Sydney, 1980s: Belle Fitzgerald, young, rich and spirited, lives in Kings Cross, the city's bohemian heart. When she learns of plans to demolish her street and evict its residents, she commits to fighting the development, even though this brings her up against the Cross's crime lords and their servants, the notoriously corrupt local cops. Recklessly, dangerously, against her better judgment, she embarks on a passionate affair with one of those cops, Sergeant Stanton Rose.

Shortlisted for the 2025 Danger Award for Crime FictionSydney, Australia: The body of a young woman is found in Chinatown. She's been beaten, tortured - and tattooed with the image of a sun. Called to the scene, Sergeant Jackie Rose asks herself whether this was a drug murder, or something else. But before her investigation can get under way, she is ordered to hand the case over to the Australian Federal Police.Cape Town, South Afri...

Mysterious ~ Enlightening ~ Frivolous ~ DangerousA group of librarians open an S&M club. A Victorian maid disrupts a seance. An older woman stands up for herself. A jewel thief uncovers a love story. A detective searches for a robot. Sherlock Holmes becomes a woman.These 17 prizewinning crime and mystery stories run the gamut from dark through charming to silly, and beyond. So put up your feet, pour a glass of something tasty, and enjoy. Just make sure to look over y...

Retired police chief Piet Pieterse has been murdered, necklaced in fact. A tyre placed round his neck, doused with petrol, set alight. An execution from the apartheid era and one generally confined to collaborators. Who would target Pieterse this way, and why now? Veteran cop Schalk Lourens is trying to forget the past. But Pieterse was his old boss and when Schalk is put on the case, he finds the past has a way of infecting the present. Meanwhile, it's an election year. People are pinning...

Sydney, Australia: The body of a young woman is found in Chinatown. She's been beaten, tortured - and tattooed with the image of a sun. Called to the scene, Sergeant Jackie Rose asks herself whether this was a drug murder, or something else. But before her investigation can get underway, she is ordered to hand the case over to the Australian Federal Police. Cape Town, South Africa: A local girl recruited to study in Australia has fallen off the radar. Veteran detective Schalk Lourens - rec...

Veteran cop Schalk Lourens is trying to put the past behind him. But when his old boss, retired police chief Piet Pieterse is murdered, Schalk finds history has a way of infecting everything.Meanwhile, it’s also an election year. People are pinning their hopes on charismatic ANC candidate Gideon Radebe but there’s opposition and in this volatile country, unrest is never far from the surface.Schalk must tread a difficult path between the new regime and the old, between the p...

Sydney, 1980s: Belle Fitzgerald, young, rich and spirited, lives in Kings Cross, the city's bohemian heart. When she learns of plans to demolish her street and evict its residents, she commits to fighting the development, even though this brings her up against the Cross's crime lords and their corrupt cops. Recklessly, she embarks on a passionate affair with one of those cops, Sergeant Stanton Rose. Then Belle goes missing. Her disappearance becomes one of the nation's great mysteries. Syd...