Fiction books to excite, provoke and spark a conversation. Debut authors, award winners, bestsellers & lost gems - our range of fiction titles will leave you spoilt for choice.
Fiction Books
Pan Macmillan Agnes Grey
Book SynopsisDrawing on her own experience, Anne Brontë exposes the isolated world of a nineteenth-century governess in her debut novel, Agnes Grey. Complete & Unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by historian and biographer, Juliet Barker.Agnes Grey is the youngest daughter of a clergyman. When the family falls on hard times, she insists on finding work as a governess in order to help her family and prove to them that she’s no longer a child. But her idealistic spirit is tested in her first position with the Bloomfield family and their unruly and spoilt children. Next she works for the even wealthier Murray family, whose scheming daughter Rosalie threatens to jeopardize the only bright spot in Agnes’s life: the young curate Edward Weston.Trade ReviewThe most perfect prose narrative in English letters -- George MooreAnne provided her heroine with a hero who was actually nice to women. This still feels revolutionary * Guardian *A compelling Victorian take on the iniquities of the wealth gap * Telegraph *For too long [Anne] has been undervalued as the third-best Brontë. But her fiction, exploring the lamentably still-current themes of addiction and domestic violence and the abuse of vulnerable women working away from home, has a vigour and bracing satirical intelligence which places her in the first rank of what is arguably the greatest ever generation of novelists in English -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett
£10.44
Flame Tree Publishing The Call of Cthulhu Other Stories
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£8.99
Pushkin Press Arturos Island
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£10.44
Profile Books Ltd The Material
Book Synopsis''Utterly charming ... Bordas is an invaluable new voice'' George Saunders ''A disquisition into the nature of comedy and creativity. Like the best comedians ... Bordas is alert to the deeper joke'' Sunday Times ''Amusing... impressive'' New York Times ''Marvellously engaging and entertaining ... full of terrific moments and cutting dialogue'' Independent Every comedian knows that there''s a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that any moment in life, however painful or triumphant, has the potential to become a punchline. At the Chicago Stand-up School, success is about the material. But maybe Artie is too handsome to be taken seriously on stage, Olivia too scared to examine her past, and Phil too afraid to cause harm. Their teachers are obsessed with failure: Kruger trying to command his father''s respect, Ashbee weary of the way his Blackness attracts a type of white admirer, Dorothy wondering how her talent is connected to her loneliness. Whether a visiting comedian-the famous, controversy-steeped Manny Reinhardt-will do more to help or to harm their cause remains to be seen. Set over the course of a single day, and shifting exquisitely between several points of view, The Material examines life through the eyes of a band of outsiders bound together by the need to laugh, and the desire to make others laugh even harder.
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Killer Inside
Book SynopsisThe gripping and masterfully-crafted new thriller from award-winning author Matthew Frank''Tense and twisty . . . completely gripping. I ignored children, a ringing phone, hunger, everything just to devour the last hundred pages'' KAREN PERRY, Sunday Times bestselling author of YOUR CLOSEST FRIEND________Julian Sinclair is a serial killer.Charming, manipulative, deadly. He hunted girls for sport, and it''s high time justice was served.But when Sinclair''s conviction is thrown out in court, DC Joseph Stark and DS Fran Millhaven are forced to protect the man they''re sure is guilty from those who would rather see him pay in blood.Then another girl dies.And Sinclair can''t have killed her from his hospital bed . . .Is a killer lurking in someone they never suspected?And have they had the wrong man all along?