Animals

Amanda Leduc’s dazzling new novel follows two walking, talking hyenas as they interact with humans over decades. Blurring the line between human and animal, these strange messengers reveal what is possible when the cages that contain us are broken.

K-9 officer Tarren McGregor never imagined that a cartel would find its way to Texas’s South Padre Island—or target his best friend’s sister. But when Julia Hamilton witnesses and prevents the kidnapping of a teen girl, Tarren knows that trouble is soon to follow. Because Julia didn’t just protect the girl—she saw the abductor’s face. Now she’s marked for murder, and it’s up to Tarren and his K-9 partner to keep Julia safe from the human traffickers in pursuit…even if it means putting themselves in the line of fire.

Mountain Country K-9 Unit Books 1-3 includes Baby Protection Mission, Her Duty Bound Defender, and Chasing Justice. Baby Protection Mission: When a baby is targeted, can a K-9 team keep him safe? Her Duty Bound Defender: Threatened and falsely accused…she’ll need this K-9’s protection. Chasing Justice: A man falsely accused…can a K-9 unit dig up the truth?

Based on the true story of a Dutch sea captain who traveled with an Indian rhinoceros called Clara across 18th century Europe, The Rhino Keeper evokes both the thrill of discovery in the archives and the wonder felt by a world in which no European had seen a living rhinoceros.

When Sherlock Holmes crosses paths with a small black cat, he rescues it from a vicious attack. He takes it home, because 221B Baker Street has become a sad and lonely place of late. John Watson recently abandoned him for some buxom cleavage, rouged lips and bouncy ringlets. In other words, a wife, of all things.

Ed and Wink are two friends in search of a good time. Drugs, trespass, the odd bit of petty theft, who’s going to mind? Burlow Farm is just another place ripe for the plucking. An easy target. But the friends are about to realise they are wholly unprepared for the horrors that lie in wait both above, and below ground. Horrors that have no place in this world. Horrors that will leave them broken for the remainder of their days… should they survive.

This is the story of Ben the useless Border Collie! Well that's what his first owner Gwyn Thomas thought. The sheep farmer had suffered a mental breakdown at the time. He had lost his wife in a terrible accident, causing him to almost lose his mind! His daughter Belle had also been involved in the tragedy, having her arm so badly injured it had had to be removed. Ben had been her pet, but he was also supposed to be a sheep dog, helping his mum Floss to take care of the large flock. Unfortunately, Ben had been born with a weak back leg, making it almost impossible for him to control the sheep.

Human, Animal is an ode to the wild, an elegy for what we have lost and a reproof of our society's inability to find common ground. Since the death of his brother, veteran dairy farmer George has been struggling to keep the family business afloat. His troubles only worsen when animal rights activists descend on his cowshed one morning to film content for their social media.

Horses and horse racing have been staple themes in classic Australian fiction, and feature prominently in the works of iconic authors like Henry Lawson and “Banjo” Paterson. In this collection of six stories, Rolf Boldrewood provides vivid pictures of the days when horses and horse-drawn transport were intimately involved in daily life in both city and country.

A peculiar pet shop in Tokyo has been known to offer customers a unique opportunity: the chance to adopt one of seven special cats whose "magic" is never promised, but always received. But there are rules: these cats must be returned after three days. They must eat only the food supplied by the owner, and they must travel to their new homes with a distinctive blanket. In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven customers, each of whom is hoping a temporary feline companion will help them escape a certain reality.