Cassie Hamer

From bestselling author Cassie Hamer, comes a hilarious tale of warring neighbours in Australian suburbia, with a mystery at its heart. 'Captures Australian suburbia perfectly. Has the reader gripped until the end. Perfect for anyone who wants to devour easy-to-read fiction, while also doing some detective work of their own.' Mamamia You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your neighbours. (Trad. proverb, origin: Australian suburbia) Food stylist Cara, corporate lawyer Alex and stay-at-home mum Beth couldn't be more different. If it wasn't for the fact they live next door to each other in Cuthbert Close, they'd never have met and bonded over Bundt cake. The Close is an oasis of calm and kindness. The kind of street where kids play cricket together and neighbours pitch in each year for an end of summer party. But no one's told Charlie Devine, glamorous wife of online lifestyle guru, The Primal Guy. When she roars straight into the party with her huge removal truck and her teenage daughter with no care or regard for decades-old tradition, the guacamole really hits the fan. Cara thinks the family just needs time to get used to the village-like atmosphere. Beth wants to give them home cooked meals to help them settle in. Alex, says it's an act of war. But which one of them is right? Dead guinea pigs, cruelly discarded quiches, missing jewellery, commercial sabotage and errant husbands are just the beginning of a train of disturbing and rapidly escalating events that lead to a shocking climax. When the truth comes out, will it be the end of Cuthbert Close?

The End of Cuthbert Close

Lie to your friends. Lie to your family. Just don't lie to yourself... Funny, smart, heartfelt fiction for readers of Holly Wainwright from a distinctive new voice. 'Cassie Hamer is a merging of all that is wonderful about authors like Marian Keyes, Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth... She's here to stay.' Better Reading The Trainor women have always been excellent at hiding their true feelings... until now. Ellen's estranged husband, David, has managed to interrupt her fabulous life of bridge and zumba by getting himself killed in a Thai boating accident. She's hardly surprised. It's simply the final in a long line of mistakes, the first was leaving her to go on a worldwide sailing trip with his mysterious, long-lost brother. Ah, well. At least she's now free to marry her rich but dull boyfriend, Kenneth. Regrettably, her daughter, self-possessed TV news broadcaster Natasha and granddaughter, reality TV producer Georgie, seem to take the whole 'dead' thing very personally and they decide to dig deeper, though neither really has time. Natasha is on the nose at her network and a toxic secret from her past is about to set off a catastrophic personal crisis. Meanwhile, Georgie is furiously focused on denying her true feelings for a contestant on her show, The Single Gal. Neither Ellen, Natasha, nor Georgie are agreed on quite how they should feel about David's death but they're certain about one thing - it isn't quite what it seems - and discovering the truth will unravel the tapestry of lies they've been spinning to themselves and each other. One way or another, all three women are faking it and as matters come to a head, the truth wills out in the most unexpected of ways... 'This well-crafted piece of commercial fiction is both warm and full of light... satisfyingly chunky and intermittently very funny.' Fairfax newspapers

The Truth About Faking It

The Truth about Faking It

'After The Party forces the reader to confront uncomfortable questions like, How far would you go to protect a child? How clear is the line between right and wrong? And, what does it truly mean to be a good mother?' - Mamamia Be careful what you wish for... Lisa Wheeldon has a lovely life. Wife to a gorgeous husband, Scott, and a devoted mother to two small daughters, the former accountant has everything she wants - except a third child. But the universe has a strange way of providing. On the surface, Ava's fifth birthday party seems the ideal opportunity for Lisa to meet her daughter's new kindergarten friends - all 32 of them! But from beginning to end, the day is a complete nightmare, capped off by the discovery of a little girl hiding in the Wheeldon's backyard. At first, Lisa reasons that Ellie's mum is running late. But when they open a gift from the mysterious little girl, it becomes clear her mother has no intention of returning at all... What sort of mother abandons her child? And why has she chosen the Wheeldons? Together, Lisa and her sister Jamie launch their own efforts to find the missing mum, a journey that will force Lisa to face her past, Jamie to confront her future and see both embroiled with angry exes, pragmatic fortune-tellers, Russian mobsters and a hyena pack of yummy mummies. A journey that will force Lisa to rethink all she knows about being a good mother. Liane Moriarty meets Marian Keyes with a touch of Christos Tsiolkas's The Slap in this hilarious, touching and clever novel that asks what wouldn't you do to save a child? PRAISE FOR AFTER THE PARTY 'Everything I love in a novel - jam-packed with intrigue and humour - After the Party will keep you turning the pages into the early hours.' - Bestselling Australian author Rachael Johns 'a light-hearted and heart-warming story about parenting, marriage and family...I can see it being passed from sister to sister, or from girlfriend to girlfriend, with a knowing look, an exasperated sigh and a genuine giggle.' - Cass Moriarty, bestselling author of The Promise Seed and Parting Words

