Street fiction / urban fiction
Pushkin Press Coin Locker Babies
Book Synopsis'A cyberpunk coming-of-age tale' Japan Times Two babies are left in a Tokyo station coin locker and survive against the odds, but their lives are forever tainted by this inauspicious start. Raised amidst the outcasts and misfits of Toxitown, they carve out vastly different paths: one as a bisexual rock star on a desperate search for his mother, the other as an athlete consumed by revenge against the woman who left him behind. When their twisted journeys start to intertwine, this savage and stunning story plunges headlong into a surrealistic whirl of violence. 'Encapsulates the fin de siècle cultural detonation of Japanese youth' KirkusTrade Review'Ably encapsulates the fin de siecle cultural detonation of Japanese youth... Snyder's agile translation preserves much of the shock, beauty, and pathos in this apocalyptic minisaga of troubled times' - Kirkus'Ryu Murakami is known for the sex-drugs-and-violence style of his fiction and Coin Locker Babies has it all... A cyberpunk coming-of-age tale' - Japan Times
£10.44
Pan Macmillan Heaven: Shortlisted for the International Booker
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2022From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs and international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami comes a sharp and illuminating novel about a fourteen-year-old boy subjected to relentless bullying.In Heaven, a fourteen-year-old boy is tormented for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, he chooses to suffer in silence. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate, Kojima, who experiences similar treatment at the hands of her bullies. Providing each other with immeasurable consolation at a time in their lives when they need it most, the two young friends grow closer than ever. But what, ultimately, is the nature of a friendship when your shared bond is terror?Unflinching yet tender, sharply observed, intimate and multi-layered, this simple yet profound novel stands as yet another dazzling testament to Mieko Kawakami’s uncontainable talent. TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of the Year'Mieko Kawakami is a genius' - Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times'An expertly told, deeply unsettling tale of adolescent violence' - VogueTranslated from the Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd.Trade ReviewTaking two outcast teens as its unhappy protagonists, it is an expertly told, deeply unsettling tale of adolescent violence that will, no doubt, only grow the author's fan base * Vogue *This is the real magic of Heaven, which shows us how to think about morality as an ongoing, dramatic activity. -- Merve Emre * New Yorker *To read Heaven, by the author of Breasts and Eggs, and newly translated into English from Japanese by Sam Bett and David Boyd, is to bear witness to an unrelenting horror film of one boy’s youth * The Washington Post *The second novel to appear in English by the bestselling Japanese author Mieko Kawakami is tauter and even more perceptive than its predecessor . . . Heaven is less than half the length and holds double the emotional force * New Statesman *For me this is a perfect novel, and one I know I will return to before long -- Megan Nolan, author of Acts of DesperationHeaven is a thoughtful novel about the value of the flaws that make us who we are * Literary Review *Short but assured. . .by the end, the reader is so dizzily absorbed in its visceral details and philosophical complexity that, when the twist comes, it hits you with a strange and unexpected force * Financial Times *Impeccably translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd, the book is full of masterly set pieces of violence, scenes of senseless bullying so lucid you can almost feel the pain yourself . . . * New York Times Book Review *Heaven is told with astonishing frankness and economy. It will cut through all your defences down to every layer of fear, isolation, hope and need you’ve ever felt . . . Mieko Kawakami is a genius -- Naoise DolanA raw, painful, and tender portrait of adolescent misery, reminiscent of both Elena Ferrante's fiction . . . I cannot, in good conscience, endorse it without a warning: This book is very likely to make you cry * NPR *Brilliant . . . This captivating, quietly devastating book is about the relationship between two school misfits. The same vulnerabilities that expose them to their tormentors allow them to see one another with a pure sort of attention -- Megan Nolan * New Statesman *In this horror film, oblivious authority figures walk on by as you grope for breath, wondering what it even means to be alive and free * Independent *Simple and profound, Heaven is an undeniable masterpiece -- Mitsuyoshi NumanoA poignant odyssey into the haunted caverns of adolescence . . . Kawakami writes with jagged, visceral beauty about those early antagonists we carry around in our heads, scars we bear into adulthood, ‘caught in the undertow’ of hormones and sorrow * Oprah Daily *Mieko Kawakami pulls from the all too familiar places we learn to accept as normal in our youth and gives them to us to reflect on as adults in a painful yet necessary way. Even if we could never learn the absolute truths behind humans' capacity for violence as well as empathy, we are certainly closer now with Heaven -- An Yu, author of Braised PorkKawakami unflinchingly takes the reader through the abyss of depraved, dehumanizing behavior with keen psychological insight, brilliant sensitivity, and compassionate understanding. With this, the author’s star continues to rise * Publishers Weekly *Mieko Kawakami has spun a poignant tale on the theme of bullying . . . Heaven is a tour de force * Tokyo Shimbun *Heaven covers new terrain, masterfully broadening the literary landscape * Yomiuri Shimbun *Kawakami has a unique knack for burrowing into discomfort, and she does it in a startlingly graceful way. Like her last novel—an unsparing treatise on the pressures of being a woman in male-dominated Japan—this book isn’t for the fainthearted. Told from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy in present-day Japan, Kawakami’s tale follows the volatile lives of two teenagers relentlessly bullied by their peers . . . An unexpected classic * Kirkus *Rises above the philosophical questions at its depths and delivers the reader to a devastating conclusion * Elle Japan *Kawakami’s powerful and unassuming novel explores horrific accounts of bullying in a Japanese school . . . Her sensitive, evocative storytelling sets her apart as an incredible literary talent * BookList *Kawakami is a writer who doesn’t shy away from hard truths and painful experiences, so Heaven will not be an easy read, but it’s guaranteed to be a rewarding one * The Japan Times *It is difficult to write young voices well: easy to forget how smart teenagers are, or to portray them in terms of what adults might wish for them. Mieko Kawakami, however, is adept at understanding their perspective and capturing the despair and intractability of those difficult years . . . As with Kawakami's previously translated work, Breasts and Eggs, this is an adroit novel of real feeling and insight from a writer who wants her readers to think for themselves -- Rónán Hession * Irish Times *Mesmerizing . . . Kawakami is a master of the interior voice. There is something about her prose that is so immediate and pressing it blocks out the future almost as if it were a threatening force. We are forced to deal with her characters as they are living now: alone, vulnerable, and unprotected * World Literature Today *These raw and realistic portrayals of bullying are counterbalanced by textured exposition of the philosophical and religious debates concerning violence to which the weak are subjected * Paperback Paris *Moving and intelligent. Kawakami gives us characters who speak to the heart and illustrate in one form or another the dilemma facing everyone in adolescence. Hopeful yet chilling in equal measures * American Booksellers Association *Heaven takes on the issue of bullying, and why a victim might choose not to fight back. Two teenagers bond over their torment, and their passive response reveals many kinds of societal injustice * Washington Post *This sharp new novel from Mieko Kawakami [is] a sucker-punch of a story that implores you to question even your own morality * Cosmopolitan *With grace and