Horror Thriller and Apocalypse #1 Australia

I'm a big fan of horror, apocalypse and anything with a thrilling and creepy vibe to it but it can be difficult to find books in these genres that are set in countries other than the US. This series of posts will be about books from these three genres that I've found that are set in different countries-some I've read, some on tbr, some on my wishlist. In the comments section, please tell us about books YOU have read or added to wishlist or tbr for the selected country.

Please, only mentions books in these three genres please! Horror, Apocalypse, Thriller!

When Ellie and her friends return from a camping trip in the Australian bush, they find things hideously wrong — their families are gone. Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in their town has been taken prisoner. As the reality of the situation hits them, they must make a decision — run and hide, give themselves up and be with their families, or fight back.

The small south-west Australian town of Tillbrook has a secret, one that has been kept for over a hundred years; the Dervish Carnival, which has been there for a century, is run by people who are neither human nor animal, but live in the woods and howl at night. But when David Hampden, a journalist on the downward slope of his career, visits the town with his younger brother, unemployed photographer Paul, that secret is threatened. When Paul is seduced unknowing into their world, David will get him back, whatever the cost. And the cost may be both their lives… and possibly even more.

Carnies is a contemporary Australian supernatural thriller by debut novellist Martin Livings, and is described by the author as "an old fashioned horror novel, harkening back to the days when scary books were fun." Containing equal helpings of horror, action and humour, Carnies is a sideshow haunted house of a novel, with dark twists and turns, sudden drops, surprises, shocks and delights.

So roll up, come to the carnival. You'll never be the same again... if you survive!
 
Ashala Wolf has been captured by Chief Administrator Neville Rose. A man who is intent on destroying Ashala’s Tribe — the runaway Illegals hiding in the Firstwood. Injured and vulnerable and with her Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to the machine that will pull secrets from her mind.

And right beside her is Justin Connor, her betrayer, watching her every move.

Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?

A deadly influenza pandemic results in the death of more than half of the world’s population.
Governments collapse. Nations cease to exist. Refugees flock to other lands in search of safety and security.
What remains of the Australian Government moves its borders to the south and evacuates the survivors from the northern half of the continent. Australia becomes a smaller country.

But some survivors are left behind. They face a perilous existence.
One such survivor is John Timms, a former outback cop.
Timms embarks on an odyssey that takes him across much of the north. Along the way he encounters other Australians as well as many of the newcomers. Timms finds that he must confront the darkness and violence of the new frontier.

Australia... a vast, sprawling land, filled with perilous terrain and countless dangerous animals... but nothing as dangerous as this...

Deep beneath defence headquarters in the Australian Capital Territory, the last ranking Army chief considers the collapse of his country, and the contingency plan to win it back.

One hundred and fifty miles away, five twenty-something friends returning from a month-long camping trip slowly discover that the world has turned horribly wrong, that a virus has ravaged the entire east coast of Australia.

The dead now walk the land, seeking flesh and blood. Armed with dwindling ammunition, the friends must overcome their differences, utilize their individual skills, and face unimaginable horrors as they fight to reach their hometown...

After a nuclear World War III has destroyed most of the globe, the few remaining survivors in southern Australia await the radioactive cloud that is heading their way and bringing certain death to everyone in its path. Among them is an American submarine captain struggling to resist the knowledge that his wife and children in the United States must be dead. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from somewhere near Seattle, and Captain Towers must lead his submarine crew on a bleak tour of the ruined world in a desperate search for signs of life. On the Beach is a remarkably convincing portrait of how ordinary people might face the most unimaginable nightmare.   

For Fin, it's just like any other day - racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class, and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe, Lucy. Only it's not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated. When Fin wakes up the next morning, it’s dark, bitterly cold, and snow is falling. There’s no internet, no phone, no TV, no power, and no parents. Nothing Fin’s learned in school could have prepared him for this.

With his parents missing and dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother Max must find a way to survive all on their own.

When things are at their most desperate, where can you go for help?

Tyler Matthews is desperate for change. Sick of his life and plagued by alcoholism, he makes the decision to divorce his wife, sell everything he owns and travel the world to try and find focus and rid himself of his addiction. Eventually arriving on the sun drenched shores of Australia and still plagued by his demons, he has spent all his savings and is facing the prospect of having to return to his old life. It is here that he meets two men with an outlandish story about a horde of sunken drug money in an area known as the Devil’s Triangle – Australia’s answer to its Bermuda namesake and said to be the lair of a terrifying monster of the deep. Offered a share of the fortune if he helps retrieve it, Tyler agrees to go with the men to the location, sceptical and thinking only of prolonging his journey of self discovery.

He will learn, however, that this particular urban legend is real, and they encounter a giant of the seas, the previously thought to be extinct Megalodon which makes its home within the area of the Devil’s triangle.  

A country drive quickly turns into a nightmare for newly-weds Paige and Hal Loche. When you are in the bush, pregnant, and your husband is hurt what do you do? Will you trust just about anyone? When their car gets a flat tire in the Australian outback, it should be a simple job for capable Hal to fix. His wife pregnant, he sets to it. But an accident befalls him, leaving him immobilized. Paige is now their only hope of getting out of the bush.

“How the cruelty of a stranger changes a couple’s life for ever.”

When Paige chances upon a stranger, it seems her prayers are answered. But the stranger doesn’t want to help. She wants something else, and it’s not Paige’s husband. Hal is expendable, piece by piece it seems, but her baby isn’t. What will Paige do to protect her unborn child, and at what price?

Milly has barely spoken to her sister Judith in years. They hardly exchanged a word at their mother’s funeral. They could not be further apart. So when Milly gets an invitation to go on a hiking trip, she hopes it will be an opportunity for reconciliation. Inviting her school-friend Harper along with her for support, the small party head off together into the bush.

What awaits Milly is far from just a bracing hike in the wilderness, but an unexpected encounter with the past. The form it takes is revenge. But who is enacting it against Milly, and why?
Whilst the action in this book comes thick and fast, it is the relationship between the sisters and their mutual friend, Harper, that introduces the true darkness into the story.
 
This book is set in the rugged landscape below Perth in South Western Australia, an area the author has explored in depth. 

Salechii: A Shark Park is supposed to be all about learning to respect and protect sharks, however after a Level-5 Hurricane hits and the sharks get out of their pens, the only lesson learned is how fast can you swim? 

If you are glued to Shark Week, Sharknado, Jaws, or Jurassic Park, Salechii is going to be your new feeding frenzy!

LINKS:
http://www.michaelpryor.com.au/articles/10-australian-ya-dystopianend-of-the-world-novels-not-to-be-missed/  

http://australianwomenwriters.com/2017/07/spec-fic-focus-on-dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic-fiction/