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Ghosts Among the Gumtrees
In a city where the guilty roam free, there are those who seek retribution…
After surviving the brutal siege of Srebrenica, Seka Torlak is trying to rebuild her life as a refugee in Melbourne, 1997. But her fragile peace is shattered when she spots a war criminal responsible for her father's death walking freely in the city. Determined to uncover his true identity and bring him to justice, Seka delves into an investigation that reveals a sinister underbelly of suburbia, where genocide deniers hide in plain sight.
Haunted by memories of war and loss, Seka grapples with the raging conflict within the pursuit of justice versus the thirst for retribution. As she navigates this perilous path, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice for the truth. Will Seka find her salvation, or will she lose her soul in the process?
After surviving the brutal siege of Srebrenica, Seka Torlak is trying to rebuild her life as a refugee in Melbourne, 1997. But her fragile peace is shattered when she spots a war criminal responsible for her father's death walking freely in the city. Determined to uncover his true identity and bring him to justice, Seka delves into an investigation that reveals a sinister underbelly of suburbia, where genocide deniers hide in plain sight.
Haunted by memories of war and loss, Seka grapples with the raging conflict within the pursuit of justice versus the thirst for retribution. As she navigates this perilous path, she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice for the truth. Will Seka find her salvation, or will she lose her soul in the process?
- GenresAmazon
234 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2026
About the author
Amra Pajalic
27 books84 followersAmra Pajalić is an award-winning author, educator, and PhD researcher of Bosnian heritage whose work explores how fiction represents the Bosnian genocide.
Amra Pajalić won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature's Civic Choice Award for her debut novel The Good Daughter, now re-released as Sabiha's Dilemma (Pishukin Press, 2022). The anthology she co-edited, Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen and Unwin, 2014), was shortlisted for the 2015 Children's Book Council of the year awards and her memoir Things Nobody Knows But Me (Transit Lounge, 2019) was shortlisted for the 2020 National Biography Award. Her short story collection The Cuckoo's Song (Pishukin Press, 2022) features previously published and prize-winning stories.
She is the author of the Sassy Saints series, Sabiha's Dilemma, Alma's Loyalty, and Jesse's Triumph, and the forthcoming Seka Torlak historical-mystery series, beginning with the prequel The Tree That Stood Still and the first book in the series Time Kneels Between Mountains. Her companion essay collection Fragments of History: The Essays Behind the Story, examine the legacy of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
She works as a high school teacher and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University exploring representations of the Bosnian genocide in fiction. Her work blends storytelling with historical analysis to confront dehumanisation and preserve cultural memory. Her website is www.amrapajalic.com.
Amra Pajalic also writes romance under pen name Mae Archer
https://www.goodreads.com/mae_archer
Be sure to follow Amra on BookBub for the latest on sales https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amra-...
Amra Pajalić won the 2009 Melbourne Prize for Literature's Civic Choice Award for her debut novel The Good Daughter, now re-released as Sabiha's Dilemma (Pishukin Press, 2022). The anthology she co-edited, Growing up Muslim in Australia (Allen and Unwin, 2014), was shortlisted for the 2015 Children's Book Council of the year awards and her memoir Things Nobody Knows But Me (Transit Lounge, 2019) was shortlisted for the 2020 National Biography Award. Her short story collection The Cuckoo's Song (Pishukin Press, 2022) features previously published and prize-winning stories.
She is the author of the Sassy Saints series, Sabiha's Dilemma, Alma's Loyalty, and Jesse's Triumph, and the forthcoming Seka Torlak historical-mystery series, beginning with the prequel The Tree That Stood Still and the first book in the series Time Kneels Between Mountains. Her companion essay collection Fragments of History: The Essays Behind the Story, examine the legacy of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
She works as a high school teacher and is completing a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University exploring representations of the Bosnian genocide in fiction. Her work blends storytelling with historical analysis to confront dehumanisation and preserve cultural memory. Her website is www.amrapajalic.com.
Amra Pajalic also writes romance under pen name Mae Archer
https://www.goodreads.com/mae_archer
Be sure to follow Amra on BookBub for the latest on sales https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amra-...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 23, 2026
A thought-provoking story about a resiliently determined, smartly resourceful, contemplatively forgiving, and courageously accepting young woman and her enduring life!
Displaying 1 of 1 review