Crime writers in conversation

Next date: Friday, 07 November 2025 | 06:00 PM to 08:00 PM

The Friends of Kiama Library invite you to special end-of-year event - an evening of crime with James Dunbar (Mole Creek) and Tim Ayliffe (The Wrong Man) in discussion with Ryan Butta. James Dunbar will launch his new novel, Twisted River - set in Kiama!

Twisted River

It’s not only the guilty who have something to hide.

When Cate and Rory Porter return from a European holiday, they make a nightmare discovery. Their credit cards have been cancelled, their bank accounts emptied, and their phones and internet cut off. Their home in the New South Wales coastal town of Kiama has been rented out as a holiday let, and their dog and pet-sitter have disappeared. Meanwhile, Cate's work colleagues have received copies of her handwritten resignation letter, posted from Paris, filled with insults and lurid allegations.

Someone has set out to destroy Cate and Rory lives. As the harassment ramps up, some likely suspects emerge. It isn't long before things turn dangerous. Deadly dangerous. Full of sinister twists and turns and dark humour, Twisted River will grip you until the final cliffhanger ending.

James Dunbar

James Dunbar is a journalist, television scriptwriter, travel writer, university lecturer and website editor. Mole Creek (Echo Publishing, 2024) was shortlisted in the Danger Awards. Published as Jimmy Thomson, he is also the author of two crime ‘caper’ novels and two true-crime memoirs, as well as several books about Australian army engineers (sappers) during the Vietnam War.

Tim Ayliffe

Tim Ayliffe’s thriller novels have been informed by his 25-year career as a journalist in Australia and around the world. He writes about espionage, extremism, politics and the global power games at play in the 21st Century.

He has been the Managing Editor of Television and Video for ABC News and also Executive Producer of News Breakfast. He is the author of the ‘John Bailey’ series including The Greater Good, State of Fear (2022), The Enemy Within, Killer Traitor Spy (2023) and The Wrong Man (2024). Tim's thrillers are also in development for TV.

Ryan Butta

Local South Coast author Ryan Butta’s historical non-fiction looks to reveal and understand the hidden and forgotten stories of Australia and the Australians who, like his own family, came across the seas to make their home here. His first book, The Ballad of Abdul Wade, was longlisted for the Indie Book Awards in 2023. His latest work, The Bravest Scout at Gallipoli, explores the life of Harry Freame, a Japanese-Australian ANZAC and spy.