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
HarperCollins Publishers The Party Guest An addictive and gripping new
Book SynopsisAt the end of chapters, I was either Wow or Oh my God!' Reader Review ?????Robson does it again. The end will leave you flabbergasted!' Reader Review ?????The intense suspense had me finishing this novel in a day!' Reader Review ?????A birthday to remember. But would they rather forget?Ralph is turning 45, and the only gift he wants is his ex-wife.Gemma, his trophy girlfriend, won't let anything ruin her plans for an engagement.Sarah, the ex-wife, has agreed to attend Ralph's party, with her new man in tow.And Jack, her partner, will stop at nothing to keep Sarah out of her ex-husband's clutches.It's a celebration like no other. The whole extended family in a villa on the beautiful Amalfi coast.But by the end of the trip, two people will be dead.At this birthday party to remember, will anybody unwrap the truth?Two weeks. Four guests. One party to die for.A compulsive and twisty suspense thriller with an ending you won't see coming, perfect for fans of Louise Candlish and Adele ParksReaTrade ReviewPraise for Amanda Robson: ‘I absolutely loved it and raced through it. Thrilling, unputdownable, a fabulous rollercoaster of a read – I was obsessed by this book’ BA Paris ‘Highly entertaining and will keep you turning the pages – A toxic treat!’ Alice Hunter ‘A domestic nightmare crackling with unrelieved tension’ Paul Finch ‘Amanda Robson at her best – intriguing, shocking and twisty. An absolute must-read’ JA Corrigan ‘Fast-moving, compulsive reading’ Jane Corry ‘A pacy page-turner full of taut toxicity, envy, jealousy and self-interest that I couldn’t put down’ Adrienne Chinn ‘I raced through this wickedly enticing page-turner. Amanda Robson at her fiendish best’ Emma Curtis ‘An addictive, compelling read, full of tension’ Karen Hamilton ‘One of the sexiest, most compelling debuts I’ve come across this year; it cries out to become a TV drama’ Daily Mail ‘Compelling and thoroughly addictive’ Katerina Diamond ‘This is one highly addictive novel’ Wendy Walker ‘No one does toxic relationships quite like Amanda Robson’ Sam Carrington ‘Expertly injects menace into the domestic’ Holly Seddon ‘Totally addictive and unputdownable’ Roz Watkins ‘Twisty, taut, vibrant and addictive. The queen of the page-turner’ Caroline England
£8.54
Pan Macmillan The Beach Cafe
Book SynopsisThe Beach Cafe is Lucy Diamond's classic bestseller, a story of new beginnings, love and adventure. Evie Flynn has always been the black sheep of her family - a dreamer and a drifter, unlike her over-achieving elder sisters. She's tried making a name for herself as an actress, a photographer and a singer, but nothing has ever worked out. Now she's stuck in temp hell, with a sensible, pension-planning boyfriend. Somehow life seems to be passing her by. Then her beloved aunt Jo dies suddenly in a car crash, leaving Evie an unusual legacy - her precious beach cafe in Cornwall. Determined to make a success of something for the first time in her life, Evie heads off to Cornwall to get the cafe and her life back on track - and gets more than she bargained for, both in work and in love . . .
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Sharing Economy
Book SynopsisThree Women meets Crudo: a frank and fresh literary debut about the dawn of dating apps in Amsterdam.‘Sexual infidelity is unavoidable, for whatever reasons, in long monogamous relationships, so why not give the other sexual freedom, as a gesture of love, of communication maybe?’ Amsterdam in 2014 is an historic city situated at the heart of the future. One of the biggest hubs for internet traffic in the world, it has become a favourite testing-ground for the new internet platforms that form the vanguard of what has been coined ‘the sharing economy’. Gabrielle Bloom is a woman in her mid-40s, working as an exhibition curator. She is happily married to Anton and loves her son Victor. They have a circle of sophisticated friends and enjoy the life of two successful and respectable professionals living in one of the world’s most beautiful and culturally rich cities. There is, though, o
£13.49
Little, Brown Book Group Nightwork
Book Synopsis Sunday Times bestselling author Nora Roberts returns with a brand new standalone novel - a story about the power of love to light a way through the darkness''If you''re after the perfect pick-me-up, take-me-away-from-the-world read, then she''s your woman''The Guardian When he was nine, and his mother had her first deadly dance with cancer, Harry became a thief. Someone had to find food and pay the mortgage even if his mother was too sick to work. When his mother finally succumbs to cancer, Harry leaves Chicago but somehow he can''t quite leave all of his past behind.Harry lives a quiet, careful, rootless life - he can''t afford to attract attention or get attached - until he meets Miranda. But just when Harry thinks he has a chance at happiness his old life comes back to haunt him. Harry has had dealings with some bad people in his past but none more dangerous than Carter LaPorte and Harry is forced to run. But no matter what name he uses or where he goes, Harry cannot escape. If he is ever going to feel safe Harry must face down his enemy once and for all.Only then can he hope to possess something more valuable than anything he has ever stolen.
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd Return to Blood
Book SynopsisFROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF BETTER THE BLOOD COMES ANOTHER CASE FOR NEW ZEALAND'S BEST INVESTIGATOR, HANA WESTERMAN. ‘Another cracking, page-turning journey into another culture’ VAL McDERMIDTwo murders. Two decades apart. One chance to get justice. Hana Westerman has left Auckland and her career as a detective behind her. Settled in a quiet coastal town, all she wants is a fresh start. The discovery of a skeleton in the dunes near her house changes everything. The remains are those of a young Māori woman who went missing four years before, and Hana has a connection to the case. Twenty years ago, a schoolfriend of hers was found buried in the exact same spot. Her killer died in prison, but did the police get the wrong man? And if he was innocent, then why did he plead guilty? No longer part of the Criminal Investigation Branch, Hana turns to her e
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Wild and Wicked Things
Book SynopsisIn the aftermath of the First World War, a young woman gets swept into a glittering world filled with illicit magic, romance, blood debts and murder in this lush and decadent debut novel.On Crow Island, people whispered, real magic lurked just below the surface. But Annie Mason never expected her enigmatic new neighbour to be a witch.When she witnesses a confrontation between her best friend Bea and the infamous Emmeline Delacroix at one of Emmeline''s extravagantly illicit parties, Annie is drawn into a glittering, haunted world. A world where magic can buy what money cannot; a world where the consequence of a forbidden blood bargain might be death.''Brimming with romance and gilded with danger, Wild and Wicked Things is a heady, lyrical gem of a book'' Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf''A lush and evocative story that transports readers far away from reality and into a witchy worlTrade ReviewBrimming with romance and gilded with danger, Wild Wicked Things is a heady, lyrical gem of a book -- Hannah Whitten, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of FOR THE WOLFViciously enchanting, with a spell woven onto every page. Francesca May has given us a cast of wild and wicked women who dare to hold a mirror to the darkest, and most tender, parts of our souls. I couldn't get enough! -- Heather Walter, author of MALICEWild and Wicked Things ticked all my boxes. . . . I couldn't put it down -- Genevieve Gornichec, author of THE WITCH'S HEARTAn intoxicating blend of secrets and glamour, romance and scandal, blood magic and dark pasts. If you've ever thought the Jazz Age would have been better with witchcraft, this book is for you -- H. G. Parry, author of THE UNLIKELY ESCAPE OF URIAH HEEPHaunting, immersive and seething with dark magic, Wild and Wicked Things cast it's spell on me -- Alexis Henderson, author of THE YEAR OF THE WITCHINGEven after the last page is turned, this intoxicating story lingers like a deep dark wine. Sparkling and deadly, Wild and Wicked Things enchanted me, and if you're feeling dangerous, it will enchant you too -- Lucy Holland, author of SISTERSONGEntrancing, seductive, and decadently beautiful, Francesca May weaves an intoxicating spell. Here is a deep, sensuous exploration of the bonds between three very different, complex women that readers won't soon forget -- Gwenda Bond, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authora lush and evocative story that transports readers far away from reality and into a witchy world full of damning secrets, unbreakable bargains, intoxicating love and found family. Add to this a little murder cover-up and you've got yourself the perfect Spring/Summer read -- CULTUREFLYThe extravagance and extremes of the Roaring Twenties combines with witchcraft, corruption and violence in this heady, absorbing read -- LoveReading
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Craving My Rival
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Kensington Publishing The Second Mrs. Astor
Book SynopsisAbé is an exquisite storyteller. Rich in detail and deeply moving. –Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth AvenueOne of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. A gorgeous, phenomenal novel I won’t soon forget.” —Ellen Marie Wiseman New York Times bestselling Author of The Orphan CollectorPerfect for fans of Jennifer Chiaverini and Marie Benedict, this riveting novel takes you inside the scandalous courtship and catastrophic honeymoon aboard the Titanic of the most famous couple of their time—John Jacob Astor and Madeleine Force. Told in rich detail, this novel of sweeping historical fiction will stay with readers long after turning the last page.Madeleine Talmage Force is just seventeen when she attracts the attention of John Jacob “Jack” Astor. Madeleine is beautiful, intelligent, and
£15.29
Canelo One For the Ages
Book SynopsisWhen a blood-soaked old man is spotted wandering through a sleepy fishing village in the far north of Scotland, his neighbours think he''s been in an accident. Until he leads them to his home, and to the mutilated remains of his late wife.It is the first murder that the remote Highland village has ever seen. It will not be the last. Someone is targeting the elderly and vulnerable in their homes. Someone they know. Someone they trust.Arriving to lead the manhunt, DCI Jack Logan finds a close-knit community closing ranks. Can Jack break down the wall of silence before more lives are lost? Or, in this twisted, sadistic killer, has Jack Logan finally met his match?One for the Ages is the 16th book in the multi-million selling DCI Jack Logan series from Scottish crime author, JD Kirk.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The Deep Sky