clarity, Kawakami explores destructive nature of adolescent violence, and the power of empathetic friendships * The Millions *How can a relationship really last when its foundation is built on shared experiences of humiliation? The author moves toward an answer in this quietly devastating tale of middle school drama * TIME *If you enjoyed Mieko Kawakami’s brilliant Breasts and Eggs, you’re certain to be astonished by her latest novel exploring violence and bullying with fierce, feminist and damning candor * Ms. Magazine *While Kawakami refuses to give us answers, the elegance and care with which she describes her characters’ lives invite the reader to ask such questions of themselves. This is not a cruel story, but rather one that understands hurt and pain for what it is: universal, unjust and material for new life * BookPage *Mieko Kawakami is the reigning queen of contemporary Japanese literature for good reason * Japan Times *Kawakami is taking the reader by the hand and guiding us through someone’s small, interior life as a method of contemplating wide-ranging, universal issues such as the body, ethics, and meaning * Bad Form Review *A poignant and unsettling look at what makes a friendship and, on a macro level, what makes an unequal society. Kawakami’s writing is meticulous and assured, and Heaven leaves a bruise * The Skinny *Exceptional -- David Hayden * White Review 'Books of the Year' *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Cosmopolis
Book SynopsisDon DeLillo is the acclaimed author of bestselling novels and plays. His work includes White Noise, Libra, Cosmopolis and Underworld. He has won the National Book Award, the Jerusalem Prize and the Irish Times International Fiction Prize.Trade ReviewAmerica's greatest living writer. * Observer *A brilliant excursion into the decadence of contemporary culture. * Sunday Times *A prose-poem about New York . . . DeLillo has always been good at telling us where we're heading . . . we ignore him at our peril. -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *
£8.54
Duckworth Books Layer Cake
Book SynopsisFrom the glitz of the London club scene of the 1990's to the underbelly of its criminal world, Layer Cake is the best in British crime fiction.Trade Review‘This assured debut is far more sophisticated than such expressions of “gangster chic” as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Connolly displays the same infectious relish for underworld argot as Elizabethan writers fascinated by rogues’ cant, and his ostensibly artless plotting is as rich in double and triple crosses as a spy thriller’ John Dugdale, The Sunday Times‘The best crime novel I’ve ever read’ Bruce Reynolds ‘An immensely entertaining read’ Philip MacCann, The Spectator‘If the brilliantly written and intriguing Layer Cake is anything to go by, his will soon be a name to whet the appetites of readers and critics alike’ Francis Gilbert, The Times 'Funny, hectic, hard-hitting debut novel... Tart, tough and riveted at every juncture by unmistakable authenticity... sheer, unstoppable joy to read from the first page to the last' Philip Oakes, Literary Review'A storming piece of work... the novel has a grasp of street argot unparalleled since Kinky Friedman first sashayed out of his from door and nailed a checker straight out of the bat' D. J. Taylor'Connolly's style is fast and funny and just frightening enough to make you sit up all night finishing the book' Independent on Sunday'One novel in and Connolly has hit the jackpot, jump-started British crime fiction into the present... Like good drug fiction you're given glamour and squalor, a voyeuristic thrill, and the bill' Uncut
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Imperial Bedrooms
Book SynopsisBret Easton Ellis is the author of several novels, including Imperial Bedrooms, Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho, Glamorama and Lunar Park, and a collection of stories, The Informers. Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho and The Informers have all been made into films. His first work of non-fiction, White, was published in 2019. He is the host of the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast available on Patreon. He lives in Los Angeles.Trade ReviewA murder mystery – a woozy, paranoid, hallucinatory version of LA noir. * Sunday Times *Brilliantly written and coolly self-aware . . . Here, as in Less Than Zero, Ellis is plumbing the depths of human nature, exposing it at its worst. * Observer *The novel is a kind of modern noir and, as in Chandler, the form’s accepted master, atmosphere is king. Paranoia prevails. * Independent on Sunday *
£8.54
Atlantic Books The Cat and The City: 'Vibrant and accomplished'
Book SynopsisA BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick'A love letter to Japan and its literature' Rowan Hisayo Buchanan'Ingenious... Touching, surprising and sometimes heartbreaking' Guardian'An ideal tonic for anyone craving far-flung adventure' Mail on Sunday'If you're itching to read a new novel by David Mitchell...try this' The Times_______________In Tokyo - one of the world's largest megacities - a stray cat is wending her way through the back alleys. And, with each detour, she brushes up against the seemingly disparate lives of the city-dwellers, connecting them in unexpected ways.But the city is changing. As it does, it pushes her to the margins where she chances upon a series of apparent strangers - from a homeless man squatting in an abandoned hotel, to a shut-in hermit afraid to leave his house, to a convenience store worker searching for love. The cat orbits Tokyo's denizens, drawing them ever closer.'Masterfully weaves together seemingly disparate threads to conjure up a vivid tapestry of Tokyo; its glory, its shame, its characters, and a calico cat.' David Peace, author of THE TOKYO TRILOGYOne of the Independent's best debutsLonglisted for the DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD, 2021Trade ReviewNick Bradley's ingenious choreography of a constantly moving city, is touching, surprising and sometimes heartbreaking. * Guardian *The key pleasure of reading this book is its sprightly vigour - cool but not hipsterish, ambitious but not pretentious - that evokes a similar liveliness in the reader. It makes you feel young again. * John Self, The Times *Inventive, beguiling. * Sunday Times *An ideal tonic for anyone craving far-flung adventure. * Mail on Sunday *Intriguing...explores the dark underbelly of Japan. * Independent *I wolfed down these interlocking stories of cats, Tokyo, loneliness and redemption. Congratulations to Nick Bradley on this vibrant and accomplished debut. * David Mitchell, via Twitter *The Cat and The City is a love letter to Japan and its literature. Bradley's passion for everything from onigiri to Tanizaki's short stories is woven into this book. Bradley was for a time an ex-pat and his insight into their perching state is particularly intriguing. He is also very clearly a man with a great tenderness for cats. * Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of HARMLESS LIKE YOU *In a very impressive, finely observed debut, Nick Bradley masterfully weaves together seemingly disparate threads to conjure up a vivid tapestry of Tokyo; its glory, its shame, its characters, and a calico cat. * David Peace, author of THE TOKYO TRILOGY *An inventive, clever and beguiling read. With Tokyo as the backdrop, this is a beautifully written novel about belonging and loneliness, about escape and destruction, where the enmeshed narratives (and a magical cat) bind the city together. * Elizabeth Macneal, author of THE DOLL FACTORY *Like the street cat that slinks through this, Nick Bradley is endlessly resourceful, full of invention, full of surprises. * Andrew Cowan, author of PIG *Tender, delicate, and surprising, The Cat and The City is a lovely, rare progeny of a meeting between the English and the Japanese imagination. * Amit Chaudhuri, author of THE IMMORTALS *The Cat and The City is fiercely vivid, darkly comic and exquisitely mesmerising. Prepare to be transported across a sprawling metropolis; intercepting lives, as culture, history and identity interweave in a novel that will stay with you indelibly. Utterly brilliant writing. * Ashley Hickson-Lovence, author of THE 392 *Reading The Cat and The City is a rare experience of immersion in a world so complete that you will feel you know Tokyo like a character all its own, and feel homesick for it once you turn the final page. I loved the playfulness of form, the patience and skill of the storytelling and above all, the jolts of delighted and poignant recognition as narratives connected in subtle and powerful ways. * Eleanor Wasserberg, author of FOXLOWE *Bradley has produced a vivid urban map where "lifers" of all nationalities are trapped in a dark place. Hosts of readers will already be looking forward to what he serves up next in the fiction stakes. * Japan Today *Bradley's storytelling is artful and thickly allusive... For those who love tales of cats, cities or both, it makes for a charming wander. * Straits Times *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Young Team: Granta Best of Young British
