AustLit

'London 1852: Following a disastrous duel, John Farrington has lost everything – his army commission, his reputation, and the love of his life. When he becomes the target of a powerful, vengeful family he is forced to run, boarding a ship bound for Australia. 

'Hong Kong 1853: Master Feng, operatic impresario accused of treason, flees with his star performer, 'The Emperor’s Nightingale'. Fate places them aboard a Yankee clipper ship to the great continent in the south. 

'Melbourne 1853: From humble beginnings, Cate Shearley is determined to make a prosperous life for herself and her son Jack, and has built up an enviable business as proprietor of the Golden Sheaf Hotel and Shearley’s Variety Theatre. When her shows have the crowds flocking in, Cate realises there is even more money to be made entertaining the gold-rich miners of Ballarat. 

'But as Shearley’s Travelling Variety Show sets off for the goldfields, two in the troupe have ruthless enemies in pursuit. And their world will explode at the Eureka diggings, where the fuse of revolution has already been lit . . . ' (Publication summary)
 

'From Hong Kong's glittering mansions to its shady opium divans, from its wealthy elite to its brutal triad societies, from warrior monks to merciless politicians, Scattered Monkeys is a heart-stopping, exhilarating thriller.

'Hong Kong, 1976. A family at war, an empire the prize . . .

'Brendan Murray arrives in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong in 1976 to serve in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. Despite five years' experience as a cop in Australia, he discovers he has much to learn, especially when faced with three formidable women linked by both business and blood . . .

'Jenny Woo, once a street urchin and now the owner of an infamous nightclub, seeks Brendan's friendship – something that does not go unnoticed by his scheming superiors in search of a high-level informant...

'Kwan Su-lin, a dedicated doctor who suffered horrifically at the hands of MaoTse-tung's infamous Red Guard, has allowed her remarkable martial arts skills to lie dormant. Until

now . . .

'Georgina Merchant, CEO of the most powerful company in Asia, a striking beauty, a ruthless adversary, a woman not to be crossed...

'When the mighty Merchant Corporation comes under threat, Brendan and his colleagues in the RHKP are drawn into a web of intrigue, with the stakes climbing higher at every turn.' (Publication summary)

'There can only be one winner in a battle. A truce, the Chinese say, merely delays the inevitable. In Korea, two brothers fight on opposing sides in a war where black-market profiteering is rife, and patriotism and honour have lost their meanings. When they depart the battlefield, one is a hero, the other a traitor. One brother, General Lee Kwan Man-hop, returns to the volatile political climate of Beijing and an uncertain future in the communist Peoples Republic of China. The other, Wing Commander James Merchant RAF, goes home to Hong Kong to restore a family business. Through China's turbulent years of the 1950s and '60s, Lee Kwan fights to protect his family from brutal oppression, while in Hong Kong, James Merchant's family empire is in danger of disintegrating. Strong women, the lovers of powerful men, join in the fight for its preservation, and indeed their own, as the Noble House of Merchant becomes a house divided. A house plagued with treachery and haunted by tales of a long-lost fortune in gold, supposedly the bequest of an illegal, secret, triad society. From the Korean War to the Cultural Revolution, Two Tigers, One Mountain is the long-awaited sequel to The Time of the Dragons and a dramatic story of a family dynasty on a violent course to destruction. From Hong Kong to London; from the foreign embassies of war-torn Seoul to the far-east elegance of Singapore; from the narrow lanes of Beijing slums, to the famous banking houses of Geneva, Two Tigers, One Mountain, like an opiate dream, is a fabulous tale of the Orient.'

Source : publication summary

'For the first time in 3,000 years no emperor sits on the Dragon Throne. China is a seething cauldron of vice and corruption. Soon the Japanese will invade, and China will bleed like never before. In the eye of the storm sits the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, jewel of the South China Sea.Like Hong Kong itself, Inspector Richard Brewster, an idealistic young Englishman, struggles to survive in the maelstrom of war and political upheaval that is China in the 1920s and 30s.Pirates and triad societies risk the wrath of the Kuo Min Tang army in a murderous hunt for a fabled treasure. Within the very ranks of the Hong Kong Police Force itself, desperate young men form a triad for their mutual protection. The illegal secret society becomes a malevolent dragon, spreading its wings to cast a shadow of evil across half the world.From the pirate enclaves of the South China Sea to the opulent mansions of Victoria Peak; from the Japanese invasion of Shanghai to the vicious aerial combat of the Battle of Britain; Richard Brewster's life spins out of control in a world of passion, corruption and intrigue.Between the World Wars was a time of great social change… it was a time of violence and political upheaval… it was… The Time of the Dragons.' (Publication summary)

'There's trouble out there as I speak made up of wind and dust. It howls around the homesteads and rain tanks gone to rust. The animals are dying, all choked up with flies and sand. And though the folks aren't saying much, they need a helping hand... So spare a thought next time you're driving down a country road. For all those sunburnt people out there carrying the load. Stop and listen for a second and I'll bet your pulse starts racing. That's the spirit of the bush my friend, the heartland of our nation.'

'Bruce Venables, author, actor, entertainer and popular Australia Day ambassador, has long been delighting crowds with performances of his poetry, written under the pen name of 'The Larrikin'. Patriotic, funny, sentimental and heartfelt, his verse pays tribute to the Australian spirit and sense of humour, celebrating such iconic subjects as The Bush, The City, War and Remembrance and Sport. Collected in print for the first time due to popular demand, a percentage of proceeds from sales of THE SPIRIT OF THE BUSH will go towards Paula Duncan's Wayside Chapel Drought Appeal.'

Source : publication summary

'Policemen Robin Decker and John Little begin to realize that they are probably the only two honest cops left in the force. The corruption goes all the way to the top. Decker comes up with a plan while Little becomes increasingly concerned for their safety as they begin to turn up the heat and shake the tree.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 28/1/2014)