Ankami by Debra Dank

Be careful what you wish for,' wrote Aesop, 'lest it come true.' Debra Dank had long been desperate to visit the National Archives, to paint a fuller picture of her family, to add flesh to the name-bones and the few precious stories she possessed. What she discovered would shatter everything she thought she knew about her family and her past. She had been aware of her father's five siblings, some of whom had died before she could come to know them, but there were always whispers and gaps and silences. Certainly, her parents had experiences that affected how Debra grew up, but hers seemed to be one of the very few Aboriginal families who had escaped having children stolen, who had viewed this horror from a seemingly safer distance. But the information she uncovered revealed that her paternal grandmother had given birth to ten children. Four had been taken from her.

The Shortest History of Australia by Mark McKenna

The history of Australia has been written before - but not like this. In 'The Shortest History of Australia', Mark McKenna offers a compelling new version of our national story. This is a modern Australia permeated by First Nations history; a multicultural society with an island mindset; a continent of epic beauty and extreme natural events; a country obsessed by war abroad but blind to its founding war at home; and a thriving nation-state still to realise its political independence. McKenna's wise and humane history reveals the surprising in the familiar, and reframes the past so we can see the present more clearly.

Gunpowder Creek by Alex Dook

Friday, one thirty p.m. Emily Barnes is finishing work for the week, ready for a break from her laptop. Then she receives a panicked voicemail from her son Zach, punctuated by a gunshot. By four p.m., she's driving a stolen car out of Perth, with explicit instructions from Zach's captors - in three days, deliver the car to Gunpowder Creek, a ghost town 900 kilometres deep into the West Australian outback. Miss the deadline and Zach dies. And don't open the boot. The job should be simple. But there's someone dangerous roaming those lonely highways. Someone who doesn't want the car and its cargo to make it to Gunpowder Creek. Someone with cold eyes who has seen death and liked it.

The Intruder by Fredia McFadden

Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window. She's young. She's alone. And she's covered in blood. The girl won't explain where she came from, or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse. The girl has a dark secret. One she'll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

The Girl from Devil's Lake by Judith Jance

Sheriff Joanna Brady is looking forward to the holidays with her busy family and to celebrating her daughter Jenny's graduation from the police academy. But the family is interrupted when a body is discovered beneath a flooded bridge in the Arizona desert and Joanna is called on to the case. A young boy was murdered, and the details of the crime scene tell Joanna two things: This was not the killer's first murder. And it's only a matter of time before he kills again. As Joanna digs deeper into the case, she begins to understand this murder is just one piece of a much, much bigger puzzle. She uncovers unlikely connections between cases of mysterious deaths and missing persons, long since gone cold, that extend far beyond the confines of her small town and include the discovery of a body near Devil's Lake, North Dakota.

Power Moves by Leesa Ronald

Camilla 'Millsy' Hatton is a perfectly content workaholic. She's the woman in charge of media for the state's education minister, and every day is a frantic mix of deadlines and damage control. But it's all worth it when there's an election to win. The only thing standing in her way is Archie Cohen. Back when they were at university together, he was a stone-faced jock. Now, he's the nation's favourite political journalist - aka her work nemesis - and it seems he'll stop at nothing to take down Millsy's boss with his damning headlines. In their tangled web of media and politics, Millsy and Archie are used to high stakes and high drama. But when their game of cat-and-mouse starts heating up, there's suddenly more to lose than ever before. Millsy starts to wonder: has she been doctoring the truth for so long she's forgotten what it looks like?

The Bold Move by Georgie Hubbard

Do you downplay your achievements or hesitate to speak up in meetings? Are you tired of watching others get promoted while you stay stuck? It's time to take control and achieve your career goals faster. The Bold Move is an essential guide for women looking to build their confidence and future-proof their careers in the age of AI. In this timely toolkit, recruitment expert Georgie Hubbard shares insights from the thousands of recruitment conversations, coaching sessions and executive interviews she has conducted over a decade. You'll discover how to reframe your mindset, demolish self-doubt and bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Learn how to: -build courage and resilience -navigate career changes with clarity -develop a personal brand -adapt to AI-driven change and future-proof your career. If you're tired of being overlooked and underpaid, you're changing careers or you're ready to step into leadership, The Bold Move will give you the strategic confidence you need to succeed. Stop waiting for permission - and start designing the bold, confident career you deserve.

Dark Design by Nancy Mehl

When Erin Delaney learns that a serial killer has mimicked the murder portrayed in her bestselling novel, her career as an author takes a detrimental turn. She joins her friend Kaely Quinn-Hunter to help the FBI identify a suspect, but shouldering the weight of a haunted past as the enemy looms closer places Erin's life in the balance.

