Contemporary Fiction Books

Book SynopsisTHE WORLD''S FAVOURITE AUTHOR ONE BILLION COPIES SOLDThe perfect love . . .Jessica and Ian were a golden couple - young, glamorous, successful. And deeply in love.Until one afternoon''s casual faithlessness threatened their relationship, ended their days of happiness and nights of desire. Or so it seemed. But for Jessica and Ian, the lesson of love was only just beginning . . . .A reissue of a novel which has been unavailable since 1987, about a young, glamorous, successful couple whose relationship is threatened by an afternoon''s faithlessness.Now and Forever is a moving, inspirational novel from bestselling author Danielle Steel.PRAISE FOR DANIELLE STEEL:''Emotional and gripping . . . I was left in no doubt as to the reasons behind Steel''s multi-million sales around the world'' DAILY MAIL''Danielle Steel is undeniably an expert'' NEW YORK TIMESTrade ReviewThere are currently no reviews for this title/product

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Book SynopsisFROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF OUR HOUSE AND THOSE PEOPLE ''I honestly didn''t see the twist coming. Perfect.'' - Jojo Moyes______________ Even an act of heroism has consequences On a perfect summer''s day in Paris, tourists on the river watch in shock as a small boy falls into the Seine and disappears below the surface. As his mother stands frozen, a stranger takes a breath and leaps . . .______________ ''A master of her craft'' Rosamund Lupton PRAISE FOR LOUISE CANDLISH''A great writer'' Fiona Barton''A masterfully plotted, compulsive page-turner'' Guardian''Louise Candlish is one very clever writer'' Sarah Vaughan''Beautifully modulated and terrifically suspenseful'' Washington PostTrade ReviewI loved this book. It reminded me of Joanna Trollope at her best -- full of complicated yet sympathetic characters and riven with the kind of dilemmas that characterise real lives. I honestly didn't see the twist coming. Perfect. * Jojo Moyes *A master of her craft * Rosamund Lupton *Thought-provoking and compelling - highly recommended to anyone who enjoys contemporary women's fiction * The Book Bag *A terrific tension and sense of unease runs through the pages . . . A clever take on love, loss and deceit and a good summer read * Irish Independent *You'll be hooked * Easy Living *One of the most turbulent yet gripping books I have had the pleasure of reading. A wonderfully written story about parenthood and just how far you would go for the one you love, this book oozes tension from very first page * handrwittengirl.com *A gripping, beautifully written book from the author of the highly acclaimed Other People's Secrets. A compelling observation of parenthood, life and love * Amuse Magazine *Candlish has crafted a tender, heartfelt story . . . An insightful and driving novel * Booklist *

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Book SynopsisA little girl is missing. Her parents are hiding something. Who will pay the price?When eight-year-old Jasmine Peterson goes missing, the police want to know everything.What is local park ranger, Sam McIntyre, running away from and why did he go out of his way to befriend a young girl?Why can't Jasmine's mother and father stand to be in the same room as each other?With every passing minute, an unstoppable chain of events hurtles towards a tragic conclusion.Everyone has secrets. The question is: who will pay the price?Trade ReviewPraise for Amanda Brooke: ‘[A] touching sensitive story … an extraordinary, moving tale’ The Bookseller ‘Enchanting, moving and hard to put down’ Closer ‘Life affirming’ Sunday Mirror ‘A haunting and heartbreaking story that stayed with me long after I’d finished’ Fern Britton ‘Magical and unputdownable’ Katie Fforde ‘An extraordinary debut novel’ Daily Express

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Book SynopsisA Richard and Judy Book Club selection.He appears out of the sea, washed up naked, in the treacherous Straits of Gibraltar. Seemingly delirious, and claiming to be Christopher Columbus, he is taken to an insane asylum in Seville, where astonishingly he starts to reveal the true story of how he set sail on behalf of the Spanish queen five hundred years ago. Consuela, a nurse at the Institute, is charged with helping him back to reality. She listens to his fantastic tales in the hope of discovering the truth. But as his story unfolds, she finds herself falling for her patient - no longer able to tell where truth ends and fantasy begins. Meanwhile, across the continent, Emile Germain is involved in a different search. He's an Interpol officer on the hunt for a missing person, presumed dangerous. He's a determined man, and when his investigation leads to Spain these two stories collide. Part romance, part mysterious thriller, Waiting for

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Book Synopsis''Hugely funny and peopled with a cast of characters I came to love like my own friends, Rush Oh! reminded me why I love reading'' Hannah Kent, bestselling author of Burial RitesMary Davidson, the eldest daughter of a whaling family in New South Wales,chronicles the particularly difficult season of 1908 - a story that is poignant and hilarious, filled with drama and misadventure. Mary Davidson has got used to looking after her five siblings whilst catering for her father''s boisterous whaling crew. But when John Beck, an itinerant whaleman with a murky past, arrives on the doorstep wanting to join her father, Mary promptly develops an all-consuming crush which upends her world...Swinging from Mary''s hopes and disappointments, both domestic and romantic, to the challenges that beset their tiny whaling operation, Rush Oh! is an enchanting celebration of both Mary''s unique voice and an extraordinary episode in Australian histTrade ReviewBeautiful and brutal, witty and kind, Rush Oh! is a story of great surprises and a beating heart - a book never to forget -- Markus Zusak, author of The Book ThiefHugely funny and peopled with a cast of characters I came to love like my own friends, Rush Oh! reminded me why I love reading -- Hannah Kent, author of Burial RitesCinematic. The tale of a whaling family, its scope is ambitious and its heart big. You'll fall in love * Marie Claire (Australia) *A memorable, often heart-in-mouth debut that's brought to life by Mary's humour, her self-awareness and her accompanying illustrations * Daily Mail *A rollicking seaborne ride . . . humorous, imaginative and tender, you'll want to race through Rush Oh! to find out what happens * Independent *Fresh, funny and lively * Express *This beautifully written Australian novel narrated by whaler's daughter Mary Davidson is funny, quirky and features a cast of characters that includes a pod of Killers. A charming debut * Diva *A novel that is thick with briny flavour. Best of all are the descriptions of the whale hunts, which are steeped in a luxurious, bracing horror * Metro *Rush Oh!'s strengths are manifold. It's a nostalgic, quirky book - peppered with stunning illustrations and seamless inclusion of actual newspaper excerpts from the time - that really captures an intriguing moment in Australia's past. Expertly balancing light and dark, Barrett confronts the moral complexities of whaling while simultaneously sketching a range of hilarious character portraits, and maintaining an endearing, and often challenging, narrative voice. This novel is a fairytale for adults, which I found poignant, funny and original * Canberra Weekly *While depicting the danger, adrenaline and excitement of the boat chases, [Rush Oh!] also repeatedly celebrates the beauty of these magnificent creatures, mourning the cruelty involved in hunting and killing them * West Australian *Just the ticket, particularly if you like a bit of comedy with your mammal spearing action * Esquire *A charming, irreverent and totally absorbing read * Emerald Street *

