❕Shellharbour City Libraries & City Museum will be closed on Monday 9 June 2025 for the King's Birthday public holiday

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The Troubled Deep

Summary:

Nobody ever knew what happened to the Brindleys. One summer they were there - flashy, loud and beautiful - and then they were gone. A mother, father and two children, vanished into the East Anglian night.

Some said the family never made it home from the party; their speeding car thrown off the tracks and the four of them silently buried in the marshes. Others said they had simply moved on. For over thirty years, the case remained as cold as the freezing waterways of the Norfolk broads.

Until Cam Killick found the car.

An ex-marine and ex-SBS officer, Cam Killick’s PTSD has made the return to civilian life a living nightmare. The only place he can find peace is underwater, where the world is muffled to white noise. As a cold case diver it is his job to scour the waterways of the country for the lost, the submerged, the drowned, laying their stories to rest alongside them.

Except when Cam levers open the doors to the Brindley car on the lake bed where he found it, all four bodies are missing. And Cam will soon learn that some secrets, once submerged, are better off staying that way.

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Private Dublin

Summary:

In L.A., a star-studded movie premiere descends into chaos when a shooter opens fire on the crowd.

The culprit escapes and boards a plane to Dublin, Ireland.

Jack Morgan, the head of the world's largest private detective agency, is at the premiere and his partner Justine is badly wounded in the shooting.

Following the gunman to Dublin, Jack soon realises that this is much bigger than a single shooter. What Jack thought was a random act of violence was actually a targeted attempt on his life.

To ensure the safety of those he loves most, Jack must find the person who is so intent on his downfall -- and eliminate them once and for all.

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Hidden Nature

Summary:

Frustrated and bored, injured cop Sloan Cooper is looking for anything to distract her from staring down the barrel of months of slow, painful recovery. When a woman mysteriously vanishes without trace from a supermarket car park, Sloan knows there is more to this case than meets the eye. As she begins to investigate she quickly uncovers similar cases across three states. Men and women, old and young-all with seemingly nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.

With no clues to speak of and a list of the missing growing almost daily, it will take every ounce of Sloan's endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case. And she's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes...

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I Want Everything

Summary:

The legendary career of reclusive cult author Brenda Shales remains one of Australia’s last unsolved literary mysteries. Her books took the world by storm before she disappeared from the public eye after a mysterious plagiarism case. But when an ambitious young writer stumbles across Brenda at a Melbourne pool, he realises the scoop of a lifetime is floating in front of him: the truth behind why she vanished without a trace. The only problem? He must pretend to be someone he's not to trick the story out of her.

One innocent lie leads to a slew that are definitively not, as Brenda reveals the strange and troubling truth of where her books came from. Yet the more the author unravels about Brenda’s past, the more he begins to question whether Brenda is a reliable narrator. Is she spilling secrets or spinning tales? Is she, like him, little more than a talented thief ? To write the book that will make his name, he must balance his ethics and ambition and decide what he’s willing to sacrifice to become the next great Australian writer.

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Landfall

Summary:

In an already swamped city, a disastrous weather system looms, making the search to find a missing child urgent.

A missing child.

A city on edge. Time is running out...

The world is in the grip of climate catastrophe. Sydney has been transformed by rising sea levels, soaring temperatures and rocketing social divide and unrest. When a small girl on the margins goes missing, Senior Detective Sadiya Azad is assigned to find her. She knows exactly what it is to be displaced, and swallowed by the landscape. A murder at the site of the child's disappearance suggests a connection and web of corruption, but fear keeps eyes turned and mouths closed.

With few leads to go on and only days until a deadly storm strikes the city, Sadiya and offsider Detective Sergeant Paul Findlay find themselves locked in a race against time. Chilling and utterly compelling, Landfall is crime writing at its best - and a terrifying vision of the future bearing down on us.

