Contemporary fiction titles are those which focus on the present or near past. Stories rooted in the current cultural, social, and political landscape which feature characters we can all recognise.
Contemporary Fiction Books
Vintage Publishing The Seville Communion
Book SynopsisArturo Pérez-Reverte was born in Cartagena in 1951. Since the publication of The Fencing Master, his first novel, Pérez-Reverte has become one of Europe's bestselling authors. The Flanders Panel was awarded the Grand Prix Annuel de Litterature Policiere in France. His novel, The Dumas Club, has been made into the film The Ninth Gate by Roman Polanski and starring Johnny Depp.Trade ReviewClassy and brimming with panache * Independent *Energetic, atmospheric writing -- Ben Farrington * Literary Review *Recounted with panache and subtlety, The Seville Communion is one of those infrequent whodunnits that transcend the genre * Time *A beautifully and intricately written noir in which unique plots and counterplots abound * San Francisco Examiner *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Earthly Possessions
Book SynopsisAnne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her bestselling novels include Breathing Lessons, The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Ladder of Years, Back When We Were Grown-ups, Digging to America, A Spool of Blue Thread, Clock Dance, Redhead by the Side of the Road and French Braid.In 1989 she won the Pulitzer Prize; in 1994 she was nominated by Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby as 'the greatest novelist writing in English'; and in 2012 she received the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. In 2015 A Spool of Blue Thread was shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize; and in 2020 Redhead by the Side of the Road was longlisted for the Booker Prize.Trade ReviewMy favourite writer, and the best line-and-length novelist in the world, is Anne Tyler... Brilliant, funny, sad and sensitive * Independent on Sunday *Funny and moving * The Times *A skilful novel by a writer in full flight from the obvious * Observer *Wickedly good
£9.49
Cornerstone Wilt on High
Book SynopsisWilt is back - in form, and in a good deal of trouble.Henry Wilt is still teaching at the Fenland Tech, attempting to drill English into plasterers, dozing through tedious committee meetings and occasionally getting mildly plastered in ''The Pig in a Poke'' with one of his few bearable colleagues. But the even tenor of his days is rudely interrupted when the shadow of drug dealing flickers across the Tech. Suddenly Wilt becomes the target of suspicion. His colleagues believe him to be responsible for triggering a departmental inquiry, and his old adversary Inspector Flint, knowing that he''s guilty of something, sees a chance to settle a number of scores. What starts with an accusation of voyeurism in the staff lavatory (of the wrong gender to boot) leads, more or less directly, to a massive confrontation at a nearby US airbase with the forces of law and order on both sides and Wilt in his usual place - in the middle.Trade ReviewThe funniest writer now working in the English language -- Stephen KingTom Sharpe serves up the loudest laughs in literary comedy ... He is the great post-Waugh humorist, the Wodehouse who dares plunge into the botomless vulgarity and hysteria of our times, and a rattling good companion on a train journey * Mail on Sunday *A very funny book ... it is perfect stuff, vintage Sharpe * Punch *Tom Sharpe is back on form ... he stays Sharpe to the bottom of the glass * Sunday Times *Tom Sharpe is one of the funniest things that has happened to fiction recently * Financial Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone Practically Perfect
Book SynopsisA cottage renovation. A good-looking but impossible stranger arrives. A life adventure awaits. . . from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Wedding Season, A Wedding in Provence and One Enchanted Evening.''The queen of uplifting, feel good romance'' AJ Pearce''Top-drawer romantic escapism'' Daily Mail''Delicious - gorgeous humour and the lightest of touches'' Sunday Times___________________Anna has risked everything to buy and renovate her tiny but beautiful cottage set in the sleepy village of Amberford.The outside is perfect, but inside all is chaos: with a ladder for a staircase, no downstairs flooring, and only candles for lighting.It''s no wonder that Anna''s soon wondering whether she''s bitten off more than she can chew.Her neighbour Chloe comes to the rescue: providing wine, sympathy and a rescue greyhound: Caroline!But just Trade ReviewPerfect for the beach * Bella *Fun summer read * Choice *A fun helping of chick-lit * OK! *Funny and heartwarming * Newmarket Journal *I can see this being carried in many a beach bag because fans simply adore her humorous, lively and character-driven stories. They will certainly warm to Anna * Peterborough Evening Telegraph *
£8.99
Cornerstone Dance To The Music Of Time Volume 4
Book SynopsisAnthony Powell''s brilliant twelve novel sequence chronicles the lives of over three hundred characters, and is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England. It is unrivalled for its scope, its humour and the enormous pleasure it has given to generations.Volume 4 contains the last three novels in the sequence: Books do Furnish a Room; Temporary Kings; Hearing Secret Harmonies.
£18.00
St Martin's Press Death in the Long Grass A Big Game Hunters
Book SynopsisAn account of the adventures of a big-game hunter offers glimpses of man-eating leopards, fear-maddened elephants, charging buffalo, cunning hyenas, and other great killers of the African bush country.
£18.99
Duckworth Books Murder in Gray and White
Book SynopsisThe death of Mrs Amy Kinseth was considered no great loss by the residents of the beach retirement community. For Angela and Caledonia, the case offers a glorious opportunity to have some fun as they help their handsome detective friend, Lieutenant Martinez, with a bit of on-site snooping.