Book SynopsisThe Times top ten bestsellerGranta Best of Young British Novelists 2023Scots Book o the Year 2021Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award & Betty Trask Award 2021‘Trainspotting for a new generation’ – Independent‘An instant Scottish classic’ – The Skinny2005. Glasgow is named Europe’s Murder Capital, driven by a violent territorial gang and knife culture. In the housing schemes of adjacent Lanarkshire, Scotland’s former industrial heartland, wee boys become postcode warriors.2004. Azzy Williams joins the Young Team [YTP]. A brutal gang conflict with their deadly rivals, the Young Toi [YTB] begins.2012. Azzy dreams of another life. He faces his toughest fight of all – the fight for a different future.Expect Buckfast. Expect bravado. Expect street philosophy. Expect rave culture. Expect anxiety. Expect addiction. Expect a serious facial injury every six hours. Expect murder.Hope for a way out.Inspired by the experiences of its author, Graeme Armstrong, The Young Team is an energetic novel, full of the loyalty, laughs, mischief, boredom, violence and threat of life on these streets. It looks beyond the tabloid stereotypes to tell a powerful story about the realities of life for young people in Britain today.‘A swaggering, incendiary debut’ – Guardian‘Dialect that fizzes off the page’ – Observer‘One of the most admired young voices in British fiction’ – The TimesTrade ReviewA swaggering, incendiary debut . . . The non-standard English forges a dazzling poetry of its own . . . pitches Armstrong straight into the first division of Scottish writers. -- Jude Cook * Guardian *The Young Team is a landmark in Scottish literature. It reminds me of Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. -- Damian Barr, author of Maggie & MeArmstrong’s hard-hitting novel is Trainspotting for a new generation. * Independent *Raw and lyrical . . . written in a voice that recalls Irvine Welsh and Alan Warner – dialect that fizzes off the page. * Observer *[A] gripping debut novel . . . he is quite a phenomenon . . . one of the most admired young voices in British fiction. -- Mike Wade * The Times *A riveting debut novel . . . it crackles with teenage energy . . . has already engendered a buzz that many other debut novelists would kill for. * Herald *It is Trainspotting meets Clockwork Orange in this depiction of gang life in North Lanarkshire . . . it gives us a voice from a place - geographically and socio-economically - we don’t often hear from. -- John Self * The Times *The Young Team is a book full of guts, power, humour and humanity. -- Kerry Hudson, author of LowbornBright, brittle and boiling with immediacy . . . His work is vivid, dynamic and sharp as a whip. -- Janice Galloway, author of The Trick is to Keep BreathingPhenomenal. It’s been ages since I read a book so funny, visceral, or powerful. -- David Whitehouse, author of Bed
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Dead Men's Trousers
Book Synopsis**A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**Mark Renton from Trainspotting is back – and he’s finally a success An international jet-setter, he now makes significant money managing DJs, but the constant travel, airport lounges, soulless hotel rooms and broken relationships have left him dissatisfied with his life. He’s then rocked by a chance encounter with Frank Begbie, from whom he’d been hiding for years after a terrible betrayal and the resulting debt. But the psychotic Begbie appears to have reinvented himself as a celebrated artist and – much to Mark’s astonishment – doesn’t seem interested in revenge. Sick Boy and Spud, who have agendas of their own, are intrigued to learn that their old friends are back in town, but when they enter the bleak world of organ-harvesting, things start to go so badly wrong. Lurching from crisis to crisis, the four men circle each other, driven by their personal histories and addictions, confused, angry – so desperate that even Hibs winning the Scottish Cup doesn’t really help. One of these four will not survive to the end of this book. Which one of them is wearing Dead Men’s Trousers?‘Welsh is on compulsively readable, searingly funny form’ The Times‘No one captures the competing affections and resentments that underpin lifelong friendships like Welsh’ EsquireTrade ReviewWelsh is on compulsively readable, searingly funny form in what has been billed as the final Trainspotting novel… What I really like about Welsh’s storytelling is that he makes these amoral misadventures so propulsive, so joyfully awful, that you have to go with the flow… this roués’ romp is about as much fun as you can have between two book covers. -- Dominic Maxwell * The Times *Dead Men’s Trousers is Welsh at his scabrous, foul-mouthed best as the Trainspotting crew ofRenton, Begbie, Sick Boy and Spud are reunited in a high-velocity tale of drug dealing,prostitution and the Hollywood art scene – with the odd compulsory organ donation casuallytossed in with sadistic aplomb. -- Stephen McGinty * Sunday Times *Some things never change. Violence lurks beneath the surface. Football still resonates. And, best of all, the Scots dialect retains its colloquial zing. Welsh fans are in for another witty, scabrous treat. -- Max Davidson * Mail on Sunday **Best New Fiction** *Irresistible... No one captures the competing affections and resentments that underpin lifelong friendships like Welsh, and the original lads – Sick Boy and Spud in particular – still bring out the best in him... keeping you gripped and choking on bursts of shocked laughter. * Esquire *A vignette-like study of modern masculinity… This final book in Welsh’s self-described “Harry Potter franchise” is as much character study as social commentary, and a sympathetic observation about how growing older doesn’t necessarily mean growing wiser. -- Zoë Apostolides * Financial Times *
£9.49
Pan Macmillan The Knock
Book SynopsisA young woman finds herself on the wrong side of the law in The Knock, a gripping gangland thriller from top ten bestselling author Jessie Keane.Dora O’Brien had a good start in life, but things went bad when she began to mix with the wrong company. Pregnant by her gangster lover, she found herself on the streets and then in the grips of a bent copper called Donny Maguire.When her daughter Angel is born, Dora is already under the influence of drink and drugs. Growing up in the shadow of her mother’s abusive relationship, Angel is nothing like her mother, but when matters turn murderous, Angel is forced to grow up fast and survival becomes the name of the game.For some, being on the wrong side of the law is the safest place to be . . .No one uncovers the underworld like Jessie Keane.Trade ReviewAnother brilliant gangland thriller * Bella Magazine *Swift-moving intrigue * Woman & Home *Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante * Glamour *
£7.99
Pan Macmillan Lawless Ruby Darke Ruby Darke 2