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The Bearcat

Summary:

An intimate psychological portrait inspired by the true story of a notorious cult leader.

bearcat: a large, tree-dwelling mammal; 1920s slang for a fiery girl or woman.

1987. Family is everything to Anne. Our Messiah. And Anne demands everything from The Family; their loyalty, their money, even their children. In return, she promises existential comfort to lost and weary women. Because Anne knows how hard it is to build a family - and how easy it is to lose one.

1921. A child is born on a sticky summer evening. Our Anne. Her mother, Florence, is trapped at home with an indifferent husband and a relentlessly demanding newborn, struggling to reconcile motherhood and her shifting sense of self.

For both women, the past is for escaping, and love is impossible to trust. All they can hope is that their family will save them.

The Bearcat is a dark and nuanced exploration of longing, power and the inviolable grip of history.

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The Sunshine Man

Summary:

In the freezing January of 1989, mother-of-two Birdie Keller wakes to the news she's been waiting seventeen years to hear: the man who destroyed her life has been freed from jail.

Birdie leaves for London with a gun and a plan: to find him and make him pay. But Birdie is about to enter a world she knows nothing about, of family lies and worn-out loyalties, of secrets and truth, of betrayal and forgiveness. In hunting down justice, she herself becomes hunted - and must ultimately face the echoes of a past she's never left behind.

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The Unquiet Grave

Summary:

When a German family – who are trying to enjoy their newly inherited mostly-derelict cabin on the edge of a gloomy Irish bog by cutting peat like the locals – discover a body, they naturally call the police, who just as naturally assume it's a historical find. Only it turns out the ritually sacrificed and arranged body is that of a missing school teacher who vanished two years before. And then on the other side of the country, a new body is found – and then another. Is Cormac dealing with a serial killer? He's certainly dealing with incompetence and ethical issues in the police force...

To complicate matters, his ex-girlfriend Emma (who he has never gotten over) contacts him desperate for help. Her ex-army tech specialist husband has disappeared in Paris, and no-one is listening to her concerns...

And to add to the twists and turns, there is another strand to the story, concerning another IT specialist and his arrogant over-confidence in his own abilities.

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A Cold Wind From Moscow

Summary:

Winter, 1947. Britain's secret services have been penetrated. The country is more vulnerable than ever - and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin knows it. He decides it is time to send his master of 'Special Tasks' to create extra chaos.

But Stalin has a more important motive than mere disruption. He has a man on the inside who must be protected at all costs - a communist super-spy who has the secrets of the atomic bomb at his fingertips.

Freya Bentall, a senior MI5 officer, no longer knows who to trust and is left with one option: to bring in an outsider whose loyalty is beyond question - Cambridge professor Tom Wilde. His task: to find the traitor in MI5.

Bentall has three main suspects and Wilde must get close to them all. That means delving deep into the criminal underworld, attaching himself to the cultural elite of the arts and finding a way into the extreme reaches of British politics.

As winter bites and violence erupts, Wilde faces an uphill battle to protect those he loves from merciless killers. And he knows that one slip will spell disaster for the country - and his family.

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The Children of Eve

Summary:

Wyatt Riggins, the boyfriend of rising Maine artist Zetta Nadeau, has gone missing, leaving behind a cell phone containing a single-word message: RUN.

Private investigator Charlie Parker is hired to find out why Riggins has fled, and from whom.

Parker discovers that Riggins, an ex-soldier, has been involved in the abduction of four children from Mexico: three girls and a boy, all belonging to the cartel boss Blas Urrea - except Urrea's family is safe and well in Mexico, which means the abductees cannot be his children. Yet whoever they are, Urrea wants them back, and has dispatched his agents to secure them, even if it means butchering everyone who stands in their way.

One of those agents is Eugene Seeley, a clever, ruthless solver of other men's problems. The other is an unknown woman.

Every child has a mother. Now Charlie Parker will face one unlike any other, and learn the terrifying truth about the Children of Eve.