Book SynopsisThe Deep Sky is an enthralling sci fi thriller debut about a mission into deep space that begins with a lethal explosion that leaves the survivors questioning the loyalty of the crew.They left Earth to save humanity. They''ll have to save themselves first.It is the eve of Earth's environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity's last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect.As the mystery unfolds on the ship, poignant flashbacks reveal how Asuka came to be picked for the mission. Despite struggling through training back on Earth, she was chosen to represent Japan, a country she only partly knows as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. But estranged from her mother back home, The Phoenix is all she has left.With the crew turnin
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group The Memory Box A heartbreaking historical novel
Book SynopsisA heartbreakingly beautiful novel, The Memory Box unlocks an unforgettable epic story of love and war, from the million-copy-selling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes.Some love stories can't be forgotten...Jenny Tanner opens the box she has cherished for decades. Contained within are her most precious mementoes, amongst them a pebble, a carving and a newspaper cutting she can hardly bear to read. But Jenny knows the time is finally here. After the war, in a mountainside village in Italy, she left behind a piece of her heart. However painful, she must return to Cinque Alberi. And lay the past to rest.After a troubled upbringing, Candice Barnes dreams of a future with the love of her life - but is he the man she believes him to be? When Candice is given the opportunity to travel to Italy with Jenny, she is unaware the trip will open her eyes to the truth she's been too afraid to Trade ReviewPraise for Kathryn Hughes: 'A wonderful, enthralling story; one that I didn't want to end -- Lesley PearseA heartbreakingly powerful read * Sun *Storytelling at its finest with characters that come alive and a plot that dances with intrigue. An absolutely first-class read that does not disappoint * Prima *A gripping read * Woman & Home *Gripping and heartbreaking * Woman’s Weekly *Warm and witty, with super characters * My Weekly *Gripping * Good Housekeeping *Autumnal Sunday afternoons were invented to read heart-tugging novels like this * Red *This moving love story had everyone talking . . . Get set to be hooked * Look *A must-have * Sunday Express *Impeccably researched * Daily Mail *
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Break My Rules
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Abrams Daughters of Smoke and Fire A Novel
Book SynopsisAn award-winning novel, Ava Homa’s Daughters of Smoke and Fire is the unforgettable, haunting story of a young woman’s perilous fight for freedom and justice for her brother, the first novel published in English by a female Kurdish writer.“A story of slowly building self-liberation and resilience . . . Our conversations around this book are going to be meaningful, engaging and urgently necessary.” —Roxane Gay Set primarily in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel weaves 50 years of modern Kurdish history through a story of a family facing oppression and injustices all too familiar to the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Her younger brother, Chia, influenced by their father’s past torture, imprisonment, and his deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. BuTrade Review"At a time when the Kurds are so much in the news in Iraq and Syria, the Iranian government has erected a wall of silence around its own much larger Kurdish population. This magnificent novel penetrates that wall with its story of coming of age, oppression, and death. Beautifully written, it is the best new work of fiction to emerge from the Near East in a long time.” -- Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith * author of The End of Iraq *“There is no more urgent a task for humanity than more fully knowing one another. . . . This desperate gift is what comes our way from Ava Homa, a brave and brilliant storyteller, the first female Kurdish novelist writing in English who shows us, through one family’s story, the stakes faced by the Kurds. Read this book. Raise your voice. We can no longer afford the ‘us and them’ mentality if we are to survive.” -- Joy Kogawa“Gripping . . . Daughters of Smoke and Fire is a haunting piece of political fiction and a gut-punch tale of an alienated Kurdish girl swimming upstream against a tide of sexism and ethnic hatred. The scars Homa bears as a Kurdish feminist reared under Iranian rule and living now in the ‘cruelty of exile’ are evident on every page.” -- Kevin McKiernan * author and award-winning documentary filmmaker of Good Kurds, Bad Kurds *“A coming-of-age story that layers intergenerational trauma and political commentary on a decades-long epic. . . . Homa’s portrait of Kurdish life in Iran brings readers closer to lived experiences that force questions of identity, homeland, and the traumas we inherit.” * Booklist *“Daughters of Smoke and Fire is a compelling narrative of consciousness and empowerment that skillfully intertwines the personal and political, joining a story of suffering and trauma with one of love and desire. The novel is striking and original in its refusal to romanticize life under oppression. It is a story of visible and invisible scarring, of violence and suffering transmitted across generations, of gender oppression and political exclusion and silencing, but it is also a moving and timely novel of hope and transformation, and of self-liberation.” -- Professor Abbas Vali * author of Kurds and the State in Iran: The Making of Kurdish Identity *Daughters of Smoke and Fire is a riveting story of a family that unlocks our imagination to the struggle of being and living as Kurds. An absorbing fiction with social and political insights into Kurdish identity, politics, and women’s lives. The audacious character, Leila, is memorable for her struggle to survive and to stay free. Ava Homa in fiction echoes the real dreams and desires of Kurdish women for freedom. -- Dr. Shahrzad Mojab * author of Women of a Non-State Nation: The Kurds *“While this book is about a Kurdish family in Iran, the story could be about any minority living under the rule of an oppressive majority demanding their assimilation. Homa has created a story that’s both personal and universal in its scope. Daughters of Smoke and Fire might break your heart, but it’s also a book of sublime beauty that will engrave itself into your memory for years to come.” * Seattle Post Intelligencer *“Stark and elucidating . . . Through the courageous character of Leila, Homa paints a picture of many Kurdish women who have struggled against persecution and misogyny. . . . Homa’s remarkable novel serves as a potent and illuminating window into the persecution of the Kurds.” * BookPage *“Daughters of Smoke and Fire not only provides us with a voice that we have been missing, but it serves as a great equalizer of humanity and is a call to action to expose the oppression, persecution, and prejudices that are still very much alive and neglected in today’s world of globalization.” * Hamilton Review of Books *“More than a novel, Daughters of Smoke and Fire is an evocative and brutally honest chronicle of the problems that thwart the lives of 40 million stateless Kurds” * San Francisco Chronicle *A fiery, soul-nourishing novel. * Los Angeles Review of Books *A blisteringly powerful tale of standing up to oppression. * The Independent *“Homa unfurls the history of an oppressed people fighting for their right to live, love, thrive, and create.” * Chicago Review of Books *
£999.99
HarperCollins Publishers Wednesdays Child
Book SynopsisFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2024''Any book by Yiyun Li is a cause for celebration'' SIGRID NUNEZ''One of our finest living authors'' NEW YORK TIMES''Bruising, beautiful'' GUARDIANA dazzling new collection of short stories written over a decade, spanning loss, alienation, ageing and the strangeness of contemporary life from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of GooseA grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she's lost. A professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In Yiyun Li's stories, people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and grand mysterious forces death, violence, estrangement come to light. And even everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar of honey, a mound of wounded ants, a photograph kept hidden for many years,
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Wreck My Plans
Book SynopsisHEARTWARMING AND SEXY AND LEFT ME BUBBLY WITH JOY. —Tarah DeWitt, author of Savor ItA sweet and spicy holiday romance between a spirited artist who returns to her small town for Christmas and her older brother’s best friend, a serious architect who pushes all her buttons—but whom she can’t seem to stay away from. Lena’s plans are simple. Surprise her family for Christmas, don’t tell them she lost her job, and most importantly, spend the week relaxing with the people she cares about.But when she arrives in Juniper, she discovers she’s not the only unexpected guest this year. Her older brother’s best friend, Gavin, is back after disappearing three years ago without a word. He has the kind of charm Lena has always been drawn to. But she knows he’s also the kind of temptation she needs to stay far away from.Gavin has built his architecture career out of planning strategies for dealing with the unexpected—but he didn’t have a strategy for the possibility of seeing Lena again. Though he’s been dreaming of her since the day he left, he can’t risk giving in to his feelings when they could upend the only family and home he has ever known.New plan: try to be friends again. Just friends.But as the pieces fall into place about why Gavin left, staying friends is the last thing on his mind…and on Lena’s. All the plans they’ve made might end up completely wrecked. And for once, maybe they want it that way.Wreck My Plans is a small-town holiday romance full of Christmas spice, featuring: Older brother''s best friend Found family Age gap It''s always been you Snowed-in spice
£9.49
Canelo Blood and Treachery
Book SynopsisHow far would you go to bury the truth?While searching for a missing hill walker, Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team uncovers a body - just not the one they were looking for.Still dealing with the fallout from their last case, DCI Jack Logan and his team venture south from Inverness to investigate a brutal, gangland-style execution in the wilds of the Highland countryside.As the victim''s dark secrets are gradually revealed, Jack uncovers the rot lurking beneath the stunning scenery, making himself the target of a criminal more dangerous than any he has faced before.If he isn''t careful, it won''t just be a murder he''s dealing with in Glencoe. It''ll be a massacre.A gritty and gripping Scottish crime thriller perfect for fans of Andrew Raymond, Val McDermid and Stuart MacBride.
