Dirt Town By: Hayley Scrivenor Narrated by: Sophie Loughran Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 23-06-22
Summary Durton. Dirt town. Dirt and hurt—that’s what others would remember about our town....
When twelve-year-old Esther Bianchi disappears on her way home from school in the small town of Durton in rural Australia, the local community is thrown into a state of grief and suspicion.
THE DETECTIVE
As Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels begins her investigation, she questions those who knew the girl, attempting to unpick the secrets which bind them together.
THE MOTHER
The girl’s mother, Constance, believes that her daughter going missing is the worst thing that can happen to her. But as the search for Esther develops, she learns that things can always get worse.
THE FRIENDS
Ronnie is Esther’s best friend and is determined to bring her home. So when her classmate Lewis tells her that he saw Esther with a strange man at the creek the afternoon she went missing, Ronnie feels she is one step closer to finding her. But why is Lewis refusing to speak to the police?
And who else is keeping quiet about what happened to Esther?
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor is an atmospheric crime novel set in rural Australia, for fans of Jane Harper's The Dry and Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End.
Critic reviews "Masterful. Australian crime has a new star. The characters of Dirt Town are rich, raw and beautifully realised. One of the crime books of the year." (Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands)
"A heart-wrenching mystery." (Jane Harper, bestselling author of The Dry)
"I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough." (Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End)
We Begin at the End By: Chris Whitaker Narrated by: George Newbern Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 02-04-20
Summary With the staggering intensity of James Lee Burke and the absorbing narrative of Jane Harper's The Dry, We Begin at the End is a powerful novel about absolute love and the lengths we will go to keep our family safe. This is a story about good and evil and how life is lived somewhere in between.
You can't save someone that doesn't want to be saved....
For some people, trouble just finds them. Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer.
Now, he's been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend and sister of the girl he killed.
Duchess Radley, Star's 13-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin - and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but also the whole town.
Murder, revenge, retribution.
How far can we run from the past when the past seems doomed to repeat itself?
Critic reviews "Surely destined to conquer the world. This intensely captivating story and its uniquely intriguing characters holds you in its jaws till the very last word. Astonishingly good." (Ruth Jones)
"A very real, very rare talent." (Sarah Hilary)
"The most beautifully written book I have read this year. Chris Whitaker is proving himself to be one of the most talented writers around." (Lisa Hall)
A Heart Full of Headstones By: Ian Rankin Narrated by: James Macpherson Length: 11 hrs Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 13-10-22 Language: English Publisher: Orion
Summary
John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it's not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last.
What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them?
Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh's most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city's police force.
But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus—and Clarke's twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit.
A reckoning is coming—and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders...
The Secret Jack Reacher, Book 28 By: Lee Child, Andrew Child Series: Jack Reacher, Book 28 Length: Not Yet Known Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 24-10
Summary 1992. Eight respectable, upstanding people have been found dead across the US. These deaths look like accidents and don't appear to be connected. Until one body - the victim of a fatal fall from a hospital window - generates some unexpected attention.
That attention comes from the Secretary of Defence, who promptly calls for an inter-agency task force to investigate. Jack Reacher is assigned as the Army's representative.
Reacher may be an exceptional soldier, but sweeping other people's secrets under the carpet isn't part of his skill set. As he races to discover the link between these victims, and who killed them, he must navigate around the ulterior motives of his new 'partners'. And all while moving into the sight line of some of the most dangerous people he has ever encountered.
His mission is to uncover the truth. The question is: will Reacher bring the bad guys to justice the official way...or his way?
The Day Is Dark Thora Gudmundsdottir, Book 4 By: Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Philip Roughton Narrated by: Gabrielle Nellis-Pain Series: Thora Gudmundsdottir, Book 4 Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 03-11-22 Language: English
Summary A chilling case for Thora Gudmundsdottir, from Iceland's answer to Stieg Larsson.
When all contact is lost with two Icelanders working in a harsh and sparsely populated area on the northeast coast of Greenland, Thora is hired to investigate.
Is there any connection with the woman who vanished from the site some months earlier? Why are the locals so hostile? And could one of the team staying at the site with Thora be responsible for the disappearances?
Already an international best seller, this fourth audiobook to feature Thora Gudmundsdottir is chilling, unsettling and addictive.
Hidden in Snow The Åre Murders, Book 1 By: Viveca Sten, Marlaine Delargy - translator Narrated by: Laura Jennings Series: The Åre Murders, Book 1 Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 01-12-22 Language: English
Summary The splendor of the Swedish mountains becomes the backdrop for a bone-chilling crime.
