Narrative theme: politics / economics

Book SynopsisWhy are we all so hostile? So quick to take offence? Truly we are living in the age of outrage. A series of apparently random murders draws amiable, old-school Detective Mick Matlock into a world of sex, politics, reality TV and a bewildering kaleidoscope of opposing identity groups. Lost in a blizzard of hashtags, his already complex investigation is further impeded by the fact that he simply doesn't get' a single thing about anything anymore.Meanwhile, each day another public figure confesses to having misspoken' and prostrates themselves before the judgement of Twitter. Begging for forgiveness, assuring the public that is not who I am.But if nobody is who they are anymore - then who the f##k are we?Ben Elton returns with a blistering satire of the world as it fractures around us. Get ready for a roller-coaster thriller, where nothing - and no one - is off limits.

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Book Synopsis 2016. The world is on the brink of crisis. Who could have predicted how events would play out? In this satirical thriller, Stanley Johnson, former MEP and father to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, just might have. In Britain, the British Prime Minister Jeremy Hartley is fighting a referendum he thought couldn’t be lost. In the USA, brash showman, Ronald Craig is fighting a Presidential Election nobody thought he could win. In the USSR, Igor Popov, the Russian President, is using both events as part of his plan to destabilise the West.Trade Review'I wish we had been able to take this book into the jungle. Stanley's Kompromat is a superbly funny satire on recent events!' * Georgia Toffolo ('Toff'), ITV's Queen of the Jungle 2017 *'Brilliant.' * The Sunday Times *‘Perfect beach material.’ * Independent *‘It’s brilliant and, who knows, maybe it’s true.’ * Ken Livingstone *'A rollicking work of fiction that sets conniving caricatures of real-life figures amid a diorama of recent world events...Mr. Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament and the father of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, clearly knows all the drills. The author of 25 earlier works of fiction and nonfiction, he has a lifetime’s expertise that adds comic credibility to a caper combining the antic action of Mad magazine’s old "Spy vs. Spy" cartoons with the gonzo humor of Carl Hiaasen.' * Wall Street Journal *‘There are some novelists who, by instincts or study, understand perfectly the independent components of a thriller. Stanley Johnson is one of them.’ * Daily Telegraph *‘This thriller has the makings of a gleeful romp through geopolitical skullduggery, but Johnson (The Commissioner) has laid out something that looks more like an alternative history for our grim and disrupted times.' * Publishers Weekly *‘An enjoyable satire…while still being all too scarily believable.’ * Crime Novel Reader *‘This is a brilliant alternative account of recent and current events.’ * The Chronicle *‘In its complex plotting and intrigue, Kompromat not only suggests that Russia was influencing the US election campaign, but behind the scenes bolstering the fortunes of the Leave campaign. Of course, Kompromat is an entertainment but Johnson is quite chuffed that some of his plot twists have proved prescient.’ * Sydney Morning Herald *

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Book SynopsisFor those living in the Soviet Union, Orwell's masterpieces, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, were not dystopias, but accurate depictions of reality. Here, the Orwell scholar and expert on Russian politics, Masha Karp – Russian Features Editor at the BBC World Service for over a decade – explores how Orwell's work was received in Russia, when it percolated into the country even under censorship. Suggesting a new approach to the controversial ‘Orwell’s list’ of 1949, Karp puts into context the articles and letters written by Orwell at the time. She sheds light on how the ideas of totalitarianism exposed in Orwell’s writing took root in Russia and, in doing so, helps us to understand the contemporary political reality. As Vladimir Putin's actions continue to shock the West, it is clear we are witnessing the next transformation of totalitarianism, as predicted and described by Orwell. Now, over 70 years after Orwell's death, his writing, at least as far as Russia is concerned, remains as timely and urgent as it has ever been.Trade Review‘Many people over the decades believed that Orwell must have lived or at least been to the Soviet Union, because of his deep understanding of totalitarianism. In her brilliant and informative book, Masha Karp suggests that not much has changed and that the Russia of today under President Putin proves the point that Orwell made following his experience during the Spanish Civil War and his comments in his controversial list of 1949 where he names people in England ‘sympathetic to communism’.' -- Richard Blair, George Orwell’s adopted son, Patron of The Orwell Society and member of The Orwell Foundation CouncilIn George Orwell and Russia, Masha Karp explores the relationship between totalitarianism, as imagined by Orwell, and totalitarianism, as it really existed in Soviet Russia. As Russia slides backwards into a new form of authoritarian dictatorship, this book is a timely reminder of what came before. -- Anne Applebaum, Staff writer for The Atlantic and author of 'Gulag, A History'Karp's Russian view of Orwell is unorthodox and makes a novel case for the continuing relevance of this controversial writer in the age of Putin. -- Michael Scammell, Author of 'Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth Century Skeptic'In 2022, sales of George Orwell's "1984" went sky-high across Russia as people sought to discover more about the reality they were now living in - a reality in which "war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength". In truth, this reality was long in coming - from the moment a former officer of the Soviet "thought-police" came to power and re-instated the Stalin-era national anthem back in 2000. It was a straight road from then on. Masha Karp's new book offers a timely and important insight into how Europe's largest country has descended in the 21st century into a truly Orwellian reality - and a warning against failing to recognise such obvious signs of danger in the future. A must-read. * - Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian politician, historian, journalist; political prisoner since April 2022, arrested for his anti-war speech at the Arizona House of Representatives; winner of 2022 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize awarded by PACE *Those who dared to read 1984 in Eastern Europe and the USSR during the Cold War era always felt that it was a “miracle” that George Orwell so deeply and fully grasped the nature of a society that he had never stepped foot in: the totalitarian tyranny of Stalin’s Russia. Equally miraculous, his nightmarish vision continued to be eerily apposite to the USSR of later decades--just as it is to Russia today. In George Orwell and Russia, Masha Karp works wonders in explaining his mirabilia of imaginative insight as she charts how Orwell’s hard-won experience of collectivism’s corruptions enabled him to conjure a terrifying world whose numerous catchphrases are bywords in the cultural lexicon. This outstanding, path-breaking book should be read by all those who care about the Soviet past, agonize about the Russian present, and worry about the world’s future. * John Rodden, Author of 'Becoming George Orwell: Life and Letters, Legend and Legacy' *[Karp] relishes the details of exactly how, when, and what Orwell would have learned about Soviet Russia, and how his attitudes towards Russia changed over time, especially in relation to his continued belief in the ideals of socialism... her book is most impressive on account of how judiciously she selects her material, erring on the side of factual accuracy and abundance. * Owen Boynton, Meduza *Valuable for those interested in literature, political philosophy, and Soviet history. * CHOICE *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Note on Translation List of Abbreviations Part 1. ‘I Have Regarded This Regime With Plain Horror...’ 1. The First Vaccination. 2. ‘We’re All Socialists Nowadays…’ 3. Stalinism in Spain. 4. The Totalitarian Enemy. 5. The Russian Myth. Part 2. ‘Don’t Let It Happen. It Depends on You.’ 6. Opposing the Soviet Menace. 7. ‘As I Understand It.’ 8. ‘Over the Heads of their Rulers.’ 9. ‘Alone with the Forbidden Book.’ 10. ‘To Arrest the Course of History.’ Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA collection of 36 short stories from a Raqqa, Syria native whose home was commandeered by ISIS and later destroyed by coalition airstrikes.Musa Al-Halool developed these stories based on a sense of embitterment toward the Syrian regime. Now, after his country has fallen from the grips of an obtuse and rigidly bureaucratic state into the uncertainties of war . . . he presents his stories as the response of one still-same voice in the midst of madness.Musa Al-Halool’s stories depict a Kafkaesque Middle Eastern world. The collection opens with eight political fables in a chapter titled Ratistan . . . or the country of Rats. These fables introduce themes which are picked up and developed in the later stories or simply serve as counterpoint to the longer pieces.The Dusk Visitor is an object lesson for Western readers. In just a few words, it invokes the warnings of Ernest Hemingway about the dangers of Fascism in 1920s Italy and the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s . . . that resulted in WWII. The author shows in compelling detail that Middle East dictators and the upside down world of security state rule in the Middle East are the reward for functioning civil societies where a few too many ”good people” find it more convenient to collaborate rather than to resist.Western readers, in their arrogance, are accustomed to pity such dysfunctional societies. In The Dusk Visitor, the tables are turned. Musa Al-Halool forces us to look in the mirror: Middle Eastern style comical inanity and inefficiency as well as torture, mass murder, and other human rights horrors are just around the corner for the EU, UK, US, and other societies where it is OK to raise half-truths, lies, and exaggeration above traditional journalism, dilute the judiciary, gerrymander the election system, usher in strongmen who prefer to be rulers for life, and threaten legal action against one’s political opponents.The Dusk Visitor is a MUST-READ for anyone concerned about the growth of subtle and overt fascism within modern civil society.

