Contemporary Fiction Books

Book SynopsisFar in the future, 60,000 light-years from Earth, a loose confederacy of Terran exiles is locked with the enigmatic Protoss and ruthless Zerg swarm. Each species struggles to ensure its own survival among the stars in a war that will herald the beginning of mankind''s greatest chapter--or foretell its violent, bloody end.Danny Liberty was a good reporter...too good. When his investigations struck too close to the heart of the corrupt Terran Confederacy, he faced a simple choice: continue his current series of exposés, or take a hazardous new assignment covering the Marines on the front lines of the Koprulu Sector. It didn''t take him long to decide...Behind the attacks of the Zerg and the Protoss lies the story of a lifetime, but every piece of information blurs the mystery further. Thrown into the middle of a war where the outcome will determine mankind''s very survival, the only thing that Danny Liberty knows for sure is that the only person he can trust to keep him alive is himself.

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Book SynopsisRona Jaffe''s frank, scandalous and thrilling 1958 novel, The Best of Everything follows a group of young women as they negotiate office romances, workplace politics, broken engagements, tiny apartments, lecherous bosses, heartbreak and lasting friendship, published in Penguin Modern Classics.New York, 1952: Four young women have come to the city: to find love, to build their careers and to savour the indefinable optimism of the times. Caroline is the college graduate, determined to escape the typing pool and become an editor. April is the beautiful country girl with a penchant for disastrous romances. Aspiring actress Gregg is tangled in a dangerous love affair with a playwright; and divorcée Barbara writes about lipsticks by day and cares alone for her daughter by night. Famously bedtime reading for Mad Men''s Don Draper, The Best of Everything portrays the lives and passions of these ambitious young women with intelligence, affection, and prose as sharp as a paper cut.Rona Jaffe (1931-2005) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the affluent Upper East Side of Manhattan. Jaffe wrote her first book, The Best of Everything, while working as an associate editor at Fawcett Publications in the 1950s. Published in 1958, it was later made into a movie, starring Joan Crawford. During the 1960s she wrote cultural pieces for Cosmopolitan magazine. Jaffe wrote sixteen novels during her career, including the controversial Mazes and Monsters (1981), adapted into a film starring Tom Hanks.If you enjoyed The Best of Everything, you might like John Dos Passos'' Manhattan Transfer, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.''It harks back to a saner time when choosing progress and modernity was as straightforward as ordering dinner - Two Scotches with water on the side, and two steaks'' Julie Burchill, author of Ambition''Decades before Sex and the City, Jaffe recorded the minutiae of women''s lives and broke powerful taboos''Joan Smith, IndependentTrade ReviewThis stirring, evocative novel tells it exactly as it was * Fay Weldon *Not since One Day have I stayed up so late reading a book, but Rona Jaffe's The Best of Everything has me gripped...So much more than chick-lit -- Laura Craik * The Evening Standard *The emotional lives of these women are beautifully drawn...It is, I think, the perfect summer read: juicy, involving and classy. Even as you smile at the thought that smoking was once considered a skill, and white cotton gloves a wardrobe basic, it will also make you feel nostalgic for your own past, for those feverish days when fear and elation were pretty much the same thing -- Rachel Cooke * The Observer *One of Don's first bed companions in series one of Mad Men is not another woman, but The Best of Everything, this 1958 novel by Rona Jaffe...It is a world of typing pools and tie-wearing at all times; of whiskey drinking and womanising; a world in which secretaries grope their way towards feminism with difficulty and bosses grope their secretaries with with ease...As Draper himself might say: fascinating * The Times *Decades before Sex and the City, Jaffe recorded the minutiae of women's lives and broke powerful taboos. -- Joan Smith * The Independent *I absolutely LOVED this ...what a great novel -- Elizabeth NobleMost career girls, past or present, will respond with the shock of authenticity * The Saturday Review *The book is a fantastically entertaining and witty read, following the lives of three young women, Caroline, Gregg, and April working on the New York publishing scene as they search for love while trying to succeed in the metropolis ... the book's portrait of young women at a vibrant stage in their life, their excitement, fun, struggles and friendships in the city, is accurate and timeless. A fabulous summer novel best consumed poolside with a cigarette and martini -- Lucy Greene * City A.M. *

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Book SynopsisSteve Toltz''s A Fraction of the Whole is a riotously funny explosion of a novelSHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2008From his prison cell, Jasper Dean tells the unlikely story of his scheming father Martin, his crazy Uncle Terry and how the three of them upset - mostly unintentionally - an entire continent. Incorporating death, parenting (good and bad kinds), one labyrinth, first love, a handbook for criminals, a scheme to make everyone rich and an explosive suggestion box, Steve Toltz''s A Fraction of the Whole is a hilarious, heartbreaking story of families and how to survive them.''A fat book but very light on its feet, skipping from anecdote, to rant, to reflection, like a stone skimming across a pond . . . it is brilliant'' Guardian''Sparkling comic writing . . .It gives off the unmistakeable whiff of a book that might just contain the secret of life'' Independent''With tinges of magicalTrade Review'A fat book but very light on its feet, skipping from anecdote, to rant, to reflection, like a stone skimming across a pond ... it is brilliant' Guardian 'If first novels were sandwiches, Steve Toltz's would be a juicy, swaggering doorstop of a sarnie, overflowing with eccentrically combined but delicious ingredients ... Toltz is a superb phrase-maker with an acute eye for humanity's shortfalls' Big Issue 'A grand achievement and the debut of a great comic talent ... go away and read it' Sunday Times 'Sparkling comic writing...It gives off the unmistakeable whiff of a book that might just contain the secret of life.' Independent 'With tinges of magical realism and buckets of misanthropic humour it's a clever and funny debut.' Observer

