Kirjahaku

In 1914, the serene city of Hobart is almost as far as it is possible to be from the war clouds that have gathered over Europe, as the kings and emperors of waning European powers seek to extend nineteenth century military and political ideas into a mechanised technological new century.Australia is a modern country, by comparison. Women have had the vote since the turn of the century and ancient European notions of a ruling class are regarded almost with derision. Nevertheless, young men are rushing to enlist for the 'adventure' of World War I - as much as for 'King and Country.'To a respectable Hobart family a gift box is delivered. It is a lethal bomb that kills or maims several family members. This act of extreme violence leads to a story of murders and intrigues that take the reader on a compelling journey through the battlefields of Europe to a final reckoning back home in Australia.Tasmanian master storyteller, Craig A. Godfrey engages the reader from the opening scenes to the denouement...

Prisoners of Fate - a corrupt magistrate, an underhand curator, a cat burglar to the rich, rival madams, a cheating husband, his tempestuous wife, art thieves and a psychopath eke out an existence in 1990s Hobart. All are ambitious, most are a step away from incarceration. A step in front of a fiercely competent female detective distracted by her colleague and suitor. Life was never meant to be easy.Some doors unlock. Others close. Corridors darken and the pits of Hell yawn open as the lives of this rogues' gallery inexplicably entwine.No one is above the law. Or are they?Tasmania's master storyteller has assembled an eclectic cast of characters, each with their own skeleton's rattling in their closets. Bad is not evil, lies are better than the truth, crime does pay, sometimes ...But in the end ...Well, all hell breaks loose.

The Vatican Ruby is a gripping story of determination. Determination to uncover the mystery surrounding rare and valuable Vatican relics stolen in 1812. A treasure eventually hidden and abandoned in the wilderness of a wild and mostly unexplored coastline on an island in the east Indian Ocean.

The modern part of the story begins in Hobart, Tasmania through a chance discovery at a home auction. Hidden in a nondescript and decrepit shed are what at first appear to be valuable antiquities but are revealed to be high-end forgeries. In parallel, the ancient part of the story begins with the eruption of Mt Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii.Archaeological adventurers Jameson Rowley and Elspeth Poole arrive in Italy, drawn by their passion for history and the hint of mystery surrounding the forged artifacts.The story brilliantly draws the reader into the lucrative and often criminally-violent trade in black market antiquities.While modern day Vesuvius threatens Naples, for the first time in 74 years, the investigation takes them from Pompeii to Venice to Poveglia Island-an island once used to quarantine plague victims and the insane-an island where the 'sandhills' are actually powdered human bones-an island where arch-criminal Cambino and his ruthless female accomplice Drishya have established an elaborately-concealed headquarters.An island many think, with good reason, is haunted.The different parts of the story are linked by a metaphorical bronze thread. The Lance of Destiny. The lance said to have pierced the side of Jesus of Nazareth-a lance said to have supernatural powers.

Sailing in the wake of his father Captain Jonathon Bourke, Senior-a no nonsense seafarer and adventurer-Jonathon Bourke sails into a storm of trouble, started by seducing the wife of the self-important, arrogant French Ambassador to the South Pacific, Monsieur Du Bellay. But avoiding the diplomat was not an easy task, especially when the Frenchman hears word that Bourke is on the trail of a rare and extremely valuable pearl known as the Tear of the Eclipse, stolen from Tahiti by Captain James Cook's crew back in 1777.In the search for the pearl, Bourke spends time behind bars at the famed Isle of Pines prison, escaping during a devastating cyclone.And whilst the ambassador is not as honest as his position demands, with nefarious contacts in Australia and assisting with the sale of illegal contraband, Bourke and his crew have been smuggling home distilled rum to America during prohibition, angering the Americans.The scene is set for explosive action on the high seas. In the short period Bourke manages to allude the Frenchman, he falls madly in love with a beautiful islander, Kimtasu, the daughter of chief Moimango. And while saving the island's population from a catastrophic volcano eruption, he almost loses his life in the pursuit of the priceless pearl.

The Novelist is the story of Charlotte Clarke, journalist, writer and fictional daughter of the 19th century novelist, Marcus Clarke, whose most popular work is For the Term of His Natural Life.Charlotte challenges herself to write a sequel to her father's celebrated book, twisting her father's ending to suit her beginning-where protagonists Rufus Dawes and Sylvia Vickers survive a supposedly fatal ending in a shipwreck.As a natural sleuth, Charlotte investigates-in the role of journalist for the newspaper-local crimes and their outcomes in court.This alone attracts unwanted company, often putting her life in danger.