________''A clTrade ReviewA clever compelling spiderweb of a plot, weaving together the complex yet realistic minds of the underworld and the police. -- Jane Corry, bestselling author of My Husband's Wife * - *Matthew Frank writes so well and in DC Joe Stark he has developed a complex hero, remote yet relatable, decent yet conflicted. Equally compelling is Stark's nemesis, the sinuous Julian Sinclair with his reptilian charm. Tense and twisty, with a rich cast of characters, The Killer Inside is completely gripping. I ignored children, a ringing phone, hunger, everything just to devour the last hundred pages. -- Karen Perry, bestselling author of Your Closest Friend * - *The Killer Inside is a gripping, pacy read with a "one more chapter" compulsiveness. -- Laura Marshall, bestselling author of Friend Request * - *Nail-bitingly tense plotting, with characters you can't help but root for, The Killer Inside is a standout addition to this compelling series -- Susi Holliday, author of The Last Resort * - *The Killer Inside is the definition of a page turner. Matthew Frank gives us cops torn by the prospect of protecting a killer who cheated justice. They know he has done it but proving it is another thing. Then another girl dies while their man is still in hospital. What if they had the wrong man all along? DC Stark is a terrific creation. The kind of character you want more from and soon please. -- Howard Linskey, best-selling author of The Chosen One * - *Seriously good . . . The Killer Inside is an excellent addition to a fine series, and Joe Stark is coming into his own as a fascinating and multi-layered character, as are the rest of the team. Matthew has written a tightly plotted thrilling page turner of a book -- James Oswald, author of the Inspector McLean Series * - *Matthew Frank is a master at juggling light and darkness. His Joseph Stark books explore the legacy of trauma and injury, while serving up satisfying plots with plenty of twists. In this latest, the stakes are horribly high for his hero who, beset by demons and danger, nevertheless acquits himself with courage and a fine line in dry wit. -- Sarah Hilary, award-winning author of the Marnie Rome series * - *Praise for Matthew FrankA gripping murder story ... Frank brilliantly maintains a balance between the demands of a complex plot and his character's difficulty in returning to civilian life * Sunday Times *Outstanding characterisation, passion, perfect dialogue and pinpoint plotting * Crime Review *Well researched and totally convincing * Sunday Mirror *Joe Stark is such a terrific hero, full of flaws and compassion and the sort of quiet heroism that you rarely see these days, even in fiction. One of those books I want to bulk buy and press into the hands of everyone I know. The writing is top-notch, the action sequences are superlative, the characters crackle off the page and the dialogue whips and zings like bullets in the dust. Read it!Detective Sergeant Fran Millhaven is just one of the best women copper characters you'll ever meet between the covers of a book . . . but Stark is the heart of this narrative. I am so looking forward to meeting him again . . . the moment Stark crosses over from soldier to CID detective is beautiful to behold. The action scenes, too, are terrific. RivetingSkilfully plotted, with a great clarity of style
£13.49
British Library Publishing The Weird Tales of William Hope Hodgson
Book SynopsisThis new selection offers the most chilling and unsettling of Hodgson's short fiction, from encounters with abominations at sea to fireside tales of otherworldly forces from his inventive `occult detective' character Carnacki, the ghost finder.Table of ContentsIntroduction; `A Tropical Horror' (1905); `The Voice in the Night' (1907); 'Out of the Storm' (1908); `The Gateway of the Monster' (1910); `The Horse of the Invisible' (1910); `The Whistling Room' (1910); `The Derelict' (1912); `The Thing in the Weeds' (1916); `The Hog' (1947); `The Riven Night' (1973)
£9.49
Titan Books Ltd Doctor Who The Fifteenth Doctor Everyone Must Go
Book SynopsisEnter a new age of the Whoniverse with an incredible adventure starring the delightful Fifteenth Doctor!Fans old and new are sure to love this thrilling collection as the Doctor is forced to face his greatest fears...
£13.49
Granta Books Island Song
Book SynopsisIn 1940, Helene, young, naive, and recently married, waves goodbye to her husband, who has enlisted in the British army. Her home, Guernsey, is soon invaded by the Germans, leaving her exposed to the hardships of occupation. Forty years later, her daughter, Roz, begins a search for the truth about her father, and stumbles into the secret history of her mother's life. Written with emotional acuity and passionate intensity, Island Song speaks of the moral complexities of war-time allegiances, the psychological toll of living with the enemy and the messy reality of human relationships in a tightly knit community. As Roz discovers, truth is hard to pin down, and so are the rights and wrongs of those struggling to survive in the most difficult of circumstances.Trade ReviewA striking first novel that explores the moral complexities of occupation during the second world war -- Anthony Quinn * Observer *It's rare to find a first novel that is so assured and so well-balanced ... it is the best sort of intelligent popular fiction... Page-turning -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *Elegant...unflinching * Daily Mail *A wonderful evocation of wartime secrets and hidden histories, and a moving exploration of the far-reaching consequences they