On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander’s personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of Åre. But it’s a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can’t help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow.
As subzero temperatures drop even further, a treacherous blizzard sweeps toward Åre. Hanna and Daniel’s investigation is getting more desperate by the hour. Lost or abducted, either way time is running out for the missing girl. Each new clue closes in on something far more sinister than either Hanna or Daniel imagined. In this devious novel by the bestselling author of the Sandhamn Murders series, discover what it will take to solve a case when the truth can be so easily hidden in the coming storm.
Viveca Sten Mystery, Thriller & Suspense | Literature & Fiction Swedish writer Viveca Sten has sold over six million copies of her enormously popular Sandhamn Murders series. In 2019, her tenth novel, the hugely successful I hemlighet begravd (Buried in secret), was published in Sweden and cemented her place as one of the country's most popular authors. Her Sandhamn Murders novels continue to top the bestseller charts and have been made into a successful Swedish-language TV miniseries, which has been broadcast around the world to almost ninety million viewers. Sten lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children, but she prefers to spend her time visiting Sandhamn to write and vacation with her family.
Desert Star By: Michael Connelly Series: Harry Bosch, Book 24 Length: 10 hrs Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 08-11-22 Language: English Publisher: Orion
Summary LAPD detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch work together to hunt the killer who is Bosch's "white whale"—a man responsible for the murder of an entire family.
A year has passed since LAPD detective Renée Ballard quit the force in the face of misogyny, demoralization and endless red tape. Yet, after the chief of police himself tells her she can write her ticket within the department, Ballard takes back her badge, leaving 'the Late Show' to rebuild the cold case unit at the elite Robbery-Homicide Division.
For years, Harry Bosch has been working a case that haunts him but that he hasn't been able to crack—the murder of an entire family by a psychopath who still walks free. Ballard makes Bosch an offer: come work with her as a volunteer investigator in the new Open-Unsolved Unit, and he can pursue his 'white whale' with the resources of the LAPD behind him.
The two must put aside old resentments to work together again and close in on a dangerous killer. Propulsive and unstoppable, this new novel demonstrates once again why 'Connelly is the real deal' (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review).
No Plan B By: Lee Child, Andrew Child Series: Jack Reacher, Book 27 Length: Not Yet Known Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 25-10-22 Language: English Publisher: Penguin Audio
Summary
The gripping new Jack Reacher thriller from the number one best-selling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.
Gerrardsville, Colorado. One tragic event. Two witnesses. Two conflicting accounts. One witness sees a woman throw herself in front of a bus - clearly suicide. The other witness is Jack Reacher. And he sees what really happened - a man in grey hoodie and jeans, swift and silent as a shadow, pushed the victim to her death, before grabbing her bag and sauntering away.
Reacher follows the killer on foot, not knowing that this was no random act of violence. It is part of something much bigger...a sinister, secret conspiracy, with powerful people on the take, enmeshed in an elaborate plot that leaves no room for error. If any step is compromised, the threat will have to be quickly and permanently removed.
But when the threat is Reacher, there is no plan B....
@Essexphil. I said I would let you know @TheEdge949 about this book. It is definitely not a gripping thriller. I am getting towards the end, and intend to return the book. I am able to return it and get a credit. I dont care what happens. One of the main characters is an annoying teenager, that robs his Foster Mum, and runs away from home. That all you know about him. He then spends practically the whole book, travelling 1200 miles on various Greyhound buses. Reacher teams up with an old Granny early on. She accompanies him on a cross country journey, with the same destination as the annoying teenager. I gave up when Reacher broke into a prison undetected through millions of locked doors, and successfully reached a particular prisoner. It seems there was a cunning plan to turn prisoners into organ donors as a business. The villains were harvesting non vital organs, while keeping the prisoners alive, before harvesting the rest. I will never know the full story. Definitely my last reacher book.
I am of the same mind Tony, I left a comment on Audible after the awful Midnight Line saying that I felt Lee Child was simply writing on autopilot and that the series had run out of steam.
Nothing I have read since convinces me otherwise and I will not be purchasing any more Reacher books either on Audible or hard copy.
For me Lee Child has become another James Patterson, unable to end a franchise and strangling the Golden goose in the process.
I am of the same mind Tony, I left a comment on Audible after the awful Midnight Line saying that I felt Lee Child was simply writing on autopilot and that the series had run out of steam.
Nothing I have read since convinces me otherwise and I will not be purchasing any more Reacher books either on Audible or hard copy.
For me Lee Child has become another James Patterson, unable to end a franchise and strangling the Golden goose in the process.
