Contemporary Fiction Books

Book Synopsis'A remarkable evocation of hidden aspects of the medieval world... Kiner blends unfamiliar history with a compelling account of women struggling in a society determined to shackle them' - Sunday Times, Historical Fiction Book of the MonthIt's 1310 and Paris is alive with talk of the trial of the Templars. Religious repression is on the rise, and the smoke of execution pyres blackens the sky above the city. But sheltered behind the walls of Paris's great beguinage, a community of women are still free to work, study and live their lives away from the domination of men.When a wild, red-haired child clothed in rags arrives at the beguinage gate one morning, with a sinister Franciscan monk on her tail, she sets in motion a chain of events that will shatter the peace of this little world-plunging it into grave danger...

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Book SynopsisAn ever-surprising and stylistically diverse anthology that will surely stand as the touchstone collection of Korean literature for decades to come' Literary ReviewThis eclectic, moving and wonderfully enjoyable collection is the essential introduction to Korean literature. Journeying through Korea's dramatic twentieth century, from the Japanese occupation and colonial era to the devastating war between North and South and the rapid, disorienting urbanization of later decades, The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories captures a hundred years of Korea's vibrant short-story tradition. Here are peddlers and donkeys travelling across moonlit fields; artists drinking and debating in the tea-houses of 1920s Seoul; soldiers fighting for survival; exiles from the war who can never go home again; and lonely men and women searching for connection in the dizzying modern city. The collection features stories by some of Korea's greatest writers, including Pak Wanso, O Chonghui and Cho Chongnae, as well as many brilliant contemporary voices, such as P'yon Hyeyong, Han Yujoo and Kim Aeran. Curated by Bruce Fulton, this is a volume that will surprise, unsettle and delight. Edited by Bruce FultonWith an introduction by Kwon Youngmin

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Book SynopsisThree perfect strangers who help each other to believe in themselves againWhat they don't know is that they are going to burst into each other's world and turn each other's lives upside down. What they don't know is that strangers can become friends. And that love can happen in the most unexpected ways.

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Book SynopsisWhat was it they were battling? Their smallness, of course, their smallness. A delicate and arresting queer novel from one of Korea's most celebrated contemporary writers d, a nonbinary gig worker living in Seoul, briefly escapes the grasp of isolation when they meet dd, only to be ensnared by grief when dd dies in a car accident. Meanwhile, the world around them reckons with the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster that left more than 300 dead. As formally inventive as it is evocative, dd's Umbrella is composed of twin novellas. The first is told from the perspective of d, and the second from the perspective of a writer researching a book they may never write. Both figures dwell in society's margins-queer, working-class, and part of nontraditional family structures. As people across Korea come together to protest the government's handling of the Sewol ferry disaster, and to impeach the right-wing president in office, the novel examines how progressive movements coexist with social exclusion, particularly of women and sexual minorities, invisibilised in service of the 'greater cause'. dd's Umbrella is a meditative and off-centre novel about mourning and revolution.

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Book SynopsisJames Herbert was not just Britain's number one bestselling writer of chiller fiction, a position he held ever since publication of his first novel, but was also one of our greatest popular novelists. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his twenty-three novels have sold more than fifty-four million copies worldwide, and have been translated into over thirty languages, including Russian and Chinese. In 2010, he was made the Grand Master of Horror by the World Horror Convention and was also awarded an OBE by the Queen for services to literature. His final novel was Ash. James Herbert died in March 2013.

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Book Synopsis'Set at a time of lengthening shadows, this is a novel about the sparks that illuminate the dark: of wisdom, compassion, defiance and courage. It is wry, piercing and also, fittingly, radiant.' Daily MailFrom Robert Seethaler, the author of the Man Booker International shortlisted A Whole Life, comes a deeply moving story of ordinary lives profoundly affected by the Third Reich, in the tradition of novels such as Fred Uhlman's classic Reunion, Bernhard Schlink's The Reader and Rachel Seiffert's The Dark Room.When seventeen-year-old Franz exchanges his home in the idyllic beauty of the Austrian lake district for the bustle of Vienna, his homesickness quickly dissolves amidst the thrum of the city. In his role as apprentice to the elderly tobacconist Otto Trsnyek, he will soon be supplying the great and good of Vienna with their newspapers and cigarettes. Among the regulars is a Professor Freud, whose predilection for cigars and occasional willingness to dispense romantic advice will forge a bond between him and young Franz.It is 1937. In a matter of months Germany will annex Austria and the storm that has been threatening to engulf the little tobacconist will descend, leaving the lives of Franz, Otto and Professor Freud irredeemably changed.Trade ReviewSet at a time of lengthening shadows, this is a novel about the sparks that illuminate the dark: of wisdom, compassion, defiance and courage. It is wry, piercing and also, fittingly, radiant. * Daily Mail *Seethaler blends tragedy and whimsy to create a bittersweet picture of youthful ideals getting clobbered by external forces. The result is a little like Great Expectations, only with dachshunds and strudel. * Observer *Essential reading for the early years of the 21st century. * Scotland on Sunday *[The Tobacconist’s] portrayal of pre-war Vienna is tender and elegiac. There are echoes of Arthur Schnitzler in Fran’z feverish obsession with Anezka, Ödön von Horváth in minor characters such as the neighbouring butcher who denounces the tobacconist to the Gestapo, and Robert Musil in the texture of the city. The moment when the frail, ill Dr Freud boards the train for London is an elegy for the cultural and intellectual glory of early twentieth-century Vienna . . . The Tobacconist remains unwavering in its quiet, understated style and it is all the more devastating for it. * Times Literary Supplement *Told with a dry wit that enhances, rather than disguises, the sadness of its story, The Tobacconist is a touching miniature of an ordinary life irrevocably altered by the larger forces of history. * Sunday Times *Robert Seethaler's The Tobacconist is a poignant, tragic look at the creeping rise of fascism in Vienna before the outbreak of the Second World War. Told with humor and pity, the novel expertly depicts how easy it is to find, and lose, one's place in the world . . . [The Tobacconist] brilliantly demonstrates how even small actions can give a person meaning in the face of dire threats. * Shelf Awareness *I enjoyed Robert Seethaler’s The Tobacconist. The novel sets up a tiny tobacconist’s shop in 1930s Vienna as a window on to a street, a city and a continent, all drifting into conflict. -- Ed Smith * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisA Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Sharon Guskin's The Forgetting Time is a gripping yet heartfelt mystery and a beautiful tale of the bond between mother and child.Noah is a little boy who knows things he shouldn't and remembers things he should have forgotten. Because as well as being a four-year-old called Noah, he remembers being a nine-year-old called Tommy.He remembers his house.His family.His mother.And now he wants to go home.Two boys. Two mothers.One unforgettable story . . .'When I wasn't reading Sharon Guskin's The Forgetting Time, I was itching to return to it' – Jodi Picoult, author of Small Great Things. Trade ReviewIf you took to The Lovely Bones, you'll be completely engrossed by The Forgetting Time * InStyle *When I wasn't reading The Forgetting Time, I was itching to return to it. Provocative, evocative, and fresh, Guskin's book is an explosive debut -- Jodi PicoultIrresistible . . . Part mystery and part meditation on a mother's love for her child, this clever, heartfelt book kept me turning pages long into the night * Kate Morton *For fans of The Lovely Bones, this psychological mystery will have you hooked until the case is closed * Cosmopolitan *A beautiful tale of the bond between a mother and her young son as well as a gripping mystery . . . Reading The Forgetting Time becomes a personal journey as you try to remember all that you've forgotten -- Diane ChamberlainOriginal, gripping and moving -- you'll be hooked from the start * Essentials Magazine *A truly remarkable, dizzying and exquisite page-turner -- Téa ObrehtAmazing . . . An epic story about relationships * Elle *Gripping, deft and moving * New York Times *The Forgetting Time is about memory and forgetting, grieving and letting go, and the lengths a mother will go to for her child -- Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan TrainA magical, wise, page-turner of a novel that brings to mind the early work of Alice Hoffman. -- Dani Shapiro, bestselling author of DevotionThe kind of book that will make you do a big ugly cry * Red Online *A bold, captivating debut . . . Guskin amps up the suspense while raising provovative questions about the maternal bond and its limits . . . You'll be mesmerized * People Magazine *Provocative and suspenseful * BBC.com *A spellbinding ride. Guskin's beautifully rendered and wonderfully told novel explores the mysteries of how we connect to one another in the deepest of ways. An amazing book -- Mary Morris, author of The Jazz PalaceA cracking read * Prima *Readers will be galvanized by Guskin's sharply realized and sympathetic characters with all their complications, contradictions, failures, sorrows, and hope. * Booklist *Captivating * Book of the Month, Candis *A near perfect book club read. It has the essential ingredient: a controversial theme guaranteed to provoke discussion among readers (a trait it shares with Jodi Picoult's bestsellers) * The Bookseller *A compelling, dynamic, and intriguing debut novel * American Booksellers Association *Like Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, at its core it really is just superb fiction * The Herald *

