Three novellas in one volume Always in Denial Denial, justification and revenge dance through this novella, a page-turning story, topical yet as old as mankind, about the shame of sexual abuse. Lies follow John Taylor all of his life and create a pattern which he had not foreseen. A sinful person is believed to be virtuous; a wronged person gets revenge. The author, a former South Australian police officer and court sheriff officer, has drawn on the stories of people he has encountered on both sides of the law. The reader must decide how much of it is fiction. Shaken & Stirred Mavis Allen has led an uneventful life as a caring housewife. She accepts her stable and long-lasting but uninspiring marriage until she starts to question her life. Her marriage breaks down, bringing dramas over which she has no control. She embarks on a new and challenging journey which brings a spirit possession and murder. She finds happiness at last and vows never to return to being a down-trodden housewife. Yet her journey is not over. She is still shaken and stirred. Shalom, Samuel 1943. Before the five-year-old boy sat freezing on the steps of the old mansion known as the Kent Town Salvation Army Boys' Home, before he watched his alcoholic mother die, there was only Uncle Harry Solomon, who cared for him and taught him to play a harmonica and taught him to dance. The admission staff at the mansion welcomed Samuel into the warmth of the home. When the child played and danced, Allan Parsons spotted his genius within seconds and became his mentor and protector. In time, the boy discovered some of the secrets in his life and later the Solomons of Melbourne and New York took Samuel under their wing and his journey began. But that was later. He had within him a survival instinct which embraced his new life and showed him the way forward through a gamut of emotions, a way to win a scholarship, a way to find his destiny. The way forward was foreshadowed by two simple words written on a scrap of paper and found in his clothes in 1943: Shalom, Samuel.