Updates - Week Ending 19th April

Alec de Payns, espionage operative of the Y Division of the DGSE, France's famed foreign intelligence service, is tasked with tracking down an agent of influence sending highly classified material against the Kremlin to embassies all over Europe.

A deadly conspiracy is aligning the West against Russia. But who is behind it? And to what end?

The clues lead to a secret meeting of businessmen, terrorists and mercenaries on a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean, which de Payns must infiltrate. What he discovers sets off a Europe-wide manhunt in a desperate scramble to prevent an international catastrophe.

Former DGSE spy Jack Beaumont's Dark Arena is another chillingly plausible thriller delivering all the taut plotting, superb action and authentic spycraft that made The Frenchman a critically acclaimed bestseller.

Grace is a thief- a good one. She was taught by experts and she's been practising since she was a kid. She specialises in small, high-value items-stamps, watches-and she knows her Jaeger-LeCoultres from her Patek Philippes. But it's a solitary life, always watchful, always moving. It's not the life she wants.

Lying low after a run-in with an old associate, Grace walks into Erin Mandel's rural antiques shop and sees a chance for something different. A normal job. A place to call home.

But someone is looking for Erin. And someone's looking for Grace, too. And they are both, in their own ways, very dangerous men.

Desperate for reward money – and to rescue his marriage – an embattled sheriff takes incalculable risks to find a missing boy. An edge-of-your-seat, twisted and twisty thriller from New Zealand's King of Crime.

Acacia Pines, USA. Sheriff Logan's life is falling apart – his father accidently burned down the retirement home, his wife has moved out, and his son is bullying other kids at school.

When high-school student, Ben Connor, is abducted, Logan sees a chance to get his life back on track – to win back his wife and scoop the reward money offered for Ben's safe return.

But as the body count rises, it becomes clear that Logan's going to have to make the kind of decision from which there's no coming back … a decision with deadly consequences…

How far would you go to protect a dead man?

It’s the year 2000 in Dublin and, following some traumatic events, Detective Bunny McGarry is taking a well-earned break from the force. However, just because you’re not looking for trouble doesn’t mean trouble isn’t looking for you.

Bunny’s former partner died in the line of duty under dubious circumstances but his murky background has suddenly resurfaced, threatening Bunny’s reputation as well. As if that isn’t enough, a young boy is in danger and a woman from the big fella’s past is trapped in a loveless marriage to a monster. They both need Bunny’s help, but he must get to work fast – it seems someone is trying to frame him for murder …

The chin tattoo confirms the victim is Maori. The whorls of ink from her lower lip to her chin—the moko, is worn only by Maori women. So, her ethnicity is a given. Finding who murdered Huia Coburn, and dumped her body in the volcanic rock pool at the base of Mason’s Rock waterfall has now fallen to DI Nyree Bradshaw.

From the strangely unsympathetic parents, to the belligerent boyfriend on home detention for drugs, it seems everyone has something to hide and no one is telling the truth.

Then Nyree discovers six-year-old diabetic, Lily Holmes is missing, last seen in the victim's care. Now, Nyree must now find the killer to save Lily.

She has already failed her own son. She cannot fail this child.

Four teenage boys invent a sex game based on rolling dice and doing what the numbers say.

They are charged with multiple sexual offences against three teenage girls.

Twelve random jurors are brought together in a trial to work out what actually happened.

Only they can say whether crimes have been committed and who should be punished.

How does the jury find?

Dice is a stunning courtroom drama told from the perspective of a diverse group of ordinary people - the jury. How will twelve women and men, aged from eighteen to seventy-two with hugely disparate backgrounds, beliefs and experience, decide whether consent was given or crimes were committed?

How can they possibly arrive at a unanimous verdict? How will justice be properly served?

A woman wants her errant husband tracked, an undocumented Cambodian girl is found dead, the city’s two biggest criminal societies vie for power, a loan shark wants his money back, and a corrupt cop is pulling strings from the shadows. It’s just another day in Hong Kong.

