Read the new thriller by award-winning crime author, Georgia Harper.
The new thriller from 2025 davitt award winner:
A provocative question. A community on edge. A murder waiting to happen.
After a violent confrontation with the man next door, Dove paints a daring question on the front wall of her Sunshine Coast hinterland farm: 'What would you do if you had a whole day on earth free of men?'
When tourists and local women answer by writing their pent-up frustrations, fears and confessions, it strikes a nerve with the local blokes. With nowhere to hide from exposed secrets and shameful legacies, tensions boil up, just as the town hits the headlines over a missing teen.
As media scrutiny grows and Dove faces anonymous threats, she fears her secret romance might harbour its own hidden dangers.
Release date: 31 March 2026.
Praise for Dove:
Georgia Harper expertly balances the intimacy of small-town life with an expansive exploration of how women and girls navigate their safety in this world. The central premise alone makes this novel a standout; when combined with Harper's gorgeous writing and an unfolding plot rich in both menace and sensuality, Dove shows just how impactful the best psychological thrillers can be. I finished it with a lump in my throat.
Jacqueline Bublitz
Georgia Harper takes a big swing and hits it out of the park. Dove is character-driven crime that asks deep philosophical questions but refuses to offer simple answers. Ambitious, wry and deftly drawn - I loved it.
JP Pomare
Thought-provoking, nuanced and utterly original, Dove is a gripping exploration of power and gender set against the backdrop of 1990s small town Queensland. Georgia Harper’s charismatic, unconventional heroine will stay with me for a long time.
Kate Horan
Exploring gender, power and social unease as it builds to a dramatic resolution.
Hannah Cartmel, Books + Publishing
Read the award-winning crime Debut by Georgia harper
A near-future Australia. The death penalty is back. But, if the victim’s family wants the perpetrator to die, they have to do it themselves. Twenty-four hours alone in a room with the condemned. No cameras. No microphones. Just whatever punishment they decide befits the crime.
Ten-year-old Lucy was murdered. Through counselling sessions with their court-appointed psychologist, we learn the stories of her family members: Lucy’s two mothers – Stella and Matisse – her much older brother and her bookish teenage sister, who is too young to participate in the execution, but who has plans of her own . . .
Secrets and grief threaten to break the family. As the execution date nears, already-struggling Stella remains adamant that she must carry out the punishment. But it becomes clear that if she steps into that room, the family may lose her too.
Praise for What I Would Do to You:
From one of the best openings to a book I’ve had the fortune to read, and all the way to its staggering conclusion, What I Would Do to You does not relent. Surprising, ferocious and stubbornly full of heart. With this novel, Georgia Harper announces her arrival on the Australian literary scene – I, for one, am glad she’s here!
Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town
Books of this calibre are hard to find, especially from debut authors. If you like speculative fiction, or enjoy reading books that not only grip you but make you think about the world, I would highly recommend this one. I can’t wait to see what Georgia Harper writes in the future.
Alicia Guiney, Readings
Equal parts moving, thought-provoking and deeply unsettling, this skilfully written page-turner will stay with you long after you close the book.
The Australian
Harper weaves all of these threads into a seamless story that manages to both engross and challenge, to be lyrical and stark. What I Would Do To You is an astonishingly accomplished first novel that not only makes you think but won’t let you go.
Meredith Jaffe, New Voices Down Under
An original and powerful thriller, What I Would Do to You flings readers into wild, uncharted waters with its extraordinary premise and startling conclusion. Presenting one of the most chilling ethical dilemmas a family could possibly face, it compels readers to question their perception of justice and morality as the story unfolds in volatile and complex layers. Intelligent fiction that left me reeling.
Lyn Yeowart, author of The Silent Listener
Harper explores in some depth the pros and cons of an important issue in an engaging and affecting way. That is quite an achievement and definitely deserving of your attention.
Erich Mayer, ArtsHub
This is for you if you are looking for a good read out of left field with a psychological forensic spin.
Grant Hansen, Good Reading
Harper creates a plausible, disturbing near-future dystopia, and her dramatic examination of the justice (or otherwise) of capital punishment feels more like a psychological thriller than a single-issue novel.
Cameron Woodhead, Sydney Morning Herald
Intelligent, emotionally eviscerating crime fiction at its best.
Dinuka McKenzie