Contemporary Fiction Books

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Book SynopsisThe narrator and protagonist of Dostoevsky’s novel The Adolescent (first published in English as A Raw Youth) is Arkady Dolgoruky, a na•ve 19-year-old boy bursting with ambition and opinions. The illegitimate son of a dissipated landowner, he is torn between his desire to expose his father’s wrongdoing and the desire to win his love. He travels to St. Petersburg to confront the father he barely knows, inspired by an inchoate dream of communion and armed with a mysterious document that he believes gives him power over others. This new English version by the most acclaimed of Dostoevsky’s translators is a masterpiece of pathos and high comedy.

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Book SynopsisBy the author of The Handmaid''s Tale and The TestamentsCharmaine sees an advertisement for a project called Positron that promises you a job, a place to live, a bed to sleep in - imagine how appealing that would be if you were working in a dive bar and living in your car. She and her husband, Stan, apply at once.The only catch is that once you''re in there, you can''t get out.No one writes the lust and the loves, the wickedness and the weakness of the human heart like the splendid Margaret Atwood.''Margaret Atwood [is] a living legend'' New York Times Book Review''Gloriously madcap . . . You only pause in your laughter when you realise that, in its constituent parts, the world she depicts here is all too horribly plausible'' Stephanie Merritt, Observer''Her eye for the most unpredictable caprices of the human heart and her narrative fearlessness have made her one of the world''s most celebrTrade ReviewGloriously madcap . . . You only pause in your laughter when you realise that, in its constituent parts, the world she depicts here is all too horribly plausible -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer *Her eye for the most unpredictable caprices of the human heart and her narrative fearlessness have made her one of the world's most celebrated novelists -- Naomi Alderman * Guardian *The bestselling author who shot to fame 30 years ago with The Handmaid's Tale is still at her darkly comic best * Sunday Times *Atwood's gift is to take what's already out there and nudge it to the next level . . . The Heart Goes Last is all at once thrilling, funny, grim - and shockingly convincing -- Erica Wagner * Harper's Bazaar *What distinguishes Atwood's apocalypticism is her insistence that we have brought it on ourselves. It's not meteor strikes, or aliens that destroy our world. It's us . . . I loved it -- John Sutherland * The Times *Jubilant comedy of errors, bizarre bedroom farce, SF prison-break thriller, psychedelic sixties crime caper: The Heart Goes Last scampers in and out of all of these genres, pausing only to quote Milton on the loss of Eden or Shakespeare on weddings. Meanwhile, it performs a hard-eyed autopsy on themes of impersonation and self-impersonation, revealing so many layers of contemporary deception and self-deception that we don't know whether to laugh or cry * Guardian *This visceral study of desperation and desire journeys into the dark heart of greed, exploitation and brutality, as it portrays a project that is "an infringement of individual liberties, an attempt at total social control, an insult to the human spirit". It is filled with passages of great intellectual and emotional acuity, appealing both to the head and to the heart -- Anita Sethi * Observer *An arresting perspective on the confluence of information, freedom, and security in the modern age * New Yorker *Captivating. . . . Thrilling. . . . Margaret Atwood [is] a living legend -- New York Times Book ReviewGloriously madcap . . . You only pause in your laughter when you realise that, in its constituent parts, the world she depicts here is all too horribly plausible -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer *Her eye for the most unpredictable caprices of the human heart and her narrative fearlessness have made her one of the world's most celebrated novelists -- Naomi Alderman * Guardian *The bestselling author who shot to fame 30 years ago with The Handmaid's Tale is still at her darkly comic best * Sunday Times *Atwood's gift is to take what's already out there and nudge it to the next level . . . The Heart Goes Last is all at once thrilling, funny, grim - and shockingly convincing -- Erica Wagner * Harper's Bazaar *What distinguishes Atwood's apocalypticism is her insistence that we have brought it on ourselves. It's not meteor strikes, or aliens that destroy our world. It's us . . . I loved it -- John Sutherland * The Times *Jubilant comedy of errors, bizarre bedroom farce, SF prison-break thriller, psychedelic sixties crime caper: The Heart Goes Last scampers in and out of all of these genres, pausing only to quote Milton on the loss of Eden or Shakespeare on weddings. Meanwhile, it performs a hard-eyed autopsy on themes of impersonation and self-impersonation, revealing so many layers of contemporary deception and self-deception that we don't know whether to laugh or cry * Guardian *This visceral study of desperation and desire journeys into the dark heart of greed, exploitation and brutality, as it portrays a project that is "an infringement of individual liberties, an attempt at total social control, an insult to the human spirit". It is filled with passages of great intellectual and emotional acuity, appealing both to the head and to the heart -- Anita Sethi * Observer *

