Looking for your next page-turner? This April, HQ brings a spectacular lineup of new book releases that are sure to ignite your imagination and keep you hooked. From gripping historical dramas to twisty thrillers, heartwarming journeys, epic fantasy adventures, and laugh-out-loud mysteries, there’s something here to captivate every reader.
Whether you’re longing to escape into the trenches of World War I, unravel dark family secrets, hike the enchanting Isle of Skye, or explore the glamour and intrigue of pre-war Europe, these stories promise to sweep you away.
Get ready to discover fresh voices, unforgettable characters, and tales that linger long after the final page!
The Surgeon of Royaumont by Susan Neuhaus
A young Australian woman on the battlefields of World War I finds her calling through her work as a surgeon – and her legacy in compassion. Based on real-life characters and events this thought-provoking novel is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit amidst the ravages of war.
As one of only a handful of female medical graduates working at the Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Clara Heywood refuses to be denied the chance to become a surgeon because of her sex. As her male colleagues, including her unofficial fiance Edward, head off to war, Clara grapples with a sense of her own unfulfilled purpose. In defiance of her own family and all convention, she leaves for France to work at the Scottish Women’s Hospital at Royaumont Abbey, a hospital managed entirely by women on the Western Front.
There, under the tutelage of Miss Frances Ivens, Clara is thrust into the brutal realities of war, the technical intricacies of surgery and the profound ethical and emotional toll it exacts. Surgery tests not only her skills but her values and Clara discovers that her greatest adversaries are not the wounds of war but the internal conflicts that shape her understanding of humanity, and the heavy burden of her own ambition.
Clara’s journey transcends the confines of history, embodying the timeless struggle for identity, purpose, and humanity amidst the horrors of war, and bringing to light the courage and sacrifice of women.
The Stranger at the Table by Cassie Hamer
A family gathering, but not everyone who sits down to dinner will survive it. Poisonous lies, family secrets, addiction and revenge – always a dish best served cold – are all on the menu. For readers of Sally Hepworth, Jo Dixon and Ali Lowe, this twisty domestic suspense holds you captive from its gripping beginning to its shocking denouement.
Maz Antonio has spent the last two years in prison so is determined to make the first major family gathering in their new home deep in Australian suburbia as perfect as possible. She owes it to everyone after the terrible mistakes she’s made … mistakes for which she will always be trying to atone. This special lunch is her chance to make things right for her husband and children, to show everyone that she can maintain her sobriety, that things can go back to normal. (Whatever normal looks like when you have traumatic, confusing flashbacks of that fateful day where two innocent lives were lost.)
Her sister, Elli, is in. So is her husband’s brother. Her distant father-in-law is gracing them with his presence and her mum Margaret is on the way from Newcastle, bringing a colleague – a virtual stranger she impulsively invited.
But is this man really a stranger? Or could it be that he is intimately connected to the past that Maz has so desperately been trying to put behind her – a past that’s about to explode across the dinner table in the deadliest of ways…
Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley
Scot on the trail!
Ghostwriter Brooke Sinclair longs to see her own name in print someday. After spending her career behind the scenes, her opportunity arises when her college mentor, Mhairi McCallister, summons Brooke back to Edinburgh University on an important request: Mhairi needs someone to complete her memoir. Brooke is reluctant — she was expelled from the university thanks to her ex-boyfriend — but for Mhairi, Brooke can’t say no. Unfortunately, agreeing to write the memoir means heading on a field research trip with said ex: Jack Sutherland, the man who blew up Brooke’s academic career.
Jack was never meant for the family business, The Heart of the Highlands tour company — he’s not a storyteller like his brother Logan, or even like Brooke. His TA position — secured for him by Aunt Mhairi — was meant to set him on a more structured path. But eventually Jack cut out on his own to be a nature photographer. Mhairi knows her nephew’s photography will bring her memoir to life, and paired with Brooke’s writing, the book is sure to come together quickly.
And it has to, because Mhairi is terminally ill. And Jack is sworn to secrecy about it.
As Jack and Brooke embark on the 80-mile hike on the Isle of Skye, their tenuous trust in each other will be tested, both by nature and each other. Past and present secrets need to be reckoned with, and when the elements make the couple vulnerable, they could be pushed to produce their best work yet.
Enemy of My Dreams by Jenny Williamson
In the last days of the Roman Empire, a desperate princess and a brutal Gothic warlord forge a dangerous alliance.
Julia, only daughter of the emperor of Rome, lives a life of excess and freedom. Wine, philosophy, and scandal — she revels in hedonism. But when her father dies and her teenage brother takes the throne, he will stop at nothing to seize control of both the empire and his wayward sister. And now Alaric of the Visigoths, a ferocious warrior who has battled Rome for years, has come to the capital to bargain for his homeland.