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Book SynopsisThe seventh enchanting novel in the Lucky Harbor series from New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis, laced with her trademark gift for humour, warmth and romance. Fans of Susan Andersen, Bella Andre, Rachel Gibson, Carly Phillips, and Susan Mallery will fall head over heels for the Lucky Harbor series.Ali Winters is not having a good day. Her boyfriend left her, everyone in town thinks she''s a thief, and now she''s about to be kicked out of her home. Her only shot at keeping a roof over her head and clearing her name is to beg for help from a police detective who''s as sexy as he is stern...After a high-profile case goes wrong, Luke Hanover returns to his hometown for some peace and quiet. Instead he finds a bombshell brunette in a heap of trouble. As he helps Ali put her world back together, the pieces of Luke''s own life finally seem to fall into place. Is this the start of a sizzling fling? Or are Luke and Ali on the brink ofTrade ReviewI loved the sexual tension, the great dialogue, and the well-developed characters. Any book by Jill Shalvis is guaranteed to be a hit! * The Romance Studio *Anyone remember those funny, fluttering butterfly feelings you get when you're in love for the first time? [T]hat is what I felt while I was reading Animal Magnetism. If you love a true romance with amazing characters that leave you wanting more, go out and grab a copy of Animal Magnetism. It is so worth it! * Joyfully Reviewed *Jill Shalvis is such a talented author that she brings to life characters who make you laugh, cry, and are a joy to read * Romance Reviews Today *Humor, intrigue, and scintillating sex. Jill Shalvis is a total original -- Suzanne Forster, New York Times bestselling authorFast-paced and deliciously fun . . . Jill Shalvis sweeps you away -- Cherry Adair, New York Times bestselling authorRiveting suspense laced with humor and heart is her hallmark, and Jill Shalvis always delivers -- Donna Kauffman, USA Today bestselling authorWitty, fun, and sexy - the perfect romance! -- Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling authorEngaging writing, characters that walk straight into your heart, touching, hilarious * Library Journal *Humor, intrigue, and scintillating sex. Jill Shalvis is a total original -- Suzanne Forster, New York Times bestselling authorAnyone remember those funny, fluttering butterfly feelings you get when you're in love for the first time? [T]hat is what I felt while I was reading Animal Magnetism. If you love a true romance with amazing characters that leave you wanting more, go out and grab a copy of Animal Magnetism.It is so worth it! * Joyfully Reviewed *If you have not read a Jill Shalvis novel yet, then you really have not read a real romance yet either! * Book Cove Reviews *I always enjoy reading a Jill Shalvis book. She's a consistently elegant, bold, clever writer . . . Very witty - I laughed out loud countless times and these scenes are sizzling * All About Romance *From beginning to end, Animal Magnetism is a captivating story that will have you laughing out loud, rooting for a happy ending for Lilah and Brady, and hoping that this won't be your last visit to Sunshine * Romance Reviews Today *I loved the sexual tension, the great dialogue, and the well-developed characters. Any book by Jill Shalvis is guaranteed to be a hit! * The Romance Studio *What I love about Jill Shalvis's books is that she writes sexy, adorable heroes . . . the sexual tension is out of this world. And of course, in true Shalvis fashion, she expertly mixes in humor that has you laughing out loud * Heroes and Heartbreakers *[Shalvis] has quickly become one of my go-to authors of contemporary romance. Her writing is smart, fun, and sexy, and her books never fail to leave a smile on my face long after I've closed the last page . . . Jill Shalvis is an author not to be missed! * The Romance Dish *Packed with the trademark Shalvis humor and intense intimacy, it is definitely a must-read . . . If love, laughter and passion are the keys to any great romance, then this novel hits every note * Romantic Times *Heartwarming and sexy . . . an abundance of chemistry, smoldering romance, and hilarious antics * Publishers Weekly *Heartwarming and sexy . . . an abundance of chemistry, smoldering romance, and hilarious antics * Publishers Weekly *Packed with the trademark Shalvis humor and intense intimacy, it is definitely a must-read . . . If love, laughter and passion are the keys to any great romance, then this novel hits every note * Romantic Times *[Shalvis] has quickly become one of my go-to authors of contemporary romance. Her writing is smart, fun, and sexy, and her books never fail to leave a smile on my face long after I've closed the last page . . . Jill Shalvis is an author not to be missed! * The Romance Dish *What I love about Jill Shalvis's books is that she writes sexy, adorable heroes . . . the sexual tension is out of this world. And of course, in true Shalvis fashion, she expertly mixes in humor that has you laughing out loud * Heroes and Heartbreakers *I always enjoy reading a Jill Shalvis book. She's a consistently elegant, bold, clever writer . . . Very witty - I laughed out loud countless times and these scenes are sizzling * All About Romance *If you have not read a Jill Shalvis novel yet, then you really have not read a real romance yet either! * Book Cove Reviews *Engaging writing, characters that walk straight into your heart, touching, hilarious * Library Journal *Witty, fun, and sexy - the perfect romance! -- Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling authorRiveting suspense laced with humor and heart is her hallmark, and Jill Shalvis always delivers -- Donna Kauffman, USA Today bestselling authorFast-paced and deliciously fun . . . Jill Shalvis sweeps you away -- Cherry Adair, New York Times bestselling author