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Book SynopsisOne of the first twenty-first century Russian novels to probe the legacy of the Soviet prison camp system by one of Russia's finest young writers. A young man travels to the vast wastelands of the Far North to uncover the truth about a shadowy neighbour who saved his life, and whom he knows only as Grandfather II. What he finds, among the forgotten mines and decrepit barracks of former gulags, is a world relegated to oblivion, where it is easier to ignore both the victims and the executioners than to come to terms with a terrible past. This disturbing tale evokes the great and ruined beauty of a land where man and machine worked in tandem with nature to destroy millions of lives during the Soviet century. Emerging from today's Russia, where the ills of the past are being forcefully erased from public memory, this masterful novel represents an epic literary attempt to rescue history from the brink of oblivion.Trade ReviewA Dantean descent... In a steely translation by Antonina W. Bouis, Oblivion is as cold and stark as a glacial crevasse, but as beautiful as one, too, with a clear poetic sensibility built to stand against the forces of erasure' * Wall Street Journal *Astonishing... Ingeniously structured around the progressive uncovering of memories of a difficult personal and national past [...] with a visceral, at times almost unbearable, force' * Times Literary Supplement *Opening in stately fashion and unfolding ever faster with fierce, intensive elegance, this first novel discloses the weight of Soviet history and its consequences... Highly recommended for anyone serious about literature or history' * Library Journal (starred review) *Sergei Lebedev opens up new territory in literature. Lebedev's prose lives from the precise images and the author's colossal gift of observation * Der Spiegel *

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Book SynopsisAlmost from the moment of its publication in 1863, Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel, What Is to Be Done?, had a profound impact on the course of Russian literature and politics. The idealized image it offered of dedicated and self-sacrificing intellectuals transforming society by means of scientific knowledge served as a model of inspiration for...Trade ReviewNo work in modern literature, with the possible exception of Uncle Tom's Cabin, can compete with What Is to Be Done? in its effect on human lives and its power to make history. For Chernyshevsky's novel, far more than Marx's Capital, supplied the emotional dynamic that eventually went to make the Russian Revolution. * The Southern Review *In the Russian revolutionary movement, no literary work can compare in importance with Chernyshevsky's What Is to Be Done?.... Katz and Wagner have provided us with a version that is worthy of the novel's importance. Katz's translation is faithful to the original, yet cast in words that bring Chernyshevsky's meaning alive to modern readers.... Wagner, in turn, provides abundant notes, explaining obscure references, making connections between parts of the novel that could easily be missed on first reading, and alerting the reader to those many passages where Chernyshevksy hinted at what he could not say outright. * Russian History *

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Book SynopsisA Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller!‘A rip-roaring, brilliant page-turner, but it’s also timely, cheeky, important and wonderfully, courageously provocative. What great fun!’ – James Patterson‘Smart and fast and twisty, State of Terror is a dazzlingly unpredictable political thriller. I loved it’ – Kathy ReichsState of Terror is a compelling and critically acclaimed international political thriller co-written by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th secretary of state, and Louise Penny, a multiple award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling novelist.Take a ringside seat in the high-stakes world of international politics . . .After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in. Secretary of State, Ellen Adams, is determined to do her duty for her country. But she is about to face a horrifying international threat . . .A young foreign service officer has received a baffling text from an anonymous source. Too late, she realizes it was a hastily coded warning. Then a series of bus bombs devastate Europe, heralding the rise of a new rogue terrorist organization who will stop at nothing in their efforts to develop their own nuclear arsenal.As Ellen unravels the damaging effects of the former presidency on international politics, she must also contemplate the unthinkable: that the last president of the United States was more than just an ineffectual leader. Was he also a traitor to his country?________________________Praise for State of Terror:‘Clinton and Penny are each a force on their own - put together they are unstoppable’ – Karin Slaughter'This is as close as you’ll get to being in the White House Situation Room with a secretary of state.' – The Times'Fast-paced and packed with insider knowledge.' – Daily Mail'The perfect political thriller . . . a glimpse into the world of our most powerful politicians.' - Ann CleevesTrade ReviewPretty darn good...the real appeal of the novel, apart from a fuel tanker’s worth of political score-settling, is that this is as close as you’ll get to being in the White House Situation Room with a secretary of state. * The Times *Tightly plotted tale of political intrigue...[Clinton and Penny are] a match made in heaven... This is meticulously plotted, intelligent and terrifying... Don’t miss it. -- Alison Flood * The Guardian *Great fun...an unexpected delight * Daily Telegraph *remarkable...Fast-paced and packed with insider knowledge, it superbly conveys the pressures at the heart of the world’s diplomacy. Chillingly plausible and laden with insights, this is a taut account of frantic political manoeuvring in the face of incredible evil. * Daily Mail *I expected a thriller written by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny to be smart, very well-written, and suspenseful . . . But State of Terror is so much more than that. Yes, this novel is a rip-roaring, brilliant page-turner, but it’s also timely, cheeky, important, and wonderfully, courageously provocative. What great fun! -- James PattersonThe nearly 500-page novel combines other details that resonate with recent news... along with explorations of friendship... and, for the writers, the enjoyment of placing women of a certain age at the heart of a political thriller. * Independent (AP News) *State of Terror is an absolutely gripping, utterly believable, heart-stopping thriller that will make readers question how much is fiction and how much is based on reality. Clinton and Penny are each a force on their own – put together they are unstoppable -- Karin SlaughterThis is the perfect political thriller: rollercoaster action, credible heroes and villains, and a glimpse into the world of our most powerful politicians. Add into the mix flashes of humour and fine writing and we have a winning formula! -- Ann CleevesExpectedly, but effectively, the book targets Washington misogyny...The novel is geopolitically thoughtful as well, exploring a moral dilemma worthy of John le Carré... -- Mark Lawson * The Guardian *Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny Deliver a Page-Turner … a romp...political junkies will relish the veiled insults to real-life people. … I’m going to award the prize for Best Clinton Thriller of 2021 to Hillary. * New York Times *Smart and fast and twisty, State of Terror is a dazzlingly unpredictable political thriller. I loved it -- Kathy Reichscracking political thriller... -- Ryan Tubridy, RTEa complex plot with the highest international stakes...State of Terror proves to be a lively ... blockbuster...The geopolitical aspects here are handled with plausible authenticity... * Financial Times *Mrs Clinton's co-author is the splendid Louise Penny, author of the wonderful Inspector Gamache series...lively and readable... * Daily Express *consistently entertaining...Penny and Clinton demonstrate a sure hand at international intrigue and narrative pacing. The real key to “State of Terror,” though, is its secret weapon: female friendship. International terrorists may have all the materials they need for a dirty bomb, but America has these two middle-aged women with a plan. Honestly, it’s not a fair fight. * Washington Post *The thriller follows the journey of new secretary of state and main character, Ellen Adams.... Secretary Adams must navigate a terrorist plot, nuclear weapons and a Trump-like administration. Along the way, Adams battles sexist comments from her male counterparts but also finds friendship and support in the women around her...’State of Terror’ also tackles Washington's misogyny as the main character navigates jabs and sexist comments at the hands of the male antagonists. While the male characters are rude and crass, the women win by outsmarting their counterparts. * USA Today *State of Terror moves at a galloping pace all the while offering tantalizing insight into the mind of the GOAT (greatest of all time) herself. Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny have written us some truly iconic women. We are not worthy! -- Jessica KnollBreathlessly pacy and topical * Evening Standard *John le Carre's mantle was taken up by...Hillary Clinton...slickly enjoyable...fascinating granular detail of how a US Secretary of State sets about tackling an international terrorist plot... * The Telegraph on 'The best new crime fiction and thrillers to buy for Christmas 2021' *To say more would rob readers of the pleasures of discovery in this taut thriller, a story made all the more relevant by the United States’ recent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Possessed of both head and heart, “State of Terror’s” layering of ethical trade-offs, political intrigue, high-level espionage and pure evil perfectly melds Clinton’s intimate knowledge of the State Department and foreign policy with Penny’s mastery of genre mechanics. * L.A. Times *Hillary Rodham Clinton pairs up with powerhouse mystery novelist Louise Penny for State of Terror, a political thriller full of action and intrigue...Clinton and Penny create a heart-pounding mystery about terrorism, corruption and diplomacy, meticulously written with the promise of details only someone on the inside could contribute. * Time *[A] pulsating thriller. * People *With combined expertise, Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny offer a story that is not only artfully written but also rich in its deep knowledge of the complicated global mess that is international politics. With each tick of the clock, the spring is more tightly wound, and readers will find themselves breathlessly expecting in every moment that in the next moment the worst will occur. But wisely and with expert craft, across page after page of heart-in-your-throat moments, these two collaborators draw the reader inevitably toward a truly surprising conclusion. State of Terror is a feast for thriller lovers. -- William Kent Krueger, author of Ordinary GraceAn inspired pairing. Penny’s turn-the-page pacing and Clinton’s wealth of insider details mesh perfectly in this fast, entertaining thriller that also has knowing things to say about national – and international – politics. So authentic it feels like eavesdropping. -- Joseph KanonThis is one of the paciest and most complex political thrillers I’ve read in years * Stylist *This fast-paced thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat! * My Weekly *suspenseful debut...a shrewdly written political thriller, jam-packed with insider expertise. * The Herald *Grips from the first page * Bella *This brilliant read blew us away * Closer *

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Book SynopsisWritten by 'a sublimely elegant historical novelist as addictive as crack' (Daily Telegraph), the Inspector Troy series is perfect for fans of Le Carré, Philip Kerr and Alan Furst.Vienna, 1934. Ten-year-old cello prodigy Meret Voytek becomes a pupil of concert pianist Viktor Rosen, a Jew in exile from Germany.The Isle of Man, 1940. An interned Hungarian physicist is recruited for the Manhattan Project in Los Alomos, building the atom bomb for the Americans.Auschwitz, 1944. Meret is imprisoned but is saved from certain death to play the cello in the camp orchestra. She is playing for her life.London, 1948. Viktor Rosen wants to relinquish his Communist Party membership after thirty years. His comrade and friend reminds him that he committed for life...These seemingly unconnected strands all collide forcefully with a brazen murder on a London Underground platform, revealing an intricate web of secrecy and deception which Detective Frederick Troy must untangle.Trade ReviewJohn Lawton finds himself in the same boat as the late Patrick O'Brian - a sublimely elegant historical novelist as addictive as crack but overlooked by too many readers for too long. * Daily Telegraph *Admirable, ambitious and haunting, this is the sort of thriller that defies categorisation. I look forward with enthusiasm to the next one. * Spectator *John Lawton's books contain such a wealth of period detail, character description and background information that they are lifted out of any category. Every word is enriched by the author's sophistication and irreverent intelligence, by his meticulous research and his wit. * Literary Review *

