazel discover another murder and an intricate web of secrets that leads them to life-threatening danger and finally to the killer, in this fourth book of the series.' (Publisher's blurb)

'In a quiet English village two bodies are discovered.

'Both murdered.

'But it is the manner of the death that most startles amateur detective Belinda Lawrence.

'They were both slain in a way that perfectly replicates the death a medieval English king.

'But why? ' (Publisher's blurb)

'The old lady's decaying body lay at the foot of the stairs. The police believe it was simply an accidental fall that killed great-aunt Jane. But was it? Young Australian, Belinda Lawrence is convinced it was murder and when she inherits her great-aunt's ancient cottage and garden on the outskirts of Bath, England, she finds herself deep in a taut mystery surrounding her legacy. A secret room. Unknown intruders. A hidden ancient document. They all contribute to the mounting dread. A second vicious murder by a ruthless killer intensifies the tension and Belinda, now under threat herself, is befriended by two charming men: her neighbour Jacob and real-estate agent Mark Sallinger. But can she trust them? And what interest has befuddled antique dealer Hazel Whitby in the cottage? Could one of them be the killer? An excellent example of a time-honoured English village murder mystery with a lively young heroine pitting her intellect against an evil killer, both bent on solving the riddle of an ancient garden. An inventive puzzle glazed with wit and the first of the Belinda Lawrence series.' (Publisher's blurb)

A housewife's boredom leads her first into an affair and then into a secret life as a thief.

Based on an original idea by director Brian Kavanagh, A City's Child is a moody and somewhat tragic drama about a spinster devoted to providing care in her unloved and unloving mother's final years. After her mother's death, she realises that she has no friends, no acquaintances, and no life of her own. While shopping one day, she buys a doll, and it soon becomes the focus of her life. The woman also begins to fantasise about sleeping with a young man she has seen. Her neighbours become puzzled by the baby clothing that has begun to appear on her clothesline, knowing that she has no child and is in no relationship. The woman does eventually meet and get to know the young man, and even goes to bed with him. When she begins to hear the doll reproach her for the relationship and tell her that the man will leave her because she's too old, she succumbs to further emotional turmoil.