Ali Lowe Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Ali Lowe
Ali Lowe has been a journalist in the United Kingdom and Australia, and has always felt like she had a book in her somewhere. She’s written for newspapers, websites, and magazines in London and then Australia, after moving to Sydney in 2006 on a trip which was only meant to last one year.

Ali was a Features Editor at OK! in London, where she memorably stalked celebrities in Elton John’s garden at his annual White Tie and Tiara ball.

After having her three children, she went freelance and wound up writing cover stories for the North Shore Times and the Mosman Daily, commissioned by editor Tim McIntyre. Tim, after she submitted one of her cover stories, emailed her to ask if she ever considered writing a novel and this sat in the back of her mind since she had always wanted to write a novel.

Tim then commissioned her to interview Jaclyn Moriarty (a novelist), who recommended the Faber Writing A Novel Course, and it was as though the stars had aligned. She wrote a good deal of “The Trivia Night” on this course. Her London based agent signed her overnight after reading through the manuscript.

Ali sent the full manuscript on a Friday night at about 10 PM, Sydney time. When she woke up at 7 the next morning, she had this email from Marina saying that she had been reading the book all day in London as Ali was sleeping, and Marina hadn’t been able to put it down. Marina told her what she loved about the novel and said that one of the huge twists had made her gasp out loud in the office, much to the amusement of her colleagues. And offered Ali representation there on the spot.

While writing “The Trivia Night”, she looked up a lot of things dealing with swinging, because she was clueless about any of this and looked up all kinds of things like ‘is it true that swingers will take pineapples to parties?’ and ‘what are the rules of swinging?’ She researched quite a lot of this on her sister’s home computer while visiting the UK in the year 2019, and she is sure her sister would be just thrilled about that.

There were other random things she looked up like, ‘what’s it called when you’ve got six toes on each foot instead of five?’ (something a character reveals having this condition at trivia night), along with random info about dead bodies to add some color to the later chapters of the novel.

Ali has been writing since she was about eight years old. Her sister says that Ali always had a notebook with her as a child, she’d sit on the sofa and make up songs and stories, always with her small book by her side. Professionally, she began writing at the age of twenty.

Ali grew up reading Agatha Christie novels again and again, and she still believes they are genius. She also loves “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier and she has read it a lot over the years. She is basically drawn to thrillers/mysteries with brilliant characterization. She’ll devour anything written by Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth for this exact reason. Sally’s novel “The Younger Wife” is especially excellent. Ali also loves Ber Carroll’s novels and Vanessa McCausland’s whimsical Australian mysteries.

“The Trivia Night” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2022. Question: How long does it take to rip somebody’s life apart?
Answer: Sometimes just a single night.

From the outside the parents of the kindergarten class at Darley Heights Primary School seem to have everything. Living in the wealthy suburbs in Sydney, it is a community where everybody knows one another, and secrets don’t stay secret for too long.

The major date on the calendar is the school’s annual fundraising trivia night, however once the evening gets raucously out of hand, talk turns to swapping partners. Initially scandalized, it is not long before a group of parents make this reckless one-night-only pact.

However in the harsh light of day, the people involved have to face the fallout of their behavior. While they start navigating the shady aftermath of their wild night, the truth threatens to rip their perfect lives apart, and revenge becomes fatal.

“The Trivia Night” is a compelling and domestic pager turner filled with stunning reveals, that is perfect for fans of Sally Hepworth and Liane Moriarty.

Readers found this to be spookily familiar, darkly captivating, and funny, and it held their attention from start to finish. This is a fresh look at adults behaving poorly and the consequences that come from it. There are some great laugh out loud moments along with the fight for revenge. Fans enjoyed the flirting, nastiness, posturing, and general community stuff. Gradually everybody’s backstory gets revealed and the pacing never quite slows down too much.

“The Running Club” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2023. The running club’s rules are the exact same as they have always been: keep your mind sharp, keep your breath steady, and record your laps. But now there is a new one: do not get yourself murdered.

Esperance, a wealthy community, is picture perfect. Stunning views, big houses, and beautiful people. There’s a brand new running track for the local club to run around in the evenings. And from the outside, it looks just like paradise.

However the women of the town know the real truth: you can hide anything you want—from secrets from your past to wrinkles—assuming you have plenty of money. You could even hide a murder.

“The Running Club” is a twisty and gripping page turner that is filled with lies, secrets, and reveals that you won’t see coming.

Readers loved the big money, bigger secrets, and the elite lives. This is brilliantly taut and fast paced read. It’s the fascinating characters that do it for some readers. Their overlapping pasts, their places in this social hierarchy, and their jealousies, secrets, resentments, and betrayals. This is a running club riddled with rivalries, which leads to a murder mystery that left readers gripped until the very end.