New South Wales
Murders Most Foul Sydney True Crime Weekly Walking Tours. Sydney walking tours are guided by historians and archaeologists who take you off the tourist path, into the back streets, hidden bays and coves, and across the secret gardens, in search of forgotten stories, relics and mysteries. From $35. Book here.
Wednesday 30 April, 5. 30-7.30 pm: Sisters in Crime member Ashley Kalagian Blunt in conversation with fellow author, Pip Drysdale about her new book, Cold Truth, a thriller about an influencer in freezing Winnipeg. Five Dock Library, Level 1/4/12 Garfield St, Five Dock. Free but please book here.
Wednesday 30 April, 6 pm: Michelle Prak sits with Catherine du Peloux Menagé to pull apart the twists, turns, and terror lurking inside Barren Cape. Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney. Free for SMSA members, $10 for friends and non-members. Bookings here.
Thursday 1 May, 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm: Book launch with Adelaide Sisters in Crime member Michelle Prak who will be in conversation about her new thriller, Barren Cape – a spine-chiller about what happens when people are pushed to the edge and forced to make unthinkable choices. Light refreshments. Harry Hartog Mosman, 888 Military Rd, Mosman. Free, but please book. (Michelle is also speaking at Sisters in Crime in South Melbourne on Friday 18 July – details to come. )
Thursday 8 May, 6:00 pm for 6:30 pm: Lucy Sussex & Megan Brown will be in conversation about their new book, Outrageous Fortunes: The Adventures of Mary Fortune, Crime-writer, and Her Criminal Son, the gripping story of Australia’s first female crime writer and her career-criminal son. Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe. $0-$15. Please book here.
Thursday 8 May, 6:30 pm- 8:00 pm: Join crime fans to celebrate the release of When She Was Gone, Sara Foster’s latest novel. Sara will be in conversation with fellow author Anna Downes. Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote Western Australian beach, and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care, Rose is asked to help bring Lou home. Better Read Than Dead, 265 King St, Newtown. $5 event; $40 event & book. Book here.
Thursday, 1 May, 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm: Book launch with Adelaide Sisters in Crime member Michelle Prak who will be in conversation re her new thriller, Barren Cape – a spine-chiller about what happens when people are pushed to the edge and forced to make unthinkable choices. Light refreshments. Harry Hartog Mosman, 888 Military Rd, Mosman. Free, but please book. (Michelle is also speaking at Sisters in Crime in South Melbourne on Friday 18 July – details to come. )
Victoria
Saturday 12 April, 10-11 am: Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar in conversation with Sarah Edgar about their Regency mystery, Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator. Includes a dramatised reading of a scene from the book, as well as all sorts of Austen-world delights. Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Helliers Street, Abbotsford. Bookings here.
Sunday 13 April, 1.30 – 3.00 pm. Join Jacqui Horwood in conversation with Fiona Hardy, author of Unbury the Dead. Best mates Teddy and Alice are hired hands with flexible moral boundaries. Whatever the mess, they can be relied upon to fix it with no questions asked. But sometimes it’s not as simple as cleaning up. Unbury the Dead is a superbly fresh and pacey high-stakes drama with two irresistible heroines. $5 general public. Clunes Railway Station, 80 Service St, Clunes. Please book here.
Wednesday 16 April, 6:30 – 8 pm: Kelly Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar in conversation about their debut Regency mystery, Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator. Collins Booksellers, 67 Puckle St., Moonee Ponds. Free, but please book here.
Thursday 24 April, 5.30 pm for 6 pm: Sisters in Crime@St Kilda Library. A Taste for Wine, Murder (and Romance): Join Fremantle author, Emma Pignatiello, as she talks about her two romantic suspense novels in her Blood Wine Dynasty series – Last Shot (out January) and Last Breath (out March) with Melbourne Sisters in Crime author, Kerryn Mayne. St Kilda Library, 150 Carlisle St., St Kilda. Free but please book here.
Monday 28 April, 6.30 pm: Sisters in Crime@Beaumaris Library. Shelley Burr will be discussing her latest chilling thriller, Vanish, inspired by a real-life criminal case, with Sisters in Crime’s Jacqui Horwood. Beaumaris Library, 96 Reserve Road, Beaumaris. Free but please book here.
Monday 28 April, 6.30 pm: Join crime fans to hear Dervla McTiernan in conversation with Josh Pomare to discuss her new novel, The Unquiet Grave. When a corpse is found in a bog in Galway, detective Cormac Reilly assumes the find is historical. But closer examination reveals a more recent story. The dead man is a local secondary school principal who disappeared two years prior. Readings event at Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston Street, Carlton. $35 per person, includes a signed copy. Book here.
Tuesday, 29 April, 5:00 pm-6:00 pm: Internationally bestselling author Dervla McTiernan returns with the latest novel in her Cormac Reilly crime fiction series, The Unquiet Grave. Join Dervla in conversation with Margaret Hickey. Wurdi Youang, Level 5, Geelong Library & Heritage Centre, 51 Little Malop St., Geelong. $20 or $10 for Geelong Regional Libraries members. Book here.
Tuesday 29 April, 6 pm-8 pm: NSW Sister in Crime Shelley Burr will be in conversation about her new book, $10 includes light refreshment. Book online here or contact Rosemary on library@ballaratmi.org.au or phone (03) 5331 3042.
