SHORTLISTED - 2025 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best NovelGutsy new PI Lou Alcott takes charge in this brilliantly crafted, gritty thriller. Perfect for readers of Sarah Bailey and Jane Caro's The Mother.SHORTLISTED - NZ Booklovers Awards 2025She's the one to turn to when you need saving. But first she has to save herself...Lou Alcott is turning over a new leaf as a private investigator. Formerly ...

Independent, adventurous and courageous, Rose is an unforgettable Australian Girl.It's 1900 … and Rose lives with her family in a big house in Melbourne. She wants to play cricket and have adventures but Rose's conservative mother won't let her. Then young Aunt Alice, a feisty suffragette, moves in with them and everything changes, not only for Rose, but for the whole country.

It's 1900 . . .and Rose lives with her family in a big house in Melbourne. She wants to play cricket, climb trees and be an adventurer! But Rose's mother has other ideas. Then Rose's favourite young aunt comes to town, and everything changes. Will Rose's mother let Aunt Alice stay? And will Rose ever get to do the things she loves?Meet Rose and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a Federation girl who's determined to do things her way!

It's 1900 . . .and Rose feels that Aunt Alice is the only one who understands her. But now it looks as if Aunt Alice is going to live in Adelaide, leaving Rose with a dreadful new governess, Miss Higginbottom! Can Rose stop Aunt Alice leaving Melbourne? And has her chance of going to school gone forever?Follow Rose on her adventure in the second of four stories about a Federation girl who's determined to do things her way!

It's 1901 . . .and even the death of Queen Victoria can't stop the growing excitement as Melbourne gets ready to celebrate Federation – on Rose's birthday! Meanwhile at school, Rose loves being involved in the cricket team. She's so focused on the game coming up that she almost doesn't notice Abigail acting strangely. What's wrong with Rose's best friend? And can Rose help?Join Rose in the final of four exciting stories about a Federation girl who's determin...

Do you dare . . .Leave school to support your family?Save your big brother?Stand up to the local crims?I'ts an adventure in history.Do you Dare?It's 1915 in Melbourne's inner west and Jimmy has left school to support his family while his brother is away at war. But when Jimmy's brother returns, he is a different person, and Jimmy finds his 'odd jobs' for the local crims have also taken a turn for the worst. Will Jimmy go to gaol and can he...

It's 1900 . . .and Rose's world is changing. At last she can go to a proper school where she makes a best friend, learns more than just embroidery and even gets to play in a proper cricket match. But at home, Mother is dangerously ill, Father is worried about Federation, and Aunt Alice is getting in more trouble than ever . . .Join Rose again on her adventure in the third of four exciting stories about a Federation girl who's determined to do things her way!

Since Chris lost his best mate, Dave, cars are all he really cares about. Then Josh Carter moves to town. His dad is a famous racing car driver and everyone wants to be Josh's friend. But as Chris soon discovers, Josh is a bit of a motormouth, and that's where the trouble begins . . .

Tough and gutsy PI Lou Alcott returns with a terrifyingly gritty new case that takes her deep into the dark web. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Bublitz and Jane Caro.While juggling a missing person case with unexpected ties close to home and saving an innocent woman and her child from a dangerous domestic situation, Lou ends up in the line of fire of a mysterious dark-web hate group, known only as SYB.As Melbourne simmers through a relentle...

It' s always been Gemma and her mum – just the two of them. As close as best friends. But while researching a class project about family, Gemma makes a life-changing discovery. Her nan is not dead, like Mum told her, but alive and well and living close by. Gemma now has huge question marks hanging over her. Why would Mum lie about this? What is her nan like? And what would happen if Gemma tried to find her? The Only Branch on the Family Tree is a story about secrets, forgiveness and findin...

Judi Westerholme is happy living in secluded Candlebark, growing her own food, bothering no one – until the cops come knocking. Informed that her estranged brother Andy has been murdered, she assumes it's connected to his long-term drug addiction. But when she returns home, Judi is shocked to discover that Andy had been clean for years, and had a wife – now missing – and a two-year-old child, Mia. Andy seems to have been leading an ordinary life. But if he had turned things around for hims...

Tough and gutsy PI Lou Alcott returns with a terrifyingly gritty new case that takes her deep into the dark web. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Bublitz and Jane Caro.While juggling a missing person case with unexpected ties close to home and saving an innocent woman and her child from a dangerous domestic situation, Lou ends up in the line of fire of a mysterious dark-web hate group, known only as SYB.As Melbourne simmers through a relentle...