I am of the same mind Tony, I left a comment on Audible after the awful Midnight Line saying that I felt Lee Child was simply writing on autopilot and that the series had run out of steam.
Nothing I have read since convinces me otherwise and I will not be purchasing any more Reacher books either on Audible or hard copy.
For me Lee Child has become another James Patterson, unable to end a franchise and strangling the Golden goose in the process.
I cant understand it. He could have just taken a break. That would surely be preferable to ruining the brand.
The Ink Black Heart By: Robert Galbraith Series: Cormoran Strike, Book 6 Length: Not Yet Known Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 30-08-22 Language: English Publisher: Hachette Audio UK
Summary When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity.
Robin decides that the agency can't help with this - and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.
Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits - and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways...
A gripping, fiendishly clever mystery, The Ink Black Heart is a true tour-de-force.
I have got this now after pre-ordering it. I didnt know it was nearly 33 hours long.
Standing in the Shadows DCI Banks, Book 28 By: Peter Robinson Narrated by: Simon Slater Series: The Inspector Banks Series, Book 28 Length: 10 hrs Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 02-03-23
Summary The twenty-eighth book in the number one bestselling Alan Banks crime series—by the master of the police procedural.
Late November, 1980. English student Nick Hartley returns from a lecture to find his house full of police. He soon discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been found murdered in a nearby park, and her new boyfriend is missing. Nick quickly realises he is a suspect as he has no convincing alibi, but Nick has his own suspicions...
Meanwhile, in late November 2019, an archeological dig near Scotch Corner unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more recent than the Roman remains she is looking for. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called in, and the investigation into the find begins...
No Plan B By: Lee Child, Andrew Child Series: Jack Reacher, Book 27 Length: Not Yet Known Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 25-10-22 Language: English Publisher: Penguin Audio
Summary
The gripping new Jack Reacher thriller from the number one best-selling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.
Gerrardsville, Colorado. One tragic event. Two witnesses. Two conflicting accounts. One witness sees a woman throw herself in front of a bus - clearly suicide. The other witness is Jack Reacher. And he sees what really happened - a man in grey hoodie and jeans, swift and silent as a shadow, pushed the victim to her death, before grabbing her bag and sauntering away.
Reacher follows the killer on foot, not knowing that this was no random act of violence. It is part of something much bigger...a sinister, secret conspiracy, with powerful people on the take, enmeshed in an elaborate plot that leaves no room for error. If any step is compromised, the threat will have to be quickly and permanently removed.
But when the threat is Reacher, there is no plan B....
@Essexphil. I said I would let you know @TheEdge949 about this book. It is definitely not a gripping thriller. I am getting towards the end, and intend to return the book. I am able to return it and get a credit. I dont care what happens. One of the main characters is an annoying teenager, that robs his Foster Mum, and runs away from home. That all you know about him. He then spends practically the whole book, travelling 1200 miles on various Greyhound buses. Reacher teams up with an old Granny early on. She accompanies him on a cross country journey, with the same destination as the annoying teenager. I gave up when Reacher broke into a prison undetected through millions of locked doors, and successfully reached a particular prisoner. It seems there was a cunning plan to turn prisoners into organ donors as a business. The villains were harvesting non vital organs, while keeping the prisoners alive, before harvesting the rest. I will never know the full story. Definitely my last reacher book.
Currently on an Australian phase.
Dead Man's Creek By: Chris Hammer Narrated by: Lockie Chapman Length: 10 hrs Unabridged Audiobook Release date: 05-10-22 Language: English Publisher: Wildfire
Summary Old bones sink—but secrets always rise to the surface.
Newly minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her hometown, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder—a 'file and forget'.
But this is no ordinary cold case, her arrival provoking an unwelcome and threatening response from the small-town community. As more bodies are discovered, and she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her, Nell realises that finding the truth could prove more difficult—and dangerous—than she'd ever expected.
The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more treacherous her path becomes. Can she survive to root out the truth, and what price will she have to pay for it?
Gripping and atmospheric, Dead Man's Creek is a stunning multi-layered thriller from Chris Hammer, the award-winning author of Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year Scrublands (2019) and Times Crime Book of the Month Opal Country (January 2022).
The Survivors By: Jane Harper Narrated by: Stephen Shanahan Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins Unabridged Audiobook
Summary The Sunday Times Top 10 Best seller.
Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on a single day when a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that haunts him still resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home.
Kieran's parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.
When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge in the murder investigation that follows. A sunken wreck, a missing girl and questions that have never washed away....
