Barbara King This is the story of Emily. The Australian Outback Historical Saga is in essence a biography of an extraordinary woman’s life, set on the great Jooloonga Station in central Queensland.
1901: A little girl wanders down a creek in central Queensland after the revenge massacre of her family. She becomes known as The Crazy Orphan and is rendered mute for two years. A host of remarkable characters pour in and out of her life. The pioneering Wilsons and their six children provide the love that remains indelibly printed on her soul. An extraordinary event at the annual Racing Carnival has her venting her anger in an outburst that relaxes her vocal chords, but the incident has her banished from the community the same day.
Jack Carr You think you know James Reece. Think again. A storm is on the horizon. America’s days are numbered. A Chinese submarine has gone rogue and is navigating towards the continental United States, putting its nuclear missiles within striking distance of the West Coast. A rising Silicon Valley tech mogul with unknown allegiances is at the forefront of a revolution in quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence.
A politician controlled by a foreign power is a breath away from the Oval Office. Three seemingly disconnected events are on a collision course to ignite a power grab unlike anything the world has ever seen. The country’s only hope is a quantum computer that has gone dark, retreating to the deepest levels of the internet, learning at a rate inconceivable at her inception. But during her time in hiding, she has done more than learn. She has become a weapon. She is now positioned to act as either the country’s greatest savior or its worst enemy. She is known as “Alice” and her only connection to the outside world is to a former Navy SEAL sniper named James Reece who has left the violence of his past life behind.
Louise Candlish A gripping, twisty new thriller from the bestselling author of Our HouseTHERE’S TROUBLE IN PARADISECharlotte and Perry have owned their clifftop holiday home in Pine Ridge for years. They’ve worked hard for it – why shouldn’t they enjoy it? Even if the locals can’t afford to live in the village these days…
Now city friends Amy and Matt have bought a second home nearby and when the two families descend, they plan lazy days at the beach and evenings sipping rosé and watching the sun set from Charlotte’s summerhouse veranda.
But this summer is different. A group of locals – headed by the charismatic Robbie – will stop at nothing to make the second home owners pay for their holiday. By the end of their break, marriages will be torn apart, friendships shattered and crimes exposed.
Virginia Woolf Heralded as Virginia Woolf’s greatest novel, this is a vivid portrait of a single day in a woman’s life. When we meet her, Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of party preparation while in her mind she is something much more than a perfect society hostess. As she readies her house, she is flooded with remembrances of faraway times. And, met with the realities of the present, Clarissa reexamines the choices that brought her there, hesitantly looking ahead to the unfamiliar work of growing old.
Harrison Christian ‘A riveting account about Scott of Antarctica and the machinations of his demise. Of the food depots that were diminished and the rescue that never came.’ (Peter Hillary, mountaineer and explorer).
For a long time it seemed Antarctica would remain the sole hold out in a nearly fully explored world. The approaches were too difficult and dangerous, and the material benefits to the exploring nations were too few … Far from being a land of plenty, the Antarctic continent – if it was that – was no place for human beings.
Robert Falcon Scott’s 1910 attempt to reach the South Pole is placed in jeopardy when Edward Evans joins as his second-in-command. A clash of personalities between the two men almost prevents the Terra Nova from sailing, but they forge ahead, conscious of competing expeditions racing to the pole.
On the treacherous journey across the Antarctic ice, the differences between the scientific-minded Scott and the ambitious Evans become insurmountable. Scott sends Evans back early, making the final push without him, only to find they have been beaten by the Norwegians.
When Scott and his remaining men make their desperate return to base, they’re met with an inexplicable shortage of supplies, leading to the tragic deaths of the entire party.
P. J. Tracy The Dead of Winter… Minneapolis, winter’s first white flakes; a park full of snowmen. But the layers of packed snow hide a goulish surprise …
First, the bodies of two cops are found inside the snowmen and then a day later, in the countryside to the north, Sheriff Iris Rikker makes a similarly shocking discovery. Soon Detectives Gino and Magozzi are sent north through the worst blizzard Minnesota’s seen for years to find what else links the investigations.
But some secrets you don’t want to uncover. And as the cases unravel, it seems snowmen aren’t the only ones with something to hide …
Michael Robotham The mystery of Evie Cormac’s background has followed her into adulthood. As a child, she was discovered hiding in a secret room where a man had been tortured to death. Many of her captors and abusers escaped justice, unseen but not forgotten. Now, on a hot summer’s day, the past drags Evie back as she watches the bodies of seventeen migrants wash up on a Lincolnshire beach.
There is only one survivor, a teenage boy, who tells police their small boat was deliberately rammed and sunk. Psychologist Cyrus Haven is recruited by the police to investigate the murders—but recognizes immediately that Evie has some link to the tragedy. By solving this crime, he could finally unlock the secrets of her past. But what dark forces will he set loose? And who will pay the price?
Nicola Moriarty Who killed Harriet? Complicated, driven, loving; manipulative, irresistible, monstrous – whether you love her or hate her, Harriet is impossible to say no to. But someone has finally snapped and as Harriet lies dying, she is determined to figure out who has killed her.
Was it her devoted husband? Or was it her best friend and sometimes lover? Or Karen, a fellow school mum and seemingly the woman who has it all – until the night Harriet persuaded her into playing Two Truths and a Lie?
Teenage bullies, complicated friendships, and games (both on and off the playground) combine with envy, obsession and revenge to create a twisty tale of drama and suspense that you won’t be able to put down.
Stuart MacBride Detective Constable Angus MacVicar has just landed his dream job – transferred out of uniform and assigned to Oldcastle’s biggest ongoing murder Operation Telegram, hunting the ‘Fortnight Killer’. Every two weeks another couple is targeted. One victim is left at the scene, their corpse used as a twisted message board. The second body is never seen again.
This should be the perfect chance for Angus to prove himself, but instead of working on the investigation’s front line, he’s lumbered with the forensic psychologist from hell. A sarcastic know-it-all American, on loan from the FBI, who seems determined to alienate everyone while dragging Angus into a shadowy world of conspiracies, lies, and violence.
It’s been twelve days since the Fortnight Killer last struck, and the investigation’s running out of time. Angus’s shiny new job might just be the death of him…
Stephen King From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER. “You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal.
King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,” and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.
Two Talented Bastids explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream, a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In Rattlesnakes, a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In The Dreamers, a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. The Answer Man asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.
King’s ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.