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Book SynopsisFor twenty-five years, Positive Discipline has been the gold standard reference for grown-ups working with children. Now Jane Nelsen, distinguished psychologist, educator, and mother of seven, has written a revised and expanded edition. The key to positive discipline is not punishment, she tells us, but mutual respect. Nelsen coaches parents and teachers to be both firm and kind, so that any child-from a three-year-old toddler to a rebellious teenager-can learn creative cooperation and self-discipline with no loss of dignity. Inside you’ll discover how to• bridge communication gaps• defuse power struggles• avoid the dangers of praise• enforce your message of love• build on strengths, not weaknesses• hold children accountable with their self-respect intact• teach children not what to think but how to think• win cooperation at home and at school• meet the special challenge of teen misbehavior“It is not easy to improve a classic book, but Jane Nelson has done so in this revised edition. Packed with updated examples that are clear and specific, Positive Discipline shows parents exactly how to focus on solutions while being kind and firm. If you want to enrich your relationship with your children, this is the book for you.”-Sal Severe, author of How to Behave So Your Children Will, Too!Millions of children have already benefited from the counsel in this wise and warmhearted book, which features dozens of true stories of positive discipline in action. Give your child the tools he or she needs for a well-adjusted life with this proven treasure trove of practical advice.

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Book Synopsis''Gardam writes about love, death, loneliness, money and madness with gentle ferocity. The Old Filth trilogy should be read by anyone who has ever been interested in how we become who we are'' Amanda Craig, Independent on Sunday''Sharp, humane, generous and wonderfully funny, she is one of our very finest writers'' Hilary Mantel''This humorous, melancholic final volume establishes the trilogy as a modern classic'' Kate Saunders, The TimesOld Filth and The Man in the Wooden Hat told with bristling tenderness and black humour the stories of that Titan of the Hong Kong law courts, Old Filth QC, and his clever, misunderstood wife Betty. Last Friends, the final volume of this trilogy, picks up with Terence Veneering, Filth''s great rival in work and -though it was never spoken of - in love. Veneering, Filth and their friends tell a tale of love, friendship, grace, the bittersweet experiences ofTrade ReviewSharp, humane, generous and wonderfully funny, she is one of our very finest writers * Hilary Mantel *Exuberant and funny and dizzy and a little bit frightening... an ambitious and complex portrait of extraordinary times * Guardian *Gardam's writing is beautiful - cool clear and wickedly funny * The Times *As funny as as surreptitiously moving a novel as you'll find... her observations and sentences stalk you, making you chuckle in unexpected situations long after putting the book aside * Daily Telegraph *She is a brilliant writer. Her prose sparkles with wit, compassion and humor. She keeps us entertained, and she keeps us guessing. Be thankful for her books. Be thankful for this trilogy, which is ultimately an elegy, created with deep affection * Washington Post *Last Friends is evocative, elegiac, and shaded in autumnal tones, as suits the final volume in a trilogy. Like Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, the Old Filth trilogy restores us to an era rich in spectacle and bristling with insinuation and intrigue. Vivid, spacious, superbly witty, and refreshingly brisk . . . the story (and the author) will endure * Boston Globe *Her effortless command of character and narrative sweeps you right along...Among other things, she provides an unsentimental but oddly hopeful vision of old age * New York Times *The satisfying conclusion to Gardam's Old Filth trilogy offers exquisite prose, wry humor, and keen insights into aging and death * New Yorker *[Gardam] is the best kind of literary escape: serious, mesmerizing, and deeply satisfying * Los Angeles Review of Books *If Rudyard Kipling was the laureate of the British Empire, then Jane Gardam is surely the closest thing we have to a laureate of its