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 A Field Guide to the North American Family
Book SynopsisFrom the author of the New York Times bestseller City on FireA Granta Best of Young American Novelist 2017 ‘A young author of boundless and unflagging talents’ New York TimesWe can all agree on this much, Marnie thought: nobody saw the Hungate divorce coming. In the privacy of her own mind, she saw them as the last of a dying breed, the Great American Family.Two families – the Hungates and the Harrisons – live side by side in Long Island, New York. They lead charmed lives: good jobs in the city, weekends by the pool, cheerleading practice after school and backyard barbecues in the summer. But within these lives lie hundreds of little deceptions.Told through a mix of photographs and words, this is a dazzlingly inventive depiction of two families falling apart and coming together and the thousand different truths of the American Dream.Trade ReviewThis is a bit of a hidden gem, which reminded me of Leanne Shapton’s. -- Sarra Manning * Red Online *Evocative of masters of American suburbia such as Updike, Cheever, Salter and Richard Yates… Conjuring a dreamily filmic spell, with shades of American Beauty and The Ice Storm, this is a work that can be approached (and rediscovered) a number of ways, all equally rewarding. It’s an ideal coffee table or bedside companion, to be dipped into for flashes of pleasure. -- Alasdair Lees * Independent *A work of genuine brilliance, with Hallberg’s relentless gifts gleaming off every page. -- Alasdair Lees * Belfast Morning Telegraph *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss
Book Synopsis'I loved this beautiful book. It's tender and compassionate, written with exquisite care and verve, and so so SO funny' MARIAN KEYESProfessor Chandra is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime. In the moments after the bicycle accident, Professor Chandra begins to reassess his life, his career and his relationship with his three children. He’s just missed out on the Nobel Prize (again). All this work. All this stress. It's killing him.Professor Chandra needs to take a break, and reluctantly agrees to visit a Californian retreat, to follow his bliss.And so he must try to crack the most complex problem of all: the secret to his own happinessTrade ReviewI loved this beautiful beautiful book. It's tender and compassionate, written with exquisite care and verve, and so so SO funny -- Marian KeyesChandra is a delightful creation: peevish, intolerant, intellectually exacting, unwittingly eccentric, nerdy, needy let lovable. The book, like its picaresque hero, is a one-off -- Patricia Nicol * Sunday Times *This brilliant and eloquent novel, which puts into words so many unutterable annoyances, is a sort of Zen satire in which tolerance and understanding mingle with hilarious criticism of contemporary mores. It’s a wonderful read -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail *Rajeev Balasubramanyam gently pokes fun at the modern fondness for positivity, but tells a disarmingly positive story... The writing is elegant and witty and the comedy is always underpinned with humanity; a life without bliss is no life, and the gradual dawning of Chandra’s self-awareness is genuinely uplifting -- Kate Saunders * The Times *Balances satire and self-enlightenment... a surprisingly soulful family tale that echoes Jonathan Franzen’s Corrections in its witty exploration of three children trying to free themselves from the influence of their parents -- Ben East * Observer *
£13.49
Vintage Publishing Race: Vintage Minis
Book SynopsisAn exploration of race from one of the twentieth century’s primary chroniclers of the African American experience.Is who we are really only skin deep? In this searing, remonstrative book, Toni Morrison unravels race through the stories of those debased and dehumanised because of it. A young black girl longing for the blue eyes of white baby dolls spirals into inferiority and confusion. A friendship falls apart over a disputed memory. An ex-slave is haunted by a lonely, rebukeful ghost, bent on bringing their past home. Strange and unexpected, yet always stirring, Morrison’s writing on race sinks us deep into the heart and mind of our troubled humanity. Includes selections from the books Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, Beloved by Toni Morrison‘She gave me permission to be unapologetically Black. She informed me of the power that resided in me. She validated me when the world questioned my humanity’ Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS. A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us human Also in the Vintage Minis series: Sisters by Louisa May Alcott Love by Jeanette Winterson Babies by Anne Enright Language by Xiaolu GuoTrade ReviewToni Morrison makes me believe in God. She makes me believe in a divine being, because luck and genetics don’t seem to come close to explaining her * Guardian *Imagine our joy when Vintage announced that it is publishing a collection of easily digestible books from the world’s most celebrated writers on the experiences that make us human… They look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book. * Stylist *
£5.99
Vintage Publishing The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Book SynopsisA special hardback edition of Murakami's epic, magical masterpiece, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, now with a new introduction from the authorToru Okada's cat has disappeared.His wife is growing more distant every day.Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving.As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.'Visionary...a bold and generous book' New York Times'Mesmerising, surreal, this really is the work of a true original' The TimesTrade ReviewMurakami writes of contemporary Japan, urban alienation and journeys of self-discovery, and in this book he combines recollections of the war with metaphysics, dreams and hallucinations into a powerful and impressionistic work * Independent *Deeply philosophical and teasingly perplexing, it is impossible to put down * Daily Telegraph *Murakami weaves these textured layers of reality into a shot-silk garment of deceptive beauty * Independent on Sunday *Critics have variously likened him to Raymond Carver, Raymond Chandler, Arthur C. Clarke, Don DeLillo, Philip K. Dick, Bret Easton Ellis and Thomas Pynchon - a roster so ill assorted as to suggest Murakami is in fact an original * New York Times *Mesmerising, surreal, this really is the work of a true original * The Times *
£17.00
Random House Tar Baby
Book SynopsisInto a white millionaire''s Caribbean mansion comes Jadine. Then there's Son.Jadine is sophisticated, beautiful, a black American graduate of the Sorbonne. Son is a black fugitive from small-town Florida who embodies everything she loathes and desires. As Morrison follows their affair, she charts all the nuances of obligation and betrayal between black and white people, masters and servants, and men and women.An unforgettable and transformative novel that explores race and gender with scorching insight from the Nobel-prize winning author of Beloved.**Winner of the PEN/Saul Bellow award for achievement in American fiction**''Toni Morrison was a quintessential, unabashedly American writer. Like her fellow giant, Walt Whitman, her work was, above all, audacious. She seized the landscape with a flourish and wove it, unwove it and put it back together'' Bonnie Greer, Guardian
£9.49
Vintage Publishing A Scandinavian Christmas: Festive Tales for a
Book SynopsisRanging from Hans Christian Anderson to Karl Ove Knausgaard, have yourself a nordic noel with the very best Scandinavian Christmas talesHave yourself a truly Scandinavian Christmas... Of visions and prophesies seen in dark, dark woods. Of toys and trees come to life. Of trolls raising chaos, and of families torn apart -- only to be brought back together by festive cheer.In this collection, classic tales from Hans Christian Andersen and Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlof blend with modern day stories from Karl Ove Knausgaard and Vigdis Hjorth. Each touch on the warm and wild spirit of Christmas, where the cosiness and contentment of the season can often give way to the unexpected, magical and sometimes mystical.A smorgasbord of strange literary gifts, let A Scandinavian Christmas transport you to a winter wonderland in which fantasy, the fantastic and the festive combine for your reading delight.'These evocative, atmospheric tales...capture the spirit of Christmas' Sunday ExpressTrade ReviewThese evocative, atmospheric tales...capture the spirit of Christmas -- Charlotte Heathcote * Sunday Express, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021* *A strange and beguiling series of stories, penned Scandinavia's literary greats, spanning three centuries... Beautifully decorated, this is a hardback any household would be proud to have adorn their coffee table * UK Press Syndication *A hygge Christmas is assured with these folksy traditional and modern stories... Best enjoyed with a steaming glass of glögg -- Rose Shepherd * Saga Magazine, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021* *A gorgeous collection of classic tales from everyone from Hans Christian Anderson to Karl Ove Knausgaard. Magical tales of winter wonderlands of dark woods, you'll love this smorgasbord of festive short stories! -- Ed Susan * My Weekly, *Christmas Gift Guide 2021* *
