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
Cipher Press Nettleblack
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Blue Box Press In the Air Tonight
Book Synopsis
£999.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Hidden City Book 3 The Tamuli Trilogy
Book SynopsisOthers may vie for the top position but Eddings reigns supreme' Publishers WeeklyDavid Edding's Tamuli Trilogy reissued with a brand new livery.Queen Ehlana has been taken prisoner and held in the Hidden City as the time for battle approaches.The face of the enemy has been unmasked as Cyrgon, the sinister god of the Cyrgai. Corrupted further by unspeakable magic, he threatens to destroy the world in his lust for power.In exchange for their help in defeating Cyrgon and saving his beloved Ehlana, Sparhawk has offered freedom to the Troll-Gods trapped in their sacred jewel, the Blue Rose. However, this carries its own cost . . . But what price is too high when the fate of the world and everything you hold dear are threatened.Trade Review‘What separates the grown-up authors from the boys is the quality of the writing and David Eddings is one of the best’Western Mail ‘Others may vie for the top position… but Eddings reigns supreme’Publishers Weekly ‘Sparhawk is the best-realized hero in fantasy‘ Daily Telegraph
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers A Dance with Dragons Part 1 Dreams and Dust The
Book SynopsisHBO's hit series A GAME OF THRONES is based on George R.R. Martin's internationally bestselling series A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS: DREAMS AND DUST is the first part of the fifth volume in the series.Characters so venomous they could eat the Borgias' GuardianTyrion Lannister, having killed his father, and wrongfully accused of killing his nephew, King Joffrey, has escaped from King's Landing with a price on his head. Jon Snow has been elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. But Jon has enemies both inside and beyond the Wall. And in the east Daenerys Targaryen struggles to hold a city built on dreams and dust.The future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance. On all sides bitter conflicts are reigniting, played out by outlaws and priests, nobles and slaves. The tides of destiny will lead to the greatest dance of all.Trade Review‘When times are tough, there is no better distraction than these magical tales’ Guardian ‘Martin has not only raised the bar for writers of epic fantasy but pushed and stretched the boundaries of the novel itself’ The Times ‘Fantasy fiction’s equivalent to THE WIRE’ Telegraph ‘Complex storylines, fascinating characters, great dialogue, perfect pacing, and the willingness to kill off even his major characters’ LA Times ‘Mr Martin is a literary dervish, bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers’ New York Times
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Grave Danger
Book Synopsis
£17.00
HarperCollins Publishers The Death of Us
Book SynopsisThis is a story of murder. This is a story of love. This is a story of survival. This is the most unforgettable thriller of the year. _________________________
£15.19
Saraband / Contraband A Case of Matricide
Book SynopsisChief Inspector Gorski returns In the unremarkable French town of Saint-Louis, a mysterious stranger stalks the streets; an elderly woman believes her son is planning to do away with her; a prominent manufacturer drops dead. Between visits to the town's hostelries, Chief Inspector Georges Gorski ponders the connections, if any, between these events, while all the time grappling with his own domestic and existential demons.Graeme Macrae Burnet once again pierces the respectable bourgeois façade of small-town life in this, the concluding part of his trilogy of Gorski novels. He injects a wry humour into the tiniest of details and delves into the darkest recesses of his characters' minds, but above all provides an entertaining, profound and moving read.
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Ines of My Soul
Book SynopsisThe vibrant new novel from Isabel Allende takes her back to her homeland of Chile, and tells the story of the first Spanish woman to arrive on its shores with the Conquistadors in the 1500s.A real historical figure, Inés Suarez came to Chile with the Conquistadors in 1540, helping to claim the territory for Spain and to found the first Spanish settlement in Santiago. In this remarkable novel, Isabel Allende one of the world''s most spellbinding storytellers re-imagines Inés''s life and that of the two men who become her lover and husband respectively.Inés of My Soul' evokes the conflict and drama of the Conquistadors'' arrival in Chile, as well as helping restore the reputation of Inés, a powerful woman long neglected by history and a patriarchal society. It also finds Allende returning to territory beloved of her and her readers imaginative historical fiction, evocatively told and to the familiar landscape of her native country.The novel gives Inés the recognition and glory that aTrade Review‘In “The House of Spirits”, Allende constructed an allusional tale for the fate of modern Chile. Now she has repeated the trick for the foundation of the country. The result is perhaps her best book since that debut.' Independent 'Allende's version of events sees Ines Suarez as the puppeteer pulling the strings of the influential men she's involved with. She is quick-witted, militarily astute and has a deep understanding of "the enemy". Allende does not attempt to rewrite the past. Instead, she provides a colourful glimpse into the life of a daring Spanish woman whose vital role has been forgotten by history.' Daily Express 'Fresh and provocative looks at this fascinating period of history.' New Statesman 'Writing about her homeland and its history, she brings to her work a passion and commitment worthy of her vividly drawn characters.' Glasgow Herald
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Midnight is a Lonely Place
Book SynopsisDon't miss this stunning novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Lady of Hay a gripping tale of secrets, betrayal and revengeAfter a broken love affair, biographer Kate Kennedy retires to a remote cottage on the wild Essex coast to work on her new book, until her landlord''s daughter uncovers a Roman site nearby and long-buried passions are unleashedIn her lonely cottage, Kate is terrorized by mysterious forces. What do these ghosts want? Should the truth about the violent events of long ago be exposed or remain concealed? Kate must struggle for her life against earthbound spirits and ancient curses as hate, jealousy, revenge and passion do battle across the centuriesPerfect for fans of Christina Courtenay, Nicola Cornick and Elizabeth Chadwick!Readers LOVE Barbara Erskine:Atmospheric' ?????Enthralling' ?????Spellbinding' ?????Another fabulous read from the mistress of the genre' ?????Immensely and deeply immersive fiction' ?????I loved every minute' ?????An exceptional writer of great books' ?????You can rely on this author to keep you wanting more' ?????A joy to read' ?????Captivating and engrossing' ?????Trade Review'Her forte is mood, atmosphere and the toe-curling frisson.' Sunday Times ‘Readers of Barbara Erskine are held in thrall’Woman’s Realm ‘Stephen King meeting Ruth Rendell’Frank Delaney 'Barbara Erskine's storytelling talent is undeniable' The Times
