top of page
Car Lights

Crime and Thrillers

What is Crime?

Crime is a genre of fiction based around crimes; these include mysteries, detectives, court cases and the criminals and motivations behind the crimes. 

Most follow a similar structure: a crime is committed, an investigation is opened, then a form of judgement is made either through the legal system or revenge. 

What is a Thriller?

A thriller is a sub genre, mainly found in mystery and horror novels.

They tend to be action-packed, plot driven and fast-paced. Thrillers are made to induce strong feelings in their audiences; such as tension, anxiety, and fear. 

NEW RELEASES:

DETECTIVE NOVELS:

50 Books To Read If You're An Armchair Detective

A book lover's guide to the 50 most iconic and interesting 'cosy crime' novels.

The perfect gift for book-loving friends and family, 50 Books to Read If You're an Armchair Detective will provide lots of inspiration for fans of cosy crime to discover lesser known books and revisit forgotten classics. Whether you're a Richard Osman fan or a Sherlock Holmes devotee, bibliophile and book blogger Eric Karl Anderson will introduce you to some new and unexpected novels. The book includes an interactive element with space for star ratings, lists of favourite reads, thoughts and dates for beginning and finishing books.

The 50 recommendations encompass a range of authors and books, from classic to contemporary and from across the globe so as to offer the lucky reader plenty of scope.

This is the start of a new series of gift books celebrating books and reading, so if cosy crime isn't your thing, don't worry! You can also indulge in some love stories with 50 Books to Read If You're a Hopeless Romantic.

50 Books To Read If You're An Armchair Detective

MEDICAL AND FORENSIC CRIME:

SPECULATIVE CRIME:

What is speculative crime? Speculative novels are crime or thrillers that have science fictional or fantastical elements that enhance the main genre, that is crime/thriller, but are not the main genre or point of the story.

STAFF FAVOURITE - MONIQUE'S PIC:

Upgrade

Blake Crouch

Upgrade is the new mind-bending thriller from Blake Crouch, author of the bestselling Dark Matter and Recursion.

"You are the next step in human evolution. . ."

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep. But before long, he can’t deny it: something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him, even those he loves most, in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy. Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one to inflict the same changes on humanity at large, and at a terrifying cost. Because of what Logan’s becoming, he’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution…

Upgrade

MILITARY (FBI, CIA, MI5, MI6, SPECIAL OPS):

LEGAL THRILLERS AND COURTROOM DRAMA:

HISTORICAL CRIME:

STAFF FAVOURITE - ALYSON'S PIC:

The Frozen River

Ariel Lawhon

From the bestselling author of Code Name HÉlÈne comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who investigates a shocking murder that unhinges her small community.

Maine, 1789: When a man is found entombed in the frozen Kennebec River, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As the local midwife and healer, Martha is good at keeping secrets. Her diary is a record of every birth, death and debacle that unfolds in the town of Hallowell. In that diary she has also documented the details of an alleged rape that occurred by one of the town’s most esteemed gentlemen – the same man who has now been found dead in the ice. 

While certain townspeople are eager to put both matters to rest, Martha suspects that the two crimes are linked, and that there is more to both cases than meets the eye. Over the course of one long, hard winter, whispers and prejudices mount, and Martha’s diary lands at the centre of the scandal, threatening to tear both her family and her community apart.   

In her newest offering, Ariel Lawhon brings to life a brave and compassionate unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice on behalf of those no one else would protect. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense and tender story of a remarkable woman who had the courage to take a stand, and in the process wrote herself into history.

The Frozen River

COZY CRIME:

STAFF FAVOURITE - JULIE'S PIC:

The Woman In The Library

Sulari Gentill

‘This elegantly constructed novel is intelligent, funny, and profound. Who could ask for more?’ - Publishers Weekly

‘And then there is a scream. Ragged and terrified. A beat of silence even after it stops, until we all seem to realise that the Reading Room Rules no longer apply.’
 
Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime author, is crafting a new novel that begins in the Boston Public Library: four strangers; Winifred, Cain, Marigold and Whit are sitting at the same table when a bloodcurdling scream breaks the silence. A woman has been murdered. They are all suspects, and, as it turns out, each character has their own secrets and motivations – and one of them is a murderer.
 
While crafting this new thriller, Hannah shares each chapter with her biggest fan and aspirational novelist, Leo. But Leo seems to know a lot about violence, motive, and how exactly to kill someone. Perhaps he is not all that he seems…
 
The Woman in the Library is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship – and shows that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

the woman in the library

CLASSIC CRIME:

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS:

NOIR, GORE AND HARDBOILED CRIME:

ORGANISED CRIME (MAFIA, MOTORCYCLE GANGS, GANSTERS, CARTEL, GANGS, THE MOB ETC.):

AUSTRALIAN AUTHORS:

LOCAL AUTHORS:

maduka

Julie Janson

Madukka

The River Serpent

Aunty June is the proud owner of a TAFE certificate III in Investigative Services.

It took her thirty hours to complete online.

Now, she has set up her own private investigation service: Yanakirri Investigative Services, Confidentiality Guaranteed.

When environmental activist, Thommo, suddenly goes missing and the police ignore the case Aunty June takes it upon herself to uncover the secrets surrounding her nephew, Thommo's, disappearance. Corruption, commercial cotton farmers, bikies, racism, water theft, and unreliable local police - Aunty June is really up against it.

Lies and corruption are hiding the truth from reaching the surface. And the Murray Darling River is running out of water. Aunty June may be out of her depths, but nothing will stop her fighting for her people and her land.

Madukka the River Serpent is a striking novel about family and resistance from Australian Darug Burruberongal writer and playwright Julie Janson.

Julie Janson

Julie Janson Burruberongal clan of Darug Nation. Novelist, poet and playwright.

the woman in the library

The Woman in the Library

Sulari Gentill

Hannah Tigone, bestselling Australian crime author, is crafting a new novel that begins in the Boston Public Library: four strangers; Winifred, Cain, Marigold and Whit are sitting at the same table when a bloodcurdling scream breaks the silence. A woman has been murdered. They are all suspects, and, as it turns out, each character has their own secrets and motivations – and one of them is a murderer.

While crafting this new thriller, Hannah shares each chapter with her biggest fan and aspirational novelist, Leo. But Leo seems to know a lot about violence, motive, and how exactly to kill someone. Perhaps he is not all that he seems…

The Woman in the Library is an unexpectedly twisty literary adventure that examines the complicated nature of friendship – and shows that words can be the most treacherous weapons of all.

sulari gentill

Sulari is Australian. She was born in Sri Lanka, learned to speak English in Zambia and grew up in Brisbane. She went to University to study Astrophysics, graduated in Law and after years of corporate contracts, realized she just wanted to tell stories. 

Sulari lives on a Trufferie in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains and has written many novels that we stock.

the tilt

The Tilt

Chris Hammer

A man runs for his life in a forest.
A woman plans sabotage.
A body is unearthed.
Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her home town, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder - a 'file and forget'.
But this is no ordinary cold case, as the discovery of more bodies triggers a chain of escalating events in the present day. As Nell starts to join the pieces together, she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her. Could her own family be implicated in the crimes?
The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more dangerous the present becomes for her, as she battles shadowy assailants and sinister forces. Can she survive this harrowing investigation and what price will she have to pay for the truth?

chris hammer

Chris Hammer is a leading Australian crime fiction novelist, author of the internationally bestselling Martin Scarsden series: Scrublands, Silver and Trust.

the last woman in the world

The Last Woman In The World

Inga Simpson

It's night, and the walls of Rachel's home creak as they settle into the cover of darkness. Fear has led her to a reclusive life on the land, her only occasional contact with her sister.

 

 

A hammering on the door. There stands a mother, Hannah, with a sick baby. They are running for their lives from a mysterious death sweeping the Australian countryside.

 

 

Now Rachel must face her worst fears: should she take up the fight to help these strangers survive in a society she has rejected for so long?

inga simpson
bottom of page