£9.49
Cornerstone Life Skills
Book Synopsis_________________Thank goodness for Katie Fforde, the perfect author to bring comfort in difficult times. She really is the queen of uplifting, feel good romance.' AJ PEARCE_________________Julia''s learning some lessons in love. A wonderfully romantic novel from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Recipe for Love, A French Affair and The Perfect Match.Sometimes you can't escape the pastWhen Julia realises she holds more affection for a Labrador than she does for her actual fiancée, Oscar, Julia decides to change her life. She quits her job, dumps Oscar, and starts a new career as a cook on a couple of narrowboats.Finally feeling like she's keeping her head above water, Julia is appalled when her past comes back to haunt her.Oscar is persistent, her mother is a matchmaking nightmare and to top it all off her childhood enemy, the enigmatic, Fergus Grindley, arrives on the scene.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Far Eastern Tales
Book SynopsisWilliam Somerset Maugham was born in 1874 and lived in Paris until he was ten. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury, and at Heidelberg University. He spent some time at St. Thomas' Hospital with the idea of practising medicine, but the success of his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, published in 1897, won him over to literature. Of Human Bondage, the first of his masterpieces, came out in 1915, and with the publication in 1919 of The Moon and Sixpence his reputation as a novelist was established. At the same time his fame as a successful playwright and writer was being consolidated with acclaimed productions of various plays and the publication of several short story collections. His other works include travel books, essays, criticism and the autobiographical The Summing Up and A Writer's Notebook. In 1927 Somerset Maugham settled in the South of France and lived there until his death in 1965.Trade ReviewIf all else perish, there will remain a storyteller's world...that is exclusively and forever Maugham, a world of verandah and prahu which we enter as well as we do that of Conan Doyle's Baker Street, and with a happy and eternal homecoming * The Times *Maugham teases out buried secrets as mesmerising as the heat and as menacing as the surrounding jungle * Observer *Ideally you should listen to these stories lying in a long cane chair on the veranda of a dark bungalow sipping a gin and bitters - not that Maugham's writing needs any further atmospheric embellishment. Like Kipling and Conrad, Maugham transports us to a long-since-vanished and distinctly non-PC world of hard-drinking colonial planters and traders and their frosty memsahibs * Guardian *
£9.49
Cornerstone True At First Light
Book SynopsisThe book opens on the day Hemingway''s close friend Pop, a legendary hunter, leaves him in charge of the camp. Tensions have heightened among the various tribes and news arrives of a potential attack on the hunters, forcing Hemingway not only to take on his new role of leader but, equally important, to assist his wife Mary in pursuing the great lion she is determined to kill before Christmas. Passionately detailing the African landscape, the excitement of the chase, and the heartfelt relationships with his African neighbours, Hemingway, a master of dramatic fiction, weaves a tale that is rich in laughter, beauty and insight.Written when Hemingway returned from his 1953 safari, and edited by his son Patrick, True At First Light is a rich blend of autobiography and fiction, a breathtaking final work from one of this century''s most beloved and important writers.Trade ReviewCaptures the beauty of the African landscape and the thrill of the hunt, in true Hemingway style * Red *This is writing of a high order; sympathetic, luminous, hypnotic, humane * Caledonia *
£8.99
Vintage Publishing The Human Stain
Book SynopsisIt is 1998, the year America is plunged into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president, and in a small New England town a distinguished classics professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues allege that he is a racist. The charge is unfounded, but the truth about Silk would astonish even his most virulent accuser.Trade ReviewThe Human Stain pulses with the strengths that make Roth a prime contender for the status of the most impressive novelist now writing in and about America * Sunday Times *An extraordinary book - bursting with rage, humming with ideas, full of dazzling sleights of hand' * Sunday Telegraph *One of his very best... There are passages of such sustained brilliance here that I found myself going over them again and again in gaping disbelief. An extraordinary book - bursting with rage, humming with ideas, full of dazzling sleights of hand * Sunday Telegraph *A novel so furious in its telling, with a plot so intricate in its construction that it is infused with a kind of diabolic joy. A masterpiece * Mail on Sunday *[A] tender, shocking and incendiary story on the failure of the American dream refracted through the prism of race -- Arifa Akbar * Guardian *
£9.49
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Model Home
Book Synopsis
£18.34
Vintage Publishing TwentyOne Stories
Book SynopsisGraham Greene was born in 1904. He worked as a journalist and critic, and in 1940 became literary editor of the Spectator. He was later employed by the Foreign Office. As well as his many novels, Graham Greene wrote several collections of short stories, four travel books, six plays, three books of autobiography, two of biography and four books for children. He also wrote hundreds of essays, and film and book reviews. Graham Greene was a member of the Order of Merit and a Companion of Honour. He died in April 1991.Trade ReviewA superb storyteller..he had a talent for depicting local colour, which he gathered at first hand; a keen sense of the dramatic; an eye for dialogue, and skill in pacing his prose - New York TimesOne of the most important British writers of the twentieth century * Daily Telegraph *Greene was a force beyond his books... The outsider, the dissenter, the spoiled priest, the failure, the classic underdog - out of characters such as these Greene made novels and stories which have enriched hundreds of thousands of readers
£10.44
Vintage Publishing A Patchwork Planet