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Book Synopsis- 5 STARS"The drama never lets up - it is gripping" - 5 STARS"I'm just gutted to have finished it!" - 5 STARS"Verrens rules, ok?"Trade ReviewScourge of Rome is a compelling and urgent account of one of the darkest events in Roman history. Douglas Jackson brings history to life in a compelling way. -- Kate Atherton * SUNDAY EXPRESS *A writer at the top of his game, his books are the complete package, filled with intrigue, action and adventure. But more than that they are filled with history, with heart and emotion and characters that will make you bleed and cry and love . . . I cannot recommend this highly enough. * PARMENIONBOOKS *

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Book SynopsisThe rise and fall of Henry''s notorious minister - the most corrupt Chancellor in English history''Gripping... Hutchinson tells his story with infectious relish and vividly evokes the politics and personalities of this extraordinary decade'' LITERARY REVIEW''Hutchinson tells the horrible story admirably and compellingly, acknowledging Cromwell''s rare abilities, while making no excuses for his character'' OBSERVERThe son of a brewer, Cromwell rose from obscurity to become Earl of Essex, Vice-Regent and High Chamberlain of England, Keep of the Privy Seal and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He maneuvered his way to the top by intrigue, bribery and sheer force of personality in a court dominated by the malevolent King Henry.Cromwell pursued the interests of the king with single-minded energy and little subtlety. Tasked with engineering the judicial murder of Anne Boleyn when she had worn out her welcome in the royal chamber, he tortured her servants and relations, then organised a ''show trial'' of Stalinist efficiency. He orchestrated the ''greatest act of privatisation in English history'': the seizure of the monasteries. Their enormous wealth was used to cement the loyalty of the English nobility, and to enrich the crown. Cromwell made himself a fortune too, soliciting colossal bribes and binding the noble families to him with easy loans. He came home from court literally weighed down with gold.Trade ReviewHutchinson tells the horrible story admirably and compellingly, acknowledging Cromwell's rare abilities, while making no excuses for his character * OBSERVER *Absolutely compelling narrative and, though I never thought I'd say this of a book on Thomas Cromwell, one that is impossible to put down. He is one of the few authors who keep you up till 3am. * BOOKSELLER *Gripping... Hutchinson tells his story with infectious relish and vividly evokes the politics and personalities of this extraordinary decade * LITERARY REVIEW *A rollicking good read * THE HERALD *Vigorous, pacey and focused... an effective portrait of "Henry VIII's most notorious minister" * BBC HISTORY *Anyone who sees history as boring should be given Robert Hutchinson's book post haste. Without sacrificing facts and research, he has the ability to construct and absolutely compelling narrative and, though I never thought I'd say this of a book on Thomas Cromwell, one that is impossible to put down. He is one of the few authors who keep you up till 3am. -- Sue Baker * THE BOOKSELLER *

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Book SynopsisWritten by 'a sublimely elegant historical novelist as addictive as crack' (Daily Telegraph), the Inspector Troy series is perfect for fans of Le Carré, Philip Kerr and Alan Furst.1938.The Germans take Vienna without a shot being fired. Covering Austria for the English press is a young journalist named Rod Troy. Back home his younger brother joins the CID as a detective constable. Two years later tensions are rising and 'enemy aliens' are rounded up in London for internment. In the midst of the chaos London's most prominent rabbis are being picked off one by one and Troy must race to stop the killer.Trade ReviewOne of the joys of reviewing crime fiction is that now and then one comes across . . . an author whose writing sets pulses racing and the jaded responses tingling. . . I entreat you, dear reader, to search out John Lawton and cherish him to your bosom, for he is truly an original. * Irish Times *Smart and gracefully written . . . It has been Lawton's achievement to capture, in first-rate popular fiction, the courage and drama -- and the widespread tomorrow-we-may-die exuberance -- of that terrible and thrilling moment in twentieth-century history. * Washington Post *

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Book Synopsis"Herzen's novel played a significant part in the intellectual ferment of the 1840s. It is an important book in social and moral terms, and wonderfully expressive of Herzen's personality."—Isaiah Berlin Alexander Herzen was one of the major figures in...Trade Review"Herzen's only novel is as much a social document as a fiction, since the many characters personify the major issues and types of the time. . . . Herzen's humorous and ironic development of plot and character suggests an answer to the title question: all are to blame for the injustice and aimlessness of Russian life."—Library Journal"This edition of Who Is to Blame? demonstrates genuine involvement in the translator's craft by duplicating Herzen's barbed style and preserving the natural strengths of his prose."—Slavic Review"The translation is excellent. . . . Katz catches the epigrammatic wit of the original—quite an accomplishment."—The New Republic"Herzen was one of the most lucid, realistic, and gifted thinkers of his age and a founder of Russian socialism. . . . Who Is to Blame? remains of value for its acute social insights and Michael Katz has rendered it fluently into English."—Times Higher Education Supplement

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Book SynopsisThe #1 New York Times bestseller Glossy, gritty, breathlessly suspenseful, effortlessly authentic, and altogether wonderful ' Lee ChildA compelling, suspenseful mystery' Mark BillinghamA mesmerising legal thriller' Michael ConnellyAn explosive secretWhen legendary Washington judge Justice Wynn falls into a coma and puts his law clerk, Avery, in control, Avery's world is turned upside down. Because Justice Wynn had a secret. One that nobody wants to come outA life in the balance As Wynn lies in hospital, Avery begins to unravel a sequence of clues, and realizes the puzzle will lead her directly into danger.A showdown that will change everythingBut how high a price can you put on the truth? And is Avery brave enough to expose the White House itself?A gripping political thriller from the activist, leader, and speaker Stacey Abrams.Brilliant' LISA GARDNERTwisty and full of surprises' KARIN SLAUGHTERDemands to be read in one sitting' JEFFERY DEAVERThrilling' LEE CHILDTrade Review PRAISE FOR STACEY ABRAMS: ‘A compelling and suspenseful mystery’ Mark Billingham ‘Remarkable. A twisting, complex legal thriller, steeped in authenticity from the author’s own immense background’ Peter James ‘Glossy, gritty, breathlessly suspenseful, effortlessly authentic, and altogether wonderful’ Lee Child ‘A mesmerizing legal thriller that does the rare thing: It uses the novel to get at the truth’ Michael Connelly ‘Brilliant. This masterfully plotted thriller unfolds like the ultimate chess match—bold move to bolder move with lives hanging in the balance’ Lisa Gardner ‘Stacey Abrams firmly establishes herself as a powerful new player in the crime thriller space, with her heroine Avery providing a voice to women everywhere. Twisty, clever and full of surprises, Abrams proves she is a force to be reckoned with in fiction’ Karin Slaughter ‘One of the best political thrillers I’ve read in years. Abrams has given us a book that demands to be read in one sitting!’ Jeffery Deaver ‘Stacey Abrams is a true novelist, and While Justice Sleeps is a first-class legal thriller. It's fast-paced and full of surprises–a terrific read’ Scott Turow ‘A killer thriller. Loaded with legal intrigue, corrupt politicians, and the history of chess, Abrams proves why the most powerful piece on the board is the Queen. Well played and so much fun’ Brad Meltzer ‘Alegal thriller of the highest order. Its crisp prose and high-octane plot call to mind the best of John Grisham, but Avery Keene is a fresh, modern heroine entirely of Abrams' own making’ Cristina Alger ‘A sweaty-palm sprint through the hidden corridors of government and the shadowy streets of DC. I hope she will write many more’ Kathy Reichs ‘Gripping, intricate, and timely’ Heather Graham ‘Clever, twisty, propulsive, and utterly authentic, While Justice Sleeps is an absolute must-read’ Alafair Burke

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.'All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others'The animals at Manor Farm have had enough of Farmer Jones he's drunk, reckless and cares little for their welfare. When the boar, Old Major, shares his revolutionary plans, the animals are convinced they can thrive on their own once the despot Jones is overthrown. But as the pigs vie for power, they begin to bear an uncanny resemblance to the tyrants they have overthrownGeorge Orwell's renowned fable became an instant success on publication after the Second World War. The novel has continued to captivate readers of all ages, and has secured Orwell's position as one of the great writers of the twentieth century.Trade Review‘[Orwell’s] wit is both edged and human. Few writers of any period have been able to use the English language so simply and accurately to say what they mean, and at the same time to mean something’ The New Republic (1946) ‘The book for everyone and Everyman, its brightness undimmed after fifty years’ Daily Telegraph ‘Orwell … has written in a prose so plain and spare, so admirably proportioned to his purpose, that Animal Farm even seems very creditable if we compare it with Voltaire and Swift’ The New Yorker ‘A prophet who thought the unthinkable and spoke the unspeakable, even when it offended conventional thought’ Daily Express ‘Matchlessly sharp and fresh … The clearest and most compelling English prose style this century’ Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisThe long-awaited diary from Whitehall's most scandalous MPFrom Brexit to Covid, parties to pig culling, the Conservative government has lurched from crisis to crisis. With a front-row seat on the, erm, backbenches, the Secret Tory MP has picked up on all the petty rivalries, bad decision-making and scandalous affairs that Whitehall has to offer. And he's got no qualms about sharing it. All.Join the mystery MP as he drunk-texts Liz Truss after a crate of WKD, accompanies Jacob Rees-Mogg (and his kids) to picket a foodbank, takes on the French in the Trawler Wars', and euthanises Rishi Sunak's dog and that's just October.The Diary of a Secret Tory MP is an outrageous spoof of the classic political journal that pulls back the Lulu Lytle curtains to expose extraordinary goings-on at Westminster across a tumultuous twelve months.Trade Review‘Even funnier than the actions of the current Cabinet, and that's saying something. A landslide victory for modern satire.’ – Caitlin Moran ‘Scabrous, scurrilous, hilarious and frighteningly plausible . Political satire at its blistering, biting best.’ – James O’Brien ‘Hysterical, clever and a joy to read. I couldn’t stop thinking . . . ‘I bet that’s true.’’ – Chris Packham

