Narrative theme: death, grief, loss

Book SynopsisUnlikely family and unexpected friendship come together in New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand''s newest novel set against the sun and sand of island life. ''The queen of the summer novel'' (People)Laurel Thorpe, Belinda Rowe and Scarlett Oliver share only two things in common: a love for the man they all married, celebrity chef Deacon Thorpe, and a passionate dislike of one another.When Deacon shockingly takes his own life, the women must come together in order to see out his final wish: to have his whole dysfunctional family - wives, children and all - return to his favourite place on earth, the idyllic eastern bluff of Nantucket.But with everyone under one roof, putting differences aside will be no simple feat. Each wants to claim a special place in Deacon''s life. And yet, as certain secrets are revealed and confidences shared, improbable bonds will begin to form, as this unlikely family says goodbye to the man tTrade ReviewElin Hilderbrand might as well be the queen of the beach read . . . [THE RUMOUR] is nothing short of a gift. * Glamour USA *Beautiful people, dysfunctional families and Nantucket: that's Hilderbrand territory, and it wouldn't be summer without a visit . . . [Here's to Us is] just the thing for a day by the sea * People *The Queen of the Summer Novel * People *'Takes the chick-lit trope of reclaimed friendship and updates it with a timely twist . . . Hilderbrand throws in a handful of plot twists that bounce the story along . . . SILVER GIRL [is] the kind of safe investment beachgoers should adore' * Boston Globe *It provides a pacey read, with colourful characters that have fascinating motivations. I couldn't get them out of my head for days * Sunday Express on SILVER GIRL *So deliciously addictive that it will be the 'It' beach book of the summer * Kirkus Review on THE ISLAND *An honest, raw tale of friendship and love * Cosmopolitan on THE CASTAWAYS *'This book was a great read - you really care what happens to the characters. Perfect holiday reading. I didn't want to put it down' * Candis on BAREFOOT *'A gem of a summer read with a glamorous location, elite lifestyle, and Hilderbrand's appealing take on the constant stress that fills the lives of women everywhere' * Booklist on A SUMMER AFFAIR *Signifies the start of summer to readers * The Book Reporter *The queen regent of the easy-breezy summer read * New York Post *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWOULD YOU EVER GIVE UP ON FINDING YOUR CHILD, IF THEY VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE?Number One Irish bestselling author of When All is Said Anne Griffin returns with this beautiful, emotional novel about love, loss, family and hope that will break your heart . . . but also put it back together again.THE IRISH BESTSELLER THAT EVERYONE IS RAVING ABOUT:'Stunning . . . I loved it' LIZ NUGENT'Elegant and moving' JOHN BOYNE'A storyteller of rate gifts' JOSEPH O'CONNOR'A beautiful, emotive mystery' CHRIS WHITAKER'Gently heartbreaking, but also hopeful and uplifting. An insight into the fragility of the human condition and what holds us together when we break' IRISH TIMESOne unremarkable afternoon, Rosie watched her daughter Saoirse cycle into town, expecting to hear the slam of the door when she returned a few hours later. But the slam never came. Eight years on, Rosie is the only person who believes that her child might one day return home.Will this belief come at the cost of everything she has left?Trade ReviewHer most emotionally complex book yet . . . Gently heartbreaking, but also hopeful and uplifting. An insight into the fragility of the human condition and what holds us together when we break -- Edel Coffey * Irish Times *One of Griffin's great gifts is how she draws small-town communities and the personalities that make them what they are * Irish Sunday Times Culture *Exquisite -- Woman's OwnThis beautiful novel about maternal love is especially moving on the back and forth between hope and acceptance. -- Good HousekeepingAn agonising but hauntingly beautiful tale * Sunday Post *An elegant and moving account of family loss and reconnection, this is Anne Griffin's best novel yet. -- John BoyneAn immensely powerful novel by a storyteller of rare gifts -- Joseph O'ConnorAnne takes a deep dive into the soul of the mother of a missing child and the result is a story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Beautifully written and sensitive without ever being sentimental, this is a stunning portrait by a master craftswoman. I loved it. -- Liz NugentA beautiful, emotive, heartbreaking mystery. The Island of Longing takes a quietly powerful, yet deeply hopeful, humorous and compassionate look at loss, and belonging, and the absolute agony of the unknown. -- Chris WhitakerAnne Griffin is a lovely writer, and this is a lovely book . . . Oiled by the sturdy little ferry that ploughs the sea between the novel's West Cork island setting and the mainland, Griffin's story is tender and wise and ultimately life-affirming. -- Kathleen MacMahonAnne Griffin's central character Rosie Driscoll will pitch your heart into a stormy sea. You'll feel as if you're right beside her in the waves of love and loss as she strikes out for safe harbour. A beautiful story, steeped in Irish brine -- Tish DelaneyGripping, heart-wrenching and acutely human novel that offers a deeply empathetic view of suffering and resilience - and the many shapes that survival can take. Read this book! -- Alice RyanA powerful novel that is full of grace, this latest work of beauty proves once again that Griffin is a gorgeous storyteller full of empathy and wisdom -- Helen CullenGriffin's writing is as engaging and compassionate as ever: The Island of Longing is a superb novel that tussles with the hope and heartbreak of being alive. -- Danielle McLaughlinA compelling, cleverly structured novel about loss, legacy and the healing power of community -- Sarah GilmartinWith a great ear for dialogue and eye for setting, Griffin builds a real sense of what loss can do to a family. * The Style List *A beautiful novel, heartbreaking, thoroughly moving and impossible to put down, The Island of Longing further enhances Anne Griffin's standing as one of our very best writers. A sheer joy to read, and a book that deserves to hit every height -- Billy O'CallaghanWhat do you think when the unthinkable happens? The Island of Longing transported me to West Cork to ask that very question in a moving story of family, loss and hope. It's the little details-dialogue, street names and details on the ferryboat-that made me feel at home with heroine, Rosie . . . Griffin perfectly captures the stifling isolation of grief, how claustrophobic tragedy can feel and how, sometimes, only the sea can offer relief. -- Freya BromleyI sympathised with Rosie on every page . . . a suspenseful and deeply satisfying novel -- Margot LiveseyI absolutely loved this novel. Incredibly moving, beautifully observed, with characters so well-drawn that I felt I'd known them my whole life. Although the subject matter is achingly sad, the warmth and humanity that shines through Anne's writing makes it a total joy to read. A bittersweet story of love and loss, deftly and sensitively told, that will stick with me for a long time to come. -- Rebecca PertThe Island of Longing is a moving unforgettable novel, about the burden of loss and grieving, told through Griffin's vivid prose and characteristic gentle humour. This book consumed me -- Disha BoseA beautifully written tale of love, loss and human endurance, with an emotional depth that rings true. -- Madeleine D'ArcyPRAISE FOR ANNE GRIFFIN:There are deep thoughts sown beneath the light and charming surfaces of Griffin's novels. Her books are fable-like, deep musings on life, mortality, and what makes a life worth living, philosophy for everyday readers, cleverly disguised as a good old-fashioned story * Irish Times *The next big name to emerge from the Irish writing scene. -- John BoyneIreland's long line of magical storytellers is further enriched by Anne Griffin, who follows her poignant debut When All is Said with another outstanding read * Sunday Express *Her most emotionally complex book yet . . . Gently heartbreaking, but also hopeful and uplifting. An insight into the fragility of the human condition and what holds us together when we break -- Edel Coffey * Irish Times *One of Griffin's great gifts is how she draws small-town communities and the personalities that make them what they are * Irish Sunday Times Culture *Exquisite -- Woman's OwnThis beautiful novel about maternal love is especially moving on the back and forth between hope and acceptance. -- Good HousekeepingAn agonising but hauntingly beautiful tale * Sunday Post *An elegant and moving account of family loss and reconnection, this is Anne Griffin's best novel yet. -- John BoyneAn immensely powerful novel by a storyteller of rare gifts -- Joseph O'ConnorAnne takes a deep dive into the soul of the mother of a missing child and the result is a story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Beautifully written and sensitive without ever being sentimental, this is a stunning portrait by a master craftswoman. I loved it. -- Liz NugentA beautiful, emotive, heartbreaking mystery. The Island of Longing takes a quietly powerful, yet deeply hopeful, humorous and compassionate look at loss, and belonging, and the absolute agony of the unknown. -- Chris WhitakerAnne Griffin is a lovely writer, and this is a lovely book . . . Oiled by the sturdy little ferry that ploughs the sea between the novel's West Cork island setting and the mainland, Griffin's story is tender and wise and ultimately life-affirming. -- Kathleen MacMahonAnne Griffin's central character Rosie Driscoll will pitch your heart into a stormy sea. You'll feel as if you're right beside her in the waves of love and loss as she strikes out for safe harbour. A beautiful story, steeped in Irish brine -- Tish DelaneyGripping, heart-wrenching and acutely human novel that offers a deeply empathetic view of suffering and resilience - and the many shapes that survival can take. Read this book! -- Alice RyanA powerful novel that is full of grace, this latest work of beauty proves once again that Griffin is a gorgeous storyteller full of empathy and wisdom -- Helen CullenGriffin's writing is as engaging and compassionate as ever: The Island of Longing is a superb novel that tussles with the hope and heartbreak of being alive. -- Danielle McLaughlinA compelling, cleverly structured novel about loss, legacy and the healing power of community -- Sarah GilmartinWith a great ear for dialogue and eye for setting, Griffin builds a real sense of what loss can do to a family. * The Style List *A beautiful novel, heartbreaking, thoroughly moving and impossible to put down, The Island of Longing further enhances Anne Griffin's standing as one of our very best writers. A sheer joy to read, and a book that deserves to hit every height -- Billy O'CallaghanWhat do you think when the unthinkable happens? The Island of Longing transported me to West Cork to ask that very question in a moving story of family, loss and hope. It's the little details-dialogue, street names and details on the ferryboat-that made me feel at home with heroine, Rosie . . . Griffin perfectly captures the stifling isolation of grief, how claustrophobic tragedy can feel and how, sometimes, only the sea can offer relief. -- Freya BromleyI sympathised with Rosie on every page . . . a suspenseful and deeply satisfying novel -- Margot LiveseyI absolutely loved this novel. Incredibly moving, beautifully observed, with characters so well-drawn that I felt I'd known them my whole life. Although the subject matter is achingly sad, the warmth and humanity that shines through Anne's writing makes it a total joy to read. A bittersweet story of love and loss, deftly and sensitively told, that will stick with me for a long time to come. -- Rebecca PertThe Island of Longing is a moving unforgettable novel, about the burden of loss and grieving, told through Griffin's vivid prose and characteristic gentle humour. This book consumed me -- Disha BoseA beautifully written tale of love, loss and human endurance, with an emotional depth that rings true. -- Madeleine D'ArcyPRAISE FOR ANNE GRIFFIN:There are deep thoughts sown beneath the light and charming surfaces of Griffin's novels. Her books are fable-like, deep musings on life, mortality, and what makes a life worth living, philosophy for everyday readers, cleverly disguised as a good old-fashioned story * Irish Times *The next big name to emerge from the Irish writing scene. -- John BoyneIreland's long line of magical storytellers is further enriched by Anne Griffin, who follows her poignant debut When All is Said with another outstanding read * Sunday Express *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn unusually usual day-to-day story in the Deep South, set in the Gothic, swampy southern town of Wet Moon, a place fraught with lousy love lives, teen angst, and shadowy rednecks. As Cleo Lovedrop heads off for college at the local art school, she''s haunted by her melancholic past. Elsewhere, Trilby deals with unsettled emotional and sexual issues, and keeping her secret habits hidden from everyone. And Audrey comes to the realization that, despite all her efforts, she always causes her friends distress, while Fern, a peculiar girl who lives in an isolated mansion in the bayou, begins to notice Cleo and her friends. Goths, friendship, romance, sex, betrayal, gossip, cats, murder, guilt, a squirrel monkey, and all the terrible and wonderful things people do to each other can be found in the pages of Wet Moon.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom storyteller Iolanda Zanfardino (The Least We Can Do, A Thing Called Truth) comes a powerful medley of tales each told in a vivid, polychromatic illustration style that flows from one character to another and back again.Four individuals living in San Francisco are released from the frustrations of their everyday lives by a late-night radio broadcast suddenly hijacked by someone with a message for the world.The passion and honesty of the message steers these four lives in dramatic new directions . . . Each tale speaks to different social issues without pandering to a political agenda: LGBT+ rights, racism, social network addiction, and the difficult decision between settling down versus following your dreams.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis"A startling debut... This book will make you want to hold everyone you love close, reminding you that life may be fleeting but the people in it never are." PICKED FOR ESQUIRE MAGAZINE'S BEST BOOKS OF 2022Best Books of 2022 - Picked by Readers - FINANCIAL TIMES When Freddy was 21 years old, his dad, a larger-than-life, successful TV producer, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer. In vivid snapshots, Freddy recalls the ups and downs of an impossible time - from the entertaining antics of a wine-gum tossing competition in a hospital ward, to the comi-tragedy of trying to decipher his father's muddled riddles as his speech disintegrates, to painful moments of regret and self-loathing as he squanders precious time.Don't Put Yourself on Toast is a bittersweet coming-of-age memoir which shows how the power of humour and laughter can provide, even in our darkest moments, sustenance, comfort and hope.Trade Review'A book close to my heart. A tragicomic triumph told with love and humour, revealing how out of darkness comes so much light.' -- TOM DALEY'A startling debut... This book will make you want to hold everyone you love close, reminding you that life may be fleeting but the people in it never are.' -- Olivia Ovenden * Esquire magazine *'It takes quite a talent to make a reader smile and cry at the same time. This is exactly what Freddy Taylor manages to do in Don't Put Yourself on Toast. This book is light and deep, funny and sad, but, essentially, full of love.' -- Sonia Delesalle-Stolper, chief foreign editor * Libération *'An utterly fresh, unconventional memoir about realising what is important in life - and seizing it while it is still there.' -- Iona McLaren * The Telegraph *Life-affirming... Don't Put Yourself on Toast faces mortality head-on - and teaches us how to live... I read [the last] lines in tears, then found myself humming along and laughing. -- Helen Brown * Telegraph Review *'[Taylor] intersperses humorous anecdotes that he jotted down at the time, with more sobering medical notes taken by his stepmother. His writing is fresh, never sugar-coated, and full of hope, and the love and comfort of family shines through the fear and desperation.' * The Tablet *'Comedy and tragedy exist side by side and, in this snappy memoir, Freddy Taylor conveys both the utter awfulness of his father's two-year descent from diagnosis to death, and the moments of hilarity the family had on the way.' -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * Daily Mail *'Powerful snapshots of love and grief... Always sad, often uplifting, this will stay with you.' -- Phoebe Luckhurst * Evening Standard *'[The book] reads like a Beckettian tragi-comedy, dark and light in equal measure, paired with a coming-of-age spirit, all the while peering through a grim foreboding.' -- Kate Demolder * The Irish Independent *'Deeply moving and, surprisingly, very funny' -- JACK WHITEHALL'It is so engaging that I challenge anyone to read the book in more than one sitting.... Taylor is funny because he observes the absurdity of human behaviour so accurately. But there are also moments of profound tear-jerking sadness.' -- Olenka Hamilton * Catholic Herald *

