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
Penguin Books Ltd The Forsyte Saga
Book SynopsisNineteenth century is drawing to a close, and the upper middle classes, with their property and propriety, are becoming a dying section of society. As Soames Forsyte struggles to uphold the old moral code in the face of the social revolution resulting from the Great War, his wife Irene's beauty causes even more disruption.
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd Under the Volcano
Book SynopsisIt is the fiesta 'Day of the Dead' in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac. In the shadow of the volcano, ragged children beg coins to buy skulls made of chocolate, ugly pariah dogs roam the streets and Geoffrey Firmin - ex-consul, ex-husband, an alcoholic and a ruined man - is living out the last day of his life.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd First Love and Other Novellas Penguin Modern
Book SynopsisThis new collection brings together First Love, The Calamative, The End and The Expelled; these four novellas are among the first major works of Beckett''s decision to use French as his language of literary composition. Rich in verbal and situational humour, they offer a fascinating insight into many of the issues which preoccupied Beckett all his working life. As the first novella reveals, nobody writes with quite such cruel and unnervingly clever wit as Beckett...
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Nadja Penguin Modern Classics
Book SynopsisNADJA is a Surrealist romance, and has come to be known as a book which defined that movement''s attitude towards life. With its blend of intimate confession and sense of the marvellous, NADJA weaves a myterious and compelling tapestry of daily life as seen through a magical perspective. Combining autobiographical fact with memory and imagination, Breton spins one of the most unusual love stories in modern literature.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Till We Meet Again
Book SynopsisWould you stand by your childhood best friend if they turned out to be a murderer? The unputdownable tale of passion, friendship and heartbreak from the Sunday Times bestselling author of LIAR Lesley Pearse''Had me gripped from start to end'' 5***** READER REVIEW''Outstanding . . . Lesley Pearse never disappoints'' 5***** READER REVIEW_________She killed two people in cold blood . . . But why?Susan is the woman who walked in a doctor''s surgery one day and committed murder.Beth is the lawyer assigned to defend Susan. But her client is uncooperative.Until both women realise that twenty-nine years earlier, they were childhood friends . . .While the evidence mounts up, their friendship starts to regrow.But for one of them, there can be no happy ending . . ._________''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelTrade ReviewWould you stand by your childhood best friend if they turned out to be a murderer? Till We Meet Again is an unputdownable tale of love, passion, and heartbreak . . . * from the publisher's description *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Adrian Mole Book
Book SynopsisThe Growing Pains of Adrian Mole is the second book in Sue Townsend''s brilliantly funny Adrian Mole series.Sunday July 18thMy father announced at breakfast that he is going to have a vasectomy. I pushed my sausages away untouched. In this second instalment of teenager Adrian Mole''s diaries, the Mole family is in crisis and the country is beating the drum of war. While his parents have reconciled after both embarked on disastrous affairs, Adrian is shocked to learn of his mother''s pregnancy. And even though at the mercy of his rampant hormones and the fickle whims of the divine Pandora, a victim of a broken home and his own tortured (though unrecognised) genius, Adrian continues valiantly to chronicle the pains and pleasures of a misspent adolescence. ________''Funny, moving and a poke in the eye for adult morality'' Sunday Express ''Written with great verve, and showing an uncanny understTrade ReviewEvery sentence is witty and well thought out, and the whole has reverberations beyond itself * The Times *One of literature's most endearing figures. Mole is an excellent guide for all of us * Observer *Adrian Mole will be remembered some day as one of England's great diarists * Evening Standard *The funniest, most bitter-sweet book you're likely to read this year * Daily Mirror *
£7.59
Headline Publishing Group The Plea
Book Synopsis''One of the most purely entertaining books you''ll read this year. It''s a blast'' JOHN CONNOLLY''A fantastic thriller writer'' MARK BILLINGHAMFRAUD. BLACKMAIL. MURDER.IT''S ALL IN A DAY''S WORK FOR EDDIE FLYNN.When David Child, a major client of a corrupt New York law firm, is arrested for murder, the FBI ask con artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn to secure the case and force him to testify against the firm.Eddie is not someone who is easily coerced, but when the FBI reveal that they have incriminating files on his wife, he knows he has no choice.But Eddie is convinced the man is innocent, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. With the FBI putting pressure on him to secure the deal, Eddie must find a way to prove his client''s innocence.But the stakes are high - his wife is in danger. And not just from the FBI . . .Praise for the award-winning, Sunday Times bestseller Steve Cavanagh:''The ultimate treat for crime fiction fans'' JANICE HALLETT''Steve Cavanagh''s twists hit you between the eyes. You never see them coming'' ANTHONY HOROWITZ''A gripping, twisty thriller'' IAN RANKIN''This guy is the real deal. Trust me'' LEE CHILD''Steve Cavanagh writes the best hooks in the business'' MICK HERRON''The real magic is in Steve Cavanagh''s hypnotic storytelling power'' SUNDAY EXPRESS''Cavanagh is a genius'' EVENING STANDARD''A great author'' MARTINA COLE
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd A Rural Affair
Book SynopsisDiscover the magic of second chances and starting again in this tantalising story from the bestselling author of A Cornish Summer''If I''m being totally honest I had fantasized about Phil dying.''When Poppy Shilling''s bike-besotted, Lycra-clad husband is killed in a freak accident, she can''t help feeling a guilty sense of relief. For at long last she''s released from a controlling and loveless marriage.Throwing herself wholeheartedly into village life, she''s determined to start over. And sure enough, everyone from Luke the sexy church organist to Bob the resident oddball, is taking note. Yet the one man Poppy can''t take her eyes off seems tantalizingly out of reach - why won''t he let go of his glamorous ex-wife?But just as she''s ready to dip her toes in the water, the discovery of a dark secret about her late husband shatters Poppy''s confidence. Does she really have the courage to risk her heart again?Because Poppy Trade ReviewA shamelessly mischievous tale of village life that Alliott aficionados will relish * The Telegraph *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The Ghost Road Regeneration 3
Book SynopsisThe Booker Prize-winning final novel in Pat Barker''s classic ''Regeneration'' trilogy - from the acclaimed author of The Silence of the Girls''An extraordinary tour de force. One of the few real masterpieces of late twentieth-century British fiction'' Jonathan Coe''Powerful, deeply moving... A triumph'' Sunday Times''Harrowing, original, unforgettable'' Independent1918, the closing months of the war. Army psychiatrist William Rivers is increasingly concerned for the men who have been in his care - particularly Billy Prior, who is about to return to combat in France with young poet Wilfred Owen. As Rivers tries to make sense of what, if anything, he has done to help these injured men, Prior and Owen await the final battles in a war that has decimated a generation. The Ghost Road is a vivid and unforgettable account of the devastating final months of the First World War.The Regeneration TrilTrade ReviewAn extraordinary tour de force. I'm convinced that the trilogy will win recognition as one of the few real masterpieces of late 20th-century British fiction Jonathan Coe