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Book SynopsisDinaw Mengestu was born in Ethiopia in 1978 and is a graduate of Georgetown and Columbia universities. His 2007 debut novel, Children of the Revolution, won the Guardian First Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In 2010, he was included in the New Yorker's '20 Under 40' list of writers to watch. He is also the author of How To Read The Air.Trade ReviewA quietly accomplished debut novel... Despite, or perhaps because of, the attritions of his years in exile, Sepha has remained astonishingly tender. In the end, it is this human warmth that triumphs * Guardian *Brilliant... a courageous and engaging novel * Daily Telegraph *With faultless pitch and tone, this elegiac first novel packs great matters into its modest span * Independent *A quietly brilliant portrait of immigrant life... Children of the Revolution reads like an Ethopian variation on The Great Gatsby. Remarkably it's not diminished by this comparison * Financial Times *A rich and lyrical story of displacement and loneliness. I was profoundly moved by this tale of an Ethiopian immigrant's search for acceptance, peace, and identity... Mengestu makes us feel this tortured soul's longings, regrets, and in the end, his dreams of meaningful human connection -- Khaled Hosseini * The Kite Runner *

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Book SynopsisWhen the new Egyptian Pharaoh decrees that he does not want a pyramid built in his honour his advisers are aghast. So the Pharaoh agrees to the construction of a pyramid colossal beyond imagining, an edifice that crushes dozens of people as each block is added and which inexorably drains the lifeblood from the country.Trade Review[Kadare] chronicled the dark years of dictatorship in masterpieces such as The Pyramid * Independent *A haunting sense of time moving backwards and forwards like a train at a terminus, an authentic sense of adventure, and an extraordinary facility with metaphor take over… Kadare's new novel is mesmerising. * Sydney Morning Herald *A vast, deep, obsessive parable. Like every parable, its fundamental significance transcends its apparent meaning * Figaro *A masterpiece... A hauntingly beautiful parable woven from the fabric of history yet timeless in its reach * San Francisco Chronicle Book Review *In the end, this book - which does not have (or need) a conventional plot, protagonist or conflict - adds up to a haunting meditation on the matter-of-fact brutality of political despotism, the harshness of life among the humble and powerless, and the vastness, ubiquity and stonelike permanence of death, which treats all humanity as equals. * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisA subversively comic, genre-bending satire of bourgeois life by an essential Chinese American voice, featuring an introduction by New Yorker writer Hua Hsu, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning memoir Stay TrueA Penguin ClassicIt's Depression-era New York, and Mr. Nut, an oblivious American everyman, wants to strike it rich, even if at the moment he's unemployed, with no job prospects in sight. Over the course of a single night, in a narrative that unfolds hour by hour, he meets a cast of strange characters—disgruntled workers at a Communist cafeteria, lecherous old men, sexually exploited women, pesky authors—who eventually convince him to cast off his bourgeois aspirations for upward mobility and become a radical activist. Absurdist, inventive, and suffused with revolutionary fervor, and culminating in a dramatic face-off against capitalist power in the figure of the greedy businessman Mr. System, The Hanging on UnTrade Review“A surreal overnight journey . . . Thirty-year-old bestseller The Joy Luck Club perennially provides irrefutable proof Asian American stories warrant shelf space. That Penguin Classics—their venerable list considered a significant barometer of what comprises the Anglophone literary canon—has added this . . . is, undoubtedly, long-awaited, long-deserved recognition.” —The Christian Science Monitor“I finished H. T. Tsiang's masterpiece a few hours ago and I'm still not sure where I am and what day this is. My mind has been picked apart and reassembled. I need a drink.” —Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story“[Tsiang] was radiant, boisterous, unforgettable.” —The New Yorker“A portrait of a New York City for the rich and the poor, the immigrant and the native-born, the newly homeless and the seasoned itinerant . . . Tsiang . . . tried to tell America what it really looked like. . . . [Unlike his] social-realist contemporaries—the Steinbecks and the dos Passoses— . . . Tsiang had little interest in steely, self-serious misery. In the book, as in his life, he is constantly cheeky and self-deprecating. . . . Tsiang’s manic spirit animates his voice. . . . Though the book’s formal aspects range from jarring to quaint to delightful, they all reflect the infectious freedom with which Tsiang wrote. His flinging disregard for the fashionable and the novelistic are thrilling, but so are the serious, deep convictions underlying them. For anyone with revolutionary sympathies, it’s an emotionally stirring book.” —The Nation“This is a voice to which the white world . . . will have to listen more and more as time passes.” —Upton Sinclair “[The Hanging on Union Square] felt like slipping into another person's hallucination.” —Hua Hsu, from the Introduction“[A] masterwork.” —Floyd Cheung, from the Afterword“Tsiang's writings are quintessentially of the intermingled (and dangerous) public street culture of downtown Manhattan creative life. He carried the mantle, unknowingly, of Wong Chin Foo—who five decades earlier challenged Denis Kearney to a duel with Irish potatoes at Cooper Union's Great Hall. And we, the Mr. Nut faction of the Asian American movement, carry on Tsiang's spirit!” —John Kuo Wei Tchen, author of New York Before Chinatown: Orientalism and the Shaping of American Culture, 1776-1882“An artist of distinction, H. T. Tsiang created a genre unto itself in 1935 with The Hanging on Union Square. Its republication after seventy-five years rescues—from an outlaw existence—a strangely and beautifully evocative satiric allegory.” —Alan Wald, author of American Night: The Literary Left in the Era of the Cold War“[The Hanging on Union Square] is original in form without being labored; and it's remarkable for its whimsical insights into various strata of society and for its flashing counterpoint of almost savage sensuality and delicate pity. Throughout, it is alive and evocative. Mr. Tsiang's fanciful and often fantastic visions . . . convey more truth than a shelf of reportorial novels.” —Waldo Frank

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Book SynopsisNumber Ten is the brilliantly funny political satire by Sue Townsend, bestselling author of the Adrian Mole series''Wickedly entertaining. There is a gem on nearly every page. Nothing escapes Townsend''s withering pen. Satirical, witty, observant'' Observer____________Behind the doors of the most famous address in the country, all is not well.Edward Clare was voted into Number Ten after a landslide election victory. But a few years later and it is all going wrong.The love of the people is gone. The nation is turning against him.Panicking, Prime Minister Clare enlists the help of Jack Sprat, the policeman on the door of No 10, and sets out to discover what the country really thinks of him. In disguise, they venture into the great unknown: the mean streets of Great Britain.And for the first time in years, the Prime Minister experiences everything life in this country has to offer - anTrade ReviewA wickedly entertaining and passionate swipe at New Labour * The Times *There is a gem on nearly every page. Nothing escapes Townsend's withering pen. Satirical, witty, observant . . . a clever book * Observer *Poignant, hilarious, heart-rending, devastating * New Statesman *A delight. Genuinely funny . . . compassion shines through the unashamedly ironic social commentary * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisTHE GOLDEN AGE is the final, eponymous novel that brings to an end what Gabriel García Márquez has called ''Gore Vidal''s magnificent series of historical novels or novelised histories'', NARRATIVES OF EMPIRE. Like a latter day Anthony Trollope, Vidal masterfully balances the personal with the political, the invented with the historical fact. His heroine from Hollywood, Caroline Sanford, reappears in Washington as President Roosevelt schemes to get the USA into the war by provoking the Japanese. In the novel''s ten year span America is master of the globe, with Japan and Europe as colony and dependency under her empire. Against this backdrop there is a glittering explosion in the arts (we see the likes of Lowell, Bernstein and Tennessee Williams and witness the opening night of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE). But by 1950 and the coming of the Korean War, the Golden Age is over. For the reader who wants to be informed as well as vastly entertained about the last two hundred years of AmTrade ReviewVidal's combination of learning, wit and disdain gets into your blood. He can change the way you think * OBSERVER *This entertaining portrait of an imperial elite may well be, as Vidal intends, the version of US history that survives in the coming decades. * IRISH TIMES *Crackpot theory has seldom been so suavely and entertainingly put across. * NEW STATESMAN *Vidal's satiric thrusts are enormous fun. * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Wonderfully compelling. It is serious and entertaining. It rings diamond-true. It is a novel for grown-ups; and that is something very rare in contemporary fiction * SCOTSMAN *Brilliantly evokes the decade when the US believed it was the undisputed master of the universe ... imperious, well-informed and wickedly accomplished, it brings American politics to life in a way that few other modern novels can match * DAILY MAIL *Our greatest living historical novelist * ANTHONY BURGESS *Iconoclastic, yet never mere satirical caricature, this remarkable novel sequence is a melange of historical demystification ... The bold sweep of Vidal's design continues to enthral, and throughout The Golden Age, as throughout the sequence, he delights in giving the read entree to a heady variety of gatherings ... Vidal's touch in handling these set pieces and portraying the famous remains wonderfully assured * LITERARY REVIEW *There are still few novelists with the ability to so vividly imagine a scene, and even fewer who so completely understand and write about the nature of power. And anyone who wants to learn about the history of the United States will learn as much from this series of novels [Narratives of Empire] as they will from the history books * SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY *

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Book SynopsisA memorial collection of writings by the murdered young journalist Lyra McKee - from viral articles to unpublished material - that celebrates her life, work and creative legacy: one that will live on.

