Vikki Petraitis is the author of the best-selling true crime books "The Frankston Murders" and "The Phillip Island Murder" as well as a podcaster - making two highly successful podcasts with Case File Presents: series which have topped charts around the world and enjoyed millions of downloads. 

More recently, Vikki won the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime prize with her first work of fiction "The Unbelieved" (published earlier this year).

Devouring it from cover to cover, I understood why this manuscript took out the prize. 

Empowering, explosive, gritty and insightful, "The Unbelieved" is a novel that should be on everyone's must-read list. 

I was thrilled to have the chance to chat with Vikki about her remarkable book on the podcast earlier this year. 

Denise Picton's debut novel "The Family String" (Ultimo Press) is a poignant, beautifully written novel about a difficult mother-daughter relationship which explores mental health issues in the context of a faith that could not understand such issues along with the way children cope with family dynamics.

An uplifting, but at times heart-breaking novel capturing the unique, irrepressible voice of its 12 year-old protagonist Dorcas Wilson. 

I loved it and was delighted to welcome Denise to the podcast earlier this year. 

Mercedes Mercier is author of the electric debut novel "White Noise" published by HarperCollins Australia earlier this year.

Drawn from Mercedes' real-life experiences working in the Australian corrections system for almost a decade, "White Noise" is a triumph of a novel. 

I was utterly mesmerised by the world Mercedes created - exploring the ongoing effects of trauma and addiction and offering a chilling insight into the mind of a psychopath.  

A brilliant read for lovers of crime and psychological thrillers. 

Tune into the fabulous chat I recorded with Mercedes a little while back. 

Rachael Johns has been described as the 'undisputed queen of Australian women's fiction' and with a whopping 29 titles under her belt to date, I'm sure you'll agree it's an apt title. 

An award-winning author with her own online bookclub - membership of which has now reached some 5000 members - Rachael is a force to be reckoned with.  

I was more than a little delighted to have the chance to speak with Rachael ahead of the release of her new novel, 'The Work Wives' (HQ Fiction). 

A fun chat in which Rachael gives us some insight into her writing process and how she manages to pump out two titles a year, read voraciously as well as keep up with all her other work-related commitments. 

An episode not to miss!

Katharine Pollock's debut novel 'Her Fidelity' (published by Penguin) is a wonderfully insightful book that takes a humorous look at the record industry from the point of view of female retail worker.

A sharply-drawn snapshot of contemporary Australian society and exploration of what it means to be a woman working in a male-dominated industry, 'Her Fidelity' was funny and sobering at the same time. 

Highly recommended!

I welcomed Katharine to the podcast a little while back and had a fabulous, wide-ranging chat.

From the author of 'The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman' comes another warm and humorous story populated with a cast of delightful characters.  

Julietta Henderson's 'Sincerely, Me' (Penguin) is a brilliant, hopeful read that shines a light on families of all shapes and sizes along with the debilitating effects of grief.

Another must-read from a supremely talented writer.

I was simply delighted to have the chance to speak with Julietta on the podcast again. 

Petronella McGovern is a Sydney based author of three novels - all born of her fascination with people - what makes us tick, how we view the world and the lies we tell each other and ourselves.

She exploded onto the literary scene with her brilliant debut, Six Minutes in 2019 and quickly followed it up with The Good Teacher in 2020.

This year she’s back with another fabulous novel. A gripping, edge-of-your seat psychological suspense thriller that will have you flipping pages til the heart-stopping end.

Published by Allen & Unwin, this is a novel that truly showed Petronella’s penchant for story-telling with its rich, multi-layered narrative along with its cracking pace. 

A book that takes a deep dive into some of Australia’s tragic secrets…as well as the experience of being a teenager in today’s society and whether things ever really change from one generation to the next.

I was thrilled to welcome Petronella back to the podcast earlier this year. 

Victoria Purman is an Adelaide-based author whose books tend to be on the automatic-buy list for many readers - and with good reason. 

'The Nurses' War' is Victoria's latest novel - released earlier this year by HarperCollins Australia.  A stunning examination of the battle fought by Australian nurses against despair and death amid the carnage and bloodshed of World War 1.  

Such a compelling, insightful and poignant read, I simply had to chat with Victoria about it.

In 2013, British-Australian writer Lucy Christoper published her debut novel 'Stolen'. An award-winning YA novel, 'Stolen' is the story of 16 year-old Gemma Toombs who is kidnapped from Bangkok Airport and held captive in the Australian outback by her capture Tyler McFarlane. 

This year, the long-awaited companion to this incredible story was published by Text Publishing.  

'Release' explores Gemma's journey as an adult survivor and her quest to discover the truth about her complicated relationship with Ty. 

A gripping psychological thriller/court-room drama that had me utterly hooked from start to finish. 

Lucy and I enjoyed a wide-ranging, fascinating chat about this novel earlier this year.  

Early last year I chatted with debut novelist Greg Woodland about his thrilling crime novel, 'The Night Whistler' (Text Publishing).

I’d met Greg at a crime fiction festival the year before and heard about his book and how it was inspired by events from his own childhood.

Clearly I wasn't the only person who though this novel was terrific - since 'The Night Whistler' went on to be shortlisted for Best Debut Crime Fiction in the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards.

This year Greg is back with a sequel to that novel.

‘The Carnival Is Over’ picks up some years after the events in 'The Night Whistler'. And in a hair-raising, gripping rollercoaster ride, we are once more plunged into the rural town of Moorabool with Senior Constable Mick Goodenough, along with the now grown-up Hal and Allie, trying to solve a murder mystery and in the process uncovering some of the town’s deepest and darkest secrets.

I absolutely loved this book and was delighted to welcome Greg back to the podcast a while back.