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Chemist
Book SynopsisDon't miss this incredible adrenaline-filled thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat in 2025!An author to keep an eye on Dhand is a fearless writer' Sunday Times ?* * * *He knows everything about you. Including how to save you. And how to kill you.Local pharmacist and pillar of the community, Idris Kalia, spends his days doling out methadone to the hundreds of addicts in his care. They trust Idris with their secrets, and so he knows more than his mild manner suggests. So when his childhood sweetheart, Rebecca, doesn''t turn up for her daily methadone dose, Idris is worried. Worried enough to go looking for her in the most deprived area of Leeds, alone.He finds Rebecca, and the mess he stumbles on places Idris in the middle of a turf war between the two most powerful drug cartels in Yorkshire. Now, he must use every bit of intelligence and cunning he has to keep those he loves safe.Because a war is on the way. And when Idris goes after his enemies, they won''t see him comi
£15.29
Bookouture The Couples Revenge
Book SynopsisHow far would you go to protect your child? I knew something was wrong. It''s a mother''s instinct. I could tell when my son started hiding things from me. He used to walk to school with a mischievous grin. Now he avoids eye contact and keeps his head down. Since I discovered he''s being bullied, I''ve spent every day worrying, my stomach churning with anxiety from the moment he leaves the house to the second he walks back through the door. Everyone keeps telling me I''m overreacting, but I won''t risk my child''s safety. My husband and I try to talk to the other family, but it only makes things worse... Then our precious child is hurt. It has to stop. Even if that means taking matters into our own hands. But the question is, exactly how far will we go to get revenge?A nail-biting, page-turning psychological thriller from the number one bestselling author of The Doctor''s Wife. If you love Behind Closed Doors
£9.49
Penguin Random House Group Harlem Rhapsody
Book Synopsis
£21.75
HarperCollins Publishers Aleph
Book SynopsisAnother stunning novel by the author of The Alchemist.Aleph marks a return to Paulo Coelho's beginnings. In a frank and surprising personal story, one of the world's most beloved authors embarks on a remarkable and transformative journey of self-discovery.Facing a grave crisis of faith, and seeking a path of spiritual renewal and growth, Paulo decides to start over: to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the world. On this journey through Europe, Africa, and Asia, he will again meet Hilalthe woman he loved 500 years beforean encounter that will initiate a mystical voyage through time and space, through past and present, in search of himself.Aleph is an encounter with our fears and our sins; a search for love and forgiveness, and the courage to confront the inevitable challenges of life.Trade Review‘His books have had a life-enhancing impact on millions of people.’THE TIMES ‘One of the few to deserve the term Publishing Phenomenon.’INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY ‘Coelho’s writing is beautifully poetic but his message is what counts…he gives me hope and puts a smile on my face.’DAILY EXPRESS ‘Paulo Coelho is a literary superstar’ THE IRISH TIMES ‘A beacon of spiritual enlightenment’ THE BIG ISSUE
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers The House on Willow Street
Book SynopsisThe warm, engrossing new novel from the No. 1 bestseller, Cathy KellyWelcome to Avalon: a quaint, sleepy town on the Irish coast. Nothing has changed here for generations least of all the huge mansion on Willow Street; the house in which sisters Tess and Suki Power grew up.Now, years later, Tess is trying to save her marriage protect her glamorous sister Suki who has come back home, dreams shattered. Similarly, Mara Wilson is seeking refuge from a broken heart at her Aunt Danae's house. And Danae, the inscrutable postmistress, is hiding some dark memories of her own.Now that the big house is up for sale, change is blowing on the cold sea wind. But before they can look to the future, these four women must face up to the pastTrade Review‘Utterly relaxing … left me with a warm feeling. The House on Willow Street delivered exactly what I needed’ The Bookbag 'Devotees regard Kelly as the successor to Irish fiction queen Maeve Binchy. She’s that and more' Sunday Mail Adelaide ‘Warm, lyrical, fascinating and comforting … genius!’ Marian Keyes 'An interweaving tale of recovery and second chances … brimming with secrets, passion, tragedy and women dealing with the challenges of being a woman in our time. A book of breathtaking scope that is always realistic' Irish Independent ‘One of our favourite authors delivers again with this feel-good page-turner. The character’s lives interweave as they revisit their pasts and try to build a better future, and you’ll find yourself cheering every step of the way’ Women’s Day ‘A tapestry woven of romance and mystery, secrets kept and revealed, hearts broken and mended, dreams shattered and realized as destinies are rediscovered … a fascinating journey and an excellent read.’ Kirkus
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Jonathan Strange Mr Norrell
Book SynopsisThe 20th anniversary edition of the fantasy classic, with an introduction by V E SchwabOver 4 million copies soldThe book I wish I''d written' R F KuangSusanna Clarke writes with an intelligence and beauty that seems at times miraculous' Katherine Rundell1806. England is beleaguered by the long war, and centuries have passed since magicians faded from view. But one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell. Proceeding to London, he raises a woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French.Yet the cautious Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician. Young, handsome and daring, Jonathan Strange is his very antithesis. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And soon their own secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine''Like Hilary Mantel, Clarke has m
£19.00
Pushkin Press Cooking in the Wrong Century
Book SynopsisAn evening of perfect preparation. A night of uninvited chaos.