Book SynopsisBarnaby Gailtin has less in life than he once had.His ex-wife Natalie left him and their native Baltimore several years ago, taking their baby daughter Opal with her, and he has acquired an unalterably fixed position as the black sheep of the family in a family where black sheep aren''t tolerated. Then the angelic Sophia enters his life and it seems as if all this is set to change. But can he shake off his past?**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 ReviewTyler is a masterly writer whose love stories make you think as well as feel.I was bowled over...I finished the book wishing it had been twice as longI can think of no other writer whose novels I look forward to with such gleeful anticipation. A Patchwork Planet is her fourteenth book, but were it for fortieth, it would not be enough for me... A delight from beginning to end * Observer *Anne Tyler is inventive, funny and wise. Her fiction is magically alive to the quirks and coincidences of fate... [A Patchwork Planet] is charming, readable, and more full of touching and humane observations than many other novels you will read this year * Guardian *A Patchwork Planet is thoroughly enjoyable...from this most responsive novel * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The World and Other Places
Book SynopsisIn this, her first collection of short stories, Winterson reveals all the facets of her extraordinary imagination. In prose that is full of imagery and word-play, she creates physical and psychological worlds that are at once familiar and yet shockingly strange.Trade ReviewA greatly gifted and original writer...there is an exhilarating freshness and energy to this collection * Observer *This first book of short stories will delight her fans with their daring. Whether in a world where sleep is illegal or on an island of diamonds where the rich wear coal jewellery, Winterson is the mistress of the short story -- Jessica de Rothschild * Tatler *The quality of her writing has remained constant: precise, fluent, perfectly judged. This collection is another refinement of that art, studded with metaphors and unexpected asides * Independent on Sunday *The short story form was made for Jeanette Winterson...mesmerising prose poems * The Times *Her stories transport us into the dizzyingly fertile mind of one of Britain's most prodigiously gifted authors...breathtaking * Scotland on Sunday *
£10.44
Hodder & Stoughton Harmony
Book SynopsisA heartwrenching and tense drama about a troubled family, who give up everything to join an experimental 'family camp' - with life-changing consequences.Trade ReviewGorgeously written and patently original * Jodi Picoult *Parkhurst confounds expectations. If this novel is part Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and part We Need to Talk About Kevin, it also contains shades of Lord of the Flies. For this, young Iris is the perfect narrator . . . A fascinating novel, at once challenging and compassionate, thrilling and thoughtful. It asks tough questions about what happens to people who don't fit predetermined patterns, and what it means to be normal -- Katy Guest * Guardian *Parkhurst writes movingly and with real compassion . . . [she] effortlessly manages to mix difficult social questions with riveting storytelling * Irish Independent *A moving and compassionate literary dive straight into the heart of a frantic parent. . . shatteringly immediate. . . touchingly real. -- Helen Schulman * New York Times Book Review *Parkhurst cements herself as a writer capable of astonishing humanity and exquisite prose * Washington Post *Propulsive . . . Everything from the parents' desperation to the camp's creepy vibe feels vividly real, and this provocative page-turner also invites important, broader conversations about autism. * People, Book of the Week *Darkly funny and suspenseful, with a palpable sense of dread that propels readers toward anticipatory horror . . . [Parkhurst] writes Tilly profoundly, as an audacious girl fascinated by a world that will not bend to her. * USA Today *[Parkhurst's] terrific prose is matched by compassion and a sense of humor . . . the beautifully written Harmony is her best work, a haunting, creepy but ultimately moving story of love and family * Miami Herald *Suspenseful, moving, and full of inspiration and insight * Kirkus Reviews *[A] gripping, timely novel * Kim Edwards *The perfect blend of humor, suspense, and compassion . . . absolutely riveting * Jami Attenberg *Deeply honest, heartbreakingly funny . . . a novel of deep compassion * Susan Richards Shreve *
£8.54
Random House A Little Lumpen Novelita
Book Synopsis''Now I am a mother and a married woman, but not long ago I led a life of crime''So begins Bianca's tale of growing up the hard way. Orphaned overnight as a teenager, she drops out of school and drifts into the bad company of two criminals her brother brings home. As the four of them plot a fantastical crime, Bianca learns she can drift even lower...Electric and tense with foreboding, A Little Lumpen Novelita - one of the last novellas Roberto Bolaño published delivers a fractured fairy tale of taking control of one''s fate.TRANSLATED BY NATASHA WIMMERBolaño has proven that literature can do everything' The New York TimesThe man was a flat-out genius, one of the greatest writers of our time' Paul Auster
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Playing By The Rules
Book SynopsisEveryone''s a player on The Golden Eagles football team . . .From TikTok sensation and New York Times bestselling author of Lancaster Prep Monica Murphy comes the second instalment in her scorching sports romance series, The Players. Camden Fields is the star quarterback of our college football team. And he's absolutely gorgeous. All the girls on campus fall for him. And while he's had a few casual hookups over the years, it's never anything serious. Cam doesn't do serious. He also doesn't do me. I'm his best friend's little sister, and that means I'm off limits But I see the way he looks at me when he thinks I'm not watching. I think he wants me. And, I want him too. And I'm growing tired of being the good girl everyone expects me to be. So, I'm going after Camden Fields. And no one can stop me.Tropes/themes:1. Cross the line
£9.49
HarperCollins The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
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£19.65
Little Brown and Company Hard to Kill
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£22.21
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux