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd A Little of What You Fancy Inspiration for the
Book Synopsis''Teetotal!'' Ma said. ''It''s a libel. He''ll never live it down. He''ll never be able to hold his head up again. Whatever will people think? What''s he going to say when anybody asks him to have one?''''No,'' said Dr Conner.''You''ll have to strap him down,'' Ma said. ''You''ll have to put the handcuffs on.''And so after a mild heart-attack - caused by rather too much of what you fancy - Pop Larkin finds himself off the booze, off the good food and off the good life generally, much to his own and everyone''s else''s horror and upset. And while Ma tries to find ways around ''doctor''s orders'', young Primrose is finding her own way round a rather flustered - not to say flushed - Mr Candy ...Trade ReviewThey are absolute comfort books . . . all five titles are being rereleased just in time for summer * The Lady *Pop is as sexy, genial, generous, and boozy as ever. Ma is a worthy match for him in all these qualities -- The * Times *As funny as Evelyn Waugh and as enchanting as Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie. Don't miss it -- - * Herald *Pop Larkin, Ma and their progeny . . . are essentially English of the rich and ribald England of Chaucer and Shakespeare. A superb and timeless comedy -- - * Scotsman *A wistful daydream about innocence and happiness -- - * Spectator *The high mid-summer pomps of tree and flower are evoked with gusto -- - * The Times Literary Supplement *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Oh to be in England Inspiration for the ITV drama
Book SynopsisJoin the Larkins for another adventure in the much-loved series, inspiration for the new ITV drama starring Bradley Walsh''Christening? We never said nothing about no christening, Ma, did we?''And so with the appearance of a letter announcing the imminent arrival of Madame Dupont, Pop and Ma Larkin learn that little Oscar and Blenheim - Charley and Mariette''s new boy - are to be christened.In fact, once Mr Candy - who will be officiating (much to raven-haired Primrose''s delight) - learns that Pop and Ma have neglected the entire Larkin brood, the whole family seems set for a dunking!Pop, who needs no excuse to open a few bottles of Dragon''s Blood and host the perfick party, rushes out and buys a fun fair to celebrate.But there are one or two gatecrashers even Pop hadn''t counted on turning up . . .Trade ReviewThey are absolute comfort books . . . all five titles are being rereleased just in time for summer * The Lady *As funny as Evelyn Waugh and as enchanting as Laurie Lee's Cider with Rosie. Don't miss it -- - * Hearald *Pop Larkin, Ma and their progeny . . . are essentially English of the rich and ribald England of Chaucer and Shakespeare. A superb and timeless comedy -- - * Scotsman *Pop is as sexy, genial, generous, and boozy as ever. Ma is a worthy match for him in all these qualities -- - * The Times *Pop Larkin is a living, breathing quotable character, cast large in the heroic mould -- - * The Times *Busty and lusty -- - * New Statesman *A gently, anarchic wish-fulfilling daydream -- - * The Times *
£8.54
Pan Macmillan The Perfect Present
Book SynopsisKaren Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest in Sussex, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs. Her first novel, Players, has since been followed by Prima Donna, The Summer Without You, Christmas in the Snow and Christmas at Tiffany's, a Sunday Times bestseller.Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd Tobys Room
Book SynopsisFrom the Booker Prize-winning and Women''s Prize-shortlisted author of The Silence of the Girls The second novel in Pat Barker''s acclaimed ''Life Class'' trilogy - a dark and compelling examination of desire, friendship and the horror of war, from one of our greatest writers on war and the human heart''Heart-rending... Toby''s Room anatomises a world where extreme emotion shatters the boundaries of identity, behaviour, gender'' Independent''Once again Barker skilfully moves between past and present, seamlessly weaving fact and fiction into a gripping narrative'' Sunday TelegraphWhen Toby is reported ''Missing, Believed Killed'', another secret casts a lengthening shadow over Elinor''s world: how exactly did Toby die - and why? Elinor determines to uncover the truth. Only then can she finally close the door to Toby''s room. Moving from the Slade School of Art to Queen Mary''s Hospital, where surgery and art intersectTrade ReviewPraise for Toby's Room:"Barker...has pursued [World War I] through a remarkable series of novels: the much-admired "Regeneration" trilogy...Life Class and now Toby's Room.... [T]hese novels go far beyond a demonstration of the powers of the historical imagination. Like most good works of fiction, they’re not so much about the events they depict as about the resonance of those events, the way certain actions ripple through people’s lives.... Toby's Room takes large risks. It’s dark, painful and indelibly grotesque, yet it is also tender. It strains its own narrative control to create in the midst of an ordinary life a kind of deformed reality—precisely to illustrate how everything we call ‘ordinary’ is disfigured by war. And it succeeds brilliantly."— John Vernon, New York Times Book Review"[T]he writing is lucid and often beautiful."—Thom Geier, Entertainment Weekly"A tantalizing and moving return to wartime London."—Joanna Scutts, Washington Post"You get a glimpse inside Toby’s room in Pat Barker’s poignant novel of the same name, but what you remember are three real and very different English landmarks — the Slade, London’s prestigious art academy; Cafe Royal, frequented by the likes of Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill and Virginia Woolf; and the Queen’s Hospital, opened in 1917 to serve injured British soldiers in need of facial reconstruction.... No one evokes England in all its stiff-upper-lip gritty wartime privation like Barker. She is as uncompromising as Henry Tonks, as determined to render an honest portrayal of war. She will not allow us to sweep it out of sight.... [She] sets the bar high."—Ellen Kanner, Miami Herald"Haunting and complicated sibling love is at the heart of Pat Barker's Great War novel.... [T]he precision of Ms. Barker's writing shows her again to be one of the finest chroniclers of both the physical and psychological disfigurements exacted by the First World War."—Wall Street Journal"Barker deftly fused fact and fiction in her hugely impressive "Regeneration Trilogy" by turning the war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen into integral characters. She continues this blending in Toby's Room.... [It] is in many ways Barker's most ambitious novel to date.... As ever, the war scenes, and the accounts of the broken men who inhabit them, are, by turn, gripping and unsettling. However, in with the carnage and the trauma are those expert passages on art as something both reflective and redemptive. This is a powerful book that chronicles in various ingenious ways, and from certain unique perspectives, 'the poignancy of a young life cut short.'"