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Book SynopsisSir Alfred Munnings, retiring President of the Royal Academy, chooses the 1949 Annual Banquet to launch a savage attack on Modern Art. The effect of his diatribe is doubly shocking, leaving not only his distinguished audience gasping but also many people tuning in to the BBC''s live radio broadcast. But as he approaches the end of his assault, the speech suddenly dissolves into incoherence when he stumbles over a name - a name he normally takes such pains to avoid - that takes him back forty years to a special time and a special place.Summer in February is a disturbing and moving re-creation of a celebrated Edwardian artistic community enjoying the last days of a golden age soon to be shattered by war. As resonant and understated as The Go-Between, it is a love story of beauty, deprivation and tragedy.Trade Reviewan engrossing and surprisingly dark novel... * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *This is a book rich in incident and richer still in its subtle and intricate analysis of emotional depths. It is also a meticulous re-creation of artistic life near the beginning of this century. * THE TIMES *Imaginative. * DAILY MIRROR *Subtle and affecting, a tender Edwardian love story. * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *

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Book SynopsisThe Bridgeford Community Choir is in crisis. Numbers are down. The choir leader is in hospital. The tea urn is behaving in an ominous fashion. Something must be done. New joiners Tracey Leckford and Bennett Parker might just be able to save the day. But Tracey is hiding a huge secret about her past. And Bennett - while equipped with a beautiful singing voice - is entirely baffled by the world and everything in it. Can they really fit in with dependable old regulars like Annie? As the choir suffers through fights, feuds and the perils of the school fair, it becomes clear that their struggles are not just about music, but the future of their community. In order to save their singing group and their town, the Bridgeford Singers will have to find a way to work together - in harmony.Trade ReviewSparkling ... a treasure trove of bittersweet comic moments and wonderfully sympathetic creations - Daily TelegraphFans of Glee or Gareth Malone's The Choir will recognise this funny, enjoyable novel's trajectory - Sunday TimesThis gloriously fun tale about a community choir group is packed with drama, love and brilliant characters - HeatI devoured this well-observed, amusing feel-good story about small-town life in a sitting - Woman and HomeLoveable characters provide some laugh out loud moments in this charming novel - Bella

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Book SynopsisNineteen-fifty-three is synonymous in the British memory with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June. But less well known is what happened in 10 Downing Street on 23 June. With Anthony Eden vying for power, the elderly Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, must maintain the confidence of his government, the press and the public. But after a diplomatic dinner in which he is on typically sparkling form, Churchill''s Italian dining companions are rushed out of the building and his doctor called. The Prime Minister has had a stroke.Churchill is bedbound throughout the summer, and while secrecy agreements have been struck with leading newspaper barons, the potential impact of his health on public life is never far from the minds of his inner circle. With the help of a devoted young nurse and his indomitable wife, Clementine, Churchill gradually recoups his health. But will he be fit enough to represent Britain on the world stage?Trade ReviewDelightful, funny, heart-warming * Mail on Sunday *The Churchill Secret KBO will inevitably be compared with The King's Speech when the television adaptation airs in a few months, but it brings a uniquely personal and intimate tone to one of Britain's most famous lives, shining a subtle yet penetrating light on the pain of ageing and the maxim that Churchill lived by, and which gives this fine book its full title: Keep Buggering On -- Melissa Katsoulis * The Times *Told with elegance and wit * New Statesman *Smith's ingenious novel guides the reader effortlessly through the corridors of power * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisCora has everything a woman is supposed to want - a career, a caring husband, children, and a stylish home. Desperate for release & burdened with guilt she falls into a pattern of ever increasing violence and sexual degradation till a one night stand tips her over the edge.