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Book SynopsisComplications is a riveting story of scandal and tragedy set against the backdrop of an exclusive Paris hotel from the world’s favourite storyteller, Danielle SteelKnown for its luxury and discrete service, the Hotel Louis XVI in Paris has attracted an international clientele of the rich and famous for many decades. Now, after extensive renovation and under new management, an esteemed group of loyal returning guests is set to descend upon the hotel, joined by a group of new faces who have managed to secure coveted reservations. Anxiously awaiting the guests is the new manager, Olivier Bateau, and his assistant, Yvonne Philippe. Both strive to continue the hotel’s tradition for excellence but even they were not prepared for what happened on that September evening.A successful art consultant arrives to seek solace after a brutal divorce and is surprised to find new love. A new guest contemplates ending his life and ends up saving someone else’s. A high-profile politician’s career will be tarnished with scandal after a mystery meeting conducted at the hotel. And a couple will find their once-in-a-lifetime trip struck by a medical emergency, leaving the future they’ve longed for hanging in the balance.Rocked by the events of this one fateful night, guests and staff alike brace themselves for the aftershock, as it quickly becomes apparent that there is much more drama in store . . .Danielle Steel tells an unforgettable story about a famed hotel, where a few complications quickly escalate into a matter of life and death, changing the lives of everyone who passes through its doors.

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Book SynopsisIn the days leading up to Christmas, Dómhildur delivers her 1,922nd baby. Beginnings and endings are her family trade; she comes from a long line of midwives on her mother's side and a long line of undertakers on her father's. She even lives in the apartment that she inherited from her grandaunt, a midwife with a unique reputation for her unconventional methods. As a terrible storm races towards Reykjavik, Dómhildur discovers decades worth of letters and manuscripts hidden amongst her grandaunt's clutter. Fielding calls from her anxious meteorologist sister and visits from her curious new neighbour, Dómhildur escapes into her grandaunt's archive and discovers strange and beautiful reflections on birth, death and human nature. For even in the depths of an Icelandic winter, new life will find a way.Trade Review'Charming, funny and deeply wise, Animal Life brought me nose to nose with life and death, and the earthy, transcendent business of pregnancy and birth. In prose spare yet rich, reminiscent for me of Tove Jansson, the quirky wisdom of this ancestral trio of midwives is both heart-warming and thought-provoking. I loved it' - Jo Browning Wroe, author of the Sunday Times bestseller A Terrible Kindness'A strange, soothing contemplation of life and death through the eyes of one compellingly unique family. One of those small stories that manages to feel very big indeed' - Bobby Palmer, author of Isaac and the Egg'I found Animal Life a quirky, elusive and unique book, and rather heartwarming' - Nick Bradley, author of The Cat and The City'Olafsdottir is at her best when sharing the histories of midwives . . . Nothing much happens, but only in the way that one could say nothing much happens on any given day, the rhythms of which the author captures perfectly. The result is a rich slice of life' - Publishers Weekly

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Book Synopsis'A dramatic, warm-hearted, wonderfully written read.' DAILY MAIL 'Gorgeous' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'A gripping read' HELLO!Sunday Times bestseller Rachel Hore’s captivating new novel of secrets, loss and betrayal - set on the beautiful Cornish coast during World War Two and the heady days of the 1960s. When talented musician Gray Robinson persuades Belle to abandon her university studies and follow him to Silverwood, home to an artistic community on the Cornish coast, Belle happily agrees even though they’ve only just met. She knows she is falling in love, and the thought of spending a carefree summer with Gray is all she can think about.   But being with Gray isn’t the only reason Belle agrees to accompany him to Silverwood.   Why does the name Silverwood sound so familiar? What is its conneTrade Review‘Another gripping read by bestselling author Rachel Hore, set on the Cornish coast during the Second World War and the 1960s’ HELLO! ‘This complex, thoughtful novel features two interlocking stories in different timeframes. Themes of family, self-determination and passionate love make for a dramatic, warm-hearted, wonderfully written read.’ DAILY MAIL ‘Gorgeous’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING ‘Packed with secrets, heartbreak and lies’ YOURS ‘A powerfully emotional book that gripped me on every page. Superb!’ KATE FURNIVALL ‘An intriguing dual timeline story set in beautiful Cornwall and brimming with sense of place. A gorgeous tale, I raced through the pages!’ TRACY REES 'A glorious story, The Hidden Years steals your heart. I loved it!’ LIZ FENWICK

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Book Synopsis'Sparkling... funny, it is also cutting, a nearly forensic study of family conflict... both compulsively readable and thought-provoking.' New York TimesThe Oppenheimer triplets have been reared with every advantage: wealth, education, and the determined attention of at least one of their parents. But they have been desperate to escape each other ever since they were born.Now, on the verge of their departure for college and so close to their long-coveted freedom, the triplets are forced to contend with an unexpected complication: a fourth Oppenheimer sibling has just been born. What has possessed their parents to make such an unfathomable decision? The triplets can't begin to imagine the the power this little latecomer is about to exert - nor just how destructive she'll be to their plans . . .'Korelitz draws us in again, this time with her ease, grace and wit, in a satisfying novel that spans generations, lives, and fates.' Meg WTrade Review'Remarkable.' - Stephen King, on The Plot'It keeps you guessing and wondering, and also keeps you thinking. ' - TheNew York Times Book Review, on The Plot

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Book SynopsisFrom New York Times bestselling author of My Best Friend's Exorcism, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and The Final Girl Support Group, Grady Hendrix takes a break from horror and goes all-in on sci-fi in this novella about backyard rocket jockeys trying to get into low earth orbit.Melville, South Carolina was out of money, it was out of jobs, it was out of hope, and today it was out of astronauts. There were only two to begin with, and now one is stuck on the abandoned International Space Station after his mission went south. With NASA's budget cut to the bone, there's no one to bring him back home, so everyone is only too happy to ignore this embarrassing sign of American Failure and just let him die. But his cousin, Walter Reddie, isn't going to let that happen.Tanked on vodka, living on a "farm" whose only crop is cars on cinderblocks, Walter's a wash-out from the Shuttle Program and he'll be damned if he's going to let his cousin die in the sky like a dog. And so he begins to build a rocket. If America won't rescue its astronauts, he'll do it himself.Violating numerous laws, good taste, common sense, logic, and reason, Walter becomes a lightning rod for people who aren't ready to give up. His farm is transformed into the promised land for misfits, drifters, rocket junkies, pyromaniacs, dreamers, science nerds, and astro-hippies who believe that space shouldn't just be for billionaires. But it won't be easy. Chances are good they'll blow themselves up, get arrested, or kill each other before they ever get into orbit.

