Showing results by publisher "Penguin Random House Australia Audio" in All Categories

1750, when times were tough and teeth were rotten. As part of an ancient family tradition, young Atticus Van Tasticus narrowly avoids a life down the coal mines - or worse, going to school - when he gets to choose the gift of a pirate ship from his Grandnan's treasure pile. It's a choice that will change the course of history - well, okay, his story, at least. Atticus pulls together a ragtag bunch misfits - ahem - a tough, brilliant crew and sets out to wreak havoc - I mean, live a piratin' life.

He was a murderer, swindler, bigamist and suspect in the Jack the Ripper killings. Frederick Deeming was also the most hated man in the world. Claiming to be haunted by the ghost of his dead mother, Deeming had spent years roaming the planet under various aliases, preying on the innocent, the gullible and the desperate. But the discovery by Australian police in 1892 of the body of one of his wives in a shallow concrete grave triggered one of the greatest manhunts in history and exposed a further series of grisly murders that stunned the Victorian era.

Ambitious country reporter, Del Fisher, seems to have it all. She's just landed her dream job, along with an engagement to Nick, Winga's most eligible bachelor and son of local mayor and mining tycoon, Carson Shaw. But Del is blindsided when a feature article and its shocking allegations about the Shaw family is published under her name. Del and Nick's relationship is torn apart. Devastated by the unintentional havoc she has caused, Del flees to the family farm at Berrimilla in the heart of beautiful Kingfisher Valley.

It's the turn of the new millennium, and the bright young things are partying like it's the end of the world. Dark glamour and debauched music reign, gigs culminating with everyone on stage - or undressed. Lucy, editor of a music magazine, is at the blazing neon centre, ecstatically seeking oblivion. But as her life (featuring a stalker, a not-quite ex-husband, and an affair with a cold, charismatic musician) veers from complicated to chaotic, she burns it all down, decamping to the remote seaside town of her childhood to start again.

For forty years David Meagher harboured a secret. Then in mid 2018 a text message from an old school friend forced him to confront his past and finally deal with it. Secrets and Lies is a story about child sexual abuse. The culture that enabled it. How the perpetrator groomed his victims. How it finally came to an end. And how four decades after the crimes were committed his victims embarked on a successful two-year journey to bring the offender to justice. David Meagher delivers an intimate account of the lasting impact of child sexual abuse on survivors.

In 19th-century New South Wales, the name Dalhunty stood for prosperity and prestige. The family's vast station was home to more than 80 people, and each year, their premium wool was shipped down the bustling Darling River to be sold in South Australia. Yet, just decades later, Dalhunty Station is on the brink of ruin. In the summer of 1909, eccentric Benjamin Dalhunty and his son Julian anxiously await the arrival of the Lady Matilda, the first paddle-steamer to navigate the river in more than two years. It will transport their very last wool clip to market.

Danny Mulberry is a man who 'could do better'. Better at life, better at taking on responsibility and most definitely better at being a grown-up. But when a misleading photo of Danny appears in the newspaper, people around the country start to think this apparently enlightened man could be the one with all the answers. Letters begin to flood in from strangers seeking his guidance.

It's been a long winter in a creaky house in Brunswick, where a young man has devoted himself to recreational showers, staring at his phone, and speculating on the activities of his best friend and housemate, Dan. But now summer is coming, and Dan has found a boyfriend and a job, so the young man is being pushed out into the world, in search of friendship and love. The Adversary is a sticky summer novel about young people exploring their sexuality and their sociability, where everything smells like sunscreen and tastes like beer, but affections and alliances have consequences.

When a pampered cat has to share her home with a lost dog, sparks are set to fly. To her surprise, Catvinkle starts to like Ula. She even tells Ula her three secrets. But a cat and a dog can't be friends - can they? A tail-spin of a tale that will make you howl with laughter - and remind you that if you aren't open to adventure, you might never meet your best friend.