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Such Quiet Girls

Summary:

ONE HIJACKED BUS.

Jessa, new driver of school bus 315, is desperate for her first week to go smoothly, or her lies on the job application might get uncovered. Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Sage is itching to get home after another exhausting day of watching over her little sister, Bonnie, at her mum's request. But disaster strikes when their bus is hijacked in broad daylight. And for Jessa, Sage and the rest of the nine innocent souls onboard, the nightmare is only just beginning . . .

TEN FRIGHTENED CHILDREN.

Trapped inside a shipping container buried twenty feet underground, the hijackers promise they'll all be freed once a ransom is paid. But Jessa and Sage aren't sure they'll last that long. It's dark and cramped, the younger kids are panicking, and and with each passing minute, it's becoming harder to breathe.

A DEADLY RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK . . .

With time - and air - running thin, can they team up to outsmart their captors? Or are they doomed to an unthinkable fate?

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Carved in Blood

Summary:

In the depths of the bleak New Zealand winter comes the rising of Matariki – a sacred constellation in Māori culture, heralding a time of new beginnings. For former Detective Senior Sergeant Hana Westerman, life is good: her work in her hometown of Tātā Bay is going well, the community is thriving, and her daughter Addison is getting engaged.

But this Matariki brings unwelcome change. When Hana’s ex-husband Jaye walks into an Auckland liquor store and directly across the path of a gunman, their family’s hard-won peace is shattered.

With the stakes at their highest, Hana finds herself picking up a path she thought she’d never return to. Desperate for answers, she rejoins the police to help scour the city for the unidentified shooter. But as the investigation progresses, she finds herself unprepared for the darkness of the world she is entering.

A darkness much closer to home than she knows.

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South of Nowhere

Summary:

In a race against time and nature, there’s only one man you want on your side.

In northern California a small town teeters on the brink of disaster as flood waters bear down on it. Colter Shaw, however, is on an even more urgent rescue mission – a family swept away in the initial deluge.

The clock is ticking, and their survival window is rapidly closing.

However, the impending disaster raises questions – is the town’s vulnerability a natural occurrence, or is there a more human element at work?

Teaming up with his sister, Dorion, Shaw must uncover the truth, and quickly, otherwise there will be no town, and no one, left to save.

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Helle’s Hound

Summary:

A dead art historian. Cold War skulduggery.

A reluctant Danish sleuth. And an extremely hungry dog. Dame Charlotte Lazerton - eminent art historian and mentor of Danish academic Torben Helle - is dead. And to make things worse, she was found partially eaten by her Irish wolfhound, Mortimer. While the police believe that she died of natural causes, Torben becomes convinced that Charlotte was murdered, although as usual no-one pays any attention to him. That is, until he gains the confidence of a policeman who has watched too many Nordic Noir television shows, and is ready to listen to any Scandinavian in a fetching woolly jumper. Aided by his old friend Leyla, Torben soon realises that there are plenty of people who might have wanted Dame Charlotte dead, from her competitors for a prestigious academic presidency, to old enemies from her time in intelligence during the Cold War. One thing is for sure: Torben Helle is woefully unqualified to catch a killer, and the killer knows it...

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The Daughter

Summary:

You thought she was safe. You were wrong . . .

Lauren can't wait to see her daughter again, to pick her up from university at the end of her first term. But when she arrives at her hall and knocks at room 309, a stranger opens the door.

For a few minutes, Lauren assumes she must have the wrong room, or the wrong floor. Maybe even the wrong building.

But she soon discovers the truth: Evie's not there. She hasn't been there for weeks. So where is she?

City Library

Visiting Author: Gina Chick

Wednesday, 11 June 2025 | 6:00PM

Price: $5

City Library

Visiting Author: Margaret Hickey

Thursday, 10 July 2025 | 6:00pm

Price: FREE

Warilla Library

Naidoc Movie

Thursday, 17 July 2025 | 1:00pm

Price: FREE

Latest news

Farewell Hoopla!