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Book SynopsisDiscover the sixth book in the ludicrously inaccurately named Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy, as broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and featuring original cast members including Simon Jones, Geoff McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey and Sandra Dickinson.Arthur Dent led a perfectly ordinary, uneventful life until the Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy hurled him deep into outer space. Now he''s convinced a cruelly indifferent universe is out to get him. And who can blame him?His life is about to collide with a pantheon of unemployed gods, a lovestruck green alien, a very irritating computer and at least one very large slab of cheese. If, that is, everyone''s favourite renegade Galactic President can get him off planet Earth before it is destroyed . . . again.''A triumph, fabulous. Colfer has given us a delight'' Observer''I haven''t read anything in a long time that made me laugh as much'' The Times''Chock-full of fanciful, inventive one-liners and asides, brimming with a burning sense of the ridiculousness of life'' Independent on Sunday''The best post-mortem impersonation I have ever read'' Mark Lawson, Guardian

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Book SynopsisDISCOVER THE BOOKER PRIZE LONGLISTED NOVEL ABOUT ONE HEART''S LOVES AND LOSSES FROM ICONIC STORYTELLER WILLIAM BOYD''Superb, wonderful, enjoyable'' Guardian''Full of delights'' The Times_____________________________Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary, and Logan Mountstuart''s - stretching across the twentieth century - is a rich tapestry of both. As a writer who finds inspiration with Hemingway in Paris and Virginia Woolf in London, as a spy recruited by Ian Fleming and betrayed in the war, and as an art-dealer in ''60s New York, Logan mixes with the men and women who shape his times. But as a son, friend, lover and husband, he makes the same mistakes we all do in our search for happiness. Here, then, is the story of a life lived to the full - and a journey deep into a very human heart.''One of the things this book does so brilliantly, is it so authentically recreates historical characters'' Ben Miller, on BBC 2''s Between The Covers____________________________''Astonishing, touching, extremely funny. A brilliant evocation of a past era and an immensely readable story'' Sunday Telegraph''Superb, wonderful, enjoyable'' Guardian''Generous, witty, sneakily profound'' Evening StandardAny Human Heart was adapted for a Channel 4 drama starring Kim Cattrall, Gillian Anderson, Matthew Macfadyen and Jim Broadbent and is perfect for readers of Sebastian Faulks and Hilary Mantel.Trade Review'A terrific journey through the twentieth century. Thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable' - Jeremy Paxman 'Wise, profound and moving. Only the very best novels make you look at your own life and imagine your own future with fresh eyes' - William Sutcliffe, Independent on Sunday 'Superb, wonderful, enjoyable' Guardian 'Sheer, truly brilliant storytelling. He has probably written more classic books than any of his contemporaries' Daily Telegraph 'Astonishing, touching, extremely funny. A brilliant evocation of a past era and an immensely readable story' Sunday Telegraph 'Astounding. One of Boyd's greatest achievements' Mail on Sunday

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Book SynopsisJim Crace is the prize-winning author of ten books, including Continent (winner of the 1986 Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize), Quarantine (winner of the 1998 Whitbread Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the Booker Prize) and Being Dead (winner of the 2001 National Book Critics Circle Award). He lives in Birmingham.

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Book SynopsisThe midnight hour approaches in an almost empty all-night diner. Mari sips her coffee and glances up from a book as a young man, a musician, intrudes on her solitude. Both have missed the last train home. The musician has plans to rehearse with his jazz band all night, Mari is equally unconcerned and content to read, smoke and drink coffee until dawn. They realise they''ve been acquainted through Eri, Mari''s beautiful sister. The musician soon leaves with a promise to return before dawn. Shortly afterwards Mari will be interrupted a second time by a girl from the Alphaville Hotel; a Chinese prostitute has been hurt by a client, the girl has heard Mari speaks fluent Chinese and requests her help. Meanwhile Eri is at home and sleeps a deep, heavy sleep that is ''too perfect, too pure'' to be normal; pulse and respiration at the lowest required level. She has been in this soporfic state for two months; Eri has become the classic myth - a sleeping beauty. But tonight as the digital clock displays 00:00 a faint electrical crackle is perceptible, a hint of life flickers across the TV screen, though the television''s plug has been pulled.Murakami, acclaimed master of the surreal, returns with a stunning new novel, where the familiar can become unfamiliar after midnight, even to those that thrive in small hours. With After Dark we journey beyond the twilight. Strange nocturnal happenings, or a trick of the night?Trade ReviewFor sheer love of a thumping narrative, the novel delivers gloriously-Inventive, alluring -- David Mitchell * Guardian *Wonderful-Magical and outlandish * Daily Mail *Cool, fluent and addictive * Daily Telegraph *Hypnotic, spellbinding * The Times *A magnificently bewildering achievement-Brilliantly conceived, bold in its surreal scope, sexy and driven by a snappy plot-Exuberant storytelling * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisLisa Jewell is the No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two novels, including The Family Upstairs, Then She Was Gone and her latest novel, None of This is True. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies in the UK and internationally, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives in London with her husband, two daughters, an amazing Romanian rescue dog called Daisy, and Ivy the mad orange kitten.Trade Review"For anyone who hasn't picked up a Lisa Jewell novel since her chick-lit classic Ralph's Party, it might be time for a re-acquaintance ... Jewell's writing proves as punchy and fresh as ever. Her lively depiction of inner-city London living and dating still rings true" Independent "Lisa Jewell's writing is like a big warm hug and this book is a touching, insightful and gripping story which I simply couldn't put down" -- Sophie Kinsella "Lisa's best book yet. I loved it" -- Jane Fallon "The Truth about Melody Browne perfectly illustrates the truth about Lisa Jewell. She writes like a dream, creates characters that you really care about and tells a story so compelling that it will still be with you long after you've read the last page" -- Mike Gayle "Classic storytelling" Elle

