Cirrus@Austlit

'Agatha is scared of the dark, and George is just making things worse.

'When Agatha is accidently locked in a dark room at kindergarten, her body trembles like jelly.

'How will she ever sleep in her own bed tonight?

'A story about learning to face your fears.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Agatha’s cousin Marie Antoinette has come to stay. She can speak two languages, has lovely manners and wears a stylish blue beret. 

'Agatha thinks Marie Antoinette is perfect. So why does Agatha have a stormy feeling in her tummy? This is a story about overcoming jealousy and gaining empathy (because nobody is perfect, not even glamorous little cousins!)

'The third title in the popular Agatha series with be enjoyed by children and parents alike. Beautifully illustrated by Anna Pignataro '  (Publication summary)

'A highly adorable and addictive love story that explores whether "the stars" can or should be a guide through life and what happens when one woman tries to give "the stars" a little help. 

'When childhood sweethearts Justine (Sagittarius and serious skeptic) and Nick (Aquarius and true believer) randomly bump into each other as adults, a life-changing love affair seems inevitable. To Justine anyway. True, she hasn't seen Nick in thirteen years, one month and three weeks, but who's counting? She's pined after him all the same, and now that Nick lives in the same town, a struggling actor to her struggling magazine reporter, he'll surely realize his own unchanged feelings, take the reins and jump at the chance to rekindle their relationship. Right? Well, no. Nick, she learns, is an astrological devotee, and his decision-making, romantic and professional, is guided solely by the infallible horoscopes in his favourite magazine. The magazine Justine happens to work at. Perhaps the stars' guiding forces could use a little journalistic reimagining?

'It's only a few tweaks to the Aquarius column, just a little push to get him to realize they're meant for one another. It's nonsense in the first place, what could possibly happen? Aquarians everywhere are about to find out, when the doctored horoscopes, ostensibly published to steer Nick and Nick alone, end up reverberating in the lives of the column's devoted readers, showing the ripple effects of what can happen when one woman decides to take the horoscopes, and Fate itself, into her own hands.

'Spanning exactly one year, as the earth moves through all twelve stars signs, Star-Crossed is a delicious, intelligent and affecting love story about fate, chance and how we all navigate the kinds of choices that are hard to face alone.' (Publication summary)

'When Agatha was born she had her father’s nose and her mother’s ears.

When her relatives get together, it’s clear that she doesn’t quite fit in.

And when she starts kinder, she realises just how different she is to everyone else…

Then one day Miss Tibble, the kinder teacher, tells her class that like a snowflake, everyone is special in their own way. Then she asks each child to tell her how they might be special.

Agatha cannot think of a single way she is special, so she sneaks away to hide.

'When the whole class search for her, and are quite upset about her absence, she leaves her hiding spot. Then several students suggest why Agatha is special. And, in the end, everyone agrees that Agatha is the best at being Agatha!' (Publication summary)

'Holloman, Connecticut, 1969. A very rare and lethal toxin, extracted from the blowfish, is stolen from a laboratory at Chubb University. It kills within minutes and leaves no trace behind -- unless a doctor knows what to look for -- and worried biochemist Dr. Millie Hunter reports the theft at once to her father, Medical Examiner Dr. Patrick O′Donnell.

'Patrick′s cousin Captain Carmine Delmonico is therefore quick off the mark when the bodies start to mount up. A sudden death at a dinner party followed by another at a gala black-tie event seem at first to be linked only by the poison and Dr. Jim Hunter, a scientist on the brink of greatness and husband to Millie. A black man married to a white woman, Dr. Jim has faced scandal and prejudice for most of his life, so what would cause him to risk it all now? Is he being framed for murder -- and if so, by whom?

'Carmine and his team of detectives must navigate the competitive world of academic publishing, fraught with politics and prestige. The stakes are high: an amazing art collection, a large inheritance, old and upstanding local families, a gold-digging wife, jealous relatives and a young couple′s future.' (From the publisher's website.)

'America in 1968 is in turmoil and the leafy Holloman suburb of Carew is being silently terrorised by a series of vicious and systematic rapes. When finally one victim finds the courage to speak out and go to the police, the rapist escalates to murder.

'For Captain Carmine Delmonico, it seems to be a case with no clues. And it comes as the Holloman Police Department is troubled: a lieutenant is out of his depth, a sergeant is out of control, and into this mix comes the beautiful, ruthlessly ambitious new trainee, Helen MacIntosh, daughter of the influential president of Chubb University.

