New Releases

Breakdown
Sara Paretsky $27.99

Sara Paretsky's new bestseller pits V.I. Warshawski against a right-wing political pundit with powerful connections in a riveting novel that combines contemporary issues and suspense in Paretsky's unique way.

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Our Recommendations

The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall
Paul Torday$29.95

While Paul Torday’s book Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is his most popular, I prefer his darker tales - like The Incredible Inheritance of Wilberforce. Hooray! For this is one of them.

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Top 5 Bestsellers in December

December : Some of our favourites from 2011

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Prime Cut, Alan Carter : Fremantle Press $22.95
The world is in economic meltdown but a mining town of Hopetoun, Western Australia, is booming. With the town's population exploding, it's easy enough to hide a crime – and a dirty past. Disgraced police-service golden boy DSC Cato Kwong is doing time investigating roadkill with the Stock Squad. But when the ocean throws up a human torso onto the shores of Hopetoun, Cato is called in from the cold. But Cato faces powerful opposition in the town when his investigation lifts the lid on the exploitation of migrant workers. The stakes are raised higher when the Chinese whispers started by Cato disturb an even darker criminal mind.
Other Hand To be Sung Underwater, Tom McNeal : Little, Brown $29.99
A riveting and heartbreaking love story about what will happen when you revisit the road not taken. 'For you, I was a chapter - a good chapter maybe, or even your favorite chapter, but, still, just a chapter - and for me, you were the book.' Judith Whitman believes in the sort of love that 'picks you up in Akron, Ohio, and sets you down in Rio de Janeiro'. But she married more pragmatically. Before her marriage to a banker, before her career as a film editor in Los Angeles, Judith was 17 and living in Nebraska, where she met Willy Blunt, a carpenter whose pale blue eyes and easy smile awakened in Judith the reckless girl he alone imagined her to be. Marrying Willy seemed a natural thing to promise. But a violent episode followed by acceptance to a prestigious university carried Judith away. Twenty years later, Judith's sturdy-seeming marriage is suddenly hazy with secrets, and her thoughts drift back to the time when she and Willy had escaped to a small world where sunlight seemed always to fall from a softer angle.
How I Became a Famous Novelist, Steve Healy : Black Inc $19.95
What Pete Tarslaw wants is simple enough:
Fame. Realistic amount. Enough to open new avenues of sexual opportunity. Personal assistant to read mail, grocery shop, etc.
Financial comfort. Never have a job again. Retire. Spend rest of life lying around, pursuing hobbies (boating? skeet shooting?)
Humiliate ex-girlfriend at her wedding.
Sick of life as he knows it, Tarslaw sets out to write a bestselling novel, armed with a formula for success cobbled together from previous bestseller list. Once the sales ranking for The Tornado Ashes Club starts its meteoric rise, his inevitable decline looms – and his fall from grace will be nothing short of spectacular. How I Became a Famous Novelist is the hilarious tale of how Pete Tarslaw's 'pile of garbage' became the most talked about, read, admired and reviled novel in America. It will change everything you think you know – about literature, appearance, truth, beauty, and those people out there who still care about books.
Before I go to Sleep, SJ Watson : Text Publishing $29.95
Christine wakes in a strange bed beside a man she does not recognise. In the bathroom she finds a photograph of him taped to the mirror, and beneath it the words ‘Your husband’. Each day, Christine wakes knowing nothing of her life. Each night, her mind erases the day. But before she goes to sleep, she will recover fragments from her past, flashbacks to the accident that damaged her, and then—mercifully—she will forget. Chilling, exquisitely crafted and compulsively readable, S. J. Watson’s debut novel Before I Go to Sleep is a psychological thriller of the highest order. It asks primary questions. Are there things best not remembered? Who are we if we do not know our own history? How do we love without memory?
Iphigenia in Forest hills: Anatomy of a Murder Trial, Janet Malcolm : Yale University Press $32.95
"She couldn't have done it and she must have done it." This is the enigma at the heart of Janet Malcolm's riveting new book about a murder trial in the insular Bukharan-Jewish community of Forest Hills, Queens, that captured national attention. The defendant, Mazoltuv Borukhova, a beautiful young physician, is accused of hiring an assassin to kill her estranged husband, Daniel Malakov, a respected orthodontist, in the presence of their four-year old child. The prosecutor calls it an act of vengeance: just weeks before Malakov was killed in cold blood, he was given custody of Michelle for inexplicable reasons. It is the "Dickensian ordeal" of Borukhova's innocent child that drives Malcolm's inquiry. With the intellectual and emotional precision for which she is known, Malcolm looks at the trial--"a contest between competing narratives"--from every conceivable angle. It is the chasm between our ideals of justice and the human factors that influence every trial--from divergent lawyering abilities to the nature of jury selection, the malleability of evidence, and the disposition of the judge--that is perhaps most striking. Surely one of the most keenly observed trial books ever written, Iphigenia in Forest Hills is ultimately about character and "reasonable doubt."