Read more less

Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 A little girl throws up Gloria-Jean's teeth after an explosion at the custard factory; Pax, Alexander, and Angelo are hypnotically enthralled by a book that promises them enlightenment if they keep their semen inside their bodies; Victoria is sent to a cursed hotel for ailing girls when her period mysteriously stops. In a damp, putrid spa, the exploitative drudgery of work sparks revolt; in a Margate museum, the new Director curates a venomous garden for public consumption.In Grudova's unforgettably surreal style, these stories expose the absurdities behind contemporary ideas ofwork, Britishness and art-making, to conjure a singular, startling strangeness that proves the deft skill of a writerat the top of her game.Trade ReviewUtterly triumphant... I can't remember the last time I read satire of the Great British institutions so crisply rendered, so exquisitely batty... Grudova has an instinct for queasily precise imagery that few can rival... She's a thoroughly sui generis visionary - and, after reading The Coiled Serpent, I'd say one of the most startlingly original writers we've got. -- A K Blakemore * Guardian *Camilla Grudova's books make other young writers seem meek... It's weird, dark and graphic, but as her new collection proves, it's also funny and poignant and distinctive, so inventive that it makes other writing seem uncourageous. * Sunday Telegraph *A prodigious instinct for story... careering majestically between the astonishing and the terrible to create something uniquely gripping. * Irish Times *It's gruesome fare, served with cold precision... One imagines these stories pairing perfectly with the painter Paula Rego's paintings of women subverting fairy tales... The simmering undercurrent of rage... is all too recognisable. * Financial Times *Grudova's stories are dark, creepy and strange, each a little off-kilter in a world where mental anxiety and fleshy reality are twisted into surreal scenarios by her fertile but festering imagination... for those with a penchant for gothictinged body horror, these are the business. * Daily Mail *Queen of the grotesque... These stories are not for the faint of heart, and reading them is as sharply satisfying as picking at a scab. * The Skinny *Strange, weird, twisted, sometimes surreal and always absorbing. * The Bristol Magazine *Unsettling... refuses to gloss over the grimy reality of years of austerity with Grudova's signature abstract flair. * Big Issue *An excellent second collection of exultantly gross-out tales * Telegraph Best Fiction Books of 2023 *

Read more less

Book Synopsis Robyn Carr returns to the beloved town of Virgin River with a brand new story about fresh starts, new friends and the magic of Christmas. Warm-hearted characters, a stunning setting – what more could you want for a cosy Christmas read?’ Women’s Weekly Now a Netflix orginal series Struggling with grief after the death of her mother, successful author Kaylee Sloan needs a distraction, to come to terms with life and meet her looming deadline. With Christmas approaching, Kaylee rents a cabin in Virgin River. She knows the isolation will help her writing and as she drives north through the mountains she immediately feels inspired. Until she arrives at a building that has just gone up in flames. Devastated, she heads to Jack’s Bar to plan her next steps. The local bar is the heart of the town and once she crosses the threshold, she’s surprised to be embraced by people who are more than willing to help a stranger in need. Welcomed by those in Virgin River, Kaylee starts to see her life in a new light. And as she becomes more involved in the town and the people in it, especially local artist and dog trainer Landry Moore, Kaylee realises she may have found her peace. As Christmas approaches, Kaylee’s dread turns to wonder. Because there’s no better place to mend a broken heart than Virgin River. Check out the rest of the Virgin River series! Book 1: Mel and Jack’s story! Virgin RiverBook 2: Preacher and Paige's story! Shelter MountainBook 3: Whispering RockBook 4: A Virgin River ChristmasBook 5: Second Chance PassBook 6: Temptation RidgeBook 7: Paradise ValleyBook 8: Forbidden FallsBook 9: Angel's PeakBook 10: Moonlight RoadBook 11: Promise CanyonBook 12: Wild Man CreekBook 13: Harvest MoonBook 14: Bring Me Home for ChristmasBook 15: Hidden SummitBook 16: Redwood BendBook 17: Sunrise PointBook 18: My Kind of ChristmasBoom 19: Return to Virgin RiverBook 20: ´Tis the SeasonTrade Review Readers LOVE the Virgin River series: ‘Laden with suspense, love and drama… a real page turner’ Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Very gripping story, full of suspense and anticipation’ Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved going back to Virgin River and meeting all people I already knew from first book’ Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘As one book finishes you’re reaching for the next’ Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Much better than the show – which I loved!’ Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Moving and beautiful, Robyn takes us along on the journey with the characters, whom you grow to love more with each book’ Amazon reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read more less

Book SynopsisA nightmare, anxiety attack, or bad trip?A woman is seemingly trapped in a feverish dream, attempting to navigate through a distorted world in a stumbling language, struggling to comprehend what's happening around her:No one speaks my language here... I'm sweating, even though it's actually quite cold. I think I have a fever...I see their smiles, I hear their friendly voices, but I KNOW what they feel!Wretched is written by Henrik Rehr, one of the most active Danish series creators of the last 30 years, and illustrated by Jan Solheim, whose superior line work demonstrates why he is one of the country's most sought-after illustrators.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe SF classic that inspired the blockbuster vampire movie starring Will Smith.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom award-winning novelist Paul Auster comes the graphic adaptation of his deeply beloved series, The New York Trilogy, a postmodern take on detective and noir fiction.In 1994, Paul Auster''s City of Glass was adapted into a graphic novel and became an immediate cult classic, published in over 30 editions worldwide, excerpted in The Norton Anthology of Postmodern Fiction. But City of Glass was only the first novel in a series of books, Auster''s acclaimed New York Trilogy, and graphic novel readers have been waiting for years for the other two tales to be translated into comics.Now the wait is over.The New York Trilogy is post-modern literature disguised as Noir fiction where language is the prime suspect. An interpration of detective and mystery fiction, each book explores various philosophical themes. In City of Glass, an author of detective fiction investigates a murder and descends into madness. Ghosts features a private eye named Blue, trailing a man named Black, for a client called White. This too ends with the protagonist?s downfall. And in The Locked Room, another author is experiencing writer?s block, and hopes to brake it by solving the disappearance of his childhood friend. The second two parts of this trilogy will be appearing in this volume for the very first time as a graphic novel.Paul Karasik, the mastermind behind the three adaptations, art directed all three books. City of Glass is illustrated by the award-winning cartoonist David Mazzucchielli, the second volume, Ghosts, is illustrated by New Yorker cover artist, Lorenzo Mattotti, and The Locked Room is adapted and drawn by Karasik himself. These adaptations take Auster?s sophisticated wordplay and translate it into comicsplay: both highbrow and lowbrow and immensely fun reading.

