Humorous fiction
Coffee House Press Reinhardt's Garden
Book SynopsisAt the turn of the twentieth century, as he composes a treatise on melancholy, Jacov Reinhardt sets off from his small Croatian village in search of his hero and unwitting mentor, Emiliano Gomez Carrasquilla, who is rumored to have disappeared into the South American jungle—“not lost, mind you, but retired.” Jacov’s narcissistic preoccupation with melancholy consumes him, and as he desperately recounts the myth of his journey to his trusted but ailing scribe, hope for an encounter with the lost philosopher who holds the key to Jacov’s obsession seems increasingly unlikely.From Croatia to Germany, Hungary to Russia, and finally to the Americas, Jacov and his companions grapple with the limits of art, colonialism, and escapism in this antic debut where dark satire and skewed history converge.Trade Review“Jacov Reinhardt and his faithful assistant roam South America in a quixotic search for the essence of melancholy—an enterprise that makes Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, their rough contemporary, come off as a levelheaded pragmatist. To follow Reinhardt, fueled by amounts of cocaine not even Sigmund Freud could have managed, is to walk into a fascinating literary maze that spans from Ulrich Schmidl’s chronicles to the decadent movements in turn-of-the-century Europe and Latin America. Melancholy has never felt more euphoric than in Mark Haber’s breathless paragraph-long novel.” —Hernan Diaz “Evokes Gertrude Stein, contemporary European and South American writers like Matthias Énard, Roberto Bolaño, and César Aira, with the Quixotic atmosphere of Werner Herzog films like Fitzcarraldo…A strange but lavishly imagined tale of a hard-to-describe feeling.” —Kirkus “An exhilarating fever dream about the search for the secret of melancholy. . . . Haber’s dizzying vision dextrously leads readers right into the melancholic heart of darkness.” —Publishers Weekly&ldsquo;Heart of Darkness viewed in a fun house mirror.<&rdsquo;&emdash;Library Journal “Haber, who has been called 'one of the most influential yet low-key of tastemakers in the book world,' is about to raise it up a level with the debut of his novel.” —The Millions“An enchanting story of satirical wit, dark humor, and luminous creativity. . . . an exhilarating grand adventure of passion, obsession and lunacy.”—The Literary Review“At times we can imagine Haber to be a Latin American writer. This subtle yet brilliant act of mimicry is perhaps the author’s intention all along.” —BOMB Magazine&ldsquo;The cynicism of Haber’s book is tempered with a sweetness that gives it a lovely balance. . . . an innovative piece of fiction.&rdsquo—Houston Chronicle“Hilarious and thrilling. . . . this novel may look like something new, but it reads like that timeless treat, a rollicking good yarn.” —Star Tribune“There is a strange, beautiful aesthetic in the spun thread of tightly, smoothly laminated prose. . . . to accomplish this art in narration, and Haber has, is masterful, touching on genius.” —Lone Star Literary Life“In prose as sure as a poison-laced dart, Mark Haber takes the reader on a delirious journey to the heart of melancholy.” —Sjón“There is a strange, beautiful aesthetic in the spun thread of tightly, smoothly laminated prose. . . . to accomplish this art in narration, and Haber has, is masterful, touching on genius.” —Fernando A. Flores “An adventurous journey into the country of melancholy. A fascinating dissection of human vulnerability.” —Guadalupe Nettel “Reinhardt’s Garden is one of those perfect books that looks small and exotic and melancholic from the outside but, once in, is immense and exultant in the best possible way. Think Amulet by Roberto Bolaño, think Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, think Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, think Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, think Zama by Antonio Di Benedetto, think The Loser by Thomas Bernhard. Think.” —Rodrigo Fresán “It’s official: [Mark Haber]’s novel about melancholy is a laugh riot. Narrated by the devoted assistant of pseudo-intellectual Jacov Reinhardt, the reader follows along for their increasingly misbegotten, cocaine-fueled adventures across Europe and South America. Told in one long, feverish paragraph with sentences that surprise at nearly every turn, Reinhardt’s Garden is a gorgeous, joyful, tiny epic. I loved it, and more importantly it got me out of yet another reading rut. Preorder this bad boy from an indie bookstore or [Coffee House Press] please!” —Annie Metclaf, Magers and Quinn Booksellers PRAISE FOR MARK HABER “[Mark Haber’s] infinite, fast-paced energy is transparent in the way these stories are constructed. There is no room for awkward silence or meaningless descriptions; everything fits as in a well-told joke that builds on its own momentum. His prose maintains not only a rhythm that seems like a continued punch-line but when it finally arrives at a safe landing place it delivers a terrible reality: the absurdity of failure in his characters’ conditions of possibility tells us way more than what we expected. It is humbling and depressing, all at once.” —Bruno Ríos, Argonáutica
£12.34
Image Comics Pretty Violent, Volume 2
Book SynopsisGamma Rae’s one true love is already dead, and her best friend was demoted to being a glorified janitor after a series of what seemed like strategic crimes against humanity. Most people wouldn’t call this winning, but sometimes when you’re in the middle of a genocidal war that you started with the ugliest people in the city, you’ll take what you can get.Collects PRETTY VIOLENT #7-11
£12.59
Little, Brown & Company The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 3
Book SynopsisNow in their second year of high school, Amane and Mahiru are placed into the sameclass. Despite Mahiru’s efforts to bring them closer together at school, Amane isreluctant to bridge the gap because of his shyness towards everyone’s “angel.” As hewatches Mahiru’s friendliness erode the barriers between her and her classmates, oldwounds he once thought were healing begin to resurface...
£11.69
Penguin Books Ltd Yinka Where is Your Huzband
Book SynopsisMeet Yinka. And Yinka''s mum. And Yinka''s aunties. Who are all asking . . . YINKA, WHERE IS YOUR HUZBAND? --------''Your bookself needs this . . . full of heart'' Jendella Benson, Hope and Glory''Love story? Nah, more of a self-love story!'' Reader *****Yinka wants to find love. Her problem? Her mum wants to find it for her.She also has too many aunties who frequently pray for her delivery from singledom. Plus there''s her preference for chicken and chips over traditional Nigerian food, and a bum she''s sure is far too small as a result. Oh, and the fact that she''s thirty-one and doesn''t believe in sex before marriage might be a bit of an obstacle too . . .So when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences ''Operation Find A Date for Rachel''s Wedding''. Armed with a totally flawless, incredibly specific plan, will Yinka find herself a huzband?What if the thing she really needs to find is herselfTrade ReviewWarm and fun and sweet, great on female friendships and extended families -- Marian KeyesSuch a warm, funny and relatable book -- Jendella BensonYou'll fall in love with Yinka in this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy * Red *
£8.54
Cornerstone If Only You
Book Synopsis'A stunning mix of hilarious tropes, swoony romance and lovable, relatable characters. A must read for every romance lover!' Ali Hazelwood, author of The Love HypothesisBrace yourself for longing, laughter, and a swoony slow-burn in this brothers best friend sports romance about scoring the love of your life when you least expect to.ZiggyI'm the youngest player on the National Soccer team, the baby of my family, and thoroughly sick of being underestimated, so I've decided to take matters into my own hands . . .My brother's teammate and best friend Seb needs to save his reputation. I want to give mine an edge. So I propose a fake friendship with real benefits: spending time in the public eye, my good-girl image and his bad-boy notoriety rubbing off on each other. But will it be as easy as I think to keep him in the (fake) friend zone?SebastianMy hockey career and sponsorships are in jeopardy, so when Ziggy Bergman proposes a public "friendship" to rehab my image, it's an offer that even a self-respecting reprobate like myself can't refuse.It's simple: fake a friendship with Ziggy, fix my reputation, and get back to hockey - the one and only thing I love . . . until I find myself falling for the last person I should be: my best friend's sister.Praise for Chloe Liese:'I could curl up in Liese's writing for days, I love it so' Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient'Absolute romantic perfection' Christina Lauren, author of The Unhoneymooners
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Love Me Do