can have -- Catherine HallCompelling and moving - the narrative carried me along. I was gripped by Madeleine Bunting's cast of wartime characters and their modern-day descendants until the very last page -- Catherine HallPsychologically taut and compelling. A fascinating depiction of wartime Guernsey, with very real, very moving characters -- Catherine HallA gripping and exceptionally well told story about one woman's quest for truth, illuminating the many ways in which emotional and political histories are so often intricately -- Melissa BennVivid and engrossing, Island Song tells an extraordinary story, bringing to life a largely untold experience of the Second World War. Madeleine Bunting is a fine writer, and her beautiful novel a memorable debut. -- Claire MessudA page-turner...many pages are so good, even charming, that you want to linger on them...it's rare to find a first novel that is so assured and well-balanced * Yorkshire Post *
£8.54
Profile Books Ltd Dog Poems
Book SynopsisSince prehistory, dogs have served as man's best friend, giving us loyalty, assistance and boundless inspiration. Dogs offer comfort and amusement to their owners; they provide solace when we're sad, entertaining antics when we're bored and affection every day. To poets in particular, these beloved creatures are the most bountiful muses, as they bark, yip, hunt, fetch, growl and slumber, reflecting back at us our most heartfelt tenderness and often rewarding us with unconditional love we scarcely deserve. Dog Poems offers a litter of verses in celebration of our most faithful companions by some of the greatest poets of all time.Trade ReviewIdeal to tuck into a bag, or to read on the bus or train. It's a volume to consume at a sitting, as I did, or to dip into now and again. To the true dog lover, it will give years of pleasure. * Dogs Monthly *The sweet, small collection Dog Poems should be slipped into every dog-lover's Christmas stocking. * Daily Mail *This diverse collection is a celebration of our most faithful companions and illustrates what productive muses dogs have been, to poets in particular. * Your Dog *
£9.49
Amazon Publishing The Death at the Vineyard
Book SynopsisAs the Shell House Detectives investigate a mystifying death, they discover rumours, betrayal and murder. Will a decades-old secret finally be unearthed too?A gripping and propulsive read, with a deliciously dark mystery at its heart.Lucy ClarkeAt Shoreline Vines, high on the Cornish cliffs, the Harper family are preparing to welcome glamorous investor Celine Chevalier to their vineyard. They desperately need Celine's backing to keep their business afloat. But everything is jeopardised when a body is found in one of their fields. Police believe the death was a tragic accident but the victim's family suspect otherwise and turn to the Shell House Detectives to investigate. As Ally and Jayden question the community, they discover that Shoreline Vines has always been shrouded in mystery. There are old rumours about buried bones, and even a curse on the land itself. Are these just local myths or is there something sinister hidden in the vineyard's past?As tensions reach breaking point,
£13.29
Penguin Books Ltd Uncommon Danger
Book SynopsisKenton''s career as a journalist depends on his facility with languages, his knowledge of European politics and his quick judgement. Where his judgement sometimes fails him, however, is in his personal life. When he travels to Nuremberg to investigate a story about a top-level meeting of Nazi officials, he inadvertently finds himself on a train bound for Austria after a bad night of gambling. Stranded with no money, Kenton jumps at the chance to earn a fee helping a refugee smuggle securities across the border. Yet he soon discovers that the documents he holds have far more than cash value - and that they could cost him his life ...Trade Review'A crackerjack spy story, jammed with action, intrigue, thrills and super-villainy' Saturday Review 'If you want to experience the feel of the Continent in the 1930s, you will find few better guides' - Robert Harris
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Blazing World and Other Writings
Book SynopsisFlamboyant, theatrical and ambitious, Margaret Cavendish was one of the seventeenth century''s most striking figures: a woman who ventured into the male spheres of politics, science, philosophy and literature. The Blazing World is a highly original work: part Utopian fiction, part feminist text, it tells of a lady shipwrecked on the Blazing World where she is made Empress and uses her power to ensure that it is free of war, religious division and unfair sexual discrimination. This volume also includes The Contract, a romance in which love and law work harmoniously together, and Assaulted and Pursued Chastity, which explores the power and freedom a woman can achieve in the disguise of a man.