£14.44
HarperCollins Publishers The Year I Met You
Book Synopsis*Winner of the Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year*A thoughtful, captivating and ultimately uplifting novel from this uniquely talented authorThe year that changed my life. For Jasmine, losing her job felt like losing everything.The year I found home. With a life built around her career and her beloved sister Heather, suddenly her world becomes the house and garden she has hardly seen and the neighbours she has yet to meet.The year I met you. But being fired is just the beginning for Jasmine. In the year that unfolds she learns more about herself than she could ever imagine and more about other people than she ever dreamed. Sometimes friendship is found in the most unexpected of places.Trade Review‘Officially one of her best… a heart-warming tale about the things we can learn from others if we put aside our preconceptions.’ Irish Independent ‘Ahern cleverly and thoughtfully turns the tables, providing thought-provoking life lessons. I was completely hooked.’ Sunday Express ‘Moving, real and exquisitely crafted. Cecelia Ahern is an undisputed master when it comes to writing about relationships…We loved every single glorious morsel. Do not miss it.’ Heat ‘A wry, dark drama’ Daily Mail ‘Beautifully written and thought-provoking’ Closer
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Lyrebird
Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Top Ten BestsellerShe will change your life foreverAn emotional love story with great heart' Sunday ExpressIn the south-west of Ireland, rugged mountains meet bright blue lakes and thick forests. Deep in the woods, a young woman lives alone, forever secluded from the world, her life a well-kept secret. She possesses an extraordinary talent, the likes of which no-one has seen before: a gift that will earn her the nickname Lyrebird.When Solomon stumbles into Laura's solitary existence, her life is turned on its head. Pulled from her peaceful landscape to the cacophony of Dublin, she is confronted by a world desperate to understand her.But while Solomon knows the world will embrace Laura, will it free her to spread her wings or will it trap her in a gilded cage? Like all wild birds, she needs to fly freeLyrebird is a thoughtful, deeply moving love story; a story of the wild heart in us all and the quiet that lies underneath the world's noise.Trade Review‘A unique look at secrets …beautifully crafted’ Essentials ‘A moving, beautiful novel.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Thought-provoking, lyrical, and really rather lovely’ Glamour ‘Alive with the mystical and unknown….A delicious enchantment underpins and threads through the story, yet there is also an undertone of unease and foreboding that lingers as you turn the pages…bewitching’ Lovereading.com ‘A heartfelt love story’ The Pool ‘Bursting with narrative verve and ear for language…a writer hitting their prime’ Waterstones.com
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers Sense Sensibility
Book SynopsisThe beloved and bestselling novelist Joanna Trollope's contemporary reworking of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility launches The Austen Project and is already one of the most talked about books of the year.When sisters Elinor and Marianne lose their father and their beloved home, Norland Park, all in a matter of weeks, the shock impacts them in very different ways. As young architect student Elinor holds the family together, Marianne resists the change they must endure with all of her might.Thrust into a tiny cottage in Devon, the two sisters are soon united by one thing, dilemmas of the heart. But where Marianne proclaims her love, Elinor holds her tongue. And in a world that turns on an axis of money, sex and power, what will prevail: following one's head or one's heart?Trade Review‘…wittily, stylishly and sensitively written with lots of delicious upmarket detail. A must for Trollope and Austen fans alike’ Daily Mail ‘Trollope is an expert in her craft…it’s a faster, zestier, read than the original’ The Times ‘A bloody good read. I was so charmed, I missed my tube stop. Such is the power of Austen’ Stylist **** ‘A fun and light-hearted read’ Sunday Times ‘Trollope and Austen are a natural marriage’ Guardian ‘Austen’s characters translate remarkably smoothly into the present day… enjoyable modern satire’ Daily Telegraph ‘Plays out the siblings’ different romantic survival strategies to great effect’ Marie Claire ‘Is the new Sense & Sensibility worth reading? The answer is unequivocally yes’ Washington Post ‘Told with insight and ingenuity’ i Paper ‘It shouldn’t work, but it does brilliantly!’ Sun on Sunday, Fabulous Magazine ‘Jane Austen's story and Joanna Trollope's voice make the perfect marriage. What a delight!’ SOPHIE KINSELLA ‘Filled with spry twists … far more than a contemporary reworking’ YOU Magazine ‘This will more than satisfy Trollope fans as well as most Austen devotees; a sprightly mix of the old and new’ Library Journal
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Galton Case
Book SynopsisTwenty years ago, Anthony Galton vanished, along with his streetwise bride and several thousand dollars of the Galton fortune. Now his dying mother wants him found, and Lew Archer is on the case: is Anthony hiding somewhere, happy and eager not to be discovered? But what Archer finds - a headless skeleton, a clever con and a terrified blonde - reveals a game whose stakes are so high that someone is willing to kill.The Galton Case is a wonderfully devious and poetic look at poverty, greed, murder and identity.Ross Macdonald''s Lew Archer mysteries rewrote the conventions of the detective novel with their credible, humane hero, and with Macdonald''s insight and moral complexity won new literary respectability for the hardboiled genre previously pioneered by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. They have also received praise from such celebrated writers as William Goldman, Jonathan Kellerman, Eudora Welty and Elmore Leonard.Trade ReviewExciting, beautifully plotted * The New York Times Book Review *A more serious and complex writer than Chandler and Hammett ever were -- Eudora WeltyAmerica's greatest crime writer -- Elmore LeonardRoss MacDonald is very important to me. I love the Lew Archer books -- James EllroyThe finest series of detective novels ever written by an American -- William GoldmanI defy any reader to set the book aside before the last twist in a thrilling story -- Barry Turner * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Spiders House