Kinglake-350, Adrian Hyland : Text Publishing $32.95
Kinglake-350 is a masterpiece of writing about family, community, country life and what happens when a day of ultimate terror arrives. Adrian Hyland takes a dramatic and compelling sequence of events on that day and weaves them into a picture of universal significance and deep fascination. On 7 February 2009 Roger Wood was the police officer in charge of Kinglake, at the epicentre of the worst bushfire disaster in Australia’s history, Black Saturday. As the firestorm engulfed the community, he risked his life, again and again, to try and save people. With the fire raging all around, he phoned home to warn his wife what was coming. She screamed that the fire had already hit their property. Then the line went dead. Black Saturday was a many-headed monster in whose wake stories of grief, heroism and desolation erupted all over the state of Victoria. This is a book about the monster—and the heroism of those who confronted it.
State of Wonder, Ann Patchett : Bloomsbury $29.99
Among the tangled waterways and giant anacondas of the Brazilian Rio Negro, an enigmatic scientist is developing a drug that could alter the lives of women for ever. Dr Annick Swenson's work is shrouded in mystery; she refuses to report on her progress, especially to her investors, whose patience is fast running out. Anders Eckman, a mild-mannered lab researcher, is sent to investigate. A curt letter reporting his untimely death is all that returns. Now Marina Singh, Anders's colleague and once a student of the mighty Dr Swenson, is their last hope. Compelled by the pleas of Anders's wife, who refuses to accept that her husband is not coming home, Marina leaves the snowy plains of Minnesota and retraces her friend's steps into the heart of the South American darkness, determined to track down Dr. Swenson and uncover the secrets being jealously guarded among the remotest tribes of the rainforest. What Marina does not yet know is that, in this ancient corner of the jungle, where the muddy waters and susurrating grasses hide countless unknown perils and temptations, she will face challenges beyond her wildest imagination. Marina is no longer the student, but only time will tell if she has learnt enough.
The Stranger's Child, Alan Hollinghurst : Picador $32.99
It is the late summer of the last year before the first Great War. Cecil Valance, a beautiful young aristocratic poet, is visiting Two Acres, the home of his Cambridge friend and lover, George Sawle. On his departure, Cecil leaves a poem, dedicated to George's younger sister Daphne, which when published becomes a touchstone for a generation, symbolizing an England in its final glory. Meanwhile Daphne has also become involved with Cecil's family, visiting their Victorian Gothic country house, Corley, and developing a relationship with Cecil's brooding, manipulative brother, Dudley, that will link the families for ever. The Stranger's Child begins as a novel about two families and two houses: by the time it reaches its profound and moving conclusion, it has become an epic tale told in five parts covering almost a hundred years. Like The Line of Beauty, this is a deliciously funny novel, glittering with acute observation and arch insight into the worlds of those who belong and of those who are excluded, of carefully hidden secrets which are finally, dramatically revealed.
Cooking the Books, Kerry Greenwood : Allen & Unwin $22.99
Corinna Chapman, talented baker and reluctant investigator, is trying very hard to do nothing at all on her holidays. Her gorgeous Daniel is only intermittently at her side (he's roaming the streets tracking down a multi-thousand dollar corporate theft). Jason, her baking offsider, has gone off to learn how to surf. And Kylie and Goss are fulfilling their lives' ambition auditioning for a soapie. It should be a time of quiet reflection for Corinna but quiet reflection doesn't seem to suit her - she's bored.Scenting a whiff of danger, Corinna accepts an offer from a caterer friend to do the baking for the film set of a new soap called 'Kiss the Bride'. The soapie in which Kylie and Goss have parts. Twists and turns and complications that could only happen to Corinna ensue involving, bizarrely, nursery rhymes and a tiger called Tabitha. While on the other side of town, a young woman is being unmercifully bullied by her corporate employers - employers who spend a lot of time cooking the books.
Women's Stuff, Kaz Cooke : Viking $59.95
Whether you're starting or ending a relationship, a friend has found a lump in her breast, you're in debt, your partner's lost interest in sex or you don't know whether to believe the moisturiser label, Women's Stuff is your must-have guide, from leaving school to menopause and beyond. It's a best friend in book form, a complete guide to how to get your life together and face any challenge at any age. It's also the ultimate fib detector – Kaz has sifted the facts and tested the claims, exposing the lies women are told about cosmetics, other products and their health, and explaining which info you can trust and how to find the truth about everything. It covers the practical side of life, including work, money and homemaking, as well as getting to know and make friends with your body, family, mental and physical health, and sex and relationships. Three years in preparation, this guide book to making the most of yourself and your life includes the quotes and comments of more than 7000 women from all over the world, sharing their innermost thoughts on everything from sex to housework, drinking problems and hopes for the future. Providing info at your fingertips, if and when you need it, whichever stage your life is at, Women's Stuff will save you money and make you happier.