Book Synopsis''This is just a delight! The lovable characters and Ruby''s charming and thrilling stories make this a book truly enjoyable and heartwarming read.'' - Amazon reviewer, 5****Everyone knows Ruby Devereaux's books. But no one knows her story... until now.From a teenager in wartime England to a veteran of modern-day London via 1950's New York, the Swinging Sixties, Cold War Berlin, Venice and Vietnam Ruby Devereaux has lived one hell of a life: parties, scandals and conflict zones, meeting men and adventure along the way. In a writing career spanning seven decades and more than twenty books, she's distilled everything into her work. Or has she?Now beyond her 90th year, Ruby's energy is ebbing and her beloved typewriter put away. Until a call from her publisher presents Ruby with an ultimatum, and the impetus to embark on one last book warts and all, as she says. Even in her dotage, Ruby M Devereaux has the power to surprise, becau
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton The Boy Next Door
Book SynopsisA powerful love story set in post-independence Zimbabwe as it slides towards chaos.Trade ReviewOne of the most engaging novels about inter-racial love to be published this century . . . entertaining, ambitious and packed with news from elsewhere, leavened by the precious optimism of youth. Don't miss it. * Amanda Craig, Independent *What a worthy winner of the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers. This is an exuberant, tender and often humorous love story . . . Irene Sabatini is a born writer, and she has told a completely engrossing story which combines brilliantly realised fictional characters as well as evoking the only too real sad degradation of a once-thriving country. * Carla McKay, Daily Mail *A tender, powerful debut, this story makes an indelible imprint. * Easy Living *Irene Sabatini's captivating first novel, THE BOY NEXT DOOR, offers readers a rare and often painfully honest glimpse into life in post-independent Zimbabwe. And yet there is much light and hope and yes, love - genuine and hard-earned - in this book as well. A true pleasure. * Peter Orner *A fine and accomplished first novel...full of understanding, insight and powerful beauty. * Tablet *'One of the most engaging novels about inter-racial love to be published this century ... entertaining, ambitious and packed with news from elsewhere, leavened by the precious optimism of youth. Don't miss it.' * Amanda Craig, Independent *What a worthy winner of the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers. This is an exuberant, tender and often humorous love story...Irene Sabatini is a born writer, and she has told a completely engrossing story which combines brilliantly realised fictional characters as well as evoking the only too real sad degradation of a once-thriving country. * Carla McKay, Daily Mail *A fine and accomplished first novel...full of understanding, insight and powerful beauty * Alexander Lucie-Smith, Tablet *A tender, powerful debut, this story makes an indelible imprint * Easy Living *Irene Sabatini's captivating first novel, THE BOY NEXT DOOR, offers readers a rare and often painfully honest glimpse into life in post-independent Zimbabwe. And yet there is much light and hope and yes, love - genuine and hard-earned - in this book as well. A true pleasure. * Peter Orner, author of The Second Coming of Mavala Shikongo *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Stephen King Goes to the Movies
Book SynopsisFor the first time in one volume, each with a fascinating introduction, come the stories of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Hearts in Atlantis (Low Men in Yellow Coats), 1408, The Mangler and Children of the Corn. These five classic tales were turned into successful international films starring some of the world''s most famous actors from Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption through Anthony Hopkins in Hearts in Atlantis to John Cusack in 1408. Now you can read and re-read and own the originals.Trade ReviewStorytelling - the ability to make the listener or the reader need to know, demand to know, what happens next is a gift . . . Stephen King has this gift in spades * The Times on CELL *'To tell the truth, I just don't know what it is about that film that resonates with so many people. But everywhere I go people who have seen it react to it fondly. And I get the same kind of dialogue about it being one of, if not the, favourite movie.' * Morgan Freeman, on The Shawshank Redemption *'There isn't a day when I'm not approached about that film, approached by people who are so . . . thankful, who say how important that film was to them, and how many times they've seen it: twenty, thirty, forty times . . .' * Tim Robbins on The Shawshank Redemption *
£10.44
Hodder & Stoughton Star of the North
Book SynopsisMarjorie is the pretty one of the Preston sisters. So pretty that when a performer at her sister’s music room breaks her leg, Marjorie is asked to fill in as the assistant to the singer Denby Sinclair. He offers to take her with him, away from Lancashire and into London theatres. It seems as if her dreams will come true, but Denby is not what he seems. He has a dangerous secret, which, if it were to be revealed, would ruin her. Marjorie, however, is reckless and will take any risk for a chance to work on the stage. And when disaster strikes, she is left alone and away from the North. Can she regain her heart’s desire and find happiness again? Just as it seems she has overcome her troubles, another danger arises in Hedderby, one that threatens her and her family.Trade ReviewPraise for Anna Jacobs: 'Catherine Cookson fans will cheer' * Peterborough Evening Telegraph *Sensitive and compelling * Nuneaton Evening Telegraph on OUR MARY ANN *Another magical Lancashire saga that will delight fans and newcomers alike * Lancashire Evening Post on OUR MARY ANN *Another cracking read with a vivid insight into family relationships * Coventry Evening Telegraph on OUR EVA *Displays once more the great Anna Jacobs talent which makes her books unique and exciting * Bangor Chronicle on TWOPENNY RAINBOWS *Anna Jacobs' books are deservedly popular. She is one of the best writers of Lancashire sagas around * Historical Novels Review *
£8.99
Picador Antwerp
Book SynopsisIt's hard to think of a writer who has multiplied the possibilities more times than Roberto Bolaño . . . [Antwerp is] exceptional and moving. Nicole Krauss, The Guardian Oft called the big bang of Roberto Bolaño's universe, Antwerp is his first novelor the shattered remnants of one. Written when he was just twenty-seven years of age, it was so intensely strange and solitary that he tucked it away for more than twenty years, certain that any publisher would slam the door in his face. It proceeds in hallucinatory sketches: a lonely highway, a desolate campground, a freshly abandoned hotel room; a tryst, an interrogation, a murder; and somewhere just out of reach, a young, feverish writer named Roberto Bolaño drifting in and out of view. A radical, sui generis effort by a burgeoning genius, Antwerp is an essential part of Bolaño's oeuvre.