Book SynopsisOnly the lawless will survive . . . It is 1975 and Ruby Darke is struggling to deal with the brutal murder of her lover, Michael Ward.As her children, Daisy and Kit, battle their own demons, her retail empire starts to crumble.Meanwhile, after the revenge killing of Tito Danieri, Kit is the lowest he's ever been. But soon doubt is thrown over whether Kit killed the right person, and now the Danieris are out for his blood and the blood of the entire Darke family. As the bodies pile up, the chase is on - can the Darkes resolve their own family conflicts and find Michael Ward's true killer before the vengeful Danieris kill them? Or will they take the law into their own hands . . . Lawless is the heart-racing sequel to Nameless, from bestselling crime author Jessie Keane.Trade ReviewPerfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante * Glamour *Her strongest yet, both in terms of story and the fantastic cast of characters . . . Jessie Keane really does tell a blinding story. One thing you can rely on her for are twists and turns, literally hundreds of them here and plenty of shocks. We see the appearance of characters we didn't even know existed and I was floored many times reading this book! . . . You just have no idea where the story will go, and Jessie is an author that keeps you on your toes, so even if you suspect what will happen she will throw the biggest curveball. . . . The book moves at a lightning speed, the last hundred or so pages especially. There was no question of me putting the book down until I reached the end. And what an ending...! Just brilliant stuff and seriously addictive reading. This book just reminds me why I rate Jessie as one of my favourite authors. * www.bookaddictshaun.co.uk *This one sees her back on top, writing with an ease and drawing you into a fast paced dangerous way of life. The women characters in this tale are as strong or dominant as the main male characters, I felt, which is a nice change. There are a few shocks along the way and I could have read this in one sitting had time permitted. * www.alwaysreading.net *Keane's books never fail to thrill. Smart dialogue and well-rounded characters add ballast and credibility to all the fast-paced action and breath-taking brutality. She gives us humans and human emotion in every shade... from loving, loyal and devoted to fearsome, merciless and downright evil. Prepare to be hooked from the very first page... * Lancashire Evening Post *The writing is engaging and (f)lawless and it is written in a way that make you desperate to know what's going to happen next! * http://onmybookshelf.blog.pl *Lawless is a book that definitely has to be experienced - words can never do it justice! Full of tension, shocks and surprises - this is a book you won't be able to put down * readinginthesunshine.wordpress.com *Lawless is an engrossing read. It has strong female lead characters (and great male characters) and the highly atmospheric 1975 London gangland setting and interesting cast - from Lords and Ladies through to the shadiest of London gangsters - had me hooked from the start. As the story continued, the complex interwoven relationships, dark truths and secret desires that drive some to murder has me racing to turn the pages.Highly recommended. * http://crimethrillergirl.com *
£8.54
Pan Macmillan The Manor: The Enemy Is Close To Home In This
Book SynopsisThe enemy is close to home in The Manor, a gripping gangland thriller from the top five bestseller Jessie Keane.Charlie Stone and Terry Barton have been blood brothers since the cradle. They grew up in the East End skimming along the bottom of the underworld, until Charlie took over the manor from the local mob and a twist of fate put him and his best mate on the road to the high life.When Charlie and Terry both marry and have kids, everything is set. Both families have everything they ever wanted. But things begin to turn sour when Charlie’s adopted son Harlan starts to cause trouble.It soon becomes clear that Harlan doesn’t just want to be number one son; he wants to be number one, full stop, and he wants Terry’s daughter Belle Barton by his side.As the feud caused by Harlan spirals out of control it is left to Belle to pick up the pieces. Is she strong enough to take on Harlan Stone? And has she got what it takes to rule the manor . . .'Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante' – GlamourTrade ReviewSwift-moving intrigue * Woman & Home *Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante * Glamour *Another brilliant gangland thriller * Bella Magazine *
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Nameless
Book SynopsisNameless is a gripping underworld thriller by bestselling author Jessie Keane.She never forgot, and she'll never forgive . . .In 1941, mixed race Ruby Darke is born into a family that seem to hate her, but why? While her two brothers dive into a life of gangland violence, Ruby has to work in their family store. As she blossoms into a beautiful young woman she crosses paths with aristocrat Cornelius Bray, a chance meeting that will change her life forever. When she finds herself pregnant, and then has twins, she is forced to give her children away. At that point she vows never to trust another man again. As the years pass, Ruby never forgets her babies, and as the family store turns into a retail empire, Ruby wants her children back. But secrets were whispered and bargains made, and if Ruby wants to stay alive she needs to forget the past, or the past will come back and kill her.Nameless is followed by theTrade ReviewGripping Thriller * Look Magazine *Fans of Martina Cole will enjoy Nameless * Daily Express *This is a fast-moving story full of drama with a lot of twists and turns. If you like Martina Cole, you'll love Jessie Keane * Bella *THIS WEEK'S HOT READ...This book combines tales of gangster underworld with history, romance and a little bit of mystery too * Woman *Fast moving, intriguing and a jolly good read. * Shropshire Star *Fans of Martina Cole should try Keane's tough gangster family sagas. They'll love her latest which introduces Ruby Darke * The Local (Bourne) *Jessie Keane gives us a fascinating insight into the rivalries and lifestyles of those who make fortunes out of a criminal way of life and of the lowlifes that carry out their orders. * Lincolnshire Echo *This is the sort of competition Martina Cole could do without and if Keane does hit the No. 1 spot it could be handbags, or more likely knuckledusters, at dawn * The Northern Echo *The book is incredibly well written and the author allows you to develop a real empathy for the characters... The only disappointment I had was when I had finished the book, I wanted more! This is not the usual sort of material that I would read but I was gripped from the very beginning right through to the end. I would thoroughly recommend it. * www.Mojomums.co.uk *I didn't want this story to end and it certainly didn't end as expected. The last sting in the tails tears it all apart and the final chapter made me want to shout out in anger and dismay. A brilliant book. I really hope a sequel is written as so many questions are left unanswered. * jayneanderson.blogspot.co.uk *All I can say is that Jessie Keane is a force to be reckoned with in the crime genre now. Not only has she produced a great series (Annie Carter) she has also written some absolutely blinding stand alones. With this latest addition, Jessie Keane is quickly proving herself to be un-stoppable. Nameless has only made me want to read more (I sincerely hope this is going to have a follow up!) and as usual Jessie Keane does not disappoint. BLINDING!!! * www.bestcrimebooks.co.uk *Nameless is great at proving that a woman's strength should never be underestimated and a mothers love is eternal. I cannot wait for the next book!!!! * nicolemcmanusreviews.wordpress.com *
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Family Betrayal
Book SynopsisMeet the Drapers – they're as tough as they come … The gritty drama from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Nobody's Girl. Set on the mean streets of 1960s South London. MENACING… The Drapers rule the streets of South London. Everyone's afraid of them – and that's just how they like it. But when tempers flare and a family feud spirals out of control, tragedy strikes, leaving eldest son Danny in charge. MANIPULATED… But he has shocking plans for the family business and Petula, the baby of the family, becomes the scapegoat for the Draper’s dirty dealings. MISSING… Years later, and the once united family has now split up. Petula returns to the place she once called home to face her family as well as her demons, unleashing a terrible secret that could destroy them once and for all…Trade ReviewPraise for Nobody’s Girl and Sins of the Father: ‘This pageturner is a gritty tale of survival.’ Tesco magazine. 'Heartbreakingly poignant and joltingly realistic. From the first page the characters and their lives drew me in. It combines wonderfully accurate historical detail with true gritty realism in a book that fans of misery lit won't want to miss.' Annie Groves, author of Some Sunny Day. ‘Full of drama and heartache.’Closer Magazine ‘I thought this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. In fact, I couldn’t put it down!’Closer ‘This book kept me in total suspense until the end.’Closer