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Book SynopsisFear is just the beginning...Kristin Burns has lived her life by the philosophy, ''don''t think, just shoot'' - pictures that is. Struggling to make ends meet, she works full time as nanny to the fabulously wealthy Turnbull family, looking after their two children and waiting for her life as a New York fashion photographer to begin.But Kristin has a major distraction: forbidden love. The man of her dreams is almost hers for keeps. Kristin ignores all signs of catastrophe brewing, and she can only dismiss the warnings for so long...

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Book SynopsisThe stories in High Ground are set in ordinary places, in the streets and suburbs and dancehalls of Dublin, the small towns and fields of the midlands, the big houses of the beleaguered Anglo-Irish in the aftermath of their ascendancy, the whole changing country propelled in a generation from the nineteenth into the late twentieth century.

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Book Synopsis**NOW A MAJOR PRIME VIDEO SERIES STARRING ALAN RITCHSON**'All [Reacher thrillers] are ripping yarns, but since this is the first, it seems the logical place to start' STEPHEN KINGKilling Floor is the first book in the phenomenal bestselling Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. It introduces Reacher for the first time, as the tough ex-military cop of no fixed abode. Trained to think fast and act faster, he is the perfect action hero for when times get tough.Margrave is a no-account little town in Georgia. Jack Reacher steps off a bus and walks fourteen miles in the rain to reach it, in search of a dead guitar player.But Margrave has just had its first homicide in thirty years. And Reacher is the only stranger in town. He seems the obvious fall guy. As the body count mounts, only one thing is for sure: they picked the wrong guy to frame for murder.'Races along, spattering blood and body parts on the way' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'These books are absolutely addictive. When you pick them up you can't put them down' GEORGE R.R. MARTIN_________Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Killing Floor is the first book in the internationally popular series.And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.27, No Plan B! ***OUT NOW***

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Book SynopsisA poetic work of fiction on the one hand, an autobiography on the other, The Life of Rebecca Jones is about one family's passage through the twentieth century. A fictional elegy to a threatened way of life.Trade ReviewAngharad Price's reflection of family history through the prism of fiction is a restrained, lyrical tour de force . . . Shot through with meditations on blindness and insight, this account of one family's passage through the twentieth century is skilfully rendered with grace and quiet power. -- Owen Sheers'How does it feel to write a classic novel? This is what Angharad Price has managed with The Life of Rebecca Jones' Tom Payne, Telegraph. * Telegraph *Angharad Price's reflection of family history through the prism of fiction is a restrained, lyrical tour de force . . . Shot through with meditations on blindness and insight, this account of one family's passage through the twentieth century is skilfully rendered with grace and quiet power. -- Owen Sheers

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Book Synopsis Ginny is about to turn 32. It’s a year she’s been thinking about for a long time because sixteen years ago she crossed paths with a psychic who made some key predictions about her thirty-second year . . . Three Bad Things: A heartbreak, a loss of independence and a death. Three Good Things: A life-changing trip, reconnecting with someone and meeting her soulmate. It's all nonsense – obviously! Especially since Ginny is getting married in a month. But when some of those pesky predictions start coming true, she finds herself wondering what will happen next . . . 'The perfect laugh-a-minute summer read' STYLIST

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Book SynopsisA festive, feel-good tale about family and new beginnings from the author of Life Before Us and The Restaurant''The many fans of Meaney would be delighted to find this book in their Christmas stocking'' Irish IndependentIt''s three days before Christmas . . .Tilly boards a plane on the other side of the world. She''s determined to reach Roone, a small island off the west coast of Ireland, in time for Christmas Day. Tilly carries a troubling secret and Laura, a woman she''s never met, might be the only one who can help her.Except that Laura has no idea that Tilly exists. And with five children, a mother-in-law stranded on the island and a husband with whom she''s barely on speaking terms, an unexpected Christmas guest is the last thing she needs.As Tilly''s journey brings her ever closer to Roone, a storm is also heading for the island - will she make it in time for Christmas?Trade ReviewThe many fans of Meaney would be delighted to find this book in their Christmas stocking, although I suspect they might be unable to wait that long * Irish Independent *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best NovelSelected by The Sunday Times as one of the top page-turners of summer 2017FROM THE CREATOR OF THE AWARD WINNING FARGO AND LEGION TV SERIES''Hawley''s sublime prose glows on every page in this literary thriller of the highest quality'' Daily MailTHE RICH ARE DIFFERENT. BUT FATE IS BLIND.A private jet plunges into the sea.The only survivors are down-on his luck artist Scott Burroughs and JJ Bateman, the four year old son of a super-rich TV executive.For saving the boy, Scott is suddenly a hero.And then, as the official investigation is rapidly overtaken by a media frenzy, it seems he may also be a villain. Why was he on the plane in the first place, and why did it crash?Trade ReviewHigh-class entertainment. -- John Williams * Mail on Sunday *As a pacey whodunit...this is the perfect summer read. * The Times *This is one of the year's best suspense novels, a mesmerizing, surprise-jammed mystery that works purely on its own, character-driven terms...Mr. Hawley has made it very, very easy to race through his book in a state of breathless suspense. * New York Times *I started and finished Before the Fall in one day. That begins to tell you what kind of smart, compellingly dramatic read it is. So read it. -- James PattersonThere are some books...that stay with you long after you've read them. The characters are so real and because of this their fates matter. Before The Fall by Noah Hawley is one of these books. * Irish Independent *Before the Fall is an astonishing, character-driven tour-de-force. The story is a multi-layered, immersive examination of truth, relationships, and our unquenchable thirst for the media's immediate explanation of unfathomable tragedy. -- Karin SlaughterAn addictive thriller whose thematic richness is reminiscent of Franzen. * The Sunday Times *A searingly told, multi-layered portrait of celebrity in the modern world with a tantalising mystery at its heart...Hawley's sublime prose glows on every page in this literary thriller of the highest quality, which never loses its grip. * Daily Mail *Hawley combines a thriller's tight structure and addictive narrative with characterisation and thematic richness reminiscent of Jonathan Franzen * The Sunday Times, Pick of the Paperbacks *[A] Literary thriller of genius. -- India Knight