Read more less

Book Synopsis*The thrilling new novel from Lucy Clarke, THE SURF HOUSE, is available to buy now*Brimming with tension' CLARE MACKINTOSHTalk about twists and turns' EMMA STONEXUtterly addictive . . . her best yet' ERIN KELLYThe perfect holiday read' CLAIRE DOUGLASWE WERE DYING FOR A HOLIDAYThe six of us arrived on that beautiful Greek island dreaming of sun-drenched beaches and blood orange sunsets, ready to lose ourselves in the wild freedom of a weekend away with friends.On the first night we swam under a blanket of stars.On the second night the games began on our clifftop terrace.On the third night the idyll cracked, secrets and lies whispering on the breeze.And by the final night there was a body on the rocks below . . .WHO WOULD KILL FOR IT?_________________________________________________________________What readers are saying about One of the Girls:If you are looking for a sun-soaked, fast-paced, keep-you-up-till-the-early-hours thriller for summer 2022 then my god this is it!' ?????I loved this, a thrilling murder mystery read about friendship, love, deception, lies and secrets'?????Absolutely gripping, a perfect summer read' ?????This was an absolutely delicious read that grabbed me from the get-go' ?????''The ending, and the revelations leading up to it, blew me away' ?????WHAT A READ! . . . I was whizzing through the pages just to find out anything out' ?????Unputdownable! The ideal holiday read'?????Trade Review‘Lucy Clarke goes from strength to strength; this utterly addictive, trouble-in-paradise novel is her best yet. The plot shifts like sand beneath the reader’s feet’ ERIN KELLY ‘Brimming with tension, with such perfectly drawn characters I keep wondering what they’re doing now. Lucy Clarke gets better and better’ CLARE MACKINTOSH ‘I’m breathless. Talk about twists and turns . . . This is going to blow everyone’s socks off!’ EMMA STONEX ‘I loved One Of The Girls: beautiful writing, suffused with menace, complicated female heroines, and an ending I couldn’t predict’ GILLIAN MCALLISTER ‘A masterclass in simmering tension and shocking revelations ’ ROSIE WALSH ‘A propulsive plot full of hidden undercurrents, a brilliant cast of characters and a setting so vividly described you’ll feel you’re right there on holiday with them’ T M LOGAN 'Deliciously escapist and addictive, Lucy Clarke expertly juggles the secret desires and deceptions of six fascinating women. I really couldn't stop reading’ KATE RIORDAN ‘Compelling and clever, One of the Girls is expertly plotted and atmospheric with deft characterisation’ JANE SHEMILT ‘From the first page I was transported to the intoxicating Greek island . . . This is everything the perfect escapist summer read should be: dark, delicious, and completely addictive’ CHARLOTTE PHILBY ‘An addictive sun-soaked thriller with a killer twist. Unmissable’ MARIE CLAIRE ‘Packed with secrets . . . One of the Girls is the perfect beach read!’ ALLIE REYNOLDS ‘I loved the vivid setting of the Greek island. I felt like I was there – hearing, smelling and tasting everything as the sense of unease and mystery expertly unfolded. An immersive, clever and compelling read’ KAREN HAMILTON ‘This was a delicious escape from the world, not to mention as close as I’ll get to a Greek Island for a while. I loved it!’ SALLY HEPWORTH

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis beautifully designed, jacketed hardcover edition of The Secret Garden is unabridged and includes 8 illustrations by Charles Robinson. When Mary Lennox is sent from India to the moors of England to live with her uncle after losing her parents, not only does she discover a secret garden, but she also discovers the true meaning of family, friendship, and perseverance. This magical, timeless classic, originally published in 1911, is by the author of A Little Princess and Little Lord Faunteleroy. Essential volumes for the shelves of every classic literature lover, the Chartwell Classics series includes beautifully presented works and collections from some of the most important authors in literary history. Chartwell Classics are the editions of choice for the most discerning literature buffs.   Other titles in the Chartwell Classics Series include: Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft; Complete Gri

Read more less

Book SynopsisWow! Kept me up into the night. I couldn''t put this book down! Highly recommend!' NetGalley reviewer, 5 starsFor fans of Stephen King, Mark Edwards and The Haunting of Hill House comes a dark tale of a mysterious house haunted by tragedy.The Nightingale House is a new beginning for widower Daniel Price and his young daughter Caitlyn. After months of grief, this will be the place where they start their life as a family of two.But something is wrongDaniel can't settle. There's an odd, cold feeling in the master bedroom, and a mysterious dripping noise that seems to move from room to room. Whispers of I can't sleep echo through the corridors, long into the night.And then Daniel uncovers the chilling story of the family who lived in the house years before, of betrayal, tragedy, and murder. Could the Nightingale House be not the home Daniel dreamed of for his daughterbut a place that will bring their worst nightmares to life?Readers LOVE Nightingale House!Holy wow! This book was exciting,

Read more less

Book Synopsis Edgar Allan Poe''s gothic tale of the decaying Usher mansion comes to life in an all-new way! In this graphic novel edition of The Fall of the House of Usher, Raul Garcia adapts his animated short, The Fall of the House of Usher, now streaming on Prime Video, and as a part of the animated feature Extraordinary Tales. A traveler arrives at the Usher mansion to visit his old friend, Roderick Usher. Upon arriving, however, he discovers that Roderick and his sister, Madeline, have been afflicted with a mysterious malady: Roderick''s senses have become painfully acute, while Madeline has become nearly catatonic. That evening, Roderick tells his guest of an old Usher family curse: any time there has been more than one Usher child, all siblings have gone insane, dying horrible deaths. As the days wear on, the effects of the curse reach their terrifying climax. In this adaptation, the celebrated animator translates the cinematographic language int

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Absolutely breathtaking' Christy Lefteri, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo.We all have something to tell those we have lost . . .On a windy hill in Japan, in a garden overlooking the sea stands a disused phone box. For years, people have travelled to visit the phone box, to pick up the receiver and speak into the wind: to pass their messages to loved ones no longer with us.When Yui loses her mother and daughter in the tsunami, she is plunged into despair and wonders how she will ever carry on. One day she hears of the phone box, and decides to make her own pilgrimage there, to speak once more to the people she loved the most. But when you have lost everything, the right words can be the hardest thing to find . . .Then she meets Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose own daughter has stopped talking in the wake of their loss. What happens next will warm your heart, even when it feels as though it is breaking...The Phone Box at the Edge of the World is an unforgettable story of the depths of grief, the lightness of love and the human longing to keep the people who are no longer with us close to our hearts.'A moving and uplifting anatomisation of grief and the small miraculous moments that persuade people to start looking forward again' Sunday Times'Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour' Choice, Book of the Month'A poignant, atmospheric novel dealing with love, coming to terms with loss and the restoration of one's self' Daily Mail'A story about the dogged survival of hope when all else is lost . . . A striking haiku of the human heart' The Times'Beautiful. A message of hope for anyone who is lost, frightened or grieving' Clare Mackintosh, Sunday Times bestselling author of After the End'Incredibly moving. It will break your heart and soothe your soul' Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars'Mesmerising . . . beautiful . . . a joy to read' Joanna Glen, Costa shortlisted author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope'Spare and poetic, this beautiful book is both a small, quiet love story and a vast expansive meditation on grieving and loss' Heat'A perfect poignant read' Woman & HomeTrade ReviewA story about the dogged survival of hope when all else is lost . . . Messina shows us that even in the face of a terrible tragedy, such as an earthquake or a loss of a child, the small things - a cup of tea, a proffered hand - can offer a way ahead. Its meditative minimalism makes it a striking haiku of the human heart * The Times *Carefully told and with great care, this feels a particularly resonating story right now * Stylist *This beautiful novel tells a story of universal loss and the power of love. It will remain engraved in my heart and mind forever. During these difficult times we face, it addresses questions that we might all have - how to connect with those we have loved and lost and how to allow ourselves to live and to love again. Beautifully written, sensitive and evocative, it paints a picture of an inner and outer world that is infused with both tragedy and hope. It moved me to tears and made me want to speak my own secret thoughts in the phone box at the edge of the world. Absolutely breathtaking and stunning * Christy Lefteri *A message of hope for anyone who is lost, frightened or grieving. Beautiful. * Clare Mackintosh *Incredibly moving. It will break your heart and soothe your soul * Stacey Halls *Spare and poetic, this beautiful book is both a small, quiet love story and a vast, expansive meditation on grieving and loss * Heat *Before I got started, I already loved the phone box at the edge of the world. But then I loved everything else. Especially the beautiful prose, powerful but held back, like grief. And the characters - emerging blinking from their tragedies, hurt and hesitant - but ultimately hopeful. It was a joy to read. Mesmerising! * Joanna Glen, author of The Other Half of Augusta Hope *This is a beautiful book. And a timely one. It tells a story about the aftermath of a disaster, long after the disaster. It tells of memories of the first few weeks after horror struck, but more it tells about the years after. If we're not directly affected, we lose sight of the years after that others have to endure. Or survive * Bookbag *The Phone Box at the Edge of the World has such a subtle strength to it. The power to transfer such huge emotion from the page to my heart. It felt like a balm to my soul, one I did not know I needed. For me it is easily one of my books of the year * Waterstones bookseller *Immensely moving and emotionally powerful . . . possessed of a rare empathetic pull * Waterstones bookseller *This book is one to read now * Cosmopolitan *A perfect poignant read * Woman & Home *A balm to the soul in difficult times * Good Housekeeping *All I can say is that I thoroughly recommend this book to all, even if you have not lost someone dear. This book offers a sweet and poignant story, as well as some meaningful messages and a hopeful outlook on life * Escape to the Bookshelf *This an aching sweetness about this novel, with telling details that bring the departed so alive * Saga Magazine *A quiet, elegantly told story of how life goes on after loss. * Press Association *An elegant, elegiac story ... a poignant, atmospheric novel dealing with love, coming to terms with loss and the restoration of one's self. * Daily Mail *A stylish and carefully calibrated meditation upon the nature of loss, grief and the joyously restorative power of love. * The Yorkshire Times *This was a poignant read that brings love, light and hope to a heartbreaking situation * Rea's Book Review *Messina's beautifully-written debut novel of loss and the power of love, provides hope in the most of difficult of times. * Surrey Life *A touching tale of loss and recovery. * Wiltshire Living *Beautifully moving read ... heartbreaking and poignant. * Woman's Own *A quiet, elegantly told story of how life goes on after loss * Leinster Leader *BOOK OF THE MONTH: Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour. * Choice magazine *Strangely beautiful, uplifting and memorable, it's a book to savour * Scottish Herald *Moving, heart-breaking, redemptive * Irish Examiner *A whimsical, moving and uplifting anatomisation of grief and the small miraculous moments that persuade people to start looking forward again. * The Sunday Times *A tale of strength and hope born out of pain ... Messina has captured a grieving nation's soul. * The Lady *Beautiful in its candour ... staggering in its hold on you. More than a story of grief, it points to a fundamental hope in reforming after tragedy, and a celebration of lives well-lived. * Sunday Business Post *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIllustrated with high-contrast artwork, a graphic-novel adaptation of Margaret Atwood''s modern classic depicts the terrifying realities of women consigned to childbirth roles in the occupied Republic of Gilead.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the three-time Igantz award-winning artist and author of Big Questions comes a fascinating graphic novel retelling of the Greek myth of Prometheus"An extraordinary reinvention of some of our oldest stories. Nilsenbrings these old gods to an electrifying new life, and gives us a new sense of humanity as well."?Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel ?Mind-bendingly good. It?s up there with Maus,Fun Home, Persepolis,Jimmy Corrigan.? ?Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeSet in a version of modern Central Asia, Tongues is a retelling of the Greek myth of Prometheus. It follows the captive god?s friendship with the eagle who carries out his daily sentence of torture and chronicles his pursuit of revenge on the god that has imprisoned him.Prometheus?s story is entwined with that of an East African orphan on an errand of murder, and a young man with a teddy bear strapped to his back, wandering aimlessly into catastrophe (a character readers may recognize from Nilsen?s Dogs and Water). The story is set against the backdrop of tensions between rival groups in an oil-rich wilderness.Tongues is both an adventure story and a meditation on human nature in our present fraught, historical moment.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEva was once a legendary fashion designer until, mysteriously, she retired. Now widowed, she lives with her family in Salix House, the home she's owned and loved for forty years. When the family announces it's time to sell, Eva is deeply reluctant. The house contains memories and secrets that are part of her, although she never shares them. Megan is a fashion journalist working in London who interviewed Eva for a magazine. Torn apart by the brutal end of a love affair, Megan is drawn back to Salix House and Eva. Decades apart in age, the two women share a bond. Both are hiding something, but perhaps together they can confront their fears, their past pain and their uncertain futures - and discover the truth of Salix House's secrets.Trade Review'An unforgettable story highlighting how one deed committed when too young to realise the connotations can taint a life. A beautifully unfolding gem from someone who knows how to use the power of words' Bookbag. * Bookbag *'Geras makes a superb comeback with this tale of female friendship set in the fashion world ... An intriguing tale' The Lady. * Lady *'A well-crafted novel this manages to combine elements of a spooky Victorian ghost story ... for an effective and eminently readable result ... a very engaging and enjoyable story' We Love this Book. * We Love this Book *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Tender. . .confidently told and a very relatable tale.’ Daily Mail ‘An unsettling drama. . .shored up with multi-faceted characterisation.’ Financial Times She knows everything. She’ll stop at nothing.Trade Review‘At its heart — and at its best — this book is an exploration of grief and the very different responses it produces. It is also about the dangers of the distance it can create between two people. . .McGrath's tender examination of grief and vulnerability is confidently told and a very relatable tale.’ Daily Mail ‘McGrath’s unspooling of her unsettling drama is non-pareil, shored up with multi-faceted characterisation (particularly of the traumatised central couple).’Financial Times ‘Dark and sinister with a shocking final twist.’Bella ‘McGrath provides a sensitive study of trauma and loss as well as expertly ratcheting up the tension, and the result is a compelling read.’Guardian