Book SynopsisFez, 1954, and American ex-pat Stenham reluctantly accepts a guide for his night-time walk home through the streets of the Medina. A nationalist uprising is transforming the country, much to the annoyance of Stenham, who enjoys the trappings of the old city. His path soon crosses with the young, illiterate son of a healer, another outsider to the newly politicised life of Morocco, in this brutally honest novel of life in the midst of terrorism, violence and the ugly opportunism that accompanies both.Bowles''s most masterly novel combines his classic themes: the conflict of Eastern and Western cultures and the trials of otherness.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Man Who Was Thursday
Book SynopsisG.K. Chesterton''s The Man Who Was Thursday is a thrilling novel of deception, subterfuge, double-crossing and secret identities, and this Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction by Matthew Beaumont.The Central Anarchist Council is a secret society sworn to destroy the world. The council is governed by seven men, who hide their identities behind the names of the days of the week. Yet one of their number - Thursday - is not the revolutionary he claims to be, but a Scotland Yard detective named Gabriel Syme, sworn to infiltrate the organisation and bring the architects of chaos to justice. But when he discovers another undercover policeman on the Council, Syme begins to question his role in their operations. And as a desperate chase across Europe begins, his confusion grows, as well as his confidence in his ability to outwit his enemies, unravelling the mysteries of human behaviour and belief in a thrilling contest of wits. But he has still to face the greatest terror that the Council has: a man named Sunday, whose true nature is worse than Syme could ever have imagined ...In his introduction, Matthew Beaumont examines the book''s themes of identity and confrontation, and explores its intriguing title. This edition also contains a chronology, notes and suggested further reading.G.K. Chesterton (1874-1938) attended the Slade School of Art, where he appears to have suffered a nervous breakdown, before turning his hand to journalism. A prolific writer throughout his life, his best-known books include The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1922) and the Father Brown stories. Chesterton converted to Roman Catholicism in 1922 and died in 1938. If you enjoyed The Man Who Was Thursday, you might enjoy Joseph Conrad''s The Secret Agent, also available in Penguin Classics.''The most thrilling book I have ever read''Kingsley Amis, author of Lucky JimTrade Review"A powerful picture of the loneliness and bewilderment which each of us encounters in his single-handed struggle with the universe."--C. S. Lewis
£9.25
Penguin Books Ltd In America
Book SynopsisThe story of In America is inspired by the emigration to America in 1876 of Helena Modrzejewska, Poland''s most celebrated actress, accompanied by her husband, Count Karol Chlapowski, her fifteen-year-old son, Rudolf, the young journalist and future author of Quo Vadis, Henryk Sienkiewicz, and a few friends; their brief sojourn in Anaheim, California; and Modrzejewska''s subsequent triumphant career on the American stage under the name Helena Modjeska.Trade Review'A tour de force...A magical accomplishment by an alchemist of ideas and words, images and truth.' - Michael Pakenham, The Baltimore Sun '[In America] has an invigorating spaciousness...packed with characters, incidents, and colour, and combining mass appeal with high intelligence.' - Walter Kirn, New York magazine
£999.99
Pan Macmillan Lawless Ruby Darke Ruby Darke 2
Book SynopsisOnly the lawless will survive . . . It is 1975 and Ruby Darke is struggling to deal with the brutal murder of her lover, Michael Ward.As her children, Daisy and Kit, battle their own demons, her retail empire starts to crumble.Meanwhile, after the revenge killing of Tito Danieri, Kit is the lowest he's ever been. But soon doubt is thrown over whether Kit killed the right person, and now the Danieris are out for his blood and the blood of the entire Darke family. As the bodies pile up, the chase is on - can the Darkes resolve their own family conflicts and find Michael Ward's true killer before the vengeful Danieris kill them? Or will they take the law into their own hands . . . Lawless is the heart-racing sequel to Nameless, from bestselling crime author Jessie Keane.Trade ReviewPerfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante * Glamour *Her strongest yet, both in terms of story and the fantastic cast of characters . . . Jessie Keane really does tell a blinding story. One thing you can rely on her for are twists and turns, literally hundreds of them here and plenty of shocks. We see the appearance of characters we didn't even know existed and I was floored many times reading this book! . . . You just have no idea where the story will go, and Jessie is an author that keeps you on your toes, so even if you suspect what will happen she will throw the biggest curveball. . . . The book moves at a lightning speed, the last hundred or so pages especially. There was no question of me putting the book down until I reached the end. And what an ending...! Just brilliant stuff and seriously addictive reading. This book just reminds me why I rate Jessie as one of my favourite authors. * www.bookaddictshaun.co.uk *This one sees her back on top, writing with an ease and drawing you into a fast paced dangerous way of life. The women characters in this tale are as strong or dominant as the main male characters, I felt, which is a nice change. There are a few shocks along the way and I could have read this in one sitting had time permitted. * www.alwaysreading.net *Keane's books never fail to thrill. Smart dialogue and well-rounded characters add ballast and credibility to all the fast-paced action and breath-taking brutality. She gives us humans and human emotion in every shade... from loving, loyal and devoted to fearsome, merciless and downright evil. Prepare to be hooked from the very first page... * Lancashire Evening Post *The writing is engaging and (f)lawless and it is written in a way that make you desperate to know what's going to happen next! * http://onmybookshelf.blog.pl *Lawless is a book that definitely has to be experienced - words can never do it justice! Full of tension, shocks and surprises - this is a book you won't be able to put down * readinginthesunshine.wordpress.com *Lawless is an engrossing read. It has strong female lead characters (and great male characters) and the highly atmospheric 1975 London gangland setting and interesting cast - from Lords and Ladies through to the shadiest of London gangsters - had me hooked from the start. As the story continued, the complex interwoven relationships, dark truths and secret desires that drive some to murder has me racing to turn the pages.Highly recommended. * http://crimethrillergirl.com *