Book SynopsisPre order Lindsey''s brand new romcom LOVE STORY now!Greetings card copywriter Phoebe Chapman knows a good romantic line or two and it makes her a fantastic Cupid.So when she lands in the Hollywood Hills a place that proves film stars, golden beaches and secret waterfalls don't just exist in the movies she can't resist playing matchmaker for her handsome neighbour, carpenter Ren.But you can't hide from love in La La Land.And isn't there something a little bit hot about Ren, her own leading man next door?EVERYONE ADORES LOVE ME DOA total delight . . . captures all the sunny glamour of LA, but still so relatable and completely hilarious. You need this book in your suitcase this summer!' BETH O'LEARYMy favourite LIndsey book yet, and her funniest . . . I loved it' DAISY BUCHANANA new Lindsey book is the next best thing to going on holiday' MHAIRI McFARLANEA stunner of a summer read . . . Deliciously fun . . . Make sure this one's on your summer reading list' GLAMOURA vitamin D-infused delight' STYLISTLindsey Kelk never leaves Phoebe without a quip. It's all done with an engagingly light touch and plenty of jokes' TimesA gorgeously warm and funny rom-com. A delight' LOUISE O'NEILLDelicious escapism at its very best. An utterly unforgettable, spirit-lifting summer rom com that's full of soul, joy, laugh-out-loud moments and meaning. Flawless' HELLY ACTONFabulous, feel-good and funny. I loved it! The perfect rom com to pack in your suitcase this summer' ALEXANDRA POTTERFun, fizzy and utterly rom-com-tastic, Lindsey Kelk has knocked it out of the park yet again!' MIKE GAYLEHer books are my go-to comfort reads. Love Me Do transported me to California . . . I loved every minute' SOPHIE COUSENSFunny and summery and so, so delicious' SOPHIE IRWINBlissfully funny' The iTold with all of Kelk's trademark humour and warmth, Love Me Do is an essential holiday read' RedLindsey's books make the ideal summer read' Woman & HomeA funny, heartwarming romcom will whip you up into a feelgood frenzy, yearning for sunnier climes and a hot dalliance of your own' HeatA perfect summer read' CloserTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR LINDSEY KELK’S ROMCOMS: ‘So uplifting and wildly romantic’ MARIAN KEYES ‘Genuinely funny, engaging and sparkly’ JANE FALLON ‘The literary equivalent of opening a glass of wine with your best friend’ MHAIRI MCFARLANE ‘The kind of book you can’t put down, but also want to last forever’ EMILY HENRY ‘I’ll read anything Lindsey Kelk writes’ BETH O’LEARY ’As warm and satisfying as a hot chocolate on a winter’s day’ HEAT ‘We loved this feel-good book’ Bella ‘Funny and feel-good, this is another brilliant read from Lindsey Kelk’ Closer ‘We all need an escape at times, and who better to serve a delicious, escapist romance?’ Woman’s Weekly ‘Another perfect romantic comedy from Lindsey Kelk, who always gets the balance of rom and com exactly right’ Sarra Manning, RED ‘Swoops you up and fills your heart with such joy’ GIOVANNA FLETCHER ‘Sparkling and gorgeously romantic’ SARAH MORGAN ‘Touching, hugely romantic and properly laugh-out-loud funny’ SOPHIA MONEY-COUTTS ‘I laughed and cried with every chapter, I never wanted it to end’ LUCY VINE ‘Utterly brilliant: super smart, achingly funny and just impossible to put down’ ROSIE WALSH ‘The perfect balance between sparkly escapism and big-hearted realness’ SOPHIE RANALD ‘As warm as a hug but as funny as a night out with the girls’ LAURA JANE WILLIAMS ‘Perfect, escapist fiction’ LIA LOUIS ‘You will not want to miss your invite to this ball’ CRESSIDA MCLAUGHLIN ‘Full of Lindsey’s trademark warmth and wit’ ALEX BROWN ‘Everything a perfect and iconic romcom should be’ CARMEL HARRINGTON ‘You cannot spell romcom without Lindsey Kelk’ LAUREN HO
£7.99
Bloom Books Where It All Began
Book Synopsis
£13.29
HarperCollins Publishers Why Mummy Drinks at Christmas
Book SynopsisI romped through Why Mummy Drinks at Christmas', and I absolutely adored it' Jilly CooperTis' the season to get trollied!Mummy has always loved Christmas. Sure, the kids turn into demons, the dinner gets burnt to a crisp and Aunt Louisa's general staggering inappropriateness sends Mummy reaching for the nearest maximum-strength festive tipple, but nevertheless, for her, Christmas is always special.This year, she wants nothing more than to perfectly fig up the pudding and sit by the fire reading aloud from A Christmas Carol to a rapt, rosy-cheeked audience. But, just like all Mummy's best-laid plans, this year's Festive Vision is in danger of being totally derailed by her chaotic family. There's not much chance of any action under the mistletoe, and the kids are just not playing ball.Can Mummy find her silver lining after all and bring the whole family together for one moment of harmony, so they can finally proclaim Verily You Are the Queen of Christmas'? Or should she get stuck into the festive spirits and just let it all go?Trade Review‘Such a great writer’ Jilly Cooper
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers The Cornish Wedding Murder
Book Synopsis ‘A sparklingly delicious confection to satisfy the mystery reader’s appetite’ Helena Dixon, bestselling author of the Miss Underhay Mysteries
£9.49
Little, Brown & Company That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Vol. 17
Book SynopsisThis volume marks the first short-story collection in the Slime series, taking a deep dive into the epic tale’s fantasy world—and what its characters get up to when Rimuru isn’t bossing them around! Gard Mjöllmile, the most powerful human member of Tempest’s government, is up to some less-than-proper dealings in the Western Nations; Velgrynd gets involved with a familiar-looking planet as she traces the trail of her lover; Caligulio starts facing up to his past as he strives to rebuild the Empire; and Raine, Primal Demon and servant of the demon lord Guy Crimson, has a complaint or two about her toxic work environment. All that plus an extra tale you won’t want to miss in this stellar collection!
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Murder at the Book Festival
Book Synopsis''Wow, what a read! Great plot and characters. Everything you want in a mystery. This series gets better with every book'' NetGalley reviewer, ?????When a body is found at the Merrywell Book Festival, amateur sleuth Violet Brewster must leave no page unturned to solve the mysteryThe small and idyllic village of Merrywell is getting ready to host its first ever book festival, and Violet Brewster is delighted when she is asked to interview the star author.Leonie Stanwick, now a bestselling romance author, is the featured guest of the festival. She was born in Merrywell, but abruptly left when she was 18 years old and never came back.But the festival takes a dark turn when Leonie is found murdered; her return to the village had clearly shaken someone up. When a shocking secret about Leonie's past is revealed, Violet's suspicions must turn to her own neighbours. Who in the village was intent on making sure Leonie could never leave the village again?An utterly gripping and unputdownable Eng
£9.49
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster Murder Your Employer
Book SynopsisA New York Times bestseller! From Edgar Award-winning novelist, playwright, and story-songwriter Rupert Holmes comes a diabolical thriller with a killer concept: The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, “a fantasy academy laid out like a combination of Hogwarts, Downton Abbey, and a White Lotus-style resort” (Los Angeles Times) dedicated to the art of murder where students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim.Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location un
£25.20
Headline Publishing Group The Second Chance Year
Book Synopsis''I could not put this one down. Just a truly fun and satisfying read from start to finish'' ANITA KELLY''[A]n adorable, swoony, beautifully written romance that I devoured in a day. Full of warmth, heart (and food), I was completely charmed by Sadie and Jacob and cried all the happy tears. I didn''t want it to end!'' CATHERINE WALSHOne disastrous year. One magical wish. One chance to change the past. In one fell swoop, Sadie Thatcher managed to lose her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend. So when a fortune teller offers her one wish, Sadie longs to redo her awful year. More than a little sceptical, she makes her wish, opens her eyes, and . . . nothing has changed. And then, in perhaps her worst move yet, she kisses her brother''s best friend, Jacob.When Sadie wakes up the next morning, she''s in her former apartment with her former boyfriend, and her former boss is expecting her at work. She realises it''s January 1 . . . of l
£9.34
Pan Macmillan Mixed Signals
Book SynopsisB.K. Borison is the author of cozy, contemporary romances featuring emotionally vulnerable characters and swoon-worthy settings. When she's not daydreaming about fictional characters doing fictional things, she's at home with her family, more than likely buying books she doesn't have room for. Lovelight Farms was her debut novel.Trade ReviewSweet and sexy. Everything you’d ever need in a romance. I’ll buy everything B.K Borison writes. - Hannah Grace, Sunday Times bestselling author of ICEBREAKER'Small town swoon' - Tessa Bailey, #1 New York Times bestselling author of IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER'A delicious dwindling-days-of-summer indulgence' - Chloe Liese, author of TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT 'The Lovelight series is my happy place' - Sarah Adams, author of THE CHEAT SHEET
£9.49
Little, Brown & Company Arya Next Door Sometimes Lapses into Russian,
Book SynopsisMasachika Kuse sits next to Arya, a girl of Russian and Japanese descent. She’sbeautiful, haughty, and an exceptional student, while Masachika is nerdy and known forbeing a slacker. He’s an easy target for her comments in Russian, which she’s all toohappy to translate—except he can understand what she’s really saying!
