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[ THE NEWEST AND BEST NOVELS AND NON-FICTION ]

A COMPELLING STORY WRITTEN WITH TAUTNESS AND WIT

Pheasants Nest

Louise Milligan

(Allen & Unwin, $32.99)

Kate Delaney has made the biggest mistake of her life. She picked the wrong guy to humiliate on a girls’ night out and now she is living every woman’s worst nightmare. Kate finds herself brutalised, bound and gagged in the back of a car being driven by a man whose name she doesn’t know. Kate can only hope the police will find her before it’s too late, but she’s aware a random crime is the hardest to solve. As the clock ticks, the police establish a major investigation. However, the detectives know Kate’s chances of survival diminish with every passing hour.

MAUDE HORTON’S GLORIOUS REVENGE

Lizzie Pook (Penguin Random House, $34.99)

London, 1850: Constance Horton has disappeared. Maude, her sister, knows only that Constance abandoned the apothecary they call home and, disguised as a boy, boarded a ship bound for the Arctic. She never returned. ‘A tragic accident’, the Admiralty called it. But Maude knows something isn’t right. When she finds Constance’s journal, it’s clear the truth is being buried by sinister forces, and Maude is determined to find answers.

RESURRECTION WALK

Michael Connelly (Allen & Unwin, $32.99) Defence attorney Mickey Haller has agreed to represent a woman who is in prison for killing her husband, a sheriff’s deputy. Haller enlists his half-brother, retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, as investigator. Reviewing the case, Bosch sees something that doesn’t add up. For Haller and Bosch, the path to justice is fraught with danger from those who don’t want the case reopened and will do anything to keep the truth hidden.

ANNABEL CRABB

THE SILENCE IN HER EYES

Armando Lucas Correa (Simon & Schuster, $32.99) For as long as she can remember, Leah has suffered from akinetopsia – her eyes can’t process movement, only images. With her white stick, most people assume she’s blind. But Leah can see a good deal. When beautiful, kind Alice moves in next door, they become firm friends. But things take a turn when Leah hears Alice begging for help through the wall. Leah wants to help her friend even though the situation is extremely dangerous, possibly even deadly.