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Death Watcher
Book SynopsisThe 13th chilling and adrenaline-packed Robert Hunter thriller and Top Ten Sunday Times Bestseller. ‘Gruesome but utterly riveting – and all the more so for being at least partly true’ Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail 'Dark, chilling and full of clever little plot kinks designed to send the reader off on a wild goose chase – and succeeding.’ Crime Fiction Lover ‘Prepare to be terrified’ Crime Monthly When a routine autopsy on what looked like a straightforward hit-and-run leads the LA Chief Medical Examiner, Dr Carolyn Hove, to discover some puzzling inconsistencies, she calls in Detective Robert Hunter of the LAPD Ultra Violent Crimes Unit. Not only did Dr Hove discover that the death wasn’t caused by a hit-and-run, but she also found indications that the victim had been severely tortured prior to death.
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers An Island at War
Book SynopsisA moving historical novel inspired by the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WW2. This is a story of courage, resilience and everyday acts of defiance from ordinary people forced to live in an extraordinary time.The USA Today bestseller!June 1940While her little sister Rosie is sent to the UK to keep her safe from the invading German army, Estelle Le Maistre is left behind on Jersey to help her grandmother run the family farm. When the Germans occupy the island, everything changes and Estelle and the islanders must face the reality of life under Nazi rule.Interspersed with diary entries from Rosie back on the mainland, the novel is also inspired by real life stories from the author's own family who were both on the island during the occupation and in London during the Blitz and is a true testament to the courage and bravery of the islanders.Readers are loving An Island at War: A mesmerizing' story of a island captured by the Nazi''s in World War II' DebbieI fell head over Trade Review Readers love Deborah Carr: ‘A book that drew me in…I cuddle up on my reading chair and entered the world of Boots’ Abby ‘Vibrant, believable, characters and an absorbing plot’ Tabby ‘This will definitely pull at your heartstrings…Loved it’ Beverley ‘I’m so glad this is the beginning of a series and I can't wait to read the rest! Wonderfully written’ Grace ‘If you like historical novels this is a book for you’ Bookoholic Cafe ‘A gorgeous start to a new historical series that captivated, charmed and inspired me’ Adele ‘A great and powerful read about love, relationships, and the trials and tribulations in between…a true thrill’ Donna ‘Watch this author–this is a series you'll want to stick with’ Micah
£8.54
John Murray Press Hot Stew: the new novel from the
Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize'Ambitious, clever, brilliant and very funny . . . If Elmet announced the arrival of a bright new voice in British literature, Hot Stew confirms Mozley as a writer of extraordinary empathic gifts' Observer 'A dazzling Dickensian tale . . . In an age when so many novelists of Mozley's generation take refuge in the dystopian, she has reinvigorated large-scale social realism for our times' Guardian, Book of the Day'Where the mystical, elemental qualities of Elmet earned it comparisons with Lawrence and Hardy, her second novel is a sprawling urban comedy more likely to recall Ben Jonson or Dickens' Daily Telegraph'Did you know in Tudor times all the brothels were south of the river in Southwark and it was only much later that they moved up this way to Soho. Stews, they were called then.' Pungent, steamy, insatiable Soho; the only part of London that truly never sleeps. Tourists dawdling, chancers skulking, addicts shuffling, sex workers strutting, punters prowling, businessmen striding, the homeless and the lost. Down Wardour Street, ducking onto Dean Street, sweeping into L'Escargot, darting down quiet back alleyways, skirting dumpsters and drunks, emerging on to raucous main roads, fizzing with energy and riotous with life.On a corner, sits a large townhouse, the same as all its neighbours. But this building hosts a teeming throng of rich and poor, full from the basement right up to the roof terrace. Precious and Tabitha call the top floors their home but it's under threat; its billionaire-owner Agatha wants to kick the women out to build expensive restaurants and luxury flats. Men like Robert, who visit the brothel, will have to go elsewhere. Those like Cheryl, who sleep in the basement, will have to find somewhere else to hide after dark. But the women won't go quietly. Soho is their turf and they are ready for a fight.'A complex mosaic of urban life . . . The Soho Mozley captures with such intensity is not a mere locality. It is a microcosm of swarming humanity' The Times'At its best, it recalls the kind of capacious, rollicking satires Britain produced in and around the Thatcher era - ambitious, scathing and damn good fun' TLSTrade ReviewAmbitious, clever, brilliant and very funny . . . If Elmet announced the arrival of a bright new voice in British literature, Hot Stew confirms Mozley as a writer of extraordinary empathic gifts * Observer *A dazzling Dickensian tale * Guardian, Book of the Day *A complex mosaic of urban life * The Times *A rollicking tale * Alex Preston, Observer *There's no evidence of difficult second-novel syndrome here . . . a pure nostalgia trip * Daily Mail *A gripping novel bursting with life. The second novel by the Booker-shortlisted novelist is a real treat * Sunday Times *Ambitious, scathing and damn good fun * TLS *A sprawling novel of London life packed with picaresque characters * Evening Standard *Where the mystical, elemental qualities of Elmet earned it comparisons with Lawrence and Hardy, her second novel is a sprawling urban comedy more likely to recall Ben Jonson or Dickens * Daily Telegraph *Mozley's prose is precise, controlled, unshowy, deceptively readable * Herald *Despite so many characters, the novel doesn't flail, it succeeds as a force . . . to direct so many through a labyrinthine story in just over 300 pages is a kind of mastery * Irish Times *A lively, pacy read that gives more than a nod to Dickens and is all the better for it * Sunday Independent Review *A lively, pacy read * Irish Independent *Mozley's Soho is a village populated by a cast of characters as vivid and memorable as any imagined by Dickens * Louise Kennedy *Hot Stew reads like a great night out in a city that never sleeps * Jan Carson *Her new stew is such a steaming, fuming mix of life, lust and London that in the end you feel like you've eaten all of Soho * Hallgrímur Helgason, author of The Woman at 1000 Degrees *Affecting and bitterly comic prose . . . [and a ] rollicking, heady vivacity * Big Issue *
£8.09
Peirene Press Ltd On the Greenwich Line
Book SynopsisOn the Greenwich Line traces the absurdities of racism, austerity, and bureaucracy in contemporary London. This is a story about systemic failure and personal courage, and about London and its many lost souls, told with wisdom, humour and profound humanity.