£11.69
Random House Song of Solomon
Book SynopsisLured South by tales of buried treasure, Milkman embarks on an odyssey back home.As a boy, Milkman was raised beneath the shadow of a status-obsessed father. As a man, he trails in the fiery wake of a friend bent on racial revenge. Now comes Milkman's chance to uncover his own path. Along the way, he will lose more than he could have ever imagined. Yet in return, he will discover something far more valuable than gold: his past, his true self, his life-long dream of flight.A complex, wonderfully alive and imaginative story' Daily TelegraphSong of Solomonprofoundly changed my life' Marlon JamesINTRODUCED BY BOOKER PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR MARLON JAMES**Winner of the PEN/Saul Bellow award for achievement in American fiction**
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Distant Star
Book SynopsisAlberto Ruiz-Tagle was once the quiet, unknowable, unpromising member of Chile's young poetry scene.But the military coup of 1973 sees Alberto reborn as Chile's leading celebrity poet, Carlos Wieder. Known for his daring sky poems, penned in smoke high above the cities, Weider's dazzling trajectory is a cause for astonishment and speculation amongst his old poetry friends. Where did this talent suddenly spring from? And, how is it connected to the disappearance of the beautiful Garmendia twins?Told from across the years in exile in Europe, the narrator's attempts to trace the fate of his old circle will lead him to one last confrontation with the brutality of their generation.TRANSLATED BY CHRIS ANDREWSRoberto Bolaño''s universe huge, interconnected, polyphonic is formed from the collision of a wicked sense of humour and a vast and white-hot moral fire... His oeuvre is among the great, blistering literary achievements of the twentieth cent
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Cowboy Graves
Book SynopsisThree fiercely original tales. An unexpected treasure from the vault of a revolutionary talent.Roberto Bolaño''s boundless gift for shaping the chaos of reality into fiction is unmistakable across these three novellas. In Cowboy Graves,' Arturo Belano Bolaño''s alter ego returns to Chile after the coup to fight with his comrades for socialism. French Comedy of Horrors' finds a seventeen-year-old recruited into a secret society of artists in the sewers of Paris. And in Fatherland,' a young poet reckons with the fascist overthrow of his country, as the woman he is obsessed with disappears in the ensuing violence.TRANSLATED BY NATASHA WIMMERHis work is as vital, thrilling and life-enhancing as anything in modern fiction' Sunday TimesFascinating... A rare opportunity for the reader to witness the creation of a seemingly inexhaustible body of work' El Pais
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Heart Sutra
Book SynopsisMulti-prizewinning and internationally acclaimed Yan Lianke -- 'China's most controversial novelist' (New Yorker) -- returns with a campus novel like no other following a young Buddhist as she journeys through worldly temptationTo tell the truth, religious faith is really just a matter of believing stories. The world is governed by stories, and it is for the sake of stories that everyone lives on this earth.Yahui is a young Buddhist at university. But this is no ordinary university. It is populated by every faith in China: Buddhists, Daoists, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims who jostle alongside one another in the corridors of learning, and whose deities are never far from the classroom.Her days are measured out making elaborate religious papercuts, taking part in highly charged tug-of-war competitions between the faiths and trying to resist the daily temptation to return to secular life and abandon the ascetic ideals that are her calling. Everything seems to dangle by a thread. But when she meets a Daoist student called Mingzheng, an inexorable romance of mythic proportions takes hold of her.In this profoundly otherworldly novel, Chinese master Yan Lianke remakes the campus novel in typically visionary fashion, dropping readers into an allegorical world ostensibly far from our own, but which reflects our own questions and struggles right back at us.** Beautiful edition illustrated throughout with beautiful original papercuts **'One of China's greatest living authors' Guardian'His talent cannot be ignored' New York Times'China's foremost literary satirist' Financial TimesTrade ReviewHeart Sutra...has startling pleasures... similes are sharp, synaesthetic and anchored in the lives of the characters * The Telegraph *Heart Sutra is a warm-hearted, if not gentle, satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith itself . . . A deeply satisfying read . . . Yan's storytelling has a luminous, irrepressible quality -- Lily Meyer * NPR *Picaresque, but with serious matters of faith, love, and political wrangling at its fast-beating heart * Kirkus (starred review) *Heart Sutra brings clarity to the dynamic and fraught relations between organised religion and the party on a broader scale and does not shy from difficult histories -- Bryan Karetnyk * Financial Times *[An] otherworldly novel * Asian Art Newspaper, *Books of the Year* *
£17.09
Random House Bad Nature
Book SynopsisAriel Courage is a graduate of the Brooklyn College MFA program, where she was editor-in-chief of The Brooklyn Review. She's currently an assistant fiction editor at AGNI Magazine. Her short work has appeared in Guernica, The New Limestone Review, and Works Progress, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She was also a 2019 Kimmel Harding Nelson resident.
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Songs of No Provenance
Book SynopsisA suspenseful, wildly engaging debut novel following a musician spiraling in self-doubt and self-searching after a night and a relationship gone wrong. Songs of No Provenance tells the story of Joan Vole, an indie folk singer forever teetering on the edge of fame, who flees New York after committing a shocking sexual act onstage that she fears will doom her career. With the threat of an internet storm looming over her, Joan seeks refuge at a writing camp for teenagers in rural Virginia, where she's forced to question her own toxic relationship to artmaking and her complicated history with a friend and mentee while finding new hope in her students and a deepening intimacy with a nonbinary artist and fellow camp staff member. Lydi Conklin boldly explores kink, shame, queer appropriation, fame hunger, cancel culture, trans nonbinary identity and how to make art without ego, all the while asking how Joan might forge a new future for herself. Suffused with flashbacks to a musical underworld as seductive as it is seedy, Songs of no Provenance is a visceral, gutsy and profound debut novel about love, self-acceptance and clawing oneself to safety.
£15.29
Random House Dusk
Book SynopsisRobbie Arnott is the author of Dusk, Limberlost, The Rain Heron and Flames. He's a two-time winner of The Age Book of the Year, and has also been awarded the Voss Literary Prize. He's been named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist, and has twice been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, as well as the Dylan Thomas Prize. He lives in Hobart with his wife and daughter.
£15.29
Random House Shame
Book SynopsisSalman Rushdie is one of the world's most acclaimed, award-winning contemporary authors. Translated into over forty languages, his sixteen works of fiction include Midnight's Children for which he won the Booker Prize in 1981, the Booker of Bookers on the 25th anniversary of the prize and Best of the Booker on the 40th anniversary Shame, The Satanic Verses, Quichotte and Victory City. His latest book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder was a number one Sunday Times bestseller. A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature and was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's last Birthday Honours list in 2022.
£10.44
Random House The Satanic Verses
Book SynopsisSalman Rushdie is one of the world's most acclaimed, award-winning contemporary authors. Translated into over forty languages, his sixteen works of fiction include Midnight's Children for which he won the Booker Prize in 1981, the Booker of Bookers on the 25th anniversary of the prize and Best of the Booker on the 40th anniversary Shame, The Satanic Verses, Quichotte and Victory City. His latest book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder was a number one Sunday Times bestseller. A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature and was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's last Birthday Honours list in 2022.
