Law & Disorder

Drawing on the rich tradition of lawyers dominating crime and legal fiction are three Australian authors Rebecca Lim (The Graduate), Joanna Jenkins (Bad Neighbours), and Eve Thomson (Smother). Their investigations traverse top male-dominated law firms, an Art Deco apartment complex, and an elite school’s girls’ football team. They’ll be admitting all to host, Melbourne author, Lyn Yeowart.

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Win a copy of Possible Springs

Penguin Random House is generously donating twenty copies of Possible Springs by Samantha Ross for the Crime Stack for June. Samantha is a refugee from Melbourne and now lives in Port Douglas in FNQ. Her debut novel blends small-town mystery, romance and magical realism. This is a special offer for members of Sisters in Crime. Join now and be in the running for a complimentary paperback copy of Possible Springs.

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The Gone

Between 38,000 and 50,000 people are reported as missing in Australia each year – roughly one every 15 to 18 minutes. While over 86 per cent of missing individuals are located within a week, about 2,500 to 2,700 people remain missing for more than three months. Some don’t want to be found, but some are …

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How I ‘provoked good men’ with one question: Georgia Harper

What would women do if there were no men for a day? Georgia Harper once almost painted the question on her front fence. Then, she had a better idea and decided to write a thriller and had the protagonist, Dove, paint that question on the front wall of her permaculture farm on a tourist route . . .

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Peeling back the veneer of domestic contentment: Abby Corson

What do you do if you discover your beloved father is a serial killer? This is what
Georgie Baron-Ross explores with Melbourne author Abby Corson for this month’s Author Spotlight. Abby’s latest novel, Happy Woman. It features Gwynne Hogg — a ‘normal’ woman — whose life unravels as her father’s decades-old secrets surface and the media closes in.

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A story of courage and hope from 1757: Christine Balint

Christine Balint began working on this novel in 2018 after finding a summary of the story in a book by American historian, Joanne Ferraro. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse had just taken place. She could not believe that in 1757, a child had had the courage to speak out and she had been believed and her abuser convicted.

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A love song to gritty Dublin: Louise Milligan

On the sands of Shellybanks, where tides can quickly turn treacherous, journalist Kate Delaney once nearly drowned. Years later, reeling from a violent crime that has upended her life in Melbourne, she returns to Dublin to comfort her beloved aunt Dolores—only to discover Dolores has her own buried trauma. Shellybanks, the novel, is a haunting tale of secrecy and survival, charting how two women find strength in each other as they reckon with Ireland’s hidden histories and the scars that endure across generations.

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The new mother as sleuth: Penny Tangey

Who would think that Rhyme Time at the local library would end with a piercing scream and murder? New mum Frida finds herself part of an unlikely group of sleuths investigating. For this month’s Author Spotlight, Narrelle M. Harris spoke to Melbourne librarian (and mother), Penny Tangey, about What Rhymes with Murder?

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Journalist Sleuths

Who better than newshounds to uncover mysteries and track down murderers? Three Melbourne authors, Christine Gregory, Laraine Stephens, and Madeleine Cleary, talk about how and why journalists make such superlative investigators with former journalist and crime author Dr Liz Porter.

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