The graffiti on the holding room wall says it all: 'Gunyah is hell on earth'. And Ellen's about to find out why. Ellen was never the daughter her mother wanted. Patent leather shoes and frilly dresses just weren't her thing and, at age fourteen, she's ready to leave school and find her own way. No one is going to stop her from going where she wants, doing what she wants, and hanging out with Robbie. Or so she thinks. But when the police turn up, Ellen is deemed to be in 'moral danger' and is sentenced to the Gunyah Training School for Girls. Suddenly, she's no longer Ellen, she's Girl 43, and she has to follow the rules, work hard and - most importantly - stay quiet. When it's discovered that she's pregnant, there's no respite from the staff. Told she isn't capable of bringing up a child, they twist the truth to make her cooperate. But however hard they try, they can't destroy the connection between a mother and her child . . . or can they? Drawn from experiences in Parramatta Girls' Home in the seventies, "Girl 43" is a story that could have come straight from today's headlines about the shocking treatment of innocent children and teens by people in the very institutions that were supposed to protect them.

    But when she meets local single dad, Cole, she can't help but be drawn to his warmth and his humour, and his two engaging children. Cole says and does all the right things, and Sasha finds herself falling, but will all of her secrets destroy the relationship before it has a chance to begin?Mindalby, a small town, a community, a home. But when the mill that supports the local cotton farmers and employs many of the town's residents closes unexpectedly, old tensions are exposed and new rifts develop. Everyone is affected and some react better than others, but one thing is certain: living on the edge of the outback means they have to survive together, or let their town die.

    But appearances can be deceptive. Erica describes her successful, lawyer husband as handsome and charismatic when she recounts their whirlwind marriage. But nothing is what it seems.  What is Erica hiding?Was Joel’s death really an accident? Sometimes the truth can be ugly.

    A schoolteacher in Sydney, Anna juggles her busy life with a daughter in the throes of first love and increasingly demanding aging parents.When Anna’s husband of twenty-five years leaves her, on Christmas morning, without warning or explanation, her safe and secure world collapses. Marcus King returns to Australia from the USA, leaving behind a broken marriage and a young son. When he takes up the position of Headmaster at Anna’s school, they form a fragile friendship through their mutual hurt and loneliness. Can Anna leave the past behind and make a new life for herself, and does Marcus have a part to play in her future?

    On the surface, they seem to have it all. But behind the filtered photos and fake smiles is the truth…Tansy isn’t really in love.Daniel is trying to escape the biggest mistake of his life.Nikki’s past is catching up with her.Arne’s heart is about to be broken.They all have secrets. And before the honeymoon is over, their happiness will be shattered.Because one of them is going to die…This dark, addictive thriller will have you gripped until the final, shocking twist. Fans of Behind Closed Doors, The Guest List and The Wife Between Us will be hooked by the latest page-turner from US top five bestseller Alison James.(*Previously titled: Happily Ever After)

    But there will be more to regret than a nasty hangover.She starts receiving mementos from that night: A photo of a hallway kiss. A video of her complaining about her husband. And worse...much worse. The problem is she doesn't remember any of it.As the blackmailing and menace ramp up, Gemma fears for her already shaky marriage. The paranoia, the feeling that her life is spiraling out of control, will take her back to another night--years ago--that changed everything. And Gemma will realize just how far the shadows from her past can reach...

    It isn't even past …Jodie Garrow is a teenager from the wrong side of the tracks when she falls pregnant. Scared, alone and desperate to make something of her life, she makes the decision to adopt out her baby – and tells nobody.Twenty-five years on, Jodie has built a whole new life and a whole new family. But when a chance meeting brings the illegal adoption to the notice of the authorities, Jodie becomes embroiled in a nationwide police investigation for the missing child, and the centre of a media witch hunt.Did something sinister happen to Jodie's baby the night it was born? The fallout from Jodie's past puts her whole family under the microscope, and her husband and daughter must re-examine everything they believed to be true.An utterly engrossing exploration of what happens to an Australian family, seemingly just like any other, when a long-buried secret surfaces and a mother's dirty laundry is aired in front of the entire nation. The Mistake brilliantly explores the media's powerful role in shaping public perceptions and asks the haunting question: can we ever truly know another person?

    I couldn’t breathe – something was crushing my chest – all I could see was darkness. A terrible fear, pulling me under. And all because of a glimpse of a face I hadn’t seen in years.Since then I’ve realised: this is a memory of an attack. Something vicious happened to me years ago – a night that changed my life, without me even knowing. My family and friends don’t believe me – they say I’m imagining things, but I know I’m right. What I don’t know is who was responsible. And I won’t stop until I find out.Wherever the truth leads me. Whatever betrayals are uncovered. Whatever the risk.A heart-stopping psychological suspense novel that asks: who do you trust the most? Your friends? Your family? Or your own mind? Fans of T.M. Logan, Claire McGowan and Lisa Jewell will be gripped by Close My Eyes.

