Fine Music Radio | Book Choice | Episode 1

A lioness will kill to protect her own. The thrilling new adventure by Tony Park.

Ex-mercenary Sonja Kurtz is out for revenge after her daughter Emma is assaulted by an abalone poacher while on a beachside holiday near Cape Town.

When the poacher is murdered, Sonja is targeted by a violent local gangster and must flee the country.

As Sonja leaves a trail of destruction in her wake – from the threatened wilderness of Zimbabwe to the treacherous beaches of northern Mozambique – a concerned Emma must find the courage to rescue her mother.

But is Sonja a cold-blooded killer? Or is there a darker conspiracy taking place in southern Africa’s underworld – one that will change their lives forever?

In 2012, retired South African general Johan Jooste was parachuted into the seemingly unwinnable war against rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park. With poaching spiralling out of control, Jooste was given the mandate to ‘go military’, to convert Kruger’s ranger corps into a paramilitary force capable of taking the fight to the poachers. Aged 60, white, and a veteran with 35 years’ military service, Jooste’s controversial appointment was immediately met with resentment and outright hostility by elements of South African National Parks, the police, and even the military with which he had served. With the media, government, conservationists, human-rights activists and the people of South Africa looking over his shoulder, Jooste had to battle opponents within and without to carry out his strategy for turning the tide on rhino poaching.

Rhino War tells how Jooste, facing an unprecedented assault on a national park and a single species, turned a force of demoralised men and women into arguably the finest anti-poaching unit on the African continent. Told through his eyes, these stories of the courage and grit of rangers who risked their lives to protect wildlife in the face of a wily and determined foe are an account of heroism, sacrifice and determination. Humbly, honestly and decisively, Jooste tells of the successes and failures of his bold strategy, and shares his vision for the future.

'Baldacci is the master of American detective stories' – Jeffrey Archer, author of Nothing Ventured

Private Investigator and WWII veteran, Aloysius Archer, returns to solve a new case in Hollywood in Dream Town, a riveting thriller from international number 1 bestselling author, David Baldacci.

*****

All that glitters . . .
1952, Los Angeles. It is New Year’s Eve and PI Aloysius Archer is dining with his friend and rising Hollywood actress Liberty Callahan when they’re approached by Eleanor Lamb, a screenwriter who would like to hire him, as she suspects someone is trying to kill her.

Murder and mystery
A visit to Lamb’s Malibu residence leaves Archer knocked unconscious after he stumbles over a dead body in the hallway – and Lamb seems to have vanished. With the police now involved in the case, a close friend and colleague of Lamb’s employs Archer to find out what has happened to the screenwriter.

The City of Angels – or somewhere much, much darker?
Archer’s investigation takes him from the rich, glamorous and glitzy LA to the seedy, dark side of the city, and onward to the gambling mecca of Las Vegas, just now hitting its stride as a hot spot for celebrities and a money-making machine for the mob. In a place where cops and crooks work hand in hand, Archer will cross paths with Hollywood stars, politicians and notorious criminals. He’ll almost die several times, and he’ll discover bodies and secrets – from the canyons and beaches of Malibu and the luxurious mansions of Bel Air and Beverly Hills, to the narcotics clubs of Chinatown.

With the help of Liberty and his PI partner Willie Dash, Archer will risk everything and leave no stone unturned to find the missing Eleanor Lamb – and in bringing justice to killers who would love nothing better than to plant Archer six feet under.

Although the Aloysius Archer novels can be read in any order, Dream Town is the third thriller in the series, following One Good Deed and A Gambling Man.

Enjoy more of Baldacci's enthralling writing with To Die For, the electrifying Travis Devine thriller.

*****

KILLER TWISTS. HEROES TO BELIEVE IN. TRUST BALDACCI.

'One of the world's thriller masters' - Daily Mail

'Baldacci is still peerless' - Sunday Times

'One of the all-time best thriller authors' - Lisa Gardner

'Baldacci delivers, every time!' - Lisa Scottoline

'A master storyteller' - Associated Press

'Baldacci cuts everyone's grass - Grisham's, Ludlum's, even Patricia Cornwell's - and more than gets away with it' - People

An all-consuming tale of psychological suspense with a spectacular twist, inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None

From Alice Feeney, the internationally bestselling author of His and Hers, soon to be a major TV series produced by Jessica Chastain.

'Clever, compelling, confounding and absolutely delicious' – Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of None of This is True

'I devoured this in record time because I had to know what happened next. Alice Feeney is one of my absolute favourites' – Samantha Downing, author of My Lovely Wife

Isolated on their private island in Cornwall, the Darker family have come together for the first time in over a decade. When the tide comes in, they'll be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours. When the tide goes back out, nothing will ever be the same again. Nothing – because one of the family is a killer . . .

As the leaves of autumn fall, Daisy Darker arrives at her grandmother’s house for eightieth birthday celebrations. Seaglass, the Darker’s ancestral home, is a crumbling Cornish house perched upon its own tiny private island.

Every member of the family has their secrets. Nana, alone for so long. Daisy's absent father, Frank. Her cold-hearted mother, Nancy. Her siblings, Rose and Lily, and her niece, Trixie, full of questions and without a father of her own. Daisy has never had an easy relationship with her family, but some secrets are much darker than others. This will be a gathering that some of them won't remember.

'I was on the edge of my seat the whole time' – Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones and the Six
Readers love Daisy Darker
'I devoured this in one day and to say it's amazing is an understatement'
'This book might have been a psychological thriller, but it had me crying at the end'
'If you love Agatha Christie you will love this book'
'OMG WHAT A STORY. I just had to keep on reading'
'This book is FANTASTIC! I know it’s one that I WILL re-read'

*Winner of the 2023 NIHSS Best Fiction Novel Award.

A gripping saga of identity, love, and betrayal set against the turbulent backdrop of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle.

An Angel's Demise is an epic tale that explores a contested legacy and the heartrending destiny of a family. The story begins in 1977 on a farm in Somabhula with the birth of Angel. The farm is run by Paul Williams, an outwardly harsh and bigoted man who holds the livelihoods of many in his hands.

When Angel's parents join the liberation struggle, she is left in the care of her grandmothers, who have been in service to the Williams family for generations. Angel grows up on the farm over three momentous decades that see a convoluted past and inheritance unfold into an equally complicated present. Through her, we witness a woman's quest to unearth her identity and assert her independence. In the process of self-discovery, Angel realizes that sometimes you need to be uprooted before you can grow.

Sue Nyathi's fourth novel is a gripping story infused with spirituality. It recounts an explosive tale of love, war, bloody massacre, and betrayal that encompasses a harrowing history, the cruel caprice of politics, gender-based violence, and what happens when ordinary people get caught up in lies. An Angel's Demise is a thought-provoking page-turner that will resonate long after the final page.