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Old Soul
Book SynopsisThe most mesmerising, unsettling novel of 2025, perfect for fans of David Mitchell, Julia Armfield, and Margaret Atwood.''Sinister, mysterious and gorgeously realised'' KALIANE BRADLEY, author of The Ministry of Time''Old Soul will sneak into your dreams and haunt you'' CLAIRE FULLER, author of Unsettled Ground---The woman never goes by the same name.She never stays in the same place too long.She never ages. She never dies.But those around her do.When two grieving strangers meet by chance in Osaka airport they uncover a disturbing connection. Jake''s best friend and Mariko''s twin brother each died, 6,000 miles apart, in brutal and unfathomable circumstances.Each encountered a mesmerising, dark-haired woman in the days before their deaths. A woman who came looking for Mariko - and then disappeared.Jake, who has carried his loss and guilt for a decade, finds himself compelled to follow the trail set by Mariko''s revelations. It''s a trail that weaves across continents and centuries, leading back to the many who have died - in strange and terrifying and eerily similar ways - and those they left behind: bewildered, disbelieved, yet resolutely sure of what they saw.And, at the centre of it all, there is the same beguiling woman. Her name may have changed, but her purpose has never wavered, and as Jake races to discover who, or what she is, she has already made her next choice.But will knowing her secret be enough to stop her?---''Snags the reader in its claw and mesmerizes from page one'' Monique Roffey, author of The Mermaid of Black Conch''Like nothing else I''ve ever read ... The kind of story you tell around a campfire as the lights of civilization begin to flicker out around you'' Kristen Roupenian, author of ''Cat Person''''Beguiles, terrifies and utterly seduces you ... At once a thriller, a postmodern mystery and an existential horror tale'' Megan Abbott, author of El Dorado Drive''Brilliant, horrifying ... So much fun, fantastically tense and wonderful'' Evie Wyld, author of The Echoes''Clever, spooky ... Kept me guessing to the end'' Chloe Benjamin, author of The Immortalists''A mesmerizing story, brilliantly told'' Ian McGuire, author of The North Water''Smart, taut and twisty ... Deftly delivers the chills'' Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group The Stepdaughter
Book SynopsisDiscover Caroline Blackwood''s darkly brilliant debut - a perfect rediscovered classic for fans of Shirley Jackson and Ottessa MoshfeghA lavish Upper West Side apartment is the site of a familial cold war about to enter a phase of dangerous escalation.J is a lonely woman without even the luxury of being alone. Her husband has fled to Paris with his latest flame, but he''s left J not only with their own four-year-old daughter, Sally Ann, but with the sulky cake-mix addicted, thirteen-year-old Renata, a leftover from his previous marriage. The presence of a pert au pair, Monique, serves only to make J feel more isolated and self-conscious. What she''d like is someone to blame.Writing letters in her head to imaginary friends, J delights in dwelling on the hapless Renata, who ''invites a kind of cruelty''. This is an invitation J fully intends to take up - and like so many stepmothers before her, she will find that wickedness, once indulged, is a difficult
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Portrait in Sepia 1
Book SynopsisBest selling international author, Isabel Allende tackles her homeland head-on in this staggering, epic romance.Portrait in Sepia' is both a magnificent historical novel set at the end of the nineteenth century in Chile and a marvellous family saga peopled by characters from Daughter of Fortune' and The House of the Spirits', two of Allende''s most celebrated novels.As a young girl, Aurora del Valle suffered a brutal trauma that has shaped her character and erased from her mind all recollection of the first five years of her life. Raised by her ambitious grandmother, the regal and commanding Paulina del Valle, she grows up in a privileged environment, free of the limitations that circumscribe the lives of women at that time, but tormented by terrible nightmares. When she finds herself alone at the end of an unhappy love affair, she decides to explore the mystery of her past, to discover what it was, exactly, all those years ago, that had such a devastating effect on her young life.RichTrade Review‘You’ll find it hard not to be beguiled by the charm and ingenuity of Allende’s storytelling.’ The Times 'Though its story is the life of Aurora del Valle, a privileged young girl growing up in 19th century Chile, its subject is history, and the way in which the lives of people and the lives of countries exist in uneasy limbo, caught between the shadows of the past and the mysteries of the future. It's a world of secrets and uneasy truces; all that is certain is death, and all that is valuable is love.' Jeremy Poolman, Daily Mail 'If you were thrilled by “The House of the Spirits”, you'll love this.' Marie Claire 'A wonderful, wide-ranging story, which moves back to Chile, and is told in a clever mix of first and third person. Allende's dramatic descriptions of hand-to-hand combat and bloody battle scenes are every bit as vivid and physical as her descriptions of wild passionate love-making. A compulsively readable, colourful, informative and entertaining novel.' Sunday Tribune
£9.49
Peirene Press Djinns
Book Synopsis
£11.69
HarperCollins Publishers People of the Books
