The Art of Keeping Secrets

When the fates of four women intertwine in an unexpected and powerful way, none of their lives will ever be the same again in this fresh and poignant novel about family, journeys, past decisions...and dresses...from the ABIA award-winning, best-selling author Rachael Johns.   

A remarkable story of four sisters, family secrets and discovering what's really important in life. How can four sisters build the futures they so desperately want when the past is reaching out to claim them? When the Patterson daughters return home to Meadow Brook to be with their father after their mother’s death, they bring with them a world of complication and trouble.

Clever, charming dressmaker Ketty Clift is embarking on her final cruise from Sydney before she must make serious changes in her life. Her mission is to transform the lives of those who join her at her dining table every evening. But this trip is different. As the glamour and indulgence of the cruise takes hold, and the ship sails further away from Sydney towards the Pacific Islands, it becomes clear her fellow travellers - a troubled family, a grieving widower and an angry divorcee determined to wreak revenge on her ex - are going to be harder work than usual.

Nicole is starting again. She’s left her old life behind and has just arrived in the sleepy Australian town of Rosella Cove, renting the old cottage by the water. At first Nicole is determined to avoid making personal ties, but when she discovers a hidden box of letters she soon realises that she’s not the first person with secrets to have lived there. As Nicole begins to let her guard down, she starts to find connections with the close-knit community - especially with handsome Danny, who has been helping her restore the cottage. 

Best-selling author Rachael Johns returns with a poignant, heartwarming story of a woman who wants nothing else than to be a mum, and one who never wanted to be a mother.... Radio host Harper Drummond lives for her career. It's only when she interviews one special couple that she starts to think about whether she could make a different kind of contribution.

From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana is exquisitely polite, but Lucy knows, even after marrying Oliver, that they'll never have the closeness she'd been hoping for. But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family. Lucy had wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.That was 10 years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, leaving a suicide note. But the autopsy reveals evidence of suffocation. And everyone in the family is hiding something....

It had been two long years since Lincoln Callahan had found himself in front of the gates to Stringybark Creek. He was in the army then - a lifetime ago. Linc had always been the unsettled Callahan, looking for danger, the one who couldn't wait to leave the family farm. This time he was back for his little sister Hadley's wedding. From far and wide, the Callahan relatives were streaming towards Stringybark Creek. Linc's little brother, Griffin, was the steady son, the one who stayed at home, the one who did the right things. And now, the one who had feelings for city girl Cash Sullivan. 

Holly is feeling on top of the world - celebrating a new promotion and dying to pop the champagne with her best friend Roz. But is Holly just imagining things, or is Roz - who supported her every step of the way - not as happy for her as she should be? Something about Roz's behaviour doesn't add up. And soon Holly has the sneaking suspicion that there's a target on her back. Has someone been playing dirty in a war Holly didn't know she was fighting? And is Roz more tangled up in this than she'll admit? Only one woman can be left standing - but will the best woman win?

When Mimi first visits her dad's new home in the Cotswolds, she falls in love with Goosebrook and the people who live there. (Well, maybe not snooty Henrietta, who lets Mimi walk miles in the rain rather than give her a lift.) There's Paddy, with his flashing eyes and seductive charm. Friendly and funny Lois makes Mimi laugh. And seriously gorgeous Cal is welcoming and charismatic. Though Mimi loves her city life and her career, she'd be very happy to return to Goosebrook if it means seeing more of him.

Emma, a nurse and busy mother of three, has always dreamed of having a sister. Michelle, at 46, wonders if it's too late to fall in love and find her birth parents. Sarah, career woman and perfectionist homemaker, struggles to keep up with the Joneses. Bill, 72, feels left behind after the death of his adored wife. Adam can't stop thinking about the father he never had. These five very different people are all connected but separated by secrets from the past. Sisters and Brothers will both break and warm your heart in a way that only best-selling Australian storyteller Fiona Palmer can. 

In a time when desperate people were seizing with both hands the chance for freedom, refugees from more than 70 nations gathered beneath the Southern Cross to forge a new national identity. They came from all over war-torn Europe to the mountains of Australia to help realise one man's dream: the mighty Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century. People of all races and creeds tunnelled through a mountain range to turn the course of a majestic river, trying to put to rest ghosts from the inferno of history: buried memories, unimaginable pain and deadly secrets. 

Bridie Farrell and Shaun Broderick come from opposite sides of the tracks. Bridie's family are perennial strugglers whilst the Brodericks are the wealthy owners of Jinjulu - one of the most prestigious properties in the district. Bridie has always longed to leave the small town she grew up in, but family responsibilities have kept her anchored there. Meanwhile, Shaun's dream of taking over the management of Jinjulu is dashed by his dictatorial father. who tries to rule Shaun's life both on and off the farm.

Nine years ago, 30-year-old Chelsea Taylor left the small country town of Barker to rise to the top as a concert pianist. Yet here she was, back again with her four-year-old daughter, Aria, readying herself to face her father, Tom. The father who'd shouted down the phone nine years ago never to come home again....

Single mother Lucy Parker loves the quiet historical charm of her hometown of Bundah. But raising her teenage daughter, Belle, in a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business is challenging. Troubled Hugh Thompson arrives in town and buys a run-down pub with big plans for a fresh start. But soon after a spate of teenage drug overdoses starts to divide the locals, and there are whispers they might be connected to this newcomer who has a dark and mysterious past. 

Fixie Farr can’t help herself. Straightening a crooked object, removing a barely there stain, helping out a friend...she just has to put things right. It’s how she got her nickname, after all. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees, she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank her, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, scribbles her an IOU - but of course Fixie never intends to call in the favour.