On 28 February 2025 we are saying goodbye to Hoopla…

 

Online craft at the library

Explore our digital programs

Did you know your library has a range of online programs, tutorials and resources ready for you to explore any time, day or night? There’s something for everyone in our Digital Programs Hub. Browse the range and learn something new today.

Latest news

Stocard is moving to the Klarna!

If you haven’t heard the news… Stocard is moving to the Klarna app – so here’s what you need to know!

The City and its Uncertain Walls

Facing the Music

The Night Circus

Recommended by
Lisa
Team Leader Library Experience

Would you miss your shadow if you had to relinquish it?

Watashi has moved to a small isolated town to work in a library escaping his past –

a past life that included a young love and a mysterious city with high walls you can

only enter, minus your shadow. I loved this surreal and introspective read from Murakami.

Recommended by
Michael
Team Leader Library Resources

As a 90’s pop music superfan, I found it fascinating to read about the former S Club 7 stars personal struggles behind the spotlight. Facing the Music is Hannah’s raw and inspiring journey to fame, filled with heartbreak and eventually finding her voice again.

It’s very honest, emotional and empowering – this is a story you didn’t know you needed.

Recommended by
Matthew
Digital Librarian

‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern is a magical story about a black and white circus. Two young illusionists, Celia and Marco, are forced into a magical competition entwined in a budding love story. Slow paced, ‘The Night Circus‘ unfolds in a dreamy, fairy-tale manner that is highly recommended.

Must reads

'Everything I Never Told You' by Celeste Ng

Recommended by
Maddy
Library Assistant

This book is a quick read but its themes linger long after the final page. The opening line caught me right away: “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet,” and I was hooked for the rest of the novel. While there are elements of a murder mystery, the heart of the story lies in its exploration of complex emotional family dynamics and the consequences of feelings left unspoken. The portrayal of grief, pressure and the weight of unmet expectations feels so authentic, relatable and raw. 

1,061

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Most popular

Fiona McIntosh

Blood Pact

Mel Robbins

The Let Them Theory

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Warrigal Care to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading, and crafts. 

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with UOW on a range of Paint Shellharbour REaD initiatives. Paint Shellharbour REaD is part of the Paint the Town REaD network, dedicated to promoting early childhood literacy. 

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with The Man Walk to deliver the Tall Tales program. This program aims to make connections with local, social, hobby and information organisations who appeal to male audiences and bring them into our library programs space. 

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Smith Family to promote early childhood literacy through the Paint Shellharbour REaD initiative. Paint Shellharbour REaD organises reading days and kids events throughout the year dedicated to fostering a love of reading. 

QBD

Shellharbour City Libraries have worked with QBD Shellharbour as the preferred bookseller at all of our Author Talk events. 

Shellharbour City Libraries sponsors Project Bucephalus in their facilitation of the Shellharbour Robo Club. The club teaches youth to form robotics teams and particulate in the FIRST LEGO League tournament. 

Shellharbour City Libraries collaborates with Paint the Gong REaD in conjunction with the Paint the Town REaD network. This partnership promotes early childhood literacy across the Illawarra through multiple reading events and activities. 

Shellharbour City Libraries has partnered with NSW Health to facilitate Independent Living Skills sessions aimed at teaching foster children health and wellbeing skills, in collaboration with the William Campbell Foundation.

The Multicultural Communities Council Illawarra attends Warilla library to utilise the 2528 community room. This is used for exercise and light physio sessions with senior community members.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Living Connected to offer drop-in Tech Help sessions to our customers at Warilla, Albion Park and City Libraries. These short one-on-one sessions are designed to assist customers in their digital skills development. 