£10.44
Zaffre The Wish
£17.00
Transworld Publishers Ltd She and her Cat: for fans of Travelling Cat
Book SynopsisThe uplifting Japanese bestsellerTHE PERFECT GIFT FOR CAT LOVERS'Compassionate and touching' DAILY MAIL'Totally beguiling' OBSERVERPerfect fans of The Travelling Cat Chronicles and Convenience Store Woman____________On the outskirts of Tokyo, local cats weave their way through the lives and homes of their owners as they navigate difficult times.- A cat named Chobi sends silent messages of courage to a young woman, willing her to end a faltering relationship- A gifted artist fatally misunderstands her boss's enthusiasm for her paintings- A manga fan shuts herself away after the death of her friend, while her cat Cookie hatches a plan to persuade her outside- A woman who has dedicated her life to a distant husband learns a lesson in independence from her catAgainst the urban backdrop of humming trains and private woes, SHE AND HER CAT explores the gentle magic of the everyday.Populated by both the friendly and the feral, it reveals - with heartstopping clarity and warmth - how even in our darkest moments, community and connection may lead us to a happier place.***Includes four fabulous illustrations***____________'A beautiful, uplifting novel. As mesmerizing as it is strange' SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE'Goes to show how cats will save us all' Nick Bradley, author of The Cat and the City'A gem, written with deep insight and finely attuned to the ways of cats and their humans. An absolute delight' HAZEL PRIOR author of Call of the PenguinsTrade ReviewA beautiful, uplifting novel. As mesmerising as it is strange * SAINSBURYS MAGAZINE *
£8.54
Atlantic Books The Light a Candle Society
Book SynopsisRuth Hogan studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths College and went on to work in local government. A car accident and a subsequent run-in with cancer convinced her finally to get her act together and pursue her dream of becoming a writer. The result was her debut novel - The Keeper of Lost Things, which went on to sell two million copies globally. She is now living the dream (and occasional nightmare) as a full-time author, along with her husband and rescue dogs in a rambling Victorian house stuffed with treasure that inspires her novels.Insta: @ruthmariehoganauthor
£16.19
Boldwood Books Ltd In the Greek Midwinter: A BRAND NEW
Book SynopsisIt was supposed to be a holiday of a lifetime…But when Jen’s boyfriend David suddenly cancels their romantic Paris trip, needing to urgently travel to Athens for work, it’s best friend Bonnie who suggests they surprise him.Having already booked the time off from her events company – Christmas Every Day – Jen decides an impromptu and romantic gesture might be just what their relationship needs.Arriving in Greece and finding David is not there, Jen has a lot of questions. And when she gets her answers she has a choice – should she go home or should she stay awhile?With the help of Astro, the handsome yet Christmas-hating waiter from the local bar, she sets about a little Greek Christmas research. But what starts as a ‘business trip’ soon turns into something more…Praise for Mandy Baggot:'Mandy Baggot at her best - equal measures heart, humour and romance. A must read.' Sandy Barker, author of A Sunrise Over Bali'Mandy Baggot is the queen of sexy, fun, Greek-set stories.’ Isabelle Broom'A delightful escapist romance packed with sunshine, second chances and an utterly charming cast of characters.' Nina Kaye'A sizzling summer read full of romance, drama and Greek sun! ... Mandy Baggot just gets better and better!' Katie Ginger'This book is so cute. I love Eve and Gianni so much. I recommend this book to people who want a good summer holiday romance read' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review'What a truly stunning read this book is and Mandy never fails to disappoint. Heart warming and beautifully written' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review'This gorgeous summer read has everything you need to cast your cares aside and simply bask in the warmth of the Greek sun, warm characters and totally absorbing storyline. Love it!' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review'What a bountiful banquet this book is!' NetGalley Reviewer'Beautifully written, this lovely story made me smile, laugh, and left me with a lovely, warm glow.' NetGalley Reviewer'A delightful read from start to end; one that left me smiling long after I finished the last chapter.' NetGalley Reviewer'This book is heart-warming and hilarious. I would give it six stars if I could! NetGalley Reviewer'Tempting, tantalising and tasty. This book was a one-sitting read for me.' NetGalley Reviewer
£20.69
Little, Brown Book Group The Loving Spirit
Book SynopsisCornwall, 1900s. Plyn Boat Yard is a hive of activity, and Janet Coombe longs to share in the excitement of seafaring: to travel, to have adventures, to know freedom. But constrained by the times, instead she marries her cousin Thomas, a boat builder, and settles down to raise a family. Janet's loving spirit - the passionate yearning for adventure and for love - is passed down to her son, and through him to his children's children. As generations of the family struggle against hardship and loss, their intricately plotted history is set against the greater backdrop of war and social change in Britain. Her debut novel, The Loving Spirit established du Maurier's reputation and style with an inimitable blend of romance, history and adventure.Trade ReviewDaphne du Maurier's lushly written novel ... is a rapturous celebration of the beauties of the Cornish landscape -- Michele Roberts She wrote exciting plots, she was highly skilled at arousing suspense, and she was, too, a writer of fearless originality Guardian Daphne du Maurier's lushly written novel ... is a rapturous celebration of the beauties of the Cornish landscape Michele Roberts No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification ... She satisfied all the questionable criteria of popular fiction, and yet satisfied the exacting requirements of "real literature", something very few novelists ever do -- Margaret Forster Miss du Maurier creates on the grand scale ... a rich vein of humour and satire, observation, sympathy, courage, a sense of the romantic are here OBSERVER
£9.49
Influx Press Paradise
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£10.79
Little, Brown Book Group Photos of You
Book SynopsisA compassionate, uplifting love story for fans of Me Before YouTrade ReviewHeart-wrenchingly romantic, this book will leave you wanting to hold your loved ones just that little bit closer. -- Emma Cooper, author of The Songs of LoveA deeply emotional story that will remind you that life is a gift, and it's never too late for love. -- Kelly Rimmer, author of Me Without You'Heart warming and heart breaking - you will need tissues!' * Hello! *
£9.74
Little, Brown Book Group Things My Mother Told Me
Book Synopsis''It was just sex, Anj, it didn''t mean anything.''When Anjali finds out that Jack, her boyfriend of ten years, has been cheating on her, it throws her world into chaos. Heartbroken, she fills the emptiness by embarking on a series of flings that her traditional Sri Lankan mother would (mostly) disapprove of.Yet she can no longer avoid her mother or Shanthi, her distant older sister. And so begins her real journey, one that will make Anjali confront a past she''s been desperate to forget. But maybe the past can also be the bridge to her future . . .Set in Bristol and Sri Lanka, Things My Mother Told Me is a warm, moving and funny story about love, loss, family, cultural divides and the voices we hear in our heads. It will stay with you long after you''ve turned the final page.Trade ReviewA heartwarming, witty novel about what happens when life as you know it falls apart. Refreshingly honest and poignant, I was carried along with Anjali's story completely, and felt like her family were my own by the end! I loved this. -- Sadie PearseFunny and big-hearted and poignant -- Julie Cohen
£7.19
Little, Brown Book Group The Last Party