£12.80
Random House Publishing Group For You and Only You
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£15.30
Vintage Publishing Angels
Book SynopsisDenis Johnson was the author of nine novels, one novella, two books of short stories, five collections of poetry, two collections of plays and one book of reportage. Among other honours, his novel Tree of Smoke won the 2007 National Book Award and was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize, and Train Dreams was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize.Trade ReviewJohnson succeeds so well as to make one eager for more -- John Sutherland * London Review of Books *A beautifully tragic chronicle * New York Magazine *Denis Johnson is one of our most inventive, unpredictable novelists * New York Times Book Review *Johnson knows his people inside out, their lost, lonely, never-had-a-chance lives. He knows how they talk and think, and he makes us know them too * Publishers Weekly *One of the strongest examples of fiction noir since Robert Stone's first work appeared-with an absence of sentimentality and an overall shape that's perfectly judged, this is one of the most impressive first novels of recent seasons - full of a fiery recoiling kick, the dreadful power of inhuman ugliness and misfortune beyond redemption * Kirkus Reviews *
£9.49
Cornerstone Battlecruiser
Book SynopsisFrom the pen of multi-million copy bestselling author Douglas Reeman comes a brilliantly epic, high-tension adventure novel set at the height of World War Two. Masterfully atmospheric with expert characterisation, it will have you on the edge of your seat! Perfect for fans of Clive Cussler, Bernard Cornwell and Wilbur Smith.''One of our foremost writers of naval fiction'' -- Sunday Times''Mr Reeman writes with great knowledge about the sea and those who sail on it'' --The Times''A brilliant read'' -- ***** Reader review''Difficult to put down once started'' -- ***** Reader review''First class'' -- ***** Reader review''Douglas Reeman certainly gets you into story!'' -- ***** Reader review*****************************************************************************************************The Battlecruiser: in its day, this class of ship was considered one Trade ReviewExcellent ... what Reeman likes is plot and characterisation, and, like many a good craft, his lines are good and clean -- Guy Walters * The Times *If any author deserves to be 'piped' into bookshops with full naval honours it is Douglas Reeman, without question master of both genres of naval fiction - historical and modern * Books Magazine *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Still Life
Book SynopsisFrederica Potter arrives at Cambridge University greedy for knowledge, sex and love. It isn't long before she becomes infatuated with a mysterious and controlling poet. Back in Yorkshire, her sister Stephanie abandons academia and is confronted with the boredom and frustrations of motherhood. Meanwhile, their younger brother Marcus begins to recover from a nervous breakdown. Each sibling is desperate to shape their own future, but a horrifying event will soon change their lives forever.Trade ReviewMarvellous... A major novel, inspiring laughter and tears -- Iris MurdochGlorious… Frederica is a magnificent creation; awkward, fierce, intellectually voracious and sexually inexperienced -- Francesca Segal, author of The Awkward AgeAffords enormous and continuous pleasure -- Anita BrooknerByatt is a wonderful writer, constantly engaging wherever she takes us * The Times *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing The Wife
Book SynopsisMeg Wolitzer is the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Uncoupling (tingles with playfulness and wicked observation' Independent), The Wife (has you howling with recognition' Allison Pearson), The Position (one of the best and most human books I've read all year' Erica Wagner) and The Ten-Year Nap (as incisive and pitiless and clear-eyed a chronicler of female-male tandems as Philip Roth or John Updike' Chicago Tribune). Most recently, The Interestings was a New York Times bestseller. She lives in New York City.Trade ReviewMeg Wolitzer is so funny and clever she should be bottled and sold as tonic * Allison Pearson *A triumph of tone and observation, The Wife is a blithe, brilliant take on sexual politics * Lorrie Moore *Hilarious and touching * Erica Wagner, The Times *With a great lightness of touch, Wolitzer's novel satirises American literary circles of the Seventies and Eighties and traces the generation of wives who poured their own creative energies into "stoking the fires" of their husbands' reputations. * Emma Hagestadt, Independent *The wife was published less than a decade ago, but I say it is already a classic - and I have no idea why it's author remains so less well known than her US compatriots, Alison Lurie and Lorrie Moore. * Observer *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Up At The Villa
Book SynopsisMary Panton walls up her desires in a beautiful villa high up in the hills above Florence, as she calmly contemplates her disastrous marriage. She turns for help to the notorious Rowley Flint, and through him comes to realise that to deny love, with all its passions and risks, is to deny life itself.Trade ReviewA writer of great dedication * Graham Greene *One of my favourite writers * Gabriel Garcia Marquez *
£8.54
Vintage Publishing The Magus
Book SynopsisWITH AN AFTERWORD FROM THE AUTHOR ''A major work of mounting tensions in which the human mind is the guinea-pig... Mr Fowles has taken a big swing at a difficult subject and his hits are on the bull''s eye'' Sunday TimesOn a remote Greek Island, Nicholas Urfe finds himself embroiled in the deceptions of a master trickster. As reality and illusion intertwine, Urfe is caught up in the darkest of psychological games. John Fowles expertly unfolds a tale that is lush with over-powering imagery in a spellbinding exploration of human complexities. By turns disturbing, thrilling and seductive, The Magus is a feast for the mind and the senses.Trade ReviewA major work of mounting tensions in which the human mind is the guinea-pig... Mr Fowles has taken a big swing at a difficult subject and his hits are on the bull's eye * Sunday Telegraph *One of those that's best read as a teenager, but once read you'll never forget it -- Katy Guest * Independent *