When Julia rebels against the marriage her brother has ordered her to accept, he responds by publicly punishing her lover in the Colosseum. Realising how perilous her position is, Julia impulsively turns to Alaric — the empire’s sworn enemy, and the one man who can make Rome tremble. Julia must find a way to make an ally of Alaric, a man she can’t trust—a terrifying warlord with the power to bring both Julia and the empire to their knees — in an edgy, sexy cat-and-mouse game of attraction, defiance, and lust.
Right Way Up by Fiona McCallum
When plans are upended, who can turn them the right way up?
A heartwarming, wise and tender novel about life’s twists and turns and figuring out what really matters, from Australian bestselling author Fiona McCallum.
Kind-hearted and practical psychologist Colin Palmer has spent decades helping his clients. Now he’s under pressure to retire and hit the road in a new caravan with his wife Joyce.
However, when Joyce abruptly heads off on her own adventure, Colin’s perfectly ordered world is flipped upside down. He’s left grappling to make sense of their marriage, who he is and what he wants.
Enter no-nonsense, blunt, firecracker ex-nurse Shirley Royal! Recently widowed, Shirley is also searching for meaning after losing the bedrock of her existence. She’s ripe for a new project and Colin might just be it!
But just when Colin’s future appears bright and assured, thanks to Shirley’s friendship, Joyce tumbles back into his world. How will he now navigate a path between his old life and new?
Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist, this sweeping novel of identity and self-discovery takes readers from 1937 Bombay to Istanbul, Prague, Florence, Paris and London to uncover the mystery behind a famous painter’s death.
When renowned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she’s expected to make a quick recovery, and her nurse, Sona, is excited to learn more about the vivacious artist who shares her half-Indian identity. Sona, yearning for a larger life, finds herself carried away by Mira’s stories of her travels and exploits and is shocked by accounts of the many lovers the painter has left scattered throughout Europe. When Mira dies quite suddenly and mysteriously, Sona falls under suspicion, and her quiet life is upended.
The key to proving Sona’s innocence may lie in a cryptic note and four paintings Mira left in her care, sending the young woman on a mission to visit the painter’s former friends and lovers across a tumultuous Europe teetering toward war. On the precipice of discovering her own identity, Sona learns that the painter’s charming facade hid a far more complicated, troubled soul.
In her first stand-alone novel since her bestselling debut, The Henna Artist, Alka Joshi uses the life of painter Amrita Sher-Gil, the ‘Frida Kahlo of India’, as inspiration for the story’s beginning to explore how far we’ll travel to determine where we truly belong.
When Shadows Fall by Neill Lancaster
A TRAGIC DEATH
When the body of Leanne Wilson is found at the bottom of a Scottish mountain, it is classified as a tragic accident. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise.
A RISING BODY COUNT
Then DS Max Craigie discovers that five other women in the last year have died by falling off mountains, and something feels very wrong. They were all experienced climbers and alone when they died. This can only mean one thing: there’s a killer on the loose.
A KILLER IN THE SHADOWS
The more Max investigates, the more he believes that they are dealing with something much bigger than a lone serial killer. With five victims and conflicting clues, how do you catch someone committing the perfect crime?
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man by Jesse Sutanto
Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?
Vera Wong is perfectly content as a teashop owner. She is definitely not seeking opportunities for amateur sleuthing. But what else is she to do when a distressed woman called Millie asks for her help?
Okay, perhaps Vera wheedled the story out of her. And maybe the case file for Millie’s missing friend Thomas didn’t exactly fall into her lap. Everyone knows a locked briefcase is just asking to be opened by someone handy with a hairpin.
Not even the aroma of chrysanthemum tea can stop Vera from catching the scent of this mystery. However dangerous it is, Vera intends to uncover the truth in the only way that this Chinese mother knows how: by spilling the tea.
Knives Out meets Kim’s Convenience for anyone who loves solving mysteries by Richard Osman and Janice Hallett, and watching Death in Paradise and Marlow Murder Club.
Igniting Fate by Jean Louise
This epic sequel to Waking Fire follows a girl forced to leave home for the first time to confront her destiny — and the ancient evil dragon god set to destroy the world. Perfect for fans of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and We Hunt the Flame.
Naira Khoum’s life used to be simple and easy in her quiet village hidden beyond the desert. But with the ruthless warlord Sothpike at her doorstep, Naira has no choice but to leave home for the first time in search of the mysterious nomad Gamikal, the only person who can help her understand the strange powers that have awakened inside her. But doing so means parting ways with her twin brother, Nez, and her love, Kal.
But finding Gamikal is only the beginning. He tells Naira of Sothpike’s plan to resurrect the evil dragon god Ergenegon from the godfire where he’s been trapped for centuries. Only Naira has the power to stop him, but before they can reach the godfire, they’re captured by Sothpike’s army, led by his son, Ashoka.
As Naira travels with the army, she learns that Ashoka is nothing like his father — in fact, he’s been slowly building support in an effort to end the war, and with Naira’s help, they might have a chance. With growing feelings between them, Naira finally learns what her true destiny is — to enter the godfire and emerge as a dragon. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, will Naira find the courage to walk into the flames of her fate?