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Book Synopsis'The most approachable and exhilarating Latin American writer of our times.' Robert McCrum, ObserverIn the past, culture was a kind of vital consciousness that constantly rejuvenated and revivified everyday reality.

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Book SynopsisA Long Day in a Short Life - Maltz's first novel to be published in the UK - is a powerful indictment of the penal system and a strong reminder about the underlying humanity of each individual.

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Book Synopsis1689: the Resoration enabled the Morland family to restore their own fortune, but now the Jacobite rebellion brings another threat to their security.Annuciata Morland, fiercely loyal to the Stuart cause, follows her beloved king, James II, into exile. She leaves her gentle grandson, Matt, to oversee Morland Place in her absence. Without her wise presence, Matt finds himself in an arranged marriage to India Neville and at the mercy of a woman as heartless as she is beautiful. After a lonely and sheltered life he lurches between the exquisite pain of love and the torment of deep despair.When James III - the Chevalier - returns to claim the Stuart throne, the Morlands are reunited in one country. Death and defeat threaten them, but their loves and loyalty prove stronger than kingly ambitions...

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Book SynopsisJulius Taranto's writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, Chronicle of Higher Education, and phoebe. He attended Yale Law School and Pomona College. He lives in New York.Trade ReviewTaranto’s hilarious, provocative debut novel, is at once bracingly contemporary and reassuringly familiar . . . The novel’s peculiar genius lies in how you’re never entirely sure where Taranto’s sympathies lie. * The Times *A punchy and very funny campus novel which manages to satirise the culture wars without ever making too clear which side of the cancel-culture v anti-woke divide the author stands on * Nicola Sturgeon *A hit, a very palpable hit * The Spectator *Outstanding * The Wall Street Journal *Razor sharp . . . bracingly clever . . . a viciously funny page-turner with plenty of surprises up its sleeve * Vogue *A gleefully irreverent satire of so-called cancel culture, virtue signaling, and early-21st-century hypocrisy. * The Atlantic *Witty and provocative . . . Taranto understands the appeal of bad-man geniuses, and he understands their dangers, too. -- Vox, 'Best Books of 2023'Very funny. Very good -- B.J. NovakWith How I Won A Nobel Prize Julius Taranto achieves the near-impossible: a literary comedy about cancel culture that is neither priggish nor self-satisfiedly transgressive, less about culture wars than the neverending battle of being human. A novel of ideas in the tradition of Norman Rush's Mating, How I Won A Nobel Prize is one of the best new novels I've read in years. -- Tara Isabella Burton, author of Social CreatureA wildly original debut . . . Can a high-powered male lawyer write a propulsive, smart, funny novel about science, cancel culture, and #MeToo with a female protagonist? Absolutely. It’s exactly what Julius Taranto has done in his debut, How I Won A Nobel Prize. * Publishers Weekly *A high-wire act, balancing savvy political satire with brilliant character development and prose that sings and guffaws with nuance * Shelf Awareness *Julius Taranto does an incredible job crafting an ambitious and nuanced narrative abut "cancel culture" that'll keep you laughing from start to finish. * Coveteur *

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Book SynopsisA novel of love, deception and desire from the author of Before the FallTrade ReviewA rising literary star * Sunday Times *Vibrant prose and characters . . . So well-drawn, and incredibly topical -- Vanessa Lafaye, author of SummertimeA wonderful writer -- Jessie Burton, author of The MiniaturistMade me miss my stop on the tube . . . -- Lissa Evans, author of Crooked HeartMy favourite Great War novel . . . Incredible writing -- Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, on Before the FallA vivid, compelling tale of confused loyalties, compromises and consequences -- Suzannah Dunn, author of The Sixth Wife and The Confession of Katherine HowardThe Faithful is about many things . . . but mostly it is about love. Juliet West knows how to create an evocative sense of time and place, and then fill it with the most interesting characters, and finally, deliver a story that kept me guessing. I loved it -- Claire Fuller, author of Our Endless Numbered Days and Swimming LessonsA rich, multi-layered story of love, loss and conflict . . . At once heartbreaking and full of hope -- Isabel Ashdown, author of Little SisterA vivid and unforgettable story of love . . . Absorbing, fast-paced, and poignant, the portrait of ordinary people caught up in movements bigger than themselves makes this a must-read for today’s readers -- Ann Weisgarber, author of The Personal History of Rachel DuPree and The PromiseA tightly knotted story of love and divided loyalties that is both rich in period detail and told with warmth, wit and passion. Wonderful -- Jason Hewitt, author of Devastation RoadA compelling and perceptive story of divided loyalties and the complexities of love, friendship and family -- Isabel Costello, author of Paris Mon AmourEnthralling . . . Tugs the reader close to the inner lives of ordinary people, characters whose decisions and dilemmas, loves and losses remain with you long after reading -- Jane Rusbridge, author of Rook and The Devil's MusicA wonderful novel about desire and its consequences, set amongst the sharply divided politics of the 1930s. A page-turner -- William Ryan, author of The Constant SoldierEnthralling . . . Juliet has brought the time and place to life and then peopled it with completely believable characters to play out this wonderful story -- Louise Douglas, author of Your Beautiful Lies and The Secret by the LakeExquisite . . . The story builds beautifully, the plot naturally quickening in pace to a gripping denouement. I was completely drawn into the novel’s world and engaged by its issues of loyalty and loss. Highly recommended -- Martine Bailey, author of An Appetite for Violets and The Penny HeartA story of love across borders, idealism and integrity . . . and a mini-series in the making * Sunday Independent, Ireland *Fans of well-crafted period fiction will gobble down this second novel from the author of Before The Fall * Metro *Wonderfully evocative * Red Magazine *Juliet West writes incredibly moving and atmospheric war-era novels, full of strong women, secrets, conflict and desire. This, her second, is superb * Saga Magazine *Gripping * My Weekly *Compelling, nuanced … suffused with historical detail. West weaves a subtle mystery, luring us towards truths so skilfully exposed that the effect is truly shocking * Historia magazine *A tale of family secrets against a backdrop of war and extremism * Good Housekeeping *Teen Hazel finds love under the watch of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts. A year later, the pair cross paths. Tom must never know why she broke his heart, but it’s not just Hazel holding secrets * S Magazine *In her second stunning novel, West uses her lyrical prose, acute powers of observation and impressive sense of time and place to explore issues that are as relevant now as they were eighty years ago. The Faithful achieves what many authors aspire to . . . an outstanding follow-up to a successful debut * Lancashire Evening Post *An epic story of star-crossed lovers * Sussex Life *Intelligent, wise, and full of passion and courage . . . A superb read -- Louise Douglas, author of The Secrets Between Us, on Before the FallEvocative and powerful -- Good Housekeeping on Before the FallAs poignant as it is powerful -- Alison MacLeod, author of Unexploded, on Before the FallA stunning debut -- a breathtaking portrayal of life and love in all its complexity. Heartbreaking -- Suzannah Dunn, author of The Confession of Katherine Howard, on Before the FallPoignant and arresting -- Daily Mail on Before the FallA beautiful love story -- Woman on Before the Fall

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Book SynopsisJohn Irving’s fifteenth novel is “powerfully cinematic” (The Washington Post) and “eminently readable” (The Boston Globe). The Last Chairlift is part ghost story, part love story, spanning eight decades of sexual politics.In Aspen, Colorado, in 1941, Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships. Little Ray, as she is called, finishes nowhere near the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Back home, in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor. Her son, Adam, grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past. Years later, looking for answers, he will go to Aspen. In the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some ghosts; in The Last Chairlift, they aren’t the first or last ghosts he sees. John Irving has written some of the most acclaimed books of our time—among them,

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Book SynopsisAn epic saga of love, blood, and destiny in twentieth-century Vietnam: “This superb novel could well be the War and Peace of our age” (San Francisco Chronicle). Joseph Sherman first visits Saigon—the capital of French colonial Cochin-China—as a young man on his father’s hunting trip in 1925. But the exotic land lures him back again and again as a traveler, soldier, and reporter. He returns because of his fascination for the enchanting city—and for Lan, a mandarin’s daughter he cannot forget. Over five decades Joseph’s life becomes enmeshed with the political intrigues of two of Saigon’s most influential families, the French colonist Devrauxs, and the native Trans. In this sweeping saga of tragedy and triumph, Joseph witnesses Vietnam’s turbulent, war-torn fate. He is there when millions of coolies rise against the French, and during their bloody last stand at Dien Bien Phu. And he sees US military “advisors” fire their first shots in America’s hopeless war against the Communist revolution. A story of adventure, love, war, and political power, Saigon presents an enthralling and enlightening depiction of twentieth-century Vietnam. Trade Review“Like James Michener and James Clavell, Mr. Grey is a master storyteller. Unlike them, however, he has something pertinent to say and does so in distinguished fashion . . . Saigon is a novel of terrible importance.” —The Kansas City Star “A long overdue epic masterpiece of twentieth century Vietnam . . . The author balances the political intrigues and wartime horrors with a story of human sensitivity and love.” —Library Journal “This book makes a claim as the Vietnam equivalent to Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead written about the Second World War.” —Daily Mail “This superb novel could well be the War and Peace of our age. By using a technique of historical progression, author Anthony Grey does for the Vietnam wars what Leo Tolstoy did for the Napoleonic wars.” —San Francisco Chronicle “One of the most memorable love stories of our time has been delivered with a firm literate hand by Anthony Grey who with this novel establishes himself as one of the finest storytellers plying his trade today. . . . It’s a book which no doubt will stand the test of time.” —West Coast Review of Books “A political statement, a great adventure story, and an accurate window on that war- ravaged country, Vietnam . . . Anthony Grey has produced a masterpiece.” —Leatherneck Magazine of the Marines