£13.29
City Lights Books Los Angeles Stories
Book SynopsisA Los Angeles Times''s and Southern California Indie Bookseller Association''s Bestseller!Los Angeles Stories is a collection of loosely linked, noir-ish tales that evoke a bygone era in one of America''s most iconic cities. In post-World War II Los Angeles, as power was concentrating and fortunes were being made, a do-it-yourself culture of cool cats, outsiders, and oddballs populated the old downtown neighborhoods of Bunker Hill and Chavez Ravine. Ordinary working folks rubbed elbows with petty criminals, grifters, and all sorts of women at foggy end-of-the-line outposts in Venice Beach and Santa Monica.Rich with the essence and character of the times, suffused with the patois of the city''s underclass, these are stories about the common people of Los Angeles, a sunny place for shady people, and the strange things that happen to them. Musicians, gun shop owners, streetwalkers, tailors, door-to-door salesmen, drifters, housewives, deTrade Review"In Los Angeles Stories, his first published collection of stories, Ry Cooder pays homage to the jazz, the blues and the Latin beat of a bygone era. He also honors a cast of boisterous musicians, some murdered, others spared to tell their gritty tales of life and death. A few famous musicians - John Lee Hooker and Charlie Parker among them - make cameo appearances in these pages, but most of the guitar players, drummers and lounge singers are as unknown as the repossession men, waitresses and mechanics they entertain in forgotten bars and derelict nightclubs. Cooder fans will enjoy the upbeat mix of music and murder. Aficionados of noir fiction will love the characters, all of whom have something to hide and all of whom are engaged in illegal activity." -- Jonah Raskin, San Francisco Chronicle "The stories of Ry Cooder are a lot like his music: stately, precise, well constructed; they grab you by the throat, quietly, and never let go... Cooder is a passionate historian of Los Angeles, curating its small joys and predilections, its cultural pratfalls and senseless tragedies... Los Angeles Stories is an unusual book, old-fashioned but not out of fashion. Its most beautiful quality is the genuine pathos, conveyed with tact and skill, for a city that has vanished, that has always been vanishing."--Andrew J. Khaled Madigan, The Iowa Review "Cooder's Los Angeles Stories are noir-infused, glamour-free portraits of working class loners, drifters, bums, musicians (both real and fictional), and numerous other fringe types. Each speaks with his or her own individuated, idiom-riddled (but cliche-free) patois." -- Casey Burchby, LA Weekly "There is a feeling in the stories, as in much of his music, that something is being documented; that voices, and personal histories, are being preserved not for posterity, but against annihilation by some overriding and corrupted power." -- C.P. Heiser, LA Review of Books "While some of the stories focus on those who end up in LA, Cooder's focus in this book is mainly about those who have called LA home for most of their lives. The way Cooder describes the neighborhoods in LA -- the homes and the working class -- really paints a picture that doesn't just give you an idea of what it was like; rather, he brings these images to life, especially if you live in or visit LA today." --Verbicide Magazine "... Ryland Peter Cooder ventures into new territory with his first collection of linked shortly stories, entitled (not surprisingly) Los Angeles Stories (City Lights) ... Eight stories are set in post World War II Los Angeles intermingling the kinds of characters and narratives that Cooder has put to good use in his songs-- blue collar workers, small time criminals and all kinds of fauna to be found in the barely visible underclass." --Robert Birnbaum, "Our Man in Boston"
£12.99
Pan Macmillan Save Me
Book SynopsisSave Me, is a gritty crime novel by the bestselling author Mandasue Heller.When Ellie Fisher misses her train home one night, she has no idea that being in the right place at the wrong time will change her life forever. That night she comes across Gareth, a young man about to take his own life, because as far as he’s concerned there is nothing left to live for. Putting her own life in danger Ellie convinces Gareth that there is always something left. Her own life is no bed of roses, she explains, but she always pushes on. However, good deeds aren’t always repaid the way we want. Has Ellie unwittingly put her life in danger, or is the real danger a lot closer to home?Trade ReviewPraise for Forget Me Not: Mandasue has played a real blinder with this fantastic novel -- Martina ColePraise for Forget Me Not: Captivating from first page to last -- Jeffery DeaverPraise for Two-Faced: Thoroughly gripping * Guardian *Praise for The Driver: One of the bad girls of gritty crime, Heller has written a blinder * Daily Mirror *Praise for Forget Me Not: A confident take on the serial murder genre * Irish News - Belfast *
£8.54
Canelo When the Guilty Cry
Book SynopsisThree severed hands. No clues. A race against time.Three embalmed hands are discovered in a disused Victorian house. Is it a gangland ritual? The work of a cult? Or just a prank played by Medical Students? And what happened to the bodies?Meanwhile the Coroner needs to issue a Presumption of Death certificate on a teenage girl who vanished eleven years ago in mysterious circumstances.As hints emerge the two cases are connected, DI Ridpath pushes himself to the limit to find out what really happened. It soon emerges the house is a former children’s home. When another woman, a local social worker, disappears, he is under immense pressure to find answers. What really happened at Daisy House Children’s Home all those years ago?He has just one week to discover the truth…The latest in the #1 bestselling DI Ridpath crime thriller series, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham and Peter James.
£8.54
Two Lines Press The Interim
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Turner Publishing Company L.A. Breakdown (Deluxe Edition): A Novel
Book SynopsisA 1999 LOS ANGELES TIMES BEST BOOKDELUXE EDITION, WITH NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN RECOVERED CHAPTERS—Los Angeles, 1967—With gleaming detail and blinding precision, Lou Mathews freeze-frames a hidden corner of L.A.’s outlaw culture in the moments before it becomes extinct. The heart of the culture is the drive-in, where street racers meet to challenge their rivals and place their bets. This world comes to life after dark, lit by headlights and street lamps, a moveable feast of drag races, peopled with its own lost generation: young men and women who have left high school but have no thoughts of college.Drifting from one dead end job to another, supplementing their income through thieving, doing the occasional stint in prison, and reluctantly entering the armed services when there is nothing else left, they live, and sometimes die, for the excitement, the danger, the money of racing. In the world of drag racing—fleeting and bittersweet, like the end of summer—the stakes the stakes grow higher and higher as, one by one, each player spins out and disappears from the scene:Here, we meet Vaca, crippled in soul and body, prefers the armor of his car to a wheelchair. The ex-con Brody—Vaca’s driver—is the best street racer in town. Reinhard, a loner who has no one and nothing but the exquisite machines he builds and races. Charlie, the race organizer who tells the story. And Connie, who rolls her eyes at the whole parade, never without a sarcastic riposte, but who can’t stay away from the boys and their toys.Stunning, bleakly beautiful, and laugh-out-loud funny, L.A. Breakdown paints a riveting portrait of 1960s Los Angeles, frozen in time yet disintegrating before our eyes with all the reckless speed of romantic era.