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Australian author Tea Cooper, Nov 2024. Credit: Gary Musgrove
Books

Mystery of a hidden, bloodstained dress

The discovery of a bloodstained silk dress in Australia’s oldest surviving public building was the start of an historical mystery in need of an origin story – now it has one.

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Books
Lily Sullivan as Miranda in Picnic At Hanging Rock on Foxtel. For Hit.TV only. Not to be used before May 2.

‘What happened? Who is guilty?’

Four girls disappear from a school camp and a male teacher goes after them. The girls return – but the man does not. Wouldn’t you be asking hard questions, writes Nikki Gemmell.

Books
This December 1961 file photo shows former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis relaxing in a chair, a few weeks after former President John F. Kennedy won the US presidential election. Kennedy's wife Jacqueline pleaded with him to allow her and their children stay with him in event of a nuclear Armageddon, around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, a report on new audio tapes said September 12, 2011.  AFP PHOTO Picture: Afp

‘She had shot her husband dead’

She has told the stories of a murderous royal mistress, Christian Dior’s Nazi-fighting sister and the real Miss Moneypenny. Now Christine Wells has Jackie Kennedy in her lens.

Books
02/11/2012 FEATURES: Robert Pattinson and Kristen StewartTwilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 Pic. Supplied

Book trend stealing Aussie hearts

Bored by traditional airport thrillers, horror and crime yarns? There’s a new genre taking over Aussie fiction – and social media’s bookworm community is leading the charge.

Books
(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 29, 2022 British writer JK Rowling poses on the red carpet after arriving to attend the World Premiere of the film "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" in London. - The first Harry Potter television series is set to be made, with author JK Rowling acting as an executive producer, Warner Bros. Discovery announced on April 12, 2023. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP)

Why women pretend to be men

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is one of many women to pose as a bloke: and the experiences of fellow female talents in music and art indicate she was smart to do so.

Books
Jo Appleby, a lecturer in Human Bioarchaeology, at University of Leicester, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, who led the exhumation of the remains, during a dig at Leicester's Greyfriars car park, speaking at the university, as tests have established that a skeleton found under the car park, is that of King Richard III.   (Photo by Rui Vieira/PA Images via Getty Images)

Inside the head of ‘killer king’

For centuries, the mystery of the Princes in the Tower has chilled and enthralled. Amid debate around a fascinating new theory, a book goes inside the mind of the boys’ alleged murderer.

Books
Australian author Mitch Jennings in 2024. , Photo: Sylvia Liber,

‘Taboo topic’ drove me to booze

Devastating loss in an area few people understand or talk about led Mitch Jennings to the realisation that people don’t always respond to life’s challenges the way we might hope.

Books
Pedro Pascal in The Last Of Us

One question: What would you do?

There’s a secret to creating plots that stand out in a world of high-octane drama and competing streaming services. It comes down to one key question, reveals Linwood Barclay.

Original URL: https://www.themercury.com.au/entertainment/books