Book excerpt: In this riveting new novel, the Australian Minister of Defence goes missing when her helicopter crashes in the Australian Outback. Meanwhile, the perpetrators of a terrorist attack on Surfers Paradise, Australia’s beach playground, have survived their attack and are being illegally detained nearby at an outback base for interrogation. Foreign agents arrive in the area and attempt to free the terrorists. Will the minister become a hostage for their release? Security forces believe the answer might come from Saxony Knight, a citizen infiltrator of the Paradise attack, but she’s disappeared from surveillance. An attack on the base sets off a manhunt across the outback, but who are they hunting and why? The only connection appears to be Saxony Knight. Outback for Novices: A Saxony Knight Thriller is the sequel to Paradise for Beginners. A review of the first book by Julie Thompson reads: “From the tongue-in-cheek title to the expertly constructed plot, there is nothing of a beginner about this book, a first for the author. It is a gripping ride, swim, climb, run, and dive through a complex story of Middle Eastern family revenge, espionage, surveillance, and flawed processes and people, played out on one of the world’s most glamorous yet seedy playgrounds. The narrative is time lapsing, intricately detailed, and written in mostly dialogue, which demands careful and concentrated attention. It begins with the beautiful but damaged Saxony Knight, who boards a luxury cruiser on the Tweed River and is taken hostage by two young Middle Eastern brothers. Australian National Security have placed Saxony there to foil the plot, but can she? It’s a frightening, plausible tale.”