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Longest Holiday comes a heart-warming novel about a woman contemplating her life: Is the grass really greener on the other side of the world?Settling down for a twenty-four-hour flight to Australia, Lucy finds a text message on her phone—not from her boyfriend James, as she fondly hopes, but from a woman claiming to have slept with him four times in the past month. Trapped on the plane, she questions everything about her relationship with James. She finally calls him and he reassures her: it was only his mates playing a silly joke. James is a lawyer, persuasive and gorgeous, and Lucy adores him. So why, at her best friend’s wedding, does she have niggling doubts, and find herself attracted to the bride’s brother-in-law Nathan? The sooner she gets back to her regular life in London, the flat she shares with James, her job in PR, the better. Nathan is just a happy-go-lucky surfer boy, with no prospects, noTrade ReviewPraise for Paige Toon ‘You’ll love it, cry buckets and be uplifted’ MARIAN KEYES ‘Tender, heartbreaking and magical’ GIOVANNA FLETCHER ‘Heart-warming, wistful and full of joy’ LINDSEY KELK ‘Poignant and lovely, warm and wise’ MILLY JOHNSON ‘Family secrets, new horizons and a gorgeous continent-crossing romance... prepare to be swept away!’ LUCY DIAMOND ‘Warm, inspiring, like a holiday mood in book form’ MHAIRI MCFARLANE ‘For smart, romantic fiction, look no further than the new book from bestselling Paige Toon’ RED ‘Achingly romantic and brilliantly written... Five Stars!’ HEAT ‘Simply gorgeous’ SUN ‘You won’t be able to put down this emotional read’ CLOSER ‘Paige Toon is the queen of will-they/won't-they romance, setting up an ending that will leave you in bits’ SUNDAY EXPRESS ‘Full of living-in-the-moment and what-might-have-been contrasts, this tender read pulls at the heart strings’ FABULOUS

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Book SynopsisIn 1789 in Sydney Cove, the remotest penal colony of the British Empire, a group of convicts and one of their captors unite to stage a play.Trade ReviewFormidably good . . . strong, subtle, echoing and profound * The Sunday Times *A magnificent and moving documentary, a tribute to his roots * Mail on Sunday *He seizes with stunning effect on an event far more bizarre than any fiction * New Statesman *An excellent novel * Independent *The literary joy here has more to do with how individual each characterisation is, each one tuned to another note of Keneally's rich, strong prose * Kirkus Reviews *This is Mr Keneally at his best * Daily Telegraph *Punchy, highly intelligent * Financial Times *Mingles meticulous research with lucid characterisation * Daily Mail *The best Australian writer alive * Auberon Waugh *

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Book SynopsisIn a world of magic and illusion, truth and lies, who but Lincoln Rhyme could track down a diabolical killer? The fifth book in Jeffery Deaver's bestselling series is anything but straightforward . . . Now a NBC TV series.Trade ReviewDeaver is the master puzzler * Sunday Telegraph *The Vanished Man more than earns its place on the shelf of "books that keep the reader on the edge of his chair". "You can't fool all of the people all of the time" is the old edict - unless, of course, you're master storyteller Jeffery Deaver * Yorkshire Post *Jeffery Deaver is a master at crafting intricate crimes that are solved through guile, tenacity and sheer creative genius. And Lincoln Rhyme is one of a kind.The best psychological thriller writer around * The Times *One of the world's best plotters - his intricate twists and turns catch out even the hardened thriller reader . . . This is a true master at work - elegant, assured, supremely crafted thriller writing at its very best * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisWhat can you do to make the world a better place?Libby and her husband Jason have moved back to his hometown to turn the family B&B into a boutique hotel. They have left London behind and all the memories - good and bad - that went with it.The injured woman Libby finds lying in the remote country road has lost her memory. She doesn''t know why she came to be there, and no one seems to be looking for her. When Libby offers to take her in, this one small act of kindness sets in motion a chain of events that will change many people''s lives . . .''A beautifully written story about friendship, trust and love. I adored it.'' - Milly Johnson A perfect summer read for fans of Jojo Moyes and Katie Fforde. Trade ReviewLucy Dillon's books make the world a better place. * Heat *A beautifully written story about friendship, trust and love. I adored it. * Milly Johnson *Grown up chick lit at its best. I loved it. * Daily Mail *I always find Lucy Dillon's books so overflowing with wit and wisdom. * Jenny Colgan *

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of A Hundred Pieces of Me and One Small Act of Kindness comes a heartwarming, bittersweet and uplifting story of missed chances and unexpected opportunities. ''Lucy Dillon''s books make the world a better place'' - HeatCaitlin''s life is a mess. Her marriage to a man everyone else thinks is perfect has collapsed, along with her self-esteem, and breaking free seems the only option.Nancy, her four-year-old daughter, used to talk all the time; in the car, at nursery, to her brother Joel. Then her parents split up. Her daddy moves out. And Nancy stops speaking.Nancy''s Auntie Eva, recently widowed and feeling alone, apart from the companionship of two bewildered pugs, is facing a future without her husband or the dreams she gave up for him.But when Eva agrees to host her niece and nephew once a fortnight, Caitlin and Eva are made to face the different truths about their marriages - and about what they bothTrade ReviewSometimes, you just need a good cry and no one tugs at the heartstrings quite like Lucy Dillon. She's back with this tale of two sisters; Caitlin, recently divorced with her self-esteem shattered and a four year old daughter, Nancy, who's stopped talking, and Eva recently widowed and her world splintered. Throw in a couple of adorable pugs in this tale of heartbreak, healing and hope, then stick a fork in me, because I am done. * Red Online *Full of Warmth and hear, this is a brilliantly written book * Sun on Sunday *A rather lovely read, despite dealing with a few things you might not expect from a regular chick-lit novel. Definitely give it a read! -- T'rexes and TiarasALL I EVER WANTED is my first Lucy Dillon's book - but certainly not the last . . . a beautiful, gentle story * Heat *It is unbelievable but "All I Ever Wanted" is my first Lucy Dillon's book - but certainly not the last, as this novel has totally convinced me and it made me experience all kind of emotions. It was a beautiful, gentle story about a family that goes through a rough patch in their lives. * On My Bookshelf *You won't be disappointed if you stick this in your beach bag * Daily Mail *Lucy Dillon's books make the world a better place * Heat *A perfect beach holiday read. * Woman's Own *Clever and sweet . . . Jenny Colgan and Sophie Kinsella are fans * Red *I always find Lucy Dillon's books so overflowing with wit and wisdom. * Jenny Colgan *A beautifully written story about friendship, trust and love. I adored it. * Milly Johnson *Grown up chick lit at its best. I loved it. * Daily Mail *A book you'll read into the wee hours, full of warmth, love and bravery. * Lucy Robinson *I love Dillon's writing: her characters are so warm that reading one of her books is like opening a log-burning stove -- Fiona Walker * The Lady magazine *Praise for A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME * : *Such a brilliant book. So satisfying and clever and deeply moving. I'll be passing it on to all my friends. * Sophie Kinsella *This vibrant and uplifting novel has not only entertained me hugely, but made me change the way I look at life. * Katie Fforde *An uplifting novel which will appeal to fans of David Nicholls. * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisDonald Ray Pollock, recipient of the 2009 PEN/Bingham Fellowship, made his literary debut in 2008 with the critically acclaimed short-story collection Knockemstiff, which was followed by the novel, The Devil All the Time. He worked as a labourer at the Mead Paper Mill in Chillicothe, Ohio, from 1973 to 2005. www.donaldraypollock.comTrade ReviewTo get an idea of Donald Ray Pollock's astonishing new book, one could try to imagine a drunken punch-up between a redneck Hemingway and an amphetamine-fuelled Raymond Carver... A fiendishly enjoyable collection * Daily Telegraph *Pollock's writing is lean and unflinching. His economical prose excels in its lurid (and often scatological) detail, and his physical descriptions are superb. The book is laced with dry, black humour * New Statesman *Like Denis Johnson, Andre Dubus and Raymond Carver before him, Pollock populates his stories with low-lives and junkies, dreamers and drunks...He is a master of voice and phrasing, and there are some knockout, pitch-perfect sentences.... Pollock treats readers to inventive, melodic and captivating storytelling. It may be as ragged as junkies' jeans, but this has the potential to be a whiskey-stained classic * Time Out *The majority of the inhabitants of Knockemstiff, Ohio ... seem straight out of John Boorman's film Deliverance ... Life experience shows in this exceptional collection * Guardian *What makes this an enjoyable read is Pollock's aptitude for a funny gag in the guise of amazingly inventive language * Dazed and Confused *

