Culling over 300 pages of some of today's most thrilling writers, The Best of 2.13.61 Publications hallmarks our company's ten year existence. Excerpts include new material from Henry Rollins and Hubert Selby, Jr, as well as excerpts from Henry Miller's love letters, Nick Zedd's hilarious nihilistic New York urban spelunkings, Ian Shoales' undeniably witty social commentaries and so much more.

    Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard. Riveting and rich with lyricism, Burial Rites evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

    An elaborately staged fake crime gang, run by a ‘Mr Big’, that lured Brett Cowan in with the promise of a hefty payout. It was the stuff of a TV crime series rather than an Australian police operation. The Sting reveals extraordinary new detail and a shocking insight into one of the country's most evil killers, and the operation that brought him down.Go behind the scenes in one of Australia’s most sensational undercover busts, including never-before-heard detail of the covert investigation, including how Cowan was slowly brainwashed into believing ‘Mr Big’.Read what Cowan’s family think of their black sheep.

    When she finds an orphaned girl, Sam, hidden in some bushes along the Rogue River, in an instant, a bond is formed. AJ quickly learns that Sam's and her guardian's lives are in danger from a team of hired killers. But AJ commits to helping eight-year-old Sam. A competitive athlete, AJ Scott isn't one to quit, give up, or do anything halfway, not even when she and Sam end up in a road race with killers in pursuit.When Hunter Jones's cousin dies, he becomes eight-year-old Samantha Wilson's guardian and sets aside any pursuit of personal happiness. Sam becomes his lot in life, and he loves her dearly. But Hunter, a big data analyst, will soon release a research report proving that the largest Internet search engine in the world is being used by its owners to influence American political thought with the intent of controlling elections. He hints at his findings in a radio interview and the news goes viral. Within hours, a team of hired killers attacks Hunter and Sam, intending to eliminate them and steal his research findings. Hunter hides Sam and eludes the killers. But when he returns, Sam is gone. Enraged, Hunter Jones will storm the gates of Hades to get her back, and whoever took her will pay a steep price.Set in Southern Oregon, Seattle, Washington DC, and Eastern Oregon, near Paulina Lake, Slanted is a gritty, high-action, romantic suspense adventure about commitment, sacrifice, love and faith.

    

     In May 1940, Captain James Barron who is serving as an intelligence officer with the BEF in Flanders, attends the wedding of a prosperous French wine merchant’s daughter in the city of Chartres. As he is greeted with an abundance of wealth and lavish hospitality, he finds comfort in the beauty of the three de Gruchy daughters. It is looking out to be a decadent weekend until he awakes to find out that the German army has crossed the frontier... As wars ensues, the Gruchy family is torn apart but James manages to make an escape to England via Dunkirk. His role soon moves into the newly formed Special Operations Executive, leaving him in charge of several agents in France, members of the De Gruchy family being amongst them. James’ job is made all the more difficult when he realises he has fallen hopelessly in love with one of the daughters. Resistance manages to evoke the terror and betrayal taking place in the 1940s, perfect for fans of an enticing war drama that leaves you wanting more. Praise for Christopher Nicole: “Fast-paced, entertaining, appealing!” – Library Journal Christopher Nicole’s novels have been read by millions all over the world. From Severn House, his McGann family chronicles concluded with Raging Sea, Searing Sky and The Passion and The Glory, whilst more recent publications have included The Triumph, Dragon’s Blood and The Command.

    The four Latimer sisters, famous throughout New South Wales for their beauty, wit and ambition, have always been close; always happy. But then they left home to train as nurses, swapping the feather beds of their father's townhouse for the spartan bunks of hospital accommodation. And now, as the Depression casts its shadow across Australia, they are bound by their own secret desires as the world changes around them. Will they find the independence they crave? Or is life - like love - always bittersweet? 'As clever, compelling and as down-to-earth as its four heroines' Australian Women's Weekly

    But what went unreported in the media was the nuclear fallout that had lasting impact on the inhabitants of Pokhran, especially Chaitanya.It quickly becomes clear that the conspiracy surrounding this radioactive fallout runs pretty deep in the establishment. Those who have had a hand in covering it up are willing to go to great lengths to ensure that the secrets stay buried.Chaitanya sets on a journey to expose the truth. With Zara by his side, he is sure to bring justice to his people. But when fate snatches Zara away from him, he is consumed by revenge. Undeterred by threats, he embarks on a mission that takes him from the deserts of Pokhran to those of Syria, and into the halls of MIT.A heady page turner, at its very core, Pokhran is an exceptional journey of revenge, courage, love and the unbeatable human spirit.

    At the urging of his FBI friend, Jesuit Nicholas Branson joins the investigation. His effort to uncover the truth behind the murder draws him into a web of ecclesiastical and political intrigue, and sets him on a quest for an eight-hundred-year-old treasure that could shake the foundations of the Judeo-Christian world.