£12.34
Pan Macmillan The Reader on the 6.27
Book SynopsisJean-Paul Didierlaurent lives in the Vosges region of France. His short stories have twice won the International Hemingway Award. The Reader on the 6.27 is his first novel. A bestseller in France, it has been sold in over twenty-five territories.Trade ReviewA delightful tale about the kinship of reading . . . Already a bestseller in France, The Reader on the 6.27 looks set to woo British readers and become a book club favourite. * Independent on Sunday *Charming . . . It is a clever, funny, and humane work that champions the power of literature * Sunday Times *This contemporary fable was acquired by more than twenty countries. A beautiful testimony to the universality of the love of books * Livres Hebdo *The humanity of the characters . . . the re-enchantment of everyday life, the power of words and literature, tenderness and humor . . . The Reader on the 6.27 is a must. * L'Express *I read it in one sitting, I couldn't put it down! * Literary Loveliness - Hello Magazine Online *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Three Men in a Boat
Book SynopsisComplete and unabridged.Three Men in a Boat remains one of the best-loved and most entertaining comic novels. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, unabridged, 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 features illustrations by A. Frederics and an afterword by David Stuart Davies.Join our young heroes J., George and Harris (not forgetting Montmorency, the mischievous, irascible fox terrier) as they take a boating holiday along the Thames. Their aim is to escape the weary workaday world and improve their health, but they are ill prepared for the various escapades, difficulties and vicissitudes that they encounter along the watery way. The adventures of these incompetent innocents abroad are magnified to epic proportions by the storyteller, J. His narration gives the book not only a wonderful endearing freshness but also a series of hilarious moments of timeless comedy.Trade ReviewThere are a few seriously funny books that remain great for all time. Three Men in a Boat is one of these. -- Robert McCrum * Guardian *Ultimately, Three Men in a Boat is a study of friendship, human foibles and forgiveness. Returning to the book is like settling in for a fireside chat with an eccentric great-uncle who has seen it all, done it all, but who's still more ready to mock himself than others. -- Mark Mills * Independent *
£10.44
Transworld Publishers Ltd The Compleat AnkhMorpork
Book SynopsisTerry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of over fifty bestselling books which have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any. www.terrypratchettbooks.comTrade Review • "You'd have thought that, by now, Pratchett would be running out of ideas; thankfully, however, the universe he created 25 years ago just keeps on giving... It's a triumphant effort." --Independent on Sunday
£21.25
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Bergdorf Blondes
Book SynopsisThe no. 1 Sunday Times bestselling satire of New York high society from the wickedly funny Plum Sykes''Perfectly pitched playful, funny, satirical and sweet. I laughed out loud many times'' Anna Wintour, Vogue''Sykes has a distinctive, wily and well-deployed comic voice Into the blender go Bridget Jones, Anita Loos, Sex and the City and Clueless; out comes a diabolically amusing concoction'' New York Times''A masterpiece: never has intelligence been so wickedly dark, on-point and outright funny ... I'm full of awe and admiration'' Alain de Botton on Party Girls Die in PearlsMeet moi, a champagne bubble of a girl about town working at being a princess by day and by night on the prowl for that elusive, must-have accessory every girl simply demands: an impossibly rich fiancé''. It shouldn't be too tricky. After all, her BFF is Julie Bergdorf, department store heiress, Trade ReviewA masterpiece: never has intelligence been so wickedly dark, on-point and outright funny ... I’m full of awe and admiration * Alain de Botton on Party Girls Die in Pearls *Highly entertaining and intelligent … Whips along at an exhilarating speed * Mail on Sunday *Sparkling, bliss, glitteringly honest … A delicious bubble of a book. I haven’t had so much fun since re-reading the Mitford novels -- Rachel Johnson * Spectator *Plum Sykes channels Nancy Mitford and Holly Golightly with great charm and sweetness -- Jane GreenRiveting, the sparkiest kind of fable * The Times *Perfectly pitched – playful, funny, satirical and sweet. I laughed out loud many times -- Anna Wintour * Vogue *Bright, funny … Haute couture chick lit -- Candace BushnellSykes has a distinctive, wily and well-deployed comic voice … Into the blender go Bridget Jones, Anita Loos, Sex and the City and Clueless; out comes a diabolically amusing concoction -- Janet Maslin * New York Times *Mishaps and misadventures, fabulously accessorized, très romantic. A comedy of social mores in Manhattan * Daily Mail *Explosive … Lifts the lid on the swirling social world of New York’s fashion industry * Daily Express *Savagely funny * Observer *Fun, bubbly, riveting * Daily Telegraph *Hilarious, witty and clever, it’s the story of a New York society girl about town with a wardrobe to die for and loads of charm * Woman & Home *Sykes has an upbeat, breathy style … Sharp observations * New Statesman *Playfully witty … A deft, sparky, sharply observed comedy * Metro *Fizzes like a lychee bellini * In Style *Sharply observed, frothy * Tatler *If dreaming how the other half lives appeals, you’ll be delighted by this tale of an English girl let loose among the platinum blondes, peach bellinis and Park Avenue mansions of New York’s high fliers * Red *
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group The Cat Who Saw Stars The Cat Who Mysteries Book
Book SynopsisJim Qwilleran, newspaper columnist and Moose County''s richest resident, is intrigued to hear about the mysterious disappearance of an unidentified backpacker somewhere in Fishport, a village near Mooseville where he has a log cabin. With its hundred miles of lake for a vista and its great dome of sky, Mooseville is just the place to spend a short summer vacation. Rest and relaxation, however, are out of the question, for Qwill finds himself dragged into some hightly innovative plans for this year''s fourth of July parade.Above all, he is determined to dispel the rumours circulating that extraterrestrial beings may be responsible for the missing backpacker...Trade Review'The fastidious plotting is designed to appeal to more than just the cat-lover' The Times
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton The Man I Think I Know
Book SynopsisAs seen on ITV in the Zoe Ball Book Club''Beautifully written, thought-provoking and completely charming.'' Ruth Hogan''Mike Gayle is the king of touching, human stories, and this big-hearted book is his best yet'' Heat, 5* This is the stunning novel from bestselling author Mike Gayle, for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. A powerful and bittersweet story of an unexpected male friendship and an unlikely love story, a thought provoking storyline told with Mike''s distinctive wit and insight, touching on issues which affect us all. This uplifting tale reminds us of the simple courage at the heart of every human being.Ever since The Incident, James DeWitt has stayed on the safe side.He likes to know what happens next.Danny Allen is not on the safe side. He is more past the point ofTrade ReviewThe Man I Think I Know by Mike Gayle is amazing! Really uplifting and a jolly good read to boot -- Katie FfordeThat rarest of things; a moving, beautifully written novel about male friendship. The Man I Think I Know is a truthful, wise and wonderfully redemptive story about men stripped bare of the traditional ideals of masculinity - success, strength, power - learning to face up to the real world. I absolutely loved it. -- Lisa JewellThe Man I Think I Know by Mike Gayle is amazing! Really uplifting and a jolly good read to boot -- Katie FfordeBeautifully written, thought-provoking and completely charming. Mike does a wonderful job of tackling a tricky subject (ABI) with sensitivity, wit and humour. His story reminds us that the everyday things we take for granted without realising how precious they are, can be snatched away in an instant with catastrophic consequences. But I think the thing that struck me most about this book were the voices of Danny Allen and James DeWitt. They were pitch-perfect and helped to create a pair of characters I was rooting for from the start and cheering for by the end. -- Ruth HoganBeautifully written, thought-provoking and completely charming. Mike does a wonderful job of tackling a tricky subject (ABI) with sensitivity, wit and humour. His story reminds us that the everyday things we take for granted without realising how precious they are, can be snatched away in an instant with catastrophic consequences. But I think the thing that struck me most about this book were the voices of Danny Allen and James DeWitt. They were pitch-perfect and helped to create a pair of characters I was rooting for from the start and cheering for by the end. -- Ruth HoganLoved this novel - insightful, moving and funny. Read it -- Freya NorthLoved this novel - insightful, moving and funny. Read it -- Freya NorthMike is always wise and wonderful, but this is a whole new departure for him - read it! -- Jenny ColganA very special book. A moving, thought-provoking storyline told with humour and insight. I loved the distinctive voices of James and Danny and really missed them when I finished it! -- Tracy ReesMike is always wise and wonderful, but this is a whole new departure for him - read it! -- Jenny ColganA very special book. A moving, thought-provoking storyline told with humour and insight. I loved the distinctive voices of James and Danny and really missed them when I finished it! -- Tracy ReesThe Man I Think I Know is gloriously good. Touching, uplifting, brave and funny, it's a story of life, second chances and daring to believe in better things. James and Danny's friendship is beautifully portrayed: I was rooting for them from the start and cheering them to the finish. I defy anyone not to fall in love with this book. Downright wonderful! -- Miranda DickinsonMike Gayle is the king of touching, human stories, and this big-hearted book is his best yet. 5* * Heat *The Man I Think I Know is gloriously good. Touching, uplifting, brave and funny, it's a story of life, second chances and daring to believe in better things. James and Danny's friendship is beautifully portrayed: I was rooting for them from the start and cheering them to the finish. I defy anyone not to fall in love with this book. Downright wonderful! -- Miranda DickinsonMike Gayle is the king of touching, human stories, and this big-hearted book is his best yet. 5* * Heat *Powerful * Hello magazine *You'll be both laughing and on the edge of tears with this brilliant read * Fabulous magazine *Powerful * Hello magazine *You'll be both laughing and on the edge of tears with this brilliant read * Fabulous magazine *That rarest of things; a moving, beautifully written novel about male friendship. The Man I Think I Know is a truthful, wise and wonderfully redemptive story about men stripped bare of the traditional ideals of masculinity - success, strength, power - learning to face up to the real world. I absolutely loved it. * Lisa Jewell *