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers The Four
Book SynopsisTHE DARKEST DEBUT OF THE YEAR.Unsettling, Uncomfortable, Unputdownable.***The paperback edition includes an exclusive deleted chapter***''Sharp, powerful, tragic, addictive'' Chris WhitakerDark, compelling and beguiling' Kate MosseAn engrossing read'' The Sunday TimesIntensely gripping' Karin SlaughterThrilling and deeply atmospheric' Lucy Clarke***Rose is sixteen when she arrives at High Realms boarding school, excited for the beginning of the rest of her life.By the time she leaves, she and the three other scholarship students will have made the choices that decide their future.Each one as heartbreaking and tragic as the last.***Readers are RAVING about THE FOUR:''A shockingly powerful debut raw and unflinching, not for the faint of heart'' ?????''Beautifully written and utterly brutal'' ?????''Complex and heart wrenching and oh so gripping'' ?????If you can handle true emotional pain in your fiction, then don''t let this one pass you by'?????
£9.49
Simon & Schuster How Freaking Romantic
Book SynopsisIn this sharply funny solo debut, an aspiring lawyer is forced to work alongside the opposing counsel in her best friend’s divorce case, which leads to the biggest irreconcilable difference of all: love.Beatrice Nilsson is what some might call “feisty” (those who love her) and others “combative” (those who don’t). But no matter what you call her, she’s a good lawyer and an even better friend. So when the marriage of her two closest pals ends in divorce, Bea picks a side and storms the office of attorney Nathan Asher to tell him exactly what he can do with his alimony petition. Unfortunately, what should end with a few choice words soon spirals into uncharted territory when Nate shows up at her NYU Law office a few days later as a newly-minted adjunct professor—and her new colleague. Bea still hates Nathan, of course. But between weekly meetings and networking events, walks around Washington Square Park and late-night pizza, that hate begins to feel a lot like something else. And as uncomfortable truths emerge about the divorce that started it all, she might have to choose between her friends’ happily ever after and her own for the very first time.
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co The Map of Salt and Stars
Book SynopsisIn 2011, the peace of the Syrian city of Homs is disturbed by protests and shelling. A young girl, Nour, is forced to flee across the Levant and North Africa in search of safety. 800 years before, Rawiya, disguised as a boy and apprenticed to a famous map maker, set out on an epic quest to chart the globe, following the very same route. In The Map of Salt & Stars, the tales of these two heroines coming of age in perilous times interweave, and shine a light on a country in turmoil, human resilience and the power of stories.Trade ReviewFull of tension and love and danger. This is a beautifully told, magical novel about journeys and finding your way home. * STYLIST *The interweaving of the two stories is skilfully done... Joukhadar can be congratulated on an unusual first novel. * MAIL ON SUNDAY *A gorgeous and timely story * THE ARAB DAILY NEWS *Joukhadar's prose is like a dream, which is fitting for this pair of stories, one drawn from fantastical legend, the other from nightmarish current events from which Syria has yet to awaken. * SEATTLE TIMES *A spellbinding geography of family and hope. * SHELF AWARENESS *Scheherazade's "The Thousand and One Nights" meets Alan Gratz's "Refugee" in this important debut novel ...There are parts that will make your heart stop and parts that will make it beat again. It's an incredible force. * WILDLY READ *After the death of her beloved father, imaginative 11-year-old Nour leaves New York City, where she was born, and returns home with her cartographer mother and two older sisters to the family's native Syria, where bombs released by Assad's forces soon destroy their home and send them on a desperate flight across North Africa. More than 800 years earlier, Rawiya, the daughter of an impoverished widow, disguises herself as a boy and leaves medieval Ceuta-modern Spain's foothold on the African coast-and apprentices herself to a mapmaker, traveling with him throughout the Levant. The stories are deftly interwoven, for Nour's father has told her about Rawiya's fabulous, sometimes mythic adventures. Parallels abound, from the spunky, triumphant heroines to mapmaking as a key to finding oneself to the special stone Nour hunts, once the eye of a terrifying winged creature battled by Rawiya. Debut novelist Joukhadar gracefully balances the gritty, often horrific truth of the refugee's plight with the lyrical near-fairy tale she has created (in both time periods), layered with burnished hope and occasionally overplayed sentiment. VERDICT A wise, vibrantly told story for a wide range of readers, particularly relevant now. * Library Journal *The Map of Salt and Stars presents an Arab world in full possession of its immense historical and cultural biography, marred by its modern tragedies but not exclusively defined by them. * BOOK PAGE *This imaginative yet very real look into war-torn Syria is a must. * BOOK LIST ONLINE *A very good book, and an important, eye-opening one too. * INTERZONE *In this beautifully nuanced debut novel from Syrian American author, Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar, two parallel journeys alternate with and counter each other, highlighting the connections between the vital importance of the stories we tell and the psycho-geography of maps. * THE LONDON MAGAZINE *
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Letters from Father Christmas
Book Synopsis This beautiful, deluxe slipcased edition of Tolkien’s famous illustrated letters from Father Christmas to his children includes for the first time every available letter, picture and envelope that he sent them, reproduced in glorious colour. The perfect Christmas gift for Tolkien lovers of all ages. Trade Review‘Will appeal to any kids whose appreciation of new worlds hasn’t been blighted by Action Man and enlightened schoolteachers.’TERRY PRATCHETT, Bath and West Evening Chronicle ‘Tolkien at his relaxed and ingenious best.’The Times
£56.25
Faber & Faber Concrete
Book SynopsisLRB BOOKSHOP'S AUTHOR OF THE MONTH ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019WITH A NEW AFTERWORD BY MICHAEL HOFMANN'If you haven't read Bernhard, you will not know of the most radical advance in fiction since Joyce ...
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Night Watch
Book SynopsisA definitive annotated edition of one of the greatest of Terry Pratchett's multi-million-bestselling Discworld novels''A master storyteller'' A.S. ByattBoth comic and dark, blending high fantasy, twisted storytelling and all manner of wordplay ... a fine place to start reading Pratchett' The New York Times Book ReviewCommander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is in hot pursuit of a serial killer. The trouble is, a well-timed lightning strike has thrown both policeman and pursued into the city's past. Now Vimes must relive the history that made him: a cruel regime, a bloody revolution, a corrupt police force, and, most unnerving of all, a keen young recruit named Sam Vimes Night Watch, which draws on inspirations as far ranging as Victor Hugo and M*A*S*H, is a keen satire about the true nature of political power, and the sacrifices made in the name of the greater good; but also a profoundly empathetic novel about community, connection and the tenacity of the human spirit.This edition of Night Watch written at the height of Pratchett's imaginative powers includes a new foreword by Rob Wilkins and an introduction and annotations by Dr David Lloyd and Dr Darryl Jones, contextualising the novel and Pratchett's far-reaching legacy for new readers and current fans alike.
£9.99
Seven Stories Press,U.S. Sailor & Lula Expanded Edition: The Complete
Book SynopsisThe Romeo and Juliet of the South' are back in this new omnibus edition.
