Ben's Book Club Monthly Book Talk

Ben's Book Club presents Christine Gregory

In May, Ben meets with Christine Gregory to discuss her latest novel, The Community, a fast paced and thrilling story about fatherhood, family ties and redemption, told through the eyes of a man struggling to make peace with his past. Read or listen to the book in the Libby app and join the authors for a well-rounded bookish discussion.

Date: Tuesday 27 May 2025, 7:30 PM

Book Now: Ben's Book Club featuring Christine Gregory discussing The Community

About The Community

Paradise has a price.

A murder. A disappearance. A sinister network.

Steels Creek is an idyllic retreat in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. It’s a place where everyone knows their neighbours and no one locks their doors. Investigative journalist Lars Nilsson who has moved to the settlement following a public fall from grace is trying to live a quiet life far from the crime reporting he was once feted for.

But when a body is found floating in a nearby waterhole and hours later his best friend’s daughter is reported missing, Lars is compelled to investigate, putting him back in the cross-hairs of police. What he finds may not only destroy his tightknit community but also the life he has worked so hard to rebuild.

About Christine Gregory

Christine Gregory is an Australian writer of crime and general fiction. An earlier version of The Community, was runner up for the 2022 Banjo Prize. Christine has previously been shortlisted in the Sisters in Crime, Scarlett Stiletto Awards.

Christine is a former international aid worker and now works as a Director in a national-not for-profit, working on the prevention of violence against women and children. She lives and works in Naarm (Melbourne) with her husband and two children.

About Ben Hobson

Ben Hobson is a teacher and author based in Brisbane. His debut novel, To Become a Whale, was released in 2017. It was longlisted for the ABIA Debut Fiction award and shortlisted for the Courier-Mail's People's Choice Award. His second novel, literary thriller Snake Island, was released in 2019. The Death of John Lacey, an Australian Western, was released in 2023, and is his third novel.