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Book SynopsisVienna, 1903.An operatic diva, Ida Rosenkrantz, is found dead in her luxurious villa. It appears that she has taken an overdose of morphine, but a broken rib, discovered during autopsy, suggests other and more sinister possibilities. Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt seeks the assistance of his young friend, the psychoanalyst Dr Max Liebermann, and they begin their inquiries at Vienna''s majestic opera house, where its director, Gustav Mahler, is struggling to maintain a pure artistic vision while threatened on all sides by pompous bureaucrats, vainglorious singers, and a hostile press. When the demagogue Mayor of Vienna, Karl Lueger, becomes the prime suspect - with an election only months away - the Rosenkrantz case becomes politically explosive. The trail leads Rheinhardt and Liebermann, via a social climbing professor of psychiatry, to the Hofburg palace and the mysterious Lord Marshal''s office - a shadowy bureau that deals ruthlessly with enemies of the ageing Emperor Franz Josef.As the investigation proceeds, the investigators are placed in great personal danger, as corruption is exposed at the very highest levels. Meanwhile, Liebermann pursues two private obsessions: a coded message in a piece of piano music, and the alluring Englishwoman, Miss Amelia Lydgate. Romance and high drama collide as the Habsburg Empire teeters on the edge of scandal and ruin.Trade ReviewThis sixth Viennese mystery to feature the sleuthing double-act of detective Oskar Rheinhardt and psychoanalyst Max Liebermann should satisfy Frank Tallis's old admirers and seduce new ones * The Independent *A serious, well-informed and interesting novel * Literary Review *With plenty of entertaining, intelligent dialogue and two subplots... this novel convinces with every word * HNR Reviews *Costume drama at its best. The ethos of turn-of-the-century Vienna...is very seductive. Tallis has done his research to good effect, and it seems that the only really fictional element in the whole novel is the crime itself. The elegance of the highbrow conversations between the main characters is winning...All this makes for pleasant reading, while the descriptions of the elaborate good manners and old-fashioned moral code are soothing. And yet there is an edge to what might otherwise be cloying...luxuriously enjoyable * TLS *Tallis's mysteries seduce a legion of fans with well-crafted intrigues and sumptuous atmospheres. This latest adds to its rich mix a terrific cameo from the tyrant of the opera: Gustav Mahler * i, Independent *

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Book SynopsisThe Jorgmund Pipe is the backbone of the world, and it''s on fire. Gonzo Lubitsch, professional hero and troubleshooter, is hired to put it out - but there''s more to the fire, and the Pipe itself, than meets the eye. The job will take Gonzo and his best friend, our narrator, back to their own beginnings and into the dark heart of the Jorgmund Company itself. Equal parts raucous adventure, comic odyssey and Romantic Epic, The Gone-Away World is a story of - among other things - love and loss; of ninjas, pirates, politics; of curious heroism in strange and dangerous places; and of a friendship stretched beyond its limits. But it also the story of a world, not unlike our own, in desperate need of heroes - however unlikely they may seem.Trade ReviewIts scope and ambition are extraordinary, its execution is often breathtaking, and its style is by turns hilarious, outrageous, devastating, hip and profound ... Hugely entertaining * Independent on Sunday *Breathtakingly ambitious ... A bubbling cosmic stew of a book, written with such exuberant imagination that you are left breathless by its sheer ingenuity * Observer *[A] post-apocalyptic triumph ... Immensely rewarding ... Genuinely terrifying * The Times *A stunning debut * Scotland on Sunday *Exuberant...Wildly inventive -- Michael Gove * The Times *

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Book Synopsis''Rosamunde Pilcher is, without doubt, one of the greatest storytellers of all time, and this delightful story confirms it. Thoroughly enjoyable, beautifully written, a sheer delight'' Reader review ?????A gripping story filled with intrigue and family dramaSitting on a California beach at summer''s end, Jane Marsh finds herself reminiscing about her childhood at Elvie, an estate in a remote corner of Scotland. She remembers the heather-covered hills and the lonesome loch, but also her grandmother . . . and, of course, Sinclair. The man she secretly dreamed of marrying. An urgent visit from her grandmother''s lawyer becomes the catalyst for Jane''s return to Scotland. A passion she could never have imagined awaits her . . . along with the chilling realisation that she may be ready to wed the wrong man.READERS LOVE THE END OF SUMMER:''I was immediately captured by the rhythm and flow of Rosamunde PilTrade ReviewHer genius is to create characters you really care for * Daily Express *Pilcher's storytelling skills are serene and beguiling * The Times *It is never too soon to discover Rosamunde Pilcher * Good Housekeeping *Whether she is being poignant, wry or perceptive, Rosamunde Pilcher is always gentle * Woman's Realm *