Read more less

Book SynopsisABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!!!!!! up there for me with PS I Love You' Reader reviewAn emotional, uplifting story of life, loss and love perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern and S.D. Robertson.It's been two years since cancer stole Evan Harper's wife, Claire, from their lives. Although Evan's doing everything he can to be Super Dad for his five year old, Violet, he can't seem to get anything right. So he turns to the one person who gives the best advice Claire herself.Before she died she wrote him a book of letters to see him through the ups and downs of raising their daughter and her words soon help him see that there is life after loss and maybe even a second shot at love when you find the courage to start living againIt's time to start living again, Evan. Your new forever starts right here. Love always, Claire*Previously published as The Single Dad's Handbook*Readers ADORE this book!An absolutely gorgeous, heartwarming, just-what-everyone-needs story which I utterly adored' Rachael LucasTe

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDagerman wrote with beautiful objectivity. Instead of emotive phrases, he uses a choice of facts, like bricks, to construct an emotion -- Graham GreeneDagerman can evoke such emotion in a single sentence -- Colm ToibinThere are some writers (Kafka and Lorca immediately spring to mind) who come to enjoy the status of saint; their lives and deaths constitute statements about existence and its proper priorities. A saint of this type is the Swedish writer Stig Dagerman. * Times Literary Supplement *A writer of uncommon urgency and power -- Siri HustvedtA literary giant in Sweden, Dagerman conjures a Strindbergian atmosphere of shadowy menace in his brief, intense novel, A Moth to a Flame... The novel absorbs the reader effortlessly... The landscape round Stockholm, with its fog-bound flatlands and grey winter seas, is vividly evoked. This moody, death-haunted novel is well worth reading * Evening Standard *This searing tale of bereavement and loathing feels all too relevant today * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA compelling and thought-provoking novel from the world’s favourite storyteller. Set around a New York talent agency, a group of accomplished women discover the high price of success. Jane Addison is smart, young and ambitious. She’s delighted to have landed a job with a prestigious talent agency, Fletcher and Benson. Hailey West, her boss, is dedicated to her authors, but her home life is chaotic and challenging as a single mother following her husband’s tragic death. Francine Rivers, the stern and bitter head of department, is also raising children on her own after an acrimonious divorce, and she has had to overcome financial hardship by paying the very highest price. Meanwhile, Allie Moore seems to have it all: she relishes success and loves working with the talented actors she represents. But then a passionate relationship with one of her star clients risks derailing her career. And Merriwether Jones, the CFO of the agency, appears to have the perfect marriage until her husband’s jealousy over her career threatens her happiness. Jane quickly realizes that there are damaging secrets behind the doors of the agency. She has the least power, but she is also the least willing to accept things as they are. And when she tries to put things right, the consequences will leave no one unscathed. In this riveting novel, five women at the top of their game navigate the challenges of career and ambition, family and personal lives in a world where it’s necessary to fight for what is right.

Read more less

Book Synopsis 'The unrelenting tension of this well-crafted debut kept me whizzing through the book . . . I loved the tension, the secrets and the satisfying, unexpected conclusion' KL Slater In a converted Georgian townhouse in south west London, three families live under one roof.The large flat that takes up the top two floors is home to the Harlow family: happily married Paul and Steph, and their bubbly teenage daughter Freya. The smaller first floor flat is rented by Emma, who spends most of her time alone, listening to people coming in and out of the building. And the basement flat belongs to Chris, a local driving instructor, who prefers to keep his personal life private from the neighbours.But their lives are all upended when Freya vanishes. As the police become involved and a frantic Paul and Steph desperately search for answers, they begin to realise that the truth behind their daughter's disappearance may lie closer to home than they were expecting. When everyone has something to hide, can you ever really know those closest to you? Or will some secrets be taken to the grave?Trade ReviewThe unrelenting tension of this well-crafted debut kept me whizzing through the book, eager to discover exactly what had happened to Freya and whether the intriguing neighbours had anything to do with it. Loved the tension, the secrets and the satisfying, unexpected conclusion. Recommended! * KL Slater *I can't remember the last book that made me guess and long for answers quite as much as The Downstairs Neighbour. The story was always one step ahead of me, catching me out. Gripping, teasing, intricately plotted, an accomplished debut that's impossible to put down. * Cath Weeks *Lock your doors, close your curtains, and sink into this claustrophobic tale of families, neighbours and buried secrets. Tense and perfectly paced, this emotionally charged novel will keep you guessing right to the very end * Emma Rous, bestselling author of The Au Pair *A gripping read with plenty of twists, Cooper's debut will keep you guessing throughout * Heat *The air is thick with the sound of chickens coming home to roost in this promising domestic noir debut -- Mark Sanderson * The Sunday Times Crime Club *I am a sucker for an eavesdropping premise, and Helen Cooper's The Downstairs Neighbour doesn't disappoint. Cooper starts with a bang, with a missing girl and a big house filled with suspects, then holds the suspense high with characters that will keep the reader guessing - and guessing wrong. A gradual unearthing of long-held secrets wrapped in a smoothly plotted page-turner * Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of Stranger in the Lake *A heart-pounding debut . . . Even avid suspense readers won't be able to predict all the twists. Cooper is off to a strong start * Publishers Weekly *An intriguing and compulsive story about family, secret pasts and private lives. Simmering with suspense and packed with twists and tension, this expertly crafted novel kept me gripped from start to finish * Holly Miller *If you loved Harlan Coben's The Stranger, this is the perfect pick * Woman & Home *A compelling story about secret pasts and private lives * Waitrose Magazine *If you want smart writing and a book that dashes all your theories on 'who dun it' The Downstairs Neighbour is your bag. I adored this book! So clever, so engaging, such heart * L.V. Matthews *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Prepare to ugly cry and snort laugh with abandon' - Heat'An emotional read with an OMG ending' - Jill MansellOne moment in time can change everything...The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn't feel fair that she'll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams - all because she stopped to help a stranger. And now, she's still ... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on those she loved the most.Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie's life in directions she'd never let herself imagine possible. If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of one choice you made, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?'A gorgeous love story with a twist' Veronica Henry'Fans of Jojo Moyes will devour Becky Hunter's stunning tale' Sunday ExpressTrade ReviewA thought-provoking and moving novel about loss, love, and the unique and life-affirming power of friendship. Poignant yet unwaveringly hopeful, One Moment is a fresh look at how grief can not only break us, but put us back together again. An unmissable debut. * Holly Miller *'Completely involving. An emotional read about love and trust, with an OMG ending -- Jill MansellA beautiful, bittersweet examination of friendship, love and grief, prepare to ugly cry and snort laugh with abandon * Heat *Wonderful * Marie Claire *This heart-wrenching tale is beautifully written * Sun *A beautifully written novel that captures the joy of a lifelong friendship and the horror of grief. Fans of JoJo Moyes will devour Becky Hunter's stunning tale * Sunday Express *A joy from start to finish -- Sheila O'Flanagan. No. 1 bestselling authorThis emotional read about friendship, love and loss is touching and relatable with an unexpected ending that leaves you reeling * Good Housekeeping *Full of heart and humour and the characters are all so well written * Prima *One Moment is so many things. A gorgeous love story with a twist, a tender portrait of the kind of friendship that transcends everything, and an exploration of the important things in life. It will make you question who you are, and what you want, and how to make the most of every opportunity and every relationship you have. Intimate, thoughtful, beautiful and deeply moving. Becky Hunter will steal your heart! -- Veronica HenryI adored this emotional debut from Becky Hunter. It's such a gorgeous tale of love and friendship, beautifully written and with characters you really believe in. * Georgina Moore, author of The Garnett Girls *An exquisitely written novel about grief, hope and the power of love. I loved every word. -- Cathy Bramley, Sunday Times bestselling authorBeautiful, hopeful, deeply emotional, incredibly wise and wonderfully romantic. One of those books I feel stronger for reading -- Cressida McLaughlinFantastic. Incredibly moving and very thoughtfully written -- Harriet TyceThis stunning debut explores grief, love and friendship in a beautiful and original way - a powerful read full of both moving and joyful moments * My Weekly *A story of friendship, loss and how one moment can change your whole life. A gorgeous debut. * Woman *Sharp, funny, tear-jerking, so assured and well observed. What a debut! -- Elizabeth BuchanA compelling read * Bella *A heart-warming and often heartbreaking read * Daily Express *A beautiful story about love and loss * Best *A warm and thoughtful novel that skewers friendship, loss and negotiating grief in a touching and relatable way. I was completely caught up in Evie and Scarlet's stories. -- Fanny BlakeA page-turner to grip you * Chat *The must-read debut of the year ... brings joy, happiness and pleasure in a story simply not to be missed' * People's Friend *Deeply moving ... truly packs an emotional punch. Heatwarming, witty and brilliantly written. * Press and Journal *A poignant, uplifting and life-affirming tale of friendship, love, grief and learning to let go. It'll have you welling up one moment and smiling the next. And by the end, your heart will feel a little fuller. * CultureFly *A hugely accomplished debut about dying, grief and loss, but also learning to live again. It's about love in all its forms, and, despite its subject matter, it manages to be uplifting and life-affirming. It's a story that will stay with me for a long time. -- Claire FrostSo moving and uplifting - I have no doubt that readers will fall in love -- Emylia HallAn engaging story about love, true friendship and sacrifice * Candis *A touching tale focusing on friendship, grief, and hope * That's Life *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe son of one of the greatest writers of our timeNobel Prize winner and internationally best-selling icon Gabriel García Márquezremembers his beloved father and mother in this tender memoir about love and loss.It enthralled and moved me.' Salman RushdieIn March 2014, Gabriel García Márquez, one of the most acclaimed writers of the twentieth century, came down with a cold. The woman who had been beside him for more than fifty years, his wife Mercedes Barcha, was not hopeful; her husband, affectionately known as Gabo, was then nearly 87 and battling dementia. I don''t think we''ll get out of this one, she told their son Rodrigo.Hearing his mother's words, Rodrigo wondered, Is this how the end begins? To make sense of events as they unfolded, he began to write the story of García Márquez's final days. The result is this intimate and honest account that not only contemplates his father's mortality but reveals his remarkable humanity.Both an illuminating memoir and a heartbreaking work of Trade Review‘a powerfully written memoir…García Márquez maintained that his novels were inspired not by magic but by reality. His son’s memoir shows that, when it comes to his father’s life, it is impossible to separate the two.’ Daniel Rey, Spectator ‘Rodrigo Garcia finds the words that cannot be said, the moments that signal all that is possible to know about the passage from life to death, from what love brings and the loss it leaves. With details as rich as any giant biography, you will find yourself grieving as you read, grateful for the profound art that remains a part of our cultural heritage’ Walter Mosley, New York Times bestselling author of Down the River Unto the Sea ‘You read this short memoir with a feeling of deep gratitude. Yes, it is a moving homage by a son to his extraordinary parents, but also much more: it is a revelation of the hidden corners of a fascinating life. A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes is generous, unsentimental and wise.’–Juan Gabriel Vásquez, author of The Sound of Things Falling ‘Garcia’s limpid prose gazes calmly at death, registering pain but not being overcome by it … the result is a moving eulogy that will captivate fans of the literary lion’ Publishers Weekly “A warm homage filled with both fond and painful memories.” Kirkus ‘This is a beautiful farewell to two extraordinary people. It enthralled and moved me, and it will move and enthrall anyone who has ever entered the glorious literary world of Gabriel García Márquez’ Salman Rushdie