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers Daggerspell
Book SynopsisBOOK ONE IN THE MAGICAL DEVERRY CYCLEPrepare to be spellbound by a sparkling fantasy classic: a tale of adventure and timelesslove, perilous battle and pure magic.I was hooked and my enthusiasm for this series carried me through to the very last and then moved me to tears' Fantasy Book ReviewA cracking read' SFXA broken promise, a curse and a magic beyond imaginingThe powerful sorcerer Nevyn broke a promise long ago and a curse has trapped him ever since. He waits for the one who might break him free of his prison. A wait that may soon finally come to an end.Jill is the daughter of a Silver Dagger, a band of wandering swordsmen who fight for money, not honour.After her mother died when she was young, father and girl took to the road, living from town to town, never settling.Jill's only friends are the mysterious spirits known as Wildfolk: gnomes, sylphs, sprites and undines. Their magical presence in her life marks her out as different; special. but young Jill has no idea what the deTrade ReviewPraise for Katharine Kerr and the Deverry novels: ‘Kerr is an excellent writer, her stories live and breathe – exciting, unpredictable, and engaging in equal measure.’Mark Lawrence ‘A fantastic plot which turns a simple story into something far more original … a cracking read … engrossing’ SFX ‘A criminally under-rated and overlooked epic fantasy sequence [with] a keen sense of history, well drawn characters, and a complex plot’ Kate Elliott, author of the Spiritwalker Trilogy ‘An unusually scholarly writer of fantasy’ TELEGRAPH ‘Much as I dislike comparing anything to The Lord of the Rings, I have to admit that on this occasion it’s justified’ INTERZONE ‘Kerr is a master of her trade…She has created a world that might very well go on for ever, and this one reader sincerely hopes it does’ VECTOR ‘An extensive and complete world, whose endlessly fascinating details grow book by book’ STARLOG
£10.44
The Indigo Press Paradise Garden
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Hodder & Stoughton A Keeper
Book Synopsis**Pre-order Graham Norton''s new novel Frankie now**''Atmospheric, creepy and impossible to put down'' THE TIMES''A compelling and moving story, expertly told'' DAILY EXPRESS''Magnificent ... his writing is evocative and perfect'' MARIAN KEYESFrom the bestselling author of Holding comes a masterly tale of secrets and ill-fated loves set on the coast of Ireland.Elizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after her mother''s death, intent only on wrapping up that dismal part of her life. There is nothing here for her; she wonders if there ever was. The house of her childhood is stuffed full of useless things, her mother''s presence already fading. And perhaps, had she not found the small stash of letters, the truth would never have come to light. 40 years earlier, a young woman stumbles from a remote stone house, the night quiet but for the tireless Trade ReviewA compelling and moving story, expertly told, that will draw you in and keep you in its grip until the last page. - DAILY EXPRESSMagnificent ... his writing is evocative and perfect. His grasp of human loneliness and longing is beautiful and comforting.Atmospheric, creepy and impossible to put down. - THE TIMESI raved about Holding two years ago ... A Keeper is even better. A powerful, very sad story, beautiful writing, two time frames that are perfectly balanced. Outstanding. Will easily be one of my books of 2018.A gripping, thoughtful tale about the search for identity, belonging and self-possession. - OBSERVERMoving and darkly funny. - GOOD HOUSEKEEPINGSmart, well-written and thoroughly entertaining. - IRISH INDEPENDENTIt's a sad and lovely book, brimful of tenderness and compassion, where the revelations of the past upturn the perceptions of the present. - SUNDAY EXPRESS
£8.54
Vintage Publishing Late in the Day: The classic Sunday Times
Book Synopsis'Unflinching, intelligent and fascinating' Marian KeyesThe lives of two close-knit couples are irrevocably changed by an untimely death in this Sunday Times bestselling novelAlex and Christine and Zach and Lydia have been inseparable since their twenties. From student house-shares and grubby pubs to proper homes and grown-up careers, the two couples' lives have been interlinked for decades. Then one evening, Alex and Christine receive a call from a distraught Lydia. Zach is dead. Inconsolable, Lydia moves in with Alex and Christine. But instead of their loss bringing them closer, the three of them find that love and sorrow give way to anger and bitterness as old entanglements and resentments rise from the past.'A fine-grained novel of friendship, loss and jealousy' Sunday Times, *100 Great 21-Century Novels*Trade ReviewTessa Hadley is one of our finest writers. The sensitivity of her psychological insight and understanding is unmatched by anyone writing today... [in Late in the Day], Hadley comes into her own. It’s glorious stuff: moving, beautiful and so enjoyable. All hail Queen Tessa! -- Robbie Millen and James Marriott * The Times *Books of the Year* *Hadley’s wonderful tale [Late in the Day –] measured, ironic, disarmingly perceptive – picks up on all the contradictions of human existence. With Hadley, you know there’s an adult in the room. * Observer *The quintessential domestic novel in the most elevated sense… excellently insightful on family dynamics and the intricacies of close friendship. * The High Low podcast *With each new book by Tessa Hadley, I grow more convinced that she’s one of the greatest stylists alive… her quietly elegant style and muted wit are triumphs… the everyday tragedies and betrayals of domestic life [are] rendered by Hadley’s prose into something extraordinary… The tone of Late in the Day is perhaps Hadley’s most delicate accomplishment. * Washington Post *You know you are in safe hands with Tessa Hadley who, on a sheer sentence-by-sentence level, delivers more enjoyment than almost any other living writer... you'll be hanging on to every word. -- Claire Allfree * Daily Mail *The Best Holiday Reading* *There may be no historical newness to women’s disenchantment with male authority, but it feels new to write about it with this much raw honesty… It’s to her great credit that Hadley manages to be old-fashioned and modernist and brilliantly postmodern all at once… Unlocking age-old mysteries in ways both revelatory and inevitable. We’ve seen this before, and we’ve never seen this before, and it’s spectacular. * New York Times *My favourite novel of 2019 by a long way was Tessa Hadley's Late in the Day… Hadley is a beautifully descriptive writer and a penetrating observer of human nature. -- James Marriott * Sunday Times *Books of the Year* *Like all Hadley’s novels, Late in the Day enthrals. * Tatler *Tessa Hadley picks apart the stitches of marriage, friendship and self with an almost forensic curiosity [in Late in the Day], cementing her place as one of Britain's finest writers of contemporary fiction. * Vogue *Hadley examines profound areas of life – friendship, marriage, parenthood, grief, love – with a delightful precision, hitting different nails on the head over and over again… Her novel is full of these piercing little moments of revelation… [because of] the crispness of Hadley’s narrative, and the wisdom of her observations: you trust her… [Late in the Day has] a touch of genius. * Mail on Sunday *Another quiet masterpiece from a modern great. -- Robbie Millen and James Marriott * The Times *The Best Books of 2019* *Tessa Hadley is one of your finest writers… [she] approaches her subjects with the sort of attention to detail that a Dutch Golden Age master might bring to a jug and a bowl of fruit… Hadley is the real deal. * The Times *A real triumph… a very fine novel. * Radio 4, Saturday Review *[Hadley] is a gifted anatomist of human relationships... Her particular genius lies in the elegance and precision with which she captures the fleeting emotion, the passing, indefinable perception or tiny epiphany. * Wall Street Journal *I absolutely loved Tessa Hadley's Late in the Day… There are few British writers who are more acute at a micro-level on the psychology of their characters and I was completely engrossed by this novel. -- Andrew Holgate * Sunday Times *Books of the Year* *I loved Tessa Hadley’s Late in the Day. Hadley brings the gifts of a still-life painter to her fiction yet manages to produce satisfying twists and turns to her storytelling. -- Melissa Benn * New Statesman, *Books of the Year* *Hadley’s fiction — both long and short — has, with a delicious, detached clarity, observed the shape of relationships: their unconventionality, their transgressions. She is a superb stylist, with none of the pretensions that have latterly been attached to such a term: dispassionate, yet voluptuous in her prose. * Financial Times *Hadley’s fiction — both long and short — has, with a delicious, detached clarity, observed the shape of relationships: their unconventionality, their transgressions. She is a superb stylist, with none of the pretensions that have latterly been attached to such a term: dispassionate, yet voluptuous in her prose. * Financial Times *With masterly economy, the hallmark of her style… Hadley takes us back and forth in time, and her forensic dissection of friendship, marriage and grief is a mature work by a writer at the top of her game. * Daily Express *Gorgeous, utterly absorbing… More than many of her contemporaries, the British writer Tessa Hadley understands that life is full of moments when the past presses up against the present, and when the present transforms the past. Her brilliant new novel, Late in the Day, explores both with equal urgency. * Boston Globe *