Book SynopsisAt midnight, one of them is dead. By morning, all of them are suspects . . . The launch of the stunning first crime series from the #1 Sunday Times bestseller and international sensation. Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR THE LAST PARTY * - *The writing is superb. Wicked fun, devilishly clever, with echoes of Agatha Christie. This is a party you won't want to miss -- PATRICIA CORNWELLClare Mackintosh is just getting better and better with every book. This is a wonderfully assured and gripping read -- PETER JAMESDetectives Leo and Ffion make a storming debut in this twisty, cleverly-layered tale of worlds colliding -- BELINDA BAUERA wickedly enjoyable reprise of the traditional crime novel . . . A great summer read * THE TIMES *Whipsmart dialogue, droll observation, great characters and some very nasty business make this another standout for Mackintosh -- LINWOOD BARCLAYBrilliant, so atmospheric. I fell in love with courageous, complicated DC Ffion Morgan and I think readers will too -- RUTH WAREI loved everything about The Last Party. Taut, pacey and so atmospheric with brilliantly-executed twists and wonderfully-written characters. DC Ffion Morgan is my new favourite detective and I'm so excited to read more. An absolute triumph -- CLAIRE DOUGLASI absolutely inhaled this insanely gripping and atmospheric thriller. DC Ffion Morgan and her English counterpart Leo Brady are up there with the greats -- ERIN KELLYThe Last Party is a dark delight of a murder mystery! More entertaining than any party I've ever thrown. A chilling buffet of brutal murder, laced with grudges, jealousy and revenge. Whatever you do this summer, get yourself an invite! -- JANICE HALLETTClare Mackintosh is a genius -- FIONA CUMMINSDC Ffion Morgan may well be the Rebus of rural Wales. As warm as it is atmospheric and ingenious - this is the new crime series you need in your life -- WILL DEANSuperb. A compelling murder mystery told with warmth, humour and enough red herrings to keep even the most seasoned crime reader guessing -- C.L. TAYLORExpertly plotted and relentlessly gripping, The Last Party is a perfectly executed murder mystery. The whip-sharp and deeply likeable Ffion leads the investigation, introducing us to a cast of brilliantly realised suspects. I loved every page -- LUCY CLARKEI REALLY loved The Last Party . . . brimming with epic scenery - all mists and mountains and freezing lakes . . . DC Ffion Morgan feels real right from the off: funny and complicated and very sweary -- LOUISE CANDLISH * DAILY MAIL (SCOTLAND) *I loved The Last Party! This was a real page-turner, with compelling characters that drew me into the story. A fantastic, drily humorous and layered read that was a wonderful introduction to Detectives Leo and Ffion -- LJ ROSSWith her claustrophobic portrait of secret-stuffed small town life and her heartfelt evocation of the beauties of her adopted Wales, Mackintosh brings a new depth to her work here, without stinting on her customary twisty plotting * EXPRESS *Terrific. The Last Party has twists that blindside you all the way -- MARI HANNAHTwisty, ingeniously plotted and brilliant. Loved it, and I loved DC Ffion Morgan. I already can't wait for the next one . . . -- JILL MANSELLWith twists to make you gasp, this is a top-notch read * FABULOUS *Superb . . . A gripping portrait of two fractured people merges with believable plot twists, and the author perfectly captures the ennui of a small town where gossip can destroy lives. Mackintosh consistently entertains -- STARRED REVIEW * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *The Last Party has everything - a great story, evocative setting, brilliant characters and shocking twists -- CLAIRE MCGOWANDC Ffion Morgan is the detective I've been waiting for: clever and complicated, flawed but fearless, and clearly poised to rival her most famous male peers . . . A compulsive murder mystery that brims with authenticity, perfectly rounded off with a classic Mackintosh twist -- KIA ABDULLAHA gripping murder mystery. Every chapter ends on a cliff hanger, making it impossible to put down * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *Her best yet. A picturesque setting, wonderful cast and a pair of detectives you'll love. Plus I guarantee you'll never guess whodunnit -- MARK EDWARDSMurder, mystery, a cellar-full of dark secrets, and a memorable cast of characters combine in a wonderfully gripping police procedural -- VASEEM KHANA superbly entertaining murder mystery full of emotion and humour. I loved it! -- ALLIE REYNOLDSI loved the team of DC Ffion Morgan and DC Leo Brady . . . Great storytelling with a motley crew of characters * PRIMA *A gripping new series opener * HEAT *Clare Mackintosh has a way of taking thrillers to dazzling new and unexpected heights, whilst always delivering exactly what the reader wants: a thought-provoking story, a vivid cast of characters and a supremely compelling mystery -- B.P. WALTERAn excellent new thriller * CHOICE *This is the start of a new series and if the rest are as good as this, happy days! Mackintosh has created a brilliant pairing in rogue policewoman DC Ffion Morgan and play-it-by-the-book DC Leo Brady * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *Hands down the best closed cast mystery I've read in years. Clues and suspects fill every page . . . Readers will adore the cast of characters and never guess whodunnit! Clare Mackintosh is absolutely brilliant -- WENDY WALKERA murky tale of dodgy dealings, lies and revenge -- PICK OF THE WEEK * SUN *A lively whodunnit with some great characters - this is a mystery to sink your teeth into * BEST *Absolutely gripping. A wonderful sense of place, great cast of characters and a policewoman I'm looking forward to reading about again -- FANNY BLAKEAn intricate fabric of suspects, numerous red herrings and a powerful sense of place . . . Slow burning small town crime with many a twist and a superlative cast * CRIME TIME *A gripping new series * CRIME MONTHLY *Sensationally smart and gorgeously gossipy while being an absolute humdinger of a thrilling read, and what's more, it's the start of a new series * LOVEREADING *Wonderfully entertaining . . . [Ffion and Leo are] too good for just one appearance * BUZZ MAGAZINE *The characters are superb, the plot is well-written and completely absorbing . . . I loved The Last Party and can only hope this is the start of DC Ffion Morgan's adventures -- DAMP PEBBLESI absolutely loved this book . . . The writing is atmospheric, fast paced and the twists keep you gripped from the very first page -- NIC_THEBOOKWORMAnother nail-biting thriller * PRESS ASSOCIATION *Well-developed, complex characters . . . a gripping story with twists and turns -- STARRED REVIEW * LIBRARY JOURNAL *Come to meet the interestingly dysfunctional characters; stay to cheer them on with a full heart * KIRKUS *
£8.99
Headline Publishing Group When Gracie Met The Grump
Book Synopsis''When I need a guaranteed five-star, slow-burn romance, I pick up Mariana Zapata every time'' Tessa Bailey, #1 New York Times bestselling author''Everything Mariana writes is pure gold . . . a true gift to romance readers everywhere'' Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling authorThe new novel from the author of TikTok sensation, From Lukov With Love! No one writes slow burn like Mariana Zapata and her millions of fans agree!''OMG I am almost lost for words, I loved this so much! . . . Zapata is the queen of the slow burn for a reason, and I love how well she writes the trope'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review''If you like a Slowburn Romance, Grumpy/Sassy, amazing banter and a little bit of spice then I highly recommend you read this book!!'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review''All the feels . . . Mariana Zapata is one of th
£11.72
Simon & Schuster Ltd Alls Well
Book SynopsisThe tragicomic novel of the summer, a ‘dark and insane gem’ from the author of the critically acclaimed TikTok sensation Bunny ‘A dazzling wild ride of a novel – daring, fresh, entertaining, and magical.’ — George Saunders ‘All's Well is an utterly delicious novel of pain and vitality, Shakespeare and the uncanny.’ — Lauren Groff Miranda Fitch’s life is a waking nightmare. The accident that ended her burgeoning acting career left her with excruciating, chronic back pain, a failed marriage, and a deepening dependence on painkillers. And now she’s on the verge of losing her job as a college theater director. Determined to put on Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, the play that promised, and cost, her everything, she faces a mutinous cast hellbent on staging Macbeth instea
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group This Child of Ours
Book SynopsisWhy people love This Child of Ours...''Excellent... An important and moving story''CLARE MACKINTOSH''This book broke my heart and gently pieced it back together''CATHY BRAMLEY''Thought-provoking, moving and incredibly insightful'' AMANDA BROOKE''Will have you in cheers as well as tears''THE SUNIf you''ve been watching and enjoying Butterfly on ITV then this book is perfect for you. ---------------------You know what''s best for your child. Don''t you? Riley Pieterson is an adventurous girl with lots of questions. There''s plenty she doesn''t know yet; what a human brain looks like. All the constellations in the night sky. Why others can''t see her the way she sees herself.When Riley confides in her parents - Sally and Theo - that she feels uncomfortable in her own skin, a chain of evTrade ReviewExcellent read, perfect for book clubs... An important and moving story. -- Clare MackintoshSadie Pearse has written a truly sensitive and involving novel about gender, identity and family that has important things to say, but does so with warmth and great storytelling. It feels like a book that all modern parents should read -- Keith StuartBoth thought provoking and emotional, it will have you in cheers as well as tears * The Sun *This book broke my heart and gently pieced it back together. It is original, sensitive and intensely moving and I was constantly questioning myself: what would I do. An incredibly accomplished novel. -- Cathy BramleyHeart-wrenching * Fabulous Magazine *An important story that will prompt discussion * Good Housekeeping *The kind of book that everyone will have an opinion on. Thought-provoking, moving and incredibly insightful. -- Amanda BrookeA thoughtful and sensitive account of parenting a transgender child and the emotional and practical challenges it raises. -- Cath StaincliffeAbsolutely brilliant -- Rachel BurtonThere is nothing more I can say than I absolutely loved this book. What a sensitive issue, dealt with beautifully. -- 5* Netgalley reviewThought-provoking, nerve-wracking and poignantly relevant -- 5* Netgalley reviewA fantastic read with a sensitive subject at its heart -- 5* Netgalley reviewReally really enjoyed this book about a subject I'd not really thought of before. -- 5* Netgalley review
