Mim’s husband is missing. No one knows where Ben is, but everyone wants to find him – especially The Department. And they should know, the all-seeing government body has fitted the entire population with a universal tracking chip to keep them ‘safe’. But suddenly Ben can’t be tracked. And Mim is questioned, made to surrender her passport and threatened with the unthinkable – her two children being taken into care at the notorious BestLife. Cornered, Mim risks everything to go on the run to find her husband – and a part of herself, long gone, that is brave enough to tackle the journey ahead. From the stark backroads of the Australian outback to a terrifying sea voyage, Mim is forced to shuck off who she was – mother, daughter, wife, sister – and become the woman she needs to be to save her family and herself. Imagining a near-future Australia that is all too disturbingly familiar, The Mother Fault is an addictive thriller, a heart-pounding adventure and a moving portrayal of the lengths a mother will go to save her family. Read by Claudia Karvan. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Mother-Fault/Kate-Mildenhall/9781760854492

Top of the Pile, Simon & Schuster Australia

Start listening to The Mother Fault by Kate Mildenhall

Kathy Pettingill is a name that’s both respected and feared, not only by Australia’s criminal underworld, but by many in the Victorian police force. As the matriarch at the head of the most notorious and violent family of habitual offenders in Australian criminal history, her life has revolved around murder, drugs, prison, prostitution and bent coppers – and the intrigue and horror that surround such crimes. Her eldest son, Dennis Allen, was a mass murderer and a $70,000-a-week drug dealer who dismembered a Hell’s Angel with a chainsaw. Two younger sons were acquitted of the Walsh Street murders, the cold-blooded assassination of two police officers that changed the face of crime in Melbourne forever. One of the two, Victor, was gunned down himself in the street 14 years later, becoming the third son Kathy has buried. In this revised and updated authorised edition of Adrian Tame’s bestselling The Matriarch, Kathy Pettingill reveals the chilling truth behind many of the myths and legends that surround her family, including her experiences in the blood-spattered charnel house at the centre of Dennis Allen’s empire of drugs and violence. But this is no plea for pity. Forthright and deeply disturbing, like its subject, The Matriarch pulls no punches. Updated and revised for a new generation, this true crime classic is as terrifying and powerful as when it was first published. Read by Lewis Fitz-Gerald and Kelly Butler. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Matriarch/Adrian-Tame/9781760852214

Listen to the first chapters of The Matriarch: The Story of 'Granny Evil' Kathy Pettingill

In this irreverent romp through the history of food via the Seven Deadly Sins, Mikey Robins uncovers the most bizarre food-related stories of all time. From the Ancient Egyptians to the Romans, from the medieval monarchs to our current obsession with celebrity chefs, our forebears have left their mark on our habits and social mores, our plates and our palates, telling us one truth above all: where there is food, there is folly. On the topic of GLUTTONY, Mikey exposes our obsession with outlandish overconsumption and the thrill of competitive eating. PRIDE reveals some of the most arrogant dinner hosts in history, and how the once humble chef has now achieved rock-god status. LUST sheds light on our aphrodisiac fixations and the most desired foods through time. SLOTH charts the curious evolution of the fork and the etiquette of flatulence. WRATH tells of sausage duels and poisonous spite, while GREED will make you blush at the indulgences of the rich and famous. And who hasn’t experienced ENVY when your dining companion’s plate sings while yours sputters? Mikey Robins is your personal guide down history’s gullet and into the underbelly of our wildest desires, darkest fears and guiltiest pleasures. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Seven-Deadly-Sins-and-One-Very-Naughty-Fruit/Mikey-Robins/9781760852269

Mikey Robins reads from his book Seven Deadly Sins and One Very Naughty Fruit

Mary Moody’s bestselling memoirs about her adventures in France, Au Revoir and Last Tango in Toulouse, inspired thousands of women. The Accidental Tour Guide completes the circle by sharing another major turning point in her life. When Mary loses her beloved husband, her world is turned upside down. Part of her journey to reignite her passion for living is to boldly go where she has never been before – in her travels and in her everyday life. A powerful, moving and inspiring true story about how to rebuild your life without the people who matter most. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Accidental-Tour-Guide/Mary-Moody/9781760852559

Mary Moody reads from her memoir The Accidental Tour Guide: Adventures in Life and Death

Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set her brother Sonny?played by James Caan?up for a mob hit, which led to one of the most unforgettable moments in cinema. Russo didn't have to act. He knew the mob inside and out: from his childhood in Little Italy, where Mafia legend Frank Costello took him under his wing, acting as messenger for New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello during the Kennedy assassination, to being forced on the lam after shooting a member of the Colombian drug cartel in his Vegas club. Along the way, Russo befriended Frank Sinatra, who became his son's godfather, and Marlon Brando, had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli and scores of other stars, all the while walking the tightrope of mob life. A no-holds-barred rollercoaster ride of life lived on the edge: shocking, thoroughly entertaining, full of glamour, sex, violence, cheek - and fun. Read by Gianni Russo with Patrick Picciarelli. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Hollywood-Godfather/Gianni-Russo/9781760852030