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Book SynopsisLisa Jewell is the No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two novels, including The Family Upstairs, Then She Was Gone and her latest novel, None of This is True. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies in the UK and internationally, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. She lives in London with her husband, two daughters, an amazing Romanian rescue dog called Daisy, and Ivy the mad orange kitten.Trade Review"A gripping examination of all the difficulties a modern couple can face ... Well written and compelling" Daily Mail "I can't get enough of Lisa Jewell's books - they're so moreish!" -- Camilla Kerslake News of the World "Poignant and heart-wrenching, it's a wonderful insight into what can happen when the fairytale finally ends" The Sun "Pretty damn good ... Jewell stands out, providing insightful character studies ... and she is so readable - you can fall into After the Party as you would a particularly soft settee" Time Out, Paperback Pick, 4 stars "Lisa's heartfelt writing and raw, honest storytelling makes for an emotional, funny and heartbreaking journey ... but there is a glimmer of hope. Can Jem and Ralph find their way back to happiness? 5 stars" heat

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Book SynopsisA secret history of scent, memory and desire from the Sunday Times bestselling author of ELEGANCE and THE DEBUTANTE.One letter will turn newly-married Grace Munroe's life upside down:Our firm is handling the estate of the deceased Mrs Eva D'Orsey and it is our duty to inform you that you are named as the chief beneficiary in her will. We request your presence at our offices at your earliest convenience, so that we may go through the details of your inheritance.'There is only one problem. Grace has never heard of Eva D'Orsey.So begins a journey which leads Grace through the streets of Paris and into the seductive world of perfumers and their muses. An abandoned perfume shop on the Left Bank will lead her to unravel the heartbreaking story of her mysterious benefactor, an extraordinary woman who bewitched high society in 1920s New York and Paris.Trade ReviewPraise for The Perfume Collector: ‘This evocative novel spins you back a few decades to the grace and elegance of the ‘20s and ‘50s’ GLAMOUR ‘A mesmerising novel of passion and scent’ – WOMAN AND HOME ‘The joy in Tessaro’s books, however, is her knack for describing glamour. She leaves readers greedy for satin and lace, for angular cocktail dresses and complex scents spilling from beautiful bottles. It’s a voluptuous and desirable world to drop into, but her characters have enough depth and moral ambiguity to lift this above most’ EMERALD STREET Praise for The Debutante: 'It's an elegant and glamorous plot …which means lots of mouth-watering descriptions of decaying stately homes by the sea'Daily Mail ‘The latest from the author of bestseller Elegance. New Yorker Cate immerses herself in the mystery of the Mitford-esque 1920’s London debutante’Red ‘A shoebox filled with mementoes sets artist Cate on a hunt for the truth behind the disappearance of a dazzling 1920’s ‘it’ girl in Kathleen Tessaro’s The Debutante’Good Housekeeping ‘Tessaro gets her story-weaving wand out with a gloriously rich story of past and present love’InStyle ‘Reading The Debutante was the most delicious treat. Engrossing, romantic, wise and witty – the perfect read. I could not put it down’Gillian Greenwood, author of Satisfaction and The Ghost Lover

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Book SynopsisPart of the Penguin Orange Collection, a limited-run series of twelve influential and beloved American classics in a bold series design offering a modern take on the iconic Penguin paperbackWinner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books 50 Covers competition For the seventieth anniversary of Penguin Classics, the Penguin Orange Collection celebrates the heritage of Penguin?s iconic book design with twelve influential American literary classics representing the breadth and diversity of the Penguin Classics library. These collectible editions are dressed in the iconic orange and white tri-band cover design, first created in 1935, while french flaps, high-quality paper, and striking cover illustrations provide the cutting-edge design treatment that is the signature of Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions today.We Have Always Lived in the Castle Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is perhaps the crowning achievement of Shirley Jackson?s brilliant career: a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the dramatic struggle that ensues when an unexpected visitor interrupts their unusual way of life.