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Book SynopsisAn explosive thriller from former MI5 officer, Tom Marcus, author of the bestselling Soldier Spy. There is a terrifying threat to UK national security. The Blindeye team must take it down.When no one knows you exist, you don’t have to play by the rules . . .Meet former MI5 officer Matt Logan, now part of a totally deniable government organization known as ‘Blindeye’ – with full licence to do whatever it takes to neutralize threats to the UK’s national security.When intelligence comes through that the Kremlin plans to launch a terror attack in London, Logan and the team set in motion a surveillance operation on a billionaire Russian oligarch who may be connected with the incoming threat.As they dig into the man’s life, they soon discover a network of incredibly dangerous individuals whose plans could tear the nation apart. Battling personal demons of his own, Logan must defend his country from a terrifying enemy, or die trying . . .Defend or Die is the second in Tom Marcus's breathtaking series featuring tortured MI5 operative Matt Logan, following on from Capture or Kill.Trade ReviewIt's awesome -- Mark 'Billy' Billingham, former SAS Operator and Chief Instructor on SAS: Who Dares Wins, on Capture or KillTom mixes tense drama with fascinating insight into the lives of security service operators, to deliver a blistering read -- Jonny Lee Miller, on Capture or KillEvery page rings with authenticity, the tension is superbly sustained, and the central character is all too believable: a man wary of the power to kill -- Daily Mail on Capture or Kill

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga, comes the story of an undocumented immigrant who becomes the only witness to a crime and must face an impossible moral dilemma.'Alive with empathy, indignation and the sharp satiric reportage at which Aravind Adiga excels, this novel grippingly extends his concern for deprivation and injustice.' - Sunday Times 'Books of the Year'Shortlisted for the Miles Franklin AwardDanny – formerly Dhananjaya Rajaratnam – is an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Denied refugee status, working as a cleaner and living out of a grocery storeroom in Sydney, for four years he has been trying to create a new identity for himself, finally coming as close as he ever has to living a normal life.One morning, Danny learns that his client Radha Thomas has been murdered. A jacket was left at the scene, which he believes belongs to another client, a doctor with whom Radha was having an affair. Suddenly Danny is confronted with a choice: Come forward as a witness and risk being deported? Or say nothing, and let justice go undone? Over the course of a single ordinary, yet extraordinary day, he must wrestle with his conscience and decide if a person without rights nevertheless has responsibilities . . .Suspenseful, propulsive, and full of Aravind Adiga’s signature wit and magic, Amnesty is both a timeless moral struggle and a universal story with particular urgency today.'[Adiga] is a startlingly fine observer . . . You come to this novel for its author's authority, wit and feeling on the subject of immigrants' lives.' - New York TimesTrade ReviewThe kind of sharp social anthropology at which Adiga excels . . . Brimming with empathy as well as indignation, this novel . . . extends Adiga’s fictional concern with deprivation and injustice. * Sunday Times *What makes Amnesty an urgent and significant book is the generosity and the humanity of its vision . . . Amnesty is an ample book, pertinent and necessary. It speaks to our times. -- Juan Gabriel Vásquez * New York Times *A mesmerising, breakneck quest of a novel; a search for the true sense of self, for the answer to a moral dilemma which damns either way. -- Andrew McMillan[Adiga] has more to say than most novelists, and about 50 more ways to say it . . . Adiga is a startlingly fine observer, and a complicator, in the manner of V.S. Naipaul . . . This novel has a simmering plot . . . You come to this novel for . . . its author’s authority, wit and feeling on the subject of immigrants’ lives. -- Dwight Garner * New York Times *Adiga is one of the great observers of power and its deformities, showing in novels like his Booker Prize winning White Tiger and Last Man in Tower how within societies, the powerful lean on the less powerful, and the weak exploit the weaker all the way down. Telling the tale of Danny’s immigration along the story of one tense day, he has built a forceful, urgent thriller for our times. -- John Freeman * Lit Hub *A forceful, urgent thriller for our times * Lit Hub *Danny's voice, in its sheer everyday ordinariness, will stay with you a long time. * Daily Mail *Scrutinizes the human condition through a haves-vs.-have-not filter with sly wit and narrative ingenuity . . . Adiga's smart, funny, and timely tale with a crime spin of an undocumented immigrant will catalyze readers. * Booklist *Engrossing . . . vivid . . . Adiga’s enthralling depiction of one immigrant’s tough situation humanizes a complex and controversial global dilemma. * Publishers Weekly *A taut, thrillerlike novel . . . A well-crafted tale of entrapment, alert to the risk of exploitation that follows immigrants in a new country. * Kirkus, starred review *

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Book SynopsisGeorge Bernard Shaw is one of the most famous and celebrated Irish playwrights and this new collection brings together the very best of his witty and entertaining comedies in one volume; Pygmalion, Major Barbara and Androcles and the Lion.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has a preface by Oscar-winning actress Judi Dench.Pygmalion was first performed in 1914 and was an instant hit which then inspired the hit musical and award winning film, My Fair Lady. It tells the story of Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, who tries to elevate a feisty flower girl out of her working-class roots and into high society. In Major Barbara, idealistic Barbara is a major in the Salvation Army, at odds with her millionaire father as they war over the best route to salvation. Androcles and the Lion is a clever retelling of the Bible story about a gentle Christian who pulls a thorn from a lion’s paw. All three plays are not only wonderfully amusing, they also showcase Shaw's intense concerns about poverty, class and inequality.Trade ReviewShaw's sparkling fable * New York Times on Androcles and the Lion *Major Barbara is a rich play, but also a peculiar one, made up in equal measures of drawing room comedy, philosophical debate and a tale of salvationism that wouldn’t embarrass Guys and Dolls. * Variety *

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Book SynopsisFrom former MI5 officeer Tom Marcus comes the third action-packed Matt Logan thrille and the sequel to Defend or Die.It takes a certain type of person to tackle the dark realities of gangland London. Someone that operates in the shadows and doesn’t follow the rule of law. That’s where former MI5 officer Matt Logan comes in . . .Logan is an undercover operative for Blindeye: a clandestine team of ex-intelligence operatives secretly tasked with the jobs that are beyond the legal remit of the official security services. When the group picks up on a trail of corruption which reaches to the top of the UK’s National Crime Agency, their mission begins. DCI John Tenniel is a ruthless individual unafraid to break the rules in order to elevate himself to more power and bodies have been piling up in his mission to the top.Going after Tenniel will require Logan and the team to delve beneath the surface of society and into a murky underworld where the lines between gangsters and the police have become increasingly blurred. But Blindeye have acquired their target and now it’s time to strike . . .Trade ReviewThis debut from a former MI5 surveillance operator is one of the most exciting I have read in a long time . . . Every page rings with authenticity, the tension is superbly sustained, and the central character is all too believable: a man wary of the power to kill -- Daily Mail on Capture or KillTom mixes tense drama with fascinating insight into the lives of security service operators, to deliver a blistering read -- Jonny Lee Miller on Capture or KillIt’s awesome -- Mark Billingham, SAS: Who Dares Wins on Capture or Kill

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Book SynopsisIn order to enforce justice, you sometimes have to break the law. Former MI5 officer Tom Marcus returns with Target and Destroy, a blistering spy thriller which is a sequel to Capture or Kill and Defend or Die.It takes a certain type of person to tackle the dark realities of gangland London. Someone that operates in the shadows and doesn’t follow the rule of law. That’s where former MI5 officer Matt Logan comes in . . .Logan is an undercover operative for Blindeye: a clandestine team of ex-intelligence operatives secretly tasked with the jobs that are beyond the legal remit of the official security services. When the group picks up on a trail of corruption which reaches to the top of the UK’s National Crime Agency, their mission begins. DCI John Tenniel is a ruthless individual unafraid to break the rules in order to elevate himself to more power and bodies have been piling up in his mission to the top.Going after Tenniel will require Logan and the team to delve beneath the surface of society and into a murky underworld where the lines between gangsters and the police have become increasingly blurred. But Blindeye have acquired their target and now it’s time to strike . . .Trade ReviewThis debut from a former MI5 surveillance operator is one of the most exciting I have read in a long time . . . Every page rings with authenticity, the tension is superbly sustained, and the central character is all too believable: a man wary of the power to kill -- Daily Mail on Capture or KillTom mixes tense drama with fascinating insight into the lives of security service operators, to deliver a blistering read -- Jonny Lee Miller on Capture or KillIt’s awesome -- Mark Billingham, SAS: Who Dares Wins on Capture or Kill

