Book picks similar to
Drums of Mer by Ion L. Idriess


australia
fiction
1750-1799
ion-idriess

Australian Amateur Sleuth: Box Set: Books 1-3


Morgana Best - 2017
     First THREE books in series. BOOK ONE: Live and Let Diet USA Today BestsellerSybil Potts moves to Little Tatterford, a small town in the middle of nowhere in Australia, seeking to find peace and quiet after the upheaval of her divorce. Although the town is sleepy and nothing has ever happened, her arrival coincides with a murder in the property adjacent to her cottage. Sybil soon finds she is at odds with the attractive Blake Wessley, the exasperated police officer who is trying to solve the murder. After Sibyl narrowly misses becoming the next victim, she turns her attention to the suspects. Is it the English gentleman, Mr. Buttons, who serves everyone tea and cucumber sandwiches, or her landlord, Cressida Upthorpe, who is convinced that her fat cat, Lord Farringdon, speaks to her? Or is it someone else entirely? BOOK TWO: Natural-born Grillers When one of the new boarders, an eminent professor of Socratic philosophy, is found poisoned by hemlock in a meal of grilled quail, eccentric boarding house owner Cressida Upthorpe soon becomes the main suspect. Sibyl Potts, with the help of Mr. Buttons, launches herself into the investigation, much to the consternation of stressed police officer Blake Wessley. As the body count mounts, will Sibyl be able to clear Cressida’s name and find the real killer? BOOK THREE: Dye Hard Obnoxious ghost hunters descend on Cressida Upthorpe’s boarding house, convinced it must be a source of paranormal activity given that three murders have occurred there in a short space of time. After one of the ghost hunters is murdered with poisoned hair dye, Sibyl does her best to keep well away from the investigation, that is, until Cressida almost falls victim. With the bumbling detectives back in town and on the scene, Sibyl races to solve the murder before the body count rises. In this fun cozy mystery series so far: 1. Live and Let Diet 2. Natural-born Grillers 3. Dye Hard 4. The Prawn Identity 5. Any Given Sundae 6. Last Mango in Paris

Gentleman's Wars: The Rules of Engagement


Andrew Karevik - 2021
    But when his family members die in the strangest of circumstances, leaving him sole in charge of the estate, the young man has to accept the harsh reality: someone is after them, and he’s next on the chopping block.Richard has no choice. The only way for him to protect his life and that of his younger sister is to enter the Great Game, that of the Gentleman’s Wars. But in doing so, he’s putting all his territories, his title as well as his very name in jeopardy.In a world where war has been abolished, gentries, duchies and baronies face each other on the battlefield not with armies made of wizards and warriors, but with gigantic proxies of metal and stone. Mighty automatons called Golems, which duke it out for sport but also for conquest.If that bold move might temporarily safeguard Richard against the mysterious assassin, it also throws him at the mercy of any would-be invader. The rules of the game are simple, yet ruthless: under the watchful eye of a Judge, the attacker must reach your Mana Sphere and destroy it to get his hands on your lands. Your job, as the defender, is to put up enough hurdles in the enemy’s way to slay his golems and prevent them from achieving their mission.The only problem is that Richard only has enough resources to buy a few units and erect the most basic of towers. He will need to use his strategic mind to make up for his lack of funds and repel anyone willing to come knocking on his door. As he’ll quickly learn, this is not a game for the faint of heart, and many a Gentleman might take interest in the territories of a weak new player like himself…

East of England


Eamonn Martin Griffin - 2019
    He's got a choice. Stay or leave. Go back to where it all went wrong, or simply get out of the county. Disappear. Start again as someone else.But it's not as simple as that.There's the matter of the man he killed. It wasn't murder, but even so. You tell that to the family. Especially when that family is the Mintons, who own half that's profitable and two-thirds of what's crooked between the Wolds and the coast. And who could have got to Matlock as easy as you like in prison, but who haven't touched him. Not yet.And like Matlock found out in prison, there's no getting away from yourself, so what would the point be in not facing up to other people?It's time to go home.East of England blends a rural take on the noir thriller with a fascination with the British industrialised countryside that lies east of the Wolds, between the Humber and the Wash. Unlit byways rather than the neon-bright and rain-slicked city. A world of caravan parks, slot machines, and low-rise battery farms.The flatlands of the east coast; decaying market towns and run-down resorts, and the distant throb of offshore windfarms. Where the smell you're trying to get out of your clothes is the cigarette taint of old phone boxes and bus shelters, and where redemption, like life, is either hard-earned or fought for, one way or another.

Wood Green


Sean Rabin - 2016
    Peopled by an ensemble cast, the local publican the single mother who manages the pub’s kitchen, the unhappily married couple that runs the corner store, a newcomer from Johannesburg with a murky past, a snivelling B&B proprietor and a determined ex-girlfriend, Wood Green artfully evokes the claustrophobia of small-town life. While Michael believes he is making a new life for himself, Lucian has other plans. Rabin writes with wit and intelligence – and deftly executes an unsuspected plot twist – in his exploration of the perils of literary ambition and the elusive prospect of artistic legacy.