—Malcolm Forbes, San Francisco Chronicle"A Pat Barker novel…is a novel that deals in some way with the horrors of World War One, and it’s a also a novel about art, but mostly it’s a novel about how art attempts to depict the horrors of World War One. And this is how a Pat Barker novel attempts to depict the horrors of World War One: bluntly."—Brock Clark, Boston Globe"[A]lthough Toby’s Room is not billed as a prequel or sequel to Life Class and the reader need not be familiar with that novel in order to get to grips with this... [t]hose who do know Barker’s previous work will be struck by recurrences and continuations in this novel not only of events in Life Class, but in Regeneration, too.... [Barker's] prose remains fresh, humanely business-like, crisp and unsentimental. Images are scrupulously vivid, and the plot has real momentum."—Freya Johnston, Telegraph (London)"A driving storyline and a clear eye, steadily facing the history of our world.... For Barker, the wounded faces of the soldier-victims are realities, and also emblems of what must never be forgotten or evaded about war, and must continue – in her plain, steady, compelling voice – to be turned into art."—Hermione Lee, Guardian (London)Praise for Life Class“Beautiful and evocative . . . A coming-of-age story that transcends the individual and gestures to the fate of a generation.”—People“Life Class possesses organic power and narrative sweep . . . Barker conjures up the hellish terrors of war and its fallout with meticulous precision.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times“Here, as in her best fiction, Barker unveils psychologically rich characters . . . and resists the trappings of a neat love story, reminding us once again that in art and life we remain infinitely mysterious.”—San Francisco ChroniclePraise for the Regeneration Trilogy“A masterwork . . . complex and ambitious.”—The New York Times Book Review“It has been Pat Barker’s accomplishment to enlarge the scope of the contemporary English novel.”—The New Yorker“A literary achievement . . . remarkable.”—San Francisco Chronicle“Some of the most powerful antiwar writing in modern fiction.”— The Boston Globe
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Hawksmoor
Book Synopsis''There is no Light without Darknesse and no Substance without Shaddowe''So proclaims Nicholas Dyer, assistant to Sir Christopher Wren and the man with a commission to build seven London churches to stand as beacons of the enlightenment. But Dyer plans to conceal a dark secret at the heart of each church - to create a forbidding architecture that will survive for eternity. Two hundred and fifty years later, London detective Nicholas Hawksmoor is investigating a series of gruesome murders on the sites of certain eighteenth-century churches - crimes that make no sense to the modern mind . . . ''Chillingly brilliant . . . sinister and stunningly well executed'' Independent on SundayPeter Ackroyd was born in London in 1949. A novelist, biographer and historian, he has been the literary editor of The Spectator and chief book reviewer for the The Times, as well as writing several highly acclaimed books including a biography oTrade ReviewChillingly brilliant . . . sinister and stunningly well executed * Independent on Sunday *Extraordinary, amazing, vivid, convincing. [Ackroyd's] view of life questions the role not just of the novel but of art and history, memory, time and much else * Financial Times *A novel remarkable for [its] power, ingenuity and subtlety * London Review of Books *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Way We Were
Book SynopsisA beautiful romance about fate and finding happiness, from the Number One bestsellerWhat if you had a second chance at first love?Susannah and Rob were childhood sweethearts. But as with most early love affairs, they broke up, moved on and now find themselves in very different places. And not entirely happy - who is?A chance meeting between them sends shockwaves through their lives. What happens when your first love makes a surprise reappearance? Is fate telling you it''s time for a second chance . . . or should you simply walk away and let the past become ancient history?But Susannah and Rob just aren''t able to forget the way they were . . . and the world is about to discover the consequences of their reunion.''Impossible to finish without tears streaming down your face'' Daily ExpressTrade ReviewImpossible to finish without tears streaming down your face * Daily Express *An extremely moving look at how it might feel if your life didn't work out the way you expected . . . You'll be gripped * Daily Mail *Praise for Elizabeth Noble * - *Deliciously readable * The Times *I defy you not to cry at least once * Sun *Tissues are essential. You'll ricochet between delicately watering eyes at the romance of it all and howling sobs at the unbearable tenderness * Heat *A great writer. You'll be rooting for Noble's protagonists as soon as you meet them * Daily Mail *Noble is a mistress of the tearjerking message of love * Express *Enchantingly cleverWitty, pacy and immediately engaging * Glamour *Honest and beautifully written * Woman & Home *Witty, affectionate and unashamedly tear-jerking * Red *Irresistible comfort read * Glamour *Incredibly thought-provoking and poignant * Sun *So fluid, the pages turn themselves * Daily Mirror *It would be a hard heart indeed that remained unmoved . . . the tender feelings that Noble engenders in her readers are to be cherished * Daily Express *Tissues are essential. You'll ricochet between delicately watering eyes at the romance of it all and howling sobs at the unbearable tenderness * Heat *
£8.99
Penguin Books Ltd Strangers
Book Synopsis''He was haunted by a feeling of invisibility, as if he were a mere spectator of his own life, with no one to identify him in the barren circumstances of the here and now.''Paul Sturgis is a retired banker manager who lives alone in a dark little flat. He walks alone and dines alone, seeking out and taking pleasure in small exchanges with strangers: the cheerful Australian girl who cuts his hair, the lady at the drycleaners. His only relative, and only acquaintance, is a widowed cousin by marriage - herself a virtual stranger - to whom he pays ritualistic visits on a Sunday afternoon. Trying to make sense of his current solitary state, and fearing that his destiny may be to die among strangers, Sturgis trawls through memories of his failed relationships and finds himself longing for companionship, or at the very least a conversation. But then a chance encounter with a stranger - a recently divorced and demanding younger woman - shakes up his routine andTrade ReviewNothing less than brilliant, often highly amusing and, ultimately life affirming * Sunday Telegraph *Each book is a prayer bead on a string, and each prayer is a secular, circumspect prayer, a prayer and a protest and a charm against encroaching night -- Hilary Mantel * Guardian *The beauty and precision of Brookner's writing is rightly praised each time she publishes a novel, but what is less often remarked on is her daring...like Graham Greene, she draws the reader into a world that has a character and signature all of its own...Brookner's wry, dry lightness of touch creates a bloom on the darkness of her characters' sufferings...Strangers is a novel of sober brilliance, and the unerring, unflinching Brookner is still a much underestimated novelist -- Helen Dunmore * The Times *No one writes with more skill and honesty about the human condition and this book is possibly her finest -- Julie Myerson * Observer Books of the Year *A novel of great stylistic beauty and psychological truth...the pitiless depiction of the final stages of life - and the refusal to allow her characters any consolation - makes Strangers as great a reflection on fear and regret as Philip Larkin's poem Aubade or Beckett's Endgame -- Mark Lawson * Guardian *In the hands of a lesser novelist, her stories of human frailty would be depressing, but she manages to make them sparkle with life - and always with hope...consistently absorbing * Daily Telegraph *Strangers is, in its own way, definitive. A more frightening, demoralising account of how hard life can be, without work, and above all without family, would be difficult to conceive...Brookner has given classic expression to what she sees to be a central truth of the human condition, absolute loneliness at the last...nothing less than a great horror story -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *Anita Brookner is a distinguished and defiant writer whose books occupy a unique place in English literature. Her subject is the best one: the definition of human nature. Although her novels often convey the loneliness inherent in the human condition, they do so in such an acute and bold way that loneliness itself is shown to be a state as tempestuous and startling as any other sort of crisis. In Brookner's hands, in her descriptions so vivid and exact, it can be exhilarating...her books are unfailingly well written, they give voice and a sense of fierce entitlement to a sort of existence that might otherwise go unrecorded...Brookner's is a literature that may be harsh but it is absolutely necessary -- Susie Boyt * Independent *Paul Sturgis is a brilliant and affecting creation by a writer whose empathy runs deep, and whose pitch is perfect...a brisk and moving story * Spectator *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories
Book SynopsisRyünosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is one of Japan''s foremost stylists - a modernist master whose short stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beauty and wild humour. ''Rashömon'' and ''In a Bamboo Grove'' inspired Kurosawa''s magnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, while tales such as ''The Nose'', ''O-Gin'' and ''Loyalty'' paint a rich and imaginative picture of a medieval Japan peopled by Shoguns and priests, vagrants and peasants. And in later works such as ''Death Register'', ''The Life of a Stupid Man'' and ''Spinning Gears'', Akutagawa drew from his own life to devastating effect, revealing his intense melancholy and terror of madness in exquisitely moving impressionistic stories.
£9.49
Scribe Publications Pink Slime
Book SynopsisWinner of the Uruguayan National Literature Prize for Fiction, the Bartolomé-Hidalgo Fiction Prize, and the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Literature Prize. A port city is in the grips of an ecological crisis. The river has filled with toxic algae, and a deadly red wind' blows throughits streets; much of the coast has been evacuated as the wealthy migrate inland to safety, leaving therest to shelter in abandoned houses as blackouts and food shortages abound. The unnamed narrator is one of those who has stayed.She spends her daystrying to disentangle herself from the two relationships that had once meant everything to her, andlooking after theyoungboywho's been placed in her care.As the world in which they movebecomes smaller, she reflectson the collapse oftheother emotional ties in her lifeand the emergence of a radicalyet tendersolitude. With striking prose and vivid characters,the multi-award-winningPink Slimeoffers profound reflections on motherhood, marriage, and caregiving, set a
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Zeal
Book SynopsisMost Anticipated: Washington Post, People, TimeThe New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing and Caul Baby returns with an epic, multi-generational novel that illuminates the legacy of slavery and the power of romantic love.Harlem, 2019. Ardelia and Oliver are hosting their engagement party. As the guests get ready to leave, he hands her a love letter on a yellowing, crumbling piece of paper . . .Natchez, 1865. Discharged from the Union Army as a free man after the war?s end, Harrison returns to Mississippi to reunite with the woman he loves, Tirzah. Upon his arrival at the Freedmen?s Bureau, though, he catches the eye of a woman working there, who?s determined to thwart his efforts to find his beloved. After tragedy strikes, Harrison resigns himself to a life with her.Meanwhile in Louisiana, the newly free Tirzah is teaching at a freedmen?s school, and discovers an advertisement in the local paper looking for her. Though she knows Harrison must have placed it, and longs to find him, the risks of fleeing are too great, and Tirzah chooses the life of seeming security right in front of her.Spanning over a hundred and fifty years, Morgan Jerkins?s extraordinary novel intertwines the stories of these star-crossed lovers and their descendants. As Tirzah''s family moves across the countryduring the Great Migration, they challenge authority with devastating consequences, while of the legacy of heartbreak and loss continues on in the lives of Harrison''s progeny.When Ardelia meets Oliver, she finds his family?s history is as full of secrets and omissions as her own. Could their connection be a cosmic reconciliation satisfying the unfulfilled desires of their ancestors, or will the weight of the past, present and future tear them apart?Sweeping, textured, and meticulously researched, Zeal is both a story of how one generation?s choices reverberate through the years and an indelible portrait of an enduring love.
£17.00
Charco Press The World We Saw Burning
Book Synopsis
£10.79
HarperCollins Publishers The Ending Fire
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£9.49
Quercus Publishing The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
Book SynopsisA charming and scintillating coming-of-age debut novel set in the city of Edinburgh. Perfect for fans of Nora Ephron, Elizabeth Jane Howard and Coco Mellors.
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Death Takes Me
Book SynopsisTranslated by Sarah Booker and Robin MyersA labyrinthine masterpiece' New York TimesA subversive twist on the traditional serial killer story' TIMEObsessive, dreamlike and hallucinatory' Layla MartinezA city is always a cemetery.When a professor named Cristina stumbles upon the corpse of a man ina dark alley, she finds a stark warning on the brick wall beside the body, scrawled in coral nail polish: Beware of me, my love / beware of the silent woman in the desert.' After reporting the crime to the police, the professor becomes the main informant of the case, led by a detective with a newfound obsession with poetry and a long list of failures on her back. As the bodies of more men are found, the detective tries to decipher the meaning of the poems, and the stream of violence spreading throughout the city.A dark and dazzling literary thriller that flips the traditional crime narrative on its head, Death Takes Me explores with masterful imagination the unstable terrains of gender and violence, death and desire.A TIME MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK FOR 2025
£15.29
Bonnier Books Ltd The Marriage Vendetta
Book SynopsisIf a therapist promised they could fix your selfish husband, but only if you followed their dangerously unorthodox methods, would you do it?Eliza's playwright husband Richard Sheridan has accepted the career opportunity of a lifetime: running a prestigious theatre in Dublin.