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Book SynopsisA Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller!‘A rip-roaring, brilliant page-turner, but it’s also timely, cheeky, important and wonderfully, courageously provocative. What great fun!’ – James Patterson‘Smart and fast and twisty, State of Terror is a dazzlingly unpredictable political thriller. I loved it’ – Kathy ReichsTake a ringside seat in the high-stakes world of international politics . . .After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in. Secretary of State, Ellen Adams, is determined to do her duty for her country. But she is about to face a horrifying international threat . . . A young foreign service officer has received a baffling text from an anonymous source. Too late, she realizes it was a hastily coded warning. Then a series of bus bombs devastate Europe, heralding the rise of a new rogue terrorist organization who will stop at nothing in their efforts to develop their own nuclear arsenal.As Ellen unravels the damaging effects of the former presidency on international politics, she must also contemplate the unthinkable: that the last president of the United States was more than just an ineffectual leader. Was he also a traitor to his country?State of Terror is a compelling and critically acclaimed international political thriller co-written by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the 67th secretary of state, and Louise Penny, a multiple award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling novelist.________________________Praise for State of Terror:‘Clinton and Penny are each a force on their own - put together they are unstoppable’ – Karin Slaughter'This is as close as you’ll get to being in the White House Situation Room with a secretary of state.' – The Times'Fast-paced and packed with insider knowledge.' – Daily Mail'The perfect political thriller . . . a glimpse into the world of our most powerful politicians.' - Ann CleevesTrade ReviewPretty darn good...the real appeal of the novel, apart from a fuel tanker’s worth of political score-settling, is that this is as close as you’ll get to being in the White House Situation Room with a secretary of state. * The Times *Tightly plotted tale of political intrigue...[Clinton and Penny are] a match made in heaven... This is meticulously plotted, intelligent and terrifying... Don’t miss it. -- Alison Flood * The Guardian *Great fun...an unexpected delight * Daily Telegraph *remarkable...Fast-paced and packed with insider knowledge, it superbly conveys the pressures at the heart of the world’s diplomacy. * Daily Mail *I expected a thriller written by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny to be smart, very well-written, and suspenseful . . . But State of Terror is so much more than that. Yes, this novel is a rip-roaring, brilliant page-turner, but it’s also timely, cheeky, important, and wonderfully, courageously provocative. What great fun! -- James PattersonThe nearly 500-page novel combines other details that resonate with recent news... along with explorations of friendship... and, for the writers, the enjoyment of placing women of a certain age at the heart of a political thriller. * Independent (AP News) *State of Terror is an absolutely gripping, utterly believable, heart-stopping thriller that will make readers question how much is fiction and how much is based on reality. Clinton and Penny are each a force on their own – put together they are unstoppable -- Karin SlaughterThis is the perfect political thriller: rollercoaster action, credible heroes and villains, and a glimpse into the world of our most powerful politicians. Add into the mix flashes of humour and fine writing and we have a winning formula! -- Ann CleevesExpectedly, but effectively, the book targets Washington misogyny...The novel is geopolitically thoughtful as well, exploring a moral dilemma worthy of John le Carré... -- Mark Lawson * The Guardian *Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny Deliver a Page-Turner … a romp...political junkies will relish the veiled insults to real-life people. … I’m going to award the prize for Best Clinton Thriller of 2021 to Hillary. * New York Times *Smart and fast and twisty, State of Terror is a dazzlingly unpredictable political thriller. I loved it -- Kathy Reichscracking political thriller... -- Ryan Tubridy, RTEa complex plot with the highest international stakes...State of Terror proves to be a lively ... blockbuster...The geopolitical aspects here are handled with plausible authenticity... * Financial Times *Mrs Clinton's co-author is the splendid Louise Penny, author of the wonderful Inspector Gamache series...lively and readable... * Daily Express *consistently entertaining...Penny and Clinton demonstrate a sure hand at international intrigue and narrative pacing. The real key to “State of Terror,” though, is its secret weapon: female friendship. International terrorists may have all the materials they need for a dirty bomb, but America has these two middle-aged women with a plan. Honestly, it’s not a fair fight. * Washington Post *The thriller follows the journey of new secretary of state and main character, Ellen Adams.... Secretary Adams must navigate a terrorist plot, nuclear weapons and a Trump-like administration. Along the way, Adams battles sexist comments from her male counterparts but also finds friendship and support in the women around her...’State of Terror’ also tackles Washington's misogyny as the main character navigates jabs and sexist comments at the hands of the male antagonists. While the male characters are rude and crass, the women win by outsmarting their counterparts. * USA Today *State of Terror moves at a galloping pace all the while offering tantalizing insight into the mind of the GOAT (greatest of all time) herself. Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny have written us some truly iconic women. We are not worthy! -- Jessica KnollBreathlessly pacy and topical * Evening Standard *John le Carre's mantle was taken up by...Hillary Clinton...slickly enjoyable...fascinating granular detail of how a US Secretary of State sets about tackling an international terrorist plot... * The Telegraph on 'The best new crime fiction and thrillers to buy for Christmas 2021' *To say more would rob readers of the pleasures of discovery in this taut thriller, a story made all the more relevant by the United States’ recent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Possessed of both head and heart, “State of Terror’s” layering of ethical trade-offs, political intrigue, high-level espionage and pure evil perfectly melds Clinton’s intimate knowledge of the State Department and foreign policy with Penny’s mastery of genre mechanics. * L.A. Times *Hillary Rodham Clinton pairs up with powerhouse mystery novelist Louise Penny for State of Terror, a political thriller full of action and intrigue...Clinton and Penny create a heart-pounding mystery about terrorism, corruption and diplomacy, meticulously written with the promise of details only someone on the inside could contribute. * Time *[A] pulsating thriller. * People *With combined expertise, Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny offer a story that is not only artfully written but also rich in its deep knowledge of the complicated global mess that is international politics. With each tick of the clock, the spring is more tightly wound, and readers will find themselves breathlessly expecting in every moment that in the next moment the worst will occur. But wisely and with expert craft, across page after page of heart-in-your-throat moments, these two collaborators draw the reader inevitably toward a truly surprising conclusion. State of Terror is a feast for thriller lovers. -- William Kent Krueger, author of Ordinary GraceAn inspired pairing. Penny’s turn-the-page pacing and Clinton’s wealth of insider details mesh perfectly in this fast, entertaining thriller that also has knowing things to say about national – and international – politics. So authentic it feels like eavesdropping. -- Joseph KanonThis is one of the paciest and most complex political thrillers I’ve read in years * Stylist *This fast-paced thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat! * My Weekly *suspenseful debut...a shrewdly written political thriller, jam-packed with insider expertise. * The Herald *Grips from the first page * Bella *This brilliant read blew us away * Closer *

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Book SynopsisIn Politics, Carol Ann Duffy, one of the English language’s best-loved living poets presents from her own archives, in chronological order, her favourites among her poems on the theme of politics and protest, drawing on work written over four decades. Duffy also adds to the selection her poem written for Danny Boyle’s Pages of the Sea memorial for The Great War. It makes for a sequence that is searching, memorializing, healing.

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Book Synopsis'The new masterpiece by eminent Chinese writer Yan Lianke . . . two revolutionaries take matters disastrously into their own hands while conducting a crazed affair' MARGARET ATWOOD on TwitterA breakneck adventure story following the erotic love affair of party cadres Aijun and Hongmei during China's Cultural RevolutionThis is the story of the freewheeling love affair between married soldier Aijun and Hongmei, a beautiful young woman from his village in the Balou Mountains.Intoxicated with one another, Aijun and Hongmei hurl themselves into their town's revolutionary struggle. Spending their days and nights stamping out feudalism, writing pamphlets and organising rallies, they become inseparable: they are the engines of history.But as their political activity reaches new heights, so does the danger of getting caught... 'A blistering tour-de-force... Sensuous and riveting' MADELEINE THIEN, Booker-shortlisted author of Do Not Say We Have Nothing'Fascinating... This tale of an illicit tryst during the Cultural Revolution is a stinging satire' The Times**A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST FICTION IN TRANSLATION BOOK 2021**Trade ReviewThe new masterpiece by eminent Chinese writer Yan Lianke . . . two revolutionaries take matters disastrously into their own hands while conducting a crazed affair -- Margaret Atwood on TwitterA blistering tour de force . . . Carlos Rojas's exceptional translation makes English feel new again. Yan's linguistic daring, and the novel's relentless stream of provocative images and observations, create a sensuous and riveting world . . . a sharp, desperately moving analysis of the logic of ideology -- Madeleine Thien * Guardian *A fascinating work . . . Yan's challenge, to his samizdat readers in China and those beyond, is to look in the murky glass of ambition and self-deception and find the face that resembles their own -- John Phipps * The Times *A vivid, even lurid, portrait of the vandalistic savagery and hypocrisy of the post-1966 Cultural Revolution . . . Well-served by Carlos Rojas's agile and richly textured translation -- Boyd Tonkin * Financial Times *The novel, a parody, sets itself up as a kind of Maoist Anna Karenina . . . At its core, Hard Like Water seeks to make a mockery of claims to political purity. As Hongmei and Aijun arouse each other with propaganda slogans and revolutionary citations, the novel pokes fun at how easily an ideology can be contorted to satisfy individual desires -- Jennifer Wilson * New York Times *A piercing satire of Communism and the language of revolutions -- Ángel Gurría-Quitana * Financial Times, *Books of the Year* *Yan probes the darkness and absurdity of Chinese society and history with a sexy satirical tale of the Cultural Revolution as wrought in a small village . . . distinctive and punchy. Yan's exuberant and unflinching tragicomedy is undeniably appealing -- Publishers WeeklySurreal and amusing, biting and fun -- Caroline Overington * The Australian *A gritty, memorable story . . . Yan's study of power and class struggle becomes, in the end, a near-classic tragedy -- Kirkus ReviewYan's signature biting wit creates another indelible work of bittersweet humor and socio-political insight * Booklist *Predicted to become a new future classic . . . this is a powerful, multi-faceted book that questions everything from marriage to sexual desire, power and the dangers of hubris -- Clara Strunck * Buro *Gao Aijun, the narrator of this boisterous novel, set during the Cultural Revolution, finds his life charmless: his village is like "a pool of stagnant water," and his wife makes him feel "a clump of cotton" in his throat. Then he meets a beautiful woman, also married, and, to attract her, sets out to lead the "revolution" in their village. In speech larded with Mao quotes and traditional maxims, Gao reveals how their romance, fuelled by the feverish political climate, pitches the village into ever-escalating extremism -- a years-long parade of self-advancing schemes culminating in an unthinkable end * New Yorker *