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Book SynopsisPart-time environmentalist and philanthropist Ben and his ex-mercenary buddy Chon run a Laguna Beach-based marijuana operation, reaping significant profits from their loyal clientele. In the past when their turf was challenged, Chon took care of eliminating the threat. But now they may have come up against something that they can''t handle-the Mexican Baja Cartel wants in, sending them the message that a no is unacceptable. When they refuse to back down, the cartel escalates its threat, kidnapping Ophelia, the boys'' playmate and confidante. O''s abduction sets off a dizzying array of ingenious negotiations and gripping plot twists that will captivate readers eager to learn the costs of freedom. Savages is an adrenaline-fuelled novel by a master thriller writer at the very top of his game.Trade ReviewThis is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on autoload. Winslow's stripped-down prose is a revelation -- Stephen KingRejoice - Don is back on the drugs ... Winslow has few equals * Independent *Winslow on rip-roaring form, his most stylish, pacy and blood-soaked novel yet ... A brilliantly clever game of cat and mouse ... Vibrant, stylish and captivating ... A true thriller -- Henry Sutton * Mirror *Savages is a wild ride...The language is limber and lean, the pace adrenalin-fuelled and the killers downright terrifying ... Will linger with you long after the final page * Time Out *A frighteningly convincing depiction of big-time drug cartels at work -- John Harvey

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Book SynopsisIt is Midsummer's Eve. Three young friends meet in a wood to act out an elaborate masque. Each is killed by a single bullet. Soon afterwards, one of Inspector Wallander's colleagues is found murdered. Is it the same killer, and what could the connection be? In this investigation Wallander is always, tantalisingly, one step behind.Trade ReviewOne of the most ingenious crime writers around. Highly recommended * Daily Telegraph *Mankell is in the first division of crime writing * The Times *Not only an intriguing puzzle, but a moving description of a man trying to keep faith with a dead friend... This is the best aspect of crime fiction: a gripping plot plus the exploration of character and relationships that reverberate around murder * Independent *So compelling that, at the end of the sleepless night it took to read, I blearily reached for a keyboard to search for Mankell's other titles -- Mark Lawson * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisStopping to use a cash machine one evening, a man falls to the ground: dead. A taxi driver is brutally murdered by two teenage girls who demonstrate a complete lack of remorse. One girl escapes police custody and disappears without trace. Soon afterwards, a blackout covers half the country. When an engineer arrives at the malfunctioning power station, he makes a grisly discovery... Inspector Kurt Wallander is sure that these events must be linked - somehow. Hampered by the discovery of betrayals in his own team, lonely and frustrated, Wallander begins to lose conviction in his role as a detective. And somehow these criminals seem always to know the police''s next move.Trade ReviewFirewall is the eighth of his investigations, and the most enjoyable yet * Guardian *Another gripping Inspector Wallander mystery by Sweden's master crime writer * The Times *Enormously enjoyable -- Jessica Mann * Sunday Telegraph *Firewall cracks along at a punishing pace... I am already hankering for a return to Ystad and a few more sleepless nights traipsing after Kurt * Observer *Kurt Wallander is right up there with Ian Rankin's John Rebus * Waterstone's Books Quarterly *

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Book SynopsisDr Max Aue is a family man and owner of a lace factory in post-war France. He is an intellectual steeped in philosophy, literature, and classical music. He is also a former SS intelligence officer and cold-blooded assassin. He was an observer and then a participant in Nazi atrocities on the Eastern Front, he was present at the siege of Stalingrad, at the death camps, and finally caught up in the overthrow of the Nazis and the nightmarish fall of Berlin. His world was peopled by Eichmann, Himmler, Göring, Speer and, of course, Hitler himself. Max is looking back at his life with cool-eyed precision; he is speaking out now to set the record straight.Trade ReviewIt is a great achievement to have made this horrific tale recounted by such a profoundly unsympathetic character so gripping...a great work of literary fiction, to which readers and scholars will turn for decades to come -- Anthony Beevor * The Times *An extraordinarily powerful novel that leads the stunned reader on a journey through some of the darkest recesses of European history...reveals something that is desperate and depressing but profoundly important, now as ever * Observer *Everybody's talking about it...erudite, pitiless and mesmerising * Financial Times *A compelling and savage tale, with a cold dispassionate eye that never flinches from the raw reality of mass-murder... a serious attempt to describe the terrors of the Nazi regime * Independent *The book rises magnificently to its own occasions, building out of its fact-crammed but stately sentences a vast and phosphorescent tableaux vivants seething with Dantesque detail * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisPresents the story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her.Trade Review"A work of genuine literary merit . . . What Mr. Kesey has done in his unusual novel is to transform the plight of a ward of inmates in a mental hospital into a glittering parable of good and evil."--The New York Times Book Review"[A] brilliant first novel . . . a strong, warm story about the nature of human good and evil . . . Keysey has made his book a roar of protest against middlebrow society's Rules and the invisible Rulers who enforce them."--Time"The final triumph of these men at the cost of a terrifying sacrifice should send chills down any reader's back. . . . This novel's scenes have the liveliness of a motion picture."--The Washington Post"An outstanding book . . . [Kesey's] characters are original and real. . . . This is a tirade against the increasing controls over man and his mind, yet the author never gets on a soap box. Nor does he forget that there is a thin line between tragedy and comedy."--Houston Chronicle

