The Latest in Crime Fiction & Sci-Fi/Fantasy

John's Pick

The Van Apfel Girls are Gone | Felicity McLean | $ 32.99 | HarperCollins |

We were blessed to launch Felicity McLean’s superb and captivating debut novel (her ghost-writing past having put her in good stead). A mysterious, gothic and blackly humorous interweaving of memory and childhood trauma, with Tikka, the marvellous child narrator, struggling with doubt and the lingering unanswered questions about the Van Apfel girls’ disappearance. It’s Jasper Jones meets Picnic at Hanging Rock. Perfect for book clubs.

John's Pick

Eight Lives | Susan Hurley | $29.99 | Affirm Press |

A cultured and gripping thriller that keeps you on edge till the very last. Based on a real life drug trial that ended in catastrophe, Eight Lives explores the mystifying death of David Tran, a former refugee and so-called ‘Golden Boy’ of Australian immunology who had discovered a drug that could change medicine. The story is told by David’s friends, family and colleagues, but all have different motivations and none of them have all the facts. A classy and highly addictive read.

Olivia's Pick

Gingerbread | Helen Oyeyemi | $29.99 | Pan Macmillan |

While Gingerbread takes its inspiration from many familiar fairy-tales (have you ever before realised just how many of them feature gingerbread, and what that might mean?), Oyeyemi skillfully twists her new novel into a masterpiece of unsettling excellence that gestures towards its roots through allegory and magic realism. Embrace Oyeyemi’s wit and hyperreality and be rewarded with a wonderfully written, transporting novel about a mother and daughter and their family legacy.