Malla was born in Swaziland in Southern Africa. She attended Florence Christian Academy, a "mixed race" boarding school. She migrated with her family to Western Australia in the 1970s where she graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in English and History. She next moved to the US where she met her future husband before moving back to Australia and wrote and directed short films and corporate videos. Her films "Fade to White", "Sweetbreeze" and "Servant of the Ancestors" have won numerous awards and have shown at international festivals from Zanzibar to New York City. Malla currently lives in Sydney with her husband and their two children.
Emmanuel Cooper series
Emmanuel Cooper is a police detective in South Africa
A Beautiful Place to Die (2008)
Let the Dead Lie (2010)
Blessed Are the Dead (2012) apa Silent Valley
Present Darkness (2014)
Stand Alone
When the Ground Is Hard (2019)
Sugar Town Queens (2021)
Critical Acclaim
A Beautiful Place to Die:
- Shortlisted 2010 Edgar Award for Best First Novel
- Shortlisted 2010 Macavity Award for Best First Novel
Silent Valley:
- Shortlisted 2013 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction
- Shortlisted 2013 Edgar Award for Best Paperback
- Shortlisted 2013 Anthony Award for Best Paperback
- Shortlisted 2013 Barry Award for Best Paperback
Present Darkness:
- Shortlisted 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction
- Shortlisted 2015 Barry Award for Best Paperback
- Shortlisted 2015 Macavity Award for Best Mystery