Lexie Parker leaves her toddler, Bella, in the care of four playgroup mums. She’s gone for just six minutes. But when she returns, Bella is gone. Is her disappearance connected to the angry protests at Parliament House? What secrets are the parents hiding? And why does a local teacher keep a photo of Bella in his lounge-room?
Background From his beginnings as a second-hand bookshop owner to an author, interviewer and Director of Books at Booktopia, John Purcell is an embodiment of the Australian publishing industry. Although The Girl on the Page is the first novel attributed to Purcell, he has had previous success through a series of novels written under a pseudonym. … Read more
For the past two weeks Kate Bennet has lived under the control of a man claiming to be her uncle. He says that she did something terrible, something so unspeakable that he has to protect her from the police and media. Something that Kate can’t quite remember. As Kate uncovers some of her memories, she realises that Jim’s story isn’t quite adding up. Kate might not quite remember the night in question, but she is certain of one thing – she must escape.
Subject Six-Eight-Four has spent years in a secret underground facility, experimented on and tortured by “evaluators” and guards attempting to break her silence. After suffering at the hands of these people for months on end, she is taken aback by a new evaluator – one who treats her with kindness and concern. His approach breaks her resolve, and Subject Six-Eight-Four learns more than she ever thought possible about herself, her captors, and their facility.
Pleasant Court is for perfect families, so residents are shocked to meet their new neighbour. Why would a single, childless woman move into a street full of married couples with kids? Why would she rent an expensive four-bedroom home, and why is she so interested in her neighbours and their children?
Like many real-world neighbourhoods, Pleasant Court seems like a perfectly pleasant place… until you push back the curtains.