Showing results by publisher "Wavesound from W. F. Howes Ltd" in Literature & Fiction

Ned West dreams of sailing across the river on a boat of his very own. To Ned, a boat means freedom – the fresh open water, squid-rich reefs, fires on private beaches – a far cry from life on Limberlost, the family farm, where his father worries and grieves for Ned's older brothers. They're away fighting in a ruthless and distant war, becoming men on the battlefield, while Ned – too young to enlist – roams the land in search of rabbits to shoot, selling their pelts to fund his secret boat ambitions.

Hera Stephen is clawing through her mid-twenties, working as an underpaid comment moderator in an overly air-conditioned newsroom by day and kicking around Sydney with her two best friends by night. Instead of money or stability, she has so far accrued one ex-girlfriend, several hundred hangovers, and a dog-eared novel collection.

Mia and Ben, an Australian couple in their early 30s, have relinquished one dream and embraced another, selling their Sydney flat and purchasing an old yellow house in the picturesque village of Cordes-sur-Ciel in southwest France. They soon meet sophisticated neighbours Dominic and Susannah, a British couple in their 60s who welcome them warmly but whose own relationship is in crisis. Mia and Ben are immediately starstruck and impressed by their lavish hospitality. However, things with Dominic and Susannah are not what they first seem.

When the Bruny bridge is bombed, UN troubleshooter Astrid Coleman agrees to return home to help her brother before an upcoming election. But this is no simple task. Her brother and sister are on either side of politics, the community is full of conspiracy theories, her mother is fading and her father is quoting Shakespeare. Only on Bruny does the world seem sane. Until Astrid discovers how far the government is willing to go.

Lily is a producer on a morning television show and has sworn off men for the time being. But when a new chef starts on her daily cooking segment, Lily falls head over heels. Before she can make her feelings known, her flatmate Simone starts dating Jack, and Lily has to make some difficult decisions about the battle between love and loyalty. This best-selling novel from Zoë Foster is being turned into a television series for Channel 10....

1971—Hal is seventeen, with dreams of escaping from Moorabool to a life in the city. But right now he's on a good behavior bond and stuck in a job he hates, paying off the car he ‘borrowed' and crashed. Hal's packing-room job makes him a target for workplace bullies and the friendship of the older, more worldly Christine is all that makes each day bearable. So when she doesn't turn up for work, he's on the alert. So is Sergeant Mick Goodenough. But he already knows what's happened to Christine: the same thing that happened to the newly elected deputy mayor.

Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney – populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights – a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful recreation schedule. But this ordinary neighbourhood is not without its prejudices. The serenity of Cinnamon Gardens is threatened by malignant forces more interested in what makes this refuge different rather than embracing the calm companionship that makes this place home to so many.

Steels Creek is an idyllic retreat in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. It's a place where everyone knows their neighbors and no one locks their doors. Investigative journalist Lars Nilsson who has moved to the settlement following a public fall from grace is trying to live a quiet life far from the crime reporting he was once feted for. But when a backpacker's body is found floating in a nearby waterhole and hours later his best friend's daughter is reported missing, Lars is compelled to investigate, putting him back in the cross-hairs of police.

Ren lives alone on the remote frontier of a country devastated by a coup. High on the forested slopes, she survives by hunting and trading - and forgetting. But when a young soldier comes to the mountains in search of a local myth, Ren is inexorably drawn into her impossible mission. As their lives entwine, unravel and erupt - as myths merge with reality - both Ren and the soldier are forced to confront what they regret, what they love and what they fear.

Three brothers, one death, a fenceline stretching to the horizon. Two brothers meet at the border of their vast cattle properties under the unrelenting sun of outback Queensland. They are at the stockman's grave, a landmark so old, no one can remember who is buried there. But today, the scant shadow it casts was the last hope for their middle brother, Cameron. The Bright family's quiet existence is thrown into grief and anguish. Something had been troubling Cam. Did he lose hope and walk to his death? Because if he didn't, the isolation of the outback leaves few suspects....

Michaela and Eve are two bright, bold women who befriend each other their first year at a residential college at university, where they live in adjacent rooms. They could not be more different: one, assured and popular - the other, uncertain and eager to please. But something happens one night in O-week - a drunken encounter, a foggy memory that will force them to confront the realities of consent and wrestle with the dynamics of power.

When Tilda Finch is diagnosed with invisibility, she's not overly surprised—she's felt invisible for years. She has a good life and a successful business called This Is A Sign, selling inspirational quotes on merchandise. But she's never really recovered from her divorce. Or, if she's honest, her childhood. Tilda's past has taken a toll and she's lost sight of herself. Now, with the possibility of completely disappearing, she must face the trauma of her past and rewrite the way she perceives the world, and herself.

When a DGSE agent is brutally murdered in front of his family, the 'Company' swings into action, determined to track down the killers. Meanwhile, operative Alec de Payns is turning a Russian intelligence officer by blackmail. His team must establish who is posting classified material against the Kremlin to embassies all over Europe. The clues lead to a secret meeting of businessmen, terrorists and mercenaries on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean, which Alec must infiltrate. What he discovers there will set Europe on course for catastrophe.

A woman abandons her city life and marriage to return to the place she grew up, finding solace in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of the Monaro. She does not believe in God, doesn't know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive life almost by accident. As she gradually adjusts to the rhythms of monastic life, she ruminates on her childhood in the nearby town. She finds herself turning again and again to thoughts of her mother, whose early death she can't forget.

Charlie Knight's life was supposed to be spectacular. Instead, he's in his late thirties, and still playing tennis against the same people every Friday night. Still jogging the same streets every morning. Still treating the same patients every day—fixing the high blood pressure and arthritic knees of folks who've known him since he was a kid. But Charlie has a secret plan to escape. A plan to live the life he was destined to, even if the woman he was meant to do it with has left him behind.

Hair stylist Kit Cooper is at the top of her game. She does the shows in Milan and Paris, tends to pop stars and celebrities, and has styled enough campaigns and magazine covers to last a lifetime. But Kit is ambitious. Restless. She can't help asking: what's next? One day, frustrated she can't find the perfect product for a look, she wonders ... could she make it herself?

Rose is in her eighties and has dementia, but she's not done with life just yet. Alternately sharp as a tack and spectacularly forgetful, she spends her days roaming the corridors of the aged-care facility, ruminating on the staff and residents and enduring visits from her emotionally distant children and grand-daughters. But when her friend is found dead—after an apparent fall from a window, Rose embarks on an eccentric and deeply personal investigation to discover the truth and—exposes all manner of secrets, even some from her own past.

Prince of spin and life of the party Baz King is dead. Ten years ago, at an innocent summer barbecue in Melbourne, everything imploded. For the Kings and the four other young families there that fateful day marriages fractured, friendships crumbled and lives were upended. Nothing would ever be the same. Now in their forties and their children teenagers, Baz King cannot be found. Has his charm finally run out?

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.

When Ashleigh decides to flee her controlling husband, Dominic, she knows he'll hunt her down. The only way to escape is to disappear and reinvent herself. Moving to the tiny rural town of Blinman, one day she visits a ruined homestead in the area and becomes fascinated by the people who lived there during the 19th century. But just as she begins to unlock the secrets of her own past, Dominic arrives in town, determined to punish her....