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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 SynopsisHe has no money, no reputation and no famous ancestors.'The love story of the Emperor Vespasian, who brought peace to Rome after years of strife, and his mistress, the freed slave woman Caenis, this book recreates Ancient Rome's most turbulent period the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero and Vespasian's rise to power. As their forbidden romance blossoms, Caenis is embroiled in political intrigue, while Vespasian embarks on a glorious career. Years pass, then Vespasian risks all in the climactic struggle for power bringing hope for Rome, but a threat to the relationship that has endured for so long.Trade ReviewOne 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 SynopsisMary Wesley was born near Windsor in 1912. Her education took her to the London School of Economics and during the War she worked in the War Office. Although she initially fulfilled her parent's expectations in marrying an aristocrat she then scandalised them when she divorced him in 1945 and moved in with the great love of her life, Eric Siepmann. The couple married in 1952, once his wife had finally been persuaded to divorce him. She used to comment that her 'chief claim to fame is arrested development, getting my first novel [Jumping the Queue] published at the age of seventy'. She went on to write a further nine novels, three of which were adapted for television, including the best-selling The Camomile Lawn. Mary Wesley was awarded the CBE in the 1995 New Year's honour list and died in 2002.Trade ReviewA novel whose freshness of tone, energy of plotting and sweet nature make it exceptional by any standards * Sunday Telegraph *Few novelists offer such a rich concoction of amoral spice and cleverness; but to judge her work exclusively on this level is to miss more subtle rewards * Mail on Sunday *With its brilliant final twist, this is Mary Wesley's best yet * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisChristopher is 15 and lives in Swindon with his father. He has Asperger''s Syndrome, a form of autism. He is obsessed with maths, science and Sherlock Holmes but finds it hard to understand other people. When he discovers a dead dog on a neighbour''s lawn he decides to solve the mystery and write a detective thriller about it. As in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets - for both Christopher and the rest of his family.Trade ReviewWondrous...brilliantly inventive...dazzling. Not simply the most original novel I've read in years - it's also one of the best * The Times *Exceptional by any standards. Both funny and deeply moving * Sunday Telegraph *Outstanding. Heartening as well as richly entertaining. A stunningly good read * Independent *Superbly realised. A funny as well as a sad book. Brilliant * Guardian *A remarkable book. An impressive achievement and a rewarding read * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisMillions of people travel on London''s tube every day, yet we usually give our fellow passengers only a cursory glance. But each one of these nameless passengers has their own story to tell.At Notting Hill, the mysterious secretary, harbouring her secrets, travels to work; at Highburyand Islington, Adam has a sudden change of heart; and at Holborn, a disastrous reunion is about to take place...With her characteristic mix of compassionate humour and biting realism, this vintage collection of stories is Maeve Binchy at her very bestTrade ReviewMaeve Binchy has a gimlet eye for the seething cauldron of emotions which lies beneath the surface of everyday life * Irish Independent *An adept storyteller with a sharp eye for social nuances and a pleasing affection for her characters * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisThe lilac-coloured minibus belongs to Tom Fitzgerald. Each Friday night it is a meeting place for the same seven people who use it to travel home from Dublin to spend the weekend in Rathdoon. This book conjures up a cast of human characters with real joys and real sadnesses, portrayed with compassion and warmth.Trade ReviewMaeve Binchy has a gimlet eye for the seething cauldron of emotions which lies beneath the surface of everyday life * Irish Independent *An adept storyteller with a sharp eye for social nuances and a pleasing affection for her characters * Sunday Times *Has a lovely warm heart... Her prose is magnificently simple and lucid * Evening Standard *Touching, gossipy and as warming as a feather bed * Sunday Telegraph *Compulsive reading ... Ms Binchy has the true story-teller's knack * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisDiscover this brooding collection of short stories from one of Britain''s finest writers. A world where everyday life crackles with the electricity sparking between men and women, between parents and children, between friends. A son confesses to his mother that he is cheating on his girlfriend; a student falls in love with her lecturer and embarks on an affair with a man in the pub who looks just like him. Young mothers pent-up in childcare dream treacherously of other possibilities; a boy becomes aware of the woman, a guest at his parents'' holiday home, who is pressing up too close against him on the beach. Hidden away inside the present, the past is explosive; the future can open unexpectedly out of any chance encounter; ordinary moments are illuminated with lightning flashes of dread or pleasure. These stories about family life are somehow undomesticated and dangerous.''She is the writer we didn''t know we were waiting for, until she arrived'' ATrade ReviewFew writers give me such consistent pleasure -- Zadie SmithShe has such great psychological insights into human beings, which is rare. She is one of the best fiction writers writing today -- Chimamanda Ngozie AdichieTruly absorbing... a masterful yet understated read... More please * Sunday Express *Brilliant... Hadley's style is as discreet as good tailoring * Independent *The stories sparkle...Hadley is fascinating for the way she admits a fantasy or a missed chance can be more significant than the actual events that shape a life * Metro *

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Book SynopsisCassie Wright, porn princess, intends to cap her legendary career by breaking the world record for serial fornication. On camera. With six hundred men. Snuff unfolds from the perspectives of Mr 72, Mr 137 and Mr 600, who await their turn on camera in a very crowded green room...Trade ReviewIt's glorious, gloriously depraved. Gloriously funny, gloriously heartbreaking and gloriously outrageous, just what you might expect from a writer continually pushing at the boundaries of literature...confirms Palahniuk once again as a compelling, daring and vital writer * Herald *Every bit as dangerous as it sounds... Snuff is a deliciously disturbing, superbly paced and graphically obnoxious read * Maxim *Snuff is a Chernobyl of taboos...Palahniuk investigates his novels for months before he begins to write, so they always have a journalistic reek of authenticity and immediacy: he is like Tom Wolfe on acid... Think of it as The Bonfire of the Inanities. Once you have come down and mopped up the vomit, you will be glad you snorted this particular Snuff * Independent *You'll bite your pillow laughing * Arena *Palahniuk is a deeply talented and original satirist...a class act of characterisation and situation comedy, wrapped up in something much more important * Daily Mirror *