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Book SynopsisIris Murdoch was born in Dublin in 1919. She read Classics at Somerville College, Oxford, and after working in the Treasury and abroad, was awarded a research studentship in Philosophy at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1948 she returned to Oxford as fellow and tutor at St Anne's College and later taught at the Royal College of Art. Until her death in 1999, she lived in Oxford with her husband, the academic and critic, John Bayley. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987 and in the 1997 PEN Awards received the Gold Pen for Distinguished Service to Literature.Trade ReviewA spirited fantasia in several keys...brilliant, witty and original * Sunday Times *Miss Murdoch's prose has music even as it has intelligence and wit * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisArthur Koestler was born in Budapest in 1905. He attended the university of Vienna before working as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, Berlin and Paris. For six years he was an active member of the Communist Party, and was captured by Franco in the Spanish Civil War. In 1940 he came to England. He wrote The Gladiators in Hungarian, Darkness at Noon in German, and Arrival and Departure in English. He set up the Arthur Koestler Award (now the Koestler Trust) which awards prizes for creative achievements to prisoners, detainees and patients in special hospitals. He died in 1983 by suicide, having frequently expressed a belief in the right to euthanasia.Trade ReviewA remarkable book, a grimly fascinating interpretation of...all revolutionary dictatorships, and at the same time a tense and subtly intellectualised drama of prison psychology * Times Literary Supplement *[Darkness At Noon] is written from terrible experience. From knowledge of the men whose struggles of mind and body he describes. Apart from its sociological importance, it is written with a subtlety and an economy which class it as great literature. I have read it twice without feeling that I have learned more than half of what it has to offer me- Koestler approaches the problem of ends and means, of love and truth and social organisation, through the thoughts of an old Bolshevik, Rubashov, as he awaits death in a GPU prison * New Statesman *Along with Animal Farm and 1984, this book formed part of the essential bookshelf of those intellectuals who repudiated their early illusions about the Soviet Union -- Christopher Hitchens * The Week *It brilliantly portrays the chilling tyranny of Soviet Communism -- Sandy Gall * The Week *One of the few books written in this epoch which will survive it. * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisFrom behind the closed door, the man shouts, ''Be on your way - you have no business here!''''Open up, I am the messenger of Death''.As spring arrives in the Albanian mountain town of B, some strange things are emerging in the thaw. Bank robbers strike the National Bank. Old terrors are dredged up from the shipwreck of history. And ultra-explosive state secrets are threatening to flood the entire nation. Mark, an artist, finds the peaceful rhythms of his life turned upside down by ancient love and modern barbarism and by the particular brutality of a country surprised and divided by its new freedom.One of the many pleasures of Mr Kadare''s writing is his supremely light touch' New York TimesTrade ReviewOne of the many pleasures of Mr Kadare's writing is his supremely light touch * New York Times *The themes are so sinister, the prose so genial. Post-communist disillusion and southern playfulness are blended here with such skill and subtlety that one almost fails to register Kadare's shocking originality * Independent on Sunday *One of Europe's great writers * Los Angeles Times *He has been compared to Gogol, Kafka and Orwell. But Kadare is an original voice, universal, yet deeply rooted in his own soul * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisA funny look at the social and political dynamic of French village life. Gabriel Chevallier''s delightful novel Clochemerle satirizes the titanic confrontation of secular and religious forces in a small wine-growing village in Beaujolais. The eruption begins when the socialist mayor decides that he wants to leave behind a monument to his administration''s achievements. He takes as his model the ancient Romans, who were famous for two things: hygiene and noble edifices. Thus, he decides to unite the two concepts...by constructing a public urinal in the centre of town. There is one problem, however: the chosen locale is next to the village church, and this outrages the ecclesiastical party.*Perfect for fans of Joanne Harris's Chocolate*Trade ReviewThe plot is a marvel of ingenuity and makes most detective stories look primitive by comparison -- John BrophyA fine satire, filled with humorous incidents and much subtle philosophy. It is for intelligent, open-minded people with a sense of humour * Yorkshire Post *The author has a wonderful eye for village types, and the village of Clochemerle is built up for us as a shining and integrated whole - he has chosen to employ his great talents in describing a series of people, episoded and conversations that are ribald, exaggerated and bizarre. I must confess that its rollicking grossness pleased me * Howard Spring *A full-blooded uproarious farce in the Rabelaisian tradition * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisAs Charles’s twentieth birthday – and the Oxford entrance exams – loom, his plans for seducing Rachel will draw him into a private collection of obsessional notes and observations: the eponymous ‘Rachel Papers’.Trade ReviewAmis has brought off the feat of satirizing his contemporaries while making them both funny and, in a bizarre way, moving * Peter Ackroyd *Scurrilous, shameless and very funny * Time Literary Supplement *Extravagantly sexual-highly enjoyable * Evening Standard *Amis's arrogantly assured manner is a formidable weapon, spraying the target with disdainful wit, ingenious obscenity, astute literariness, loathing, lust, anxiety and an all-pervading hyper-self-consciousness * Observer *A magnificent novel, a masterpiece really, its prose energetic, angry, honest and so funny -- Andrew Billen * The Times *

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Book SynopsisThe hit novels behind the major new TV series Vienna Blood___________________________Vienna, at the turn of the century.Philosophy, science and art are flourishing. Coffee shops are full of the latest cultural and political theories. The new field of psychoanalysis, formed in the wake of Freud, is just beginning to make itself heard.And a woman is dead.Dr Max Liebermann is a young psychoanalyst, and friend to Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt. Rheinhardt, though hard-working, lacks Liebermann''s insights and forensic eye - and so Liebermann is called upon to help with police investigations surrounding the death of a beautiful young medium, in what seems at first to be supernatural circumstances.While Liebermann attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery, he also must decide whether he is to follow his father''s advice and marry the beautiful but reserved Clara. But the personal and the professionaTrade ReviewAn intriguing, impressive achievement - puts the psychological back into crime and written by a real expert -- Oliver JamesSmart detection and a mouthwatering view of Viennese cafe society ... good prospects for the Liebermann series, of which this is book number one * Literary Review *An unusual and excellent murder mystery * Bernard Knight, former home office pathologist *Frank Tallis's new max Liebermann series is off to a flying start with its location, a turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna torn between mysticism and rationalism, liberalism and anti-Semitism... a cracker. * Observer *

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Book SynopsisWhat will you get for your birthday this year? A chance to see into the future? Or a reminder of the imperfect past?In this enviable gathering, Haruki Murakami has chosen for his party some of the very best short story writers of recent years, each with their own birthday experiences, each story a snapshot of life on a single day. Including stories by Russell Banks, Ethan Canin, Raymond Carver, David Foster Wallace, Denis Johnson, Claire Keegan, Andrea Lee, Daniel Lyons, Lewis Robinson, Lynda Sexson, Paul Theroux, William Trevor and Haruki Murakami, this anthology captures a range of emotions evoked by advancing age and the passing of time, from events fondly recalled to the impact of appalling tragedy.Previously published in a Japanese translation by Haruki Murakami, this English edition contains a specially written introduction.Trade ReviewThe perfect year-round present * Time Out *Brilliant...Murakami introduces all these stories with grace and lightness of touch * Sunday Herald *A memorable collection. Voices and settings as diverse as the authors, but they are all concerned with the arbitrary yet immensely significant way in which we mark the passing of our lives * Observer *The quality of storytelling is exemplary... There's darkness enough here for the hardiest of cynics, but enough heart to charm * Word *