Tuesday 29 April, 6:30 pm: Author Talk: Fiona Hardy, the beloved Melbourne bookseller and award-nominated author of How to Make a Movie in 12 Days. Now, she’s stepping into the world of crime fiction with her hugely anticipated debut thriller, Unbury the Dead. This darkly funny, twist-filled novel follows two ‘cleaners’—not the mop-and-bucket kind—who take on seemingly simple jobs that spiral into something far more dangerous. Light refreshments provided and proudly presented by The Friends of Emerald Hill Library. Emerald Hill Library, 95 Bank Street, South Melbourne. Free but please book here.
Wednesday 30 April, 6.00 pm: Sisters in Crime@Ringwood Library. Crime and Mystery Unveiled with Vikki Petraitis. Join award-winning author and podcaster Vikki Petraitis as she interviews three of Melbourne’s top crime writers about their latest novels. Discover how crime and mystery unfold across different settings, from the Yorkshire Dales to Melbourne and the Victorian coast with Kirsten Alexander (After the Fall), Fiona Hardy (Unbury the Dead), and Christine Keighery (We’re Not Us Without You). Realm Public Library, 179 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood. Free but please book here.
Thursday 8 May, 7.30 pm: Alison Goodman will be in conversation about her new Regency mystery, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin with Kelly Gardiner, co-author of a debut Regency adventure, Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator. Ulysses Bookstore, Shop 1, 498 Hampton Street, Hampton. $10 event or $35 with book. Complimentary drink. Bookings: 03 9521 8020 or via www.ulyssesbookstore.com.au
Tuesday 13 May, 5.00-6.00 pm: Sisters in Crime@Europa on Alma. Secret Histories. Join Sydney authors Cassie Hamer (The Stranger at the Table) and Darcy Tindale (Burning Mountain) in conversation with fellow Melbourne author, Tania Chandler about deadly family secrets and fatal friendships. Sponsored by Bolton Clarke, owners of Europa on Alma, a retirement village. Complimentary wine and cheese. Europa on Alma, 4th Floor Sky Lounge, 31 Alma Road, St Kilda. Free but please book here.
Tuesday 13 May 6.30 pm: Join crime fans for the launch of We’re Not Us Without You, the new book by Sisters in Crime member, Christine Keighery. High school friends Lani, Tinker, Maya and Stig were inseparable until an unthinkable act shook the group. Now in their thirties, three of the friends are still close while Stig has disappeared completely, unable to face what happened in high school . . . Readings, Level 1, Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. Free but please book here.
Wednesday 14 May, 6:30 pm: Sisters in Crime@Beaumaris Library. Brighton author Alison Goodman will be in conversation about her new Regency mystery, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin with Kelly Gardiner co-author of a debut Regency adventure, Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator. Beaumaris Library, 96 Reserve Road, Beaumaris. Free but please book here.
Sunday 18 May, 1.30-3.30 pm: Celebrating the life of Brenda Richards, a member of Sisters in Crime for over 30 years and author of two crime novels. Free finger foods, soft drinks, and tea and coffee. Drinks at bar prices. St Kilda RSL, Heroes Lounge, 88 Acland St., St Kilda. RSVP by 30 April: eventforbrenda@gmail.com
Thursday 22 May, 6.30 pm: Join crime fans for the launch of A Shipwreck in Fiji, the new book by Sisters in Crime member, Nilima Rao. This next installment in the Sergeant Akal Singh series has all the charm and sparkle of the first book, offering fascinating historical insights into the realities of life in Fiji at the start of the twentieth century. Readings State Library Victoria, 285-321 Russell St, Melbourne. Free but please book here.
Friday 23 May, 6 for 6.30 pm: 19th Annual Law Week event. Murder, She Investigates. Host ‘Judge’ Betty King explores tall tales and true of homicide investigations with former Homicide Squad detective Narrelle Fraser, forensic pathologist Joanna Glengarry, and defence barrister Zoe Broughton. Sir Zelman Cowen Centre, Victoria University, Queen Street Campus, Heritage Courtyard Lecture Theatre, 295 Queen Street, Melbourne. Book here.
Friday, 13 June, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm: Secrets of the Stacks: A night of murder and mystery at the PMI History Library. Can you unravel the mystery before it’s too late? As Melbourne’s elite gather to celebrate the PMI’s 170th anniversary, an air of unease settles over the prestigious library. Whispers of a ghostly presence echo through the ancient stacks, and a priceless manuscript vanishes without a trace. Is someone plotting to destroy the library’s legacy? PMI Victorian History Library, 39 St Edmonds Road, Prahran. Bookings essential.
Friday 27 June, 8 pm: Death in a Cold Climate (Sisters in Crime). Cold can be confronting – whether it is in the Antarctic, Canada, or a remote Scottish island. Add in murderous intent, and the results can be even more deadly, as revealed in the novels by Riley James (The Chilling), Ashley Kalagian Blunt (Cold Truth), and Laura McCluskey (The Wolf Tree). The three writers will be exploring the icy twists of their creations with Louisa Larkin, author of two Antarctic thrillers. Dinner from 6.30 pm. Show at 8 pm. The Rising Sun Hotel, 2 Raglan St., South Melbourne. Book here.
Tuesday, 8 July, 6 pm: Join crime fans to celebrate the launch of Samantha Byres’s debut novel, Dead Ends, a darkly funny tale about returning home and growing up queer in a small town, told via the zany subplot of a TV psychic returning to town to uncover the town’s crimes.She will be in conversation with Jenny Valentish. Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon Street. Free but please bookings here.