£7.19
Scribe Publications The Sisters Mao: a novel
Book SynopsisA Sunday Independent Book of the Year Against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution and Europe’s sexual revolution, the fates of two families in London and Beijing become unexpectedly intertwined, in this dazzling new novel from the author of Mrs Engels. Revolution is a Family Affair. In London, sisters Iris and Eva, members of a radical performance collective, plan an attack on the West End theatre where their mother is playing the title role in Miss Julie. Meanwhile in Beijing, Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao’s wife, rehearses a gala performance of her model ballet, The Red Detachment of Women, which she will use to attack her enemies in the Party. As the preparations for these two astonishing performances unfold, Iris, Eva, and Jiang Qing are transformed into unforgettable protagonists in a single epic drama. The three ‘sisters’, although fighting very different personal battles, find themselves bound together by the passions of love, by the obsessions of power, and by the forces of history. Exquisitely observed, relevant, and wise, The Sisters Mao shows us that the political is always personal.Trade Review‘McCrea’s portrait of Jiang Qing is a masterpiece of characterisation: at once monstrous and pitiable. The Sisters Mao is dazzlingly clever and original.’ -- Antonia Senior * The Times *‘The work of a master storyteller.’ -- Joseph O’Connor‘A capacious work of social realism … dazzlingly ambitious yet modestly human.’ -- Lara Feigel * The Guardian *‘A study of political madness … modifying the old cliche that the personal is political, the message here is a reminder that the political is always personal.’ -- Phil Baker * The Sunday Times *‘It is impeccably researched and he interweaves the personal and the political to great effect.’ -- Lucy Popescu * Financial Times *‘Manages to combine vast research with lightness of touch and superb insights.’ -- Caitriona Lally * Sunday Independent *‘McCrea’s observations are a joy … this is a novel worth taking time over, for readers anywhere on the political spectrum.’ -- Christopher Harding * The Telegraph *‘Written with McCrea’s trademark confidence and virtuosity, this is a sumptuous, winning book. Its characters are not so much drawn from life (Imelda Marcos makes an entrance) as strange revenants from a turbulent dream. Its high intelligence throws light everywhere, and suggestive shade.’ -- Sebastian Barry, author of A Thousand Moons‘The tremors of Gavin McCrea’s prose thrillingly record what happens as a world spins off its axis, shattering public and private lives. This electrifying fiction confirms McCrea’s status among the leading novelists of his brilliant generation.’ -- Frank McGuinness, author of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me‘The Sisters Mao is a spectacular novel, utterly enthralling and insightful; every voice is penetrating, dazzling. In spite of the setting, it is full of relevance for these times; it manages to be both historically authentic and thrillingly contemporary. Gavin is a writer of extraordinary talent, and I cannot think of a kind of reader who I would not recommend this novel to.’ -- Sara Baume, author of Spill Simmer Falter Wither‘Gavin McCrea is a wonderful writer: bold, innovative, and fiercely intelligent, and these qualities shine from this magnificent novel. I was enthralled from the first sentence to the last.’ -- Donal Ryan, author of Strange Flowers‘A sweeping political saga spanning East and West. McCrea’s confident and lucid prose gives us both the personal and the political. Mesmerising.’ -- Xiaolu Guo, author of A Lover’s Discourse‘The writing has an engrossing flow of energy, a vigour and a flair which have the audacity of invention … Given its immensity and arguments the novel could invite comparison with some of the great Russian writers.’ -- Mary Leland * Irish Examiner *‘McCrea has conducted exceptionally deep research to conjure up nuanced, authentic portrayals of the worlds of the book — but the text carries his knowledge lightly, supporting rather than dominating the story. The Sisters Mao is the best sort of historical fiction; one that illuminates the contemporary moment with great insight. Profoundly brilliant, it will no doubt be a huge contender on the literary awards circuit, but also one that is pushed feverishly from reader to reader with excitement.’ -- Helen Cullen * The Irish Times *‘Dynamic.’ -- Sebastian Barry * The Irish Times *‘Ideas flow ceaselessly and impact in unexpected ways in Gavin McCrea’s compendious novel.’ -- Neil Hegarty * The Irish Times *‘Major recommendation ... The incredible Gavin McCrea, beloved author of Mrs Engels, publishes his second novel, The Sisters Mao ... It’s profoundly brilliant!’ -- Helen Cullen‘A new novel that's so powerful I think it's going straight onto my shelf of favourite books. It's a moving, thrilling, and thoughtful story that will captivate you.’ -- Eric Karl Anderson * Lonesome Reader *‘Brilliantly chronicles the corrosive collision between the personal and the political.’ -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *‘Ambitious … McCrea writes insightfully about mother-daughter dynamics, the power of theatre, and women’s roles in revolutionary movements.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘A stirring, perceptive exploration of radical politics … a sweeping portrait of three women shaped by fanaticism, dysfunctional families, intra-group sexism and politics-as-performance … This excellent novel, populated by maddening, memorable characters, offers a timeless reminder of extremism's perils.’ -- Kevin Canfield * Minneapolis Star Tribune *
£15.29
Daunt Books Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Everyman Garden Stories
Book SynopsisSpectacular gardens are viewed from the perspective of a snail in Virginia Woolf's 'Kew Gardens' and from that of a sheltered teenage girl in Katherine Mansfield's 'The Garden Party'. The family of Doris Lessing's 'Flavours of Exile' haul succulent vegetables and fruits from the rich African soil, and Colette in 'Bygone Spring' luxuriates in extravagantly blooming flowers. Children discover their own peculiar paradises in Sandra Cisneros's 'The Monkey Garden' and Italo Calvino's 'The Enchanted Garden', while adult gardeners find things that move and haunt them in William Maxwell's 'The French Scarecrow' and Jamaica Kincaid's 'The Garden I Have in Mind'. Gardens of the mind round out the anthology: the beautiful but fatal garden of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Rappaccini's Daughter', the crystal buds of J. G. Ballard's 'The Garden of Time', ravenous orchids in John Collier's 'Green Thoughts', and Aoko Matsuda's 'Planting', in which a young woman plants each day whatever she has been given - roses and violets, buttons and broken cups, love and fear and sorrow. An entrancing book for everyone who loves gardens and the beauty of nature.
£12.34
Cornerstone The Magicians: (Book 1)
Book SynopsisQuentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. Obsessed with the fantasy novels he read as a child, he finds the real world just doesn't compare.Then one day it happens: he stumbles unexpectedly into a hidden world and is invited to join a very exclusive college, where he will learn the secrets of magic.But something is still missing.And now Quentin will do anything to find what he's always been looking for.Praise for The Magicians Trilogy'The best fantasy trilogy of the decade.' Charles Stross'The most entertaining and compelling fantasy I've read in a long time.' The Times'Lev Grossman has conjured a rare creature: a trilogy that simply gets better and better as it goes along... Literary perfection.' Erin Morgenstern'May just be the most subversive, gripping, and enchanting fantasy novel I've read this century.' Cory Doctorow'Dark and dangerous and full of twists. Hogwarts was never like this.' George R. R. Martin'Sad, hilarious, beautiful, and essential to anyone who cares about modern fantasy.' Joe Hill'A darkly cunning story about the power of imagination itself.' The New Yorker'The Magicians ought to be required reading... a terrific, at times almost painfully perceptive novel of the fantastic.' Kelly Link'Brilliantly explores the hidden underbelly of fantasy and easy magic, taking what's simple on the surface and turning it over to show us the complicated writhing mess beneath.' Naomi NovikTrade ReviewThe best fantasy trilogy of the decade. -- Charles StrossStirring, complex, adventurous . . . Grossman delivers superb coming of age fantasy.A darkly cunning story about the power of imagination itself. * The New Yorker *Dark and dangerous and full of twists. Hogwart's was never like this.The Magicians ought to be required reading... a terrific, at times almost painfully perceptive novel of the fantastic.