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Book SynopsisIsherwood's short, poignant novel is a tender and wistful love story Celebrated as a masterpiece from its first publication, A Single Man is the story of George, an English professor in suburban California left heartbroken after the death of his lover, Jim.Trade ReviewThe best prose writer in English * Gore Vidal *A virtuoso piece of work...courageous...powerful * Sunday Times *His key post-war work. A quarter-century ahead of its time in its portrayal of a quotidian homosexual life, it inspired a generation of gay writers in Britain and the US * Independent *Lyrical and intensely moving * Daily Telegraph *A testimony to Isherwood's undiminished brilliance as a novelist * Anthony Burgess *

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Book Synopsis*** CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022***Step into the lives of three women whose ambitions collide in the hilarious and heart-warming novel from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups''Wonderful, subtle, hilarious and highly sophisticated. You can''t stop reading'' EVENING STANDARD''It had me in tears . . . and barking with laughter'' DAILY TELEGRAPH___________''There are three sides to every story. Your side, their side, and the truth . . .''Jojo, a sharkish literary agent, has just made a very bad career move - she''s slept with her married boss Mark.Lily, Jojo''s bestselling author, has blown her advance on a house with new boyfriend Anton, only to come down with writer''s block.Gemma used to be Lily''s best friend until Lily ran off with Anton. Now she''s pouring her heart out, and a certain literary agent likes her style . . .Soon the fortunes of Jojo, Lily and Gemma are horribly entangled.But each is about to discover that there''s more than one side to every story . . .___________''Keyes''s genius lies in making the darkest, most difficult aspects of humanity mentionable and manageable . . . Keyes''s plot is cracking, but the story becomes even bolder and brighter because she lets her characters tell it'' Independent''Packed with sound writing, wit and common sense'' GuardianPraise for Marian Keyes:''Mercilessly funny'' The Times''Funny, tender and completely absorbing!'' Graham Norton''Keyes is in a class of her own'' Daily ExpressTrade ReviewKeyes's genius lies in making the darkest, most difficult aspects of humanity mentionable and manageable . . . Keyes's plot is cracking, but the story becomes even bolder and brighter because she lets her characters tell it * Independent *Another chart-topping blockbuster from goddess Marian Keyes . . . packed with sound writing, wit and common sense * Guardian *Fabulously brilliant * Heat *Wildly funny, romantic and nearly impossible to put down * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisScotland Street is back. Settle in and take a trip back to Scotland's favourite fictitious street, with Bertie, Irene, Big Lou, newcomer Galactica Macfee and all the rest. With customary charm and deftness, Alexander McCall Smith gives us another instalment in this popular series, where anything could happen to Bertie and the gang.

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Book SynopsisSports reporter Harper Nelson has spent far too long on the sidelines. So, when her boss sends her to Chicago to cover the upcoming baseball season for the Cougars, she knows this could be her last shot to prove to the network - and her parents - that this is where she belongs. Now is no time for distractions, especially one in the shape of Jamil Edman - the hottest MLB player of the moment, and the man she woke up next to just a few weeks earlier. It's not that she regrets sneaking out, it's just that she wasn't expecting to see him again so soon . . . But for Jamil that night with Harper was the first time he'd felt free in months. He might be coming into this season at the top of his game, but he's learnt that success comes at a price as he fights to keep certain pieces of his life out of the spotlight. Soon, tensions simmer to boiling point, but will they end the season with a home run, or will they strike out?

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Book SynopsisBeyond the main street of Les Laveuses runs the Loire, smooth and brown as a sunning snake - but hiding a deadly undertow beneath its moving surface. This is where Framboise, a secretive widow, plies her culinary trade at the creperie - and lets her memory play strange games.Trade ReviewHer strongest writing yet: as tangy and sometimes bitter as Chocolat was smooth * Independent *Outstanding ... beautifully written * Daily Mail *Joanne Harris a naturally sensuous writer, but her latest book has a dark core...Her descriptive and narrative talents are put to a profounder use...This gripping tale is bound to be made into a film. It's as vivid a journey through human cruelty and kindness as I've read this year * Daily Telegraph *Harris indulges her love of rich and mouthwatering descriptive passages, appealing to the senses ... Thoroughly enjoyable * Observer *Just as she did in Chocolat, Harris indulges her love of rich and mouth-watering descriptive passages, appealing to the senses with seductively foreign names, and evoking the textures and smells of food. These descriptions are suffused with a child's wide-eyed wonder that lends the story a magical quality, almost like a folk tale or a children's story. Even having the Occupation as a backdrop, Harris sets out to tell a story that proves, like her previous books, to be thoroughly enjoyable... * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisThe leader of a religious cult in Guyana instigates a mass suicide. He succeeds in killing himself and his whole flock of worshippers, save one. In a wood outside Ystad, the police make an horrific discovery: a severed head, and hands locked together in an attitude of prayer. A Bible lies at the victim''s side, handwritten corrections and amendments on every page. A string of incidents, including attacks on domestic animals, has been taking place and Inspector Wallander fears that these events could be the prelude to attacks on humans on a much greater scale. Meanwhile Linda Wallander, preparing to join the Ystad police force, arrives at the station. Showing all the hallmarks of her father - the maverick approach, the flaring temper - she becomes involved in the case and in the process is forced to confront a group of extremists bent on punishing the world''s sinners.Trade ReviewWith this book his fans are in for a double treat as Mankell gives us two Wallanders for the price of one... Crime fiction doesn't get any better than this * Mail on Sunday *Probably Britain's favourite European mystery writer... Mankell's subtle use of his characters keeps you reading * Daily Mail *This novel will not disappoint Kurt's followers. He remains integral, and his guilt-shot relationship to his daughter is beautifully done * Independent *The Nordic King of European thriller writers -- Louise France * Observer *