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd Supermarket
Book Synopsis*** THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ***The stunning debut novel from one of the most creative artists of our generation, Bobby Hall, a.k.a. Logic.“Bobby Hall has crafted a mind-bending first novel, with prose that is just as fierce and moving as his lyrics. Supermarket is like Naked Lunch meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest—if they met at Fight Club.”—Ernest Cline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ready Player One Flynn is stuck—depressed, recently dumped, and living at his mom’s house. The supermarket was supposed to change all that. An ordinary job and a steady check. Work isn’t work when it’s saving you from yourself. But things aren’t quite as they seem in these aisles. Arriving to work one day to a crime scene, Flynn’s world collapses
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Then She Vanishes
Book SynopsisTHE ONLY THING THAT WILL SHOCK YOU MORE THAN THE FIRST CHAPTER . . . IS THE LASTTHE TWISTY PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE WRONG SISTER ''A riveting, edge-of-your-seat excitement fest - the plotting was so sinfully clever that I was kept endlessly guessing'' 5***** Reader Review''It has twist upon twist upon twist, and even then, the final twist took me by surprise. So good!'' 5***** Reader Review________ Jess and Heather were once best friends - until the night Heather''s sister Flora vanished. The night that lies tore their friendship apart. But years later, when a brutal double murder shakes their childhood town, Jess returns home. Because the suspect is Heather. What happened to the girl you used to know? ________ Praise for Claire Douglas: ''Kept me up last night - scary, twisty, all too believable'' Jane Corry ''A page-turning slow burn'' Cara Hunter ''Thrillingly tense and twisty'' B A Paris ''Tense, claustrophobic and gripping'' Paula DalyTrade ReviewFew people do psychological thrillers as claustrophobic and as creepy as Claire Douglas * Tim Weaver, bestselling author of No One Home *Amazing. A twisty whydunnit that I finished in just two days. Smart, gripping and atmospheric, readers will love Then She Vanishes' * Gillian McAllister, bestselling author of Everything But The Truth *A gripping page turner * Jane Fallon, bestselling author of Faking Friends *Cements Claire's reputation as one of the best writers of psychological suspense out there. I loved this dark, twisty tale and sped through it in one sitting. * C J Tudor, author of The Chalk Man *Lifts the stone on a cold case disappearance and asks chilling questions about friendship, loyalty, love and obsession. It's twisty, tense and brimming with atmosphere. I raced to the end * Gilly Macmillan, author of The Nanny *Dark, clever and compelling. A brilliant book! * Nicola Moriarty, author of The Ex *The story races to a tightly-plotted and genuinely surprising end * Woman's Own *Compulsive new thriller . . . Douglas races to a tightly-plotted conclusion * Woman's Weekly *The Hot List * Inside Soap *Huge praise for Claire Douglas. If you are a fan of drama and suspense - and seeking to satisfy your inner detective - look no further * On: Yorkshire Magazine *Praise for Claire Douglas * - *Thrillingly tense and twisty * bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors *Stunning . . . with a killer twist * Closer *Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train * Marie Claire *A page-turning slow burn * bestselling author of Close to Home *Will give you chills * Sunday Mirror *An addictive read that will leave you on the edge of your seat * Sun *Will have you tearing through the pages * bestselling author of The Mistake I Made *Combines shocking twists effortlessly with sensitive explorations of family dynamics * bestselling author of Anything You Do Say *Superb plotting. I could hardly catch my breath between twists * bestselling author of Before I Let You In *As soon as I finished the first page, I knew I wouldn't be able to put this down * Good Housekeeping *Unforgettably dark and complex * Woman & Home *Kept me up last night. Scary. Twisty. All too believable * bestselling author of My Husband's Wife *Kept me guessing right up to the thrilling finale * bestselling author of One Little Mistake *Absorbing and chilling * bestselling author of Girl Unknown *It's impossible to guess the shocking ending * Saga *A fab and twisty page-turner * bestselling author of Last Seen *So twisty, turning and grippy * bestselling author of What She Knew *
£9.49
Transworld Publishers Ltd Nothing To Lose
Book Synopsis'A high-testosterone adventure . What are the secrets the locals seem so determined to hide?_________Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Nothing To Lose is 12th in the series.And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.26, Better off Dead!Trade ReviewA cert to be a number one bestseller... A version of western, of course: the drifter who comes to town, sorts out the bad guys, and moves on... He makes what he does seem simple. If it is, though, it's strange that nobody else has managed it so well -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *Follows in the great Philip Marlowe pulp tradition, nuanced with a dash of Rambo and Bruce Willis... Reacher is a moody, modern outsider figure, one of the great antiheroes... a liberal intellectual with machismo, and arms the size of Popeye's * Independent *Classic Child... brilliantly paced... his tough-but-fair creation, Jack Reacher, both a man's man and a ladies' man, proves once again that he's also his own man. And no one is going to get in his way * Mirror *Slots a series of bone-crunching brawls into a surprisingly sinuous and zeitgeisty plot... delivers emotional depth, and Reacher's bare-knuckle sleuthing certainly keeps the adrenalin up * Financial Times *A high-testosterone adventure with a thoughtful nod to what is going on in Iraq... a page turner. Thrilling * Observer *
£9.49
Oneworld Publications Mouthful of Birds: LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER
Book Synopsis A SPELLBINDINGLY CREEPY COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES, FROM AN ARGENTINIAN LITERARY STAR 'The Grimm brothers and Franz Kafka pay a visit to Argentina in Samanta Schweblin's darkly humorous tales.' J.M. Coetzee Spine-tingling and unexpected, unearthly and strange, the stories of Mouthful of Birds are impossible to forget. The crunch of a bird's wing. A cloud of butterflies, so beautiful it smothers. A crimson flash of blood across an artist's canvas. Samanta Schweblin's writing expertly blurs the line between the surreal and the everyday, pulling the reader into a world that is at once nightmarish and beautiful. An exhilarating tour de force guaranteed to leave the pulse racing. 'This is our world, and sharp-focused, but stripped of its usual meanings... Brutal violence is twisted into horrific, intensely experienced art.' Guardian *Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, 2019* Trade Review'Spritely and uncanny, this is a beautifully imagined and skilfully executed collection of stories.' International Booker Prize judges‘Delving into the cryptic depths of the human psyche, this is a highly imaginative and thought-provoking collection, deftly translated by Megan McDowell.’ Observer'In this slim and superb book, Schweblin takes on the desire to love, to parent, and to care for one's own body - hardly extraordinary themes - and invests them with a fresh poignancy.' Vogue'Impressive... Schweblin is among the most acclaimed Spanish-language writers of her generation.' New York Times‘Schweblin's Man Booker-shortlisted novel Fever Dream was unsettling and uncanny and these 20 brilliant stories, translated by Megan McDowell, are just as fabulous... an eerie blend of the supernatural and the all too real.’ Daily Mail‘Starting a story by the Argentinian Samanta Schweblin is like tumbling into a dark hole with no idea where you'll end up.’ Chris Power, The Sunday Times‘[Schweblin's] particular genius lies in the fact that there’s something inherently savage and ungovernable about her work.' Financial Times ‘At once fantastically out there and real to the point of being haunting.’ Vanity Fair‘The author of the magnetic, scalp-prickling Fever Dream returns with stories as gothic and incantatory as a telltale heart- virtuoso fiction from Argentina's own Edgar Allan Poe.’ O, the Oprah Magazine‘So strange and beautiful.’ Tommy Orange, author of There There‘These wild, unsettling, absurdist tales cement her status as a penetrating voice in modern fiction.’ New Statesman‘Samanta Schweblin’s strange, haunting and stunningly beautiful collection of short stories… Many of these stories got under my skin and lingered with me long after I’d put the book down.’ Jan Carson, author of The Fire Starters‘These are fictions of indisputable power, presenting modern life as a farcical horror show in which our limitations and destructive appetites have made us ugly, ridiculous and doomed.’ Daily Telegraph‘Schweblin's imagination seemingly knows no bounds.’ Refinery29
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Music for Chameleons
Book SynopsisAt the centre of Music for Chameleons is Handcarved Coffins, a nonfiction novel' based on the brutal crimes of a real-life murderer.Taking place in a small Midwestern town in America, it offers chilling insights into the mind of a killer and the obsession of the man bringing him to justice. Also in this volume are six short stories and seven conversational portraits' including a touching one of Marilyn Monroe, the beautiful child' and a hilarious one of a dope-smoking cleaning lady doing her rounds in New York.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Soul Mountain