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Legal Aid NSW to bring free community talks across our branches discussing a range of legal topics and how people can access help and resources as a part of the Libraries Law Week celebration.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Kiama Community College to deliver Tech Savvy Seniors sessions at our libraries. Tech Savvy Seniors is a NSW Government and Telstra partnership coordinated by the State Library of NSW. The program aims to teach seniors digital skills and knowledge.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Junior Einsteins to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading, and crafts. 

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Judi Sandilands-Cincotta to bring Ollie and Shiko the therapy dogs to a range of children’s and youth programs. These programs aim to promote positive mental health and social connection.

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Illawarra Legal Centre to bring free community talks across our branches discussing a range of legal topics and how people can access help and resources as a part of the Libraries Law Week celebration.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with HARS to deliver the Tall Tales program. This program aims to make connections with local social, hobby and information organisations who appeal to male audiences and bring them into our library program space. 

Shellharbour City Libraries organises Sensory Experiences with Greenacres Disability Services at Warilla Library.

Shellharbour City Libraries and the Youth Services team partnered with Fitness Cartel Albion Park to deliver a Youth Fitness program at Warilla Library. This program engaged local youth and taught them about health, personal fitness, and respect.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Ed U Play to facilitate programs and activities that bring young people together. These programs support social and emotional wellbeing amongst youth. The libraries support the Girls Only Project which aims to provide young women with knowledge of and access to positive activities in their own communities. Ed U Play are funded by the Communities for Children Program.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Bunnings to deliver free monthly Craft Workshops at City Library. In these sessions, experts from Bunnings teach our customers a range of crafting skills. These workshops include, Kokedama Balls, Painting Art Canvas and much more!

For Library Lovers Day, Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Belladonna Book Club to produce a series of Book Review videos. 

These reviews were released on the Libraries’ Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on the Belladonna Book Club’s social media channels.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Barnardos to promote early childhood literacy through the Paint Shellharbour REaD initiative. Paint Shellharbour REaD organises reading days and kids events throughout the year dedicated to fostering a love of reading.

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Aruma Disability Services to deliver Library Links. Library Links is a program that aims to invite disability services groups into their local branches to utilise craft and puzzle kits as well as getting to know our collections. Aruma is the first group at the Warilla branch and comes monthly to utilise space, kits and collections with their joined organisation library card.

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Warrigal Care to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading and crafts. 

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with the William Campbell Foundation to deliver the Independent Living Skills Program. This program involves teaching foster children integral health and wellbeing skills and knowledge. Additionally, the City Library hosts WCF’s fortnightly Homework Club.

Sydney Writers Festival

Every year, Shellharbour City Libraries partners with the Sydney Writers Festival to deliver author panel livestreams and local events as part of the festival’s Live and Local programming. 

Paint the town read

Shellharbour City Libraries leads Paint Shellharbour REaD, which is part of the Paint the Town REaD network. This initiative aims to promote early childhood literacy by connecting local early childhood education stakeholders and providers and collaborating with them to deliver reading events and activities. 

Little Zaks Bee connected

Shellharbour City Libraries partnered with Little Zaks Academy to deliver Bee Connected, an intergenerational program aimed at forming meaningful connections between young people and seniors in the community through songs, games, reading and crafts. 

Frasers Property

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Frasers Property Australia to deliver Toddler Tales, a weekly childhood reading program, at The Waterfront Shell Cove. The libraries have also partnered with Frasers Property Australia to deliver a term of Tech Savvy Seniors at Shell Cove.

Frasers Property

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Frasers Property Australia to deliver Toddler Tales, a weekly childhood reading program, at The Waterfront Shell Cove. The libraries have also partnered with Frasers Property Australia to deliver a term of Tech Savvy Seniors at Shell Cove.

Paint Shellharbour REaD

Shellharbour City Libraries partners with Big Fat Smile to deliver Transition to School programs to prepare pre-schoolers for their move into primary school. Big Fat Smile is also a part of the Paint Shellharbour REaD initiative, which organises events that promote early childhood literacy.