International Women of Mystery

Crime and mystery know no borders and neither do the protagonists of Prey, Cutting the Cord and The Lost Jewels: one is pursued by an assassin, another is an assassin and the third is an historian of jewellery. But what defines these women throughout their adventures, which take them to the US, the UK, Europe and South Africa, is their courage, determination and smarts.

L A (Louisa) Larkin, Natasha Molt and Kirsty Manning will reveal their deadly secrets to fellow author P D (Phillipa) Martin. Available for viewing Friday 31 July from 6pm.

In Prey (Clan Destine Press, 2020) by L A Larkin, Olivia Wolfe, the hero of Devour, is back. A London-based investigative journalist who travels the world exposing heinous crimes, Olivia has more enemies than most. But this time some very powerful people want her stopped for good. When the anonymous source for her latest story is killed, she must unravel the terrible secret that connects a series of gruesome murders. Betrayed and isolated, Olivia is soon being hunted by a faceless killer in South Africa.

Louisa studied literature at the University of London’s Royal Holloway College, graduating with honours. She now teaches mystery and thriller writing. Author of The Genesis Flaw, Thirst, Devour and Prey, she has been likened to Michael Crichton by The Guardian and to Alistair MacLean by The Times. The Genesis Flaw was nominated for four crime fiction awards and Thirst was described as ‘the best Antarctic thriller since Ice Station’. She has just completed a psychological crime-thriller set in Seattle.

Cutting the Cord (Impact Press, 2020), the debut novel by Natasha Molt, centres on Amira Knox, the perfect assassin. Her targets are affluent Europeans; her commander is the Authenticity Movement, a secret terrorist group to which she has been loyal for as long as she can remember. Adopted as an infant, Amira was trained to be the ultimate weapon. But when her brother goes mysteriously missing and her father seems to be keeping secrets from her, she begins to doubt the Movement’s purpose and her own identity. Caught in a web of deception and betrayal, Amira realises she has to get out. Fast. But how can she escape a terrorist cult when its leader – her father – wants her dead? 

Natasha is a criminal policy lawyer and Director of Policy at the Law Council of Australia, specialising in Criminal and National Security Law. She has published crime fiction reviews for The Canberra Times and her short stories have been shortlisted twice for the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto awards. In 2007, Natasha won a Varuna Longlines Mentorship for her first unpublished thriller manuscript. Recently she completed her PhD in creative writing, which forms the basis of Cutting the Cord.

The Lost Jewels (Allen & Unwin, 2020)¸ the latest historical mystery by Kirsty Manning, is based on a true story. 1912: a worker’s pickaxe strikes through the floor of an old tenement house in Cheapside, London, uncovering a cache of precious jewels and gemstones (the Cheapside Hoard) that quickly disappears again. When respected American jewellery historian Kate Kirby receives a call about these jewels, she knows she’s on the brink of the experience of a lifetime, but the trip to London forces her to explore secrets that have long been buried by her own family.

Kirsty’s earlier novel, The Jade Lily (Allen & Unwin, 2018), tells the little-known story of Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai during World War II. Her first novel was The Midsummer Garden (Allen & Unwin, 2017). Kirsty has degrees in literature and communications and has worked as an editor and publishing manager for over a decade. Specialising in lifestyle and travel, her journalism and photography regularly appear in magazines, newspapers and online.

P D Martin is the author of five crime novels published ‘traditionally’ in 13 countries. Her Sophie Anderson series – Body Count, The Murderers’ Club, Fan Mail, The Killing Hands and Kiss of Death – met with international acclaim. In 2010, Phillipa moved into ebooks, starting with book six of the Sophie series, Coming Home. She then released Hell’s Fury, a spy thriller with crime at its heart, and two middle-grade novels under the pen name Pippa Dee – The Wanderer and Grounded Spirits. In 2019, she completed her PhD in creative writing: ‘Literary’ crime fiction – an analysis.

This event will be available for free viewing worldwide through YouTube on Friday 31 July from 6pm. However, you can support Sisters in Crime by purchasing a $10 ticket HERE. Ticket sales close on Sunday 26 July at 12 noon.

Three lucky ticket holders will win a $150+ crime book pack, kindly donated by the publishers. Unfortunately, this is restricted to Australian residents – international postage is just too expensive!

The pack will include:

• Prey, L A Larkin (Clan Destine Press)
• Cutting the Cord, Natasha Molt (Impact Press)
• The Lost Jewels, Kirsty Manning (Allen & Unwin)

plus one of these book pairs:

• The Strangers We Know, Pip Drysdale (Simon & Schuster)
• You Don’t Know Me, Sara Foster (Simon & Schuster)

OR

• Under the Midnight Sky, Anna Romer (Simon & Schuster)
• The Lost Girls, Jennifer Spence (Simon & Schuster)

OR

• Blood on the Rosary, Sue Smethurst and Margaret Harrod (Simon & Schuster)
• Under Your Wings, Tiffany Tsao (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia)

A video link will be posted on the Sisters in Crime Facebook page, and sent to members and supporters via the e-newsletter, A Stab in the Dark.