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Book SynopsisTom Sharpe was born in 1928 and educated at Lancing College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He did his national service in the Marines before moving to South Africa in 1951, where he did social work before teaching in Natal. He had a photographic studio in Pietermaritzburg from 1957 until 1961, and from 1963 to 1972 he was a lecturer in History at the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology.He is the author of sixteen bestselling novels, including Porterhouse Blue and Blott on the Landscape, which were serialised on television, and Wilt, which was made into a film. In 1986 he was awarded the XXIIIème Grand Prix de l'Humour Noir Xavier Forneret, and in 2010 he was awarded the inaugural BBK La Risa de Bilbao Prize. Tom Sharpe died in June 2013 at his home in northern Spain.Trade ReviewA major craftsman in the art of farce...vengeful, chaotic, Swiftian in his tastes, cartoonish in his extremes, and above all wild and amusing * Observer *Britain's leading practitioner of black humour * Punch *Tom Sharpe serves up the loudest laughs in literary comedy. He is the great post-Waugh humorist, the Wodehouse who dares plunge into the bottomless vulgarity and hysteria of our times, and a rattling good companion on a train journey * Mail on Sunday *The funniest novelist writing today * The Times *The best of British farce-masters is back * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisAlexander Kent is the author of twenty-seven acclaimed books featuring Richard Bolitho. Under his own name, Douglas Reeman, and in the course of a career spanning forty-five years, he has written over thirty novels and two non-fiction books.Trade ReviewOne of our foremost writers of naval fiction * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisTells the story of Neil Klugman and pretty, spirited Brenda Patimkin, he of poor Newark, she of suburban Short Hills, who meet one summer and fall into an affair that is as much about social class and suspicion as it is about love. This novella is accompanied by five short stories - sometimes iconoclastic, sometimes elegiac.Trade ReviewStartlingly, incandescently alive * New Yorker *Unlike those of us who come howling into the world, blind and bare, Mr Roth appears with nails, hair, teeth, speaking coherently. He is skilled, witty, energetic and performs like a virtuoso -- Saul BellowA great novella - amazingly, this was Roth's first book - about love, sex and growing up * Observer *Opening the first page of any Philip Roth is like hearing the ignition on a boiler roar into life. Passion is what we're going to get, and plenty of it * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisFriday August 15th, 1997. Two tiny Korean babies are delivered to two very different Baltimore families.Every year, on the anniversary of ''Arrival Day'' the two families celebrate together, with more and more elaborately competitive parties, as little Susan and Jin-ho take roots and become American.**ANNE TYLER HAS SOLD OVER 8 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**''Anne Tyler takes the ordinary, the small, and makes them sing'' Rachel Joyce''She knows all the secrets of the human heart'' Monica Ali ''A masterly author'' Sebastian Faulks''I love Anne Tyler. I''ve read every single book she''s written'' Jacqueline WilsonTrade ReviewMagnificent * Observer *Deliciously funny and sharply observed * Guardian *Wise and funny...a multidimensional exploration of what it means to belong, not only to a family but also to a nation * Sunday Times *Out of this everyday material she spins gold: stories so achingly truthful, so achingly funny, so sad and so real that you can only marvel * Daily Mail *Anne Tyler draws a comedy that is not so much brilliant as luminous – its observant sharpness sweetened by a generous understanding of human fallibility * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisDouglas Kennedy's previous twelve novels include the critically acclaimed bestsellers The Big Picture, The Pursuit of Happiness, A Special Relationship and The Moment. He is also the author of three highly-praised travel books. The Big Picture was filmed with Romain Duris and Catherine Deneuve; The Woman in the Fifth with Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas.His work has been translated into twenty-two languages. In 2007 he was awarded the French decoration of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 2009 the inaugural Grand Prix de Figaro. Born in Manhattan in 1955, he has two children and currently divides his time between London, Paris, Berlin, Maine and New York.Trade ReviewKennedy is an absolute master at love stories with heart-stopping twists ... The Moment is simply sensational. * Times *His most ambitious to date and most deeply felt. * Daily Mirror *The storytelling is served up thick and meaty ... the result is a big, satisfying read. * Daily Mail *Kennedy, like William Boyd and Paul Watkins, has always managed to walk that precarious tight-rope of credibility between the twin towers of popular and literary fiction... Kennedy is particularly adept at capturing the ugliness of modern life... He captures with acuity men's self-destructive nature and the eddies in which husbands, fathers and sons find themselves caught. * Independent on Sunday *Douglas Kennedy's 10th novel, The Moment, a tome running to almost 500 pages, is weighty enough to crush any doubts about this prolific author's status as a stylish popular novelist and a classy purveyor of the gripping yarn... It is the quality of evaluation, this conscious appraisal of unforeseen loss, of gallant naivety, of the bullish youthful belief in the right to happiness, that sets Kennedy's work apart from that of many other popular novelists... It is a gripping read and an honest attempt to address human frailty while playing out our minor destinies in the face of great love and desperate loss. * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisJean Plaidy, one of the preeminent authors of historical fiction for most of the twentieth century, is the pen name of the prolific English author Eleanor Hibbert, also know as Victoria Holt. Jean Plaidy's novels had sold more than 14 million copies worldwide by the time of her death in 1993.Trade ReviewIt's hard to better Jean Plaidy * Daily Mirror *Superb storytelling and meticulous attention to authenticity of detail and depth of characterisation ... one of the country's most widely read novelists * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisFans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor, C. J. Sansom will absolutely love this captivating page-turner of a historical mystery from multi-million copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Full of twists, turns and tension - you''ll be hooked from page one...''Davis''s writing zings with fun'' -- Daily Mail''One of the best of the current writers in this field'' -- Donna Leon, The Times''Very addictive and, at times, difficult to put down'' -- ***** Reader reviewI was mesmerized and thrilled -- ***** Reader reviewLindsey Davis at her best -- ***** Reader reviewA cracking good read -- ***** Reader review****************************************************************************************ALL THE NEWS THAT''S FIT TO DIE FOR...In the wealthy town of Ostia, our hero Falco appears to be enjoying a relaxing holiday. But when his girlfriend, Helena, arrives carrying a batch of old copies of the Daily Gazette - with the intention of catching up on the latest scandal - Falco is forced to admit to Petronius his real reasons for being there...''Infamia'', the pen name of the scribe who writes the gossip column for the Daily Gazette, has gone missing. His fellow scribes have employed Falco to find him and bring him back from his lazy, drunken truancy. However, Falco suspects that there is more to his absence than there might first appear...Trade ReviewThis is the sixteenth Falco novel, and they have built up a large following. It is not hard to see why. They are amiable and unpretentious...The research that has gone into them allows the externals of Roman life to be presented in an evocative way. Yet the interior life of the characters remains reassuringly modern...Philip Marlowe in a toga. * Times Literary Supplement *...an entertaining mystery * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe complete novels of one of the greatest German writers of all time, collected together in one literary masterpiece.Kafka's characters are victims of forces beyond their control, estranged and rootless citizens deceived by authoritarian power. Filled with claustrophobic description and existential profundity, Kafka has been compared to a literary Woody Allen.In The Trial Joseph K is relentlessly hunted for a crime that remains nameless. The Castle follows K in his ceaseless attempts to enter the castle and to belong somewhere.In Amerika Karl Rossmann also finds himself isolated and confused when he is ''packed off to America by his parents''. Here, ordinary immigrants are also strange, and ''America'' is never quite as real as it seems. THE CLASSIC TRANSLATION BY WILLA AND EDWIN MUIRTrade ReviewHe 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 NabokovKafka described with wonderful imaginative power the future concentration camps, the future instability of the law, the future absolutism of the state, the paralysed, inadequately motivated, floundering lives of the many individual people; everything appeared as a nightmare and with the confusion and inadequacy of a nightmare -- Bertolt Brecht

