Politics

Black Widow

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:20:54 +1000

ISBN 1920769749

Blurb from the book:

The first of September was a special day for schoolchildren in Beslan, traditionally celebrated as the 'Day of Knowledge'. But after September 2004 the day would be remembered for all the wrong reasons, when a group of terrorists took hostages at Beslan's School Number One.

Real-life headlines have given Sandy McCutcheon the substance of a plot that wrestles with information and disinformation in a masterful telling of the betrayals of ordinary people caught in political conflict. Fatima, Tatyana, Madina, Zoia, Katya and Alina (mothers of children killed in the school siege) have come together to plan a unique memorial for the dead hostages. But in a gripping role-reversal, they have become the hostage-takers, and a group of the terrorists are at their mercy.

As they come face to face with their arch enemies, each black widow is forced to confront her own demons. What is justice? What price revenge? What price truth? Black Widow ratchets up the unbearable tension for an explosive showdown.

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Black Widow is based on events following the September 1, 2004 terrorist attack on a Russian school in the southern town of Beslan and has been described as one of the most important novels of the year (http://www.epinions.com/content_221590097540) with translations into into so far Polish and Slovenian and with more languages under negotiation.

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Submitted by helen on Sun, 23/09/2007 - 3:48pm.

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BRUSH OFF, THE - Shane Maloney

voyagersaus — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:33:36 +1100

Delicate Indecencies

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:20:58 +1000

ISBN 0732264553

Blurb from the book:

In a wintry graveyard, a young man looks death in the eye and does not live to tell the secrets he holds. In Russia, the opening of a dusty archive reveals clues about a deadly game which has not yet reached its conclusion. In an isolated farmhouse, an old man is kept prisoner while his captors try to extract vital information from his rambling mind. Into this sticky web of deceit and intrigue stumbles Martin Teschmaker, a newly redundant insurance investigator who has just been deserted by his wife.

Seeking relief from his mid-life crisis, Teschmaker contacts an old girlfriend, Jane Morris. With that one phone call he is plunged into an underworld where nothing and no one can be taken at face value. As he attempts to remove the masks, Teschmaker realises the truth is more complex and more dangerous than he could ever have imagined. And somehow he has to bring this deadly game to its conclusion, and survive.

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Submitted by helen on Sun, 23/09/2007 - 3:52pm.

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INSPECTOR ANDERS and THE BLOOD VENDETTA - Marshall Browne

smik — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:59:02 +1100

INSPECTOR ANDERS AND THE SHIP OF FOOLS - Marshall Browne

smik — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:49:58 +1100

January Zone, The

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:21:16 +1000

ISBN 0042000505

Blurb from the book

Politician Peter January is having trouble staying alive so he hires Cliff Hardy to help him.

Hardy dislikes the role of politician's 'security consultant' but he dislikes bombers, hitmen and hate-mailers even more. Protecting January leads to protecting his assistant, Trudie Bell, which is a more enjoyable assignment.

It also takes Hardy to Washington DC where the threats are real and the rules are different. To stand close to January is to stand close to danger and corruption, but there are even greater evils and Hardy cannot back away...

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Submitted by Karen on Thu, 09/08/2007 - 4:16pm.

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Lawyer and the Libertine, The

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:21:16 +1000

ISBN 1875998365

Blurb from the book

Mascot, Sydney and two boys grow to manhood in the depression and the war, bitter antagonists in love, law, religion and politics. One, an ascetic, outwardly conservative lawyer, is driven by deep passions that he tries but fails to suppress. He becomes chief justice of Australia. The other, a flamboyant, populist, Labor politician, also aspires to and reaches the heights of his profession.

The three women, central to their lives and rivalries, add erotic drama to this blockbuster that covers half a century of Australian politics. The self-righteous, political meddling by an Irish Sydney newspaper magnate in favour of the Liberal Party and by the Catholic Church in favour of the anticommunist Labor Party ensure a dynamic background of political power-struggles. There are dramatised insights into the Petrov spy commission, ASIO, the eras of Dr. Evatt and Prime Minister Menzies and an international loan scandal.

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Submitted by Karen on Mon, 03/09/2007 - 2:08pm.

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NICE TRY by Shane Maloney

voyagersaus — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:27:24 +1000

Poison Tree

Karen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:21:09 +1000

ISBN 0732267099

Blurb from the book:

Sacked from ASIO for his involvement in the Peace Crimes Affair, Ramdas Nair is now a private detective facing bankruptcy. He can sink no lower. Or so he thinks.

Ramdas Nair should know by now that asking questions can get you into trouble, and that's just what he finds when he teams up with Persephone Tsakas, a renegade journalist. Together they sniff out a trail of dirty deals, infidelity and blackmail which leads to the prime minister's right-hand man.

When Ramdas takes the fall, where else can he turn for help but to Savva Golitsyn, the retired Russian sleeper-spy. Seeking only to clear his name, Ramdas soon becomes embroiled in something much bigger than political sex scandals. As India and Pakistan explode nuclear tests a select group, hand-picked from the world's elite intelligence agencies, searches for the right man to go under cover...

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Submitted by helen on Sun, 23/09/2007 - 4:13pm.

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Pressure Point

helen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:21:09 +1000

ISBN 1740662911

Blurb from the book:

It's the 1980s and the stronghold of apartheid in South Africa is crumbling. Forced from their positions of supremacy, members of the old 'elite' are looking for new territories to dominate... From his office in the heart of Australia's capital, ONA operative Tony Martin receives a call one night from a friend, claiming he has information someone would kill for. Thirty minutes later, Tony's friend is dead. In his effort to find the truth, Tony becomes caught in a web of political intrigue that reaches right to the top. With the help of his ex, journalist Kath Jamieson, and armed with just a few random clues, Tony must unravel a conspiracy that involves two continents and a secret buried for over twenty years. What he discovers could bring down the government...and cost him his life...

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Submitted by Karen on Mon, 23/07/2007 - 3:30pm.

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