The gripping fifth instalment of bestselling The Mortal Instruments series.

Synopsis:

Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide? Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Ages: 14+

About the Author:

Cassandra Clare lives in Brooklyn. She has worked as an entertainment journalist for The Hollywood Reporter, has published several short stories and is the author of the popular internet parody The Very Secret Diaries.

Synopsis:

“I am amazed that people remember the smallest details of the stories that have most touched them and which, in a surprising number of cases, have altered their own attitudes and choices in life.“ Caroline Jones

Australian Story is without doubt one of the best-loved shows on the ABC. A cornerstone of Monday night viewing for 15 years, it has brought into our homes and hearts the very personal accounts of our fellow Australians – people both famous and far from famous. With its unique approach and impeccable research, this iconic show represents storytelling at its very best.

Australian Story: Stories of courage, determination and love features ten very special Australian Stories from the last four years, selected by the Australian Story team. Much of what is filmed does not make it to air, and author Graham Bauer compellingly brings to life the complete accounts of each of these favourite stories, including insightful updates from the subjects themselves and from the story′s producer.

The epsiodes chosen for this fourth collection of Australian Stories include the exciting tale of Black Caviar, the Aussie horse that has equalled Phar Lap′s record and is the first animal to feature on Australian Story; the incredible seventy-year struggle to recognise the actions of two truly heroic World War II sailors, Teddy Sheean and Captain Hec Waller; the dedication of Jan Cameron, a successful businesswomen who now devotes her life to improving the way factory farmed animals are treated in this country; and the powerful story of love, hope and determination between Sally Nielsen and her fiancé Sam Goddard, who wakes from his coma for an hour each day in extraordinary circumstances.

Synopsis:

Meet Shani – she’s thirty-two, single and has a job to die for. And she likes her life just the way it is, thank you! So why do her family and friends insist on trying to convince her that the only way to the perfect life is meeting the perfect man?

When Shani’s horoscope miraculously reveals that now is the best time of her life for marriage, her mother decides to take control. As the Sri Lankan wedding season opens she turns a deaf ear to Shani’s protests and arranges a parade of 101 potential grooms, in the hope that her shamefully unmarried daughter will salvage the family honour by finally finding Mr Right. But true life, like true love, can get very complicated. Amidst a riot of hilarious dates with would-be husbands, Shani has to cope with a minor Machiavelli at work, a house that is literally falling down around her ears, and a neurotic mother with serious cultural baggage. Worst of all, her best friend, who seems to have it all, is sliding into depression, and Shani seems powerless to help. Through a flurry of curry, cricket, sarees, and sumptuous ceremonies, Shani comes to learn that love comes in many disguises – and degrees of satisfaction – and that life is a one-shot game, even if you do believe in reincarnation.

Synopsis:

Against all odds, 17-year-old Gene has survived in a world where humans have been eaten to near extinction by the general population. The only remaining humans, or hepers as they are known, are housed in domes on the savannah and studied at the nearby Heper Institute. Every decade there is a government sponsored hunt. When Gene is selected to be one of the combatants he must learn the art of the hunt but also elude his fellow competitors whose suspicions about his true nature are growing.

Synopsis:

In October 1988 an Inuit hunter saw three grey whales trapped in the frozen Arctic ocean near Barrow, an isolated Alaskan outpost. They were working together to keep their blow hole open, the two adolescents caring for the weaker baby. It was a poignant sight. Filmed by a local television reporter, this tiny regional news story snowballed into a global media frenzy.

In this gripping, insightful book Tom Rose describes how journalists poured into Barrow, all woefully ill equipped for the sub-zero temperatures, warming up on bootleg alcohol. As the locals cheerfully found ways to profit from the visitors, Greenpeace activist Cindy Lowry battled to mount an extraordinary rescue operation that would unite conservationists and oil companies, the Inuit and the military, President Reagan and the Kremlin.

A unique and heartbreaking memoir of a child’s imprisonment in a Japanese POW camp during World War II.

Synopsis:

1942: It was towards the middle of the year when my friends started disappearing…

On the island of Java, the stirrings of the Second World War in Europe and the angry-looking man called Hitler seem a million miles away from Norwegian-born Lise and her siblings. Then one day, her friends and neighbours start to disappear, and she begins to realise that they are not safe after all.

Through ten-year-old eyes, Lise tells of her family’s two-year imprisonment in POW camps and the brutal treatment received at the hands of their Japanese captors. For respite from the rat-infested floor of their shelter they adopt a blue door, which sits on concrete posts in the ground. They live on it during the day as young Lise plots ways to protect her family from disease, starvation and the desperate behaviour of fellow prisoners. This is a little girl’s heartbreaking tale of survival.

Synopsis:

Freelance hitman, Will Robie, has a mission which takes him first to Edinburgh and then to Tangier. His task is to eliminate suspected enemies of the US government. But back in DC, when government employee and mother of two, Denise Tamaron, is detailed as his next target, Robie fails to pull the trigger. She’s an unlikely victim, and why does she pose a threat to national security?

Having failed in his mission, Robie needs to leave the scene fast. But it seems that he is not the only one who is on the run and in danger. On his escape from the city, he saves a young teenage girl from an unknown killer. She’s too scared to reveal her true identity and why, if indeed she knows, there are those who want her dead.

The police investigating the deaths start to take an interest in Robie. And he’s particularly attracting the attention of a tenacious female investigator who believes the two cases may be connected. Robie finds himself a fugitive in a dangerous position. Does he need to change sides to save lives – including his own?

A stunning debut novel: a dramatic family saga with a dark thread of suspense lurking at its heart.

Synopsis:

Every family has its secrets. Some are small, like telling a white lie or snooping through a private drawer. Others are more serious, like infidelity and betrayal. And some secrets are so terrible they must be hidden away in a deep, dark place, for if they ever came to light, they would surely tear a family apart

The Tides are a family full of secrets. Returning to Clifftops, the rambling family house perched high on the Dorset coastline, youngest daughter Dora hopes for a fresh start, for herself and the new life she carries. But can long-held secrets ever really be forgiven? And even if you can forgive, can you ever really learn to love again?

SECRETS OF THE TIDES is the spellbinding debut from Hannah Richell, a rich and compelling family drama with a dark thread of suspense at its heart.

The definitive insider’s account of entertainment mogul Simon Cowell’s rise to meteoric fame and the controversial highs and lows along the way… they say living well is the best revenge, or is it?

Synopsis:

Sweet Revenge offers a detailed insider’s account of entertainment mogul Simon Cowell’s rise to meteoric fame and all of the controversial highs and lows along the way as he settles scores with rivals. The book will be packed with juicy details, hard-to-get interviews and never-before-revealed facts all written from an objective journalist’s perspective. According to Stephen Page, Publisher, ‘Sweet Revenge is the biography for anyone interested in music, pop culture and business, and the millions of X-Factor and Simon Cowell fans.’ Just named one of Barbara Walter’s ‘Most Fascinating People of 2011,’ Cowell continues to reign as a pop culture icon and media influencer.