£8.09
Little, Brown Book Group Sex And The City
Book SynopsisAnd Just Like That... 25 Years of Sex and the CityTHE ORIGINAL BESTSELLING NOVELWildly funny, unexpectedly poignant, wickedly observant, SEX AND THE CITY blazes a glorious, drunken cocktail trail through New York, as Candace Bushnell, columnist and social critic par excellence, trips on her Manolo Blahnik kitten heels from the Baby Doll Lounge to the Bowery Bar. An Armistead Maupin for the real world, she has the gift of assembling a huge and irresistible cast of freaks and wonders, while remaining faithful to her hard core of friends and fans: those glamorous, rebellious, crazy single women, too close to forty, who are trying hard not to turn from the Audrey Hepburn of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY''S into the Glen Close of FATAL ATTRACTION, and are - still - looking for love.''Jane Austen with a martini'' Sunday Telegraph''The book that sparked a cultural phenomenon'' Oprah''Fascinating... hilariousTrade ReviewJane Austen with a martini * Sunday Telegraph *Hilarious... a compulsively readable book, served up in bite-sized chunks of irrepressible irreverence * Marie Claire *Fascinating... hilarious... welcome to the cruel planet that is Manhattan * Los Angeles Times *Bushnell is a deft writer, possessing a sly sense of humor and sharp insight into human behaviour * People *Bushnell's beat is that demi-monde of nightclubs, bars, restaurants and parties where the rich come into contact with the infamous, the famous with the wannabes and the publicity-hungry with the gossip-peddlers * Evening Standard *Intriguing and highly entertaining * Helen Fielding *The book that sparked a cultural phenomenon * Oprah *Bushnell is the modern flame carrier of an established literary tradition: that of American (usually New York) women writers depicting the rigid social and slackening sexual rules of a very particular American (and, again, usually New York) set through a mix of close personal knowledge and fiction... Compared with the hugely popular television series, the book is tough, unapologetic and jittery with anxiety... hilarious, hard-edged, delightful, harsh, elegant and fun * Guardian *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Morality for beautiful girls
Book SynopsisThe third book in the multi-million copy bestselling No. 1 Ladies'' Detective Agency seriesThe one with the boy who might have been raised by lionsFacing financial trouble, the No. 1 Ladies'' Detective Agency is obliged to move into the same premises as Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. And on top of her domestic complications with her fiancé Mr J. L. B. Matekoni and his adopted children, Motholeli and Puso, Mma Ramotswe faces several challenging cases. These include some unattractive behaviour among the contestants in a beauty pageant, and the perplexing discovery of a boy running wild, who smells of lion...''Charming, delightful, feel-good stuff'' Daily Express''Unalloyed pleasure'' Sunday Telegraph''Charming'' Scotland on Sunday''One of the most entrancing treats of many a year'' Wall Street JournalTrade ReviewCharming, delightful, feel-good stuff * Daily Express *One of the most entrancing treats of many a year * Wall Street Journal *Unalloyed pleasure * Sunday Telegraph *
£9.49
Alma Books Ltd Exercises in Style
Book SynopsisOn a crowded bus at midday, the narrator observes one man accusing another of jostling him deliberately. When a seat is vacated, the first man takes it. Later, in another part of town, the man is spotted again, while being advised by a friend to have another button sewn onto his overcoat. Exercises in Style retells this apparently unremarkable tale ninety-nine times, employing a variety of styles, ranging from sonnet to cockney to mathematical formula. Too funny to be merely a pedantic thesis, this virtuoso set of themes and variations is a linguistic rustremover, a guide to literary forms and a demonstration of imagery and inventiveness.Trade ReviewWitty, playful, ingenious, it manages to transcend its own sophistication by a sort of verbal slapstick which Miss Wright translated into pure Groucho Marxism. * The Guardian * Midway between Lewis Carroll and Jacques Derrida, in a deliriously witty dimension of its own, lies Queneau's Exercises in Style... Barbara Wright's dazzling translation matches this oddball classic step by step, pun by pun. * The Independent * A pointless anecdote told in 99 different ways, or a work of genius in a brilliant translation by Barbara Wright. In fact it's both. Endlessly fascinating and very funny. -- Philip Pullman I've loved Exercises in Style for years. This translation is impeccable, extraordinary. -- Philip Pullman
£7.59
Vintage Publishing God Bless You Mr Rosewater
Book SynopsisWith the satirical eye of his science fiction author alter ego Kilgore Trout, the author of Slaughterhouse-Five delivers a classic of modern American literature.Eliot Rosewater, President of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation and volunteer firefighter, is tortured by an inheritance he doesn't feel that he deserves. After (unfortunately) developing a social conscience, he sets out on a drunken tour of America, unravelling a little more at every stop until his path crosses with the science-fiction writer Kilgore Trout. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is one of Kurt Vonnegut's funniest satires, about the pleasures, pains and perversions of people and money, the obsessions of a famous family and the collective madness of a nation.Trade ReviewVonnegut faces up to the less glamorous phenomenon of human mediocrity in this sharp, hilarious, boundlessly humane story. It taught me about compassion and a few things about writing good dialogue -- Michel Faber * Glasgow Herald *Rumbustious stuff... There may be greater novelists than Vonnegut, but there can be a few, if any, with as much good humour and generosity * Guardian *Filled with irony and black humour and a woozy bonhomie * Sunday Times *Wild hilarity * Sunday Telegraph *Extremely funny * Observer *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Tiepolo Blue: 'The best novel I have read for
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB FIRST NOVEL AWARD'Divine . . . the smart, sexy read you need' Evening Standard'Startlingly impressive' Daily Mail'An electric new novel' GuardianExiled from his university position for an inexcusable blunder, art historian Don Lamb flees to London, a city alive with sex and creativity. There, over the course of a long, hot summer, as he is immersed in the anarchic art and gay scenes of the mid-90s, Don sees his carefully curated life irrevocably changed. But his epiphany is also a reckoning, as his unexamined past is revealed to him in a devastating new light.Intense and atmospheric, Tiepolo Blue traces Don's turbulent awakening, and his desperate flight from art into life.'Wildly enjoyable . . . A novel that combines formal elegance with gripping storytelling' Financial Times'Dizzying and exciting and unsettling, and beautifully told' Reverend Richard Coles, Daily MailTrade ReviewThis divine debut from art critic and academic James Cahill is the smart, sexy read you need in 2022. Expect to see it on prize lists as well as Instagram feeds. The novel's protagonist is Professor Don Lamb, a precocious but prematurely stuffy art historian and Cambridge don, who likes measuring the skies in the paintings of Venetian master Tiepolo. Lamb takes preternatural offence when a Tracey Emin-esque bed sculpture is installed outside his college lodgings, and departs to London in a sulk for a new museum gig. There awaits a new kind of awakening - and it's not just because the YBAs are taking off. Not only an addictive pageturner, Cahill's book taps into the tensions and suspicions between generations that feels incredibly relevant for our testy times. * Evening Standard *Bringing together the Italian masters and the Young British Artists, this is a debut that looks at art, power, academia, and the potential of the urban setting at the end of the 20th century. * Dazed.com *The story of Tiepolo Blue and its people have invaded my dreams...something in the way Cahill puts the reader in Don Lamb's shoes does (or has done in my case) extraordinary things. I blushed and howled warnings and wanted to slap, cajole, hug, disown, disavow and walk away from him. His life will look so squalid and pathetic from the outside, but Cahill takes us inside and we somehow respect and love him. This is the best novel I have read for ages. It is so beautifully written, not a false note in any sentence. Cahill's presentation of the agonising clash of aesthetics, of culture, of generations... it's just masterly. Don's disintegration is painful to read, but it all grips you like a thriller. My heart was constantly in my throat as I read... There is so much to enjoy, to contemplate, to wonder at, and to be lost in. -- Stephen FryThe spirit of E.M. Forster is alive and well in James Cahill. The same palpating of damaged moral tissue, the same psychological canniness, the same gently invoked erudition, the same exactitude and eloquence - except Cahill is able to explore forbidden themes that Forster feared to touch on except posthumously -- Edmund WhiteThis is a novel full of suspense and surprise. It made me laugh and brought back memories of a time in my own life. I missed the characters as soon as I'd finished. -- Sarah LucasI travelled on the exquisite vessel of James Cahill's prose, unable to disembark. The journey is sensual, treacherous and elegiac. The final landing, breath-taking. -- Maggi HamblingWow. It is magnificent. Simply magnificent...Tiepolo Blue really has blown me away: the gorgeous phrase-making; the sure-footed pacing; the (re-)immersion in a world I know, or knew, in a way that is both hard-edged with historical detail and almost hallucinatory...The last debut novel