Collection: NEW BOOKS

A seasoned police detective and a dog with a nose for crime. One dead body. Twelve suspects.

Sydney, Australia, 1933: Wealthy impresario and amateur Egyptologist Roland Cuthbert Barry is murdered on his 60th birthday, and everyone attending the evening’s celebrations is a suspect.

Detective Senior Sergeant Harold Chesterfield of Sydney Central Police has been sent by Chief Inspector Ron Thompson to Barry Island on the Hawkesbury River and the rambling sandstone house of the wealthy Barry family. Thompson is a longtime friend of Roland Barry, who has confided in him about threatening notes he has received, suggesting he will be held to account for past actions.

Harold Chesterfield discovers a curious cast of characters at Barry Island: a long-suffering wife and an ambitious young mistress; a Russian ballet dancer who isn’t what he seems; Roland’s daughter and her lover, an Egyptian woman; the family doctor with a secret past; Roland’s two troubled sons; and the evening’s entertainment, a psychic medium, who, from the moment she steps foot on Barry Island, declares something terrible will happen.

With Harold is Ben, an English Pointer with a nose for crime; together, Harold and Ben will face their most challenging case.

Australia is in the grip of the Great Depression, and Harold is surrounded by opulence: tuxedos, sequinned dresses, and sumptuous food. But when a severe storm hits and the electricity and telephone are cut off, Harold and the guests find that Roland Barry’s vast wealth cannot protect him, and Harold must uncover secrets, discover motives and find the killer.

Who knows more than they’re telling? Who has everything to hide?

Published: June 29th 2023
ISBN: 9781738592326
Language: English

When sophisticated city lawyer Beth visits Springs for a much-needed break, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the charming and fun-loving Liam. As they explore the stunning wilderness together, Beth discovers there's more to Liam — and to life in Springs — than meets the eye.

When a high-stakes legal case unexpectedly extends Beth's stay in Springs, her holiday fling with Liam blossoms into something deeper. But as Beth's demanding career beckons her back to the city, they must confront the reality of their divergent paths.
Will Beth trade her high-powered legal career for a small-town life with Liam? Will she return to the city, leaving their love behind? Or will Liam find a way they can both make their dreams a reality?

Fans of small-town romance, opposites attract, and hidden identity tropes will be enchanted by this captivating tale of love and self-discovery in the mountain wilderness. With witty banter, sizzling chemistry, and a dash of legal intrigue, "Wild Dreams" will keep you engrossed from the first cup of artisanal coffee to the final hike.

Keywords:
● Opposites attract
● Capable, ambitious FMC
● Golden retriever MMC
● Hidden identity
● Coffee as a love language
● Mystery
● Hiking
● Open-door
● Small-town
● NZ Author
● Indie Author
● Summer

Published: September 10th, 2024
ISBN: 9798335599191
Language: English

Trigger Warnings: 18+

Meet the Author

K. B. Brookes is a passionate writer and storyteller with a love for crafting empowering and engaging romance novels. With a wealth of travel experiences, K. B. brings a unique perspective and rich detail to her writing.

Inspired by her love for reading and a desire to create stories where women have positive, empowering experiences with intimacy, K. B. has found her niche in the romance genre. Although she has never been in a survival situation like some of the characters in novels, her extensive travels and love for hiking—including on some of the trails mentioned in her books—have helped her create vivid, immersive settings for her stories.

When not writing, K. B. can often be found exploring the great outdoors, seeking new hiking trails and adventures to fuel her creativity. Her passion for storytelling shines through in her work, which aims to transport readers to exciting new worlds while celebrating the power of love and the strength of the human spirit.

In the unforgiving wilderness of the Arctic, two contestants must fight to survive — and discover the warmth of love in the process.
Ava Phillips, a shy accountant with a knack for plants, enters the cutthroat world of "Survive: Duos," a reality show that will push her limits in more ways than one. Noah Hartman, a seasoned wilderness guide and search and rescue volunteer, chooses Ava as his partner, setting the stage for an adventure neither could have predicted.

As Ava and Noah battle the elements and their own fears, an unexpected bond blossoms between them. But when a dangerous rival threatens their safety and their budding romance, they must dig deep to find the strength to survive - and to fight for the love they never saw coming.

Fans of slow-burn, opposites attract, mountain man romances will be captivated by this gripping
tale of survival and romance in the Arctic wild. With heart-stopping peril, sizzling chemistry, and a
touch of humor, Surviving With Noah will keep you turning the pages long into the night.

Keywords:
● One-bed
● Forced Proximity
● Protective Hero
● Shy heroine
● Acquaintances to friends to lovers
● Open-door
● Small-town
● Slow burn
● Reality TV show
● NZ Author
● Indie Author
● Winter

Published: May 14th, 2014
ISBN: 9798325550959
Language: English

Trigger Warnings: 18+

Meet the Author

K. B. Brookes is a passionate writer and storyteller with a love for crafting empowering and engaging romance novels. With a wealth of travel experiences, K. B. brings a unique perspective and rich detail to her writing.