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Book SynopsisJohn Wilder is in his mid-thirties, a successful salesman with a place in the country, an adoring wife and a ten-year-old son.But something is wrong. His family no longer interests him, his infidelities are leading him nowhere and he has begun to drink too much. Then one night, something inside John snaps and he calls his wife to tell her that he isn''t coming home...Trade ReviewA devastating story that won't let go * Boston Globe *A magnificent writer * The Times *

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Book SynopsisWhen Elspeth Noblin dies she leaves her beautiful flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina Poole, on the condition that their mother is never allowed to cross the threshold. But until the solicitor''s letter falls through the door of their suburban American home, either Julia nor Valentina knew their aunt existed. The twins hope that in London their own, separate, lives can finally begin but they have no idea that they''ve been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt''s mysterious and elusive lover who lives below them and works in the cemetery itself. As the twins unravel the secrets of their aunt, who doesn''t seem quite ready to leave her flat, even after death, Niffenegger weaves together a delicious and deadly ghost story about love, loss and identity.Trade ReviewDark and delicious -- Tom Adair * Scotsman *What is really satisfying about this novel, like The Time Traveler's Wife, is its depiction of relationships: the process of grief, the transforming power of love * Daily Telegraph *An original, outrageous, and thoroughly enjoyable ghost story * Independent *There may be ghosts, but it's the human stories that glitter * Elle *A rich, involving novel * The Times *

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Book SynopsisAnne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her bestselling novels include Breathing Lessons, The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Ladder of Years, Back When We Were Grown-ups, Digging to America, A Spool of Blue Thread, Clock Dance, Redhead by the Side of the Road and French Braid.In 1989 she won the Pulitzer Prize; in 1994 she was nominated by Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby as 'the greatest novelist writing in English'; and in 2012 she received the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. In 2015 A Spool of Blue Thread was shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize; and in 2020 Redhead by the Side of the Road was longlisted for the Booker Prize.Trade ReviewEnchanting * The Times *Tyler writes stunningly well * Daily Telegraph *Tyler has created a world of imaginary people who are as tangible and as real as one's own friends and relatives * New York Times *Alternatively lyrical and rambunctiously comic * Washington Post *An almost flawless story of love... Moran emerges as a true hero * Los Angeles Times *Tyler is not merely good, she is wickedly goodPure magic, a contemporary fairy tale that overflows with affection, mystery and laughter * Washington Star *

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Book SynopsisIt is January 1819, and Captain Adam Bolitho ships out from Falmouth bound for Freetown, on the old the slave coast of Africa. H.M.S. Onward carries sealed orders in the strongbox below deck. But why all the secrecy and apparent urgency? And why Onward, so soon after the Mediterranean, and that bloody action with Nautilus? On their way back into port having completed their mission, the crew of the Onward spy the debris of an allied frigate, destroyed as if taken by surprise. Bodies are strewn among the shark-infested waters and no enemy in sight. A single word frozen on the lips of the dead. Mutiny. The men begin to question who is friend and who is foe. All is not well aboard the Onward; envy and hunger for power consume some of the crew, but they must band together and risk their lives, in the name of the King. A searing and gripping tale of trouble on the high seas, and of the weakness of the human spirit, In the King''s Name<Trade ReviewOne of our foremost writers of naval fiction... authentic, inspiring, well characterised and, finally, moving * Sunday Times *Excellent...comparable to the wonderful Hornblower novels. Kent describes characters and actions with great clarity and skill * Independent on Sunday *The storytelling has an easy mastery, how well Kent knows the psychology of navalmen * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisMario Puzo was born in New York. He is the author of the bestselling novel The Godfather and many other acclaimed novels. Puzo also wrote many screenplays, including those for the three Godfather movies, for which he won two academy awards. He died at his home in Long Island, New York, at the age of seventy-eight.Trade ReviewHugely effective fiction ... [Puzo] keeps his pack with readers to unfailingly deliver the goods * Literary Review *Here is all the classic material of Mafia mythology ... spins a spell all its own * The Times *Puzo's genius was to create a world so thick with personality and acknowledged rules of behaviour, along with its crime and violence, that reading his books becomes a seriously guilty pleasure * New York Post *