Read more less

Book SynopsisResolutions are madeMarriages are brokenA gripping domestic thriller set in The Cotswolds and perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Adele Parks!It started with the partyFrankie, Verity and Alice live in the idyllic Cotswolds community of White Fir Lake, but behind closed doors everyone has a secret they're desperately trying to keepAnd ended with a bang!Now, as midnight on New Year's Eve approaches, the three women will face the consequences of a long-ago holiday, one which changed their lives forever and threatens to shatter their perfect worlds into perfect pieces.Readers can't get enough of The New Year's Eve Party:????? I absolutely couldn't wait to finish it and I was amazed by the ending. One of the best thrillers I've read all year' Lyn????? A wholly engaging and entertaining one sit read' Ruth

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs her hand slips from his grip, Patrick''s life is shattered, forever changed...Trapped high on a high mountain face during the worst storm in living memory, a young man is forced to fight the brutal winter for his life - moments after his beloved wife is swept away forever across the ice. Haunted by grief and guilt, Patrick keeps vigil on the mountain for 25 years, in the hope that one day it will release his devastating secret.Trade ReviewThe mountain and its ferocious weather are brilliantly described * The Times *Another gripping mountaineering epic, but also much more than that, a fine, poetically written meditation on love, loss and redemption * Daily Mail *The familiar Simpsonian territory of guilt, survival and loss against a background of elemental terror and beauty * Daily Telegraph *Arresting * Metro *The tale is deftly woven with an air of immediacy and a visceral, intimate feel, drawing heavily on Simpson's mountaineering experiences * Evening Post *

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this deeply emotional memoir, a longtime ESPN writer reflects on the suicide of his son Max and delves into how their complicated relationship led him to see grief as love.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRiley Vasher hasn''t spoken to her friend Piper Kingsley for years . . . now she''s making a documentary about her murder.Documentary filmmaker Riley Vasher has been living a low-key life on the island of Oahu with her long-time boyfriend Brody. This all changes when Brody overhears on his police scanner that popular TV weathergirl Piper Kingsley has been murdered. When Piper''s boyfriend, Ethan Jakes, is arrested for the crime, a high-profile murder trial is sure to follow - and Riley and Brody sense their chance to make a name for themselves. Riley convinces Ethan she can help him if they make a documentary about the trial, and recommends the brilliant but eccentric defense lawyer Nicholas Church. But as the trial nears and Riley becomes personally involved in the case, the lines of truth soon begin to blur and she finds herself becoming part of the story.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Dr Moore''s 1000-day-plus journey evocatively and beautifully describes the mental devastation that personal loss can leave in its wake and offers us the remarkable combination of expert commentary and an intensely personal captivating narrative.''- Peter Fonagy OBE, Professor of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Head of Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, UCL''A book that appeals to different audiences. It will reach out to those who have lost loved ones and need the comfort and solace of knowing that they are not alone in their suffering.''- Luisa Stopa, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of SouthamptonVanessa''s husband Paul dies suddenly and tragically on their regular Sunday morning swim. How will she cope with her dilapidated house, her teenage children, the patients who depend on her? Will therapy help? Why do mysterious white feathers start appearing in unexpected places?As a clinical psychologist, Van

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Astoundingly good. Brave, wickedly funny and profoundly affecting. Wow!'' Miranda Dickinson''An emotional punch-packer of a book. Be prepared for it to swallow you whole'' Milly Johnson''Abig-hearted, funny, hugely emotional and uplifting novel - I loved it!'' Rachael Lucas''Such a beautifully written book with characters that will linger in your head and heart'' Sarah J Naughton****You don''t need talent to join this group of actors. The ability to remember lines or stay awake throughout a performance is appreciated, but not essential. The only mandatory is a terminal diagnosis. But Adam Campbell is less than enthusiastic about this eccentric form of group therapy. He has under one year to live, and a heck of lot to get done. Like explaining mortality to his six-year-old daughter. And making amends with the woman who should haTrade ReviewAstoundingly good. Brave, wickedly funny and profoundly affecting. Wow! * Miranda Dickinson *A powerful and beautiful book about the resilience and fragility of life. It will wring out your heart. -- Milly JohnsonSuch a beautifully written book with characters that will linger in your head and heart -- Sarah J NaughtonA moving read * Bella *'I'm broken!! Completely and utterly broken!! Andy Jones what have you done to me?! The Last Act of Adam Campbell is a wonderful book and I loved every single page . . . I haven't been able to stop thinking about since I finished it and so it's one I know will be hard to beat when it comes to my favourite books of the year list at the end of 2020 . . . Very highly recommended by me! -- MyChestnutReadingTeww.wordpress.comThis book should come with a warning, a packet of tissues plus tea and chocolates to help you recover from the end of it . . . The Last Act of Adam Campbell' is a life affirming and tender story that highlights the fragility of life and the importance of making every second count. -- HandwrittenGirl.comYou will need a lot of tissues, as it is funny, sad and touching and really shows the strength of human spirit and how even when everything seems hopeless you can find hope as the group all do in The Rude Mechanicals. A great but heart-wrenching read. -- KarenReadsAndRecommends.wordpress.comOne of the most uplifting books I have read in a long time . . . We have a tendency to worry and fret about stupid things in this life that really don't matter. If nothing else, this book has given me the chance to change my priorities and focus more on the things that really matter. And for that, I wholeheartedly thank the author. -- NetGalley ReviewerWow if this book doesn't make you cry then I'm pretty sure nothing will . . . This book is sad and brutally honest but also filled with love and fun and a story of friendship that changes every single one of their lives for the better. The ending is heartbreaking but beautiful. -- NetGalley ReviewerDespite being an emotional mess at times, I cannot express how glad I am that I have read this book. I found it very cathartic and it made me feel very positive. -- NetGalley ReviewerThis beautifully written and heart-warming book is perfect for fans of Nick Hornby and David Nicholls. * BooksLifeEverything.blogspot.co.uk *This is an incredible novel and - if you're not scared to have your heart broken a little (or a lot) - you definitely shouldn't miss it * BookAfterBook.blogspot.com *Oh my, what a beautiful, moving book it is! Full of poignant moments to bring a lump to your throat, it's a story not only about death, but about life, love and everything in between. It's about grabbing hold of life with both hands, no matter how long or short that life may be . . . As difficult as some parts of this book was to read, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. As long as you go in prepared to have your heart broken, aware that it deals with the devastation that death and loss brings, I would say read and experience the beauty of this book for yourself. I know this is a story and characters that will stay with me for a long time to come. Andy Jones has written a moving, poignant and memorable book to be proud of. * CalTurnerReviews.wordpress.com *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Smart, funny and beautifully written. Brodeur is a brilliant dissector of family relationships, a lyricist of the natural world, and an astute observer of our inner turmoils' MONICA ALI'Gorgeous, gripping, I couldn't put it down' RUTH OZEKI'Beautiful, lyrical and unvarnished, Adrienne Brodeur's Little Monsters delivers its powerful emotional punches so subtly that they sneak up on you and leave you floored' MIRANDA COWLEY HELLER, author of THE PAPER PALACEA riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families and long-buried secretsKen and Abby Gardner were raised in a remote home on Cape Cod. As adults, their relationship is strained, but their lives are still deeply intertwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family, but when his wife walks in on him in an internet chatroom, she demands they go to therapy. Abby is a talented artist who depends on her brother's goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them as a single parent. As his seventieth birthday approaches and he begins to stare down his mortality, he comes off his bipolar disorder medication in order to make one last scienti?c breakthrough; he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children.Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harbouring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family - Steph, who doesn't make her connection known.Set over one fraught summer, Little Monsters is an absorbing, sharply observed family story by a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out - its Edenic lushness and its snakes.Trade ReviewGorgeous, gripping, I couldn't put it down. Adrienne Brodeur does family intrigue and dysfunction like no one else I know. In Little Monsters, she once again draws back the curtain on a world of seaside wealth and casual privilege, to reveal a family unravelled by the lies, rivalries, secrets, and silences that have bound it together -- Ruth OzekiBrodeur creates an evocative sense of place in a Cape Cod-set novel that's affecting and powerful * Observer *An utterly gripping, immersive story of one family's unravelling traumas and hopes. It will capture and hold you in its depths. Brodeur creates characters who are so real, so complex, I could almost touch them, feel them sitting beside me -- Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of AleppoA page-turner about the conspiracy of silence and corrosive nature of skeletons in the closet * Financial Times *Beautiful, lyrical and unvarnished, Adrienne Brodeur's Little Monsters delivers its powerful emotional punches so subtly that they sneak up on you and leave you floored -- Miranda Cowley Heller, New York Times bestselling author of The Paper Palace[An] engaging and neatly plotted novel. . . Little Monsters is so alluring, with its sense of looming familial implosion within a cultural implosion. . . Brodeur is very deliberately examining a small family horror story within a larger political context. * New York Times *Gorgeously told, with psychological nuance to spare, Adrienne Brodeur's latest fiction returns us to a world she knows by heart, wind-blown, wave-swept Cape Cod and the fraught, labyrinthine territory beneath the surface of family. This is the work of a seasoned and wonderfully wise storyteller. Brodeur is as masterfully attuned to the complex DNA of kindred secrets and high-risk loyalties as she is empathetic to the specifically tangled lives of the Gardner clan. We ultimately want for them what we want for ourselves, the freedom that comes with hard-won healing and truth telling, and the intimacy that waits if we're brave enough to look back down the loaded barrel of love -- Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go DarkSmart, funny and beautifully written. Brodeur is a brilliant dissector of family relationships, a lyricist of the natural world, and an astute observer of our inner turmoils -- Monica AliWho understands complicated family dynamics better than Adrienne Brodeur? Little Monsters is a gripping portrait of how we carry the past into the present, and how the boundaries of kinship blur and change over time -- Mary Beth Keane, author of ASK AGAIN, YESWrenching, psychologically complex, and emotionally satisfying, Little Monsters is an immersive pleasure. This sprawling, big-hearted family saga is about the lies we tell each other and ourselves that enable us to maintain alliances-and what happens when we start telling the truth -- Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan TrainIn Little Monsters, Adrienne Brodeur plunges into a multi-charactered family novel that is richly satisfying, like the best of meals, taking the reader into the heart of what Freud called 'the family romance,' with all its complexities, evasions, buried guilts, forbidden passions and sibling rivalry. As sharply observant about her characters as she is of the landscape and seascape of Cape Cod, where they live, her novel is that rarest of things: a truly great read -- Michael KordaA compelling family drama set on the beautiful Cape Cod * Good Housekeeping *A juicy portrait of a wealthy family on the brink of disaster. . . Little Monsters simmers with tension as secrets explode out into the open. . . Tensely constructed and absorbing. . . A consummate summer read, which somehow evokes smooth beach glass and hot pink sunsets with nary a mention of either * The Washington Post *Adrienne Brodeur knows her way around a family drama. . . Brodeur weaves a story dense with stinging secrets and simmering resentments, rooted in another context that she knows well: the manicured towns and wild fringes of Cape Cod. . . Set against the island’s rippling dune grasses and scrub pines, [the] narrative is as elegantly rendered as it is compulsively readable * Vogue *