Critic reviews "With The Survivors, Jane Harper proves she's unquestionably the real deal." (Val McDermid)
"Jane Harper's superb new novel The Survivors exhibits all the qualities that make her such a compelling writer.... Sure-footed, technically impeccable plotting and storytelling ensure the mystery holds until the final pages." (Irish Times)
"You won't put this novel down until you've uncovered every last skeleton in the closet. I loved it." (Louise Candlish)
The Lost Man 'her most accomplished yet: a moving story of loneliness, grief and redemption' The Times By: Jane Harper Narrated by: Stephen Shanahan Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins Unabridged Audiobook
Summary The Sunday Times top 10 best seller
The 'gripping, atmospheric and ultimately deeply satisfying' (Val McDermid) new novel from Jane Harper, author of the Sunday Times top 10 best sellers - with combined sales of over a half a million copies - The Dry and Force of Nature.
He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron's mind when he was alive, he didn't look peaceful in death.
Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other's nearest neighbour, their homes hours apart.
They are at the stockman's grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family's quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish.
Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he choose to walk to his death? Because if he didn't, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects....
Addictive This book, in some ways so simple, drew me in immediately and kept me interested. No need for a new murder every few pages, this is really well plotted with just the right amount of pace.
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Overall 5 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 5 out of 5 stars Profile Image for Caroline Caroline 23-11-18 Excellent story and perfectly narrated. I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book from Jane Harper and think it’s actually her best yet, certainly better than Force of Nature. The story kept me guessing which is what a good thriller is all about. The narration was perfect with each person having a distinctive voice and I really felt the heat and the dust of outback Australia. Can’t wait for her next book. Was this review helpful for you?
Helpful Report this 11 people found this helpful
Overall 5 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 4 out of 5 stars Profile Image for Barbara Barbara 24-04-19 The Perfect Book I resented having to go to bed and sleep halfway through listening to this. What a terrific story. It gradually gathers pace, enlisting our sympathy and interest in a cast of well-developed and believable characters. There's just the right amount of the uncanny about this too: different versions of why someone is buried out in the middle of nowhere and the impact that remote grave is having on people still alive (in some cases, not for long, though). More effectively than just about any other contemporary author, Harper makes the landscape an active participant in the drama. And I don't know anyone better at describing the interplay of unhealthy family dynamics - especially between siblings. At times the tension felt both unbearable and irresistible - like watching the final five minutes of a crucial match. You will not want to miss this book.
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Overall 5 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 5 out of 5 stars Profile Image for Jacqueline S. Jacqueline S. 26-11-18 Evocative and moving Jane Harper writes about life in remote parts of Australia wonderfully. She describes the procedures and the emotions so well, from the organisation of the essential foodstuffs, to the incredible loneliness, to the underlying and longstanding interpersonal problems. This book has been a joy to listen to.
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Overall 5 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 5 out of 5 stars Profile Image for P.W.Ainsworth P.W.Ainsworth 28-10-18 Lost man Listen to this. You will love it. Just as wonderful as her others. Another masterpiece
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Overall 5 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 5 out of 5 stars Profile Image for Andrea Edan Andrea Edan 17-07-19 A trip to the Outback without actually going there This extremely well written book is both suspenseful and adept at giving one the feeling of what it must be like living miles from anywhere in the harsh climate of the Australian Outback. You can hardly imagine why anyone would want to live there but then you get the perspective of characters who would not be anywhere else. Woven into the landscape is a story that you could hardly expect to take place in such a remote location. What can I say? Just "read it".
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Overall 5 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 5 out of 5 stars Profile Image for J G Lucas J G Lucas 17-11-20 Strongly recommended A gripping, unfolding story . The location is set so well I could visualise the outback and the characters fleshed out so that I could understand their struggles . Slowly the truth is revealed but still the ending took me quite by surprise First class narration .
The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland. He didn't need a coroner to tell him this was a bad death. He didn't know then that this was only the first. Or that he was about to risk everything looking for answers.
Late one night, Charlotte Clark drove the long way home, thinking about how stuck she felt, a 23-year-old housewife, married to a cowboy who wasn't who she thought he was. The days ahead felt suffocating, living in a town where she was supposed to keep herself nice and wait for her husband to get home from the pub. Charlotte stopped the car, stepped out to breathe in the night air and looked out over the water to the tangled mangroves. She never heard a sound before the hand was around her mouth.
Both Charlotte and Ned are about to learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and that it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves, and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you safe.
Still is an evocative, pause-resisting thriller from a brilliant Australian writer. If you loved The Dry and Scrublands, you will love Still.
Summary Two missing backpackers. One vast outback.