“Mathews keeps the reader so firmly focused on horsepower, hand-rubbed black lacquer paint jobs and custom pinstripes that the small epiphanies that unfold here really do sneak up, as surprising and pungent as burning oil.” —Los Angeles TimesTrade Review“In his elegiac tale of illegal street racing in the late ’60s, Mathews captures the essence of working-class Los Angeles. This is the beautiful and uncompromising work of a native son, an eastside hood who knows the score. In L.A. Breakdown, Mathews offers up a love letter to doomed knuckleheads everywhere.” —Jim Gavin, author of Middle Men and creator of AMC’s Lodge 49“Deftly captures the mood of mid-1960s Los Angeles and the waning days of one of its signature subcultures: drag racing . . . Like so many tales of this thoroughly mined era, L.A. Breakdown moves ineluctably toward both the loss of innocence and the recruitment center: The shadow of Vietnam is, understandably, ever present. But Mathews keeps the reader so firmly focused on horsepower, hand-rubbed black lacquer paint jobs and custom pinstripes that the small epiphanies that unfold here really do sneak up, as surprising and pungent as burning oil.” —Los Angeles Times (December 5, 1999)“What Lou Mathews delivers here is the perfect ethnography of Los Angeles hot rod worship culture in its golden era. His people are the errant working-class knights of the stylized tournaments of street drag racing and the drive-in damsels they adore and neglect, often in about the same breath. The way they talk is dazzling—funny and heart-rending by turns—and always completely real feeling. Among his other great gifts, Mathews possesses an ear as original as Harold Pinter’s or David Mamet’s.” —Carter Wilson, author of Crazy February and Treasures on Earth“Mathews brings this world to life in vivid detail, capturing the bittersweet twilight of a subculture.” —Publishers Weekly (August 16, 1999)“Having grown up in the Valley myself in the fifties and sixties, remembering well the Bob’s Big Boy and the Van de Kamp’s, and having even cruised Van Nuys Boulevard even as I was never part of the culture Lou Mathews has caught so evocatively, I nonetheless can attest to how well he caught the feel of the landscape—the way there seemed to be big voids in the psychology of the geography, voids into which you could drive your life, sometimes to dead ends, sometimes off psychic cliffs, as Mathews’ characters have done. But just as impressive to me, really, is the array of vivid characters whose destiny seems both defined and betrayed by their wheels—the juxtaposition, for instance, of Reinhard’s ‘fastest flathead Ford in Tulsa’ with a future that just naturally seems fated for incarceration of one sort of another—as well as the developing nuances of all their relationships—Fat Charlie’s parallel bonds with Donna and Connie, each trumping the other in some telling way, all while a world of upheaval seeps in around the edges and washes away all the meanings and codes of an experience shared in common for the last time. L.A. Breakdown is a very skillful and assured piece of work, moving and insightful and observant.” —Steve Erickson, author of Arc d’X, The Sea Came in at Midnight, and Zeroville
£12.34
Random House USA Inc The Republic of False Truths
Book SynopsisA glorious, humane novel (The Observer) about the Egyptian revolution, taking us inside the battle raging between those in power and those prepared to lay down their lives in the defense of freedom—this globally-acclaimed narrative from one of the foremost writers in the Arab world is still banned across much of the region.Cairo, 2011. After decades under a repressive regime, tensions are rising in the city streets. No one is out of reach of the revolution. There is General Alwany, a high-ranking member of the government's security agency, a pious man who loves his family yet won't hesitate to torture enemies of the state; Asma, a young teacher who chafes against the brazen corruption at her school; Ashraf, an out-of-work actor who is having an affair with his maid and who gets pulled into Tahrir Square through a chance encounter; Nourhan, a television personality who loyally defends those in power; and many more. As these lives collide, a new generation finds a voice, love blossoms across class divides, and the revolution gains strength. Even the general finds himself at a crossroads as his own daughter joins the protests. Yet the old regime will not give up without a fight. With an unforgettably vivid cast of characters and a heart-pounding narrative banned across much of the region, Alaa Al Aswany gives us a deeply human portrait of the Egyptian Revolution, and an impassioned retelling of his country's turbulent recent history.
£14.45
HarperCollins Publishers Head of the Firm An absolutely gripping and
Book SynopsisIf you love Kimberley Chambers and Martina Cole you won't be able to put down this gripping gangland crime from Liverpool's very own Caz Finlay!''Caz Finlay has delivered a belter The Carter Family will never be the same after this epic roller coaster ride. With the family dynamics torn apart, I was on the edge of my seat until the final page'' Gemma RogersA family at warHappily married and with two small children, Grace has stepped away from the murky underworld that has shaped so much of her life. Now Grace is leaving the hard work to the boys her son Jake Conlon and the notorious Carter twins, Paul and Connor.But Grace can sense danger better than anyone and trouble is heading their way.She'll stop at nothing to protect those she loves, even if it means an all-out gang war on the streets of Liverpool. But is this one fight Grace can't win?Readers can't get enough of this series:A compelling story with a heart stopping twist a cracking read' Kerry Barnes''A fast-paced tale of famiTrade Review‘Grace Sumner is back and taking no prisoners in Caz Finlay’s follow up to The Boss! A gritty, gangland read that will have you on the edge of your seat, Back in the Game is intense and explosive reading! I bloody loved it!’ Noelle Holten, bestselling author of Dead Inside ‘Caz Finlay’s gritty tale of twisted loyalties and brutal betrayal had me gripped from the very first page’ Amanda Brooke, author of The Widows’ Club ‘Grace is back, but she’s got a secret… This powerful story of family loyalties and vengeance will leave you breathless with excitement and terror as it twists and turns through the back streets of Liverpool. Fans of Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers will love Caz Finlay; she’s fast becoming the boss of gangland thrillers’ Mary Torjussen, author of The Closer You Get 'Caz Finlay has delivered a belter … The Carter Family will never be the same after this epic roller coaster ride. With the family dynamics torn apart, I was on the edge of my seat until the final page' Gemma Rogers
£8.99
HarperCollins Publishers The Deal
Book SynopsisPeople can buy your silence, but not your loyaltyMacy Taylor was born in the shadow of Tavistock Square, at the heart of her Manchester estate. It's got a reputation as a place where bad things happen. But it's kept her secrets and she's kept its code of silence.If you need something sorting, or want something you can't get anywhere else no questions asked then you go to the Square. But everything in life comes at a price.Leanne Taylor is seventeen she doesn't understand why her mother wants her to keep clear of the life she led as a teenager. Leanne's got dreams, but they don't come cheap and the only people with money and power she knows are the boys and men that make their deals in the alleys and dark corners of the Square.For mother and daughter, it's time to work out what they really care about, how fiercely they'll fight to protect it, and what they'll do when one day, the trouble they've worked so hard to outrun comes right to their own front doorTrade Review‘The Northern Martina Cole. Karen Woods writes about Manchester with a pageturning fierceness.’ Melanie Blake ‘Wow! Karen Woods has delivered a gripping read full of grit and with characters to keep you turning the pages. And that ending! I didn’t see that coming at all. Loved it. 5 huge stars from me.’ Caz Finlay, author of the Bad Blood series
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Mercy Street A Novel