My Abuela’s Table, Daniella Germain : Hardie Grant $35.00
This is no ordinary cookbook - it is a lavishly illustrated, whimsical journey to the heart of ‘real' Mexican food. You won't find the obligatory Tex-Mex nachosor hard tacos here - this book celebrates clean, spicy, authentic Mexican flavours. Daniella includes all the recipes she learned from her Mexican grandmother - her abuela - while they spent their time together in the kitchen. Savoury recipesinclude Cuete en salsa de nuez (beef in nut sauce); chiles en nogada (stuffed chillies); Langostinos a la veracruzana (Veracruz-style prawns); and Pan de muerto (Day of the Dead bread). Also included are sections on Mexican basics - such as cooking with Mexican herbs and spices, and chilli varieties - as well as classic salsas, rice, tortillas and bean dishes.
Citrus County, John Brandon : Little, Brown $29.99
Toby and Shelby are not like the other kids. Fifteen years old and marooned in sleepy Citrus County, Florida, they stand apart from the cliques of jocks and cheerleaders.Toby is a troubled, unloved boy with a criminal record. Shelby is the fiercely intelligent girl who is uncontrollably attracted to him. As their relationship intensifies one sticky, hot summer, a spur-of-the-moment act will come to change their lives forever...
Cuckoo, Julia Crouch : Headline $29.99
A dark, juicy, deliciously unsettling, read-it-in-one-sitting psychological drama.Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend Polly comes to stay. Very soon, Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted - is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again...
Past The Shallows, Favel Parrett : Hachette $26.99
Harry and Miles live with their father, an abalone fisherman, on the south-east coast of Tasmania. With their mum dead, they are left to look after themselves. When Miles isn't helping out on the boat they explore the coast and Miles and his older brother, Joe, love to surf. Harry is afraid of the water.Everyday their dad battles the unpredictable ocean to make a living. He is a hard man, a bitter drinker who harbours a devastating secret that is destroying him. Unlike Joe, Harry and Miles are too young to leave home and so are forced to live under the dark cloud of their father's mood, trying to stay as invisible as possible whenever he is home. Harry, the youngest, is the most vulnerable and it seems he bears the brunt of his father's anger.
The Life: A Novel, Malcolm Knox : Allen & Unwin $32.99
The Life tells the story of former-world-champion Australian surfer, Dennis Keith, from inside the very heart of the fame and madness that is 'The Life'. Now bloated and paranoid, former Australian surfing legend Dennis Keith is holed up in his mother's retirement village, shuffling to the shop for a Pine-Lime Splice every day, barely existing behind his aviator sunnies and crazy OCD rules, and trying not to think about the waves he'd made his own and the breaks he once ruled like a god. Years before he'd been robbed of the world title that had his name on it - and then drugs, his brother, and the disappearance and murder of his girlfriend and had done the rest. Out of the blue, a young would-be biographer comes knocking and stirs up memories Dennis thought he'd buried. It takes Dennis a while to realise that she's not there to write his story at all. Daring, ambitious, dazzling, The Life is also as real as it gets - a searing, beautiful novel about fame and ambition and the price that must sometimes be paid for reaching too high.
A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan : Corsair $19.99
Jennifer Egan's spelling binding novel circles the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other's pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs, over many years, in locales as varies as New York, San Francisco, Naples and Africa. A Visit from the Goon Squad is a book about the interplay of time and music, about survival, about the stirrings and transformations set inexorably in motion by even the most passing conjunction of our fates. In a breathtaking array of styles and tones ranging from tragedy to satire to Powerpoint, Egan captures the undertow of self-destruction that we all must either master or succumb to; the basic human hunger for redemption; and the universal tendency to reach for both- and escape the merciless progress of time, in the transporting realms of art and music.
Saving June, Hannah Harrington : Harlequin $19.99
Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one — so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why. When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going — California. Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs. Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down — again.
All These Things I’ve Done, Gabrielle Zevin : Macmillan $16.99
