Showing results by publisher "Wavesound from W. F. Howes Ltd" in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

It all started with a ruthless murder. An ex-boxer and petty police informer was efficiently disposed of, sending a ghastly warning to others. That would have been the end of it, had not a shark, in a million to one chance, vomited up the victim's arm in an aquarium and shone an unwelcome light into some very dark places. With so much at stake, the guilty closed ranks, and gradually, with intimidation and money, and the murder of a mate who they feared would betray them, they re-imposed their control, and the light was turned off again.

For Ellen Whitfield, the betrothal of her dear friend Harriet to Ellen's brother has brought both loss and solace. But when Harriet suddenly breaks off the engagement, ostensibly at the insistence of her deceased mother, Ellen is bewildered. And when she learns that Harriet is involved with a spiritualist group led by the charismatic Caroline McLeod, she fears losing her friend altogether.

This is the truly remarkable life story of the notorious Ethel Livesey, a serial fraudster and confidence trickster who became a media sensation after she ran out on her society wedding in 1945 and later was arrested for obtaining goods by false pretences. With a prologue by Ethel Livesey's granddaughter, this extraordinary tale of Australia's greatest fraudster is told for the first time in rich and fascinating detail.

Damaged but not broken after his ordeal in the Tasmanian wilderness, park ranger Taylor Bridges believes his ghosts are in the past - until a raging forest fire lays bare the remains of a young woman...and a decades-old killing ground. After the police enlist Taylor in their investigation, the evidence points to a preacher who reigned over The Falls a century ago. But when a crucial witness and a policewoman disappear, it's clear that the killer is alive and dangerous.

Stacey was trying to live her best life, but now she's dead. But why hasn't she passed on? Could it be her fatal car accident is actually murder? Detectives Ed Beaufontaine and Rose Garafino have a long list of suspects, chief among them Stacey's fiancé, Liam. His business dealings and new relationship with Emily Jackson are raising a few eyebrows. As the detectives dig deeper, so does Stacey. With nothing but time on her hands, she forensically examines her past relationships realising she might have been better off without them.

To lose one husband may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like murder. In New South Wales in 1888, Louisa Collins was sentenced to hang after being tried multiple times for the alleged murders of her two husbands. The testimony of her young daughter helped to decide her fate. This clever and compelling novel recreates Louisa’s time in her Darlinghurst prison cell as she reflects on her life and on the grief and loss that delivered her to this place.

For five years, Australian Doctor Sofia Raso has lived in Kabul’s vibrant Shaahir Square, working with Dr Jabril Aziz to support the local women. She knows that living peacefully in Kabul requires following two simple rules: keep a low profile; and keep out of local affairs. Yet when threatening night letters from the Taliban taunt the town and young boys disappear from Jamal Mina, Kabul’s largest slum, Sofia can no longer remain silent. While the square is encased by fear, an elegant former warlord proves an unlikely ally, and a former lover re-emerges with a warning.

In a peaceful coastal town, a young woman is found brutally murdered, a piece of Scripture held tightly in her hand. Local detective Charlotte Callaghan is put on the case, and she’s glad for the distraction - Gull Bay can be a hard place to keep a secret, and she’s holding on to a few. After Charlotte asks her brother, Father Joseph Callaghan, about the verse, her suspicions fall on his parishioners. Then a second victim is found, along with another biblical message.

In the summer of 1912, a workman's pickaxe strikes through the basement floor of an old tenement house in Cheapside, London, uncovering a cache of unimaginably valuable treasure that quickly disappears again. Present day. When respected jewellery historian Kate Kirby receives a call about the Cheapside jewels, she knows she's on the brink of the experience of a lifetime. As Kate peels back the layers of London's stories of plague, fire and political turmoil, she is forced to explore long-buried family secrets.

Set 17 years into a very recognisable future, Fauna is an astonishing psychological drama with an incredible twist: What if the child you are carrying is not entirely human? Using DNA technology, scientists have started to reverse the extinction of creatures like the mammoth and the Tasmanian Tiger. The benefits of this radical approach could be far-reaching. But how far will they go? Longing for another child, Stacey is recruited by LifeBLOOD®, a company that offers massive incentives for her to join an experimental genetics program.