Read more less

Book Synopsis* SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 2021 *'If her moving, engrossing, elegantly written memoir does not win prizes, there really is no justice in the literary world.' Lucy Atkins, Sunday TimesAll happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.When Arifa Akbar discovered that her sister had fallen seriously ill, she assumed there would be a brief spell in hospital and then she'd be home. This was not to be. It was not until the day before she died that the family discovered she was suffering from tuberculosis. Consumed is a story of sisterhood, grief, the redemptive power of art and the strange mythologies that surround tuberculosis. It takes us from Keats's deathbed and the tubercular women of opera to the resurgence of TB in modern Britain today. Arifa travels to Rome to haunt the places Keats and her sister had explored, to her grandparent's house in Pakistan, to her sister's bedside at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead and back to a London of the seventies when her family first arrived, poor, homeless and hungry. Consumed is an eloquent and moving excavation of a family's secrets and a sister's detective story to understand her sibling.Trade ReviewBeguiling . . . The story and the writing have an unusual mystery about them, with striking imagery and a relatable insight into the darknesses and half-truths of family life . . . this one stands out for its eccentricity and elegiac splendour. -- Diana Evans, Guardian Summer Books[Consumed] is a tender memoir of sisterhood, of growing up in a low-income immigrant family in Primrose Hill in the 1970s and 1980s and, above all, of family dysfunction, mental illness, grief and survival . . . Akbar sews many disparate strands into a work of art. If her moving, engrossing, elegantly written memoir does not win prizes, there really is no justice in the literary world. -- Lucy Atkins * Sunday Times *An insightful and often lyrical study of sibling and the story of a troubled life cut short . . . as Fauzia immortalised her sister in art, [Akbar] has done the same, vividly and wonderfully, in prose. -- Fiona Sturges * Guardian *One of this year's must-read memoirs . . . A rich and beautiful story that will at times leave you weeping while simultaneously hugging Akbar's writing close. -- Francesca Brown * Stylist *'Consumed is Akbar's poised and scholarly memoir; her sister and their relationship is at its heart, skilfully woven together with a cultural history of the disease that killed her . . . A moving story of loss, grief and sisterhood. -- Francesca Carington * Tatler *Akbar explores complicated family dynamics with candour - never sentimentalising what was often a difficult relationship, nor smoothing over the ugly side of dying. -- Prospect, Best Books of the YearAn engrossing and moving book, both forensic and delicate in its dredging of complicated truths . . . I have rarely read a memoir with such a combination of powerful, tender feeling and cool-headed analysis. Rather like Fauzia's embroideries, the tapestry of sisterly passion and pain is worked here in precise, gleaming little stitches: a literary labour of love. -- Jenny McCartney * Mail on Sunday *Beautifully written, extremely moving -- Lucy Scholes,The White Review Books of the YearA beautifully written memoir with the ghost of Fauzia haunting every page. -- Shirley Whiteside * Herald *A meditation on memory and the arts, the book also explores Arifa's often fraught relationship with her sister, her grief, and the inherent subjectivity of memory . . . I was profoundly moved by this book, thinking of particular passages long after reading it. -- Rageshri Dhairyawan * The Lancet *While Akbar's meticulously written memoir is often heartbreaking - there are passages that will move you to tears - it is never maudlin . . . [It] stands as a testament to familial love precisely because she is brave enough to explore how it can be entangled with its opposite. -- Alex Peake-Tomkinson * Prospect *Compelling, searingly honest, so real that, at times, you feel the burn on the skin, but the teller never exploits these emotions. Akbar's artistic sensibility turns what could be a misery memoir into a literary tour de force. -- Yasmin Alibhai-BrownA brilliant book about loss and grief, about art and death, and, more importantly, about family and belonging. The strength of feeling is remarkable, but it's Arifa Akbar's writing that lifts it to an even higher plane of achievement. -- Anthony Quinn, author of Our Friends in BerlinI loved this haunting, beautiful exploration of sisterhood, love and loss. Consumed weaves together art history, medical mystery and grief memoir with enormous honesty and tenderness. -- Rachel Clarke, bestselling author of Dear Life and BreathtakingI'm bowled over. It's a searing, brilliant, dazzling memoir of sisterhood, mental illness, art and grief. Heartbreaking and beautiful. I can't recommend it highly enough. -- Christina Patterson

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn unexpected letter. An unlikely friendship. A chance to start again.Ever since she first picked up a violin, Hope Sullivan dreamed of going to music college, joining an orchestra and travelling the world with her best friend Janey. But when her parents were killed in a car accident on the way to one of her recitals, she gave it all up to look after her younger sister, Autumn. Ten years later, Janey is living their dream on her own, Autumn is flourishing as a doctor and Hope's life is smaller and less musical than ever.Arnold Quince had the happiest of lives - until he lost his beloved wife Marion. Once the life and soul of the village, he withdrew into his grief and pushed all his friends away. Now, five years on, he is sick, lonely and just counting down the years until he can be with Marion again.When Hope and Arnold are pushed into writing to one another, neither has any idea how much their life is about to change.********Readers love Juliet Ann Conlin!'The engaging characters that I've come to expect from this talented author. Highly recommend.' - 5 STARS'This book drew me in. Insightful and compelling.'- 5 STARS'A moving and gripping novel.' - 5 STARS'Beautifully written, heartwarming, heartbreaking and a great story' - 5 STARS'I didn't want this book to end' - 5 STARSTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR JULIET ANN CONLIN:Superb storytelling! Strongly drawn characters quickly demand attention, and empathy . . . compelling * Sarah Maine, bestselling author of The House Between Tides *I was absorbed * Paul French, author of The Lives Before Us *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Both heartbreaking and heartwarming' - ***** Amazon reviewer'Emotional, charming and uplifting' -***** Amazon reviewerA message in a bottle. One summer. A family to reunite.Lou suffers from a rare type of dementia and dies in her fifties. She leaves behind a message in a bottle, charging her husband Joe with a challenging task: he has two months to reunite their patchwork family whose members have fallen out with each other.Luckily for him, Lou has thought of everything and helps him along with a list of family activities and recipes. Slowly but surely, they all find their way back to each other: Joe's son Cyrian and his two daughters Apple and Charlotte. Cyrian's second wife who can't stand Apple because she isn't her own. Joe's stunning daughter Sarah who has lost the love of her life and seeks solace in one-night stands.But Joe is running out of time. Will his efforts pay off before it is too late? And most importantly: what's in the mysterious letter?