£10.44
Cornerstone The TollGate Gossip scandal and an unforgettable
Book SynopsisIf you love Bridgerton, you''ll love Georgette Heyer! ''The greatest writer who ever lived'' Antonia Fraser''Beautifully crafted'' Philippa Gregory''Incisively witty, quietly subversive'' Joanne Harris_____________Captain John Staple''s exploits against Napoleon''s armies in the Spanish Peninsula have earned him the nickname ''Crazy Jack'' amongst his comrades in the Dragoon Guards.But once the Battle of Waterloo brings the Napoleonic Wars to a decisive end, the adventure-loving Captain finds life in peacetime intolerably dull.When he finds himself lost in the Pennines, he takes refuge at an unmanned toll-house.It''s there that he encounters a lady of extraordinary qualities - and suddenly, his soldiering days pale in comparison to a new adventure in which he must rescue a woman and investigate a scandalous murder . . ._____________''If you Trade ReviewWonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer achieves what the rest of us only aspire to -- Katie FfordeMy favourite historical novelist - stylish, romantic, sharp, and witty. Her sense of period is superb, her heroines are enterprising, and her heroes dashing. I owe her many happy hours -- Margaret DrabbleA writer of great wit and style - I've read her books to ragged shreds -- Kate Fenton * Daily Telegraph *Sparkling * Independent on Sunday *
£9.49
Cornerstone The Quiet Gentleman
Book SynopsisIf you love Bridgerton, you''ll love Georgette Heyer! ''The greatest writer who ever lived'' ANTONIA FRASER''A rollicking good read that will be of particular joy to Bridgerton viewer!'' INDEPENDENT''Heyer''s books are as incisively witty and quietly subversive as any of Jane Austen''s'' JOANNE HARRIS_____________Returning home from the battle of Waterloo to claim his title as the new Seventh Earl of St Erth, Gervase Frant is met with surprising hostility from his family.Only Theo, a cousin even quieter than himself, is there to greet him - and when he meets his stepmother and young half-brother he detects open disappointment that he survived the wars.The tensions in the household only worsen as the beautiful Mariann, the intended bride of Gervase''s half-brother, catches his eye - and his heart.Gervase may be off the battlefield, but his life is still threatened, as it becomes increasinTrade ReviewWonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer achieves what the rest of us only aspire to -- Katie FfordeMy favourite historical novelist - stylish, romantic, sharp, and witty. Her sense of period is superb, her heroines are enterprising, and her heroes dashing. I owe her many happy hours -- Margaret DrabbleA writer of great wit and style - I've read her books to ragged shreds -- Kate Fenton * Daily Telegraph *Sparkling * Independent on Sunday *Geogrette Heyer is unbeatable -- India Knight
£9.49
Vintage Publishing I Dont Know How She Does It
Book Synopsis''A bible for the working mother'' OPRAH WINFREY ''It may change your life'' OBSERVER''I can''t think of a woman who wouldn''t want this book'' INDIA KNIGHT The twentieth anniversary edition of Allison Pearson''s first novel that became a global sensation, now with a new introduction from the author. Meet Kate Reddy, hedge-fund manager, wife and mother of two. Always time-poor, Kate must monitor nine currencies in five time zones but also keep in step with the Teletubbies. Factor in a manipulative nanny, piggish colleagues, a long-suffering husband, her quietly aghast in-laws, two needy children and an email lover, and you have a woman juggling so many things that some day something''s going to hit the ground. And that something might just be Kate. In an uproariously funny and achingly sad novel, Allison Pearson brilliantly dramatises the dilemma of working motherhood at the start of the twenty-first century.Trade ReviewI love Kate Reddy...her tale made me cry twice and laugh often * Independent on Sunday *Refreshingly engaging * Vogue *Pearson writes with gratifying elegance and endearing self-mockery * New York Times *Allison Pearson is one of the stars of her generationIt might be a sad indictment of the way things are today, but that doesn't stop Pearson making it funny * Glamour *Painfully funny * Heat *The kind of book you fall in love with - a grown-up novel that is hilarious, heartbreaking and brimming with the bitter-sweet tang of all our livesPearson...never hides her intelligence or apologises for her seriousness of purpose * The Times *A funny, heartbreaking mirror of the daily lives of mothers * Telegraph Magazine *Brutally witty * Metro *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The City of Dreaming Books
Book SynopsisHe finds himself in a subterranean world where reading books can be genuinely dangerous, where ruthless Bookhunters fight to the death for literary gems and the mysterious Shadow King rules a murky realm populated by Booklings, one-eyed beings whose vast library includes live books equipped with teeth and claws.Trade ReviewMoers' creative mind is like J. K. Rowling's on Ecstasy * Detroit Evening News *Marvellously fantastical * Sunday Express *A yarn of drollery, deeper meaning and sheer lunacy * Rolling Stone *
£17.09
Vintage Publishing The White Guard
Book SynopsisDiscover Mikhail Bugakov''s classic literary love letter to the city of Kyiv.Drawing closely on Bulgakov''s personal experiences of the horrors of civil war as a young doctor, The White Guard takes place in Kyiv, 1918, a time of turmoil and suffocating uncertainty as the Bolsheviks, Socialists and Germans fight for control of the city. It tells the story of the Turbins, a once-wealthy Russian family, as they are forced to come to terms with revolution and a new regime.Bulgakov''s first novel, The White Guard is one of the greatest works of twentieth century Russian literature. As epic a chronicle of life and death in the Russian Empire as War and Peace.''The tumultuous atmosphere of the Ukrainian revolution and civil war is brilliantly evoked'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewA powerful reverie...the city is so vivid to the eye that it is the real hero of the book. * New Statesman *One of those few emancipated Soviet writers who firmly believe-and still believe-that to create is to choose * Saturday Review *Worth reading in any language * Library Journal *The White Guard captures the tumult, madness and confusion of revolution * Independent *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Crossing The Lines