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Book SynopsisTwenty years after the end of the Second World War, an Italian general is despatched to Albania to recover his country's dead. Once there he meets a German general who is engaged upon an identical mission, and their conversations brings out into the open the extent of their horror and guilt, newly exacerbated by their present task.Trade ReviewHe has been compared to Gogol, Kafka and Orwell. But Kadare's is an original voice, universal yet deeply rooted in his own soil * Independent on Sunday *A novelist of dazzling mastery -- Paul Binding * Independent *Astonishing...his finest work -- Azar Nafisi, Man Booker judge and author of 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' * Guardian *With its metonymic realism and fidelity to its characters, The General of the Dead Army reminds us why his work is so valued * New Statesman *Literary gold dust - haunting, bleakly comedic and ultimately horrific * The Times *

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Book SynopsisWhen you own the world''s greatest detective agency, you make the world''s most dangerous enemies.Jack Morgan's former lover is found murdered in Jack's bed and he is instantly the number one suspect.But Jack Morgan is also the head of Private, the private investigation firm that solves the problems of the world's rich and infamous.So while fighting to clear his name, he is also hired to recover millions of dollars of stolen goods and to investigate a string of murders at a luxury hotel chain.With Jack and his team stretched to breaking point, Private faces their biggest challenge yet.__________________________________________Readers love Private No. 1 Suspect''Excellent''''I loved this book''''Another great James Patterson and cannot wait for the next one''''Couldn''t put it down''''Every time I read a Private story I''m hooked and I''m there with them''_____________________

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Book SynopsisCarsten Jensen was born in 1952. He first made his name as a columnist and literary critic. As a journalist he has reported from many regions of conflict, including the Balkans and most recently, Afghanistan. His essays, novels and travel books have won numerous literary awards, including the coveted Golden Laurels and the Danish Bank Literary Prize. In 2010 he received the prestigious Olof Palme Prize, awarded for his contribution to the defence of human rights. We, the Drowned has sold more than 300,000 copies in Scandinavia alone and was voted best Danish novel of the past 25 years.Trade ReviewA magnificent addition to the canon of seafaring writing, a brilliant new reworking of the ancient theme...the pages glow with wonderfully imagined pictures... The language is all you could hope for in a sea novel: sinewy and simple, often surprisingly beautiful -- Vanora Bennett * The Times *Carsten Jensen is unquestionably one of the most exciting authors writing in Scandinavia today. I always look forward hugely to his books. He is, in my opinion, an utterly unique story-teller -- Henning MankellAn epic tale * Independent *A novel of immense authority and ambition and beauty, by a master storyteller at the height of his powers. This is a book to sail into, to explore, to get lost in, but it is also a book that brings the reader, dazzled by wonders, home to the heart from which great stories come. Meet Carsten Jensen halfway and you're spellbound -- Joseph O'ConnorImpressive... one of the more engrossing literary voyages of recent years... rich, powerful and rewarding * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisA beautifully written novel which inspired the Oscar-winning film directed by Anthony Minghella and starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, and Renee Zellweger. Over 1 million copies sold in the UK.Trade ReviewMagnificent . . . this wonderful novel presents the terrible, discordant reality of life in a war. Profoundly moving, it raises all the big questions * Observer *A beautiful book, written in exquisite prose -- Kate AtkinsonA remarkable first novel, a romance of love, of friendship, of family, of land. Frazier has inhaled the spirit of the age and breathes it into the reader's being * The Times *A poetic account of hardship, violence and longing ... From a simple framework of alternating narratives, Frazier builds up a richly detailed portrayal of a vanished world * Daily Telegraph *A beautiful book written in exquisite prose * Kate Atkinson *A remarkable first novel, a romance of love, of friendship, of family, of land. Frazier has inhaled the spirit of the age and breathes it into the reader's being * The Times *Magnificent . . . this wonderful novel presents the terrible, discordant reality of life in a war. Profoundly moving, it raises all the big questions * Observer *

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Book SynopsisAnother masterpiece from Jane Gardam and the second novel in the Old Filth trilogy.

