Introduction / Craig Sisterson -- Takin' out the trash / Alan Carter -- Summer of the seventeen poll / Aoife Clifford -- The cook / David Whish-Wilson -- Skin deep / Dinuka McKenzie -- Hiding something / Fiona Sussman -- Sinner man / Garry Disher -- Observations on a tragedy, Act one: Incitement / Narrelle M. Harris -- He who laughs last / Helen Vivienne Fletcher -- Water damage / Katherine Kovacic -- The rooming house / Kerry Greenwood -- Rock-a-bye baby / Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray -- The Falls / Lisa Fuller -- Observations on a tragedy, Act two: Complications / Narrelle M. Harris -- Save me / Nikki Crutchley -- Certain kinds of light / Renée -- Nancys undercover / R.W.R. McDonald -- The lost Murray Whelan / Shane Maloney -- Mister Pig / Stephen Ross -- Observations on a tragedy, Act three: Denouement / Narrelle M. Harris -- The company of rats / Sulari Gentill -- Top dog / Vanda Symon -- The authors.

19 short stories from some of the brightest storytelling talents from Australia and New Zealand: including international bestsellers and award winners. Through the prism of page-turning crime, mystery and thriller stories you will roam from the dusty Outback to South Island glaciers, from ocean-carved coastlines and craggy mountains to sultry rainforests and Middle Earth valleys, and via sleepy villages to the underbellies of our cosmopolitan cities. In these all-new stories you'll spend time with favourite series cops, sleuths and accidental heroes, and meet some new and edgy standalone characters.