DS Lucas Walker is on leave in his hometown, Caloodie, looking after his dying grandmother. When two young German backpackers vanish from the area on their way to a ranch, he finds himself unofficially on the case. But why all the interest from the Federal Police, when they have probably just ditched the heat and dust of the outback for the coast?
As the number of days the couple are missing climbs, DS Walker is joined by the girl's sister. A detective herself from Berlin, she is desperate to find her before it's too late.
Walker remains convinced there is more at play. Working in the organised crime unit has opened his eyes to the growing drug trade in Australia's remote interior. Could this be connected?
As temperatures soar, the search intensifies to a thrilling crescendo against the unforgiving backdrop of the scorching Australian summer.
This deeply atmospheric thriller is the gripping opening of a crime series for fans of The Dry by Jane Harper, Cara Hunter and Chris Whitaker.
Summary Everybody thinks they know Mina McCreery.
Everyone has a theory on what happened to her sister.
Now it's time to find out the truth....
Mina McCreery's sister Evelyn disappeared 19 years ago. Her life has been defined by the intense public interest in the case. Now an anxious and reclusive adult, she lives alone on her family's destocked sheep farm.
When Lane, a private investigator, approaches her with an offer to reinvestigate the case, she rejects him. The attention has had nothing but negative consequences for her and her family, and never brought them closer to an answer.
Lane wins her trust when his unconventional methods show promise, but he has his own motivations for wanting to solve the case, and his obsession with the answer will ultimately risk both their lives.
Superbly written, taut and compassionate, Wake looks at what can happen when people's private tragedies become public property, and the ripples of trauma that follow violent crimes. Wake won the CWA Debut Dagger in 2019.
Summary Longlisted for the New Blood Dagger Award 2021.
Thirty years ago, in the suffocating heat of a Sydney summer, the Greens’ next-door neighbour Mandy disappeared without a trace.
A cold case re-opened.
In 1997, in a basement flat in Hackney, Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father is under suspicion of Mandy’s murder.
A devastating secret.
How well does Isla know her father? Is he capable of doing something terrible? And is there another secret in their community – a conspiracy of silence which stretches deep into Australia’s past?
Comments
Dirt Town
By: Hayley Scrivenor
Narrated by: Sophie Loughran
Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 23-06-22
Summary
Durton. Dirt town. Dirt and hurt—that’s what others would remember about our town....
When twelve-year-old Esther Bianchi disappears on her way home from school in the small town of Durton in rural Australia, the local community is thrown into a state of grief and suspicion.
THE DETECTIVE
As Detective Sergeant Sarah Michaels begins her investigation, she questions those who knew the girl, attempting to unpick the secrets which bind them together.
THE MOTHER
The girl’s mother, Constance, believes that her daughter going missing is the worst thing that can happen to her. But as the search for Esther develops, she learns that things can always get worse.
THE FRIENDS
Ronnie is Esther’s best friend and is determined to bring her home. So when her classmate Lewis tells her that he saw Esther with a strange man at the creek the afternoon she went missing, Ronnie feels she is one step closer to finding her. But why is Lewis refusing to speak to the police?
And who else is keeping quiet about what happened to Esther?
Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor is an atmospheric crime novel set in rural Australia, for fans of Jane Harper's The Dry and Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End.
Critic reviews
"Masterful. Australian crime has a new star. The characters of Dirt Town are rich, raw and beautifully realised. One of the crime books of the year." (Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands)
"A heart-wrenching mystery." (Jane Harper, bestselling author of The Dry)
"I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough." (Chris Whitaker, bestselling author of We Begin at the End)
"A stunning debut." (Ann Cleeves)
We Begin at the End
By: Chris Whitaker
Narrated by: George Newbern
Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 02-04-20
Summary
With the staggering intensity of James Lee Burke and the absorbing narrative of Jane Harper's The Dry, We Begin at the End is a powerful novel about absolute love and the lengths we will go to keep our family safe. This is a story about good and evil and how life is lived somewhere in between.
You can't save someone that doesn't want to be saved....
For some people, trouble just finds them. Thirty years ago, Vincent King became a killer.
Now, he's been released from prison and is back in his hometown of Cape Haven, California. Not everyone is pleased to see him. Like Star Radley, his ex-girlfriend and sister of the girl he killed.
Duchess Radley, Star's 13-year-old daughter, is part-carer, part-protector to her younger brother, Robin - and to her deeply troubled mother. But in trying to protect Star, Duchess inadvertently sets off a chain of events that will have tragic consequences not only for her family, but also the whole town.
Murder, revenge, retribution.
How far can we run from the past when the past seems doomed to repeat itself?