£12.59
Atlantic Books I Cheerfully Refuse
Book SynopsisBarnes & Noble''s April Book Club PickAn Amazon Top 10 Editors'' PickA Most Anticipated Book of 2024 from Literary HubSet in a not-too-distant America, I Cheerfully Refuse is the tale of a bereaved musician taking to Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved bookselling wife. Encountering lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths, Rainy finds on land an increasingly desperate and illiterate people, a malignant billionaire ruling class, crumbled infrastructure and a lawless society. Amid the Gulliver-like challenges of life at sea, Rainy is lifted by physical beauty, surprising humour, generous strangers and an unexpected companion in a young girl who comes aboard. As his essentially guileless nature begins to make an inadvertent rebel of him, Rainy''s private quest for the love of his life grows into something wider and wilder, sweeping up friends and foes alike in his strengthening wake.A rollicking narrative in the most evocative of settings, I Cheerfully Refuse is a symphony against despair and a rallying cry for the future.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Berlin Novels
Book SynopsisChristopher Isherwood was born at High lane, Cheshire, in 1904. He left Cambridge without graduationg, tried briefly to study medicine and in 1928 published All the Conspirators, followed by a second novel, The Memorial in 1932. From 1928 onwards he lived mostly out of England: four years in Berlin, five in various European countries including Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Denmark. In 1939 he went to California, which became his home for the rest of his life. His Berlin experiences produced two novels, Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935) and Goodbye to Berlin (1939).Isherwood worked with the American Friends Service Committee during part of the war. In 1946 he became a US citizen. Following his move to America he wrote five novels - Prater Violet, The World in the Evening, Down There on a Visit, A Single Man and A Meeting by the River; a travel book about South America, The Condor and the Cows; and RamakriTrade ReviewIsherwood is one of the great mythmakers of his time. The Berlin Novels are masterpieces, funny, darkly innocent explorations of a world Berlin in the Thirties that is now as firmly in the past as Pompeii * Observer *Mr Norris Changes Trains is a masterpiece in comic portraiture * Guardian *In Mr Norris Changes Trains, Isherwood sketches with the lightest of touches the last gasp of the decaying demi-monde and the vigorous world of Communists and Nazis, grappling with each other on the edge of the abyss * Sunday Telegraph *Reading Goodbye to Berlin is much like overhearing anecdotes in a crowded bar while history knocks impatiently at the windows. * Guardian *
£13.49
Duckworth Books Murder Has No Calories
Book SynopsisAngela Benbow and Caledonia Wingate visit an exclusive spa for society women where a beautiful employee has been murdered in the hot tub, only to learn that they might be next in line.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Captain Corellis Mandolin
Book Synopsis**AS SEEN ON BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS**25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION - WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR''A true diamond of a novel, glinting with comedy and tragedy'' Daily MailIt is 1941 and Captain Antonio Corelli, a young Italian officer, is posted to the Greek island of Cephallonia as part of the occupying forces. At first he is ostracised by the locals but over time he proves himself to be civilised, humorous and a consummate musician.When Pelagia, the local doctor''s daughter, finds her letters to her fiancé go unanswered, Antonio and Pelagia draw close and the working of the eternal triangle seems inevitable. But can this fragile love survive as a war of bestial savagery gets closer and the lines are drawn between invader and defender?''Louis de Bernières is in the direct line that runs through Dickens and Evelyn Waugh...he has only to look into his world, one senses, for it to rush into reality, colours anTrade ReviewA true diamond of a novel, glinting with comedy and tragedy * Daily Mail *A tall tale and a serious work of literature…its reputation suggests that one “should” read it, and so far I would have to agree -- Nigel Rodenhurst * Times Higher Education *Stunning... A high-spirited historical romance...remarkable. * New York Times Book Review *An emotional, funny, stunning novel which swings with wide smoothnes s between joy and bleakness, personal lives and history...it's lyrical and angry, satirical and earnest * Observer *A wonderful epic novel...it has made him a name to conjure with. Both on the large and the small scale it is an absorbing and memorable book...the sweep, invention and warmth of the novel carries one effortlessly along -- Derwent May * The Times *
£9.49
Granta Books Ours
Book SynopsisAn epic, spellbinding novel of rebellion, redemption, power and humanity, and of a Black community finding freedom to live an ordinary life of love and pain in America's darkest days.
