'I was made in Coffee Bay. Right there on the beach, in the sand.' From the opening lines, we are drawn in and engrossed by this startling memoir of a singular childhood. Suzan is adopted as a newborn in the late 1960s into a seemingly loving and welcoming family living in Pietermaritzburg. But Suzan is set on a collision course with, most particularly, her adoptive mother, and society, from her very beginning. Suzan's relationship with her mother is fraught with drama, which veers over in...

Curl up with three festive short stories from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Christmas for BeginnersAll I Want for Christmas is YouChristmas is around the corner but Maria just can't get into the spirit - will she ever find Mr Right? But when a secret admirer starts leaving her poems and notes, it looks as though her luck is about to change . . .Cold TurkeyTara is in love with a man ...

A short ebook exclusive story from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Christmas for BeginnersBeth and Michael have worked hard all their married life to give their children everything they want. It hasn't been easy but it's been worth it. Now, as Beth enjoys quality time with her family on their beach holiday, she knows she has a lot to be thankful for. But it's not until she's faced with her biggest challenge yet that Beth really begins to understand how luck...

The best of the best …This essential book takes a decade of Best Australian Stories and selects the most outstanding short fiction by the country’s finest writers. These stories range widely in style and subject matter: there is drama and comedy, subtlety and extravagance, tales of suspense, love, fantasy, grief and revenge. Together they showcase the strength and diversity of Australian fiction at its very best.Contributors include: Murray Bail, D...

This "well-executed emotional drama” (Historical Novel Society) tracks a boy's growth through trauma and guilt into personal responsibility…but what price retribution?"The writing is superb…and the best aspect is the way the author understands and conveys emotion, even twisted, conflicting emotions." Goodreads reader.1937 London. "This is your cousin Kenneth!" And now young Billy's life immediately changes from peaceful to fearful. With threat of war preoccupying his parent...

Shortly before I turned 13, my life changed forever when my family moved to the notorious Centrepoint Community on Auckland's North Shore, then at its peak. Centrepoint was founded by Bert Potter, its 'spiritual leader'. He called himself God. During my four years there I was pressured into inappropriate and often frightening situations by many of its adult members. Like so many others, I have lived with the trauma and shame of these memories, but I have survived. This is my story.

A collection of forty crime and thriller short stories, with all profits from the sale of this book to be donated to Hospice UK and Sophie's Appeal.Do you think you know darkness? Think again. Bloodhound Books presents Dark Minds—a collection of stories by authors who have come together to produce an anthology that will lure, tantalise and shock its readers. What took place "By the Water?" What goes on behind "A Stranger's Eyes?" And what is so special about "Slow R...

Moving from Islington to Exmoor; one small step for mankind but a very large one for MAIL ON SUNDAY columnist Liz Jones.Liz Jones lived the perfect urban life. The immaculate Georgian townhouse in a leafy London square. The glamorous career. The Italian wardrobe stuffed with designer bags and shoes. The much younger novelist husband. But then it all goes horribly wrong. She discovers her husband has been having numerous affairs (with women who are younger, dimmer, ...

"Heartbreakingly detailed . . . vibrant—and vital" prize-winning stories by an Australian contributor to The New Yorker ( Entertainment Weekly).In this "coolly exact . . . sharp, evocative and often poetic" collection of award-winning short fiction, Cate Kennedy daringly travels to the deepest depths of the human psyche to explore the collision between simmering inner lives, the cold outside world, and the hidden motivations that propel u...

"Fans of Griffiths, Gleitzman and Jennings will be thrilled to have this in their collection." Kids Book ReviewI'm Tom Weekly. If my life is an exploding chicken, this book is my attempt to glue it back together.I have a few confessions. I've done a runner from the dentist. I'm petrified of clowns. Giant headlice tried to eat me. A lost sock nearly killed me. And you're not going to believe this, but I was attacked by Library Ninjas whenmy book was...

Original, exciting and innovative writing abounds in this collection of 20 irresistible short stories. Selected from more than 2,000 entries for the 2011 Bristol Short Story Prize

A vibrant southern constellation of crime writers.Dark Deeds Down Under features the very best of modern Australian and New Zealand crime and mystery writing.Spend time with some of your favourite Aussie and Kiwi cops, sleuths and accidental heroes, and meet some edgy new investigators.A crew of beloved series characters - Corinna Chapman, Hirsch, Sam Shephard, Rowly Sinclair, Nick Chester, Murray Whelan - will lead you down dark alleys to mee...