Critic reviews
"Surely destined to conquer the world. This intensely captivating story and its uniquely intriguing characters holds you in its jaws till the very last word. Astonishingly good." (Ruth Jones)
"A very real, very rare talent." (Sarah Hilary)
"The most beautifully written book I have read this year. Chris Whitaker is proving himself to be one of the most talented writers around." (Lisa Hall)
He ll of a shock to find him banged up on remand.
The Secret
Jack Reacher, Book 28
By: Lee Child, Andrew Child
Series: Jack Reacher, Book 28
Length: Not Yet Known
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 24-10
Summary
1992. Eight respectable, upstanding people have been found dead across the US. These deaths look like accidents and don't appear to be connected. Until one body - the victim of a fatal fall from a hospital window - generates some unexpected attention.
That attention comes from the Secretary of Defence, who promptly calls for an inter-agency task force to investigate. Jack Reacher is assigned as the Army's representative.
Reacher may be an exceptional soldier, but sweeping other people's secrets under the carpet isn't part of his skill set. As he races to discover the link between these victims, and who killed them, he must navigate around the ulterior motives of his new 'partners'. And all while moving into the sight line of some of the most dangerous people he has ever encountered.
His mission is to uncover the truth. The question is: will Reacher bring the bad guys to justice the official way...or his way?
The Day Is Dark
Thora Gudmundsdottir, Book 4
By: Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Philip Roughton
Narrated by: Gabrielle Nellis-Pain
Series: Thora Gudmundsdottir, Book 4
Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 03-11-22
Language: English
Summary
A chilling case for Thora Gudmundsdottir, from Iceland's answer to Stieg Larsson.
When all contact is lost with two Icelanders working in a harsh and sparsely populated area on the northeast coast of Greenland, Thora is hired to investigate.
Is there any connection with the woman who vanished from the site some months earlier? Why are the locals so hostile? And could one of the team staying at the site with Thora be responsible for the disappearances?
Already an international best seller, this fourth audiobook to feature Thora Gudmundsdottir is chilling, unsettling and addictive.
Hidden in Snow
The Åre Murders, Book 1
By: Viveca Sten, Marlaine Delargy - translator
Narrated by: Laura Jennings
Series: The Åre Murders, Book 1
Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 01-12-22
Language: English
Summary
The splendor of the Swedish mountains becomes the backdrop for a bone-chilling crime.
On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander’s personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of Åre. But it’s a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can’t help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow.
As subzero temperatures drop even further, a treacherous blizzard sweeps toward Åre. Hanna and Daniel’s investigation is getting more desperate by the hour. Lost or abducted, either way time is running out for the missing girl. Each new clue closes in on something far more sinister than either Hanna or Daniel imagined. In this devious novel by the bestselling author of the Sandhamn Murders series, discover what it will take to solve a case when the truth can be so easily hidden in the coming storm.
Viveca Sten
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense | Literature & Fiction
Swedish writer Viveca Sten has sold over six million copies of her enormously popular Sandhamn Murders series. In 2019, her tenth novel, the hugely successful I hemlighet begravd (Buried in secret), was published in Sweden and cemented her place as one of the country's most popular authors. Her Sandhamn Murders novels continue to top the bestseller charts and have been made into a successful Swedish-language TV miniseries, which has been broadcast around the world to almost ninety million viewers. Sten lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children, but she prefers to spend her time visiting Sandhamn to write and vacation with her family.
@Essexphil
You read this yet Phil?
Will definitely read it
I said I would let you know @TheEdge949 about this book.
It is definitely not a gripping thriller.
I am getting towards the end, and intend to return the book.
I am able to return it and get a credit.
I dont care what happens.
One of the main characters is an annoying teenager, that robs his Foster Mum, and runs away from home.
That all you know about him.
He then spends practically the whole book, travelling 1200 miles on various Greyhound buses.
Reacher teams up with an old Granny early on.
She accompanies him on a cross country journey, with the same destination as the annoying teenager.
I gave up when Reacher broke into a prison undetected through millions of locked doors, and successfully reached a particular prisoner.
It seems there was a cunning plan to turn prisoners into organ donors as a business.
The villains were harvesting non vital organs, while keeping the prisoners alive, before harvesting the rest.
I will never know the full story.
Definitely my last reacher book.
Nothing I have read since convinces me otherwise and I will not be purchasing any more Reacher books either on Audible or hard copy.
For me Lee Child has become another James Patterson, unable to end a franchise and strangling the Golden goose in the process.
He could have just taken a break.
That would surely be preferable to ruining the brand.