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Short Stories
Book SynopsisSomerset Maugham is the acknowledged master of the short story, and his full range is represented in this collection.Trade ReviewHis plots are cool and deadly, and his timing is absolutely flawless -- Raymond ChanderThe short story was Maugham's true metier, and the stories he wrote are among the best in the language -- Anthony BurgessOne of our great story-tellers * Independent *At his best he can tell a story as well as any man alive or dead -- Desmond McCarthy
£11.69
Little, Brown Book Group Chasing Fire Tom Thorne Novels
Book SynopsisRowan Tripp is addicted to danger. Ever since she turned eighteen, Rowan has been a ''smoke jumper'', fighting back the ferocious forest fires that sweep through the Montana mountains each year. She can read a wildfire like no one else - and is prepared to put her life on the line again and again to save others. But now Rowan is mourning the death of her good friend and partner, Jim - haunted by the belief that she could have saved him.Determined to carry on, Rowan throws herself into training the new recruits to the smoke-jumping team - not realising there is a different kind of danger waiting for her. She has always had a strict rule: never get romantically involved with a workmate. But the moment she meets Gull Curry that rule is severely tested. And when it becomes clear that someone blames Rowan for Jim''s death, and is determined to get revenge, Rowan realises this is one fight she can''t win on her own ...''Sheer entertainment''Guardian'Trade ReviewThis tale encompasses edge-of-your-seat thrills, murder and two engaging romances. There's no better way to spend your money and time Romantic Times
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The Witness
Book Synopsis''If you''re after the perfect pick-me-up, take-me-away-from-the-world read, then she''s your woman'' The Guardian''Nora Roberts is, quite simply, a one-woman phenomenon''Heat''I love Nora Roberts''Stephen KingAbigail Lowery has a dark and terrifying secret. Aged just sixteen, she witnessed a shocking mafia murder. Narrowly escaping with her life, she was forced to leave her old identity - even her real name - behind for good. Fifteen years later Abigail is still hiding from the world - a semi-recluse in the quiet, rural town of Bickford, Arkansas. She has convinced herself that this is all she needs: peace, safety... and her faithful guard dog Bert. Perhaps now, at last, she can stop running. But Brooks Gleason, the local chief of police, has other ideas. Abigail intrigues him - and he''d like nothing better than to break through the walls she has built around herself. His persistence and det
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Dream Lover Short Stories
Book SynopsisA collection of twenty-four tales told in bold, distinct voices from Brazil to Africa and from Nice to Hollywood.Trade Review'Probably the best short-story writer at work today' Esquire 'Perfect ... Suffused with an understanding of love, desire and emotional incompetence' Guardian 'One of the best writers in English' Sunday Telegraph 'English fiction's master storyteller ... His stories circle intelligently around fascinating themes' Independent on Sunday
£10.44
Headline Publishing Group That Way Murder Lies A cosy Cotswolds crime novel
Book SynopsisA chilling secret from the past leads to a violent murder in the present... Mitchell and Markby must put their wedding plans on hold when an old friend seeks their help in That Way Murder Lies, the fifteenth English village murder mystery in Ann Granger''s Mitchell & Markby series. The perfect read for fans of Kathy Cranston, Agatha Christie and ITV''s Midsomer Murders.When Meredith Mitchell''s old friend Toby Smythe turns up on leave, she is delighted to see him. But Toby has a problem - or rather his relative Alison Jenner has - and he wants to enlist the help of Meredith''s fiance, Detective Superintendent Alan Markby. Alison has been receiving anonymous hate mail which alludes to the murder of her aunt, Freda Kemp, of which Alison was acquitted when she was just twenty. Who is the writer, and how does he or she know about this secret in Alison''s past? Markby is at first reluctant to become involved, especially as he and MerediTrade ReviewPraise for Ann Granger's Mitchell & Markby series: 'A good feel for understated humour, a nice ear for dialogue' * The Times *'A delightful pair of sleuths' * Margaret Yorke *'To be savoured by connoisseurs of characterisation' * Publishers Weekly *'Her characterisation is excellent' * Cotswold Life *'Good plotting and believable motivation' * Crime Time *
£9.49
Parthian Books Bush Meat
Book SynopsisFor Sarah's family, memories of early Sixties Aba in south-eastern Nigeria are scorched onto their hearts. As people of that time and place are scattered like bleached bones, Aba acts as centripetal force on their imagination.
£9.50
Vintage Publishing The Complete Short Stories
Book SynopsisThe complete short stories of the 20th century''s greatest visionary''Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man'' W. H. AudenThis volume contains all of Kafka''s shorter fiction, from fragments, parables and sketches to longer tales. Together they reveal the breadth of Kafka''s literary vision and the extraordinary imaginative depth of his thought. Some are well known, others are mere jottings, observations of daily life, given artistic form through Kafka''s unique perception of the world.Trade ReviewNo other voice has borne truer witness to the dark of our times -- George SteinerHe is the greatest German writer of our time. Such poets as Rilke or such novelists as Thomas Mann are dwarfs or plaster saints in comparison to him -- Vladimir Nabokov
£10.44
And Other Stories Your Love is Not Good
Book SynopsisFalling in lust with a gorgeous white model could be a great career move for a Korean American painter, unless it's the surest route to self-destruction. Your Love Is Not Good is a queer, dark-hearted satire of the glamour and ugliness of the art worldwrapped in a novel of uncommon punk elegance.
£11.69
Little, Brown Book Group The Guilty One
Book SynopsisA RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB FAVOURITEAN INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON''Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling'' Lee Child''Grips like a vice'' Daily Mail''Compulsive'' Rosamund Lupton''Moving, insightful'' Guardian___________Daniel Hunter has spent years defending lost causes as a solicitor in London. But his life changes when he is introduced to Sebastian, an eleven-year-old accused of murdering an innocent young boy.As he plunges into the muddy depths of Sebastian''s troubled home life, Daniel thinks back to his own childhood in foster care - and to Minnie, the woman whose love saved him, until she, too, betrayed him so badly that he cut her out of his life.But what crime did Minnie commit that made Daniel disregard her for fifteen years? And will Daniel''s identification with a child on trial for murder make him question everything he ever believed in?Trade Review[a] moving, insightful debut . . . It's easy to see why this caused such a stir at Frankfurt last year. If it isn't this year's Before I Go To Sleep, I'll eat my laptop * The Guardian *An absorbing psychological debut * Company (Top Pick) *It's one of the best debuts I've ever encountered * The Daily Record *Lisa Ballantyne has written a first novel that is both moving and suspenseful; richly detailed, yet with the eerie simplicity of a parable * Joyce Carol Oates *This is an outstanding work of fiction, and the real crime would have been if the talent of Lisa Ballantyne had never been discovered * Daily Record *Thought provoking, brave and challenging, this book is an unsettling and compulsive read * Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of Sister and Afterwards *Gripping stuff * More! *This is an outstanding work of fiction, and the real crime would have been if the talent of Lisa Ballantyne had never been discovered * Daily Record *It's a work of genuine substance about real human beings with real human flaws, in which nothing can be tied up neatly because life doesn't work like that. The Guilty One puts her firmly on the list of writers to watch * Irish Independant *This is as assured debut novel that has 'bestseller' slapped all over it * Crimesquad.co.uk *Fast-paced and emotionally charged, we were tearing through it well into the night. Keep a tissue handy - you'll be a wreck by the end * Emerald Street *Gets better as you read it . . . a novel that grips . . . engrossing the reader who will want to find out what happens * Dulwich Book Reviews *One of the most readable, emotionally intense novels of the year, and a debut one at that. Lisa Ballantyne pulls off the key writer's trick of getting us to care about the characters; by the end of the first chapter, you will be comprehensively on the hook * Richard from Richard and Judy’s Book Club, Autumn 2012 Pick *Wow! I finished this late yesterday afternoon at the beach...This is a really good legal thriller. I like the way the chapters alternated in time. This doesn't always work, sometimes confusing, but the author Lisa made it happen and did it very well * Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books *I couldn't get this book out of my head. It kept me up all night and guessing the whole way through, I loved it * Jenny Colgan *Ballantyne paints such vivid portraits of her characters that it is impossible not to sympathise with the tolerant and loving Minnie, and this psychological drama will keep you wondering right to the final chapter * Townsville Eye *A mature, gripping book you'll be desperate to tell your friends about * Big Issue (Scotland) *On one level, Lisa Ballantyne's The Guilty One delivers riveting courtroom drama that is unflinchingly true to its characters. At another level, its personal story resonates with love, forgiveness and the possibility of redemption. The Guilty One will touch your heart even as it leaves you unsettled * Hallie Ephron, author of There Was an Old Woman *The Guilty One beautifully blends both past and present in a novel that will keep readers interested * RT Book Reviews *
£7.49
Canongate Books The War of the Roses
Book SynopsisPublished for the first time ever in the UK, Warren Adler's cult classic presents the violent and comedic battle of a married couple in the midst of divorce
£13.49
Canongate Books Ltd. Bright I Burn
Book SynopsisA NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2024A BBC BEST BOOK OF 2024In thirteenth-century Ireland, a woman with power is a woman to be feared.When a young Alice Kyteler sees her mother wither under the constraints of family responsibilities, she vows that she won''t suffer the same fate. Soon Alice discovers she has a flair for making money, and builds a flourishing business. But as her wealth and stature grow, so too do the rumours about her private life. By the time she has moved on to her fourth husband, a blaze of local gossip and resentment culminates in an accusation that could prove fatal. Inspired by the first recorded person in Ireland to have been condemned as a witch, Bright I Burn gives voice to a woman lost to history, who dared to carve her own space in a man''s world.