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Book Synopsis'A wonderful discovery' (Ian McEwan), this is a beguiling dystopian tale of a young man confronted with the truth about freedom. On a hot summer night, a young man sits in a dark cell in a Hungarian prison. The guards do not explain why he is here; he does not know if he will ever be released. But he is far from alone. Others, too, are trapped within the stone walls - singers and students, sages and spies. As the days pass, the man is drawn into their conversations and their lives, and soon becomes a witness to their sometimes outlandish acts of rebellion.Written in the early 1980s and inspired by Andrew Szepessy's own experiences, Epitaphs for Underdogs is a beguiling and exhilarating novel about power, justice and freedom, and about the solidarity that can be found in even the most unexpected places.'Beautiful... With its sense of the absurd, its laughter in the dark, it belongs in the great tradition of dystopian literature, with echoes of early Kundera and Nabokov' IAN McEWANTrade ReviewEpitaphs for Underdogs is a strange and beautiful fiction, a profound meditation on the totalitarian spirit, enriched by dark humour and warm observation. With its sense of the absurd, its laughter in the dark, it belongs in the great tradition of dystopian literature, with echoes of early Kundera and Nabokov. Szepessy is a wonderful discovery -- IAN McEWAN

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Book Synopsis'Tremendous...taut, compelling' WILLIAM BOYDAn exceptional political thriller set in Ukraine from the bestselling author of Booker-shortlisted Snowdrops.__________________________________Twelve years ago, Simon Davey prevented a tragedy, and ruined his own life.Once a senior British diplomat in Kyiv, he lost everything in a lurid scandal. Back in London, he is travelling on the Tube when he sees her...Olesya is the woman Simon holds responsible for his downfall. They first met on an icy night during the protests in Independence Square.When Simon decides to follow Olesya, he finds himself plunged back into the dramatic days which changed his life forever.Set in an arena of political interference, corruption and espionage, Independence Square is a story of the ordinary people caught in the crossfires. It is a story of power, and where it really lies in the twenty-first century. __________________________________Praise for A. D. Miller:'Reminiscent of Robert Harris at his best' Financial Times'A mesmerising thriller... Spellbinding' D. B. John, author of Star of the North'Miller's gripping novel about truth, lies and power is a searing indictment of our times' Spectator'An intriguing, evocative tale of betrayal, revolution and heartbreak' Jonathan Freedland'Utterly gripping, a novel with its finger on the pulse of geopolitics that still manages to move deeply' ObserverTrade ReviewOne of the most important books of the last twenty years.Utterly gripping, a novel with its finger on the pulse of geopolitics that still manages to move deeply. * Observer, *Books to Look Our For in 2020* *At its best, Independence Square made me think of a 21st-century Graham Greene novel, an absorbing thriller informed by emotional intelligence and a deep understanding of geopolitics. -- Marcel Theroux * Guardian *Miller’s gripping novel, about truth, lies and power is a searing indictment of our times...a book about dirty money and the manipulation of politics, about a world where anything is possible and where even a war can be ‘hallucinated into reality’. And it is about power... This, then, is a story not about a revolution in Eastern Europe but about the way we live now. * Spectator *A tremendous novel - taut, compelling, reeking of authenticity. A.D. Miller writes with exemplary precision and sophistication. Independence Square is an unsparing examination of human beings caught up and destroyed by historical forces they can barely comprehend. -- William Boyd

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Book SynopsisA veteran British journalist living in Hong Kong investigates the disappearance of a student protestor amidst the pro-democracy demonstrations in this unsettling new novel from the acclaimed author of The ForgivenAfter twenty years as an ex-pat reporter in Hong Kong, Adrian Gyle has almost nothing to show for it. But now the streets are choked with students demanding democratic freedoms, and the old world is beginning to fall apart.Adrian's old friend Jimmy Tang, the scion of a wealthy Hong Kong family, has begun a reckless affair with Rebecca, a leading pro-democracy protestor. But when Rebecca disappears and Jimmy goes to ground, Adrian unearths the familiar old urge to investigate. Pursuing Rebecca's ghost to Java Road where the city's dead congregate, Adrian re-assembles her final hours - as he struggles to distinguish between delusion and reality.'Osborne's whodunnit is wrapped in an atmospheric portrait both of a particular place and time, and of the creation and destruction of a friendship. Highly recommended' GUARDIAN'Osborne goes from strength to strength' LIONEL SHRIVER'Osborne handles surface and depth with immense skill, as only great writers can' DEBORAH LEVY, FINANCIAL TIMES'If the purpose of a novel is to take you away from the everyday and show you something different, then Osborne is succeeding, and handsomely' LEE CHILD, NEW YORK TIMESTrade Review[A] superbly atmospheric reportage of a place and time... [On Java Road is] his most compulsive yet -- Peter Kemp * Sunday Times *Marvellously convincing evocations of fractious, tear-gas-canister-strewn Hong Kong... Osborne...presents every country his novels visit clearly, without imposing his own gloss * Literary Review *In the growing footprint of what he deems "Planet Tourism," his novels have become his radical reworking of travel writing - as sensual, provocative and riveting portraits of lives and places in flux * Washington Post *Masterly ... This story of moral failings and totalitarian excess is as disturbing as it is irresistible -- Peter Carty * i *Osborne's whodunnit is wrapped in an atmospheric portrait both of a particular place and time, and of the creation and destruction of a friendship. Highly recommended * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis'A piercingly evocative East-West love story' The TimesThis is a story of East and West. A story of love, betrayal, and lost illusions...The end of the Cold War seems unimaginable for Milena, a Red Princess trapped in a lifetime of limitless luxury.Yet when she meets Jason, a confident British poet, it's not long before she's secretly planning her escape to Britain.1980s London defies her privileged expectations. And when she discovers Jason's concept of freedom confronts her deepest-held beliefs, the very ideas of family and state come into question...'A wonderful, perfectly-pitched novel: full of delightful intrigue and wry insight about the human predicament and its unique tensions' William Boyd'Witty, poignant and full of surprises - every detail of this cross-cultural story of love and disillusionment rings true' Clare ChambersTrade ReviewA poignant, bittersweet love story played out across the east-west divide, it challenges set ideas about loyalty, freedom and ideology -- Frederick Studemann * Financial Times, *Summer Books 2022* *Superb... The divided continent has been at the heart of countless novels over the decades, but few can have been as cleverly crafted or better told than Vesna Goldsworthy's Iron Curtain... Brilliantly written -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *The pages fly by, and Goldsworthy's careful scrutiny brings warmth and sympathy to her tale of belonging and betrayal. Tense, brooding and often hilarious, Iron Curtain finds bright sparks as well as bleakness in the cold war's dying embers -- James Stuart * Guardian *Vesna Goldsworthy's masterly novel retains the grace and resilience of literary art while wading deep into the most riveting human drama... Goldsworthy is at once the most impartial and the tenderest of observers, a bold dramatist and a subtle humorist -- Rachel CuskOriginal and memorable... a profound understanding of the timeless realities of love, betrayal and the desire for revenge -- Pat BarkerTimely... Daring... A bittersweet tale of loyalty, love and the siren call of freedom -- Rebecca Abrams * Financial Times *Iron Curtain seized me from its first page and I hardly put it down again until I arrived with reluctance to its stunning conclusion... Moving but also irresistibly enjoyable -- Megan NolanAn extraordinary evocation of two wildly contrasted worlds... Vesna Goldsworthy writes so well! -- Michael FraynThis excellent novel is a comedy of manners nevertheless fraught with tension... Goldsworthy captures the human perspective of life in the cold war superbly and sympathetically -- Alexander Larman * Observer *A pacy rite-of-passage story that doubles as a portrait of the poisonous legacies of police-state paranoia -- Anthony Cummins * Daily Mail *Superb * Jonathan Coe on Twitter *

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Book SynopsisWritten by 'a sublimely elegant historical novelist as addictive as crack'- Daily TelegraphThe Inspector Troy series is perfect for fans of Le Carré, Philip Kerr and Alan Furst.London, 1956.Khrushchev and Bulganin, leaders of the Soviet Union, are in Britain on an official visit. Chief Inspector Troy is assigned to be Khrushchev's bodyguard and to spy on him. Soon after, a Royal Navy diver is found dead and mutilated beyond recognition in Portsmouth Harbour. What was he doing under the hull of Khrushchev's ship, and who sent him there? Meanwhile, cold-blooded killings have started to follow Troy wherever he goes. Is it possible that the executioner is a fellow policeman, or, worse still, an old friend?Trade ReviewThis is a strange, thoughtful, quiet, intelligent spellbinder of a book, penetrating the very heart of betrayal. * Sunday Times *An early candidate for Thumping Good Thriller of the Year . . . No angst, no darkness, just the joy of a plot racing along in overdrive. * Time Out *A splash of Greene, a twist of Deighton, a small measure of history - Lawton has produced a thrilling cocktail. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisSophie s young and queer and into feminist theory. She decides to study abroad, choosing Paris for no firm reason beyond liking French comics. Feeling a bit lonely and out of place, she s desperate for community and a sense of belonging. She stumbles into what/who she s looking for when she meets Zena. An anarchist student-activist committed to veganism and shoplifting, Zena offers Sophie a whole new political ideology that feels electric. Enamored of Zena, of the idea of living more righteously Sophie finds herself swept up in a whirlwind friendship that blows her even farther from her rural Californian roots as they embark on a disastrous hitchhiking trip to Amsterdam and Berlin full of couch surfing, drug tripping, and radical book fairs. Capturing that time in your life where you re meeting new people and learning about the world when everything feels vital and urgent The Contradictions is Sophie Yanow s fictionalized coming-of-age story. Sophie s attempts at ideological purity are challenged time and again, putting into question the plausibility of a life of dogma in a world filled with contradictions. Keenly observed, frank, and very funny, The Contradictions speaks to a specific reality while also being incredibly relatable, reminding us that we are all imperfect people in an imperfect world.

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