Books published by ABC Books

Dangerous predators and ravenous herbivores: the story of Australia's feral nightmare Winner of the 2022 Whitley Award, for a book about invasive species zoology.Isolation was once the impenetrable barrier that protected Australia and its unique fauna. But a little over two hundred years ago a foreign power took possession and brought with it the foreign animals that now dominate the country's ecosystem. They are the enemy within.Since that time, around 10 per cent of Australia's endemic terrestrial mammalian species have become extinct. Today Australia is dealing with the damage caused by all hard-hoofed animals, domestic and feral.Yet the bigger feral story is the ravages of acclimatisation, caused as new settlers tried to make the colony more like their homeland and released the rabbit, the fox, the hare, feral cats, common mynas, starlings, sparrows, redfin perch, and the many other invasive species that have brought native Australia to its knees.In this book, Guy Hull details the history and toll of the numerous animal species that have contributed to the decimation of Australian species, their assault on land and agriculture, and the modern strategies that are - hopefully - reclaiming the country for our native fauna and its human population.

One young woman missing, two found murdered -- the gripping true story of Australia's longest-running homicide investigation In the early hours of January 27, 1996, after an evening spent celebrating at Club Bayview in the Perth suburb of Claremont, 18-year-old Sarah Spiers called a taxi to nearby Mosman Park. But when the cab arrived, she'd already gone.Sarah was never seen again.Four months later, on June 9, 1996, 23-year-old Jane Rimmer disappeared from the same area, her body later found in bushland south of Perth. When the body of a third young woman, 27-year-old Ciara Glennon, was found north of the city, having vanished from Claremont in August 1997, it was clear a serial killer was on the loose, and an entire city lived in fear he would strike again.A massive manhunt focused first on taxi drivers, then the outspoken local mayor and a quiet public servant. However, almost 20 years later, Australia's longest and most expensive investigation had failed to make an arrest, until forensic evidence linked the murders to two previous attacks - and an unlikely suspect.Stalking Claremont, by local newsman Bret Christian, is a riveting story of promising young lives cut short, a city in panic, an investigation fraught by oversights and red herrings, and a surprising twist that absolutely no one saw coming.

The chilling true story of the heinous murder of Karlie Pearce-Stevenson and daughterKhandalyce and how the case was cracked In August 2010, the bones of a young woman were found in Belanglo State Forest, where, years earlier, Ivan Milat had tortured and slain seven young backpackers. Dubbed Angel, her remains lay unidentified for years. Who was she, how did she die, and at whose hand?Then, in July 2015, the bones of a child were found in a suitcase by a highway in South Australia. Months later, a call to Crime Stoppers led to an identification. Two-year-old Khandalyce Pearce had left Alice Springs in 2008 with her mother and hadn't been seen since. Through DNA, Angel was quickly identified as Khandalyce's mother, Karlie Pearce-Stevenson. In the grimmest of scenarios, mother and daughter were reunited at last. The Lost Girls is the chilling true story of this heinous double murder and how police tracked down the perpetrator, who not only killed the girls but stole the young mother's identity to defraud authorities and her family. Gripping and authentic, The Lost Girls celebrates the short lives of a young woman and her daughter, and the investigators determined to bring them home.