I read that had this much talent buzzing around inside it was Alan Hollinghurst's The Swimming-Pool Library. -- Robert Douglas - FairhurstImagine if Hollinghurst and Murdoch collaborated on a witty update of Death in Venice and you'll see the appeal of James Cahill's assured debut. -- Patrick GaleJames Cahill's first novel, drawn from close observation, tells a gripping tale of the worlds of traditional academia and art history pitted against those of contemporary art, each failing horribly to understand the other. As a result all becomes infused with satirical comedy and ghastly tragedy. -- Norman Rosenthal * Curator of the ‘Sensation’ exhibition in 1997; former Exhibitions Secretary at the Royal Academy *An absorbing coming-of-age story. * The Art Newspaper *The standout [recent novel about art] is James Cahill's Tiepolo Blue...Interrogating beauty and meaning in art, Tiepolo Blue rewards rereading. Pointing to masked, tricksy identities, clues glitter gem-like amid hallucinatory prose...a stylish tale of love and long-game revenge. * Royal Academy Magazine *The worlds of art, academia and queerness collide in James Cahill's debut book. * i-D *[An] arresting debut novel . . . a masterly attention to (especially visual) detail and an irresistibly propulsive, almost swaggering style . . . Cahill is by no means a polemical author, and the novel is all the better for it. Any authorial commentary is barely detectable above the crowd of vivid characters with which Cahill has populated his novel, for Tiepolo Blue is, at its heart, an astute character study. * Literary Review *Evocative and accurate... meticulous and atmospheric... delicious unease and pervasive threat give this assured first novel great singularity and a kind of gothic edge... an electric new novel written by an author skilled in the evocation of vertiginous, heightened emotion' * Michael Donkor, Guardian *One of the standout debut novels is James Cahill's Tiepolo Blue, a coming-of-age tale set in London in the 1990s that deftly explores what it is like to suffer a very public fall from grace * Independent *What starts off as a campus novel soon shades into something weirder and much more mesmerizing... The plot is propulsive, though the crafted ambience of unease simultaneously destabilizes the reader at every turn. The prose is fluid and precise but the tone equivocal, bathos merging into pathos, tragedy into farce and back again... It's a measure of Cahill's sleight of hand that he manages to inject his plot with such page-turning momentum. -- Lucasta Miller * TLS *Art, academia and abject self-denial combine in this startlingly impressive, 1990s-set debut...A heavily perfumed, sexually tender, psychologically acute novel... as full of light and colour as Tiepolo's incandescent skies. * Daily Mail *[A] simmering debut novel * Esquire.com *With touches of Alan Hollinghurst, the musings of the book's protagonist on the radical power of art to act as a catalyst for personal change make it an exhilarating, erudite read. * Vogue.com *A novel that combines formal elegance with gripping storytelling...wildly enjoyable...The combination of arty milieu and sexual stirrings may evoke Alan Hollinghurst, but Iris Murdoch is a more obvious point of comparison...Snobbish and incompetent, Don may be difficult to like, but his painful awakening is delicately rendered. * Financial Times *I love the punctured idealism, contained savagery and ever-lurking farce of campus novels, and there are some delicious new additions to the genre - perfect antidotes for the cold. James Cahill's Tiepolo Blue tells the tale of a fusty ferociously fusty art historian whose academic career is upended by a ferociously unbeautiful sculpture. * TLS *[An] old-fashioned ambitious novel about the wonders of art and the depths of the human heart, full of people and ideas * The Times *I just devoured Tiepolo Blue, I could not put it down. The longing, the beauty, the detail, the complexity, the art, the intellect and the emotion . . . What a triumph! -- Paul KindersleyAlready a compelling psychosexual story about beauty, desire and art, Tiepolo Blue is all the more interesting because it hits notes of such strangeness -- Lucy Scholes, Fiction Books of the Year * Prospect *Tiepolo Blue is about a buttoned-up art historian in Cambridge in 1994 who messes up and gets a job managing a London gallery just as the Young British Artists enter their glory. One of them initiates his unbuttoning which is dizzying and exciting and unsettling, and beautifully told -- Rev Richard Coles, Big writers on their best reads of 2022 * Daily Mail *Most giddying are the passages that evoke the slow-mo slide of Don's professional collapse . . . I shivered with awful delight -- Alex Diggins * Critic *
£9.49
Orion Publishing Co Hogfather
Book SynopsisThe ultimate Christmas read. Terry Pratchett''s Hogswatch masterpiece that will leave you laughing out loud and help you understand what makes us uniquely human.''He is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style'' Daily TelegraphIT''S THE NIGHT BEFORE HOGSWATCH AND IT''S TOO QUIET.Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won''t be a morning. Ever again...The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too).As they say: You''d better watch out...Readers reread Hogfather time and time again:''Hilariously entertaining . . . a high recommendation to new and old Pratchett fans. This one will definitely remain my beloved annual holiday read'' GoTrade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight. - GuardianHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style. - Daily TelegraphHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction. - Mail on SundayPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own. - Sunday Times
£13.49
Orion Publishing Co Small Gods
Book Synopsis''An intriguing satire on institutionalized religion corrupted by power . . .'' Independent''Deftly weaves themes of forgiveness, belief and spiritual regeneration'' The TimesIn the beginning was the Word.And the Word was: Hey, you!For Brutha the novice is the Chosen One. He wants peace and justice and brotherly love.He also wants the Inquisition to stop torturing him now, please . . .Readers adore Small Gods:''One of Pratchetts best works, retelling what has happened, happens, and will happen as soon as faith goes mad, uncontrolled, and vicious, tries to expand its sphere of influence and doesnt care about the foundations and rules, contradicting its own commandments'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''It makes you contemplate so many things. Beyond religion too. There were so many passages when I was musing It''s like this thought has sTrade ReviewA sequence of unalloyed delight - GuardianHe is screamingly funny. He is wise. He has style. - Daily TelegraphHis spectacular inventiveness makes the Discworld series one of the perennial joys of modern fiction. - Mail on SundayPratchett has a subject and a style that is very much his own. - Sunday Times
£13.49
Orion Publishing Co Moving Pictures
Book SynopsisA hilarious take on the movie industry and all its foibles. Moving Pictures is filled to the brim with Sir Terry Pratchett''s signature wit and cutting humour''An enduring, endearing presence in comic literature'' GuardianThe alchemists of the Discworld have discovered the magic of the silver screen. But what is the dark secret of Holy Wood hill?It''s up to Victor Tugelbend (''Can''t sing. Can''t dance. Can handle a sword a little'') and Theda Withel (''I come from a little town you''ve probably never heard of'') to find out...MOVING PICTURES, THE TENTH DISCWORLD NOVEL IS A GLORIOUSLY FUNNY SAGA SET AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF A WORLD GONE MAD!Readers love Moving Pictures:''One of his funniest . . . Pratchett has fun making fun of greed and the allure of misguided hero worship'' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ''I burst out laughing several times while re
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Once Upon a Leap Year
Book SynopsisYou will fall for Noah and Lucy . . . this is one of those stories that will capture your attention and not let it go' Reader review ?????I couldn't get enough of this story' Reader review ?????I was hooked from page one. Following Noah and Lucy''s life over twenty years broke my heart, made me laugh and eventually had me swooning' Reader review ?????* * *A gorgeous, high-concept romcom about finding love and daring to take a chance. After all, it's all about timing. . .29th February 2000. Lucy's never met another leapling until she encounters Noah also spending his once-in-four-years birthday on a disappointing day trip to Calais. There's a spark that Lucy is sure Noah must feel too, and their friends insist they have amazing chemistry, but they're both with other people. It can never be more than platonic and that's OK.Over the next twenty years, they're at each other's side through all of life's big moments weddings, babies, new jobs, family illness but Lucy can never shake the feTrade Review'A great, heartwarming read' Fabulous 'This immersive romcom is just what you need on a cold winter's night' Chat 'A heartwarming read' That's Life
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Agent to the Stars
Book SynopsisFrom New York Times bestseller and Hugo Award-winner John Scalzi, Agent to the Stars is a brilliantly witty first-contact story unlike any other.Showbiz is about to go interstellarAs an ambitious young agent, Thomas Stein knows all about the art of the deal, even if his actors aren’t quite A-list material. But he’s about to receive some out-of-this-world clients – literally. The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to talk interstellar peace. One problem: they’re also hideous, and smell like rotting fish.For Stein, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the hottest name in Hollywood. Or on the planet. Yet it’s one thing to land a client’s blockbuster film role – and quite another to negotiate for an entire alien race. He’ll need every ounce of his charm, wit and wiles. But even with these considerable talents, can he really give the Yherajk the makeover they need to shine on the world’s stage?Praise for John Scalzi:‘John Scalzi is the most entertaining, accessible writer working in SF today’ – Joe Hill‘Scalzi is one of the slickest writers that SF has ever produced’ – Wall Street Journal
£8.54
Gallery Books In a Holidaze
Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners.It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions. But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy. The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe. Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
