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Join us at Ryde Library as acclaimed Australian authors James Dunbar & Sue Williams take us on their History & Mystery Tour of their popular books.Crime writer James Dunbar will chat about his three crime novels – Twisted River, Mole Creek and its brand new sequel Blood Moon. He will be interviewed by Sue about the challenges of writing authentic Australian rural crime stories "without getting buried in red dust". James also writes as Jimmy Thomson and he will be showcasing his recent co-written military history book, The First Anzacs, which relates how sappers - army combat engineers - were written out of the official histories of the Gallipoli landings, and had their remarkable heroics diminished and claimed by other units.
Sue will talk about her latest book, The Duke's Secret, based on her quest to prove that her six-time great-grandmother was the illegitimate child of Waterloo hero, The Duke of Wellington. She will also disuss her novels about the women of the immediate post-colonial era: Elizabeth & Elizabeth; That Bligh Girl; The Governor, His Wife and his Mistress and her upcoming title Macarthur's Daughters.
There will be an opportunity for Q&A, book purchasing, and to have your books signed by the authors.
Attendees on the day also have a chance to WIN a signed copy of a book.
In association with Echo and Allen & Unwin Publishers.
About the Books
Blood Moon - James Dunbar
When the motive is revenge, murder is not enough
Disgraced journalist Xander McAuslan and his Vietnam veteran and erstwhile cave-dwelling survivalist mate Lorenzo are in grave danger – a situation exacerbated by the fact that they have no idea their recent past is about to catch up with them.
A few months ago, in the sleepy Tasmanian village of Mole Creek, Xander and Lorenzo accidentally thwarted a murderous attempt to cover up the existence of a Russian ‘sleeper’ agent who was ready to be activated to devastating effect. And now, in retribution, a ruthless assassin has been sent to K*ll them as slowly and painfully as possible.
But before the killer can strike, Lorenzo is lured to Vung Tau in Vietnam where another veteran thinks his life is in danger because he is investigating a war crime from 60 years ago.
Meanwhile Xander is offered bribes and threatened with violence as he researches a true crime book about the disappearance of a phenomenally successful artist. The art world, he discovers, has a layer of greed, corruption, jealousy and vicious rivalry that would put organised crime to shame.
Add into the mix an ambitious and sexy true crime podcaster and the savvy and sassy teenage daughter of the Vietnam veteran, and the story swings from Mole Creek to Sydney, Saigon and back to Tasmania as it hurtles toward its deadly conclusion.
Xander and Lorenzo must draw on all their street smarts and survival skills to get to the truth of both investigations, all the time unaware that no one, young or old, is safe as the assassin homes in on her unsuspecting quarry.
The Duke's Secret - Sue Williams
She is a young maid in a stately home; he is a dashing British army officer trapped in an unhappy marriage. The pair strike up a close friendship and, just as he's departing for war, they surrender to their passion.
Years later, he returns triumphant from defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, to reunite not only with his wife and their two sons, but also with the maid Mary Ann and their illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth. They all have to find a way through the tangle of affairs and betrayals, especially now he's hailed as the hero of the free world with a new title: the Duke of Wellington.
Two hundred years on, in Australia, a woman meets with her long-lost father and is told the family legend that they're descendants of a maid who worked for the Iron Duke. She sets out to prove once and for all whether or not this story is true, and what she discovers shocks everyone.
About the Authors
James Dunbar is a journalist, television scriptwriter, travel writer, university lecturer and website editor. Blood Moon is his third venture into the serious crime thriller and espionage genre, and is a direct sequel to his first, Mole Creek, which was shortlisted for the 2024 BAD crime writing awards. His other crime novel with Echo, Twisted River, a psychological thriller, was published in November 2025. Writing as Jimmy Thomson, he is also the published author of two crime novels and two true-crime memoirs, as well as several books about Australian army engineers (sappers) during the Vietnam and First World Wars. His latest military history, The First Anzacs, was published in March 2026.
Sue Williams bases her fourth historical novel, on her own family's legend that they are descended from Mary Ann and the Duke. In a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, she tells the rollicking story of the womanising Duke, whose appetite for women knew no bounds, the maid who was powerless to resist his charms, and her own quest to prove whether this was merely myth or a blood tie with history.
Her other historical novels, Elizabeth & Elizabeth, about Elizabeth Macquarie and Elizabeth Macarthur; That Bligh Girl, featuring Mary Bligh and her father, the notorious mutiny survivor and governor William Bligh; and The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress, about Philip Gidley King and his tangled love affairs, have all proved bestsellers.
Sue is also an award-winning journalist, travel writer and bestselling author of non-fiction. She lives in Sydney with her partner Jimmy Thomson, aka crime writer James Dunbar, and their two cats.
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Event venue
Top Ryde Library, 1 Pope St, Ryde NSW 2112, Australia, Epping
Tickets
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