Gianni Russo reads from his memoir Hollywood Godfather: My Life in the Movies and the Mob

Twenty-five years ago, Australia was in the grip of another debate about sex and power. The Master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne had been acquitted of indecent assault after complaints by two female students. Helen Garner’s bestselling book about the case, The First Stone, polarised readers over whether the students had been right to take their allegations to the law. Was the feminist movement poisoning gender relations? In Generation F, the young award-winning journalist Virginia Trioli offered a vigorous, incisive and compelling argument for the ongoing need for feminism, while exploring her own bewilderment and anger. She described the real state of sexual harassment, violence, the workplace and the law in Australia: how most women just copped it, but those who felt able to confront it needed all the support they could get. Now – as women around the world speak up about how sexual harassment has destroyed their work, families and lives – Trioli revisits that cultural moment in a new foreword, and in a new afterword considers the situation women face today. Dismayingly, her original text is just as relevant, and her call to action just as powerful. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Generation-F/Virginia-Trioli/9781760855345

Virginia Trioli reads from her book Generation F: Why We Still Struggle with Sex and Power

Fourteen is this generation’s Holding the Man – a moving coming-of-age memoir about a young man’s search for identity and acceptance in the most unforgiving and hostile of places: high school. This is a story about my fourteenth year of life as a gay kid at an all-boys rugby-mad Catholic school in regional Queensland. It was a year in which I started to discover who I was, and deeply hated what was revealed. It was a year in which I had my first crush and first devastating heartbreak. It was a year of torment, bullying and betrayal – not just at the hands of my peers, but by adults who were meant to protect me. And it was a year that almost ended tragically. I found solace in writing and my budding journalism; in a close-knit group of friends, all growing up too quickly together; and in the fierce protection of family and a mother’s unconditional love. These were moments of light and hilarity that kept me going. As much as Fourteen is a chronicle of the enormous struggle and adversity I endured, and the shocking consequences of it all, it’s also a tale of survival. Because I did survive. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Fourteen/Shannon-Molloy/9781760855246

Shannon Molloy reads from his memoir Fourteen: My Year of Darkness, and the Light that Followed

Seven shots ring out in the silence of Victoria’s rolling Barrabool Hills. As the final recoil echoes through the paddocks, a revered sheep-breeding dynasty comes to a bloody and inglorious end. No one could have anticipated the orgy of violence that wiped out three generations of the Wettenhall family, much less the lurid scandals about Darcy Wettenhall, the man behind the world famous Stanbury sheep stud, that would emerge from the aftermath. Almost three decades later, the web of secrets and lies that led to this bizarre and seemingly motiveless murder spree are unravelled with the help of Bob Perry, Darcy Wettenhall’s secret lover for a decade prior to his murder. From the bucolic majesty, privilege and snobbery of the Western District’s prized pastoral lands and dynasties to the bleak, loveless underworld of orphanages, rodeo stables and homeless shelters, The Devil’s Grip is a courageous and thought-provoking meditation on the fragility of reputation, the folly of deception and the power of shame. Read by Joshua Brennan. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Devils-Grip/Neal-Drinnan/9781760852542

Listen to the first chapters of The Devil's Grip by Neil Drinnan

February 29, 1944: I am about to jump out of an aeroplane for the first time … I don’t care that every man is looking at me as though I don’t belong. Besides, I’m hungover. And I think I might throw up … In 1936 intrepid young Australian journalist Nancy Wake is living in Paris after witnessing firsthand the terror of Hitler’s rise in Europe, firing her resolve to fight against the Nazis. When Nancy falls in love with handsome French industrialist Henri Fiocca, no sooner has she become Mrs Fiocca than the Germans invade France and Nancy takes yet another name, a codename – the first of many. As the elusive Lucienne Carlier she smuggles people across borders and earns a new name ‘The White Mouse’ along with a five million franc bounty on her head, courtesy of the Gestapo. Forced to flee France, Nancy is trained by an elite espionage group under the codename Hélène. Finally, with mission in hand, she is airdropped back into France as the deadly Madame Andrée. But the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed Nancy – and the people she loves – will become. Based on the true story of an extraordinary woman who saved countless lives, Code Name Hélène is a thrilling tale of danger, intrigue, unfaltering courage, remarkable sacrifice – and love. Read by: Barrie Kreinik and Peter Ganim. To buy visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Code-Name-Helene-Based-on-the-thrilling-true-story-of-Nancy-Wake-The-White-Mouse/Ariel-Lawhon/9781760855987

Listen to the first chapters of the thrilling novel Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon

Not many have lived as many lives as Archie Roach – stolen child, seeker, teenage alcoholic, lover, father, musical and lyrical genius, and leader – but it took him almost a lifetime to find out who he really was. Roach was only two years old when he was forcibly removed from his family. Brought up by a series of foster parents until his early teens, his world imploded when he received a letter that spoke of a life he had no memory of. In this intimate, moving and often shocking memoir, Archie’s story is an extraordinary odyssey through love and heartbreak, family and community, survival and renewal – and the healing power of music. Overcoming enormous odds to find his story and his people, Archie voices the joy, pain and hope he found on his path through song to become the legendary singer-songwriter and storyteller that he is today – beloved by fans worldwide. Tell Me Why is a stunning account of resilience and the strength of spirit – and of a great love story. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Tell-Me-Why/Archie-Roach/9781760852566

Archie Roach reads from his memoir Tell Me Why: The Story of My Life and My Music

Ben Folds is an internationally celebrated musician, singer-songwriter and former frontman of the alternative rock band, Ben Folds Five, beloved for songs such as ‘Brick’, ‘You Don’t Know Me’, ‘Rockin’ the Suburbs’ and ‘The Luckiest’. In his memoir A Dream About Lightning Bugs, Folds looks back at his life so far in a charming, funny and wise chronicle of his artistic coming of age, infused with the wry observations of a natural storyteller. He opens up about finding his voice as a musician, becoming a rock anti-hero, and hauling a baby grand piano on and off stage for every performance. From growing up in working class North Carolina amid the race and class tensions that shaped his early songwriting, to painful life lessons he learned the hard way, he also ruminates on music in the digital age, the absurdity of life on the road, and the challenges of sustaining a multi-decade, multi-faceted career in the music business. A Dream About Lightning Bugs embodies what Folds has been singing about for years: Smile like you’ve got nothing to prove because it hurts to grow up, and life flies by in seconds. To purchase visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/A-Dream-About-Lightning-Bugs/Ben-Folds/9781760853389

Ben Folds reads from his memoir A Dream About Lightning Bugs

We’re thrilled to bring you this audiobook sample of 'The Fast 800' by Dr Michael Mosley. 'The Fast 800' is the ultimate guide to intermittent fasting, rapid weight loss, and long-term good health. Based on the latest groundbreaking science, Dr Mosley has created an exciting new program built around a more manageable 800-calorie fasting day. Along with delicious, low-carb recipes and menu plans by Dr Clare Bailey, 'The Fast 800' offers a flexible way to help you lose weight, improve mood and reduce blood pressure, inflammation, and blood sugars. This is a sample chapter of 'The Fast 800' audiobook. The full audiobook is available on Audible and iBooks. The book is also available as a paperback and ebook.

PREVIEW: The Fast 800 by Dr Michael Mosley (audiobook sample)

A conversation with the fascinating Helen Jukes, author of the beautiful 'A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings', who embarked on a year of beekeeping as an antidote to the claustrophobia of her urban lifestyle. Helen discusses what it means to ‘keep’ wild creatures. In learning about the bees, what can she learn of herself? The very act of keeping seems to open up new perspectives, deepen friendships old and new, and make her world come alive. This is a beautifully wrought meditation on responsibility and care, on vulnerability and trust, on forging bonds and breaking new ground.

Helen Jukes, Top of the Pile

A conversation with the fascinating Chris Carter, the international bestselling crime author and ex-criminal psychologist. Chris's books include 'An Evil Mind', 'I Am Death', 'The Night Stalker', 'The Executioner', 'The Crucifix Killer' and 'The Caller'. He worked as a criminal psychologist for several years before moving to Los Angeles, where he swapped the suits and briefcases for ripped jeans, bandanas, and an electric guitar. Here Chris discusses his experiences as a criminal psychologist and how this has influenced his new book, 'Gallery of the Dead'.

Chris Carter, Top of the Pile

A conversation with the fascinating Scott Bevan and a celebration of Sydney Harbour, one of the world’s great waterways. Everyone knows Sydney Harbour. At least, we think we do. By as little as a word or two, the harbour floats into our mind’s eye. The Bridge. The Opera House. Fireworks on New Year’s Eve. When we see those images, we feel a sense of belonging. No matter who we are or where we’re from, we see the harbour and we feel good. Scott takes us from cove to cove, by kayak, yacht and barge to gather the harbour’s stories, past and present, from boat builders, ship captains and fishermen to artists, divers, historians and environmentalists, from signs of ancient life to the submarine invasion by the Japanese. This is the ultimate story of Sydney Harbour – a city’s heart and a country's soul.

Scott Bevin, Top of the Pile

Top of the Pile is a Simon & Schuster Australia podcast where you'll find some of the most interesting authors in conversation about everything from their lives, their books and their big ideas. From Health, Science and True Crime, to Fiction, History and Romance, we'll bring you fascinating conversations about subjects you never even knew about, and some that you do.

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Top of the Pile, Simon & Schuster Australia

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