Accessory by Felicia Djamirze & Erin O'Dwyer

Behind every criminal man is a young, glamorous woman profiting from his crimes. Or, at least, so the media suggests. Felicia Djamirze is a counsellor, an advocate for women's justice, a three-time Miss Australia winner and a convicted drug dealer. Growing up surrounded by drug abuse and crime in a rough Sydney neighbourhood, she had little hope of escaping the cycle of violence and poverty. So when her looks seemed to offer her a way out, she took it - even if it involved attracting men on the wrong side of the law. Entering this shadowy world, she became both a perpetrator and a victim, an accessory and a rebel. But eventually, the law would catch up with her in spectacular and violent fashion - and it would make her rethink everything. Written in beautiful prose with seasoned journalist Erin O'Dwyer, Accessory is a bold and searingly honest tale of an extraordinary life.

Sensible Money by Emily Stewart

A no-nonsense guide to making better money choices and gaining financial freedom, written by ABC finance reporter Emily Stewart, aka Sensible Emily. In Sensible Money she gives you practical tips and tricks to help you set up your financial foundations so you can go from surviving to thriving. She'll help you destroy your debt, give you strategies to save, and then, when you're back on your feet, help you budget for your first home, invest in shares and sort out your super.

After The Weeping by David Mark

The unsolved and brutal murder of beloved son, husband and local fight coach Davey Hawksmoor left Hull in a state of shock, and after ten years of mourning DI Aector McAvoy is ordered to reopen the cold case by his boss and close friend DCS Trish Pharaoh. McAvoy isn't sure why this case has been brought up again - after all, the previous detective's efforts might have been hasty, but they were fairly thorough. With no new leads to pursue, and Pharaoh avoiding him, he's sceptical about the whole situation and his role within it. Pharaoh seems to have her sights on bigger fish, seemingly linked to Davey's family and especially his father Rab, a highly regarded entrepreneur and charity man - and a man who won't shy away from dirty work to achieve his version of the greater good.

Where To Go When With Kids By Joseph Bindloss

A month-by-month family travel guide presenting destinations and activities around the world. The book highlights seasonal events and locations suited to travelers with children and provides ideas for planning trips throughout the year.

Better Than The Real Thing by Brooke Crawford

Melbourne teacher Netta Phillips is staring down the barrel of her fortieth birthday with her relationship in the bin, months of negative pregnancy tests and a mortgage she can't afford. Things really aren't going to plan. When she finds the childhood diary of celebrity musician Morrison 'Mo' Maplestone, he offers to pay her to personally return it to him in London. Fiercely private, Mo's desperate to keep its darks contents hidden from the tabloids. With his career already on life support and his secret charity in jeopardy things are messy enough, but it's worse than that - the diary's secrets would shatter his beloved younger brother's world. For Netta, the money would solve everything. She could keep her apartment and try assisted conception treatments; after all, the clock's ticking. But Netta can't return to the UK. Not for anything. Then necessity bites. Netta reluctantly accepts Mo's offer and things quickly become more complicated for them both.

Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre

The world knows Virginia Roberts Giuffre as Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's most outspoken victim: the woman whose decision to speak out helped send both serial abusers to prison, whose photograph with Prince Andrew catalysed his fall from grace. But her story has never been told in full, in her own words - until now. In April 2025, Giuffre took her own life. She left behind a memoir written in the years preceding her death and stated unequivocally that she wanted it published. 'Nobody's Girl' is the riveting and powerful story of an ordinary girl who would grow up to confront extraordinary adversity. Here, Giuffre offers an unsparing and definitive account of her time with Epstein and Maxwell, who trafficked her and others to numerous prominent men. She also details the molestation she suffered as a child, as well as her daring escape from Epstein and Maxwell's grasp at nineteen.

The Ghost Walk by Karen Herbert

Did anyone know Dr Gabriel Beaufort better than Ruby Rose Gillespie? They were friends at high school. They are secret lovers now. And because he is also the lung-transplant surgeon who saved her life, Ruby will forever be in his debt. But then the body of Dr Beaufort is found in the wetlands next to the hospital, on the same day as cystic fibrosis sufferer Ruby is readmitted with a sudden fever. As the crime scene investigation begins beneath her hospital window, Ruby starts to gather her own clues about her lover's last movements. But with each new discovery, she is haunted by the question of whether she really knew Gabriel Beaufort at all.