£14.39
Little, Brown Book Group Scenes of a Graphic Nature
Book SynopsisTHE RACHEL INCIDENT - Caroline O''Donoghue''s bestselling new novel* - is out nowCharlie''s life isn''t going forward - so she''s decided to go back After a tough few years floundering around the British film industry and experimenting with amateur pornography, Charlie and her best friend Laura take a trip to her familial home on an island off the west coast of Ireland. Her father''s health is rapidly declining and this could be the last chance to connect with her roots. But events on the island cause Charlie to doubt her father''s childhood stories - and then there''s her complicated relationship with Laura. Pursuing the truth will shatter everything she thought knew - but is that what it takes to grow up?''A gorgeous exploration of the messy and fragile nature of friendship and all the many forms of love'' IRISH TIMES''A darkly humorous, keenly observed blend of millennial drift and murder mystery Trade ReviewScenes of a Graphic Nature has all the components of a perfect page-turner: beautiful prose, truthful characters, hilarious dialogue and an addictive plot. I loved it -- Dolly AldertonA dark yet joyous novel about family and friendship * Grazia *Wonderful!!! Scenes of a Graphic Nature had me GRIPPED. About friendship and failure, Ireland and England, love and guilt, cover-ups and brutal honesty. It's really, really, really, REALLY good -- Marian KeyesThe brilliant O'Donoghue's second novel is a moving and extremely funny look at family, roots and the myth of Irishness * i paper *It might be the best novel of 2020 * You Magazine, Irish Mail on Sunday *So dark and funny, bleak yet full of heart, touching on friendship and love and belonging ... you're in for a treat -- Ayisha MalikWitty, tender and insightful . . . O'Donoghue is a perceptive, clever writer * Guardian *A gorgeous exploration of the messy and fragile nature of friendship and all the many forms of love, as well as of the primal need we all have to belong * Irish Times *A darkly humorous, keenly observed blend of millennial drift and murder mystery from a razor-sharp writer -- Sara Manning * Red *Absolutely loved it. It's an absorbing blend of quarter-life crisis mixed with a bit of mystery * Irish Tatler *Scenes Of A Graphic Nature is a truly extraordinary novel - I inhaled it. It's thrillingly dark, but so moving and human - it's one of the most intelligent, well observed depictions of lust, loss, envy, betrayal, friendship and love that I've ever read. Charlie is so real, courageous, vulnerable, infuriating and adorable. The book itself mirrors Charlie's experience of Ireland - sometimes it's warm and joyous, sometimes it's hostile and terrifying, but even when you know you're in danger, you want to stay for longer and fall even deeper into the pages -- Daisy BuchananWith Scenes Of A Graphic Nature, Caroline O'Donoghue establishes herself as one of the most exciting young Irish writers on the literary scene. Her acerbic wit is matched by her sharp-eyed observations, resulting in a piece of fiction that is dark, gripping, and beautifully written -- Louise O'NeillI absolutely loved it. I felt so connected to the family. It took me on such a journey and I learnt so much; It made me really think about identity, who we are, and why we do what we do. Such a beautiful book, I can't stop thinking about it -- Emma GannonI was so hooked on this beautiful, funny story of homecoming and self-discovery I didn't want to put it down. The characters are wonderfully drawn and the sense of place is so compelling - it is a mystery, a fireside yarn. There is a little Maeve Binchy in there, a little Keyes, but Caroline has her own voice, and the edge to Charlie and Laura - their difficult, funny and recognisable relationship - is all her own -- Keith Stuart, author of The Boy Made of BlocksIn the inventive O'Donoghue's follow-up to Promising Young Women, she turns her tart tongue on friendship, exile and what it feels like to return to a place that no longer feels like home * i paper *Put this book somewhere safe, because it is set to be one of those you spend your life reading over and over - discovering new moments and new lessons each time. I've been a huge fan of Caroline O'Donoghue's writing for a long time and I think Scenes of a Graphic Nature - blisteringly funny and clever - is her best work yet. Raw, heartfelt and incredibly compelling, I can't recommend this enough -- Lucy Vine, bestselling author of Hot MessThe dark humour will have you guffawing into the pages * Cosmopolitan *Highly enjoyable: full of momentum and heart. O'Donoghue is a formidable talent * Sunday Business Post *[An] edgy and astute second novel . . . Caroline O'Donoghue is a master of the Technicolor character, fleshing out even the minor ones with brightness and wit . . . As ever, O'Donoghue is impressive on the complexities of being a young woman and delivers this insight with lively dialogue and a droll acuity that occasionally calls to mind the likes of Nora Ephron . . . O'Donoghue possesses an edginess and a wry sensibility that, despite the book's dark subject matter, ultimately translates into something zesty and companionable. Her easy curiosity about love, lust, loss and losing one's way will doubtless leave readers wanting more * Independent *At the heart of Caroline O'Donoghue's addictive second novel lies a simple and compelling question: can you ever outrun your past? . . . acute, clever and very funny -- Sarah Hughes * i paper *Examines self-mythology and long-repressed secrets * Stylist *A witty story of second-generation immigrants trying to belong, Scenes of a Graphic Nature grapples with love, friendship and identity -- Amber Connolly * Heat *Scenes of a Graphic Nature could have been a simpler novel. But, in its refusal to follow the expected trajectory of a prodigal return, it offers us intricate, layered humanity. Charlie Regan, in all her messy glory, is a protagonist we are willing to follow, from England to Ireland, from the past to present, and everything in between this world and the next * Lunate *Everything in Caroline O'Donoghue's new novel is messy - but in the best way. She covers important themes like family, friendship, nationality, history and health, weaving her narrator Charlie's sense of dislocation into a broader exploration of cultural identity . . . an intriguing read, raising questions about what stories should be told, when, and by whom -- Jemma Crew * Scotsman *
£9.49
Hodder & Stoughton Tales Out of School
Book Synopsis''[Gervase Phinn is] a worthy successor to James Herriot, and every bit as endearing.'' - bestselling author Alan Titchmarsh''A shining light in our dark days'' - 5 STAR reader reviewAfter an eventful start to his first ever teaching post in the sleepy village of Risingdale, Tom Dwyer is hoping for a bit of calm. Nursing a broken heart after a romantic disappointment, he just wants to keep his head down and get on with his job. But it is not to be. A beautiful London artist sets tongues wagging when she moves into the village, and her precocious yet frail son is in Tom''s class. On top of that, his colleague''s malicious ex-husband is back, determined to create mischief, and a tragedy on one of the winding country roads sends the village reeling. And all this alongside a class of children who still seem to know more about farming than fractions. With its colourful mix of characters both old and new and its many laugh-out-loud momentTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR GERVASE PHINN:Good old-fashioned yarn-spinning * The Bookbag *Packed with delightful and authentic characters, juicy gossip, precarious romance and good old-fashioned village drama, this is a warm-hearted and hilarious account of a struggling school in a small community. * Good Book Guide *As Yorkshire's favourite school inspector turns to fiction, you can enjoy memorable characters and turns of phrase. * Choice *Written with all the humour and warmth one has come to expect from this master storyteller. * Countryman *A worthy successor to James Herriot, and every bit as endearing. * Alan Titchmarsh *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Vinegar Girl
Book Synopsis'A thoroughly modern love story' Guardian Kate Battista is stuck.How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and infuriating younger sister Bunny?Trade ReviewA joy to experience. * Literary Review *A new Anne Tyler book is always a treat. The terrifically talented author is the latest to tackle Shakespeare…and our favourite so far. * Good Housekeeping *I loved Kate and Pyotr and the way they discover the oversized, tender, irreverent relationship that fits them... It is joyfulIt's knockabout comedy at its best, genuinely laugh-out-loud funny and, indeed, may be her funniest book to date * Daily Mail *The worst wedding in history ... vintage Anne Tyler * The Times *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd A Fraction Of The Whole
Book SynopsisSteve Toltz''s A Fraction of the Whole is a riotously funny explosion of a novelSHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2008From his prison cell, Jasper Dean tells the unlikely story of his scheming father Martin, his crazy Uncle Terry and how the three of them upset - mostly unintentionally - an entire continent. Incorporating death, parenting (good and bad kinds), one labyrinth, first love, a handbook for criminals, a scheme to make everyone rich and an explosive suggestion box, Steve Toltz''s A Fraction of the Whole is a hilarious, heartbreaking story of families and how to survive them.''A fat book but very light on its feet, skipping from anecdote, to rant, to reflection, like a stone skimming across a pond . . . it is brilliant'' Guardian''Sparkling comic writing . . .It gives off the unmistakeable whiff of a book that might just contain the secret of life'' Independent''With tinges of magicalTrade Review'A fat book but very light on its feet, skipping from anecdote, to rant, to reflection, like a stone skimming across a pond ... it is brilliant' Guardian 'If first novels were sandwiches, Steve Toltz's would be a juicy, swaggering doorstop of a sarnie, overflowing with eccentrically combined but delicious ingredients ... Toltz is a superb phrase-maker with an acute eye for humanity's shortfalls' Big Issue 'A grand achievement and the debut of a great comic talent ... go away and read it' Sunday Times 'Sparkling comic writing...It gives off the unmistakeable whiff of a book that might just contain the secret of life.' Independent 'With tinges of magical realism and buckets of misanthropic humour it's a clever and funny debut.' Observer