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Book SynopsisMario Puzo was born in New York. He is the author of the bestselling novel The Godfather and many other acclaimed novels. Puzo also wrote many screenplays, including those for the three Godfather movies, for which he won two academy awards. He died at his home in Long Island, New York, at the age of seventy-eight.Trade ReviewThis is a story of love, lust, loyalty and betrayal. It reeks of violence and cynicism. It is about a world without integrity where everybody has a price ... and it is written with such pace and conviction that it is totally believable * The Mail on Sunday *All of Mr Puzo's formidable storytelling talents are on display... a big, fast-paced tale * New York Times Book Review *The Last Don is a return to the pure mythic storytelling form that made The Godfather one of the bestselling novels ever * The Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis1945: a lost German bomber crashes on the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland.Inexplicably, in the midst of World War Two, there are both German and American officers on board.Trade ReviewRather than using excessive language and unnecessary description, Indriðason chooses a minimal style, which drip-feeds the details and keeps the reader guessing... Operation Napoleon is an intriguing novel, bleak and harsh in its description of cold, military narratives -- Sophie Gordon * Aesthetica *There are hints of some of Indridason's trademark motifs-emotionally distant parents, brotherhood, the harsh Icelandic wilderness-but it's clear that he is using Operation Napoleon to address what seems to be a deeply controversial factor in Icelandic life: the US military presence at Keflavik * Euro Crime *An international literary phenomenon - and it's easy to see why. His novels are gripping, authentic, haunting and lyrical -- Harlan Coben

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Book SynopsisIn the high summer of AD 77, laid-back detective Marcus Didius Falco is called upon to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a middle-aged couple who supplied statues to Falco's father, Geminus.Trade ReviewDavis is a prolific and popular writer … Her research has been assiduous and detailed, her commitment to the subject is impressive, and the background detail is often eye-opening -- Hilary Mantel * Observer *One of the best of the current writers in this field -- Donna Leon * The Times *Surely the best historical detective in the business -- Mike Ripley * Daily Telegraph *The whole thing is splendid. It has everything: mystery, pace wit, fascinating scholarship … she brings imperial Rome to life -- Ellis Peters

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Book SynopsisIt''s 1968. Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King are dead. The Mob, Howard Hughes and J Edgar Hoover are in a struggle for America''s soul, drawing into their murderous conspiracies the damned and the soon-to-be damned. WAYNE TEDROW JR: parricide, assassin, dope cooker, mouthpiece for all sides, loyal to none. His journey will take him deeper into the darkness.DWIGHT HOLLY: Hoover''s enforcer and hellish conspirator in terrible crimes. As Hoover''s power wanes, his destiny lurches towards Richard Nixon and self-annihilation.DON CRUTCHFIELD: a kid, a nobody, a wheelman and a private detective who stumbles upon an ungodly conspiracy from which he and the country may never recover.All three men are drawn to women on the opposite side of the political and moral spectrum; all are compromised and ripe for destruction. Blood''s a Rover is an incandescent fusion of fact and fiction, and is James Ellroy''s greatest masterpiece.Trade Review[A] tour de force about the battle for America's soul ... is a monumental work of fiction, ... one of the most original and daring writers alive * Independent on Sunday *[A] stunning, breathless conclusion to the Underworld USA trilogy ... There is no equivalent in contemporary fiction * Uncut *[A] jaw-dropping stand-along work of uncompromising power and authenticity, and the trilogy as a whole is one of the landmarks of American fiction of the last 20 years * The Herald *The classiest act around. Read it and weep - for its utter darkness and yet its stunning sweep and grace * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisThe perfect new job selling houses in the Cotswolds. An ex-lover re-appears. A life adventure awaits from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Recipe for Love, A French Affair and The One Enchanted Evening.''Delicious - gorgeous humour and the lightest of touches'' Sunday TimesThe queen of uplifting, feel good romance.' AJ Pearce''Deliciously enjoyable'' Woman and Home_____________Three years ago, Bella Castle left her home town nursing a broken heart over Dominic Thane.Now she has a new job she loves, selling houses in the Cotswold countryside. And her boyfriend, Nevil, has just proposed.They''re just right for each other, Bella tells herself. So why doesn''t she feel happier?Then Dominic turns up unexpectedly.And Bella begins to ask herself whether Nevil really is her perfect match after all..._____________Trade ReviewTwenty novels in and Katie Fforde has still got it. Bring on book number 21. * Daily Express *Romantic, warm and bursting with charm, this is Katie Fforde at her finest… reading this book is indulging in storytelling at its best. * Woman's Own *A wonderful warm-hearted escapist read – just the thing for a lazy spring afternoon. * Woman & Home *A perfect match for an afternoon curled up on the sofa! * Fabulous magazine (Sun) *A great read for lovers of modern women’s fiction. * OK! *

