The it’s-almost-Christmas giveaway #2

Emma Ashmere Dreams They Forgot

These are haunting short stories with their ghosts, betrayals and secrets, ranging back and forth across time.  A schoolteacher is dogged by the rattle of guns in the aftermath of World War I; a child sprouts potatoes beneath a Doomsday Clock in the family kitchen; a destitute young woman finds herself working for an abortionist in Adelaide’s North Terrace. There is loss, madness and prejudice, but also sly wit, determination and survival. You can read one of the stories from Dreams They Forgot here.

Courtesy of Wakefield Press

David Mitchell Utopia Avenue

The new novel from the author of the bestselling Cloud Atlas. Sixties British band Utopia Avenue released only two LPs during its brief and blazing journey from the clubs of Soho to Top of the Pops, glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome and a fateful American fortnight. It’s a tale of drugs, dreams, love, madness, grief, and fame’s Faustian pact.

Courtesy of Hachette Australia

Benjamin Stevenson Either Side of Midnight

At 9.01pm TV presenter Sam Midford delivers the monologue for his popular current affairs show Midnight Tonight, pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the head. Sam’s grief-stricken twin is convinced his brother was murdered. But how can that be, when one million viewers witnessed Sam pull the trigger?

‘A gripping, gritty thriller with an ingeniously shocking premise.’ – Liane Moriarty

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Leon Silver The Miracle Typist

A true story of love, loss and survival against the odds. Jewish soldier Tolek Klings has been conscripted into the Polish Army, but as Hitler’s forces invade Poland, he is faced with a terrible dilemma – to flee home to protect his family, and risk being shot as a deserter, or to remain a soldier, hoping reports that women and children are being spared by the occupying forces are true.

Courtesy of Simon & Schuster