£12.34
Penguin Books Ltd The Other Side of the Story
Book Synopsis*** CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022***Step into the lives of three women whose ambitions collide in the hilarious and heart-warming novel from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups''Wonderful, subtle, hilarious and highly sophisticated. You can''t stop reading'' EVENING STANDARD''It had me in tears . . . and barking with laughter'' DAILY TELEGRAPH___________''There are three sides to every story. Your side, their side, and the truth . . .''Jojo, a sharkish literary agent, has just made a very bad career move - she''s slept with her married boss Mark.Lily, Jojo''s bestselling author, has blown her advance on a house with new boyfriend Anton, only to come down with writer''s block.Gemma used to be Lily''s best friend until Lily ran off with Anton. Now she''s pouring her heart out, and a certain literary agent likes her style . . .Soon the fortunes of Jojo, Lily and Gemma are horribly entangled.But each is about to discover that there''s more than one side to every story . . .___________''Keyes''s genius lies in making the darkest, most difficult aspects of humanity mentionable and manageable . . . Keyes''s plot is cracking, but the story becomes even bolder and brighter because she lets her characters tell it'' Independent''Packed with sound writing, wit and common sense'' GuardianPraise for Marian Keyes:''Mercilessly funny'' The Times''Funny, tender and completely absorbing!'' Graham Norton''Keyes is in a class of her own'' Daily ExpressTrade ReviewKeyes's genius lies in making the darkest, most difficult aspects of humanity mentionable and manageable . . . Keyes's plot is cracking, but the story becomes even bolder and brighter because she lets her characters tell it * Independent *Another chart-topping blockbuster from goddess Marian Keyes . . . packed with sound writing, wit and common sense * Guardian *Fabulously brilliant * Heat *Wildly funny, romantic and nearly impossible to put down * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group Espresso Tales
Book SynopsisIn Espresso Tales, Alexander McCall Smith returns home to Edinburgh and the glorious cast of his own tales of the city, the residents of 44 Scotland Street, with a new set of challenges for each one of them. Bruce, the intolerably vain and perpetually deluded ex-surveyor, is about to embark on a new career as a wine merchant, while his long-suffering flatmate Pat MacGregor, set up by matchmaking Domenica Macdonald, finds herself invited to a nudist picnic in Moray Place in the pursuit of true love. Prodigious six-year-old Bertie Pollock wants a boy''s life of fishing and rugby, not yoga and pink dungarees, and he plots rebellion against his bossy, crusading mother Irene and his psychotherapist Dr Fairbairn. But when Bertie''s longed-for trip to Glasgow with his ineffectual father Stuart ends with Bertie taking money off legendary Glasgow hard man Lard O''Connor at cards, it looks as though Bertie should have been more careful what he wished for. And all the time it appears that Trade ReviewIt is hard to think of a contemporary writer more genuinely engaging...(his) novels are also extremely funny: I find it impossible to think about them without smiling * Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday *A treasure of a writer whose books deserve immediate devouring * Marcel Berlins, Guardian *As warm as cocoa, as cosy as thermal underwear, and just what the doctor ordered for the cold winter evenings * THE TIMES *
£8.99
Penguin Books Ltd This Charming Man
Book Synopsis*** CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS AUTHOR OF THE YEAR 2022***Relish the wit and wisdom of Marian Keyes in this story of four women caught up in what seems like love, but may be something much darker . . . from the No. 1 bestselling author of Grown Ups''So funny, so perceptive, so real . . . I changed my life for this book'' MAIL ON SUNDAY''An emotional tour de force with genuine human warmth'' INDEPENDENT___________''Everybody remembers where they were the day they heard that Paddy de Courcy was getting married''Slick, handsome politician Paddy de Courcy is on the up. His party is set to do well in the elections and he''s just announced his engagement to the beautiful Alicia.Which is news to his girlfriend, Lola, who, within hours, finds herself dumped and warned not to talk to the press.Yet journalist Grace is on the prowl. She has been after Paddy ever since he ruined her sister Marnie''s life way back in college.Grace is looking for the inside story and thinks Lola holds the key . . .But do any of them know the real Paddy?___________''The laughs come fast and furious . . . a gripping, compelling tale'' Sunday Independent''The queen of page-turners . . . brimming with her trademark down-to-earth wit'' Cosmopolitan''Gripping from the start . . . the master at her best'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewThis is an emotional tour de force, with a plot that packs great power but is lifted, as always, by genuine human warmth * Independent *The laughs come fast and furious . . . a gripping, compelling tale * Sunday Independent *The queen of page-turners . . . brimming with her trademark down-to-earth wit * Cosmopolitan *Gripping from the start . . . the master at her best * Daily Telegraph *Keyes' multi-layered plotting has never been as ingenious as in this . . . It's her best book yet * Irish Times *
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Cornerstone The Jeeves Omnibus Vol 5
Book SynopsisP. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) is widely regarded as the greatest comic writer of the 20th century. Wodehouse wrote more than 70 novels and 200 short stories, creating numerous much-loved characters - the inimitable Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth and his beloved Empress of Blandings, Mr Mulliner, Ukridge, and Psmith. His humorous articles were published in more than 80 magazines, including Punch, over six decades. He was also a highly successful music lyricist, once with over five musicals running on Broadway simultaneously. P.G. Wodehouse was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for 'an outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world'.Trade ReviewThe gold standard of English wit … There is not, and never will be, anything to touch him -- Christopher HitchensThe funniest writer ever to put words to paper -- Hugh LaurieFor as long as I'm immersed in a P.G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer, funnier one where happy endings are the order of the day -- Marian Keyes
£18.00
Penguin Books Ltd A Confederacy of Dunces
Book SynopsisONE OF THE BBC'S 100 NOVELS THAT SHAPED OUR WORLD 'This is probably my favourite book of all time' Billy Connolly A pithy, laugh-out-loud story following John Kennedy Toole's larger-than-life Ignatius J. Reilly, floundering his way through 1960s New Orleans, beautifully resigned with cover art by Gary Taxali_____________ 'This city is famous for its gamblers, prostitutes, exhibitionists, anti-Christs, alcoholics, sodomites, drug addicts, fetishists, onanists, pornographers, frauds, jades, litterbugs, and lesbians . . . don't make the mistake of bothering me.' Ignatius J. Reilly: fat, flatulent, eloquent and almost unemployable. By the standards of ordinary folk he is pretty much unhinged, too. But is he bothered by this? No. For this misanthropic crusader against an America fallen into vice and ignorance has a mission: to rescue a naked female philosopher in distress. And he has a pirate costume and hot-dTrade ReviewI succumbed, stunned and seduced, page after page, vocal with delight. A masterwork of comedy * New York Times *A fine funny novel. This is the kind of book one wants to keep quoting from -- Anthony BurgessEvery reviewer has loved it. For once, everyone is right * Rolling Stone *
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Penguin Books Ltd Adrian Mole The Prostrate Years
Book SynopsisThe sensational final instalment in comic legend Sue Townsend''s hilarious and iconic Adrian Mole series''Effortlessly hilarious. Brilliant satire and tragedy'' Times''My comfort read. The best diaries ever written - with apologies to Samuel Pepys, Bridget Jones and me'' ADAM KAYRead as Adrian continues to struggle with his love life, endures a painfully awkward school play and contemplates the unsettling prospect of applying genital poultice . . .__________Sunday 1st JulyNO SMOKING DAY. A momentous day! Smoking in a public place or place of work is forbidden in England. Though if you are a prisoner, an MP or a member of the Royal Family you are exempt.Adrian Mole is thirty-nine and a quarter. He lives in the country in a semi-detached converted pigsty with his wife Daisy and their daughter. His parents George and Pauline live in the adjoining pigsty. But all is Trade ReviewSue Townsend was simply one of the funniest writes who ever wore socks, and her Adrian Mole series is a satirical gem that follows her hapless protagonist from adolescence to middle age, revealing some sharp home truths about British society in the process. At thirty-nine and a half, Adrian is convinced he's too young to have prostrate problems. He's wrong. If anyone can shake a comic first at cancer, it's Townsend. * Independent *Couldn't be funnier * Gillian Reynolds, Sunday Times *An exquisite social comedy * Daily Telegraph *In this book the comedy is all the sharper, and more poignant, for its melancholy contrasts, the emotional danger and the sense that time is always running out. * The Guardian *Sue Townsend has always had an unflinching sense of humour - the more incongruously awful the situation, the more she can make us laugh...this is a seriously lovely book. * Sunday Times *Like Evelyn Waugh's Captain Grimes, Adrian is 'one of the immortals' and the series of his diaries the comic masterpiece of our time * The Scotsman *This hilarious and poignant tale of Adrian Mole's early middle age reaffirms that Sue Townsend has created 'one of the great comic characters of our time' * The Scotsman *The funniest person in the world * Caitlin Moran *
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Penguin Books Ltd The Queen and I