Former cop Galahad Jones’ struggling business as a private investigator was on life-support. With no friends to speak of and a gambling debt that, if called in, could see him floating face down in Hong Kong harbour, things weren’t good.

Reluctantly taking a job to investigate a cheating husband, Galahad is suddenly catapulted into the deadly world of Hong Kong’s criminal underbelly. Conspiracy and betrayal reign as he finds himself in a life and death chase through the mean streets of Kowloon and The Island to bring down a human trafficking ring and, hopefully, keep his head on his shoulders in the process.

With the help of his apprentice, Joey Loh, and mysterious girlfriend Angel Yeung, Galahad must confront his past, Hong Kong triads and official corruption to free the girls and clear his murdered father’s name. Dark forces are arrayed against him and Galahad is never quite sure who is friend and who is foe.

One thing is for certain... Galahad Jones will do whatever it takes, no matter the personal cost.

An imposition. An insult. And a dead poet.

When the Literary and Historical Society decide to hold their end of year event at Wingate Hall, it's the last thing Emma needs.

With her husband missing in action and the weather worsening, she's forced to face the group alone. They arrive with all their airs and prejudice, a rotten cohort determined to feast on the rumours of her former life.But an unexpected blizzard traps them at the Hall, and one of the guests will not survive the night.

With no way to summon help, and no one able to leave, it seems the killer is still in the house.

Someone disconnected the internet and cut off their remaining communication.

Others are keeping damaging secrets.

One is burning with fury, another plotting revenge.

Three are not who they pretend to be, and one is a stealer of dreams.

Emma must find the killer.Because they haven't finished yet.

So many people had reason to hate her, but did anyone have reason to kill her?

Everyone dies famous in a country town, but glamorous Vanessa Walton was a shining star. A celebrity since a television commercial when she was a child, Vanessa is back on the front page for all the wrong reasons; after a terrible storm she has been found dead at the bottom of her stairs.

At first her death seems to be a simple accident, but anonymous letters are discovered that suggest otherwise – and when 16-year-old Jasmine Landridge claims it is murder, she suddenly disappears. As the police begin to investigate, secrets are exposed and friendships unravel. 

What happens to a community when murders and abductions sit alongside petty workmates, teenage tribulations and longstanding friendships? It will take a town to solve this crime, but what will be broken in the effort to piece together the truth?

Two spies and a private eye are asked to protect a social media influencer. What could possibly go wrong? Crockett, Ben, and Ronnie reluctantly accept an off-book mission from the Australians. They’re tasked with protecting a young social media influencer with an exceptional memory and to escort her safely to court to testify. Crockett has an extra job on his list; he’s supposed to recruit the woman for his intelligence agency but he’s not sure that is wise, or that the woman will be able to transition from ‘social media influencer’ to a career within the intelligence community. The more time they spend with ‘Alex the influencer’ the less she seems suited to anything except taking selfies and tantrums. The more time they spend with ‘Alex the influencer’ the more they suspect something is off about Alex. If that isn’t enough, Ronnie’s cousin Donald suspects something dreadful has happened to their neighbours and manages to drag Nana and the Cronies of Doom into his conspiracy theory, despite Ronnie’s many misgivings. Meanwhile, the team navigates through dangerous situations arising from an unknown number of assailants, raising the stakes with each passing moment. Will they be able to protect Alex and uncover the truth before it's too late?

Populist political parties are increasing their influence across the world. It couldn’t happen in New Zealand, could it?

Journalist Grace Marks is investigating two unrelated stories – New Zealand’s alt-right, and the emergence of a new organisation, ProtectNZ. When she finds ‘dead man’s hand’ stuck to her front door with a knife, it’s obvious she’s ruffling some feathers.

Hiding in New Zealand after a mission went sour, former US agent Marla Simmons learns Grace is in danger and wants to help, but finding out who’s orchestrating the threats won’t be easy.

The two stories collide as Grace and Marla’s investigations deepen. When a body is found, the question is not only who killed them and why, but who
was the victim?

As the ProtectNZ juggernaut steamrolls towards the election, Grace and Marla race to expose those pulling the strings. The voting public need to know the truth.