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Book SynopsisThomas Pynchon is the author of V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, Slow Learner, a collection of short stories, Vineland, Mason and Dixon and, most recently, Against the Day. He received the National Book Award for Gravity's Rainbow in 1974.Trade ReviewHilarious and thought-provoking * London Review of Books *Brilliant and brain boggling by turns * Daily Mail *Inherent Vice works brilliantly as both a neon-lit noir and as a psychedelic lament to the Sixties * Sunday Telegraph *The greatest, wildest author of his generation * Guardian *The intellectual game-play is characteristically dazzling...colourful and pleasurable * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisKarin Slaughter is one of the world's most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her nineteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant NewYork Times bestselling novels Pretty Girls, The Good Daughter, and Pieces of Her.Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project-a nonprofit organisation established to support libraries and library programming.For more information visit KarinSlaughter.comAuthorKarinSlaughter@SlaughterKarinTrade ReviewA great read ... crime fiction at its finestA complex and confident thriller in which character goes deep * Daily Mirror *With Blindsighted, Karin Slaughter left a great many thriller writers looking anxiously over their shoulders. With Kisscut, she leaves most of them behindSlaughter's plotting is relentless, piling on surprises and twists ... [Kisscut] should come with a psychological health warning * Guardian *Fast-paced and unsettling ... A compelling and fluid read * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisDavid Lodge (CBE)'s novels include Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work (shortlisted for the Booker) and, most recently, A Man of Parts. He has also written plays and screenplays, and several books of literary criticism. His works have been translated into more than thirty languages. He is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at Birmingham, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and is a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.Trade ReviewFull of delights... His view of our neuroses is sane, intelligent and amused -- John Mortimer * Sunday Times *Energetic, comic...a highly ingenious games-board of moves and counter-moves * Sunday Telegraph *Lodge remains one of the very best English comic novelists of the post-war era; and Therapy is good for you * Time Out *Takes off on wings of humour and pathos which would not have disgraced Lodge's great hero Dickens... A splendid novel * Daily Express *A real treat...a joy - a sobering joy, but a joy none the less * Observer *

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Book SynopsisAnil''s Ghost transports us to Sri Lanka, a country steeped in centuries of tradition, now forced into the late twentieth century by the ravages of a bloody civil war. Enter Anil Tissera, a young woman and forensic anthropologist born in Sri Lanka but educted in the West, sent by an international human rights group to identify the victims of the murder campaigns sweeping the island.When Anil discovers that the bones found in an ancient burial site are in fact those of a much more recent victim, her search for the terrible truth hidden in her homeland begins. What follows is a story about love, about family, about identity - a story driven by a riventing mystery.Trade ReviewThere is much to astonish, to disturb and to admire in this dense book... a rare triumph * Guardian *This is why I read, this is why literature matters, this, in short, is IT!... By the closing pages Anil's Ghost has come as close to a holy book as a novel ever should * Independent *A deeply felt and highly accomplished survey of devastated paradise... which both plunges you into the carnage of Sri Lanka's civil war and keeps you aware of the island's past splendours of civilisation. Barbarity and art hauntingly mingle in this fine book * Sunday Times *It is Ondaatje's extraordinary achievement to use magic in order to make the blood of his own country real... Nowhere has he written more beautifully * New York Times Book Review *A truly wondrous book... I was as enthralled as I have not been since The English Patient -- Ariel Dorfman, author of Death and the Maiden