Book SynopsisSet in Britain during the 1950s, this moving and evocative novel follows the intertwined fates of people crossing boundaries in their lives. As a teenager in the small northern town of Wigton, Joe Richardson falls in love with Rachel, just when her life is about to be uprooted. While his parents, Sam and Ellen, face the frontiers of middle age, Joe finds himself drawn by the intoxicating world outside home, and swept into situations that seem beyond his control. Vividly conveying the spirit of the mid-century and the profound social changes taking place at the time, this is a masterly successor to the award-winning THE SOLDIER''S RETURN and A SON OF WAR.Trade Review'I was bowled over by it ... an enormously important piece of literature about post-war Britain' -- A.C. Grayling, Guardian 'Enthralling, a joy to read' -- Allan Massie, Scotsman 'An expertly told tale which is satisfying in its own right and as a continuation of a monumental series.' -- Frank Egerton, The Times 'Richly detailed and extraordinarily poignant ... Melvyn Bragg is slowly cementing his place among the aristocrats of English fiction' -- David Robson, Sunday Telegraph
£8.54
Hodder & Stoughton Diana
Book Synopsis'Sheer, wonderful storytelling' - Chicago Tribune - in this bestselling novel now being reissued as a Great Read.Trade ReviewPraise for R F Delderfield:'Seldom has the enchantment of young love been so tenderly drawn as in this story' * Literary Guild *'A charming novel . . . recaptures with refreshing simplicity the awkwardness, excitement and delights of youth.' * New York Times *R.F. Delderfield is a born storyteller * Sunday Mirror *He built an imposing artistic social history that promises to join those of his great forebears in the long, noble line of the English novel. His narratives belong in a tradition that goes back to John Galsworthy and Arnold Bennett * Life Magazine *'Seldom has the enchantment of young love been so tenderly drawn as in this story' * Literary Guild *Sheer, wonderful storytelling * Chicago Tribune *Highly recommended. Combines tension with a splendid sense of atmosphere and vivid characterisation. An excellent read * Sunday Express *'A charming novel . . . recaptures with refreshing simplicity the awkwardness, excitement and delights of youth.' * New York Times *It is always a pleasure to read R F Delderfield, because he never seems to be ashamed of writing well . . . Today he is a bestseller wherever English language books are read * Books and Bookmen *Mr Delderfield's manner is easy, modest, heartwarming * Evening Standard *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Lands Beyond the Sea
Book SynopsisBy the 1700s, the Aborigine people have lived in harmony with the land in Australia for sixty thousand years. But now, ghost-ships are arriving, their very existence is threatened by a terrifying white invasion.When Jonathan Cadwallader leaves Cornwall to sail on the Endeavour, he leaves behind his sweetheart, Susan Penhalligan . . . That is, until an act of brutality reunites them in the raw and unforgiving penal colony of New South Wales.Billy Penhalligan has survived transportation and clings to the promise of a new beginning. But there will be more suffering before he or his fellow convicts can regard Australia as home . . . .A sweeping tale of discovery, love and hardship in the sixteenth century which will bring emergent Australia and all its inhabitants - new and old - to life.Trade Review'Lush with intense descriptions of nature and tense drama.' * USA Publisher's Weekly on MATILDA'S LAST WALTZ *'A multi-generational saga in the vein of THE THORNBIRDS... much enjoyed... Good, old-fashioned story-telling at its best' * The Bookseller on MATILDA'S LAST WALTZ *'The plot has depth and pace' * The Lady on JACARANDA VINES *'Will keep you reading happily all day. Relax and enjoy.' * Women's Weekly on WINDFLOWERS *'An epic, gripping, tautly plotted novel with a final court-room twist worthy of John Grisham.' * Time Out on SUMMER LIGHTNING *
£8.54
Hodder & Stoughton Winters Bone
Book Synopsis'He belongs in the forefront of American fiction' John Williams, IndependentTrade ReviewIt brings us all the satisfactions of crime thriller and mystery...The beauty lies in the loveable and wholly believable character of Ree * Guardian *A suspicion grows that you are reading the sort of book D.B.C Pierre's Vernon God Little might have been, had it been five times as keenly observed and deeply felt * The Times *'Woodrell is a marvellous writer' * Roddy Doyle *'Woodrell throws down sentences that will leave you amazed.' * Charles Frazier *'Reading this will make you feel that you walk on very, very thin ice, and know that chaos is very, very close. Such knowledge has many consequences, one of them is exhilaration.' * Niall Griffiths, Observer *'Brutal, violent and completely gripping' * Independent on Sunday *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Anna Where Are You
Book SynopsisThere is no doubt in Thomasina Elliott''s mind that her oldest schoolfriend is a creature of habit. So when, after three years of regular correspondence, Anna''s letters suddenly stop, Thomasina becomes concerned. And even more so when it transpires that her friend has disappeared without trace, in extremely odd circumstances. Fortunately, however, the indomitable Miss Silver is on hand to investigate.Trade ReviewMiss Wentworth is a first-rate storyteller * Daily Telegraph *Miss Silver has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot * Manchester Evening News *Patricia Wentworth has created a great detective in Miss Silver, the little old lady who nobody notices, but who in turn notices everything * Paula Gosling *...some of the best examples of the British country-house murder mystery * Alfred Hitchcock magazine *Miss Wentworth's plot is ingenious, her characterization acute, her solution satisfying * The Scotsman *Miss Silver is marvellous * Daily Mail *You can't go wrong with Miss Maud Silver * Observer *