demise . . . Spanning nearly a century, the three novels offer a compelling, finely nuanced tableau of the end of an era and the passing of the generation that sustained it... a perfectly balanced ending to the trilogy that is Jane Gardam's masterpiece * Times Literary Supplement *Gardam writes about love, death, loneliness, money and madness with such gentle ferocity that she is often compared to Jane Austen, though a closer analogy is with Samuel Beckett. The Old Filth trilogy should be read by anyone who has ever been interested in how we become who we are -- Amanda Craig * Independent on Sunday *It's hard...not to be charmed by a writer with Gardam's substantial gifts * New York Times Book Review *A consummate storyteller, she writes of life with wonderful gusto and wry humour * Literary Review *Gardam's style is witty and graceful, at times reminiscent of Muriel Spark * Independent *Cinematic... the work of a maestro * Oldie *There is more humour, pathos and compassion crammed into this slim volume than many a book twice its length * Daily Mail *Her prose is so perceptive and fluid that it feels mentally healthful, exiling the noise and clutter of your mind as efficiently as a Schubert sonata * Scotsman *All three Gardam books are beautifully written but its a pleasure to note that Last Friends is the most enjoyable, the funniest and the most touching... Like [Robertson] Davies, she fills the pages of her trilogy with surprises that make the reader hurry forward * National Post *She is a brilliant writer. Her prose sparkles with wit, compassion and humor. She keeps us entertained, and she keeps us guessing. Be thankful for her books. Be thankful for this trilogy, which is ultimately an elegy, created with deep affection * Washington Post *An ambitious and complex portrait of extraordinary times * Guardian *Last Friends is evocative, elegiac, and shaded in autumnal tones, as suits the final volume in a trilogy. Like Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, the Old Filth trilogy restores us to an era rich in spectacle and bristling with insinuation and intrigue. Vivid, spacious, superbly witty, and refreshingly brisk...the story (and the author) will endure * Boston Globe *Her effortless command of character and narrative sweeps you right along...Among other things, she provides an unsentimental but oddly hopeful vision of old age * New York Times *The satisfying conclusion to Gardam's Old Filth trilogy offers exquisite prose, wry humor, and keen insights into aging and death * New Yorker *[Gardam] is the best kind of literary escape: serious, mesmerizing, and deeply satisfying * Los Angeles Review of Books *If Rudyard Kipling was the laureate of the British Empire, then Jane Gardam is surely the closest thing we have to a laureate of its demise...Spanning nearly a century, the three novels offer a compelling, finely nuanced tableau of the end of an era and the passing of the generation that sustained it. Part of the genius of each successive book is that it does not continue the story so much as rework it from a different angle. * Times Literary Supplement *Sharp, humane, generous and wonderfully funny, she is one of our very finest writers -- Hilary MantelThis is as mordantly precise and moving a novel as you will find anywhere * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA classic psychological thriller from author of Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Uncle Paul: ''Britain''s Patricia Highsmith'' and the ''grandmother of psycho-domestic noir'' (Sunday Times)''Brilliant ... So witty and clever.'' Elly Griffiths''Fremlin packs a punch.'' Ian Rankin''Irresistible.'' Val McDermid''Splendid ... Got me hooked.'' Ruth Rendell''A master of suspense.'' Janice HallettLindy had a lovely voice. It rose into the summer darkness clear and true as a nightingale; or was it, rather, like a bird of prey?Rosamund wakes up from her mid-morning nap to find, to her delight, that she is running a temperature. Surely that explains her blinding headache, and the weird, delirious dream in which she had murdered her overly seductive neighbour - the Other Woman - in a vengeful act of jealousy? A great relief, then, to find this was merely the nightmarish work of a fevered imagination. Until her husband exclaims, Rosamund! Have you any idea what's happened to Lindy? She's disappeared!'