Inspired by her love for reading and a desire to create stories where women have positive, empowering experiences with intimacy, K. B. has found her niche in the romance genre. Although she has never been in a survival situation like some of the characters in novels, her extensive travels and love for hiking—including on some of the trails mentioned in her books—have helped her create vivid, immersive settings for her stories.

When not writing, K. B. can often be found exploring the great outdoors, seeking new hiking trails and adventures to fuel her creativity. Her passion for storytelling shines through in her work, which aims to transport readers to exciting new worlds while celebrating the power of love and the strength of the human spirit.

Jayden hasn't been having a good year. He's probably not going to keep his job long. His two oldest friends are getting way too judgy as they go about cleaning up their act and becoming "mature". To make things worse they keep expecting him to do the same. As if they're so perfect? But what's the point, why bother? Jayden knows what sort of person he is, and aiming to "improve" himself is just a waste of everybody's time.

Then those friends decide to introduce him to someone new; Katie. Katie seems to get it. Katie sees how pointless people can be. Now dinner is eaten and the four of them are going to the movies together. Will this be a chance for Jayden to turn over a new leaf and begin something new? Or is it all true what they say about him, what he thinks about himself? Is he really that awful?

But what happens among the dark seats of the cinema will start a chain reaction for Jayden and everyone around him. Still dripping from the rain outside, grotesque things will force all who encounter them to uncover their true selves, if they want any chance to survive.

Rotten is the latest novel by New Zealand author Aaron Dick. This nauseating horror story follows Jayden as he is confronted with the up close and personal faces of both death and deep regret. Not to mention he must face the unnatural things that just keep coming, keep crawling, keep stumbling closer every moment; while he scrambles to finally find somewhere he feels safe.

Published: January 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780473539160
Language: English

Trigger Warnings: Swearing, Violent Death

Meet the Author:

Aaron Dick is a teacher living north of Auckland in New Zealand with his wife, their two daughters, and a small menagerie of household animals. They all love when his eldest daughter visits too.
He grew up as a voracious reader of science-fiction and fantasy, often to the annoyance of his unheeded family. Becoming an author was a childhood dream, alongside being a palaeontologist, or a rock star.

Quake-powered time travel...

Tarawera, 1886. Napier, 1931. The formation of Rangitoto Island. The Waimangu Geyser.

Deadly eruptions and earthquakes dot New Zealand's history. When an ancient artefact opens a portal, Anira, Tiger, and the Earthcore team are scattered into dangerous events of the past.

Their abilities and knowledge of history give them the power to survive—but can they change the past, or save lives they know were lost?

Meanwhile, Manaia realises stepping through time might lead to her lost husband, and sets out into the past to seek her young son’s father.

All their powers will be called on to fulfil what the guardians ask. If they can find the the right place and time, they might just become part of a legend.

Series: Earthcore, #6

Format: Pocketbook
Published: September 29, 2024
ISBN: ‎ 979-8335332828
Language: English

You’ve got magic, but the spring water that bestows it is locked away.

In someone’s backyard. At an expensive spa. Or miles out of town and you don’t have a car. There are ways to fix that…

Nancy Armstrong reckons those Earthcore folks are just do-gooders whose supernatural springs got handed to them on a silver platter. She’ll do whatever it takes to top up her magic, even if it gets her little sister Colette into trouble.

Dazza Leonard wants to join the Earthcore, but Nancy still wields a terrible leverage over him. And now there are others who fall into her tangled web: a shady businessman and his reluctant son, a pair of prankster twins, a construction worker and an unhinged activist.

Nancy doesn’t care who gets dragged into her schemes, as long as their powers are useful. But some of the springs are strangely toxic, and the dangers aren’t what anybody imagined.

Series: Earthcore, #5

Format: Pocketbook
Published: August 8, 2024
ISBN: ‎ 979-8335332828
Language: English

The Earthcore team's newfound fame means they're asked to help calm an earthquake cluster shaking the Hauraki Gulf yet again. No geological cause can be found—indicating a source related to the Taniwha of legend.

Anira and her team travel to Waiheke Island, where clues point to the old, closed-up WWII fortification tunnels that honeycomb the island's remote eastern headland. As the quakes continue, the team investigates a mystery from the 1940s.

To solve it, they’ll have to head underground, where a young member fumbles with dangerous emerging power and the rest of the team find their magic almost useless.

Split up and trapped beneath the surface, Earthcore races to resolve a wartime injustice, but the Taniwha are angry—and the tide is rising.

Series: Earthcore, #4

Format: Pocketbook
Published: March 13, 2024
ISBN: ‎ 979-8884694545
Language: English

They saved a town with the help of the creatures that command the geysers.
They saved a city from volcanic eruption.
Surely they've earned a break?
...Tell that to the Titanosaur.

Now the faultline network is active, threatening all of central New Zealand with aftershocks that might be bigger than the initial event. Amateur geologist Anira Fraser is in Picton, facing her final high school athletics competition. Along with her friend Tiger McRae, she realises their presence is disturbing the area's guardian spirits.