£9.49
Cornerstone The Supernatural Enhancements
Book SynopsisEVERYBODY LOVES A CONSPIRACY. DON'T THEY?When Ambrose Wells dies jumping out of his bedroom window in Axton House, forgetting to open it first, a distant relative with an unusual companion takes possession of the gothic estate at Point Bless, Virginia. But as they settle into their new surroundings, excited by rumours of ghosts, suicides and secret societies, they find themselves not just part of a mysterious Game', but determined to win it.Trade ReviewThe cover advertises the book as "The most addictive thriller of the year" and I have to agree, you will be hard pressed to find more fulfilling entertainment anywhere. -- Antony Jones * sfbook.com *A modern day adventure for everyone. -- Russell Cook * The AND Guide *A fun and addictive read. * LitReactor *A wonderful, enthralling book. The Supernatural Enhancements is one of those rare literary creations that shortens the long hours of night. You emerge from its pages at sunrise, suddenly aware that you've spent the whole night reading. Few authors create such books. Edgar Cantero does it gracefully. -- Jason Mott, author of The ReturnedEerie, puckish, and full of surprises…Cantero pays homage to Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft and The Shining, but he’s no less enamored of The X-Files, fax machines, and punk girls with dreads. The result is a propulsive, beguiling novel that is as easy to get swept up in as it is hard to describe. -- Justin Taylor, author of Flings and The Gospel of AnarchyCantero sets the novel up to be one type of mystery and then he lets other mysteries float into the story. It’s not that he invalidates earlier mysteries . . . but rather he makes them no longer as important because this next one is crazy! * Raging Biblioholism *Southern gothic meets Euro hipness in Catalan novelist Cantero’s inventive, enjoyable outing in postmodern mystery writing...Quirky in presentation and good fun throughout, Cantero’s yarn pleases at every turn. * Kirkus *Cantero's fresh, original prose style and the steady flow of twists, turns, and code breaking will have mystery, thriller, and supernatural fans glued to their seats until they reach the electrifying conclusion. * Library Journal (Starred Review) *The kinetic action of a graphic novel wrapped up in a literary thriller. * The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg) *A clever and engrossing horror-thriller mash-up that delivers genuine scares. * Buffalo News *
£10.44
Cornerstone Playground
Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024A POWERFUL NEW NOVEL FROM THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AND BOOKER-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF THE OVERSTORY AND BEWILDERMENT''Is there anything Richard Powers cannot write? The world here is complete, seductive, and promising. The writing feels like the ocean. Vast, mysterious, deep and alive'' PERCIVAL EVERETT''An extraordinarily immersive journey through lives linked in mysterious ways - gripping, alarming and uplifting'' EMMA DONOGHUERafi and Todd are two polar opposites at an elite high school where they bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game. It sets them up for life: Rafi will get lost in literature, while Todd's work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.Elsewhere, Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world's first aqualungs; Ina Aroita grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home.A
£17.00
Pan Macmillan Kawaguchi T Before We Forget Kindness
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Simon & Schuster The Day I Left You
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC No Sweetness Here
Book SynopsisThis collection of short stories sees Ama Ata Aidoo, one of Africa's leading feminist and postcolonial writers, exercise the powerful effect of oral storytelling in her moving tales of shifting identities and the paradoxes of womanhood. Written with vibrant candour and tenacity, No Sweetness Here tackles the challenges of postcolonial Ghana, with topics ranging from the politics of wigs to the fragile joy of motherhood. In this collection, tradition struggles against modernisation, convention against liberation and all the while, Aidoo invites the reader to confront life's injustices with her characteristic humour and poise. 'Even at her gravest, Aidoo writes with a sunny charm.' New York Times 'Beautifully written.' English Magazine
£9.49
The University of Chicago Press Camus and Sartre
Book SynopsisAlbert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre first met in 1943, during the German occupation of France. Intellectual as well as political allies, they grew famous overnight after Paris was liberated.Trade Review"With meticulous even-handedness, this internationally renowned Sartre expert has produced a remarkably non-partisan account which also reminds us that it is possible to combine the highest level of scholarship with a lively and readable style of writing.... An important contribution to twentieth-century intellectual and cultural history." - David Drake, Times Literary Supplement; "Aronson's literary acuity combined with an entertaining use of anecdotes on social and personal jealousies Sartre and Camus harbored make the book a useful biographical background to the major works of these authors and a most enjoyable tale of the turmoil of intellectual life in postwar France." - Publishers Weekly; "A masterful synthesis of intellectual history, political context, and biographical narrative.... A book that will reward both those unfamiliar with either thinker and the expert It will doubtless be the standard account of the Sartre-Camus debate for a long time to come." - Scott McLemee, Bookforum"
£19.00