Book SynopsisWinner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2000. Part travel diary, part philosophy, part love story, Soul Mountain' is an elegant, unforgettable novel that journeys deep into the heart of modern-day China.In 1982 Chinese playwright, novelist and artist Gao Xingjian was diagnosed with lung cancer, the very disease that had killed his father. For six weeks Gao inhabited a transcendental state of imminent death, treating himself to the finest foods he could afford while spending time reading in an old graveyard in the Beijing suburbs. But a secondary examination revealed there was no cancer he had won a reprieve from death' and had been thrown back into the world of the living.Faced with a repressive cultural environment and the threat of a spell in a prison farm, Gao fled Beijing. He travelled first to the ancient forests of central China and from there to the east coast, passing through eight provinces and seven nature reserves, a journey of fifteen thousand kilometres over a period of Trade Review‘Gao’s portraits of fellow wanderers, farmers and party officials are vivid and shine a light on their place and time. The language (wonderfully translated by Mabel Lee) is luminous and tactile…There’s a feeling of entering and moving through a place we had seen only through mist.’ Time Out ‘When he writes of his experiences in the real world, Gao transcends cultural barriers. A good story will out in any language, and when Gao is good he is staggeringly so. His writing about the Cultural Revolution is remarkable.’ Daily Telegraph ‘A picaresque novel on an epic scale…”Soul Mountain” bristles with narratives in miniature – stories from ancient Chinese history, folk tales, childhood reminiscences, memories of the Cultural Revolution, as well as bitter arguments and passionate sex. Gao’s aim is to represent “the ineffability of life”, and, as far as that is possible to do, he has done it in this complex, rich and strange novel.’ Independent on Sunday
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Little Brother
Book SynopsisThe ultimate tale of teen rebellion one seventeen-year-old against the surveillance state.Big Brother is watching you. Who's watching back?Marcus is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works and how to work the system. Smart, fast and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school's intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems.But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison, where they're mercilessly interrogated for days.When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state, where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself.Trade Review‘I’d recommend ‘Little Brother’ over pretty much any book I’ve read this year. Because I think it’ll change lives. It’s a wonderful, important book’ Neil Gaiman ‘Cory Doctorow’s novel could hardly be more relevant, scary and eye-opening … seriously entertaining.’ The Times ‘A cracking read’ Guardian ‘A well structured and superbly executed thriller with breakneck pacing and an emotional payoff to boot. Engaging, thought provoking, and at times harrowing.SciFi Now ‘An entertaining thriller and a thoughtful polemic on Internet-era civil rights … a terrific read’ New York Times ‘A compulsive and chillingly credible read … would make a great discussion for any reading group’ New Books ‘A tale of struggle familiar to any teenager, about those moments when you choose what your life is going to mean.’ Steven Gould, author of ‘Jumper’ ‘A timely and at times frightening read that is sure to resonate with a generation of computer-savvy teens, but also with those who have never heard of an arphid or re-built a hard drive’ Sun Herald (Australia) ‘Doctorow’s ambitious set-up spawns a fast-paced tale of triumph …rife with snappy dialogue and breathtaking scope … an exceptional, eye-opening novel that everyone should read’ Canberra Times
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers A Thousand Acres
Book SynopsisThe Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling novel from one of America's greatest contemporary writers.Larry Cook's farm is the largest in Zebulon County, Iowa, and a tribute to his hard work and single-mindedness. Proud and possessive, his sudden decision to retire and hand over the farm to his three daughters, is disarmingly uncharacteristic.Ginny and Rose, the two eldest, are startled yet eager to accept, but Caroline, the youngest daughter, has misgivings. Immediately, her father cuts her out.In A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley transposes the King Lear story to the modern day, and in so doing at once illuminates Shakespeare's original and subtly transforms it. This astonishing novel won both of America's highest literary awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics' Circle Award.Trade Review‘A Thousand Acres is a strong, gnarled shocker of a novel… superb. Its success is down to Smiley’s ambitious gusto, her intuitive handling of the relationship between character and landscape, and her willingness to haul genuine moral freight across the panorama she has so expertly painted.’ Sunday Times ‘Epic fiction of the very highest order, naturalistic , penetrating and wholly absorbing.’ Literary Review ‘Superlative, extraordinary, amazing. A Thousand Acres is a great American tragedy about the failure of a family’s land and the failure of its love. There may have been better novels than A Thousand Acres, but I fear I didn’t read them – a haunting inquisition into the decline and fall of a family.’ Independent ‘A studied, ingenious variation on the brutal clashing of sexes and generations in King Lear. Its style is relaxed, conversational, unhurried; the novel flows gently onwards like a broad river. In its solidity and poise, A Thousand Acres is a book that will outlast this year’s rainy season.’ Vogue‘Powerful, poignant, intimate and involving.’ New York Times
£10.44
Dialogue Colored Television
Book Synopsis
£18.70
Feminist Press at The City University of New York The Sapling Cage
Book SynopsisIn the gripping first novel in the Daughters of the Empty Throne trilogy, author Margaret Killjoy spins a tale of earth magic, power struggle, and self-invention in an own-voices story of trans witchcraft. Lorel has always dreamed of becoming a witch: learning magic, fighting monsters, and exploring the world beyond the small town where she and her mother run the stables. Even though a strange plague is killing the trees in the Kingdom of Cekon and witches are being blamed for it, Lorel wants nothing more than to join them. There’s only one problem: all witches are women, and she was born a boy. When the coven comes to claim her best friend, Lorel disguises herself in a dress and joins in her friend’s place, leaving home and her old self behind. She soon discovers the dark powers threatening the kingdom: a magical blight scars the land, and the power-mad Duchess Helte is crushing everything between her and the crown. In spite of these dangers, Lorel makes friends and begins learning magic from the powerful witches in her coven. However, she fears that her new friends and mentors will find out her secret and kick her out of the coven, or worse.
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Godwin
Book SynopsisA fantastic novel, brilliantly crafted' MARCUS DU SAUTOY''Enthralling not to be missed''GUARDIANA meticulously constructed marvel'' WASHINGTON POST''I wish there were more books like this'' ELIF BATUMANThe return of Joseph O'Neill, with a story on the scale of the international phenomenon Netherland: the odyssey of two brothers crossing the world in search of an African football prodigy who might change their fortunes.Mark Wolfe, a brilliant if self-thwarting technical writer, lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Sushila, and their toddler daughter. His half-brother Geoff, born and raised in the UK, is a desperate young football agent. He pulls Mark across the ocean into a scheme to track down an elusive prospect known only as Godwin an African teenager Geoff believes could be the next Messi.Narrated in turn by Mark and his work colleague Lakesha Williams, the novel is both a tale of family and migration, and an international adventure story that implicates the brothers in the beauty and ugliness of football, the perils and promises of international business, and the dark history of transatlantic money-making.As only he can do, Joseph O''Neill investigates the legacy of colonialism in the context of family love, global capitalism, and the dreaming individual.''Among the best novels I've read in a long time'' BILL BUFORDDelightful, funny rapidly told in masterful prose''FINANCIAL TIMES''Moving enjoyable'' THE TIMES''This has all the velocity and swerve of an unstoppable free kick''PUBLISHERS WEEKLYJoseph O'Neill''s novel Netherland was longlisted for the 2008 Booker Prize
£15.29
Orion Publishing Co A Fresh Start Quick Reads
Book SynopsisFrom wronged wives to nosy neighbours, from distant dads to new-found family, from secrets to lies, fresh starts to false endings - and everything in between...A collection of brilliant short stories from the best writers around.This collections contains original stories from Fanny Blake, Louise Candlish, Mike Gayle, Mari Hannah, Sophie Kinsella, Jojo Moyes, Adele Parks, Ian Rankin, Mahsuda Snaith and Keith Stuart.Trade Review'I felt as though I had climbed a mountain. I was very proud because it was the first proper book I'd read' - A Quick Reads reader
£6.83
Pan Macmillan The English Teacher
Book SynopsisFrom the author of Writers and Lovers, The English Teacher is a drama about how we build a life from the ruins, and how easily that might slip from our grasp.