I didnt know it was nearly 33 hours long.
Standing in the Shadows
DCI Banks, Book 28
By: Peter Robinson
Narrated by: Simon Slater
Series: The Inspector Banks Series, Book 28
Length: 10 hrs
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 02-03-23
Summary
The twenty-eighth book in the number one bestselling Alan Banks crime series—by the master of the police procedural.
Late November, 1980. English student Nick Hartley returns from a lecture to find his house full of police. He soon discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been found murdered in a nearby park, and her new boyfriend is missing. Nick quickly realises he is a suspect as he has no convincing alibi, but Nick has his own suspicions...
Meanwhile, in late November 2019, an archeological dig near Scotch Corner unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more recent than the Roman remains she is looking for. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called in, and the investigation into the find begins...
Dead Man's Creek
By: Chris Hammer
Narrated by: Lockie Chapman
Length: 10 hrs
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 05-10-22
Language: English
Publisher: Wildfire
Summary
Old bones sink—but secrets always rise to the surface.
Newly minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her hometown, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder—a 'file and forget'.
But this is no ordinary cold case, her arrival provoking an unwelcome and threatening response from the small-town community. As more bodies are discovered, and she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her, Nell realises that finding the truth could prove more difficult—and dangerous—than she'd ever expected.
The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more treacherous her path becomes. Can she survive to root out the truth, and what price will she have to pay for it?
Gripping and atmospheric, Dead Man's Creek is a stunning multi-layered thriller from Chris Hammer, the award-winning author of Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year Scrublands (2019) and Times Crime Book of the Month Opal Country (January 2022).
The Survivors
By: Jane Harper
Narrated by: Stephen Shanahan
Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Summary
The Sunday Times Top 10 Best seller.
Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on a single day when a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. The guilt that haunts him still resurfaces during a visit with his young family to the small coastal town he once called home.
Kieran's parents are struggling in a community which is bound, for better or worse, to the sea that is both a lifeline and a threat. Between them all is his absent brother, Finn.
When a body is discovered on the beach, long-held secrets threaten to emerge in the murder investigation that follows. A sunken wreck, a missing girl and questions that have never washed away....
Critic reviews
"With The Survivors, Jane Harper proves she's unquestionably the real deal." (Val McDermid)
"Jane Harper's superb new novel The Survivors exhibits all the qualities that make her such a compelling writer.... Sure-footed, technically impeccable plotting and storytelling ensure the mystery holds until the final pages." (Irish Times)
"You won't put this novel down until you've uncovered every last skeleton in the closet. I loved it." (Louise Candlish)
The Lost Man
'her most accomplished yet: a moving story of loneliness, grief and redemption' The Times
By: Jane Harper
Narrated by: Stephen Shanahan
Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Summary
The Sunday Times top 10 best seller
The 'gripping, atmospheric and ultimately deeply satisfying' (Val McDermid) new novel from Jane Harper, author of the Sunday Times top 10 best sellers - with combined sales of over a half a million copies - The Dry and Force of Nature.
He had started to remove his clothes as logic had deserted him, and his skin was cracked. Whatever had been going through Cameron's mind when he was alive, he didn't look peaceful in death.
Two brothers meet at the remote border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of the outback. In an isolated part of Australia, they are each other's nearest neighbour, their homes hours apart.
They are at the stockman's grave, a landmark so old that no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family's quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish.
Something had been troubling Cameron. Did he choose to walk to his death? Because if he didn't, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects....
Addictive
This book, in some ways so simple, drew me in immediately and kept me interested. No need for a new murder every few pages, this is really well plotted with just the right amount of pace.
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Performance 5 out of 5 stars
Story 5 out of 5 stars
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Caroline
23-11-18
Excellent story and perfectly narrated.
I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book from Jane Harper and think it’s actually her best yet, certainly better than Force of Nature. The story kept me guessing which is what a good thriller is all about. The narration was perfect with each person having a distinctive voice and I really felt the heat and the dust of outback Australia. Can’t wait for her next book.
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Performance 5 out of 5 stars
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Barbara
24-04-19
The Perfect Book
I resented having to go to bed and sleep halfway through listening to this. What a terrific story. It gradually gathers pace, enlisting our sympathy and interest in a cast of well-developed and believable characters. There's just the right amount of the uncanny about this too: different versions of why someone is buried out in the middle of nowhere and the impact that remote grave is having on people still alive (in some cases, not for long, though). More effectively than just about any other contemporary author, Harper makes the landscape an active participant in the drama. And I don't know anyone better at describing the interplay of unhealthy family dynamics - especially between siblings. At times the tension felt both unbearable and irresistible - like watching the final five minutes of a crucial match. You will not want to miss this book.