Book SynopsisThe new novel from the author of March' and Year of Wonders' takes place in the aftermath of the Bosnian War, as a young book conservator arrives in Sarajevo to restore a lost treasure.When Hannah Heath gets a call in the middle of the night in her Sydney home about a precious medieval manuscript which has been recovered from the smouldering ruins of wartorn Sarajevo, she knows she is on the brink of the experience of a lifetime. A renowned book conservator, she must now make her way to Bosnia to start work on restoring The Sarajevo Haggadah, a Jewish prayer book to discover its secrets and piece together the story of its miraculous survival. But the trip will also set in motion a series of events that threaten to rock Hannah's orderly life, including her encounter with Ozren Karamen, the young librarian who risked his life to save the book.As meticulously researched as all of Brooks's previous work, People of the Book' is a gripping and moving novel about war, art, love and survival.Trade Review'Brooks expertly guides us to the conclusion that the world is made up of only two types of people: those who would destroy books and those who would give their lives to save them. This illuminating novel, like its predecessor, is well worthy of both Pulitzer and prime-time approbation.' Independent on Sunday 'These stories have a raw and visceral power. The book is full of historical detail.' Naomi Alderman, F.T. Magazine 'An irresistible subject, given urgency by its timeliness and poignancy by its paradoxicality: for the novel is based on the true story of an ancient Jewish codex saved from the fire by a Muslim librarian. Her performance will satisfy many readers.' Guardian 'The epic themes of love and war are her preferred canvas and here she sets up multiple narrative strands to tell the turbulent story of this Haggadah. Anti-Semitism is the momentum propelling the book's extraordinary journey forwards and Brooks evokes her various fraught historical-religious conflicts vividly.' Metro ‘Even more compelling than the detective plot is the novel's portrayal of the harrowing lives of its historical characters. Brooks is a compassionate writer. “People of the Book” is a powerful account of individual resistance to intolerance and the precious value of history. It is also a gripping story.' TLS 'The descriptions are sensuous and the story fascinating.' The Times' “Lively historical novel…Brooks enlivens her page-turner with a clever, urbane narrator…the engrossing details of Heath's book-detecting skills make her a truly likable heroine.” Observer
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd List of the Lost
Book Synopsis''Beware the novelist . . . intimate and indiscreet . . . pompous, prophetic airs . . . here is the fact of fiction . . . an American tale where, naturally, evil conquers good, and none live happily ever after, for the complicated pangs of the empty experiences of flesh-and-blood human figures are the reason why nothing can ever be enough. To read a book is to let a root sink down. List of the lost is the reality of what is true battling against what is permitted to be true.'' MorrisseyPenguin Books is delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of List of the Lost, Morrissey''s extraordinary novel, on 24 September.Trade ReviewWhat did the reviewers expect? An elegant disquisition on the pitfalls of modern marriage? A tragi-comic look at what can go wrong when you move to the country? ... [This is] a gothic fantasy ... there is a Joycean freedom to its playfulness ... [and] his writing on loss and ageing can be exquisite. ... It's a carnivalesque antidote to all those earnest, urban epics by the graduate trainees of the literary scene. ... Inimitable and irreplaceable. Long may he joyously jiggle his art in our faces, whether we like it or not -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *In this, his first novel, he delivers superb prose fiction from start to finish. A spellbinding, gnostic tale about the world on a downward spiral -- Uwe Schutte * Times Higher Education *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group This Strange Eventful History
Book SynopsisA family torn apart by war, geography, politics, religion, over the course of three generations
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Cloudless
Book Synopsis''Beautiful and unflinching, Cloudless is a phenomenal debut'' ANNA HOPEIt is autumn 2004 and in a farmhouse on the hills outside Llandudno, a family endures the agonizing wait for their son to return from Iraq. His decision to join up has left them reeling, yet there are other pressing concerns to be met at home: the working of the farmland that has been theirs for generations and what to do with their troubled younger son.Catrin's childhood sweetheart comes back to their small town, giving the boys' doting mother a glimpse into the life she could have had. And John, their father, falls once more into his gambling habit, even as the farm sits on the brink of bankruptcy.As each member of the family grasps at their own tenuous lifeline, they drift further from one another until, on a cold winter evening, there is a fateful knock at the door.Written in luminous, exquisitely calibrated prose, Cloudless is a masterful portrayal of the fragility and resilience of human connection.A story about love and war, family and nation, addiction and recovery, told with intelligence, sensitivity and a huge heart. A must-read' PAUL McVEIGH, author of The Good SonElegant and quietly devastating . . . Dastur affords his characters such grace and complexity that they transcend fiction to become people you feel that you know and care for deeply' Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Going After Cacciato
Book SynopsisWinner of the National Book Award, Going After Cacciato' captures the peculiar mixture of horror and hallucination that marked the Vietnam War, this strangest of wars.In a blend of reality and fantasy, this novel tells the story of a young soldier who one day lays down his rifle and sets off on a quixotic journey from the jungles of Indochina to the streets of Paris.In its memorable evocation of men both fleeing from and meeting the demands of battle, Going After Cacciato' stands as much more than just a great war novel. Ultimately it''s about the forces of fear and heroism that do battle in the hearts of us all.Trade Review‘To call “Going After Cacciato” a novel about war is like calling Moby-Dick a novel about whales. O’Brien’s writing is crisp, authentic and grimly ironic … a major achievement’ New York Times Book Review ‘Not only the best novel about the Vietnam War, but among the finest works of fiction in contemporary American literature’ Philip Caputo, Esquire ‘His irony recalls that of Stendhal, his landscapes have the breadth and scope of Tolstoy’s, and the essential American innocence of his vision deserves to stand beside that of Stephen Crane’ National Book Award citation
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Tell Me Your Dreams
Book SynopsisThe fast-paced new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Best Laid Plans, Morning, Noon & Night and Bloodline.Someone was following her. She had read about stalkers, but they belonged in a different, faraway world. She had no idea who it could be, who would want to harm her. She was trying desperately hard not to panic, but lately her sleep had been filled with nightmares, and she had awakened each morning with a feeling of impending doom.Thus begins Sidney Sheldon's chilling novel, Tell Me Your Dreams. Three beautiful young women are suspected of committing a series of brutal murders. The police make an arrest that leads to one of the most bizarre murder trials of the century. Based on actual events, Sheldon's novel races from London to Rome to Quebec City to San Francisco, with a climax that will leave the reader stunned.Trade Review‘Sheldon is an author working at the height of his power’New York Times