'As the killer makes his plans, Carmine and his team must use every resource at their disposal - including a team of highly motivated neighbourhood watch, the Gentlemen Walkers...' (From the publisher's website.)

'Everyone knows the story of Elizabeth and Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. But what about their sister Mary, she of the atrocious singing voice and the staidly religious bent of mind?

'Master storyteller Colleen McCullough paints a life for Mary Bennet twenty years after Jane Austen's novel closes.

'So far on in time, each of Mary's sisters is settled in her own way. Happily married Jane is the mother of many children; Elizabeth has to cope with an unwelcome social pre-eminence she had not envisioned; Lydia is still entranced by military officers; and Kitty is one of the stars of London's fashionable salons.

'Events transpire that free Mary from her family obligations and dangle the allurements of independence before her hungry gaze. Fired with zeal by the newspaper letters of the mystery man Argus, she resolves to publish a book about the plight of England's poor. Plunging from one predicament into another, Mary embarks upon a mission of investigation that eventually leads her into mortal danger and reveals the surprising identity of Argus.

'The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet is both a page-turning look at the ongoing lives of the Bennet sisters, and a sparkling romance that shows it is never too late to find love. Abounding with beloved characters in new guises as well as people we have not met before, it is funny, tragic, and eminently satisfying. This is a novel for every woman who has yearned to leave her mark upon the world - Colleen McCullough at her lively best.' (Publisher's blurb)

'Uther Pendragon, High King of Britain, is dying. As he weakens, Britain is being torn apart by the squabbling of kings. Only one man can bring them together. This is the legend of Artorex, the man destined to be King Arthur. Artorex, tall for his years, is growing up in the household of Lord Ector. Artorex was sent here by the Bishop of Glastonbury when he was but a babe in arms and, although his parentage is unknown, life has been unremarkable.

'That is, until the arrival of three men who arrange for him to be trained in the skills of the warrior; blade and shield, horse and fire; pain and bravery. By the time the men return, Artorex is both a father and a warrior - and married to Lady Gallia. The country is in a desperate state - Londinium is about to fall to the Saxons and Artorex is needed to help fight their advance. But to do so, he must leave his wife and family in the care of others. In an act of appalling treachery, they are slaughtered.

'But despite his terrible grief, Artorex's destiny is set. He launches into a campaign of battle against the Saxon hordes, earning himself the trust of all men, and proving himself to be the only worthy successor to Uther... ' - Publisher's website

'Caitrin, daughter of Berach, flees her home in Market Cross, running from her grief and mistreatment at the hands of her kinsfolk. Bruised and alone she arrives at Whistling Tor - a formidable fortification presided over by the local chieftain, Anluan. The villagers scorn and curse him for being a weak and unsupportive leader, unresponsive to their pleas for him to rid the surrounding forest of the ghostly and eerie manifestations that have plagued it for generations.

But desperate for work and shelter, Caitrin ignores their warnings, thinking them nothing more than fanciful tales and seeks refuge at the Tor. Here she encounters giant hounds, malevolent whispering in the night and the rare and precious herb, Heart's Blood; not to mention the moody and cursed Anluan.

As Caitrin slowly begins to regain control of her life, she discovers that not everything is as it seems in this mysterious place. What does Anluan's skewed features and anger hide? Who are the men and women of the Host? What might the ancient manuscripts and family documents in the library reveal? And why does Caitrin get the distinct impression that there is a dark and powerful force on the hill that doesn't want her to find the truth?' Source: www.panmacmillan.com.au/ (Sighted 17/03/2010).

'Raymond Maillot is a lustful young notary who prefers wine, women and song to the pursuit of professional renown. But when he's employed by Father Amiel, a sober Dominican monk charged with investigating a particularly shocking murder, his life begins to change. Now Raymond is torn between his taste for irresponsible pleasures and his desire to find refuge in the Church. His journey of self-discovery, however, begins with a severed penis.' (Source: Libraries Australia)

'When his superior's dismembered corpse is discovered, fourteenth-century Inquisitor of Heretical Depravity, Bernard Peyre, attempts to investigate the crime. But he himself soon becomes an object of persecution - thanks to his involvement with a mysterious suspect and her beautiful daughter.'

Source: Author's website www.catherinejinks.com (Sighted 20/4/10)