QBD Book Club: The Podcast

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with award-winning author Shelley Burr about her latest crime novel, “Vanish”.  Lane Holland's crime-solving career ended the day he went to prison. With his parole hearing approaching, he faces the grim reality that an ex-con can never work as a private eye. Yet one unsolved case continues to haunt him: the disappearance of Matilda Carver two decades...

Join host Dion McLeod as he chats with Li Chen about her brand-new junior graphic novel "Detective Beans: Adventures In Cat Town".  ABOUT THE STORY: Detective Beans is back to solve all the mysteries that you need solved, and even the ones you don't need solved. He's that good. In between playing Scrabble, having sleepovers and trips to the beach, there's always time for c...

Welcome to QBD Romance Club! Hosted by Amy Matthews, author and associate professor in Creative Writing at Flinders University, the podcast will dive deep into the world of romance, featuring insightful conversations with some of Australia’s biggest names in the genre. This time, we welcome the lovely Laurie Gilmore (“The Dream Harbour” series) to explore the charm and magic behind cosy small-town...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver about his latest Colter Shaw thriller, “South of Nowhere”. A small town in Northern California is at risk of being destroyed by a failing levee, and Colter Shaw has been hired to locate a family swept away by the raging water, with just mere hours to survive. But is the levee at risk of failing from natu...

Join Victoria Carthew as she speaks with internationally bestselling author Dervla McTiernan about her highly-anticipated new novel in the Cormac Reilly series, “The Unquiet Grave”. For years the boglands of Northern Europe have given up bodies of the long-deceased. Bodies that are thousands of years old, uncannily preserved. Bodies with strange injuries that suggest ritual torture and human sacri...

Join host Dion McLeod as he chats with bestselling author Ben Miller about "Diary Of A Puss In Boots", QBD’s Children’s Book of the Month for May! In this incredible story, Mittens knows a cat of his calibre should be living it up in a castle, and he's determined to make his dream reality.  His master certainly isn't going to be much help, so it's up to Mittens to charm th...

Welcome to QBD Romance Club! Hosted by Amy Matthews, author and associate professor in Creative Writing at Flinders University, the podcast will dive deep into the world of romance, featuring insightful conversations with some of Australia’s biggest names in the genre. This time, we welcome the fantastic Alexandria Warwick (“The Four Winds” series). In this episode, the duo discusses how Alexandri...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she chats with author Michelle Prak about her latest thriller, “Barren Cape”. Former housemates Mac and Erika are homeless. Well, Erika is fine, she just has to live with her parents until she can find another rental. Mac’s situation is much worse – family isn’t an option and she’s surfing the couches of her increasingly exasperated friends. Driving around one lonely...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with bestselling author Amanda Hampson about her latest Tea Ladies Mystery, “The Deadly Dispute”. 1967: Hazel’s new job at the docks quickly turns perilous when she stumbles into the criminal underworld that lurks beneath the surface. A million in gold coins has vanished from a cargo ship and a dead body washed up. Suddenly, she’s in over her head. Disillus...

Join host Dion McLeod as he chats with bestselling author Lynette Noni about "Wandering Wild", her newest young adult romance novel!  Perfect for readers wanting a high stakes lost-in-the-wilderness adventure brimming with tension-filled romance, “Wandering Wild” follows Zander and Charlie. Zander Rune was the darling of Hollywood until he fell from glory and was labelled a problematic b...

Welcome to QBD Romance Club! Hosted by Amy Matthews, author and associate professor in Creative Writing at Flinders University, the podcast will dive deep into the world of romance, featuring insightful conversations with some of Australia’s biggest names in the genre. In our next episode, we welcome Lauren Asher (“Dirty Air” series), Becka Mack (“Playing For Keeps” series), and Peyton Corrine (“T...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with crime fiction author S.R. White on his latest novel, “Pacific Heights”. In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights building, a local waitress is found dead. Five apartments overlook the murder scene. Five people witnessed a crime take place. Finding the killer should be simple. Except none of the witnesses' stories match. They all saw something - fro...

QBD’s host Victoria Carthew speaks with broadcaster and author Jane Caro about her latest suspenseful thriller, “Lyrebird”. Twenty years ago, ornithology student Jessica Weston filmed a lyrebird mimicking the dying screams of a woman in the Barrington Tops National Park. Terrified, she took her recordings to the Maitland police to report a murder. Despite support from newly minted detective, Megan...