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Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed Barbara Kingsolver, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and twice winner of the Women''s Prize for FictionAt the end of her rope, Codi Noline returns to her Arizona home to face her ailing father, with whom she has a difficult, distant relationship. There she meets handsome Apache trainman Loyd Peregrina, who tells her, ''If you want sweet dreams, you''ve got to live a sweet life''. Filled with lyrical writing, Native American legends, a tender love story, and Codi''s quest for identity, Animal Dreams is literary fiction at its very best.''A rich, compassionate book'' Alice Hoffman''Rich, complex, witty... This one will be with us for a long time'' Washington Post''An emotional masterpiece'' New York Daily News''A novel that feels closer to the truth about modern lives than anything I''ve read in a long time'' CosmopolitanTrade ReviewA rich, compassionate book * Alice Hoffman *Barbara Kingsolver demonstrates a special gift for the vivid evocation of landscape and of her characters' state of mind * New York Times Book Review *Rich, complex, witty...This is a sweet book, full of bitter pain; a beautiful weaving of the light and the dark. This one will be with us for a long time * Washington Post *An astonishing book that ought to put Barbara Kingsolver in the first ranks of fiction writers * Cosmopolitan *Kingsolver is a writer of rare ambition and unequivocal talent...Animal Dreams is a complex, passionate, bravely challenging book * Chicago Tribune *A rich, compassionate book * Alice Hoffman *If you enjoy prose, you'll treasure ANIMAL DREAMS. A beautiful, memorable novel full of scenes and images that linger in the mind * Tony Hillerman *ANIMAL DREAMS is one of those rare novels I could not put down and left me wondering whether to go back to the beginning or simply anticipate the next product from this woman's pen * LOS ANGELES TIMES *

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Book SynopsisOpulence. Invasion. Terror. And forbidden passion in 1930s Singapore. ''They were the golden days, when Singapore was as rich as its climate was steamy, its future as assured as it was busy. And those days were made even better when, as was inevitable, I fell in love with the Chinese beauty of Julie Soong and, against all unwritten canons of Singapore life, we became lovers.''Trade Review'An astonishing fictional debut . . . A great read' * Daily Mail *'An exceedingly good book, and one of the can't put down variety . . . a winner' M M Kaye, author of The Far Pavilions * M M Kaye, author of The Far Pavilions *'Noel Barber has always done everything in a big way, with style, panache and a dash of adventure. But he has never written a story of such dimensions, such a sense of history and imagination as this first novel . . . it is an intensely gripping and convincing story' * Manchester Evening News *'Barber is a master' * Mail on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis''Paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line'' - Daily ExpressNapoleon''s forces are poised to invade Britain, and Commander Thomas Kydd''s ship is at the forefront of the fleet defending the English coast. His honour restored after temporary disgrace in the Channel Islands, and reunited with his ship Teazer, Kydd seizes the chance to fight for his country. Then Kydd is abruptly withdrawn from the fleet and sent back to Dover on a secret mission to guard a mysterious American inventor. Having worked his way up from press-ganged seaman to captain of his own ship, Kydd is furious to find he will miss his opportunity to prove himself in battle. And Kydd''s baffled superiors are equally angry to lose Kydd and his ship at such a dangerous time. Yet Kydd''s role in the approaching war may be the most crucial part he has ever played.*********************What readers are saying about INVASION''Excellent in all respects'' - 5 stars''Very compelling reading!'' - 5 stars''I read ALL of the books by Julian Stockwin, he is an amazing author'' - 5 stars''Yet another top-notch tale from the grand master of the age of fighting sail'' - 5 stars''Julian Stockwin knows his craft . . . I lose myself in his books'' - 5 starsTrade ReviewAnother thundering good read for those who love seagoing stories in the Hornblower mould * Peterborough Evening Telegraph on TREACHERY *Another ripping yarn * Good Book Guide on TREACHERY *I was soon turning the pages almost indecently fast...Roll on, the promised adventures of Kydd and Renzi * Independent on KYDD *Stockwin paints a vivid picture of life aboard the mighty ship-of-the-line...the harsh naval discipline, the rancid food, and the skill of the common sailor are all skilfully evoked. * Daily Express on KYDD *Stockwin is a born storyteller and, with his series of intriguing sub-plots, a man with a vivid imagination. Importantly, his research is accurate and first class. Treachery is highly recommended. * Flagship on TREACHERY *An absorbing tale * Firetrench on TREACHERY *

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Book Synopsis“With The Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice has created universes within universes, traveling back in time as far as ancient, pre-pyramidic Egypt and journeying from the frozen mountain peaks of Nepal to the crowded, sweating streets of southern Florida.”—Los Angeles TimesIn a feat of virtuoso storytelling, Anne Rice unleashes Akasha, the queen of the damned, who has risen from a six-thousand-year sleep to let loose the powers of the night. Akasha has a marvelously devious plan to “save” mankind and destroy the vampire Lestat—in this extraordinarily sensual novel of the complex, erotic, electrifying world of the undead.Praise for The Queen of the Damned“Mesmerizing . . . a wonderful web of dark-side mythology.”—San Francisco Chronicle    “Imaginative . . . intelligently written . . . This is popular fiction of the highest order.”&m