£9.49
Yale University Press Ballerina
Book Synopsis
£14.24
Little, Brown Book Group The Operative
Book SynopsisIn war-torn Iraq, Stratton''s closest friend is killed whilst on operation, leaving behind a grieving wife and child - Stratton''s godson. When the widow moves to Los Angeles she is brutally murdered and her child placed in state custody. Stratton, rocked to his foundations by the killing, uncovers a FBI plot to hide the crime and sets off on a private operation of revenge that eventually pits him against one of the most powerful East European crime syndicates in America. Hunted by the CIA and FBI as well as a brutal army of Albanian mobsters and armed only with his wits and an extraordinary skill with explosives, Stratton relentlessly pursues his private war; a fight he suspects could be his last. Yet another enjoyable Falconer weave of thrill and action wrapped in the rich authenticity that defined his previous novels, taking the reader on a roller-coaster ride across half the globe to a nail-biting climax.
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co The Glass Lake
Book Synopsis''THE GLASS LAKE is Maeve Binchy at her spellbinding best - you''ll never want it to end'' Woman''s Journal''Maeve Binchy really knows what makes women tick. She crystallises their hopes, dreams and passions in her novels and now she has done it again in THE GLASS LAKE ... a marvellous read'' Daily MirrorKit McMahon lives in the small Irish town of Lough Glass, a place where nothing changes - until the day Kit''s mother disappears and Kit is haunted by the memory of her mother, alone at the kitchen table, tears streaming down her face. Now Kit, too, has secrets: of the night she discovered a letter and burned it, unopened. The night her mother was lost. The night everything changed forever...Trade ReviewTHE GLASS LAKE is Maeve Binchy at her spellbinding best - you'll never want it to end * WOMAN'S JOURNAL *Maeve Binchy really knows what makes women tick. She crystallises their hopes, dreams and passions in her novels and now she has done it again in THE GLASS LAKE ... a marvellous read * DAILY MIRROR *She is one of the few writers who can pull at your heartstrings ... The author's great skill is to draw you into the world she creates, so that reading her books is like gossiping with old friends * DAILY EXPRESS *Maeve Binchy's work continues to inspire ... thought-provoking, warm and funny in equal measure * Woman *You can see why, for a legion of female readers, Maeve Binchy is a one-woman opiate of the people * Evening Standard *Binchy is a consummate storyteller who involves the reader in the world she creates... Binchy is a Dickens: she writes about the dilemmas of human beings with a backdrop which describes the manners and morals of a society * IRISH TIMES *Drama, humour, warmth and great characters - it's what we expect from Maeve Binchy, one of the world's best-loved writers * WOMAN'S WEEKLY *A great raconteur in life, this novel displays Binchy's impressive power of storytelling, with a plot that grows increasingly high stakes with every hundred pages. She has a gift with character too ... Unsurprisingly, THE GLASS LAKE is one of the all-time best-selling books in Ireland. It is wonderful to read a book that had me wanting to read "just one more page" -- Jamie O'Connell, author of DIVING FOR PEARLS
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The Jewel Of St Petersburg Breathtakingly good
Book Synopsis*** THE Sunday Times TOP TEN BESTSELLING AUTHOR *** ''Wonderful . . . hugely ambitious and atmospheric'' Kate Mosse Discover a brilliant story of love, danger, courage and betrayal, from the internationally bestselling author of The Betrayal. ***** Russia, 1910.Young Valentina Ivanova charms St Petersburg''s aristocracy with her classic Russian beauty and her talent as a pianist. But she scandalises society when she begins a romance with Jens Friis, a Danish engineer. He brings to her life a passion and an intimacy she has never known. Unbending in their opposition, her parents push her into a loveless engagement with a Russian count. Valentina struggles for independence and to protect her young sister from the tumult sweeping the city, as Russia is bound for rebellion. The Tsar, the Duma and the Bolsheviks are at each other''s throats and Valentina is forced to make a choice that changes her life forTrade ReviewHigh drama and old fashioned passion make this perfect escapist reading Marie Claire A complex tale masterfully told, of passion, adventure and intrigue during one of the most fascinating eras of Russian history. Kate Furnivall had my heart pounding from page one - and kept it racing right up until the last. A truly satisfying read SA Gripping, elegant, and fierce, this is a classic war-torn love story, and Furnivall's best yet' LIBRARY JOURNAL 'The Jewel of St Petersburg is an impressive novel which effortlessly conjures up a period in history, colours it with exciting characters and consequently creates an absorbing story that will enthrall from start to finish'
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group A Boy Made of Blocks The most uplifting novel of
Book SynopsisTHE RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB AND NUMBER ONE AMAZON BESTSELLER''The publishing sensation of the year: a compelling, uplifting and heart-rending debut novel''Mail on SundayA Boy Made of Blocks is a funny, heartwarming story of family and love inspired by the author''s own experiences with his son, the perfect latest obsession for fans of The Rosie Project, David Nicholls and Jojo Moyes. A father who rediscovers loveAlex loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn''t understand him. He needs a reason to grab his future with both hands.A son who shows him how to liveMeet eight-year-old Sam: beautiful, surprising - and different. To him the world is a frightening mystery. But as his imagination comes to life, his family will be changed . . . for good.''One of those wonderful books that makes you laugh and cry at the same tiTrade ReviewThe publishing sensation of the year: a compelling, uplifting and heart-rending debut novel * Mail on Sunday *A Boy Made of Blocks is constructed around not just a great plot, but a rare sense of honesty and insight. -- John Harris * Guardian *Funny, expertly plotted and written with enormous heart. Readers who enjoyed The Rosie Project will love A Boy Made