Join Victoria Carthew as she speaks with author Peter Norris about his gripping debut memoir, “The Bank Robber’s Boy”. Peter Norris is not your ordinary CEO. The head of Club Corowa, a multi-million-dollar venue that employs more than 100 staff, he is also a world-class athlete who’s won bronze in the Obstacle Racing World Championships and two national bodybuilding titles. And he’s the son of one...

Welcome to QBD Romance Club! Hosted by Amy Matthews, author and associate professor in Creative Writing at Flinders University , the podcast will dive deep into the world of romance, featuring insightful conversations with some of Australia’s biggest names in the genre. In our next episode, we are joined by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding (“Emma Of 83rd Street” and “Elizabeth of East Hampton”) t...

Join QBD’s host, Victoria Carthew, as she speaks with award-winning author Zane Lovitt about his latest suburban crime fiction novel, “The Body Next Door”. When Claire Corral goes missing from her home on Carnation Way, her neighbour Jamie isn't too concerned. He's busy – caring for his dad, recovering from a broken heart and eating himself into a bigger pair of pants. Then the police tu...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with award-winning author Mandy Beaumont about her latest book, “The Thrill of It”. The 1977 murder of Marlowe Kerr – Sydney’s art darling and socialite, a woman known for her lavish parties and her world-famous designs, was never solved. And now, in 1989, a terrifying string of crimes against older women begins, forcing aging female residents to lock thems...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with author Ali Lowe about her latest crime thriller, “The Private Island”. New Year's Eve, Loloma Island, Fiji. At one of the most exclusive island resorts in the Pacific Ocean, the champagne is poured, the fireworks are ready and the countdown to new year is just beginning. It's set to be a night that no one will forget. Especially when a body w...

Welcome to QBD Romance Club! Hosted by Amy Matthews, author and associate professor in Creative Writing at Flinders University , the podcast will dive deep into the world of romance, featuring insightful conversations with some of Australia’s biggest names in the genre. In our next episode, we are joined by New York Times bestselling author, Elsie Silver ( “Wild Love” and “Chestnut Springs 01: Fla...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she chats with author Geoff Parkes about his debut novel, “When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole”, which was QBD’s Fiction Book of the Month in February 2025. It's January 1983. During his university summer break, Ryan Bradley returns to the remote town of Nashville in New Zealand's rugged King Country. It's a bittersweet trip- he's working l...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with crime fiction author Bronwyn Rivers about her debut novel, “The Reunion”. Ten years ago, six teenagers hiked into the Blue Mountains wilderness – and only five came out alive. The survivors have barely seen each other since the tragic bushwalk. Yet when an invitation arrives to attend a 10-year memorial of their friend’s death, Hugh, Charlotte, Alex, L...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she speaks with systemic psychotherapist turned author, Kate Kemp, about her debut crime fiction novel, “The Grapevine” It’s the height of summer in Australia 1979, and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Canberra a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of the bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it’s 3am. For another, she is...

Welcome to QBD Romance Club! Hosted by Amy Matthews, author and associate professor in Creative Writing at Flinders University , the podcast will dive deep into the world of romance, featuring insightful conversations with some of Australia’s biggest names in the genre. In episode 2, Amy is joined by authors Bianca Gillam (" Bad Publicity ") and Emma Rae ( "I Knew You Were Trouble&q...

Join host Victoria Carthew as she chats with Andrea Clarke about her brand-new book "Adapt", which was QBD’s Non-Fiction Book of the Month in March 2025. After the global pause in 2020, we returned to a world that feels faster, looser, and less structured – our professional boundaries have been erased, social and cultural norms are shifting rapidly, and at the same time, we're facin...

QBD’s host Victoria Carthew chats with crime thriller fiction author John McMahon about his latest novel, “Head Cases”. Gardner Camden is a puzzle and riddle enthusiast, which makes him the perfect fit for Patterns and Recognitions (PAR) unit of the FBI, a team of five brilliant but misfit agents who are too talented, too extraordinary to fire from the Bureau. When a serial killer starts targeting...