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Book SynopsisBy the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks Shortlisted for the Man Booker PrizeA postmodern visionary and one of the leading voices in twenty-first-century fiction, David Mitchell combines flat-out adventure, a Nabokovian love of puzzles, a keen eye for character, and a taste for mind-bending, philosophical and scientific speculation in the tradition of Umberto Eco, Haruki Murakami, and Philip K. Dick. The result is brilliantly original fiction as profound as it is playful. In this groundbreaking novel, an influential favorite among a new generation of writers, Mitchell explores with daring artistry fundamental questions of reality and identity.Cloud Atlas begins in 1850 with Adam Ewing, an American notary voyaging from the Chatham Isles to his home in California. Along the way, Ewing is befriended by a physician, Dr. Goose, who begins to treat him for a rare species of brain parasite. . . . Abruptly, the action jumps to Bel

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Book SynopsisTo everyone who''s anyone in New York City Victory Ford, Wendy Healy and Nico O''Neilly are the beautiful face of success in the city. Victory is the hottest new designer on the block, Wendy is President of Parador Pictures with a sure-fire hit in production and Nico is the editor of BONFIRE magazine. The trouble is, from where Victory, Nico and Wendy are standing things don''t look quite that way. Nico is fitting in guilty extra-marital sex with an underwear model. Victory''s last collection bombed and Wendy''s twelve-year marriage to her metrosexual househusband is in freefall.Candace Bushnell''s new heroines are irresistible, and as she follows them through the minefield of work, love and life at the top she gives us a hugely entertaining lesson on how to stay ahead in the toughest town on the planet.Trade ReviewSo utterly readable. SCOTSMAN Read this and see your career in a whole new light. COSMOPOLITAN An irresistable story... You won't be able to put it down. RED Pace that's reliably zippy...laugh out loud sharp. SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

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Book SynopsisIn Espresso Tales, Alexander McCall Smith returns home to Edinburgh and the glorious cast of his own tales of the city, the residents of 44 Scotland Street, with a new set of challenges for each one of them. Bruce, the intolerably vain and perpetually deluded ex-surveyor, is about to embark on a new career as a wine merchant, while his long-suffering flatmate Pat MacGregor, set up by matchmaking Domenica Macdonald, finds herself invited to a nudist picnic in Moray Place in the pursuit of true love. Prodigious six-year-old Bertie Pollock wants a boy''s life of fishing and rugby, not yoga and pink dungarees, and he plots rebellion against his bossy, crusading mother Irene and his psychotherapist Dr Fairbairn. But when Bertie''s longed-for trip to Glasgow with his ineffectual father Stuart ends with Bertie taking money off legendary Glasgow hard man Lard O''Connor at cards, it looks as though Bertie should have been more careful what he wished for. And all the time it appears that Trade ReviewIt is hard to think of a contemporary writer more genuinely engaging...(his) novels are also extremely funny: I find it impossible to think about them without smiling * Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday *A treasure of a writer whose books deserve immediate devouring * Marcel Berlins, Guardian *As warm as cocoa, as cosy as thermal underwear, and just what the doctor ordered for the cold winter evenings * THE TIMES *

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Book SynopsisNATIONAL BESTSELLER • The story of Cynthia Ann Parker and the last days of the ComancheIn 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia Ann Parker was kidnapped by Comanche Indians from her family's settlement. She grew up with them, mastered their ways, and married one of their leaders. Except for her brilliant blue eyes and golden mane, Cynthia Ann Parker was in every way a Comanche woman. They called her Naduah—Keeps Warm With Us. She rode a horse named Wind.This is her story, the story of a proud and innocent people whose lives pulsed with the very heartbeat of the land. It is the story of a way of life that is gone forever. It will thrill you, absorb you, touch your soul, and make you cry as you celebrate the beauty and mourn the end of the great Comanche nation.

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Book SynopsisChristine Dwyer Hickey is an award-winning novelist and short story writer. Twice winner of the Listowel Writers' Week short story competition, she was also a prize-winner in the prestigious Observer/Penguin short story competition. Her best-selling novel Tatty was longlisted for the Orange Prize and shortlisted for the Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year Award. She lives in Dublin.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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