£9.99
Oxford University Press The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a
Book Synopsis''We have heard much of the rage of fanaticism in former days, but nothing to this''A wretched young man, ''an outcast in the world'', tells the story of his upbringing by a heretical Calvinist minister who leads him to believe that he is one of the elect, predestined for salvation and thus above the moral law. Falling under the spell of a mysterious stranger who bears an uncanny likeness to himself, he embarks on a career as a serial murderer. Robert Wringhim''s Memoirs are presented by an editor whose attempts to explain the story only succeed in intensifying its more baffling and bizarre aspects. Is Wringhim the victim of a psychotic delusion, or has he been tempted by the devil to wage war against God''s enemies? Hogg''s sardonic and terrifying novel, too perverse for nineteenth-century taste, is now recognized as one of the masterpieces of Romantic fiction.The first edition text of 1824 has been freshly considered for this new edition. A critical introduction explores the remarkabTrade Review[The] Oxford Worlds Classics edition provides concise background information enough to allow the reader to understand the references without feeling that s/hes reading a history book and a glossary and notes which explain any unfamiliar terms or allusions. The informative introduction, by Ian Duncan, Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, sets the book in its historical and literary context, and provides some biographical information on the author. * Leah Galbraith, FictionFan's Book Reviews *
£7.59
Vintage Publishing Arthur George
Book SynopsisJulian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non-fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.Trade ReviewA beautiful and engrossing work * Independent on Sunday *Richly accomplished... Dazzling * Sunday Times *Excellent... Meticulously researched and vividly imagined, both gripping and thoughtful * Sunday Telegraph *From the first paragraphs we know ourselves to be in the hands of a major novelist... A compelling narrative, beautifully controlled... This novel is Barnes at his best -- P D James * The Times *As ever, Barnes serves up a master-class in character observation, lavishing attention on the minutiae of personality, the subtle and conflicting impulses that drive men and women. Barnes seems equipped to write with humour and elegance about anything he turns his attention to * Financial Times *
£9.49
Dialogue The Mothers the New York Times bestseller
Book SynopsisFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half.The Mothers is a dazzling debut about young love, a big secret in a small community and the moments that haunt us most.All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we''d taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen and passed around before its season. It''s the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother''s recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor''s son. Luke Sheppard is twenty-one, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it''s not serious. But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance - and the subsequent cover-up - will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth. As Nadia hides her secret from eTrade ReviewThe Mothers is a beautifully written, sad and lingering book - an impressive debut for such a young writer * Guardian *Bennett allows her characters to follow their worst impulses, and she handles provocative issues with intelligence, empathy and dark humour. Her risk-taking pays off * New York Times *Brit Bennett is rightfully being hailed a brilliant new voice writing about black women . . . This is a novel with heart - it made me feel; it made me think. And I can't wait to read more of her * The Pool *Brit Bennett's debut is often funny, generous, and brightly written * GQ *[A]n engaging and assured debut novel of depth, and introspective power. It succeeds as a brilliant study of a modern black woman, and as a lyrical and majestic portrait of her place in society -- Chigozie Obioma, author of The FishermenBrit Bennett is so bracingly talented on the page. . .[The Mothers is] astute and absorbing and urgent * Jezebel *A quite beautiful book: shimmering with intelligence; fully alive to both the joyful and the difficult part of love; illuminating on motherhood * Times Literary Supplement *Tenderly written * Elle *Compelling * New Yorker *Bennett has written that rare combination: a book that feels alive on the page and rich for later consideration. If you read The Mothers, you will learn a lot * Washington Post *Bittersweet, sexy, morally fraught * New York Times Book Review *Luminous... engrossing and poignant, this is one not to miss * People *A refreshingly fast-paced story of young love, race, and religious hypocrisy * Vanity Fair *Wonderful - warm and tender and necessary -- Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Black Dog
Book SynopsisDark, intense and utterly compelling, Black Dog' was an extraordinary first novel from a writer who has rapidly become the most promising crime author to emerge in the genre in years.Where Cooper stood was remote and isolated but the smell that lingered under the trees was of blood''The long hot Peak District summer came to an end when they found Laura Vernon''s body. But for local policeman Ben Cooper the work has just begun. His community is hiding a young girl''s killer and a past as dark as the Derbyshire night. It seems Laura was the keeper of secrets beyond her years and, in a case where no-one is innocent, everyone is a suspect.But Cooper''s local knowledge and instincts are about to face an even greater challenge. The ambitious DC Diane Fry has been called in from another division, a woman as ruthless as she is attractiveTrade Review‘Stephen Booth’s ‘Black Dog’sinks its teeth into you and doesn’t let you go. A dark star may be born!’Reginald Hill ‘In this atmospheric debut, Stephen Booth makes high summer in Derbyshire as dark and terrifying as midwinter’Val McDermid ‘An exceedingly good first novel: wholly engrossing, it has well-drawn characters and a real sense of place’Evening Standard
£11.69