    'Nonno Anni gives me a nudge. "You know, when I first came to Australia, I knew that my life would change forever."'Leaving the small village of Fossa in Italy in 1939 to meet a father he barely remembered in a place that was far from everything he knew, fifteen-year-old Annibale Boccabella arrived in Australia determined to make a go of it. It was a time when everything was changing and anything seemed possible. Life was tough but you could still chase your dreams. More than 70 years later, in 2011, Zoe Boccabella and her family hurriedly try to save the treasured belongings of Annibale and his wife Francesca-Zoe's grandparents-from the rising waters of the Brisbane River. When Zoe sees the sign from their old fruit shop and milk bar about to disappear beneath the floodwater, this triggers in her a realisation that while she has long looked to Italy to discover her migrant heritage, much of it happened here in Australia. In Joe's Fruit Shop and Milk Bar, Zoe artfully weaves her own experiences with those of her grandparents, taking us on a journey from Abruzzo and Calabria in Italy to Australian sugar cane fields, internment camps, Greek cafes, and the fruit shop and milk bar that was the focus of a family's hopes and dreams for the future. With memorable, beautifully portrayed characters, evocative writing and a sweeping tale that reflects the experience of so many Australians, this is a story that will touch your heart and remind you of the important things in life. Praise for Zoe Boccabella's Mezza Italiana'A charming and thoughtful writer' Frances Mayes'There is much to love about this book. The wonderful characters, her fabulous Italian grandfather who takes his love for all Italian traditions to Brisbane ... her boyfriend who becomes the poster boy for all things Italian, and the people of Fossa, a village tucked away in the mountains of Abruzzo... I can highly recommend Mezza Italiana on a cold day when you are dreaming of Italy... ' Carla Coulson'This is one of those books that come along every so often that resonates with so many. Whether you have a migrant background or just love reading about Italy, this is a book with heart and soul, humour and sincerity. A wonderful read.' Cate, ABC Shops website

    Almost teenagers, they already know some things are better left unsaid.Then a newcomer arrived in the Wimmera. Fab reckoned he was a secret agent and he and Ben staked him out. Up close, the man's shoulders were wide and the veins in his arms stuck out, blue and green. His hands were enormous, red and knotty. He looked strong. Maybe even stronger than Fab's dad. Neither realised the shadow this man would cast over both their lives.Twenty years later, Fab is still stuck in town, going nowhere but hoping for somewhere better. Then a body is found in the river, and Fab can't ignore the past any more.

    Rowan’s brother Albert, the natural heir to the farm, has died and Rowan’s dad’s health is failing. Although he longs to, there is no way that Rowan can refuse his mother’s request as she prepares the farm for sale.This is the story of the final harvest – the story of a young man in a place he doesn’t want to be, being given one last chance to make peace before the past, and those he has loved, disappear.

    On the Java Ridge, skipper Isi Natoli and a group of Australian surf tourists are anchored beside an idyllic reef off the Indonesian island of Dana. In the Canberra office of Cassius Calvert, Minister for Border Integrity, a Federal election looms and (not coincidentally) a hardline new policy is being announced regarding maritime assistance to asylum-seeker vessels in distress.A few kilometres away from Dana, the Takalar is having engine trouble. Among the passengers fleeing from persecution are Roya and her mother, and Roya’s unborn sister.The storm now closing in on the Takalar and the Java Ridge will mean catastrophe for them all.With On the Java Ridge Jock Serong, bestselling author of The Rules of Backyard Cricket, brings us a literary novel with the pace and tension of a political thriller—and some of the most compelling, heartstopping writing about the sea since Patrick O’Brian.

    A man apparently happily married, yet, with two divorces behind him and three puzzled children. In death it seems that he is not the person everyone thought.As his extended family gathers to mourn, secrets and lies unfold uncomfortably around them. Those pornographic images on his laptop? An unexpected lover - is he still philandering? But somewhere in the turmoil of mourning each of them has to find an answer to the question - who was this man really? What mysteries has he taken to the grave with him?Goodbye Sweetheart is a powerful novel of love, the desire for understanding, and the inevitable messiness of life.

    In a dusty back room of the old house, she discovers the crumbling photo of a handsome World War II medic - Samuel Riordan, the homestead's former occupant - and soon finds herself becoming obsessed with him. But as Audrey digs deeper into Samuel's story, she discovers he was accused of bashing to death a young woman on his return from the war in 1946. When she learns about other unexplained deaths in recent years - one of them a young woman with injuries echoing those of the first victim - she begins to suspect that the killer is still very much alive. And now Audrey, thanks to her need to uncover the past, has provided him with good reason to want to kill again.