Sixteen year-old Anya becomes the head of a mafia family after her parents are both murdered by rival gangs. Although Anya is embrolied in the criminal world, she is determined to keep her brother and sister out of the mafia family, but her father's relatives aren't so keen to let them go. When Anya's violent ex-boyfriend is poisoned with contaminated chocolate – chocolate that is produced illegally by Anya's mafia family – she is arrested for attempted murder and sent to the notorious jail on Manhattan Island. Eventually she is freed by the new D.A. in town, who believes she has been framed. But this D.A. is the father of Win, a boy at school to whom Anya feels irresistibly drawn, and her freedom comes with conditions. Win's father wants to be mayor, and he can't risk having his ambition jeopardised by rumours spreading that his son is seeing a member of a notorious crime family. Anya knows she risks the safety of her family by seeing Win again, but the feeling between them may be too strong to resist...
Finger Lickin Fifteen Girls Don't Fly, Kristen Chandler : Penguin $17.95
Myra is used to keeping her feet firmly on the ground. She's got four younger brothers, overworked parents, and a pregnant older sister, and if Myra wasn't there to take care of everyone, they'd probably fall apart. But when her boyfriend unceremoniously dumps her, Myra feels like she's lost her footing. Suddenly she's doing things she never would have a few months earlier: jumping around in a chicken suit for a part-time job, competing against her ex-boyfriend for a scholarship to study birds in the Galápagos, and falling for a guy who's encouraging her to leap from her old life . . .and fly.
VIII, H.M. Castor : Penguin $17.95
VIII is the story of Hal: a young, handsome, gifted warrior, who belives he has been chosen to lead his people. But he is plagued by the ghosts of his family's violent past and, once he rises to power, he turns to murder and rapacious cruelty. He is Henry VIII.
Gangsta Granny, David Walliams : Harper Collins $19.99
A story of prejudice and acceptance, funny lists and silly words, this new book has all the hallmarks of David's previous bestsellers. Our hero Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandmas house. Shes the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesnt know about his grandma. 1) She was once an international jewel thief. 2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the crown jewels, and now she needs Ben's help...
The 13-Storey Treehouse, Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton : Macmillan $9.99
Andy and Terry's 13-storey treehouse is the most amazing treehouse in the world! It's got a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of man-eating sharks, a giant catapult, a secret underground laboratory and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and shoots marshmallows into your mouth whenever you're hungry. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!
Our Australian Girl: A Home for Grace, Sofie Laguna & Lucia Masciullo : Puffin $14.95
It's 1808...and Grace loves caring for baby Alice and working with her mistress, Beth, on the property at Rose Hill. Grave tries so hard to be a good servant – but still her master, Tom, doesn't trust her. Does he blame her for what happened to Glory, who is injured and growing sicker every day? Grace has to do something to help, but who can she turn to? Join Grace in the final of four exciting stories about a convict girl who is given a second chance.
Nerds 3: Cheerleaders of Doom, Michael Buckley : Abrams $12.95
Matilda 'Wheezer' Choi and the team are forced to go undercover as cheerleaders to battle a villain who is using a machine to enter different dimensions, wreaking havoc on ours. They must complete their dangerous mission while still pretending to be typical school outcasts.
BOM! went the Bear, Nicki Greenberg : Allen & Unwin $19.99
BOM! went the bear on the big bass drum. Ting-ting-a-ting-ting-a Strum strum strum.
Bear loves to play his big bass drum. On his own. Making as much noise as he can, marching around like he's king of all the land. It looks like so much fun that soon he's joined by all manner of enthusiastic musicians. But with so many animals determined to deliver a command performance, is there room for Bear to march to the beat of his own drum?
A Squash and a Squeeze, Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler : Macmillan $12.99
"Wise old man, won't you help me, please? My house is a squash and squeeze." What can you do if your house is too small? The wise old man knows: bring in a flappy, scratchy, noisy crowd of farmyard animals. When you push them all out again, you'll be amazed at how big your house feels! This brilliantly funny story is the first ever picture book written and illustrated by the award-winning team of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, authors of 'The Gruffalo' and it's now available as a board book!
Big Book of Words and Pictures, Ole Konnecke : Gecko Press $24.99
This book contains the whole world of childhood. There's a kitchen, and all the things in it. There are planes and ships, plants and animals. Music and sports, colours and clothing ... If you look very closesly, you will find enchanting small stories on every page.

Are We There Yet Gift Set, Alison Lester : Viking $29.95
Travel around Australia without leaving home! From much-loved children's author Alison Lester comes this gift set containing the classic picture book, a 200-piece jigsaw puzzle and a pack of specially designed playing cards. "The year I turned eight, Mum and Dad took us on a trip around Australia. Luke, Billy and I missed school for the whole winter term." Join Grace and her family on their adventurous and sometimes funny expedition. A warm, heartfelt story based on an actual journey undertaken by the much-loved, award-winning author and illustrator, Alison Lester.
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