CRIMES OF THE CROSS
NON FICTION
An unforgettable exposé of institutional child abuse. In Newcastle, NSW, a sinister paedophile network run by members of the Anglican Church. Many people knew, and they looked the other way.
DEVIL’S KITCHEN
Andy Nearland goes undercover in a New York fire station where the crews set as many fires as they put out, and they’ve stolen millions in daring heists. A fast-paced thriller from an Aussie favourite.
THE FOUR
Four kids win scholarships to a boarding school that caters for the offspring of the rich and powerful. Outsiders from the start they band together. Did they do the things they were accused of? Or were they scapegoats?
SHOCK WAVES
Multiple bombs explode in a small WA country town. A detective discovers he has a melanoma, and it’s serious. This story is as much about friendship in adversity as it is about crime.
THE OUTBACK COURT REPORTER
NON FICTION
This Australian journalist has seen it all in the bush: custody disputes over a camel, missing lollipops, and the darker – sometimes unfathomable – side of an often harsh judicial system.
Murder Monday: Sherryl Clark
For the July Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to Sherryl Clark, the prolific author who has published more than 70 children’s and YA books, including novels, chapter books, picture books and award-winning verse novels. And now lots of crime. Sherryl has recently moved from Australia to New Zealand (Aotearoa). Sherryl will be talking to Sisters in Crime in Melbourne on Friday 26 July.
31st Scarlet Stiletto Awards now open – a record $13,400 in prize money
The Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short crime and mystery stories turn 31 this year and are offering a record $13,400 in prizes. The first prize winner takes home $2000, donated by Swinburne University of Technology, plus the coveted trophy. Cate Kennedy is offering a new award for the Best Story Inspired by a Forensic Clue ($500). Closes 31 August 2024 – so start writing now, if you haven’t already.
Hayley Scrivenor, Girl Falling
On offer for the July Crime Stack are 20 copies of Girl Falling kindly donated by Pan Macmillan Publishing Australia. Award-winning Wollongong writer, Hayley Scrivenor displays again her razor-sharp skills for character, landscape and narrative. Join now and be in the running for a complimentary paperback copy of Girl Falling.
Undertaking an undertaker: Deborah Challinor
For this month’s Author Spotlight Deborah Challinor, a prolific author from across the ditch, spoke to Robyn Walton about her new historical novel, Black Silk & Sympathy (HarperCollins, 2024), set in Sydney in the 1860s – with a very unusual sleuth. She has had an interest in cemeteries and mourning and funeral traditions forever, she says. In 2018 she received a New Zealand Order of Merit award for services to literature and historical research.
Older, wiser. . . and solving crimes: Alison Goodman
Global best-selling author, Alison Goodman, asks if we have noticed a quiet revolution happening on our bookshelves and television screen. She’s talking about the rise and rise of the older woman amateur sleuth.
Twenty years ago, she would have been pressed to name more than Miss Marple as an example, but now we have Elizabeth and Joyce from the Thursday Murder Club, the new Marlow Murders team in the books by Robert Thorogood, Agatha Raisin in the books by MC Beaton, and Susan Ryeland in the Magpie Murders series, to name just a few.