Book SynopsisNOW A MAJOR TV ADAPTATION STARRING DAVID WALLIAMS & SAMANTHA BONDThe Queen and I is a hilarious satire on modern Britain and an exploration of what it really means to be human, by the bestselling author of the Adrian Mole series.____________The Royals, they''re just like us . . . THE MONARCHY HAS BEEN DISMANTLEDWhen a Republican party wins the General Election, their first act in power is to strip the royal family of their assets and titles and send them to live on a housing estate in the Midlands. Exchanging Buckingham Palace for a two-bedroomed semi in Hell Close (as the locals dub it), caviar for boiled eggs, servants for a social worker named Trish, the Queen and her family learn what it means to be poor among the great unwashed. But is their breeding sufficient to allow them to rise above their changed circumstance or deep down are they really just like everyone else?____________''No other author could imagine this so graphically, demolish the institution so wittily and yet leave the family with its human dignity intact'' The Times''Absorbing, entertaining . . . the funniest thing in print since Adrian Mole'' Daily Telegraph''Kept me rolling about until the last page'' Daily MailTrade ReviewNo other author could imagine this so graphically, demolish the institution so wittily and yet leave the family with its human dignity intact * The Times *Kept me rolling about until the last page * Daily Mail *Laugh-out-loud funny * Sunday Telegraph *
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Penguin Books Ltd How to be Good
Book SynopsisTHE MILLION-COPY NO.1 BESTSELLER''Enormously powerful'' Guardian''Hilarious, sophisticated, compulsive'' The Times___________________''I am in a car park in Leeds when I tell my husband I don''t want to be married to him any more. . . ''London GP Katie Carr always thought she was a good person. With her husband David making a living as ''The Angriest Man in Holloway'', she figured she could put up with anything. Until, that is, David meets DJ Goodnews and becomes a good person too. A far-too-good person who starts committing crimes of charity like taking in the homeless and giving their kids'' toys away. Suddenly Katie''s feeling very bad about herself, and thinking that if charity begins at home, then maybe it''s time to move. . . This laugh-out-loud novel, from the bestselling author of About a Boy and High Fidelity, will have you gripped from start to finish and will appeal to fans of David Nicholls and Jonathan Coe, as well as readers in need of a moral compass everywhere.___________________''Pins you in your armchair and won''t let go . . . How to be Good? How to be bloody marvellous, more like'' Mail on Sunday''It does exactly what it says on the cover. Hornby''s prose is artful and effortless, his spiky wit as razored as a number-two cut'' Independent''The writing is so funny, and the set-pieces so brilliant . . . Hornby''s best book since Fever Pitch'' Lynn Truss, The Times Trade ReviewVintage Nick Hornby. Very funny and very clever, and packed with wit and brilliance * Spectator *
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Penguin Books Ltd A Long Way Down
Book Synopsis''Extremely funny . . . and wise'' Sunday TimesNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE__________________________''Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?''For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer''s pretty simple: he has, in his own words, ''pissed his life away''. And on New Year''s Eve he''s going to end it all . . . but not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash Martin''s private party. They''ve stolen his idea - but brought their own reasons.Yet it''s hard to jump when you''ve got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices if cold pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living?Shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize, A Long Way Down is a darkly hilarious and moving novel by bestselling author Nick Hornby. __________________________''Hornby''s best yet'' Literary Review''Impossible to put down'' Ruth Rendell, Guardian''Some of the finest writing I''ve ever had the pleasure of reading'' Johnny DeppTrade ReviewImpossible to put down . . . enthralling * Guardian *Extremely funny . . . and wise * Sunday Times *A page-turning plot and rich, funny characters with several big laughs on every page . . . Hornby's best yet * Literary Review *Hornby pins down the age in which we live with precision and comic brilliance * Guardian *Hugely enjoyable * Irish Times *Masterful . . . some of the finest writing, and some of the most outstanding characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading -- Johnny DeppHornby's portrayal of four characters who accidentally meet on top of a tower block, all ready to jump to their death on New Year's Eve, manages to be sensitive and empathetic, but damn funny as well. My new Hornby favourite -- Adam Phillips * Observer *Brilliant, smart and funny . . . a cello suite about how to go on living. It's hard to imagine a novel more darkly and sublimely devoted to life * Boston Globe *Generous and wise. Right from the opening pages, a smile played continually across my face * GQ *
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Penguin Books Ltd The Closed Circle
Book SynopsisDiscover bestselling author Jonathan Coe''s hilarious sequel to The Rotters'' Club!It''s the end of the century and Benjamin Trotter and friends are all grown up. Life is a ceaseless whirl of jobs, marriages, kids - and self-inflicted angst. Despite the shiny optimism of Blair''s Britain, youthful hopes and dreams feel betrayed. Is the Government (and by extension Benjamin''s MP brother Paul) to blame? Or are the ''rotters'' themselves - only passingly faithful to their dreams - really at fault? The Closed Circle depicts a group of former school friends as older, wiser and disillusioned in Blair''s Britain at the turn of the millennium, proving that the present can never truly be disentangled from the past.THE STORY CONTINUES IN MIDDLE ENGLAND.__________ ''Terrific. An incisive portrait of Britain at the turn of the century'' Spectator ''Coe''s finest achievement since What a Carve up!'' Time Out ''Popular fiction at its best'' Daily MailWritten with his signature wit, Jonathan Coe''s unmissable new novel, The Proof of My Innocence, is available to order now!
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Little, Brown Book Group Blue Shoes And Happiness
Book SynopsisTHE SEVENTH BOOK IN THE BELOVED NO. 1 LADIES'' DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIESThe one with the witch who flew away . . .Mma Ramotswe is happily married to Mr J. L. B. Matekoni, but her work seems more hectic than ever. Among the raft of cases coming the way of the No. 1 Ladies'' Detective Agency are blackmail, witchcraft and theft, all calling for the wisdom of a traditionally built detective.It''s enough to make her wonder what the secret of happiness is, and whether she is right to find it in small things such as a pair of blue shoes, a slice of cake, or a red sunset over Kalahari.Trade ReviewNothing spoils [McCall Smith's] vision of Botswana as a place where decent people triumph over mischief-makers * Telegraph *Nothing will dim the charm of McCall Smith's series, with its portraits of goodness, its sorrow over greed and its profound love of Africa. They are among the greatest comfort-reads of all time, written in plain, elegant prose * Sunday Times *[BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS has] the quiet sophistication of the previous novels and its simplicity is deceptive . . . these novels take us through the looking glass into an Africa we rarely hear about, but their main purpose is to hold a mirror to our own society -- Amanda Craig * Independent *
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Little, Brown Book Group The Kalahari Typing School For Men
Book SynopsisThe fourth book in the multi-million copy bestselling No. 1 Ladies'' Detective Agency seriesThe one with the rival detectiveMma Ramotswe faces the unexpected and unwelcome appearance in town of a new private detective, Mr Cephas Buthelezi. To ensure she does not lose clients to him, she takes on several cases at once, including those of an errant husband and of a man targeted by ostrich rustlers. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi has decided to set up a typing school to teach men some useful skills - but Mma Ramotswe fears her secretary is falling under the spell of a man who does not have her best interests at heart...''A glorious creation'' Mail on Sunday''Happiness and quiet wisdom'' Daily Telegraph''Sparkles with African sunshine and Mma Ramotswe''s wit'' Dallas Morning News''It''s hard to find fault with such good-natured and pleasurable optimism'' ObserverTrade ReviewMma Ramotswe's methods - and her results - are as unusual as the novels they inhabit... All this activity is much less about whodunnit than why * New York Times *McCall Smith is a careful, emblematic writer who is beyond gifted... he is a natural storyteller * The List *The hypnotic ease of McCall Smith's style makes everything clear almost instantly... Throughout the Botswana landscape is richly evoked... Happiness and quiet wisdom prevail * Daily Telegraph *Mma Ramotswe is a glorious creation, a character likely to prove every bit as enduring as Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. * Mail on Sunday *Sparkles with African sunshine and Mma Ramotswe's wit * Dallas Morning News *It's hard to find fault with such good-natured and pleasurable optimism * Observer *I can think of no author writing today so deserving of an enormous audience * New Statesman *This series' huge appeal lies in its mannerly folk wisdom and wry, gentle humor, full of wit, nuance and caring... It's an oasis in a genre that too often seems a desert of violence and inhumanity * Chicago Sun Times *As beguiling as Alexader McCall Smith's earlier books about the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency... His prose is deceptively simple, with a gift for evoking the earth and sky of Africa * Seattle Times *Get your hands on one of the mysteries from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series... Each book is a thinly disguised love letter to the people and culture of Southern Africa... A great escape * Elle *Mma Ramotswe's methods - and her results - are as unusual as the novels they inhabit . . . All this activity is much less about whodunnit than why * NEW YORK TIMES *McCall Smith is a careful, emblematic writer who is beyond gifted, he is a natural storyteller. McCall Smith has once again charmed the sarongs off us * THE LIST *The hypnotic ease of McCall Smith's style makes everything clear almost instantly . . . Throughout the Botswana landscape is richly evoked. Happiness and quiet wisdom prevail. * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Mma Ramotswe is a glorious creation, a character likely to prove every bit as enduring as Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot. * MAIL ON SUNDAY *
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