Royce Leville Libri

Strange situations, unsolvable problems, secret lives, redemption and revenge.Who are the people behind the names? Frankie, Pavel, Willard, Esmeralda, Milo, Shannon ... these are just some of the stories in The Book of Names. There’s a benevolent locksmith with keys to every lock in town. There’s a serial-killing vet who harvests his victims’ organs. A paediatrician battling her own imaginary friends. A group of men locked inside a container, stranded at a harbour somewhere. A performance artist who can open a bottle of champagne in an extraordinary way. And more. Royce Leville’s second book is a mesmerizing collection of the bizarre, the off-kilter, the strangely normal and the cleverly humorous.Winner of the Australia/New Zealand category in the 2015 IPPYs.

In "A Little Leg Work," diners are unaware of the unsettling truths behind their favorite meals at the Alfresco Paradiso. As a detective and a journalist investigate the restaurant's mysterious success, the story unfolds through multiple perspectives, revealing darkly humorous and shocking twists. This debut novel challenges narrative conventions while tantalizing readers.

When his sole poetry collection is found in the case of a gruesomely murdered violinist, the police think Huntley did it. But he's innocent, and the best way to prove it is to find the killer himself. Variously assisted by Detective Everest, PR writer Aphra Massey and octogenarian computer hacker Henrikson, Huntley tries to solve a series of deaths (and one coma) that result from plant poisonings. While he has no idea what he's doing, his ability to see stories, identify motives and predict endings enables him to zero in on the "weed killer". For Huntley, all the answers are in the stanzas. But there are bigger pieces in play, including a new subdivision being built on Perth's southern wetlands, drug deals aplenty, a police force that looks out for themselves, a politician intent on making WA a separate country, and Huntley's loose-cannon teenage daughter Verity. Can Huntley put all the pieces together to find the killer before the killer finds him?