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Book SynopsisIn 1978, Haruki Murakami was 29 and running a jazz bar in downtown Tokyo. One April day, the impulse to write a novel came to him suddenly while watching a baseball game. That first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won a new writers' award and was published the following year. More followed, including A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but it was Norwegian Wood, published in 1987, which turned Murakami from a writer into a phenomenon. His books became bestsellers, were translated into many languages, including English, and the door was thrown wide open to Murakami's unique and addictive fictional universe.Murakami writes with admirable discipline, producing ten pages a day, after which he runs ten kilometres (he began long-distance running in 1982 and has participated in numerous marathons and races), works on translations, and then reads, listens to records and cooks. His passions colour his non-fiction output, from What I Talk About When I Talk About Running to Absolutely On Music, and they also seep into his novels and short stories, providing quotidian moments in his otherwise freewheeling flights of imaginative inquiry. In works such as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, 1Q84 and Men Without Women, his distinctive blend of the mysterious and the everyday, of melancholy and humour, continues to enchant readers, ensuring Murakami's place as one of the world's most acclaimed and well-loved writers.Trade ReviewNorwegian Wood is Japan's The Catcher in the Rye * Daily Telegraph *Everyone who reads Norwegian Wood runs out to buy copies for friends and lovers... Drawing on Fitzgerald, Capote, Chandler and the Japanese tradition, his books are at once disarmingly direct and slyly, charmingly evasive. They are playful and melancholy; full of wrong turns and red herrings, corridors that lead nowhere and - above all - girls who disappear * Guardian *A masterly novel. . . . Norwegian Wood bears the unmistakable marks of Murakami's hand * The New York Times Book Review *This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows * Independent on Sunday *Catches the absorption and giddy rush of adolescent love... It is also, for all the tragic momentum and the apparently kamikaze consciousness of many of its characters, often funny and quirkily observed. Quietly compulsive and finally moving * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER OF THE CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER (award for the best crime novel by a debut author)A dark and powerful debut novel set in the hardscrabble American heartlands.''If I knew for a certain'ty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life...''After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral eleven-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy's profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and caution, Pete slowly earns a measure of trust from this paranoid survivalist itching for a final conflict that will signal the coming End Times. But as Pete's own family spins out of control, Jeremiah's activities spark the full-blown interest of the FBI, putting Pete at the centre of a massive manhunt from which no one will emerge unscatTrade ReviewThis book left me awestruck; a stunning debut which reads like the work of a writer at the height of his power. Begins with the story of one struggling man and his family and soon seems to encompass and address all of modern America’s problems. Fourth of July Creek is a masterful achievement and Smith Henderson is certain to end up a household name. -- Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The SonAn impressive book – deeply so. [Cormac] McCarthy’s shadow may loom heavy across the prose, but the story this prose conveys, and the manner in which Henderson unfurls it, bears its own unalloyed power … It’s Pearl’s story, more than anything else, that lock this novel in your hands … [A] trenchant and vigorously empathetic novel. * New York Times Book Review *An intense, mesmerising book that uses this surprisingly intimate relationship to explore grand themes about American culture ... Devastating and inspiring. * The Economist *Stunning debut novel … that crackles and lurches with the intensity of a Tom Waits song. Here, at the beginning of his career, Henderson has come within shouting distance of writing a great American novel. * Guardian *It’s hard to believe that this is a first novel. Confidence verging on swagger leaks out of every page. It is a big fat all-American epic that has earned its place on airport bookshelves for many months to come…Think Cold Mountain but with more action…The conclusion has all the surprise of a great detective story. Henderson has created an instant classic. * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisDeals with the English upper-class misbehaving that is set against a backdrop of intrigue in Athens, radicalism in Cambridge, turmoil in India and movie-making in Corfu. This volume includes: "The Judas Boy", "Places Where they Sing", "Sound the Retreat", and "Come Like Shadows".Trade ReviewEach of the novels in Alms for Oblivion is an elegant morality tale, beautifully composed, sparkling with appreciation of the sheer limitless variety of human wickedness * TLS *Turn to Raven and revel in his mischievious, malicious world * Observer *A ready made cult waiting to be discovered * Spectator *His world is as original and surrealist as P. G. Wodehouse's, an alligator swamp in the homely back garden where all manner of nasty things hatch out * Guardian *Brisk, bawdy and reckless * Evening Standard *An extraordinary novelist...magnificent * Mail on Sunday *Confident, worldly-wise, insolently comic... a highly entertaining narrative style * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis''Brisk, bawdy and reckless'' Evening Standard''A freak writer, he defies classification. In wilder moments he suggests a loose, lunatic collaboration of Trollope, Ouida and Waugh'' ObserverThe Alms for Oblivion sequence - an extraordinary series of murders, suicides, affairs, fighting, fires and at least one explosion, blackmail, gambling, illness, madness, lots of parties and plenty of sex - draws to a close with two novels about death and retribution. But Simon Raven''s achievement and the conflicted, colourful or uniquely vile characters he created are not easily forgotten after the last page is turned. Volume III includes Bring Forth the Body and The Survivors''There are some people who consider the greatest cycle of twentieth-century novels to be Anthony Powell''s A Dance to the Music of Time. These people are wrong. Widmerpool and his joyless accomplices are as nothing compared to the cTrade ReviewMajestic, scurrilous and scabrous... Raven's novels are joyous in their characterisation, wit and erudition....truffling in the fertile fields of soldiery, academia, business, politics and publishing. Raven's world - the upper middle class and upper class - is peopled by some of the vilest, funniest characters in English literature. * Observer *A ready made cult waiting to be discovered * Spectator *A truly powerful vision of evil and corruption. This is an achievement which can hardly be dismissed as mere entertainment * Times Literary Supplement *Exciting, sleazy, cynical and funny... Indulgently bizarre sex scenes rub shoulders with sharply observed human dilemmas and relentlessly exposed psychological and political manipulation * Sunday Times *His world is as original and surrealist as P. G. Wodehouse's, an alligator swamp in the homely back garden where all manner of nasty things hatch out * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis** The inspiration for the NETFLIX original series Young Wallander - out now **When Kurt Wallander first appeared in Faceless Killers, he was a senior police officer, just turned forty, with his life in a mess. His wife had left him, his father barely acknowledged him; he ate badly and drank alone at night.The Pyramid chronicles the events that led him to such a place. We see him in the early years, doing hours on the beat whilst trying to solve a murder off-duty; witness the beginnings of his fragile relationship with Mona, the woman he has his heart set on marrying; and learn the reason behind his difficulties with his father. These thrilling tales provide a fascinating insight into Wallander''s character, from the stabbing of a neighbour in 1969 to a light aircraft accident in 1989, every story is a vital piece of the Wallander series, showing Mankell at the top of his game. Featuring an introduction from the author, The PyraTrade ReviewMankell is the master of Scandinavian crime, much imitated, never bettered * Independent *An excellent collection * New York Times *[A] brilliant collection of stories from the grand master of chilly Scandinavian crime * Daily Mirror *Absorbing... A good book for newcomers to start with * Daily Telegraph *The master of the long, dark night * Crime Time *

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Book SynopsisJAMES PATTERSON is one of the best-known and biggest-selling writers of all time. Among his creations are some of the world's most popular series including Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Michael Bennett and the Private novels. He has written many other number one bestsellers including collaborations with President Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, stand-alone thrillers and non-fiction. James has donated millions in grants to independent bookshops and has been the most borrowed adult author in UK libraries for the past fourteen years in a row. He lives in Florida with his family.

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Book SynopsisIt was a holiday to die for.FBI agent John O'Hara receives a call from a man desperate for his help. His son and daughter-in-law have been found murdered on their honeymoon in the Caribbean.The grieving father wants justice, and will pay O'Hara handsomely to hunt down the killer.Federal agents aren't allowed to moonlight, but O'Hara is on suspension and battling some serious demons. He takes on the case. But as O'Hara delves deeper and the body count rises, a past he thought was dead and buried comes back to haunt him...

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Book Synopsis____________________________NYPD Red - the task force attacking the most extreme crimes in America''s most extreme city - hunts a killer who is on an impossible mission.A vigilante serial killer is on the loose in New York City, tracking down and murdering people whose crimes have not been punished. The number of victims grows, and many New Yorkers secretly applaud the idea of justice won at any price.NYPD Red Detective Zach Jordan and his partner Kylie MacDonald are put on the case when a woman of vast wealth and even greater connections disappears. Zach and Kylie have to find what''s really behind this murderer''s rampage while political and personal secrets of the highest order hang in the balance. But Kylie has been acting strange recently - and Zach knows whatever she''s hiding could threaten the biggest case of their careers.

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