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Book SynopsisThis final classic collection of stories reveals Somerset Maugham''s unique talent for exposing and exploring the bitter realities of human relationships. Brilliant tales of love, infidelity, passion and prejudice, the stories range from ''The Lotus Eater'' in which a man has a vision of a life of bliss in the Mediterranean, to the astringent tales of ''The Outstation'' and ''The Back of Beyond'' in Malaya and South East Asia. Largely set in favourite Maugham country, this colourful collection brilliantly evokes the numbered days of the British Empire.Trade ReviewThe short story was Maugham's true métier, and some of the stories he wrote are among the best in the language -- Anthony BurgessOne of my favourite writers -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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Book SynopsisMichel Houellebecq is a poet, essayist and novelist. He is the author of several novels including The Map and the Territory (winner of the Prix Goncourt), Atomised, Platform, Whatever and Submission. He was awarded the Legion d'Honneur in 2019.Trade ReviewVery moving, gloriously, extravagantly filthy and very funny * Independent *Compelling...wrenchingly terrible... Unhealthy and haunting, rich and provocative, Atomised astonishes both as a novel of ideas and as a portrait of a society * Independent *A brave and rather magnificent book * Daily Telegraph *Sheer brilliance...totally mesmerising, energising, infuriating and moving... Compulsory reading * Time Out *A novel which hunts big game while others settle for shooting rabbits -- Julian Barnes * Times Literary Supplement *Destined to become a cult book...a genuine page-turner * Observer *Bullying and brilliant... Atomised is nothing less than a road-rage map of our times * Evening Standard *An extraordinary voice * Observer *Makes you re-examine your beliefs... This is a brave and rather magnificent book * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis''A rich, revolutionary novel...she writes with virtuosity and perfect confidence, insight and compassion'' The TimesJeremy is a child-like, painfully shy bachelor who has never left home. He lives on the third floor of his mother''s boarding house and spends his days cutting up coloured paper to make small collages - until the day his mother dies and the beautiful Mary Tell arrives to turn his world upside down.**ANNE TYLER HAS SOLD OVER 8 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**''Anne Tyler takes the ordinary, the small, and makes them sing'' Rachel Joyce''She knows all the secrets of the human heart'' Monica Ali ''A masterly author'' Sebastian Faulks''I love Anne Tyler. I''ve read every single book she''s written'' Jacqueline WilsonTrade ReviewA rich, revolutionary novel...she writes with virtuosity and perfect confidence, insight and compassion * The Times *Anne Tyler's talent is to make extraordinary characters entirely credible... So unfaltering is their story that every word is convincing * Sunday Times *Tyler has created two characters at once entirely original and entirely convincing...a quiet but immensely strong novel, to admire and treasure * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.Trade ReviewWondrous...brilliantly inventive...dazzling. Not simply the most original novel I've read in years - it's also one of the best * The Times *Exceptional by any standards. Both funny and deeply moving * Sunday Telegraph *Outstanding. Heartening as well as richly entertaining. A stunningly good read * Independent *Superbly realised. A funny as well as a sad book. Brilliant * Guardian *A remarkable book. An impressive achievement and a rewarding read * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisThe epic journey of one man's life, by one of America's most outstanding writers.Trade ReviewWhat makes it so appealing is the voice of Will Cooper, which is potent, wry, insightful and utterly convincing . . . as rich a fiction as it is an eventful one. * Andrew Rosenheim, Time Literary Supplement *'THIRTEEN MOONS will provide the immense satisfaction of taking a literary journey of magnitude. Whether on a plane, in an office or curled in a window seat, readers who absorb Will's story will find their own lives enriched. THIRTEEN MOONS belongs to the ages.' * LA Times *'Almost a decade since the publication of his bestseller Cold Mountain, Frazier has produced another no less-absorbing and richly textured account of America in the years leading up to and encompassing the Civil War. Frazier is adept not only at the set pieces. . . but also at the more intimate observations of people and places. It is this that makes his story both a powerful dramatisation of a shameful episode in American history and a compelling love story.' * Christina Konig, The Times *Its narrative has a thoroughly human scale and informs just as much as it moves and entertains * Frank Egerton, The Times *The history that Frazier hauntingly unwinds through Will is as melodic as it is melancholy, but the sublime love story is the narrative's true heart. * Publishers Weekly *'Frazier's keen observations and unforced, unsentimental depictions of animals are wonderful ... like the western it references, it's far-ranging, hard-fighting and soft-hearted.' * Guardian *A novel whose prose is so carefully wrought that it reads like fragments of a long poem. * Telegraph *Frazier is a timeless master magician who renders the texture of the landscape, emotion and history all excruciatingly real * Time Out *It is this meeting of two conflicting ideas of personal and social history that gives Thirteen Moons its great wisdom. . . alive with wonder and adventure. Frazier is a wonderfully sensual writer * Richard Godwin, Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisFrom the award-winning author of Mistress of Spices, the bestselling novel about the extraordinary bond between two women, and the family secrets and romantic jealousies that threaten to tear them apart.Anju is the daughter of an upper-caste Calcutta family of distinction. Her cousin Sudha is the daughter of the black sheep of that same family. Sudha is startlingly beautiful; Anju is not. Despite those differences, since the day on which the two girls were born, the same day their fathers died--mysteriously and violently--Sudha and Anju have been sisters of the heart. Bonded in ways even their mothers cannot comprehend, the two girls grow into womanhood as if their fates as well as their hearts were merged.But, when Sudha learns a dark family secret, that connection is shattered. For the first time in their lives, the girls know what it is to feel suspicion and distrust. Urged into arranged marriages, Sudha and Anju's lives take opposite turns. Sudha becomes the