The Last Will And Testament Of Daphné Le Marche


Kate Forster - 2016
    Eighteen year old Daphné may be from a tiny French village, but she knows she’s destined for more. Stepping off a bus into bustling Paris with a suitcase full of her home-made beauty products, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to claim her stake in the world.London, 2016. Scandalous love affairs and an iconic cosmetics brand have kept Daphné Le Marche in spotlight – but her darkest secrets have never come to light. Now, in her London penthouse, enveloped in her rich signature scent, the Grande Dame of glamour has died.But not even those closest to her could have been prepared for what came next.The Last Will and Testament of Daphné Le Marche is a sweeping story of heartbreak, scandal and the importance of keeping it in all the family…

Let Love Take Over


Tomson Robert - 2021
    Someday you would grow up and become a hero, like David.” Joshua decided never to be a hero again after the tragedy from his teenage days. The demons of his past profoundly affect his present and he stops taking charge of his life.Be it his toxic boss Mayur who exploits him and his friends, or the challenges his wife encounters, he is unable to take a stand for his loved ones. His fears even wreak havoc on his beautiful marriage with Susan.Will he find his redemption? How will he save his marriage and win back her love?Let Love Take Over is a riveting story of true love which overcomes all adversities, and challenges the notion of a ‘hero’.

The Beach House


Helen McKenna - 2011
    So when an outsider with grand plans threatens to demolish an iconic local landmark and build a huge resort the battle lines are drawn.Young journalist Jessica hopes to make it big with her coverage of the court case, but first she has to appease her editor and put a human interest spin on the situation. At first glance the five people she chooses to background have little in common – but it soon becomes apparent that staying at The Beach House has changed all of them in some way.In telling the stories of Kate, Simone, Tom, Clare and Jack, Jessica too learns some important life lessons.

Goose Girl


Joy Dettman - 2001
    Sally De Rooze is almost thirty. She survived the accident that killed her father and brothers. Her mother never forgave her for that. But she survived her mother too. Surviving is what she does best. Farmer Ross Bertram, who offers her his acres and safety, is the answer for a while. Until he starts pushing for a wedding. Sally wants ... wants more. Wants to know great love. Wants to find herself. One year. That's what she wants. One year of freedom in the big, bad city. Her survival skills are tested in the urban sprawl and she discovers more about herself than she had ever dared to imagined.

The Sparrows of Edward Street


Elizabeth Stead - 2011
    It’s November 1948, and the widowed Hanora Sparrow and her teenage daughters, Aria and Rosy, have fallen on tough times; when they move into a housing commission camp on the outskirts of Sydney, their spirits are low and their prospects few. While Hanora copes via various pharmaceutical offerings and Rosy with nothing other than indignity, the spirited Aria rises immediately to the challenge of keeping the family together in such trying circumstances. With her endless curiosity and lively sense of humor, Aria draws the Sparrow women into close friendships with other camp residents and supports her family through her work as a photographic model in the city. Despite the setbacks, Aria strives toward their eventual salvation.

Afternoons with Harvey Beam


Carrie Cox - 2018
    The words aren’t coming out right, Harvey’s mojo is fading and a celebrity host is eyeing his timeslot.Back in Shorton, Harvey’s father Lionel appears at long last to be dying. It seems it’s finally time for Harvey Beam to head home and face a different kind of music.In wading through a past that seems disturbingly unchanged, the last thing he expects is a chance encounter with a wonderful stranger …

Face-Time


Erik Tarloff - 1998
    Ben is bewildered when Gretchen refuses to end an affair with the president, because of the personal access it gives her--access that indirectly benefits Ben as well.

O


Steven Carroll - 2021
    Something she always thought of as a fairy tale. A fairy tale with a dark side, like the best of fairy tales...Occupied France, 1943. France's most shameful hour. In these dark times, Dominique starts an illicit affair with a distinguished publisher, a married man. He introduces her to the Resistance, and she comes to have a taste for the clandestine life - she has never felt more alive. Shortly after the war, to prove something to her lover, she writes an erotic novel about surrender, submission and shame. Never meant to be published, Story of O becomes a national scandal and success, the world's most famous erotic novel. But what is the story really about - Dominique, her lover, or the country and the wartime past it would rather forget?

Charlie's Will


Susan Mackie - 2020
    Rose Gordon knew the farm would be hers when her grandfather died. Strong and sassy, she was the only heir to five generations of cattle country and the magnificent Barrington Homestead. But Charlie’s will was not as she expected and the appearance of Angus Hamilton on the day of the funeral unsettled her. Handsome and single, she was attracted to him in a way she had never experienced. The ongoing drought and discovering she had friends, if not family, in the small rural community complicate matters. More sinister threats lurk in the shadows. Will Rose give up city life to face the threats head on and fight for her inheritance?

We Don't Live Here Anymore


Matt Nable - 2009
    In this startling debut novel, Matt Nable follows the fortunes of Charlie, Tess, and their families and neighbours. Their lives intertwine, unravel, straighten, and become tangled again. A father tries to relive his football career through his son; a mother deserts her children in an attempt to find herself; a daughter purges to take control of her life.This is a portrait of plans gone wrong, a lament of what could have been, a salute to the power of redemptive love, and a brave examination of contemporary society.

Concourse D with Love


Cassandra B. - 2020
    Take the step into the unknown and find what you’ve been missing.”Those words lead Kelani Thomas into a forty-eight-hour adventure with a handsome, alluring, mysterious stranger. With Kelani missing a flight and Israel’s flight was delayed a spark was ignited in the Sky Lounge of Concourse D. But after the haze of lust evaporates in forty-eight hours can the raw emotions formed last?Join Kelani and Israel for the ride and find out.