After the Party

A family gathering, but not everyone who sits down to dinner will survive it. Poisonous lies, family secrets, addiction and revenge - always a dish best served cold - are all on the menu. For readers of Sally Hepworth, Jo Dixon and Ali Lowe, this twisty domestic suspense holds you captive from its gripping beginning to its shocking denouement. Maz Antonio has spent the last two years in prison so is determined to make the first major family gathering in their new home deep in Australian suburbia as perfect as possible. She owes it to everyone after the terrible mistakes she's made ... mistakes for which she will always be trying to atone. This special lunch is her chance to make things right for her husband and children, to show everyone that she can maintain her sobriety, that things can go back to normal. (Whatever normal looks like when you have traumatic, confusing flashbacks of that fateful day where two innocent lives were lost.) Her sister, Elli, is in. So is her husband's brother. Her distant father-in-law is gracing them with his presence and her mum Margaret is on the way from Newcastle, bringing a colleague - a virtual stranger she impulsively invited. But is this man really a stranger? Or could it be that he is intimately connected to the past that Maz has so desperately been trying to put behind her - a past that's about to explode across the dinner table in the deadliest of ways... PRAISE FOR THE STRANGER AT THE TABLE 'Summer, suburbs, families at war-this book has it all. Even the backdrop of deafening cicadas roar their approval. I turned pages without even realising.' Markus Zusak 'I absolutely loved this book. A thrilling ride with a heartfelt storyline and rich, nuanced characters, I was all consumed by this brilliant and clever story. It is undoubtedly Hamer's best novel yet.' Ali Lowe 'I inhaled this story, completely addicted until the final breathtaking twist. Razor sharp and riveting. Domestic suspense at its very best.' Tess Woods 'With mystery and mayhem, secrets and suspense, this scarily relatable family drama hooked me from start to finish.' Joanna Nell 'I absolutely loved this contemporary exploration of addiction, family dynamics, deep-rooted shame ... and out-and-out revenge. Compelling, satisfying and unputdownable.' B.M. Carroll 'Hamer brings her trademark warmth and humour-filled domestic observation to a taut and darkly compelling novel, proving herself to be an accomplished suspense writer, to rival Sally Hepworth and Liane Moriarty.' Kate Solly 'Cassie Hamer's astute observations about family, motherhood and relationships, and the lies we tell others and ourselves, underpin a delicious mystery with a satisfying denouement.' Vanessa McCausland 'This compelling page-turner takes us inside the Antonio family with all of its love and loyalty, secrets and betrayals, grief and guilt. Cassie Hamer's characters are so real-she gives us fascinating insights into complex family dynamics. And that's what hooks us into this story: the explosive truths that this family must face, and whether they can uncover their long-held secrets ...' Petronella McGovern 'Humour, tenderness, pace, suspense and entertainment. Cassie Hamer is a writer who knows how to get her characters jumping on the page.' Justin Smith 'Lunch is served, and it's a delicious mix of family secrets, suspense, lies and revelations. I devoured The Stranger at the Table.' Kylie Ladd 'An artfully crafted story exploring how many wrongs can make something right. Hamer's story leaves you questioning the fine line between right and wrong and what happens when that line gets blurred, even if you're blurring them for the right reasons. Cassie Hamer's best book yet!' Sandie Docker 'The Stranger at the Table heralds a new and exciting direction for bestselling Australian author, Cassie Hamer. Pacey and page-turning with a cast of flawed, but relatable characters and a killer plot twist, this novel is domestic noir at its best. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth.' Claudine Tinellis, Talking Aussie Books 'This is a compulsive, twisty, gripping novel that I just ate up with a dessert spoon ... loved everything about it! My new favourite Cassie Hamer novel.' Anna Loder, Read a Book

The domestic noir hit of 2025. Poisonous lies, family secrets, addiction and revenge are all on the menu. For readers of Sally Hepworth, Jo Dixon and Ali Lowe

Cassie Hamer

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