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Years of Rice and Salt
Book SynopsisThe Great Plague destroyed Europe. Now the world’s a different place … From the award-winning author of the Mars trilogy, ‘the ultimate in future history’ (Daily Mail), comes the most ambitious alternate history novel ever written.Trade Review‘One of the finest working novelists in any genre’GUARDIAN 'If I had to choose one writer whose work will set the standard for science fiction in the future, it would be Kim Stanley Robinson’NEW YORK TIMES Praise for THE YEARS OF RICE AND SALT: ‘A dazzling work of speculation with all the qualities of a great historical novel – it is by turns thrilling, tragic, funny and thoughtful’SCOTSMAN ‘A 600-year tapestry of striving, joy, unhappiness and ambiguity … this marvellous book may be the most hopeful thing you read for a long time.’EVENING STANDARD ‘Stunning’GUARDIAN ‘A huge, complex and highly enjoyable book’NEW SCIENTIST
£15.91
HarperCollins Publishers Glamorous Powers
Book SynopsisReissue of the author's most famous and well-loved work, the Starbridge series, six self-contained yet interconnected novels that explore the history of the Church of England through the 20th century.Jon Darrow, a man with psychic powers, is a man who has played many parts: a shady faith-healer; a naval chaplain, a passionate husband, an awkward father, an Anglo-Catholic monk.In 1940 Darrow returns to the world he once renounced, but faced with many unforeseen temptations he fails to control his psychic, most glamorous powers. Corruption lies in wait for him, and threatens not only his future as a priest but his happiness with Anne, the young woman he has come to love.Trade Review'Glamorous Powers is a brave and welcome new direction for Susan Howatch to take' Observer 'An intriguing and wholly involving story' New York Times Book Review 'This novel marks a remarkable departure for Susan Howatch' Today 'Howatch writes thrillers of the heart and mind … everything in a Howatch novel cuts close to the bone and is of vital concern' New Woman 'A mesmerising storyteller' Daily Telegraph 'One of the most original novelists writing today' Cosmopolitan 'She is a deft storyteller, and her writing has depth, grace and pace' Sunday Times
£10.79
Penguin Books Ltd Other Stories and Other Stories
Book SynopsisA vitally alive and ever-surprising collection of stories from the Booker Prize-shortlisted, Women''s Prize-winning author of How to be both and the critically acclaimed Seasonal quartet ''Bold and sensitive. Smith''s prose is a joy'' IndependentIndividually lucid and luminous, these tales resonate subtly together. In examining the distances and connections between ourselves and others, expertly inching us closer to the bone, Ali Smith''s storytelling has never seemed so necessary, so moving or so joyous.*****''Captures quiet epiphanies of the extraordinary in the mundane'' Sunday Times ''These stories fizz with life'' The Times Literary Supplement
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Voyage in the Dark Jean Rhys Penguin Modern
Book Synopsis''A wonderful bitter-sweet book, written with disarming simplicity'' Esther Freud''It was as if a curtain had fallen, hiding everything I had ever known,'' says Anna Morgan, eighteen years old and catapulted to England from the West Indies after the death of her beloved father. Working as a chorus girl, Anna drifts into the demi-monde of Edwardian London. But there, dismayed by the unfamiliar cold and greyness, she is absolutely alone and unconsciously floating from innocence to harsh experience. Her childish dreams have been replaced by harsh reality. Voyage in the Dark was first published in 1934, but it could have been written today. It is the story of an unhappy love affair, a portrait of a hypocritical society, and an exploration of exile and breakdown; all written in Jean Rhys''s hauntingly simple and beautiful style.Trade ReviewPrescient and technically astonishing -- Geoff Dyer * GQ *The kind of book you want to stand up and applaud -- Caryl PhillipsEvery so often someone comes along whose prose style is so alert and fresh, so remote from the mainstream idiom of English social fiction that is seems miraculous that they should be able to write like that and be British too. Jean Rhys is such a writer -- Jonathan Raban[Jean Rhys's novels] have the quality of the best books by seeming to have written themselves, and reading them one flinches at truth after truth -- Howard Moss * The New Yorker *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Complete Short Stories
Book SynopsisSaki is perhaps the most graceful spokesman for England''s ''Golden Afternoon'' - the slow and peaceful years before the First World War. Although, like so many of his generation, he died tragically young, in action on the Western Front, his reputation as a writer continued to grow long after his death. The stories are humorous, satiric, supernatural, and macabre, highly individual, full of eccentric wit and unconventional situations. With his great gift as a social satirist of his contemporaryupper-class Edwardian world, Saki is one of the few undisputed English masters of the short story.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd To a God Unknown
Book SynopsisWhile fulfilling his dead father''s dream of creating a prosperous farm in California, Joseph Wayne comes to believe that a magnificent tree on the farm embodies his father''s spirit. His brothers and their families share in Joseph''s prosperity andthe farm flourishes - until one brother, scared by Joseph''s pagan belief, kills the tree and brings disease and famine on the farm. Set in familiar Steinbeck country, TO A GOD UNKOWN is a mystical tale, exploring one man''s attempt to control theforces of nature and to understand the ways of God.
£13.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Long Valley
Book SynopsisThis classic collection of short stories serves as the ideal introduction to Steinbeck''s work. Set in the idyllic Salinas Valley in California, where simple people farm the land and struggle to find a place for themeselves in the world, these stories reflect many of the concerns key to Steinbeck as a writer; the tensions between town and city, labourers and owners, past and present. Included here are the celebrated tales, THE MURDERER and THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS.