When best friends Catvinkle and Ula are asked to defend two sheep accused of eating Amsterdam's tulips, they're not sure what to believe. The sheep say they're innocent, but they do look very sheepish. To win this case, Catvinkle will need the help of a wolfhound, a llama, two travelling koalas, a pair of Russian bears...and a very special bird.

Kathy has accidentally continued working at Rocking Donkey Records, an independent record shop in Brisbane, for 15 years. She started there as a total fangirl high schooler, stayed through university, and oops, suddenly 30 is on the horizon and she's still dealing with mansplaining music bros both at and behind the counter, and measuring her self-worth by her knowledge of Nick Cave's back catalogue. When the daily grind of working in the male-dominated record industry gets her down, Kathy finds solace in her two best friends.

Set between England and India, Faithless tells the story of Cressida, a writer and translator, and her consuming love for Max, an enigmatic older writer—and married man. Faithless charts the course of Cressida's passion for Max from the first giddy rush of sensation when home during her first year of university, to the blossoming of a desire so potent it overwhelms, and the great stunning blows to the heart delivered by a love that she can't share with friends and family.

Lincoln Locke's 15-year-old life is turned upside down when he's thrust into bachelor-pad living with his father, after his parents' marriage breaks up, and into an exclusive new school. Crestfield Academy offers Lincoln a new set of peers - the crème de la crème of gifted individuals, who also happen to be financially loaded - and a place on the swim relay team with a bunch of thugs in Speedos. Homunculus, the little voice inside his head, doesn't make life any easier; nor does Lincoln's growing awareness of a genetic anomaly that threatens to humiliate him at every turn.

It's been twenty years since her mother was photographed, blood-soaked, outside the family home. A famous TV food personality, she fled the country. Since that time, the girl has grown up. She's bought an apartment, learned her own cooking style, fallen in love. She lives a quiet life, working as a copywriter for a health insurance company. She's found happiness, finally. But strange things are in the air.

From the bestselling author of Alice-Miranda comes this humorous and heartfelt series about eight-year-old Willa and her best four-legged friend, Woof! This audiobook contains the books three and four in the Willa and Woof series.

When thirteen-year-old Celeste travels to China to visit her grandmother, she uncovers an incredible family secret. And with this secret comes danger and adventure. If Celeste is to save her family and friends, she must learn to harness her rare and powerful gift.

The Evil Nanasis has gone really bananas this time and wants her stuff back or the world is doomed (again). Worst of all, she's holding Nan's beloved pet ferret hostage! This time the POO-NAMI is really going to hit the wind farm! Against all the odds, it's up to the Listies to save the day.... Next stop in the interdimensional plumbing of time and space is The Maul, a sinister shopping centre that's surprisingly difficult to leave. Let's hope they don't shop till they drop!

Each year, more and more emphasis is placed on achieving good results in the end-of-school exams. This can lead to students feeling extraordinary pressure and having unrealistic expectations. In this all-new and completely revised edition of the best-selling Surviving Year 12, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Australia's leading adolescent psychologist, gives advice to parents on how they can help their child cope with the pressure, work smarter and actually enjoy their final years of school.

When single mum Hannah pitches a tent on the camping ground next door, homeless after being widowed, she has the opportunity to start over, and perhaps have a second chance at love with local lawyer Benjamin. With her angelic voice, Hannah may be just what the choir needs to give them a winning edge. But when Eleanor hears Hannah singing a long-forgotten lullaby, one she composed forty years before, Eleanor is thrust back into a past she buried for good reason.

It's 2002. Britney and Justin are done. Low-rise jeans tyrannise the pants-wearing public. And Hector Singh, a 27-year-old eccentric, moderately talented yet extremely confident aspiring TV writer, is hell bent on 'making it' in LA. He's Puerto Rican and Indian but also post-race (or so he thinks) and he refuses to be intimidated by the Whites Only landscape of show business. But when his mother dies suddenly, Hector's grief turns into depression, triggering dark thoughts and a binge-eating disorder. With a series of implosions that threaten to sink his work and relationships, Hector unravels.