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Book SynopsisColm Tóibín was born in Ireland in 1955. He is the author of several novels, including Brooklyn, the 2009 Costa Novel of the Year, The Master, which was shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize and winner of the LA Times Book Prize and the IMPAC Book Award, and The Blackwater Lightship, which was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize and the 2001 IMPAC Award. His non-fiction includes Bad Blood, Homage to Barcelona, The Sign of the Cross and Love in a Dark Time. His work has been translated into seventeen languages. He lives in Dublin.Trade ReviewA broad and beautifully worked canvas . . . An imaginative, deeply felt and evocative tale * Sunday Times *A daring, imaginative feat; the world it conjures is at once familiar and strange, and strangely moving. A splendid first novel -- John BanvilleThis is a strong and moving work of fiction about the hard truths of changing one's life. Colm Tóibín, like his characters, never says too much and never lets us grow too comfortable. A grand achievement -- Don DeLilloColm Tóibín writes prose of a heartbreaking beauty. -- Hilary MantelClever, evocative and intelligent * Irish Times *The story is told with spare, simple elegance * London Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisToni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, Paradise and Love. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her fiction and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, in 2012 by Barack Obama. Toni Morrison died on 5 August 2019 at the age of eighty-eight.Trade ReviewToni Morrison makes me believe in God. She makes me believe in a divine being, because luck and genetics don’t seem to come close to explaining her * Guardian *A beautiful and important book * The Times *Powerful, elemental... The issues Morrison explores go to the root of what humanity is. They could not be more important * Guardian *Left me trembling at the sheer brilliance of its storytelling and the unassailable dignity of its purpose * Evening Standard *So enthralling that you'll want to read it more than once * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisBeautiful, twisted and brilliant - discover Yoko Ogawa.A lonely teenage girl falls in love with her foster-brother as she watches him leap from a high diving board into a pool - sparking an unspoken infatuation that draws out darker possibilities. A young woman records the daily moods of her pregnant sister in a diary, but rather than a story of growth the diary reveals a more sinister tale of greed and repulsion.Driven by nostalgia, a woman visits her old college dormitory on the outskirts of Tokyo. There she finds an isolated world shadowed by decay, haunted by absent students and the disturbing figure of the crippled caretaker.Trade ReviewWritten in haunting, spare, shimmering prose...punctuated by acts of casual violence and vindictive spite. Profoundly unsettling, magnificently written and instantly memorable, these stories vindicate [Ogawa's] status as one of Japan's greatest living writers * Guardian *Yoko Ogawa's British debut is inexcusably belated....Ogawa is a conspicuously gifted writer... Not a word is wasted, yet each resonates with a blend of poetry and tension... mesmerising... To read Ogawa is to enter a dreamlike state tinged with a nightmare, and her stories continue to haunt. She possesses an effortless, glassy, eerie brilliance. She should be discovered in Britain, and this book must surely begin the process * Guardian *The three Japanese novellas in The Diving Pool are both creepy and disturbingly lovely...spine-tingling uncertainty surfaces throughout the haunting prose * Dazed & Confused *A fine collection of three queasily unsettling novellas... She invests the most seemingly banal domestic situations with a chilling and malevolent sense of perversity, marking her out as a master of subtle psychological horror * Daily Telegraph *An intriguing trilogy of exquisitely sketched stories... Elegant, intelligent, quietly disturbing * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisThese are beguiling, provocative stories about manipulative men and the women who outwit them.Brimming with intensely believable characters and rich social detail' Sunday TimesA wife and mother whose spirit has been crushed finds release from her extraordinary pain in the most unlikely of places. The young victim of a humiliating seduction finds an unusual way to get her own back and move on. An older woman, dying of cancer, weaves a poisonous story to save her life. Alice Munro takes on complex, even harrowing emotions and events and renders them into stories that surprise, amaze, and shed light on the unpredictable ways we accommodate to what happens in our lives.Winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWinner of the Man Booker International Prize 2009Trade ReviewShe writes with a beautiful clarity, an elemental humanity and a marvellous, limpid, funny, apprehension of what goes on -- Jane Shilling * Sunday Telegraph *Some of the most honest, intuitive and exacting fiction, long or short, of our time -- Tom Gatti * The Times *Munro's bold, unflinching narratives have taken the short story places many a novelist has feared to tread... That she does this in a style both calm and deliberate, fluid yet tightly controlled, stark yet compassionate, is what makes her insights into the human condition so profound -- Mary Crockett * Scotsman *Written with veteran assurance, brimming with intensely believable characters and rich social detail, these dispatches from the most unsparing reaches of Munro's imagination confirm her acclaimed place on the highest ground of contemporary fiction -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *Alice Munro commands enormous respect and almost uncritical adoration from her readers -- Elaine Showalter * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisOne of the boldest thriller writers working today' TESS GERRITSENHer characters, plot, and pacing are unrivalled' MICHAEL CONNELLY__________________________________A darkly comic tale about Mr Less-Than-Average in an average world from the No. 1 Bestseller.Crime fiction obsessive Martin Reed is the proverbial butt of everyone''s jokes. Working as a glorified accountant at Southern Toilet Supply and still living with his cantankerous mother, he has become resigned to the world in which he lives - the school bullies now pick on him in the workplace, women still spurn him and his arch enemy is now his supervisor.But then he arrives at work one morning to find the police on site. A co-worker has been brutally murdered and her body abandoned in a ditch. And the overwhelming evidence points to Martin - especially when he can''t or won''t admit that he has an alibi. When a second victim is found in the company bathroom, things

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Book SynopsisSamantha Harvey is the author of the novels Orbital, The Wilderness, All is Song, Dear Thief and The Western Wind and a work of non-fiction, The Shapeless Unease: A Year of Not Sleeping. Orbital was the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, and her other work has been shortlisted for the James Tait Black Award, the Women's Prize, the Guardian First Book Award and the Walter Scott Prize. The Wilderness was awarded the Betty Trask Prize. She is a tutor on the MA course in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.Trade ReviewBrave and intelligent...a mesmerising work * Independent *A stunning composition of human fragility and intensity * Guardian *An extraordinary dramatisation of a mind in the process of disintegration ... Brilliant - read it now, before it scoops up all the prizes * The Times *Touches a resounding chord of melancholy. The author, whose debut this is, is very talented * Evening Standard *This is a finely written ode to memory, identity and love * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisAgent Number 67, nicknamed Pygmy for his diminutive size, arrives in the United States from his totalitarian homeland. An ''exchange student'' he is welcomed with open arms by his Midwestern host family. Simpsons-spinoffs, they introduce him into the rituals of postmodern American life, which he views with utter contempt. Along with his fellow operatives, he is planning something big, something truly, truly awful, to bring this big dumb country''s fat inhabitants to their knees.Trade ReviewThe boldest book in a long while...ace -- Lauren Laverne * Grazia *A hilarious novel...as ever, Palahniuk is interested in pushing the limits. He leaps over the line of good taste - and lands squarely on his feet * Booklist *Brilliant... It has moments of poetry * Daily Telegraph *Brilliantly conceived, linguistically inventive and extremely rude -- Anne McElvoy * New Statesman, Books of 2009 *The novel abandons minimalism for a Clockwork Orange-style spin through a semi-invented language. Consequently, it's Palahniuk's most challenging book yet -- Colin Waters * The Sunday Herald *

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