Neighbourhood Watch #author Lauren Williams

Neighbourhood Watch #author Lauren Williams

The annual Curlew Street scarecrow competition is back, and the residents of Melbourne’s inner north have never seen an entry like it. Shirt bloody, head and arms slumped over a scarecrow crucifix: Victoria’s most conservative Supreme Court Judge, Harry ‘The Pope’ Somerton, is dead. Priyanka Pal, a former psychologist turned homicide detective, is disturbed when her investigation uncovers corruption close to home. Forced to confront the abuses of powerful men – the very reason she left psychology – Priyanka’s faith in the justice system falters.  Emma Bloom is sophisticated, intelligent, and seems to have it all together. But her prickly, estranged sister, Margot, knows the truth. Their attempts at reconciliation spiral into crisis with the death of Emma’s abusive husband, The Pope. As secrets unravel and Priyanka’s investigation cuts close to home, the sisters risk losing what fragile family ties they have left, and Priyanka’s career is on the edge. None of them will ever feel the same way about themselves (or their neighbours) again.  Before turning to fiction writing, author Lauren Williams worked as a lawyer, diplomat, actor, arts journalist and museum communications manager (not all at once).  This is her first novel. To connect with Lauren ... https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Neighbourhood-Watch/Lauren-Williams

The Writer #podcast host Oliver Smuhar

Join the fight.  Tell the story.  Survive the lie. The Writer podcast by Oliver Smuhar is a fictional, serialized audio drama that explores the events of an imagined World War Three.  It follows a young writer drafted into the Foxtrot Unit, a psychological operations team tasked with documenting the war through stories that blend truth with deception. The podcast delves into the nature of truth and the power of propaganda, using a future war as a backdrop to a dialogue about the nature of truth and the power of propaganda.  The series runs weekly from May 12 to August 4, 2026, and contains 13 episodes. It is described as "Full Metal Jacket meets Arcane, with the tension of London Has Fallen," blending character-driven drama, dystopian fiction, and psychological elements to create a cinematic audio experience.  To connect with Oliver ... https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-writer/id1894204580 http://www.oliversmuhar.com/ https://www.instagram.com/oliver.smuhar

Blight #author EJ Johnson

His confession taught me that people are not always what we assume them to be; that we form our views on what we see, not necessarily on what we understand. It’s early 1941, twelve months before the Fall of Singapore, when Australian infantrymen Clarence Roberts and Alexander Campbell disembark to join an imagined heroic campaign to defend British Malaya against the anticipated Japanese invasion. Following the inglorious capitulation of the Allied forces, the men find themselves struggling for their survival, sanity and humanity – first in Changi prison, then in Outram Road gaol. As shameful secrets from their former lives are progressively revealed, the line between right and wrong becomes increasingly blurred. Can disclosure of their past conduct withstand society’s enduring condemnation – or will posterity look upon their behaviour differently? Set against the wilting moral fibre of the British Empire’s colonial beneficiaries in the Far East, Blight is a poignant story of malevolence, revenge, endemic racism and incremental decay, as well as a compelling meditation on the complex and elusive nature of forgiveness. To conenct with Edward .... https://hemburybooks.com.au/author-e-j-johnson/

The Butterfly's Daughter #author David Ryan

In the darkest days of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, Vlinder faces an unimaginable choice: surrender her newborn baby to a complete stranger or risk both their lives in a brutal prison camp. What she chooses will ripple through the generations, establishing a legacy of secrets, lies, unspoken grief and lost identities. Decades after the war, Vlinder’s granddaughter Evangeline’s quest to understand her grandmother’s actions and her family’s painful past reveals that there might be more to this legacy: a story of love and sacrifice, and a truth that has lain buried for over seventy years. Spanning from the horrors of Auschwitz to the quiet suburbs of Melbourne and the magnificent Scottish Highlands, The Butterfly’s Daughter is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a confirmation that the echoes of history shape who we are. Asking what it means to truly survive, this family saga will push the limits of hope and fear as it ponders the lengths we are willing to go to for those we cherish. To connect with David ... https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-ryan-author/ https://hemburybooks.com.au/book-author/david-ryan/

A Life Lost #author Holley Martlew

A passionate love affair.  A glittering secret buried for centuries.  A question that could destroy everything. When an English writer meets the fifth-generation owner of a glass foundry in Murano and they fall in love, their worlds explode. Business and pleasure take them to Athens, the Greek islands and Istanbul. The shocking sequence of events that follows includes two murders in a Venetian Palazzo on the Grand Canal, the unmasking of an international smuggling gang in the bowels of a ruined Byzantine Monastery in Istanbul and the discovery of a cache of glittering medieval mosaics that have been hidden away for over a thousand years. Finally, their story takes a surprising and horrific twist. It raises a question and when it is answered, a life is shattered, raising a moral dilemma: Was a murder committed on the slopes beneath the Parthenon? A Life Lost is a passionate love story, action-packed, full of intrigue. A detective story and a thriller. Rich, deep, and all-absorbing, it is a fascinating mix of pure history and historical fantasy. It is fun. It is scary. It is sexy. It is thought- provoking.  To connect with Holley .... https://www.amazon.com.au/Life-Lost-Holley-Martlew/dp/1068191309