Cirrus@Austlit

'Investigating sordid political corruption, journalist Harry Hendrick grows uneasy when he hears rumours of a chilling figure behind it. Mistress Hel plies her dark arts from a luxurious suburban lair, motivated by a desire for revenge from a past marred by terrible wrongs.

'Harry hears of demonic visions, of people under a supernatural thrall, and is slowly drawn into her web. Inside are diabolical ceremonies and visions that threaten both his sanity and his life; something black and infernal reaching out into the world…'

Source: publisher's blurb

'When washed-up journalist Harry Hendrick wakes one morning with a hangover and a strange symbol tattooed on his neck, he shrugs it off as a bad night out. But soon more tattoos appear: grisly, violent images which come accompanied by horrific nightmares – so he begins to dig deeper. Harry’s search leads him to a sinister disappearance, torment from beyond the grave, and a web of corruption and violence tangled with his own past. One way or another, he has to right the wrongs.'

Source: publisher's blurb

'Freelance journalist Harry Hendrick is beginning to realise that you’re only as good as your last exclusive, and buzz doesn’t pay the bills, when he’s blackmailed by the police into investigating a series of bizarre suicides.

'Those investigations lead him into the web of Mistress Hel, who plies her dark arts from her luxurious suburban lair. With continuing challenges in his personal and professional life, can Harry resist her seductive power? Or the thrill of danger itself?

'The latest genre-bending thriller from an exciting Australian author, Gary Kemble.' (Publication summary)

'When washed up journalist Harry Hendrick wakes with a hangover and a strange symbol tattooed on his neck, he shrugs it off as a bad night out.

'When more tattoos appear — accompanied by visions of war-torn Afghanistan, bikies, boat people, murder, bar fights and a mysterious woman — he begins to dig a little deeper.

'Harry’s search leads him to Jess McGrath. She’s successful, married; they are drawn to each other though they have nothing in common but unwanted tattoos and high definition nightmares. Together, they edge closer to unearthing the truth behind the sinister disappearance of an SAS hero and his girlfriend Kyla.

'There’s a federal election looming, with pundits tipping a landslide win for opposition leader Andrew Cardinal. Harry knows there’s a link between these disturbing visions and Cardinal's shadowy past, and is compelled to right wrongs, one way or another.

'Skin Deep is the thrilling, layered, genre-bending debut novel of Brisbane author and journalist Gary Kemble.' (Publication summary)

A middle-aged executive with a failed marriage behind him finds himself caught in a spiral of inter-connected nightmares.