£10.44
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The White Hare
Book SynopsisIn a Cornish valley steeped in legend lies an abandoned house where Edens may be lost, found and remade... The house at White Cove comes with a reputation. Once the venue for glittering parties, it has lain neglected since the war, which is why Mila and her mother Magda acquire it so cheaply in the summer of 1954. While Magda plans to restore the house to its former glory, Mila just wants a happy home for her little girl, Janey. Locals say this valley is home to a white hare; to some it’s an ill omen, to others a blessing. Feeling fragile and broken-hearted, Mila is in need of as many blessings as she can get. But will this place provide the fresh start she so desperately needs? ‘This book does not hesitate to evoke a sense of wonder’ Robin Hobb ‘Mythic, witchy... sings of an earth alive with power’ Jackie Morris ‘A brilliant novel of love, loss, forgiveness, and healing’ Liz FenwickTrade ReviewSings of an earth alive with power -- Jackie MorrisDoes not hesitate to evoke a sense of wonder -- Robin HobbA brilliant novel of love, loss, forgiveness, and healing wrapped in Cornwall start to finish. I loved every page, every small detail and am at a loss now that I’ve finished it -- Liz FenwickAn engrossing gothic tale of family secrets, scandals, and ancient mysteries * Publishers Weekly *I was intrigued from the beginning * Historical Novel Society *
£9.49
Quercus Publishing Coffin Road: An utterly gripping crime thriller
Book SynopsisTHE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY, THE ENZO FILES AND THE CHINA THRILLERSAWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of BooksPETER MAY MIXES MURDER, MYSTERY and MEMORY . . . AND MARKS HIS RETURN TO THE OUTER HEBRIDESA man stands bewildered on a deserted beach on the Hebridean Isle of Harris. He cannot remember who he is. The only clue to his identity is a folded map of a path named the Coffin Road. He does not know where this search will take him.A detective from Lewis sits aboard a boat, filled with doubt. DS George Gunn knows that a bludgeoned corpse has been discovered on a remote rock twenty miles offshore. He does not know if he has what it takes to uncover how and why.A teenage girl lies in her Edinburgh bedroom, desperate to discover the truth about her scientist father's suicide. Two years on, Karen Fleming still cannot accept that he would wilfully abandon her. She does not yet know his secret.Coffin Road follows three perilous journeys towards one shocking truth - and the realisation that ignorance can kill us.LOVED COFFIN ROAD? Read the first book in Peter May's acclaimed China thrillers series, THE FIREMAKERLOVE PETER MAY? Buy his new thriller, THE NIGHT GATE
£8.09
Hodder & Stoughton Wish You Were Here
Book Synopsis''A powerfully evociative story of the resilience and triumph of the human spirit'' TAYLOR JENKINS REID, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF DAISY JONES AND THE SIX''Extraordinary . . . it''s such a great book'' GRAHAM NORTONDiana O''Toole''s life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she''s up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby''s and she''s about to fly to the Galápagos where she''s convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose.But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees. Once she''s in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded - albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there''s a betTrade ReviewA haunting yet uplifting story about the fear and isolation of the pandemic, and the surprising ways in which it forced many people to rethink their priorities -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *A writer the world needs to be reading right now * Independent *It is hard to exaggerate how well Picoult writes * Financial Times *There are writers who try and do what Picoult does, and then there's Picoult * Marie Claire *Taps into the trauma and uncertainty of 2020's global crisis. Absolutely a must-read * Booklist *We couldn't turn the pages fast enough * Closer *Extraordinary... it's such a great book -- Graham NortonA must-read. Striking, eloquent, and thought-provoking... Emotionally intelligent and perceptive...This is Jodi Picoult at her best * Love Reading *Surprising, emotional yet uplifting, this is a top read * Sun on Sunday *If reading became a struggle for you during the pandemic, let Jodi Picoult show you how page-turning magic is not lost... This will make you laugh, nod and cry - and at one point gasp out loud with a twist you will not see coming. Sometimes you will take a moment to let it all sink in. Superb * Press Association *Another fantastic and clever read from Picoult * Woman *A fascinating exploration of the very nature of reality * Saga Magazine *Picoult is at her best when bringing the magnificence of the Galapagos to life in all its strange and colourful glory... A few hours after finishing Wish You Were Here I broke down in tears... This is a book worth reading, a book which reminds us that our futures are not guaranteed or inevitable * Irish Sunday Independent *Beautiful, beautiful prose and rich storytelling. I just loved it * Lia Louis, author of Eight Perfect Hours *A powerfully evocative story of the resilience and triumph of the human spirit * Taylor Jenkins Reid *A haunting yet uplifting story about the fear and isolation of the pandemic, and the surprising ways in which it forced many people to rethink their priorities -- Jane Shilling * Daily Mail *
£8.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER This enthralling novel, inspired by the 2006 film, illustrates that fantasy is the sharpest tool to explore the terrors and miracles of the human heart You shouldn't come in here. You could get lost. It has happened before. I'll tell you the story one day, if you want to hear it. In fairy tales, there are men and there are wolves, there are beasts and dead parents, there are girls and forests. Ofelia knows all this, like any young woman with a head full of stories. And she sees right away what the Capitán is, in his immaculate uniform, boots and gloves, smiling: a wolf. But nothing can prepare her for the fevered reality of the Capitán’s eerie house, in the midst of a dense forest which conceals many things: half-remembered stories of lost babies; renegade resistance fighters hiding from the army; a labyrinth; beasts and fairies. There is no one to keep Ofelia safe as the labyrinth beckons her into her own story, where the monstrous and the human are inextricable, where myths pulse with living blood ...Trade ReviewFunke’s sensitive expansion of Del Toro’s dark fantasy is a delight * Guardian *More than just a film spin off , this is a beautiful companion piece and a reminder of the importance of Del Toro’s initial vision * Observer *A work of consummate love and passion, one that needs to be revered for its unmistakable brilliance ... This novelisation not only lives up to impossibly high expectations but incredibly adds to the darkest of magical fairytales * Starburst *Inspired and beautifully illustrated * i Paper *Pan’s Labyrinth is a terrific masterpiece, a literary accomplishment that reaches and often rivals its cinematic counterpart * Storgy *Reading this is a wonderful re-exploration of a beautiful and terrifying world, merging the horrors of reality and the wonders of fantasy just as well as the film did, if not better * Cultured Vultures *Not only is this book a fantastic retelling of the film, but it is also a beautifully written expansion that dives into del Toro’s mythology in a way that the film couldn’t … Harsh, poetic, and visually stunning * Fan Fest *Charged with the monumental task of adapting an intricate film to the page, del Toro and Funke have avoided merely describing the film and instead have elegantly recrafted the narrative ... Dark and mesmerising * Kirkus Reviews, starred review *Funke maintains the tale’s dark beauty, filling it with imaginative details, complex characters, love and history, as well as humanity’s evils ... This book will creep into the minds and hearts of readers and linger there * Booklist *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Prophet: 'Fabulous...a page-turner' Neil Gaiman