Read more less

Book SynopsisHe loved her. He lost her. But he should never have written her off.'Birthday Girl is a real treat of a book, beautifully written and perfectly paced, slowly revealing secret after secret until you're not sure of anything anymore - only that you have to keep reading' - Elly Griffiths, author of The Ruth Galloway NovelsJonathan's wife disappeared more than twenty years ago. Now he's seeing her everywhere . . .New York in the 1990s - impoverished writer Jonathan Dainty takes his wife Maddie out to the beach for her birthday. Hours later he finds himself at the local police precinct trying to explain how on earth he let his wife get into a stranger's car, and allowed it to drive her away.More than twenty years later, Maddie is presumed dead and Jonathan has channelled his grief into a best-selling series of crime novels. As far as he can, he is living the perfect life.Then one day he catches a glimpse of his dead wife, moving through a throng of people. Is Maddie alive? Has she come back? And why does no one believe him? As Jonathan attempts to uncover the truth, it soon becomes clear that the people closest to him are hiding something, something that could change everything . . .The propulsive thriller from debut talent Niko Wolf, perfect for fans of Gone Girl and Blood OrangeTrade ReviewA sleek, suspenseful story with characters so real you could reach out and touch them and a deliciously sharp sting in its tail -- C.L. Pattison, author of The Guest BookBirthday Girl is dark and fiendishly compelling, slowly revealing secret after secret until you're not sure of anything anymore - only that you have to keep reading -- Elly Griffiths, author of The Ruth Galloway NovelsWhat a read! An absorbing and complex thriller that will keep you guessing until the last shocking reveal -- Sophie Flynn, author of All My LiesA wonderfully taut and tense exploration of success in the face of trauma, Birthday Girl is a hugely compelling and thoroughly twisted tale . Masterfully written, this novel will reel you in and hold you enthralled as the layers of story are revealed -- Sarah Bonner, author of Her Perfect TwinAn unusual plot line and a terrific ending mark Wolf out as one to watch for the future... Her psychological grasp of what drives Dainty and how he deals with his grief is particularly convincing * The Daily Mail *An utterly captivating, sinister tale * Woman's Own *This intricate mystery ticks along with the smooth precision of a Swiss watch [ . . . ] The truth in the twist will take your breath away * Peterborough Telegraph *Wolf is a screenwriter and the book has a tightly honed cinematic structure as it moves fluently between present and past * The Irish Times *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'A morbidly two-fisted tour de force ' Sunday TimesA firecracker of a novel by the Booker-shortlisted author of A Fraction of the Whole - a scathingly funny and affecting tale of life, death, love and the questionable existence of God. Angus Mooney is not happy - he's been murdered, cut off in the prime of his life. He feels humiliated - he's never even believed in an afterlife. (How wrong he'd been). He's confused - death has provided more questions than answers. And he desperately misses his audacious and fiery wife, Gracie, who's expecting their first child. The only upside is that Angus has found a way to see what his murderer is up to, and how Gracie is faring. The downside: Gracie and his murderer are getting uncomfortably close, and a worldwide pandemic means the afterlife is about to get very crowded . . .'What a joy to surrender oneself to a writer of such prodigious talent' Peter CareyTrade ReviewSteve Toltz's fabulously impressive third novel cannonballs straight into heady existential questions, magicking up a vision of human life at once generous and absurd while wearing its considerable ambition lightly . . . Toltz takes his time with each book and Here Goes Nothing is a funny, clever, entertaining argument in favour of cultivating the patience to get it right. -- Rob Doyle * Guardian *A morbidly two-fisted tour de force . . . energetically full of sardonic one-liners . . . it reeks of mortality, but it is thoroughly bracing. -- Phil Baker * Sunday Times *Savagely comic . . . Here Goes Nothing is a Jeremiad with jokes . . . But when the story focuses on the end of days on Earth, Toltz abandons existential standup for the detailed horror of what we all might have faced if Covid had triumphed. Wider questions persist about what it means to be alive. * Spectator *In his three books (alas, too few) Steve Toltz has shown that he is one of the funniest and most original writers at work today. -- Robbie Millen * The Times *Toltz refreshingly posits an afterlife without any religious scaffolding . . . He conjures up scenes few other novelists would dare to imagine, let alone write . . . In a book full of narrative tricks, Toltz saves the best, or strangest, for last. -- Suzi Feay * Financial Times *Steve Toltz's first two novels . . . were filled to the brim with exuberant sentences, dark jokes, large philosophical ideas and wildly imaginative, often lurid incidents . . . Now, with Here Goes Nothing he pulls off the same trick again . . . While Toltz obviously has a serious purpose - to rub our noses in what a mess we've collectively made of being alive - his usual high quotient of fizzing one-liners ensures that not many pages go by without at least one laugh -- James Walton * The Times *The greatest Mitteleuropean novelist ever to have come from Australia . . . Toltz's great skill is to make [his] monsters in a lunatic way loveable . . . I read the final pages through a veil of tears. Of course, the flipside to such remorseless, brilliantly withering contempt is sentimentality. It is perhaps the most difficult genre to do well, and Toltz does it humanely, compassionately and unforgettably. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Toltz is the king of pitch-black comedy and personal catastrophe . . . his new novel grapples with big existential questions but is also stuffed with zingers. If there's no cure for being alive, laughter is still the best medicine. -- Justine Jordan * Guardian *A wildly comic riff on love, mortality and metaphysics; an extended vision of the afterlife that resembles Dante on magic mushrooms . . . Thought-provoking, inventive and full of literary pyrotechnics, this remarkable novel is unlike anything you will read this year. -- Simon Humphreys * Mail on Sunday *Sizzles with black comedy and anarchic energy * Guardian, Hot New Books for the Summer *A moving meditation on all that is wrong with our world today . . . In its epic scope charting this life and beyond, Here Goes Nothing works as a smart social commentary on our fossil fuel-guzzling, warmongering, information-obsessed, pandemic-riddled world. It is a hugely timely book. -- Sarah Gilmartin * Irish Times *I honestly think you have to resort to the likes of Oscar Wilde to find so many maxims per minute in a narrative. The book is the ideal guide to living and dying and living again in this parlous age. * Steve Stern *Clever lines drop down on these pages like flowers thrown on a casket . . . [a] zany, increasingly dark comedy * Washington Post *Dark, twisted and hilarious . . . Toltz is smart, imaginative and funny, unafraid to lob a literary grenade into hard-held beliefs of humankind. He uses Here Goes Nothing as a jumping-off point to parody the perversity and stubbornness of human nature and to highlight our uneasy relationship with mortality. Think of it as a comic, modern-day Divine Comedy with more intercourse and fewer opportunities to reach Paradise. -- Connie Ogle * Star Tribune *A story about the afterlife is ambitious enough but to make this so effortlessly funny is quite an achievement. * Penelope Debelle, Herald Sun (Australia) *What should survive of our past when we can start again from scratch? What do the dead owe the living? The answers Toltz provides are provisional, bleak and often hilarious, but they are never superficial. Here Goes Nothing reads like late-phase Saul Bellow in that it is brilliantly febrile and argumentative, though pessimistic when it comes to the human condition. Yet the implications of its character's actions are at variance to the general melancholy, and gloriously so. -- Geordie Williamson * Australian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE THRILLER THAT EVERYONE IS RAVING ABOUT THIS SUMMER'Absolutely show-stopping' JANICE HALLETT'Unputdownable' SOPHIE HANNAH'So intense! So gripping!' B.P. WALTER'A tour-de-force' CHRIS WHITAKER'Wow!' CHRISTINA DALCHER'Enthralling and incredibly clever' C.J. TUDOR'Blew my mind' JANE CORRY'A drop-the-book twist' TAMMY COHENYOU KNOW HOW THIS STORY BEGINS. Once upon a time, there was a writer named Fern. She was a bestseller. An award-winner. Loved by readers and critics alike. With her words, she changed the world.Until her story took a turn. Now Fern is a cleaner in a hospital. Condemned to anonymity. Because reading books is now a crime. Only, Fern doesn't plan on going down without a fight. She'll keep writing, no matter the consequences. She will make her voice heard. Because Fern's story is only beginning. BUT CAN YOU GUESS HOW IT WILL END?A white-knuckle ride of a thriller set in an all-too-believable near-future with a shocking twist, perfect for fans of Gillian McAllister and Catriona Ward.___________________READERS LOVE END OF STORY . . .'It's actually hard to find words for how brilliant End of Story is' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5*'What a fantastic book, I really didn't see the twist coming but oh my gosh!' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5*'Without question one of my books of the year' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5*'I'm a bit flabbergasted after reading this. It wasn't what I was expecting; it was so much more' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5*'Wow, what have I just read? I honestly could not put this book down, I read it in one sitting.' NETGALLEY REVIEWER, 5*Trade ReviewAs much a ride as a read, this tense, paranoid thriller expands into something absolutely show-stopping. End of Story is a rare find indeed! Louise Swanson takes every expectation and defies it - to tell a breath-taking tale of humanity and redemption. -- Janice HallettWow. Swanson gives us what few writers can- a thriller with heart. END OF STORY will undoubtedly be the hit of 2023! -- Christina DalcherA vast, playful, ingenious piece of literary legerdemain . . . It's a book as much about writing as about loss and hope . . . but Louise Swanson takes that idea to audacious extremes, finding real soul amongst the dream logic and textural trickery . . . Read it and make your own mind up, because the ride is certainly fun * SFX *An unforgettable tour-de-force. Imaginative, terrifying, beautiful. Do not miss this one -- Chris WhitakerAbsolutely enthralling, incredibly clever, brutal and heartbreaking. This deserves to be the book everyone is talking about in 2023. I loved it. -- C.J. TudorThis dystopia is as disturbing as it is fascinating -- Deirdre O'Brien * Best *This richly imagined dystopian novel is an unsettling read * Woman's Own *A compelling slice of chilling dystopia * Heat *Unsettling, twisty, emotional, and so expertly written that you live every dark, discomforting moment with its protagonist. Not just a highlight of March, expect this book to be a highlight of the year. -- CultureflyCompelling -- Crime MonthlyThis is a book about the importance of storytelling, and it's little bit magic, a little bit dark, and a lot emotional. I adored it -- Amanda ProwseInventive, original, moving. END OF STORY has a unique premise and a heart-wrenching drop-the-book twist. -- Tammy CohenThis beautifully-written book blew my mind. Takes 'What if' to a new level. -- Jane CorryA sensually startling dystopia . . . unsettling - in the best possible sense! - the novel had me hooked from start to finish. Wonderfully original. -- Susannah WiseHaunting, intriguing and dazzlingly original. This book will break your heart. -- Emma HaughtonShocking, powerful, topical, and utterly compelling. -- John MarrsA chilling and moving tale that will strike fear into the heart of every book lover. The ending blew me away. -- Mark EdwardsA shocking portrayal of a world undone. Swanson's writing is powerful and thought-provoking. A compelling read. -- Lauren NorthA compelling novel with an intriguing premise and a genuine didn't-see-it-coming twist. It made me think about how we tell stories, how we occupy them and how stories can ultimately change us. -- Araminta HallA propulsive and incredibly creepy dystopian premise - I was hooked from the outset, and every twist was perfectly executed. A fantastic thriller -- Heather DarwentAbsolutely engrossing from the first page, END OF STORY pulled me in and held me there like the best stories do. Utterly compelling, chilling, and heartbreaking, Louise Swanson has achieved something very rare and very special with this book, it'll stay with me for a long time. I loved it. -- Beth LewisA masterpiece of storytelling, with a plot that relentlessly draws you in, and then twists and evolves into something utterly unexpected. Wrapped in one of the most original and deeply-realised storylines I have read in a long time, this genre-blending book hits breathtaking new heights in contemporary fiction -- Philippa EastJust finished this and oh wow... I could not put it down! Intriguing, captivating and utterly heartbreaking - such a brilliant book. -- Susi HollidayEnd of Story is an infusion of dystopia and very real magic. It reaches straight for your heart, cast in a velvet glove and tears it out in an iron fist. Thunderous devastating. I loved every minute of it. -- Matt WesolowskiSimply devastatingly good - I may need some time to recover -- Claire AllanA story that shocks, enchants and terrifies, End of Story lures you in to its darkly captivating world then rips the rug out from under you and breaks your heart. Loved it. -- Eve SmithPowerful and thought-provoking and quite unlike anything I've read before. Louise Beech is a fearless writer -- Laura PearsonCompelling and engrossing dystopian fiction, with much food for thought -- S.E. LynesA terrifying portrait of a near future . . . Both thought-provoking and heartfelt, END OF STORY is a unique dystopian mystery about human connection amidst automation, renewal amidst defeat, and the power of writing -- Winnie M LiA beautifully written dystopian tale which had me enthralled from the start with its terrifying vision of a world without fiction. Hugely imaginative, original, and ultimately incredibly moving, End of Story is a wonderful book with a cast of fascinating characters. Loved it. -- Amanda JenningsA taut thriller with characters that are both heartbreakingly, and in some instances frighteningly real, and the twist at the end left me bereft, if not a little relieved. A remarkable, thought-provoking story that will stay with me for a long time. -- Eva JordanA bewitching and heartbreaking story about the power of fiction and redemption. Unlike anything else I've read - utterly breathtaking. -- Catherine CooperWill sear itself into your heart . . . A brilliant, original idea, powerfully executed and terrifyingly plausible. Prepare to be left speechless!

