CRIME CULTURE: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

A priest massacres members of his own church congregation in a drought-ridden New South Wales town. Charles Sturt University academic, Therese Taylor, explains why the newly released Scrublands is such a timely novel.

BOOK REVIEW: Amani Haydar’s surging, award-winning memoir, ‘The Mother Wound’, is a powerful symbol of hope and change but also a tragic reminder that family violence is an all-too-familiar tale that follows a similar pattern regardless of religion or culture, writes Irfan Yusuf.

EXCLUSIVE: Australian tour operator and student, Alek Sigley, is now free but says he will never reveal what really occurred during his week-long forced disappearance in North Korea. But according to other Aussies who’ve recently visited the secretive and demonised nation, social media use could likely be one reason why the young Australian was detained at Kim Jong-un’s leisure this month.