Book SynopsisYOUR HAPPIEST MEMORY IS THEIR DEADLIEST WEAPON.‘Fabulous... Present-day science fiction that feels like the best sort of spy novel’ NEIL GAIMAN, author of CoralineThis is Prophet. It knows when you were happiest. It gives life to your fondest memories and uses them to destroy you...An all-American diner appears overnight in a remote British field. And the deaths quickly follow. A weapon like no other - Prophet - is targeting innocent people. But nobody knows who created it, or why.Sunil Rao seems a surprising choice of investigator. Chaotic and unpredictable, the former agent is the antithesis of his partner Lieutenant Colonel Adam Rubenstein, the model of a military man. But Sunil has the unique ability to distinguish truth from lies in objects, words and people, in the past and in real time. And Adam is the only one who truly knows him, after a troubled past together. Now, as they battle this strange new reality, they are drawn closer than ever to defend what they both hold most dear.Prophet can weaponise the past. But only love will protect the future.‘Prophet is a blast’SUNDAY TIMES‘A thrilling dystopian novel’TIME***A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR***Trade ReviewFabulous… It’s present-day science fiction that feels like the best sort of spy novel with real people you can care about. And it’s a page-turner -- NEIL GAIMAN, author of CoralineProphet is a blast * Sunday Times *A thrilling dystopian novel * TIME *Bold, brilliant. Prophet is hypnotically enthralling, frightening, fearless, funny and full of heart. I loved it -- CHRIS WHITAKER, author of We Begin at the EndYou are in for a treat… If you like shows such as Twin Peaks, Stranger Things and Lost you will no doubt like this * Scotsman *Skilfully constructed, its authors deploying the grammar of science fiction with ease and achieving moments of grim humour as well as horror * Times Literary Supplement *Prophet promises to bring back everything you lost and now yearn for... Proper science fiction - self-aware, funny, ruthlessly propulsive, full of invention... I loved it -- M. John Harrison, author of The Sunken Land Begins to Rise AgainA fast-paced techno thriller... High-octane... The novel is immense fun, a work of exceptional storytelling skill and stylistic panache * Guardian *A madcap sci-fi romp, which combines a bananas plot with some very touching writing on grief, nostalgia and love * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *Prophet is a sui generis and rather wonderful collaboration between Helen MacDonald and Sin Blaché * New York Times *
£17.09
Vintage Publishing The Late Americans: From the Booker
Book Synopsis'Funny, merciless, brilliant... I loved it' CURTIS SITTENFELD, bestselling author of Romantic ComedySeamus, Fyodor, Ivan, Noah and Fatima are running out of time to decide on their futuresIn a university town in the American Midwest, this circle of lovers and friends ask themselves: what is the right thing to stake a life on? Work, love, money, dance, poetry? Is love possible without harm? And what does true connection look like in an age of precarity?The author of the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Real Life returns with a deeply involving new novel of young men and women trying to work out what they want, and who they are.***A DAILY TELEGRAPH AND FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023***'Taylor is a sharp chronicler' RAVEN LEILANI, author of Luster'Assures Taylor's position as one of the most important novelists of his generation' GUARDIANTrade ReviewAssures and deepens Taylor's position as one of the most accomplished, important novelists of his generation. He is undoubtedly on to something expansively new in his sense of what the contemporary novel can do * Guardian *I loved The Late Americans and its funny, merciless, brilliant portrayal of the beauty and pointlessness of art, and the absurdity and horror - and occasional transcendence - of being a person. Magnificent -- Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Romantic ComedyBrandon Taylor's third book is the most dazzling example of his sharp pen and keen observations of human nature... Taylor develops his characters so precisely, they feel like close friends: recognisable, sometimes infuriating, and always worth following to the book's last page * Harper's Bazaar *Taylor is a sharp chronicler of the body. In The Late Americans, the body is an instrument and an archive, vulnerable to the complicated violence of pleasure and work -- Raven Leilani, author of LusterTaylor's most accomplished book, a panorama of youth in the era of late capitalism * Guardian *Elegant... Taylor has a Chekhovian generosity that enables him to convey character with something like tenderness... The relationships move like an eighteenth-century quadrille, at once restrained and spritely... Taylor's vision is unsparing, but never bleak -- Claire Messud, author of The Emperor's ChildrenSensitive and unflinching… The Late Americans is thoroughly contemporary * Financial Times, *Books of the Year* *The Late Americans is remarkable. If you're going to write about art, the folly of pursuing it and the irrefutable power of it, you should probably do it well. Taylor does it truthfully and beautifully * Financial Times *Brandon Taylor has both a classic sensibility, expansive and elegant, and a razor-sharp ability to speak to the contemporary moment. The Late Americans is a full expression of his singular talent -- Emma Cline, author of The GirlsA dizzying plunge into the lives of young people making art in America in the era of survival capitalism, grappling over the big questions like they're fighting over a gun. Deep within their ambitions, their pettiness and lust, is the meaning and even grandeur they seek - and whether or not his characters ever find it, Brandon Taylor has. A bravura performance on the edge of a knife -- Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
£17.09
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Cloisters: The Secret History for a new
Book SynopsisThe Secret History meets Ninth House . . . the discovery of a mysterious deck of tarot cards lays bare shocking secrets within a close-knit circle of researchers at New York's famed Met Cloisters museum.-------'Glamour, power, seduction, ambition – The Cloisters has it all. I adored this deliciously gothic, beautifully written novel.' LOUISE O'NEILL,'Dark and enigmatic . . . a story of academic obsession, Renaissance magic and the ruthless pursuit of power. Captivating in every sense.' SARAH PEARSE'Elegant and atmospheric and suffused with brooding menace.' LUCY CLARKE'Sultry and sinister . . . teems with sexual tension, the secrets of divination, and scholarly obsessiveness . . . jaw-dropping.' SARAH PENNER‘Beguiling and atmospheric, an entrancing and gripping tale.’ KATE MOSSE-------Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, hoping to spend her summer working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she is assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its collection of medieval and Renaissance art.Drawn into a small circle of charismatic but enigmatic researchers, Ann happy to indulge some of their more outlandish theories, including the museum's curator who is fixated on tarot and the real possibility of predicting the future.But when Ann discovers a mysterious, once-thought lost deck of 15th-century Italian tarot cards she finds herself at the centre of a dangerous game of power, toxic friendship and ambition.And as the game being played within the Cloisters spirals out of control, Ann must decide who she trusts . . .The instant Sunday Times bestseller, January 2023Trade ReviewBeguiling and atmospheric, an entrancing and gripping tale. -- KATE MOSSE, author of LabyrinthElegant and atmospheric and suffused with brooding menace, The Cloisters transports us to the dark corridors of museum life, embroiling the reader in a twisting mystery, while also intelligently exploring the nature of fate versus freewill. -- LUCY CLARKE, author of The CastawaysGlamour, power, seduction, ambition - The Cloisters has it all. I adored this deliciously gothic, beautifully written novel. -- LOUISE O'NEILL, author of IdolThis is a modern, Gothic masterpiece. Successfully linking modern critical thinking with the divinity of the past, and human nature's desire to believe that there is something else out there. 9/10 * INDEPENDENT *The dark and enigmatic world of The Cloisters captured me from the off . . . a story of academic obsession, Renaissance magic and the ruthless pursuit of power. Captivating in every sense. -- SARAH PEARSE, author of The Sanatorium
£8.54
Random House King of Rabbits
Book SynopsisThe refuge he seeks in his love of nature, and the wild rabbits who have made their burrows in the woods, may not be refuge enough. King of Rabbits is a beautiful, painful, at times funny novel about how a little boy perceives the world, and how his environment leads him on a path to manhood he doesn't want to follow;
£13.49
Random House Last Days in Cleaver Square
Book Synopsis___________________________________________'An atmospheric novel, with a magnificently unreliable narrator . . . McGrath is a connoisseur of this literary tradition.' Financial Times'The pleasure in a Patrick McGrath novel is the travelling, not the arrival, and this is a rare novel that has pleasure on every page.' The Times'Unfailingly deft in his handling of trauma and deceit.' Guardian___________________________________________'Let there be no more of this clucking and wheedling. Oh Pa, are you sure? Or: Oh Francis, is this really a good idea? Let me be clear. I am always sure, and it is always a good idea.'An old man is sleeping fitfully. It's too hot. The air is thick with Spanish Jasmine floating in from his overgrown garden. And he's not sure whether he'll be woken by General Franco sitting on the end of his bed. It's 1975 and Francis McNulty is nearing the end of his life but feeling far from peaceful. A veteran of the Spanish Civil War, he is tormented by grief and guilt ab
£15.29
Transworld Where Blood Runs Cold