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Extraordinary . . . Wonderfully entertaining, boasting a large, varied cast of vividly drawn characters whose company readers will find deeply rewarding, in no small part because lurking in their shadows is the devastatingly wry humor of their creator. . . . [Haigh is] paying close attention to their choices, large and small. That’s not artifice, it’s art. And I was gobsmacked." — Richard Russo, New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) “[Haigh is] a superb unsung novelist hovering just under the radar. . . Abortion, guns, vigilantism, drug dealing, white supremacy, bitter misogyny and online fetishism all figure in the tableau Haigh expertly details. . . . Her books might feel traditional if she relied on simple structure, but she likes Altmanesque ways of weaving characters together. . . . She’s largely not interested in destruction here: These people have seen enough of it already. She’s interested in what makes them human.” — Janet Maslin, New York Times “Haigh deftly walks across the fault line of one of the most divisive issues of our age, peeling back ideology and revealing what all ideology refuses to recognize: an individual’s humanity. . . . Mercy Street argues, both in form and content, that compassion is a powerful counterpoint to the conflict-driven stories that dominate our news cycles, our news feeds and our Netflix queues. In Haigh’s world, in other words, mercy may no longer be fashionable, but it sure is necessary.” — San Francisco Chronicle "Terrifically readable.” — Wall Street Journal “Perceptive. . . . In Haigh’s expert hands, [Mercy Street] explores how we arrive at the beliefs we hold.” — Real Simple “Fiction is often a more alluring vessel of truth than nonfiction, and in her recently lauded novel centered on a Boston abortion clinic in 2015, Haigh depicts lives that intersect publicly as her characters grapple with the most intimate of decisions. From a clinic hotline manager to a gaggle of anti-abortion protestors, Haigh boldly seeks out moral nuance, melding crystalline language to a topical story that twists and turns toward a stunning crescendo." — Oprah Daily
£19.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Mercy Street
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Extraordinary . . . Wonderfully entertaining, boasting a large, varied cast of vividly drawn characters whose company readers will find deeply rewarding, in no small part because lurking in their shadows is the devastatingly wry humor of their creator. . . . [Haigh is] paying close attention to their choices, large and small. That’s not artifice, it’s art. And I was gobsmacked." — Richard Russo, New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) “[Haigh is] a superb unsung novelist hovering just under the radar. . . Abortion, guns, vigilantism, drug dealing, white supremacy, bitter misogyny and online fetishism all figure in the tableau Haigh expertly details. . . . Her books might feel traditional if she relied on simple structure, but she likes Altmanesque ways of weaving characters together. . . . She’s largely not interested in destruction here: These people have seen enough of it already. She’s interested in what makes them human.” — Janet Maslin, New York Times “Haigh deftly walks across the fault line of one of the most divisive issues of our age, peeling back ideology and revealing what all ideology refuses to recognize: an individual’s humanity. . . . Mercy Street argues, both in form and content, that compassion is a powerful counterpoint to the conflict-driven stories that dominate our news cycles, our news feeds and our Netflix queues. In Haigh’s world, in other words, mercy may no longer be fashionable, but it sure is necessary.” — San Francisco Chronicle "Terrifically readable.” — Wall Street Journal “Perceptive. . . . In Haigh’s expert hands, [Mercy Street] explores how we arrive at the beliefs we hold.” — Real Simple “Fiction is often a more alluring vessel of truth than nonfiction, and in her recently lauded novel centered on a Boston abortion clinic in 2015, Haigh depicts lives that intersect publicly as her characters grapple with the most intimate of decisions. From a clinic hotline manager to a gaggle of anti-abortion protestors, Haigh boldly seeks out moral nuance, melding crystalline language to a topical story that twists and turns toward a stunning crescendo." — Oprah Daily
£15.60
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Memory Librarian
Book Synopsis
£23.19
Vintage Publishing Games At Twilight
Book SynopsisSet in contemporary Bombay and other cities, these stories reflect the kaleidoscope of urban life - evoking the colour, sounds and white-hot heat of the city. Warm, perceptive, humorous and touched with sadness, Anita Desai''s stories are peopled with intensely individual characters - the man spiritually transformed by the surface texture of a melon; the American wife who, homesick for the verdant farmlands of Vermont, turns to the hippies in the Indian hills; the painter living in a slum who fills his canvasses with flowers, birds and landscapes he has never seen.Trade ReviewAs finely written atmospheric pieces alone the stories would be memorable... As social documents they are absorbing. The volume's profound theme is the tension between convention and exploration, family solidarity and individualism... An admirable humane and responsible achievement -- Hermione Lee * Observer *One of the most brilliant and subtle writers ever to have described the meeting of eastern and western culture * Alison Lurie *Beautifully accomplished and memorable * The Times *Absolutely first-rate…absorbing -- Hermione Lee * Observer *Desai has a gift of opening up a closed world and making it clearly visible * Sunday Times *
£8.54
Vintage Publishing Filth
Book SynopsisSuitable only for persons of strong constitution.Contains:Drug usePerversionMurderCorruptionSexismRacismLaw EnforcementAnd a tapewormTrade ReviewA peculiar kind of brilliance * Sunday Telegraph *A snarling epic of a book...ugly, devastatingly funny, unremittingly nasty and pulls no punches... Don't dare miss it * Scotsman *Welsh firing on all cylinders... The best thing he has done since Trainspotting * Sunday Times *It is surely a remarkable cultural moment when a reviewer is offered cash in a bar for an advance copy of a literary novel... Filth is a masterpiece...squarely in the classic line of classic scottish writing * Independent *Things are going well for Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson. Promotion is in the offing, he's got all the booze and drugs he needs, and his various plots aimed at friends and colleagues seem to be working out. Robertson, compulsive and repulsive by turns, has only two problems. One is a case of racially-motivated murder on his patch. The other is that there's a nasty tapeworm in his gut and it seems intent on having its say... A brutally sustained achievement * Evening Standard *
£9.49
Penguin Putnam Inc The Best of Everything
Book Synopsis
£17.00
Penguin Books Ltd A Rage in Harlem Penguin Modern Classics
Book Synopsis''The greatest find in American crime fiction since Raymond Chandler'' Sunday TimesJackson''s woman has found him a foolproof way to make money - a technique for turning ten dollar bills into hundreds. But when the scheme somehow fails, Jackson is left broke, wanted by the police and desperately racing to get back both his money and his loving Imabelle.The first of Chester Himes''s novels featuring the hardboiled Harlem detectives Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, A Rage in Harlem has swagger, brutal humour, lurid violence, a hearse loaded with gold and a conman dressed as a Sister of Mercy.With an Introduction by Luc SanteTrade ReviewOutrageous, shocking, wonderful * New York Times Book Review *Himes wrote spectacularly successful entertainments, filled with gems of descriptive writing, plots that barely sidestep chaos, characters surreal, grotesque, comic, hip, Harlem recollected as a place that can make you laugh, cry, shudder.Chester Himes is one of the towering figures of the black literary tradition. His command of nuances of character and dynamics of plot is preeminent among writers of crime fiction. He is a master craftsman.A fantasia with a hard brilliant core * Evening Standard *A fine crime writer of Chandlerian subtlety though in a vein of sheer toughness very much his own * The Times *Chester Himes is the great lost crime writer, as well a great American dissident novelist per se, and an essential witness to his times. Every one of his beyond-cool Harlem novels is cherished by every reader who finds it.Hieronymus Bosch meets Miles Davis * The New York Times *He belongs with those great demented realists ... whose writing pitilessly exposes the ridiculousness of the human conditionThat he could channel this pain and misery into some of the greatest crime novels ever written is a testament to his skill as a writer and his spirit as a man. If this is the first Chester Himes novel you will read then, believe me, you are in for a treat.
