Choppy Water is out TODAY! 🥳
3 November 2026
After five long years, Choppy Water is finally here!
My new action-packed thriller (for adults) is in bookshops TODAY across Australia and Aotearoa. It's also on your favourite e-book and audiobook apps, whatever they may be.
Early reviews have called it "brilliant" (John Purcell) "unhinged" (Tanya Niblett) "outrageous" (@pages_of_prose_by_hu) and "so much fun" (Mandy White).
I recommend going in completely cold. Don't even read the blurb―just open page 1 and brace yourself for twist after twist. But if that's not your style, or you're not quite on board yet (ha!) I'll give you some plot stuff. Just scroll past a bit of subtle advertising:
Okay, here's the pitch: A woman's body is found in a laundry cart aboard the Silver Lady cruise ship. Management says it was a freak accident. The death is quickly covered up.
Cesar Cain doesn't want to get involved. He boarded the Silver Lady with a forged passport and a target on his back.
But it's March 2020, and the borders are slamming shut. Cesar soon discovers that the woman wasn't the first victim—and with the ship suddenly quarantined and unable to dock anywhere, she won't be the last…
Still want more? I wrote a piece about Choppy Water on the Allen & Unwin blog which shares some more juicy hints.
I'm incredibly proud of this book (my 50th!). I've been bouncing on my chair and rubbing my hands together with glee at the thought of sharing it with you all. I'd like to thank Allen & Unwin, Bolinda Audio and Curtis Brown Australia for making it so special (plus Canberra writers Emma Pei Yin and Shane Walsh-Smith, whose feedback was transformative).
Come to a launch party! We've only sold 16 tickets in Sydney, so that could be quite an intimate event, but in Canberra we've sold 59, which means there's only one left. I have no idea how Melbourne is doing. Big or small, I can promise you a great night out (and a signed book makes a great Christmas gift!)
If you can't celebrate in person, tag @jackheathwriter on social media! I'd love to hear what you think of Choppy Water. (Don't spoil page 268 for anyone, though…)
Thanks to all of you for your enthusiasm over the years. Whether this is your first Jack Heath book or your 50th, it means a lot to have you along for the ride. I quite simply couldn't do this without you.
Gratefully yours,
Jack
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