Soon other Earthcore members arrive in town and discover an old enemy stirring up fresh trouble, while the locals hint at the legend of a mysterious taniwha war that could worsen the series of quakes.

It's up to Anira and the Earthcore team to find the cause of the war and end it - otherwise they themselves could be responsible for a cataclysmic natural disaster.

Series: Earthcore, #3

Format: Pocketbook
Published: June 15th, 2019
ISBN: ‎ 979-8883952318
Language: English

New Zealand's largest city. Forty-nine volcanoes. What's one more?
Auckland is built on volcanoes and has more ocean coastline than any other city in the world. For Anira, a reluctant and forgetful superhero, it's home.

Away from the thermal springs and legendary creatures of Rotorua, Anira's supernatural brainpower and memory have faded. She's forgotten the events of summer and even the friends who became the Earthcore team. Tiger, Graeme and Bethany come to the big city too, each unsettled in their own way.

But their maniacal opponent has arrived in Auckland, wielding mind control and bent on revenge, terrorism and profit. When the earth becomes restless from his meddling, Anira must fight to remember her gifts, to bring the team together again, figure out shenanigans at sea, and to call the ancient taniwha to help protect her hometown from a disastrous eruption.

In the Earthcore series, every book is a self-contained adventure and can be read as a standalone.

Series: Earthcore, #2

Format: Pocketbook
Published: July 27th, 2018
ISBN: 979-8866247356
Language: English

Superpowers from hot springs — who knew!

In a tourist hotspot in New Zealand, geysers have secrets, and so do the locals. Can one girl stop a superpowered conman?

Anira doesn't want to go along on the family trip to Rotorua, city of geysers. Not while she's fighting off a latent phobia of volcanoes.

But this place has ancient secrets beyond anything she could imagine. Untamed thermal forces hold a hidden power that transforms Anira. The spirits of the land have a job for her to do: stop a foreign developer who wants to concrete over the natural springs as he misuses the very same powers to take control.

Using abilities she has never known, soon Anira finds there are others like her — but they want her to back off. Can she convince them to work together and save the city?

Superpowers. Volcanoes. Legendary creatures. Read the compelling origin story of the Earthcore heroes.

If you like supernatural mysteries, real-life locations and satisfying endings, then you'll love this fast-paced series.

Buy Earthcore to take a trip to New Zealand right now.

"It's like a front-row seat on a tour with a personal guide - and extra magic!"

Series: Earthcore, #1

Format: Pocketbook
Published: July 27th, 2017
ISBN: 979-8377110927
Language: English

Does crime still exist after the end of the world? And, if it does ... how much can you get away with charging people to solve it?

Introducing "Sievert and Gray, Detectors", a standalone post-apocalyptic crime comedy like no other.

"But you ... you just saw too much. This is how it has to be. Now stay still, eh? This is gonna take a few chops."

And that's how John Doe was murdered.

* * *

In the Orcklands, a sprawling post-apocalyptic nightmare of a city, what is crime? Who gets to decide?

Sievert and Gray - the Orcklands' finest detectors - think they have the answers. At least ... enough to charge clients for their services, anyway.

When a distraught Jane Doe tells them her brother has mysteriously vanished, it's their job to figure out why - and who murdered him. But it won't be easy. Politics is afoot, and when the Orcklands' warring leaders start scheming, things get bloody. Can Sievert and Gray find John Doe and bring his killer to justice (whatever that means) before the bullets start flying?

...probably not. But they'll damn well shoot back if they have to.

"Sievert & Gray, Detectors" is the second standalone novel set in Duncan P. Pacey's Waste series. It's a detective comedy with a splash of difference - although that splash is a bit red and might be hard to wash out.

Series: The Waste Stories, #2

Format: C, 472 pages, Paperback
Published: August 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-0473417208
Language: English

"Smack-dab, in the Middle of Nowhere" is a post-apocalyptic comedy novel about a grumpy bar owner desperately trying to save her home and livelihood from the perils of the Waste - perils like bandits, tax, and...tourism?

Think Terry Pratchett meets "Fallout", but not as good as either.

* * *

“Bert’d be damned if this bar did anything other than thrive. Smack-dab would prosper, or she'd shoot folk until it did.”

Bert is the takes-no-crap bar owner of Smack-dab, a struggling tavern halfway from nowhere to nowhere else. All around her is the barren, post-apocalyptic Waste, a terrifying place plagued by villainous bandits, ravenous monsters, and Things that go bump in the night (and also eat you).

The Waste is in turmoil. Lord Ash has been overthrown, replaced by a terrifyingly powerful giant hell-bent on taxing anyone and everyone that can help fund his devious master plan. Smack-dab is threatened with total destruction, but Bert has a plan of her own. Can she rally enough help to fend off the bandits?

Strange and hilarious, “Smack-dab, in the Middle of Nowhere” is the fresh new face of the post-apocalypse, even if that face has more creepy mutant eyes than you expected.

Series: The Waste Stories, #1

Format: C, 316 pages, Paperback
Published: December 16, 2017
ISBN: 978-0473417208
Language: English