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THE NEWEST AND BEST NOVELS AND NON-FICTION

THE DARK HOURS Michael Connelly (Allen & Unwin, $32.99) Detective Renée Ballard is called to the scene when a shop owner is fatally shot. Ballard quickly concludes the deadly bullet is linked to another unsolved murder – a case at one time worked by Detective Harry Bosch. In the meantime, Ballard is also still hunting fiendish serial rapists, the Midnight Men. Teaming up with Bosch, the two detectives believe the cases are connected.

ESCAPE FROM

THE GHETTO

John Carr (Hachette, $32.99)

The true story of one boy’s flight to escape the Nazis; a tale of courage, adventure and the relentless pursuit of life in the face of impossible challenges. Early in 1940, Chaim Herszman was locked into the Lodz Ghetto in Poland. Hungry, fearless and determined, he goes on scavenging missions outside the wire limits, until he is forced to kill a Nazi guard. That moment changes the course of his life and sets him on the path of an unbelievable adventure across enemy lines.

THE FREEDOM OF BIRDS Stephanie Parkyn (Allen & Unwin, $32.99) Rémi Victoire is the golden child among all the theatre orphans, dreaming of a life on the Paris stage. But when events push he and faithful friend Pascal to turn their backs on Paris forever, they join runaway Saskia to form a performing troupe, travelling through fairytale lands that are home to the Brothers Grimm, finally finding a safe haven in Venice. As Napoleon’s vast empire crumbles, the storytellers discover Paris itself is now at risk of invasion and fear for the loved ones they left behind.