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Strange, intense, brilliant’ S. J. Watson‘A witty, zappy fable ... Powerful’ GuardianDepression can be hell.Heartbroken and lonely, the narrator has made an attempt on his own life. Whether he meant to or not he can't say. But now he’s stuck in his own head, and time is running out.To save himself, he embarks on a journey across an imagined America, one haunted by his doomed relationship and the memory of a road trip that ended in tragedy.Help arrives in the guise of Jon Bon Jovi, rock star and childhood hero. An unlikely spirit guide, perhaps, but he's going to give it a shot...Trade Review 'A witty, zappy fable ... Powerful' Guardian 'A strange and rather lovely debut novel ... What begins as a witty, playful idea grows into a convincing and touching salutary tale of broken love' Big Issue

Read more less

Book SynopsisHeartwarming, poignant and funny, Live a Little is perfect for fans of Jill Mansell and Cathy Kelly. 'Deeply moving and couldn't stop reading'Susan Lewis, author of One Minute Later (on Before We Say Goodbye)'Gorgeous and Emotional'Fern Britton (on Before We Say Goodbye) Two Sisters. One road trip. What could possibly go wrong?Lottie has always followed the rules, her life is comfortable and she is - finally, finally - marrying her long-term, sensible, boyfriend Dean. Tina is carefree, wild and, maybe, just a little bit careless. She doesn't understand Lottie's obsession with settling down with 'dull Dean'. There's so much to explore in the world. The two sisters have drifted apart since the death of their older sister. Without her, Lottie and Tina realise how little they know each other. Desperate to remedy this, Tina convinces Lottie to set out on a road trip across the US, just the two of them. But Tina has one more surprise in mind to shake up Lottie's life - she must say yes to everything Tina suggests, no matter what . . .Trade ReviewI'm so glad I found it - I recommend it most highly * Being Anne Reading Book Blog, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *This story was extremely heart-warming. There were interesting turns and revelations throughout the book. It had great pacing. I would highly recommend this book to fans of women's fiction! * Chick Lit Chickadees Book Blog, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *This Last Kiss is a book about forgiveness, about first loves and true loves and of being able to find peace in things and move on. If you enjoyed reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, One Day by David Nicholls or One Summer Night by Emily Bold then I think you will enjoy This Last Kiss as it has the same emphasis of enjoying love and romance before it ultimately ends * That Thing She Reads Book Blog, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *This book was really good but be warned......UGLY CRY!!! I was sobbing uncontrollably! But this book has more than the ugly cry... it had me laughing and feeling full of love before it ripped my heart out... * Steph and Chris Book Reviews, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *An unexpected delight * Chick Lit Chickadees, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *An emotional, romantic and gentle read about love and family; I'm glad I got the chance to be introduced to author Madeleine Reiss * A Spoonful of Happy Endings, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *Any fairytale worth its salt has many dark moments as it does stolen kisses... * Jenny O’Brien blog, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *It made me cry but it also left me feeling enriched by the whole reading experience. Just a gorgeous book! * My Chestnut Reading Tree, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *Gorgeous and Emotional * Fern Britton, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *I found it deeply moving and couldn't stop reading * Susan Lewis, on Madeleine Reiss's previous work *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Family Lore is full of beautiful prose, even-handed magic and all the pains and triumphs of intergenerational bonds' KILEY REID, author of Such A Fun AgeThe Marte women are preparing for a gathering that will change their lives foreverFlor has a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. So when she decides to host her own living wake - bringing together her family and community to celebrate her long life - her sisters Matilde, Pastora and Camila are concerned. What has she foreseen?But Flor isn't the only one with a secret. Matilde has tried to hide the extent of her husband's infidelity for years, and now must confront the true state of her marriage. Pastora - always on a mission to solve her sisters' problems - needs to come to terms with her past. And Camila, the youngest sibling, has decided she no longer wants to be taken for granted. Alongside their struggles, the next generation of Marte women face their own tumult of family obligations, infertility, and heartache.Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the intertwining stories of these sisters and cousins, mothers and daughters, aunts and nieces, to ask the ultimate question: what does it take to live a good life, for yourself and those you love?Trade ReviewAcevedo is a master of time. Family Lore is full of beautiful prose, even-handed magic and all the pains and triumphs of intergenerational bonds. Tender, moving and altogether lovely. Not one word is wasted here -- KILEY REID, author of SUCH A FUN AGEAn exuberant, polyphonic story of one family's reckoning with their past . . . Acevedo's background in spoken-word poetry shines through in the energy and lyricism of her prose . . . But the novel's greatest triumph is in the warmth of her portrayal of these women, their strength and stubbornness, and the inseparability of love and grief * * Observer * *There is potent magic in these pages, passed down through this lineage of powerful sisters who have captured my heart. How does Acevedo do it? Reading Family Lore is like an embrace, and I am filled with nostalgia for a family I have never had and could never have imagined -- RUTH OZEKI, author of THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESSAn expansive story that follows three generations of the Marte family . . . [Family Lore] mixes the old-timey lyricism typical of the genre with a plethora of twenty-first-century references . . . [Acevedo's] writing is undeniably beautiful, overflowing with original turns of phrase and polished prose * * Sunday Times * *A labyrinthine tale of sisterhood and the chaos of love . . . the depth, grace and nuance Acevedo gives her characters is palpable; her love for these women comes through with arresting clarity . . . Pearls of magic and wisdom, hard but not hardened, the story of the Marte sisters is a treasure to behold * * New York Times Book Review * *The women's stories intertwine, establishing a fully realised family portrait with all the quirks, resentments and secrets that characterise it * * Daily Mail * *Acevedo expertly maneuvers through the complex and singular stories of each of these women and all that unites them. It was a joy to experience each character's expressive and gripping story; to acknowledge their truths and to recognise some of the women in the lives of women around me. A remarkable accomplishment -- ABI DARÉ, author of THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICEAcevedo's treatment of magic as an everyday possibility is compelling but there is also magic in the wonder, surprise, frustrations, and joys the characters experience in their relationships with one another . . . her obsession with imagery, interiority and making every word count is what makes her descriptions and dialogue sing; her characters think and speak in voices that feel distinct and alive. * * TIME * *The most magnificent, intricate story of a family and a group of women . . . the perfect accompaniment for a long summer read. A magical, intergeneration story from an assured debut novelist . . . [a] beautiful book * * Glamour * *Flor is throwing herself a wake and reminding us that "even a long life is too short". So while we are here "let's eat, and dance, and be alive". Acevedo has written unforgettable characters who breathe new life into how we grieve, age, take care of each other. Family Lore is a big hearted novel, a wonderful debut! -- ANGIE CRUZ, author of DOMINICANA

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Prepare to ugly cry and snort laugh with abandon' - Heat'An emotional read with an OMG ending' - Jill MansellOne moment in time can change everything...The day Scarlett dies should have been one of the most important of her life. It doesn't feel fair that she'll never have the chance to fulfil her dreams - all because she stopped to help a stranger. And now, she's still ... here - wherever here is - watching the ripple effect of her death on those she loved the most.Evie cannot contemplate her life without Scarlett, and she certainly cannot forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death. But Nate keeps popping up when she least expects him to, catapulting Evie's life in directions she'd never let herself imagine possible. If you could go back, knowing everything that happens after, everything that happens because of one choice you made, would you change the course of history or would you do it all again?'A gorgeous love story with a twist' Veronica Henry'An unexpected ending that leaves you reeling' - Good HousekeepingTrade ReviewA thought-provoking and moving novel about loss, love, and the unique and life-affirming power of friendship. Poignant yet unwaveringly hopeful, One Moment is a fresh look at how grief can not only break us, but put us back together again. An unmissable debut. * Holly Miller *'Completely involving. An emotional read about love and trust, with an OMG ending -- Jill MansellA beautiful, bittersweet examination of friendship, love and grief, prepare to ugly cry and snort laugh with abandon * Heat *Wonderful * Marie Claire *This heart-wrenching tale is beautifully written * Sun *A beautifully written novel that captures the joy of a lifelong friendship and the horror of grief. Fans of JoJo Moyes will devour Becky Hunter's stunning tale * Sunday Express *A joy from start to finish -- Sheila O'Flanagan. No. 1 bestselling authorThis emotional read about friendship, love and loss is touching and relatable with an unexpected ending that leaves you reeling * Good Housekeeping *Full of heart and humour and the characters are all so well written * Prima *One Moment is so many things. A gorgeous love story with a twist, a tender portrait of the kind of friendship that transcends everything, and an exploration of the important things in life. It will make you question who you are, and what you want, and how to make the most of every opportunity and every relationship you have. Intimate, thoughtful, beautiful and deeply moving. Becky Hunter will steal your heart! -- Veronica HenryI adored this emotional debut from Becky Hunter. It's such a gorgeous tale of love and friendship, beautifully written and with characters you really believe in. * Georgina Moore, author of The Garnett Girls *An exquisitely written novel about grief, hope and the power of love. I loved every word. -- Cathy Bramley, Sunday Times bestselling authorBeautiful, hopeful, deeply emotional, incredibly wise and wonderfully romantic. One of those books I feel stronger for reading -- Cressida McLaughlinFantastic. Incredibly moving and very thoughtfully written -- Harriet TyceThis stunning debut explores grief, love and friendship in a beautiful and original way - a powerful read full of both moving and joyful moments * My Weekly *A story of friendship, loss and how one moment can change your whole life. A gorgeous debut. * Woman *Sharp, funny, tear-jerking, so assured and well observed. What a debut! -- Elizabeth BuchanA compelling read * Bella *A beautiful story about love and loss * Best *A warm and thoughtful novel that skewers friendship, loss and negotiating grief in a touching and relatable way. I was completely caught up in Evie and Scarlet's stories. -- Fanny BlakeA page-turner to grip you * Chat *Deeply moving ... truly packs an emotional punch. Heatwarming, witty and brilliantly written. * Press and Journal *A poignant, uplifting and life-affirming tale of friendship, love, grief and learning to let go. It'll have you welling up one moment and smiling the next. And by the end, your heart will feel a little fuller. * CultureFly *A hugely accomplished debut about dying, grief and loss, but also learning to live again. It's about love in all its forms, and, despite its subject matter, it manages to be uplifting and life-affirming. It's a story that will stay with me for a long time. -- Claire FrostSo moving and uplifting - I have no doubt that readers will fall in love -- Emylia HallAn engaging story about love, true friendship and sacrifice * Candis *A touching tale focusing on friendship, grief, and hope * That's Life *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne year after the passing of their friend, two young musicians return to the summer home where they used to record with their trio DiSCONNECT. When discovering an unfinished song written by their departed friend, the two decide to work together to finish it. With different ideas on what being back together means, they both project their sadness onto each other. The creative process and their relationship is at stake as their grief looms underneath. DiSCONNECT is the debut graphic novel by Danish artist Magnus Merklin, blending traditional and digital techniques to explore grief, friendship, and creative healing.

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Silky-smooth… stylish suspense, with a winsome hero and agreeable dollops of sex, gore and demented mayhem’Kirkus ReviewTrade Review‘Hollywood-slick and fast-moving… enjoy the ride’Los Angelese Daily News ‘A fast-moving, well-written mystery’Washington Times

Read more less