Allen Unwin imprint: 1774 books

Coco is the well-respected, if somewhat easily startled, Chief of Police in Buenos Aires. Alberta is his more sensible cousin. Together they crack the cases that confound this puzzling city. Coco Carlomagno is trying to avert a national disaster. La Bella Cucharita, the highly strung world-famous...

'A narrow, vertical painting, tightly enclosing the scene. Her pale arm and her pale thigh. Viewed at a diagonal through an exceedingly tall doorway. just a glimpse of something.' An ageing portrait artist meets a woman who unsettles him, yet inspires him to paint her. Reluctantly, at first,...

When her Maltese love affair turns sour, Lara McDonald returns to her quiet Scottish hometown of Fairview heartbroken, yet determined - instead of looking for another PR position, she decides to follow her dream of baking. She impulsively takes the first job offered and finds herself working for local...

Even before all this happened I had never been like the other kids. I tried not to be seen. If I climbed a tree or hid among the bins, no one could find me. 'Where's What's His Name?' they'd say. Then, one weekend, I got what I wanted. First, I blended in with things. But on the second day...

*'Open your eyes. We will not hurt you.' The boy quietens; his eyes open. 'Where are you from?' The boy stares at them both; then says, 'Who will you tell?'* Shahana lives alone with her young brother in the shadow of the Line of Control, the border patrolled by Pakistani...

Alexandra Wheatfield, a young journalist, has come to work in the Australian Embassy in Djakarta at a time of chaotic change: the coup of 1965 has been crushed, but the Indonesian Army has not yet overthrown the revered President Sukarno. Sukarno has warned that without him the people will...

How would you feel, as a guest, about sitting in a suburban living room that is for women only? What if you wanted a baby but as a single woman could not have one outside of a marriage? Could you stay home to mourn a husband for four months and ten days? Headstrong Daughters takes us inside...

The sequel to the hilarious yet poignant The Whole Business with Kiffo and the Pitbull . Laugh-out-loud humour with a strong beating heart and a sting in the tail. Calma Harrison is in love. Not just with herself, but also with the handsome checkout guy at Crazi-Cheep. But when Calma gets a job at...

The forest is dense and dark. And the trail full of unexpected perils. The dog can't move. The boy can't talk. And you won't know why. Or where you are going. You will put this story down not wanting the journey to end. But it's from Paul Jennings so watch out for the ambush. One of the best. From one of the best.

'He transforms the smallest everyday item, a winter coat or holiday gravy, into talismans of redemption and loss, with simple, unadorned language.' - Daren Wang, Paste Magazine 'Kelly remains one of the country's most important artists, a songsmith able to condense epics into perfect four-minute...

Simone Kirsch, ex-stripper, sleuth and bad girl, is back in business - and before she has time to crack a bottle of cheap champagne to celebrate the opening of her very own detective agency, she's up to her neck in lethal fun and games. It all starts off quite innocently, when a best-selling...

Black Juice is a book of breathtaking stories that defy boundaries. They are dazzling, ruthless, tender, fierce, unique - ten deeply moving stories from an exceptional author. 'A good short story, a really good one, is deceptively difficult to write. Which is why Black Juice is such an outstanding...

Mel's life is totally out of sync, at school, at home, everywhere. Pug is the only good thing - loving him, in his untidy room scented and shadowed with frangipani, she finds passionate fulfilment. But his world is so different from hers - can they possibly make it together? And can she let him in...

'Children between the ages of twelve and 25 find parents embarrassing 95 per cent of the time. Any younger and they're so uncritical they think you look good in swimmers. Any older and they drop in just long enough to leave their laundry and borrow 50. If you want to embarrass your kids you have to...