In a secret laboratory in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, scientists, under the auspices of the group who calls themselves The Sword of Cyrus, have just developed a nanotech nuclear weapon so small it could fit into a mobile phone, yet it has the destructive power of 7 Hiroshima bombs. This is the world’s most powerful and technologically advanced weapon, developed with the explicit goal to wipe out Western civilization.

When the call to arms comes, Vance, Ice, Mitch, and Bishop answer with unwavering resolve. These highly trained operatives have gone rogue, forming PRIMAL, a global vigilante unit dedicated to protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty in the name of justice. Their first target: a wealthy jihadist supporter plotting to eradicate Western influence in the UAE. With cutting-edge tactics and unwavering resolve, they challenge his murderous ambitions head-on. As their success grows, so does their list of targets, from Russian mobsters to corrupt politicians.

The discovery and excavation of a 35,000 year old city hidden deep within the Transantarctic Mountains releases a pandemic across the globe. Within a few weeks 5 million are dead and another 10 million are about to die. Billions more are certain to die within weeks. But, what kind of disease only affects members of a certain ethnic group? Some world leaders are convinced this is a genetic bioweapon, developed and deployed against them for the sole purpose of ethnic cleansing. They convince their followers that enemy governments are behind this and join forces to go to war.

On a stormy night, Stella gets a call from her best friend, Detective Phuong Nguyen. Her lover is being falsely accused of police corruption, and the only person who can prove he's the only innocent cop in his unit has disappeared. It's up to Stella to find him and convince him to testify before it's too late.

Madeleine d'Leon doesn't know where Edward came from. He is simply a character in her next book. But as she writes, he becomes all she can think about. His charm, his dark hair, his pen scratching out his latest literary novel... Edward McGinnity can't get Madeleine out of his mind—softly smiling, infectiously enthusiastic, and perfectly damaged. She will be the ideal heroine for his next book. But who is the author and who is the creation? And as the lines start to blur, who is affected when a killer finally takes flesh?

Nazi Germany has been crushed, but is the war really over? Klara, Hitler's personal cook, swears she glimpsed him fleeing the Berlin bunker via a secret tunnel. The world needs undeniable proof of the Fuhrer's death, but it's not that simple. While Allied intelligence agents scour Europe to find such proof, and a Hitler double—"the Wolf"—lays a false trail across two continents, the real Hitler hides out in a Polish monastery, desperate to find his gold train so he can fund the Fourth Reich.

In the serene setting of Vanuatu’s Santo Island, tranquility shatters when the lifeless body of a French farmer, Guy Simeon, is discovered on the pristine white sands of Champagne Beach. As they delve deeper, a labyrinth of secrets, coercion, and lies emerges. Simeon’s missing wife and strained relationship with his son paint a complex picture of his troubled life. Moreover, his financial woes and grievous interactions with locals only deepen the pool of suspects.

Flying high after a best-selling book and a movie Oscar, Jonno Bligh is brought low by a cocaine habit and writer's block. He flees to the Indian Ocean on his beloved yacht, The Scoop Jon B, as the pressure to deliver his next blockbuster mounts. But a storm cripples the boat, and he takes refuge on a remote island. Unknown to him, the island is used by murderous gangster BangBang Budiman to hide the spoils of his maritime heists. Jonno watches in horror as BangBang’s men brutalize two women before leaving them to die.

After a decade of tragedy and pain, Carly Townsend wants to start over. Her dream is shattered when she is woken in the dead of night by a man standing next to her bed, silently watching her. Yet there is no way an intruder could have entered the apartment. With police doubting her story and her psychologist suggesting it's just a dream, Carly is on her own. But being alone isn't so appealing when you're scared to go to sleep....

Newly returned to Western Australia, journalist Amy Rhinehart pitches a crime podcast to increase her radio station's ratings. Her idea: to use the listeners of the show as its co-creators, with live-time calls and suggestion boards. The case: Jonah Scott, charged and imprisoned for life for the murder of his girlfriend, transgender woman Casey Williams.