Nothing is Quite What it Seems

An ordinary day. A familiar face. A past you thought you understood. Look again.
A time traveller searches Sydney's waterfront for the truth behind a family disappearance. A man on a shopping trip finds himself confronting an impossible moment from his past. An antiques dealer's unusual commission becomes a search for something no price tag can capture.
In Nothing Is Quite What It Seems, everyday life opens onto mystery, unexpected humour and the unsettling possibility that we have misunderstood what was in front of us all along.
Blending Australian short fiction with dark humour and speculative storytelling, this collection of twelve short stories and a poem explores the hold of memory, the weight of regret and the small acts of compassion that can break through loneliness and indifference.
Some stories venture into the extraordinary. Others find their revelations in a conversation, a chance encounter or a cherished possession. Together, they invite you to reconsider appearances-and the assumptions you bring to them.
For readers who enjoy thoughtful characters, unexpected endings and stories that balance warmth with unease, Geoff Nadin offers a collection to savour one encounter at a time.
Because the most surprising discoveries aren't always about strangers. Sometimes, they're about ourselves.