Book Synopsis** WINNER OF THE 2022 WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE **THE TIMES'' THRILLER OF THE MONTH''A heart-pounding survival thriller set in the starkly beautiful far north of Norway. Gripping and adrenalin-fuelled, yet also written with a tenderness that warms even the most chilling of chases.'' LUCY CLARKE, author of The CastawaysErik Amdahl and his spirited daughter, Sofia, have embarked on a long-promised cross-country ski trip deep into Norway''s arctic circle. For Erik, it''s the chance to bond properly with his remaining daughter following a tragic accident. For Sofia, it''s the proof she needs that her father does care.Then, far from home in this snowbound wilderness, with night falling and the mercury plummeting, an accident sends them in search of help - and shelter. Nearby is the home of a couple - members of Norway''s indigenous Sami people - who they''ve met before, and who welcome them in. Erik is r
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd About Us
Book Synopsis''A charming, laugh-out-loud read'' - SUNDAY INDEPENDENTSHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021Three couples. One therapist''s couch ...Alice and Niall used to be lovers, best friends and parents, in that order. Now they''re no longer on the same page or even reading from the same book.Ann thought when she and Ken retired, it would be their second spring. Instead, it feels more like an icy winter.Orla is falling in love with boyfriend Paul, but her complicated past makes her unsure if she can ever be intimate with anyone.Three couples find themselves telling a stranger about the most private part of their lives - their hopes, their disappointments, their awkward realisations.Can they learn to be honest with each other? And what life-changing decisions will be made when they do?''Such a joy to read . . . a brilliant book'' - CLAIRE BYRNE
£11.69
Cornerstone The Seventh Son
Book Synopsis''Genuinely thought-provoking' THE TIMES''Extraordinary'' WILLIAM BOYDFaulks is an enviably graceful and economical writer' GUARDIANA CHILD WILL BE BORN WHO WILL CHANGE EVERYTHINGTech billionaire Lukas Parn has an ambitious plan. Behind the doors of the IVF clinic in his London institute, a daring switch is made. Young academic Talissa Adam believes she is simply carrying a child for a grateful family, but the baby inside her is different from any living human. The boy, Seth, grows up unaware, though his parents not that he's different: he can't make plans, is unaware of danger and seems to have at least one extra sense. But as Seth becomes a man, the truth about him is revealed and the world starts to hunt him down. [An] unsettling book from one of our most popular novelists; it's also one of his best' FINANCIAL TIMESHis greatest novel yet'' ANTONY BEEVOR<
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Tiger Work
Book Synopsis''Both a work of lyrical imagination and a warning about the dangers we will face unless we take immediate action'' New Yorker ''An artist''s ardent plea for change'' Kirkus This earth that we love is in grave danger because of us. Forests are becoming legends, rare as unicorns...If we continue to live as we do now, there will be no world left for us to fix, Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri argues in this evocative collection. He imagines messages sent to us from beyond the end, from those who saw it coming exhorting us to change now.Combining fiction, essay and poetry, Tiger Work displays Okri's classic blend of storytelling, fantasy and magic.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
Book Synopsis*A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOKER PRIZE GEM* WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 1993Paddy Clarke is ten years old.Paddy Clarke lights fires. Paddy Clarke''s name is written in wet cement all over Barrytown. Paddy Clarke''s heroes are Father Damien (and the lepers), Geronimo and George Best. Paddy Clarke knows the exact moment to knock a dead scab from his knee. Paddy Clarke hates his brother Francis because that's the rule. Paddy Clarke loves his Ma and Da, but it seems like they don''t love each other, and Paddy wants to understand, but can''t.Trade ReviewFunny, warm and enriching. -- Alan Davies * Daily Express *Funny, warm and enriching. -- Alan Davies * Daily Express *Truthful, hilarious, painfully sad * Spectator *Gloriously triumphant...confirms Doyle as the best novelist of his generation * Literary Review *It is 1968. Paddy Clarke is ten years old, breathless with discovery. He reads with a child's voraciousness, collecting facts the way adults collect grey hairs and parking tickets. Doyle captures the speech patterns of childhood brilliantly, the weird logic of the incessant questions, the non-sequiturs and wonderments... Like all great comic writers, Roddy Doyle has become an explorer of the deepest places of the heart, of love and pain and loss. This is one of the most compelling novels I've read in ages, a triumph of style and perception * Irish Times *
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Vintage Publishing V. Thomas Pynchon
Book SynopsisThe first novel from the great, incomparable Thomas Pynchon.The quest for V. sweeps us through sixty years and a panorama of Alexandria, Paris, Malta, Florence, Africa and New York. But who, where or what is V.? Bawdy, sometimes sad and frequently hilarious, V. as become a modern classic.''The greatest, wildest, most infuriating author of his generation'' Ian Rankin, Guardian''To read V. today is to experience Pynchon anew'' New YorkerTrade ReviewA remarkable book * Sunday Telegraph *To read V. today is to experience Pynchon anew. Blast through the multilayered densities of Gravity's Rainbow, Mason & Dixon, and Against the Day, and you have a young Cornell graduate, an engineer from Long Island, writing with an earnestness you might not have expected, about a world he could never recover * New Yorker *[Pynchon's] ambitions in V. are prodigious, enough to demand comparison less with Perelman than with the Joyce of the Circe episode of Ulysses * New York Review of Books 1963 *The greatest, wildest, most infuriating author of his generation -- Ian Rankin * Guardian *[Pynchon] writes richer comedy than most card-carrying comic novelists, filling his eight novels with hilarious spoofs, outlandish characters, screwball dialogue and zany scenarios * Guardian *
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Vintage Publishing 1Q84 Book 3
Book SynopsisBook Two of 1Q84 ended with Aomame standing on the Metropolitan Expressway with a gun between her lips. She knows she is being hunted, and that she has put herself in terrible danger in order to save the man she loves. But things are moving forward, and Aomame does not yet know that she and Tengo are more closely bound than ever.Tengo is searching for Aomame, and he must find her before this world''s rules loosen up too much. He must find her before someone else does.Trade ReviewMurakami's magnum opus * Japan Times *1Q84 has a range and sophistication that surpasses anything else in his oeuvre. It is his most achieved novel; an epic in which form and content are neatly aligned... So like Murakami himself, I'll borrow from Orwell: 1Q84 is quite simply doubleplusgood * Independent on Sunday *1Q84 reads like a cross between Stieg Larsson and Roberto Bolaño... In its bones, this novel is a thriller * Daily Telegraph *It is a work of maddening brilliance and gripping originality, deceptively casual in style, but vibrating with wit, intellect and ambition -- Richard Lloyd Parry * The Times *Which other author can remind you simultaneously of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and JK Rowling, not merely within the same chapter but on the same page? Viewed through the "post-modern" lens, his exemplary blend of a light touch and weighty themes, of high literature and popular entertainment, ticks every box. Posh and pop, sublimity and superficiality, history and fantasy, trash and transcendence: they switch positions and then fuse -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *
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Penguin Books Ltd Herzog Saul Bellow Penguin Modern Classics
Book SynopsisSaul Bellow''s Herzog is part confessional, part exorcism, and a wholly unique achievement in postmodern fiction. Is Moses Herzog losing his mind? His formidable wife Madeleine has left him for his best friend, and Herzog is left alone with his whirling thoughts - yet he still sees himself as a survivor, raging against private disasters and the myriad catastrophes of the modern age. In a crumbling house which he shares with rats, his head buzzing with ideas, he writes frantic, unsent letters to friends and enemies, colleagues and famous people, the living and the dead, revealing the spectacular workings of his labyrinthine mind and the innermost secrets of his troubled heart.This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Malcolm Bradbury''Spectacular ... surely Bellow''s greatest novel''Malcolm Bradbury''A masterpiece ... Herzog''s voice, for all its wildness and strangeness and foolishness, is the voice of a civiliTrade ReviewThe character of Herzog is Bellow's grandest creation, and his mind is as rich as the mind of any character in American literature -- Philip RothSpectacular ... surely Bellow's greatest novel -- Malcolm BradburyA writer of genius * Sunday Times *Nobody else has ever sat down and wallowed to this extent in his own life, with full art -- John Berryman
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