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Book SynopsisThe first novel in the sensational Bow Street series from New York Times bestselling historical romance author Lisa Kleypas tells the story of a scandalous beauty with no memory of who she is and the man determined to unravel the secrets of her past . . . ''Lisa Kleypas is the best'' Sarah MacLean She couldn''t remember who she was . . . A temptingly beautiful woman awakens in a stranger''s bed, rescued from the icy waters of the Thames, her memory gone. Told that she is Vivien Rose Duvall, one of London''s most scandalous beauties, she finds herself in the protection of enigmatic, charming Grant Morgan. Her life is in his hands. Deep in her heart, she knows he has mistaken her for someone else . . . He was the only man she could trust. As one of London''s most eligible and unattainable catches, Grant Morgan is a man who has known every kind of woman. And the one in his arms now seems so

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Book Synopsis Includes the story Poison, now a short film from Wes Anderson on NetflixIn this collection of stories, Dahl tantalizes, amuses, and sometimes terrifies readers about what lurks beneath the ordinary. •  “With the inventive power of a Thomas Edison and the imagination of a Lewis Carroll . . . Roald Dahl is a wizard of comedy and the grotesque, an artist with a marvelously topsy-turvy sense of the ridiculous in life.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer Included in this collection are such notorious gems of the bizarre as “The Second Machine,” “Lamb to the Slaughter,” “Neck,” and “The Landlady.” Other stories explore: A wine connoisseur with an infallible palate and a sinister taste in wagers. A decrepit old man with a masterpiece tattooed on his back. A voracious adventuress, a gentle cuckold, and a garden sculpture that becomes an instrument of sadistic vengeance. Social climbers who climb a bit too quickly. Philanderers whose deceptions are a trifle too ornate. Impeccable servants whose bland masks slip for one vertiginous instant.

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Book SynopsisFive children meet on their first day of school, one bright September morning. Drawn by that magical spark of connection that happens to the young, Gabby, Billy, Izzie, Andy and Sean each bursting with their own personality, all with strikingly different looks and diverse talents soon become an inseparable group, known to everyone else as the Big Five. As they grow up, their seemingly perfect lives are altered by families falling apart, unfortunate mistakes, and losses and victories great and small. Throughout their adolescence, the five are able to turn back to their trusted group to regain their footing and steady their course. But as they emerge from school, their futures seem neither safe nor clear. As their lives separate, the challenges and risks they face become greater, the losses sharper, and it becomes much harder to know the right path to choose.But despite life's ups and downs, together they are able to face up to challenges with the help of the importa

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Book SynopsisSophie Kinsella is an internationally bestselling writer. She is the author of many number one bestsellers, including the hugely popular Shopaholic series. She has also written seven bestselling novels as Madeleine Wickham and several books for children. She lives in the UK with her husband and family.Visit her website at www.sophiekinsella.co.uk and find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SophieKinsellaOfficial. You can also follow her on Twitter @KinsellaSophie and Instagram @sophiekinsellawriter.Trade ReviewBrilliant reading * Heat *An insightful and funny take on the pitfalls and pleasures of telling the truth * Cosmopolitan *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2016 INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARDWINNER OF THE FOLIO PRIZE 2015For eight-year-old Ajay and his older brother Birju, life in Dehli in the late 1970s follows a comfortable, predictable routine: bathing on the roof, queuing for milk, playing cricket in the street. Yet, everything changes when their father finds a job in America - a land of carpets and elevators, swimsuits and hot water on tap. Life is exciting for the two brothers as they adjust to prosperity, girls and 24-hour TV, until one hot, sultry day when everything falls apart. Darkly comic, Family Life is a story of a boy torn between duty and survival amid the ruins of everything he once knew.

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Book SynopsisOld God''s Time (March 2023), Sebastian Barry''s stunning new novel, available to pre-order nowFollowing the end of the First World War, Eneas McNulty joins the British-led Royal Irish Constabulary. With all those around him becoming soldiers of a different kind, however, it proves to be the defining decision of his life when, having witnessed the murder of a fellow RIC policeman, he is wrongly accused of identifying the executioners. With a sentence of death passed over him he is forced to flee Sligo, his friends, family and beloved girl, Viv. What follows is the story of this flight, his subsequent wanderings, and the haunting pull of home that always afflicts him. Tender, witty, troubling and tragic, The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty tells the secret history of a lost man.Trade Review"'A novel that is tender, acerbic, necessary and potent.' Colum McCann 'Elegant, comical, tragical, musical.' Frank McCourt"

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Book SynopsisI was supposed to be having the time of my life.When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer.

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Book SynopsisAn edge-of-your seat tale' O, the Oprah MagazineEqual parts love story, tragedy and murder mystery' Entertainment WeeklyFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SUNBURN AND DREAM GIRLA classic story of murder and mystery, in which one man''s disappearance echoes through the lives of his wife, daughters - and mistress.Fourth of July, 1976. Bambi''s world implodes when her husband Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes, leaving her and their daughters behind.Though Bambi has no idea where Felix - or his money - might be, she suspects one woman does: his devoted young mistress, Julie. When Julie herself disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she''s left to join her old lover - until her remains are found in a secluded wooded park.Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto ''Sandy'' Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective wo

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