Scrublands had a fascinating premise that demanded the reader to come on a journey to solve the crime. The author has an enjoyable writing style and his grasp of the media industry was second-to-none. It transported me back to my days as a newspaper journalist, chasing down leads, working contacts and desperately trying not to get scooped by the opposition paper, or worse, the ABC.
Winner of the 2019 CWA Dagger New Blood Award for Best First Crime Novel
In an isolated country town brought to its knees by endless drought, a charismatic and dedicated young priest calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners before being shot dead himself.
A year later, troubled journalist Martin Scarsden arrives in Riversend to write a feature on the anniversary of the tragedy. But the stories he hears from the locals about the priest and incidents leading up to the shooting don't fit with the accepted version of events his own newspaper reported in an award-winning investigation.…
What a fantastic and poignant tale, beautifully written with loveable Australian protagonists. Eli is a precocious boy, growing up in hot and humid Queensland during the 1980s with his mute brother, Gus. The nostalgia was pretty strong with Boy Swallows Universe, being of a similar vintage to the author. The fact that Eli also followed his dreams to become a young journalist made the book a real page-turner for me. Thoroughly enjoyable.
'The most extraordinary writer - a rare talent' Nikki Gemmell
An utterly wonderful novel of love, crime, magic, fate and coming of age from one of Australia's most exciting new writers.
Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. It's not as if Eli's life isn't complicated enough already. He's just trying to follow his heart, learning what it takes to be a good man, but life just keeps throwing obstacles in the way - not least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary…
Khaki Town was a good read, transporting me to far north Queensland during the height of WWII, which is my favourite period for historical fiction. I was fascinated to discover the political and military machinations in play between the US and Australian authorities during this time. The characters didn't quite grab me as much as I would have hoped, but nevertheless, it was a good, solid read that brought the time to life.
Melbourne 1942. As the World War II rages in the Pacific, 16-year-old cadet reporter Murph and his cheeky Aboriginal friend Banjo are thrown headfirst into an explosive wartime conspiracy when their old nemesis is found dead on Christmas Eve.
All the evidence points to Banjo, who has disappeared without a trace. But Murph refuses to accept it, and—with the beautiful, enigmatic British spy Rose Atherton at his side—he dives deeper into a murky world of wealth and power.
Meanwhile, Banjo's sister Micki plans her daring escape from a POW camp in the Australian outback. But can she really trust her fellow inmates, and be reunited with her family and Murph? With dangerous forces closing in, Murph must decide whether to risk everything—his freedom, his job, even his life—to uncover the truth and save his friends.
The Deep Enders: Deadline is a race against time, with nothing but their wits, grit, and fireworks to unravel a deadly mystery that runs all the way to the top of the Allied war effort. This is the second book in The Deep Enders series.
"The Deep Enders is about so much more than history. Every reader will find themselves in these pages. It is a brilliant historical adventure, offering an exciting new twist on a critical time in history." - Jennifer A. Nielsen, #1 New York Times bestselling author
#1 New Release in Teen & Young Adult Military Historical Fiction