    She slides her hand under her blouse. And then I see something impossible. She isn’t pregnant…She bursts into my life like a storm, and nothing is the same again. She seems so perfect, with her lilting laugh and her beautiful face. One by one, I watch as my friends fall under her spell.Only I seem to suspect something. Only I see that her smiles don’t reach her cold, furious eyes. And when I’m accused of things I didn’t do, when my home is vandalized, I know she’s behind it. But she only lets her mask slip when no one is looking, so if I say anything, I’ll look crazy.So when the baby shower comes around I’m there, sitting on a velvet sofa in a posh hotel room, surrounded by balloons. We share gifts, we pour small glasses of champagne, and she beams, her bump just visible under her bright red shirt.But that afternoon, I finally learn the unbelievable truth.There is no baby…

    Has he left her for another woman, or has something more sinister happened? In a world that is becoming increasingly muddled, Alice is unsure whom she can trust. Even her daughter appears to be lying to her. How much heartache can one person endure?As strange things begin to happen, Alice struggles to separate reality from fantasy--and to make sense of a mystery surrounding Millie, her beautiful five-year-old granddaughter. Sometimes it takes a stranger to help. And sometimes you need a detective . . .

    By daybreak, her world has shifted. Max Carlisle, a troubled AFL star, can't stop what comes next. And Ruby, a single woman from the apartment block, is left with questions when she sees Jordi leave.In this remarkable novel, Rachel Matthews captures the characters of Jordi and her family, the players, and the often loveable inhabitants of a big city with a deceptive lightness of touch that seduces the reader. Siren reveals the often unnoticed life of a city while simultaneously drawing us deep into a dark and troubling world. What happens has an unexpected effect on all those who are both directly and indirectly involved.The result is a powerful and haunting novel about cultural stereotypes and expectations, love, loneliness, family and our struggle to connect. In so many ways, Matthews subtly sounds the siren on sexual violence and its prevalence in our culture.

    And her beautiful neighbour Emily is everything she’s ever wanted in a best friend. Finally, she has somebody to share her secrets with over a glass of wine. But as Freya watches her new friend setting the table for dinner one evening, she sees something shocking that makes her think that Emily’s life might not be as perfect as it seems. Days later, Emily and her daughter vanish…When you meet Emily’s husband, you will think you know what he’s hiding.You will ask yourself whether Emily and Freya really did meet by chance.You will think you know what happened to Emily and her little girl the night they went missing.But when you discover the truth, it will shake you to your core and you will lie awake at night wondering if you can ever really trust the people in the house next door…Fans of Claire McGowan, Shalini Boland and Lisa Jewell will love the gripping tension and unexpected twists of The New Home. Once you start reading, you’ll be hooked!

    After everything she's been through, Georgia knows she deserves someone like him, to make her feel loved. Safe.The only problem is his ex-girlfriend. Luke says Cadence is having trouble accepting their break-up, but Georgia thinks there's more to the story. She also has the feeling someone is watching her.When everything starts to go wrong at work, at home, in her old friendships and her happy new relationship with Luke, Georgia starts to feel truly afraid.Cadence wants what she has. What would she do to get it?And can Georgia trust anyone at all? Praise for Nicola Moriarty 'I devoured it' Marian Keyes 'Accelerates in intensity and sheer originality with every page' Australian Women's Weekly 'Dramatic, mysterious and compelling' Vogue

    Not since Lionel Shriver brought us We Need to Talk About Kevin has a writer delved into the complexities of a disturbed mother/son relationship. Until now. Meet Noah—an A-honor roll student, award-winning swimmer, and small-town star destined for greatness. There weren’t any signs that something was wrong until the day he confesses to molesting little girls during swim team practice. He’s sentenced to eighteen months in a juvenile sexual rehabilitation center.His mother, Adrianne, refuses to turn her back on him despite his horrific crimes, but her husband won’t allow Noah back into their home. In a series of shocking and shattering revelations, Adrianne is forced to make the hardest decision of her life. Just how far will she go to protect her son?Saving Noah challenges everything you think you know about teenage sexual offenders. It will keep you up at night long after you've read the last page, questioning beliefs you once thought were true.

    Approaching death, they are reserved and enigmatic, as if they are determined to take one last secret with them to the grave. He suspects that they have lied to him about who his real parents were – and what happened to them. And so begins an investigation that will reveal his past – and determine his future. As he digs deeper, he starts to uncover a terrifying conspiracy – one of murder and revenge, with its roots in the greatest crime in history, the Holocaust.