RIPPER
Seventeen years ago a small town was rocked by three murders and the Rainer Ripper was caught. Now it seems a copycat has come to town.
DEEP IN THE FOREST: What lies behind the walls of the Sanctuary?
A gripping thriller with a shocking conclusion that will leave you spellbound.
VANISHED: True Stories from Families of Australian Missing Persons
Nicole Morris founded the Australian Missing Persons Register. She is inspirational. Vanished is a glimpse of the families behind the headlines.
A DANCE WITH MURDER
A charming and cheeky murder mystery that features a woman called Ted and her miniature schnauzer, Miss Marple.
DAYS OF INNOCENCE AND WONDER
What happens when someone is left behind?
When Till was five she saw her friend taken by “the man”. It haunts her.
Dark and deadly family secrets
Families harbour all sorts of secrets – and as the novels by Jo Dixon, Kylie Orr, and Glenna Thomson reveal, they can have cruel, twisted, and sometimes deadly consequences. They will divulge all to fellow author (and podcasting queen), Vikki Petraitis. There are a mean ex-husband, a sleep-deprived first-time mum and a crime she wishes she didn’t witness, a missing daughter, a weird mother and much much more.
24th Davitt Awards for women’s crime books now open
Sisters in Crime Australia’s 24th Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books by Australian women from 2023 are now open.
The competition is open to books by all women, whether cisgender, transgender or intersex, who are citizens/residents of Australia. Self-published books are eligible. The Davitts cost publishers $25 a title to enter. Many thanks to Swinburne University of Technology for its support.
From fact to fiction: A.M. Stuart
Terror in Topaz, A.M. Stuart’s fourth Harriet Gordon Mystery (set in Singapore in 1910), was released in October. The story behind the story – the murder of William Steward by his lover, Ethel Proudlock, in 1911 – shocked the world of colonial Malaya. It became a cause celebre, immortalised in William Somerset Maugham’s novel, The Letter, that later became a film.
Hannah Richell, The Search Party
For the February Crime Stack, Simon & Schuster has kindly offered 20 copies of The Search Party by Hannah Richell, dual citizen of the UK and Australia, and author of four international bestselling novels The Crime Stack is a benefit for Sisters in Crime members. Every month there are 20 books to win in a random draw of members. Join now and be in the running for a complimentary paperback copy of The Search Party.
Times of change: Lily Malone
Lily Malone’s book, The Waterhole was shortlisted for the Debut award in the 2022 Davitt awards. The book opens with the discovery of skeletal remains in regional Western Australia. Marley West—small town detective—leads the investigation, which uncovers complex family secrets and the need for debts to be paid.
To solve the case, Marley must unravel the murky past of three people and gain their trust: two brothers, Bill and Jack, and the then-young teacher Annette, who was posted to their town during the Vietnam War.