of Blocks - I did * Graeme Simsion *A heart-warming and wise story . . . I shed a few tears but was left with a warm glow * Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love *Heartwarming, funny and special. I devoured this cracking book. * The Unmumsy Mum *Very funny, incredibly poignant and full of insight. Awesome. * Jenny Colgan *One of those wonderful books that makes you laugh and cry at the same time * Good Housekeeping *A Boy Made of Blocks is one of those unique and exquisite stories that grab you from the very first line. Searingly honest and poignant . . . tremendously moving. A truly beautiful story. * Heat *Even the hardest of hearts will be warmed by this poignant tale based on the author's life with his autistic son * Mail on Sunday *This is a wonderful, warm, insightful novel about family, friendship and love that tugs at your heart. * Daily Mail *Stuart scatters his rose petals with enough thorns to ensure his often very funny debut will get under the skin . . . a tear-jerker -- Claire Allfree * Metro *Be prepared to shed tears (Book of the Week) * Sun *A Boy Made of Blocks is a wonderful read and I imagine that this will be one of many outstanding novels by Keith Stuart. * Huffington Post *This debut is sad, funny and full of heart-melting moments that make tears inevitable. * Daily Express *[A] warm, humorous and touching story about fatherhood and family * Sunday Mirror *This book is incredible. Keith Stuart is a very clever man. * Stuart Heritage *Fans of Nick Hornby with love this funny and moving tale. * Closer *A heartwarming read * Sunday Express *Warm and real, honest and heart-breaking, joyous and life-affirming. It has the lot. * Vanessa Greene *Keith Stuart is a master at balancing humour alongside the serious. He has a light touch but also moves us deeply, and his characters are wonderfully real. Clever and full of insight. * Virginia Macgregor *The characters are well-developed and vulnerable, learning to navigate and make sense of a world filled with obstacles. Stuart's debut novel is a charming and timely tale of learning to connect in the digital age. * Kirkus *An engaging and satisfying read on modern parenting * Your Weekend (New Zealand) *It was refreshing to read a story where the characters flail around, panic, cry, swear, yet ultimately are determined to build little blocks of happiness with those whom they love. -- Cath Weeks * The Big Issue *Touching and funny * Autism Eye *An escape, majestic and beautiful, into a world where imagination is the only limit. * Forbes *Heartbreakingly realistic * Phoebe Morgan, author of The Doll House *
£8.54
Little, Brown Book Group Ireland A Novel
Book SynopsisOne evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller arrives unannounced and mysterious at a house in the Irish countryside. By the November fireside he begins to tell the story of this extraordinary land. One of his listeners, a nine-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the storytelling that, when the old man leaves, he devotes his life to finding him again. It is a search that uncovers both passions and mysteries, in his own life as well as the old man''s, and their solving becomes the thrilling climax to this tale. But the life of this boy is more than just his story: it is also the telling of a people, the narrative of a nation, the history of Ireland in all its drama, intrigue and heroism. IRELAND travels through the centuries by way of story after story, from the savage grip of the Ice Age to the green and troubled land of tourist brochures and news headlines. Along the way, we meet foolish kings and innocent monks, god-heroes and great works of art, shrewd Norman raiders and enTrade ReviewIf only all history books were written by Frank Delaney. He adopts the discipline of meticulous research and historical fact in his latest novel, Ireland, but he has the ability to hook the reader into the dialogue and so enables one to visualise events that took place centuries ago ... the writing flows effortlessly. It's a big book and a big slice of Ireland to enjoy. Take time to step into the pages and become involved with the people IRISH NEWS One of the most engaging, enjoyable reads I have come across all year ... Delaney's triumph is to engage us simultaneously in the general and the particular. The historical, folkloric, mythical sense of Ireland, though always lively in its telling, is SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY Full of drama, passion, intrigue and heroism, it's a fascinating portrait of a beguiling country CHOICE [Delaney] is a natural-born storyteller ... You can see why Irish people have embraced this novel IRISH WORLD
£10.44
Little, Brown Book Group Penmarric
Book SynopsisSusan Howatch''s dark, epic family saga is a must-read for fans of Winston Graham''s PoldarkWe all want what we cannot have, but when Mark Castallack sees his longed-for inheritance Penmarric, a gothic mansion on the bleak cliffs of Cornwall, and the mysterious, mesmerising Janna, he knows that he will make them his and nothing will stand in his way.Yet when Mark realizes his dreams, Penmarric only brings a legacy of conflict, jealousy, infidelity and betrayal. Spanning the Victorian era to the Second World War, this gripping story of one man and his two feuding families chronicles the tempestuous clashes between warring sons, wives and mistresses, and between a house divided against itself.Trade ReviewGrippingly readable Sunday Times Larger than life... a fascinating saga... it has all the right dramatic and romantic ingredients Woman's Journal A mesmerising storyteller Daily Telegraph She is a deft storyteller, and her writing has depth, grace and pace Times
£11.69
Little, Brown Book Group Message In A Bottle
Book SynopsisIn a moment of desolation on a windswept beach, Garrett bottles his words of undying love for a lost woman, and throws them to the sea. My dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do, but today is particularly hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together . . .But the bottle is picked up by Theresa, a mother with a shattered past, who feels unaccountably drawn to this lonely man. Who are this couple? What is their story? Beginning a search that will take her to a sunlit coastal town and an unexpected confrontation, it is a tale that resonates with everlasting love and the enduring promise of redemption.
£9.49