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Performance 5 out of 5 stars
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Jacqueline S.
26-11-18
Evocative and moving
Jane Harper writes about life in remote parts of Australia wonderfully. She describes the procedures and the emotions so well, from the organisation of the essential foodstuffs, to the incredible loneliness, to the underlying and longstanding interpersonal problems. This book has been a joy to listen to.
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P.W.Ainsworth
28-10-18
Lost man
Listen to this. You will love it. Just as wonderful as her others. Another masterpiece
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Andrea Edan
17-07-19
A trip to the Outback without actually going there
This extremely well written book is both suspenseful and adept at giving one the feeling of what it must be like living miles from anywhere in the harsh climate of the Australian Outback. You can hardly imagine why anyone would want to live there but then you get the perspective of characters who would not be anywhere else. Woven into the landscape is a story that you could hardly expect to take place in such a remote location. What can I say? Just "read it".
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J G Lucas
17-11-20
Strongly recommended
A gripping, unfolding story . The location is set so well I could visualise the outback and the characters fleshed out so that I could understand their struggles . Slowly the truth is revealed but still the ending took me quite by surprise
First class narration .
Summary
Darwin, Summer, 1963.
The humidity sat heavy and thick over the town as Senior Constable Ned Potter looked down at a body that had been dragged from the shallow marshland. He didn't need a coroner to tell him this was a bad death. He didn't know then that this was only the first. Or that he was about to risk everything looking for answers.
Late one night, Charlotte Clark drove the long way home, thinking about how stuck she felt, a 23-year-old housewife, married to a cowboy who wasn't who she thought he was. The days ahead felt suffocating, living in a town where she was supposed to keep herself nice and wait for her husband to get home from the pub. Charlotte stopped the car, stepped out to breathe in the night air and looked out over the water to the tangled mangroves. She never heard a sound before the hand was around her mouth.
Both Charlotte and Ned are about to learn that the world they live in is full of secrets and that it takes courage to fight for what is right. But there are people who will do anything to protect themselves, and sometimes courage is not enough to keep you safe.
Still is an evocative, pause-resisting thriller from a brilliant Australian writer. If you loved The Dry and Scrublands, you will love Still.
Summary
Two missing backpackers. One vast outback.
DS Lucas Walker is on leave in his hometown, Caloodie, looking after his dying grandmother. When two young German backpackers vanish from the area on their way to a ranch, he finds himself unofficially on the case. But why all the interest from the Federal Police, when they have probably just ditched the heat and dust of the outback for the coast?
As the number of days the couple are missing climbs, DS Walker is joined by the girl's sister. A detective herself from Berlin, she is desperate to find her before it's too late.
Walker remains convinced there is more at play. Working in the organised crime unit has opened his eyes to the growing drug trade in Australia's remote interior. Could this be connected?
As temperatures soar, the search intensifies to a thrilling crescendo against the unforgiving backdrop of the scorching Australian summer.
This deeply atmospheric thriller is the gripping opening of a crime series for fans of The Dry by Jane Harper, Cara Hunter and Chris Whitaker.
Summary
Everybody thinks they know Mina McCreery.
Everyone has a theory on what happened to her sister.
Now it's time to find out the truth....
Mina McCreery's sister Evelyn disappeared 19 years ago. Her life has been defined by the intense public interest in the case. Now an anxious and reclusive adult, she lives alone on her family's destocked sheep farm.
When Lane, a private investigator, approaches her with an offer to reinvestigate the case, she rejects him. The attention has had nothing but negative consequences for her and her family, and never brought them closer to an answer.
Lane wins her trust when his unconventional methods show promise, but he has his own motivations for wanting to solve the case, and his obsession with the answer will ultimately risk both their lives.
Superbly written, taut and compassionate, Wake looks at what can happen when people's private tragedies become public property, and the ripples of trauma that follow violent crimes. Wake won the CWA Debut Dagger in 2019.
Summary
Longlisted for the New Blood Dagger Award 2021.
Thirty years ago, in the suffocating heat of a Sydney summer, the Greens’ next-door neighbour Mandy disappeared without a trace.
A cold case re-opened.
In 1997, in a basement flat in Hackney, Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father is under suspicion of Mandy’s murder.
A devastating secret.
How well does Isla know her father? Is he capable of doing something terrible? And is there another secret in their community – a conspiracy of silence which stretches deep into Australia’s past?
It was very good. They always are. But it left me feeling a little disappointed. Just starting to run out of steam?