£10.44
Faber & Faber Happiness Falls
Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROPRAH DAILY''S NO. 1 SUMMER PAPERBACK 2024A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERGOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICKFINALIST FOR THE NEW AMERICAN VOICES AWARDAMAZON EDITOR'S CHOICE & TOP TWENTY NOVEL OF THE YEAR''A Brilliant, satisfying, compassionate mystery.'' GABRIELLE ZEVIN ''Bittersweet, sensitive and moving.''GUARDIAN''I can't remember a book with more layers. . . I was riveted through the last page.''JODI PICOULTMia Parkson's life is turned upside down when her stay-at-home dad, the family's anchor, goes missing. The only witness? Eugene her younger, nonspeaking teenage brother.As the Police struggle for leads, and her mother and twin brother struggle to keep things together at home, Mia gains access to key clues about her father's disappearance. Headstrong, hyper analytical, and with secrets of her own, she decides to try and solve t
£9.49
Profile Books Ltd Trust Exercise
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR Both inventive and shocking, Trust Exercise became a sensation on publication in the USA for its timely insights into sex, power and the nature of abuse. Sarah and David are in love - the obsessive, uncertain love of teenagers on the edge of adulthood. At their performing arts school, the rules are made by their magnetic drama instructor Mr Kingsley, who initiates them into a dangerous game. Two decades on we learn that the real story of these teenagers' lives is even larger and darker than we imagined, and the consequences have lasted a lifetime. Trust Exercise is a brilliant, unforgettable novel about what we lose, gain and never get over as we're initiated into the mysteries of adulthood.Trade ReviewA Russian doll of a novel * Daily Telegraph *Will leave you shaken to your very core * Cosmopolitan *A devastatingly apt analysis of what men have gotten away with * The New York Times *Remarkable ... a phosphorescent examination of sexual consent -- Top Books of 2019 * The New York Times *Tense and lovely -- Best Books of 2019 * New Yorker *Tricksy and beguiling -- Books of the Year * Economist *Unputdownable -- Must-Read Books of 2019 * Time Magazine *Spellbinding -- Best Books of 2019 * Elle Magazine *Trust Exercise is Choi's fifth novel, and without a doubt her most ingenious yet. Sure, submitting to it is a "trust exercise" all of its own, but the razzmatazz that awaits is well worth it. -- Lucy Scholes * FT *Powerful, addictive, smart * Elle Magazine *Taut, distinctive and deeply unsettling * Daily Mail *A masterly study of power and its abuses ... Choi shows how much we need our female novelists within the sea change of our current moment * Guardian *A captivating, dark and unforgettable read * You *
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Deep Cuts
Book SynopsisIt was the love story of the decade Or it should have been
£15.29
Verso Books Girls Against God
Book SynopsisWelcome to 1990s Norway. White picket fences run in neat rows and Christian conservatism runs deep. But as the Artist considers her past, her practice and her hatred, things start stirring themselves up around her. In a corner of Oslo a coven of witches begin cooking up some curses. A time-travelling Edvard Munch arrives in town to join a death metal band, closely pursued by the teenaged subject of his painting Puberty, who has murder on her mind. Meanwhile, out deep in the forest, a group of school girls get very lost and things get very strange. And awful things happen in aspic.Jenny Hval's latest novel is a radical fusion of feminist theory and experimental horror, and a unique treatise on magic, writing and art.Trade Review"Hval's curiosity is more than simple pleasure in perversity: It's meant to defile the idea of women's bodies as pristine and plush . and reshape it into something more dreadfully real. Maybe more revolutionary than that transfiguration is her disemboweling of desire itself, unraveling it to its fearsome, primal state, and exploring the strangeness of how sexuality can alienate one from oneself; how feelings of mistrust come about when desire is new, queer and unreliable." * NPR *"Strange and lyrical . Hval's writing is surreal and rich with the grotesque banalities of human existence." * Publishers Weekly *"The themes of alienation, queerness, and the unsettling nature of desire align Hval with modern mainstays like Chris Kraus, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Maggie Nelson."-Pitchfork * Pitchfork *"Hval's surreal debut riffs on the same layered intricacies as her music, transcending simple categorisation to create a dreamy landscape both separate and a part of what we recognise as reality." * Stinging Fly *"With the release of the newly translated Paradise Rot, we can experience her artistic evolution beyond the shape of a timeline, as a series of challenging examinations melting and bending in on themselves . Listening to-or now reading-her work feels like getting jettisoned into an underwater reality that fantastically mirrors our own. It would be entirely terrifying, if exploring it weren't so much fun." * The Nation *A sensual, putrid reimagining of the original sin that explores the dynamics between two young women . [a] striking debut novel . To read Paradise Rot is to inhabit one of Hval's eerie, theory-conscious soundscapes. As in a dream, the closeness of this world to our own and its simultaneous uncanny otherness, awash with potent symbolism, leaves us looking at everything anew. It took nine years to be translated into English; I only hope we needn't wait so long for the two other books, already published in Norwegian, from this talented polymath. * Financial Times *"All I can say is with no electricity I read Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval in the dark tonight by flashlight, in one go. It will not let go of you. A surreal *and* realist gem of sensation and detail and character. Beautiful and boldly written" * Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation *Astute * Kirkus Reviews *[Girls Against God] is part fever dream, part manifesto, and part nostalgic reminiscing, with a hefty dose of feminist and queer theory for good measure. ... Chaotic yet ordered, Hval dives deeply into the process of self-discovery. [Her] language is visceral and haunting, corporal and carnal. -- Carolyn Ciesla * Booklist *This genre-bending novel from a self-described gloomy child queen blends feminism and the occult with a touch of time travel. -- Joshunda Sanders * Boston Globe *[An] incendiary genre-bending novel. ... Throughout, Hval employs a dirge-like repetition of themes (feminist rage prominent among them), which enlivens her witchy visions and sets the stage for a reincarnated Edvard Munch, on the run from the vengeful subject of his painting Puberty. Hval's fascinating exploration is not for the faint of heart, but those who like it dark will find this right up their alley. * Publishers Weekly *The atmosphere of Girls against God is on its surface bleak and unforgiving and yet beneath that impression there is a second story about the strength and solidarity of despised women. -- David Renton * Morning Star *[In] Girls Against God, Hval plunges up to her elbows in the thick, black, chthonic goo of rebellion and angst, through the quintessentially Scandinavian medium of black metal. The black-metal scene has historically been extremely sexist, but Hval reclaims it for the hateful, nihilistic teenage girls of the world with a decades-spanning tale of cinematic terrorism, political witchcraft, and satanic noise. * The A.V. Club (5 new books to read in October) *What begins with dressing as a goth and cursing at school morphs into witches' covens and fantastic demonic, cannibalistic banquets. Along the way Hval segues into the role of language (Norwegian, but also English) as a tool of both suppression and liberation, and the role of digital technology in the same. -- ArtReview * Mark Rappolt *Hval is one of the few musicians to branch out into the world of literary fiction. For Hval, it is a sideline that makes total sense, working as an extension of her atmospheric sound and descriptive, inquisitive lyrics. -- Leonie Cooper * Guardian *It is Hval's unflinching attitude to mixing genres that has brought both her essays and her bewitching, otherworldly music to critical acclaim...Hval is best in her moments of dark humour and in her writing on femininity. -- Baya Simons * Financial Times *Ambitious...[Girls Against God] has much of interest to say about the loneliness and pleasure of adolescent blasphemy, with totems of patriarchal Norwegian authority such as Knut Hamsun, Henrik Ibsen, Edvard Munch, and the Lutheran church singled out in the narrator's crosshairs. -- George MacBeth * Asymptote Journal *Anti-bourgeois and feminist, soaked in conviction and rage. -- Cal Revely-Calder * Telegraph *Strange and seductive and challenging and, at times, very funny ... a reminder that musician-turned-author Hval, is one of the most intriguing, provocative artists around at the moment. -- Teddy Jamieson * Herald *Girls Against God covers every angsty young woman's favourite subjects. Witchcraft, heavy metal, viscera, and hatred. It's a book in the grand tradition of Kathy Acker and women surrealists everywhere, dancing through space and time into different dimensions. -- India Lewis * The Arts Desk *An excellent, bewitching read. Jenny Hval's musical ability makes her a natural novelist - her writing often feeling like a blend of lyrics and essays. Girls Against God is a terrifying, striking fusion of the occult and female repression. -- Laura Mehers * Indiependent *In Girls Against God, Hval challenges the form and conventions of the novel once again: a vivid, seething voice narrates a series of apocalyptic events cut together with food fights, black metal shows, black magic, and surreal, witchy rituals. -- Alexandra Kleeman * Lit Hub *Hval, who is known for using body imagery to express political ideas about art, depicts cultish rituals to subvert what she sees as "the restrictive framework of our daily lives." * New Yorker *Girls Against God is compelling, surprising, and frequently inspiring. ... laced throughout with powerful urban imagery and striking turns of phrase. -- Andrea Tallarita * PopMatters *Truly transgressive -- Terri-Jane Dow * Severine *[Girls Against God] is a must-read for anyone looking for a mystifying, genre-bending read. -- Hannah May-Powers * The Tulane Hullabaloo *Riveting ... Like the French philosopher Luce Irigaray, [Hval] explores ideas of what a feminist or radical language would sound like. -- Sukhdev Sandhu * Guardian *Hval is steeped in the traditions of autofiction and the theoretical novel. ... The plot aspires toward an "escape route from structure and rhetoric," and makes room for thrilling observations on art, magic, and rebirth. -- Jenn Pelly * Pitchfork (Favourite Music Books of 2020) *If Girls Against God were an artwork, it would be a Munch - raw, dark and seething. -- Chloë Ashby * Times Literary Supplement *Readers drawn to more experimental literature will feel strangely at home in Jenny Hval's novel. For all of Girls Against God's baffling imagery and cryptic dialogue, the narrator registers as an individual longing for an existence outside the binary of light and dark, good and evil; a voice oppressed by a lifetime of being told it must be saved because it is lost, one that sees in the archetype of the witch not a heretic or a deviant but something more elemental: someone who is free. -- Zack Ravas * Zyzzyva *[Hval] pries into black metal's past to present an alternative, radical, and genuinely liberating trajectory for black metal to exist as a dissident art form. -- William Peel * Overland *Hval's writing embraces finding new ways to express thought patterns, experiences, and stories-and encourages people to let go of logic rather than look for the familiar markers of institutionally accepted creative writing. -- Nathania Gilson * Hazlitt *To say that Jenny Hval has an impressive creative range is an understatement ... Girls Against God is ambitious, with a plot that blends time travel, black metal, witchcraft, and film theory. -- Tobias Carroll * Tor *
£10.44