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Bend Sinister Penguin Modern Classics
Book SynopsisThe state has been recently taken over and is being run by the tyrannical and philistine ''Average Man'' party. Under the slogans of equality and happiness for all, it has done away with individualism and freedom of thought. Only John Krug, a brilliant philosopher, stands up to the regime. His antagonist, the leader of the new party, is his old school enemy, Paduk - known as the ''Toad''. Grieving over his wife''s recent death, Krug is at first dismissive of Paduk''s activities and sees no threat in them. But the sinister machine which Paduk has set in motion may prove stronger than the individual, stronger even than the grotesque ''Toad'' himself.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Answered Prayers The Unfinished Novel Penguin
Book SynopsisP B Jones discovers that bed-hopping rather than literary ability is the way to get published. He discovers along the way that prayers that are answered cause more pain than those that remain ignored.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd In Dubious Battle Penguin Modern Classics
Book SynopsisBoth a fast-paced story of social unrest and strike, and the tale of one young man''s struggle for identity, IN DUBIOUS BATTLE is a novel about the apocalyptic violence that breaks out when the masses become the mob. Set in California apple country, a strike by migrant workers spirals out of control, as principled defiance turns into blind fanaticism. Caught in this upheaval is Jim Nolan, a once aimless man who finds himself briefly becoming the leader of the strike before being crushed in its service. IN DUBIOUS BATTLE explores and dramatises many of the ideas and themes key to Steinbeck''s writing.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Path to the Spiders Nests
Book SynopsisPin is a bawdy, adolescent cobbler''s assistant, both arrogant and insecure who - while the Second World War rages - sings songs and tells jokes to endear himself to the grown-ups of his town - particularly jokes about his sister, who they all know as the town''s ''mattress''. Among those his sister sleeps with is a German sailor, and Pin dares to steal his pistol, hiding it among the spiders'' nests in an act of rebellion that entangles him in the adults'' war.Italo Calvino, one of Italy''s finest postwar writers, has delighted readers around the world with his deceptively simple, fable-like stories. He was born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy; he fought for the Italian Resistance from 1943-45. His major works include Cosmicomics (1968), Invisible Cities (1972), and If on a winter''s night a traveler (1979). He died in Siena in 1985. Martin L. McLaughlin is Professor of Italian and Fiat-Serena Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Oxford where he is a Fellow of Magdalen College. In addition to his published academic works he is the English translator of Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino among many others.Trade Review'An insight into the making of a European' Observer 'The crucial novel of Calvino's early years' Mail on Sunday
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Humboldts Gift Bellow Saul Penguin Modern
Book Synopsis''I think it A Work of genius, I think it The Work of a Genius'' John CheeverFor many years, the great poet Von Humboldt Fleisher and Charlie Citrine, a young man inflamed with a love for literature, were the best of friends. At the time of his death, however, Humboldt is a failure, and Charlie''s life has reached a low point: his career is at a standstill, and he''s enmeshed in an acrimonious divorce, infatuated with a highly unsuitable young woman and involved with a neurotic mafioso. And then Humboldt acts from beyond the grave, bestowing upon Charlie an unexpected legacy that may just help him turn his life around.Trade ReviewBellow at his best ... funny, vibrant, ironic, self-mocking and wise * San Francisco Examiner *There was something about Humboldt's Gift - the sheer ecstatic pleasure of the writing, the intensity of the imagery, the entrancing ability to combine high comedy with deeply serious intellectual ideas, the astonishing talent for describing faces, the warm affection for Chicago characters - which excited me almost beyond endurance -- Justin Cartwright * New Statesman *It has always been on the cards that Saul Bellow would write The Great American Novel. With Humboldt's Gift, I think that he has achieved this. -- David Holloway * Telegraph *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Drivers Seat
Book SynopsisDescribed as ''a metaphysical shocker'' at the time of its release, Muriel Sparks'' The Driver''s Seat is a taut psychological thriller, published with an introduction by John Lanchester in Penguin Modern Classics.Lise has been driven to distraction by working in the same accountants'' office for sixteen years. So she leaves everything behind her, transforms herself into a laughing, garishly-dressed temptress and flies abroad on the holiday of a lifetime. But her search for adventure, sex and new experiences takes on a far darker significance as she heads on a journey of self-destruction. Infinity and eternity attend Lise''s last terrible day in an unnamed southern city, as she meets her fate. One of six novels to be nominated for a ''Lost Man Booker Prize'', The Driver''s Seat was adapted into a 1974 film, Identikit, starring Elizabeth Taylor.Muriel Spark (1918 - 2006) wrote poetry, stories, and biographies as well as a remarkable series of novels, including The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), The Mandelbaum Gate (1965) which received the James Tait Black Prize, and The Public Image (1968) and Loitering with Intent (1981), both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Spark was awarded the T.S. Eliot Award for poetry in 1992, and the David Cohen Prize for literature in 1997. If you enjoyed The Driver''s Seat, you might like Spark''s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.''An extraordinary tour de force, a crime story turned inside out''David Lodge''Her spiny and treacherous masterpiece''New YorkerTrade ReviewThe Driver's Seat is a scalpel, cutting away the excess of the traditional novel and leaving only the core. It is a stiletto, piercing straight to the heart - or thereabouts -- John Self
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd A Man of the People
Book SynopsisAs Minister for Culture, the Honourable M. A. Nanga is ''a man of the people'', as cynical as he is charming, and a roguish opportunist. At first, the contrast between Nanga and Odili, a former pupil who is visiting the ministry, appears huge. But in the ''eat-and-let-eat'' atmosphere, Odili''s idealism soon collides with his lusts - and the two men''s personal and political tauntings threaten to send their country into chaos. Published, prophetically, just days before Nigeria''s first attempted coup in 1966, A Man of the People is an essential part of his body of work dealing with modern African history.Trade Review'A bitter yet funny satire... probably the best book to come out of West Africa.' Anthony Burgess "The Founding Father of the African novel in English" - The Guardian
£999.99