£9.49
Pan Macmillan Ruthless Annie Carter Series Book 5 Annie Carter
Book SynopsisShe thought she'd seen the back of the Delaneys. How wrong could she be . . .Ruthless is the fifth book in the compelling Annie Carter series by hit crime writer Jessie Keane. Annie Carter should have demanded to see their bodies lying on a slab in the morgue, but she really believed the Delaney twins were gone from her life for good. Now sinister things are happening around her and Annie Carter is led to one terrifying conclusion: her bitter enemies, the Delaney twins, didn't die all those years ago. They're back and they want her, and her family, dead. This isn't the first time someone has made an attempt on her life,yet she's determined to make it the last. Nobody threatens Annie Carter and lives to tell the tale . . .Continue this gripping series with Stay Dead.Trade ReviewGritty and powerful, Martina Cole fans will love this addictive novel * Closer *The novel takes the reader on a journey from London, to New York, and across to rural Ireland. What I especially loved about this story was the way multiple story strands were woven together: a coming-of-age story for Annie's daughter, Layla, and an explosive battle of wills (and sexual tension) for Annie as she tries to keep an uneasy truce with her ex-husband; all set within a deadly game of cat and mouse with a determined killer driven by revenge. Intriguing, suspenseful and thrilling. A real page turner. * www.crimethrillergirl.com *Gripping right from the start and the setting of gangsters and East End London was great to read. I also really liked the character of Annie Carter, she's a likeable, feisty main character who takes you through her story at a high speed pace. This is a book full of suspense and tension and I found myself surprised by the narrative more than once. I'm now going to look out for the first Annie Cater novels and have no doubt that I'll enjoy them just as much. * Novelicious *This is riveting, unputdownable reading * Marjolein Books *Jessie Keane has once again created a brilliant, gripping and thrilling book which I didn't want to put down * Best Crime Books *I've read most of Jessie's book and so I was thrilled to be contacted and offered a copy of her latest book Ruthless. Wow, what a book. * jayneanderson.blogspot.co.uk *Ruthless is the latest in the fast-moving Annie Carter series and is just as good, if not better, than its forerunners. If you like a good, light read on the seedy side of life, you won't be disappointed. * Shropshire Star *Part crime novel, part family-saga - a kind of Dynasty with knuckledusters - but Ruthless is slick and funny and polished. Sure, it's a formula, but Keane knows just what her readers want in her nostalgic tales of gals and gangsters, nightclubs and toerags, and she delivers the goods as nimbly as a cat across a fence top. What I Liked: Annie's a businesswoman with a string of clubs to her name, but it's affairs of the heart that propel the story. Keane's antagonists want revenge against Annie by targeting the people she loves the most - her family. It makes it very personal and very nasty for Annie. And the return of her ex-husband - 'fit lean body, black hair, dark tan' - makes the situation an emotional minefield. If you're going to write a story, make sure your protagonist is hit where it hurts the most. * crimethrillerfella.wordpress.com *I loved the characters, they were very realistic, believable and I enjoyed their storylines. Annie Carter is a fantastic lead and I really enjoyed reading about her, I liked that Annie was fierce and determined. Also, Annie's relationship with Max was so fascinating to read about, that in itself was very compelling and gripping. Ruthless is fast-paced and thrilling with the right amount of tension and suspense, so I was kept turning the pages keen to find out how things would finish. * readinginthesunshine.wordpress.com *
£8.54
Farrar, Straus and Giroux August Blue
Book SynopsisNamed a Best Book of the Year by TIME, Vulture, The Guardian, BBC, The Week, and Publisher''s WeeklyA new novel from the Booker Prize finalist Deborah Levy, the celebrated author of The Man Who Saw Everything and The Cost of Living.At the height of her career, the piano virtuoso Elsa M. Andersonformer child prodigy, now in her thirtieswalks off the stage in Vienna, midperformance.Now she is in Athens, watching an uncannily familiar woman purchase a pair of mechanical dancing horses at a flea market. Elsa wants the horses too, but there are no more for sale. She drifts to the ferry port, on the run from her talent and her history.So begins her journey across Europe, shadowed by the elusive woman who seems to be her double. A dazzling portrait of melancholy and metamorphosis, Deborah Levy's August Blue uncovers the ways in which we attempt to revise our oldest stories and make ourselv
£20.25
Pantheon Books Monkey Grip
Book Synopsis
£22.40
Random House USA Inc Nightcrawling
Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK • A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole” (Tommy Orange, author of There There).A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, TIME, GOODREADSKiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prisonBut while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has more than doubled—and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.Rich with raw beauty, electrifying intensity, and piercing vulnerability, Nightcrawling marks the stunning arrival of a voice unlike any we have heard before.
£13.05
Alfred A. Knopf Nightcrawling
Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK • A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole” (Tommy Orange, author of There There).A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, TIME, GOODREADSKiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prisonBut while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has more than doubled—and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what beg
£22.40
Duckworth Books Viva La Madness The Gripping Sequel to the
Book SynopsisDarkly comic, fast-paced and full of twists Viva la Madness is packed with sex, scams, drugs and enough dirty money to fill a few offshore bank accounts.Trade Review'Masterful plotting - double-crosses abound - a cracking pace and some truly excellent set pieces including a chase through the London underground all lead up to a wham-bam ending. Fast, furious, funny and highly recommended for fans of Layer Cake and new readers alike' Guardian'Connolly's style is fast and funny and just frightening enough to make you sit up all night' Independent on Sunday'The novel has its predecessor's driving energy and the protagonist's disparate colleagues are terrific characters' The Sunday Times
£8.54
Transworld Publishers Ltd Sweet Soft Plenty Rhythm
Book SynopsisFinalist of the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction''Told in a rich array of voices, this gorgeously written debut explores the myriad syncopations of love and desire'' Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere''Beautifully and cleverly written...The novel''s tender, sensual, enchanting prose entices you into a world of deep longing'' Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church LadiesLove is messy. Love can make us feel alive. It can also bring us down. Sometimes we look for it in all the wrong places. This is a novel about longing, desire and dreams; about passion and risk and all the places in between.Maggie is pregnant with Circus Palmer''s child. This may be her last chance, but she craves her freedom.Pia is Circus''s ex-wife, still in love with the fantasy of the man who conjured jazz tunes for her into the night, but who left many years before.Koko, Circus''s daughter, is lost in the maelstrom ofTrade ReviewLaura Warrell makes a striking debut with the musical Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, weaving together women's voices like a jam session . . . Warrell's sentences are sinuous, her characters fully formed, as they perform a dance of seduction and rebuttal, pursuit and withdrawal, yearning and regret. Using an elegant structure with echoes of Bernardine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other, she weaves a lushly textured tale of real emotional depth, conjuring a world of voices moving in concert. * TELEGRAPH *Set to be one of 2023's biggest books with plaudits from Celeste Ng and Oprah, this multi-narrative story is all about the power of being a woman, destructive love and hopeful endurance. * STYLIST *Soulful . . . Structured like a jam session, the novel favors a series of riffs over any one melodic theme. Warrell gives a supporting cast of women their own solos, through close-third-person chapters that detail their entanglements with the elusive Circus . . . Elegant, unexpected and wrenching as the "fierce" sounds that emerge from Circus's trumpet . . . Unforgettable. -- Lauren Christensen * NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW *[An] emerging literary superstar . . . Warrell writes a mean bad boy! This sensual and sensuous debut is a kaleidoscopic character study, a polyphonic riff on the modern-day Casanova from the perspectives of the myriad women in his wake. Both visceral and finely observed, the novel captures social nuance and emotional wreckage with precision and compassion. * OPRAH DAILY, 30 of the Best Fall Fiction Books of 2022 *Told in a rich array of voices, this gorgeously written debut explores the myriad syncopations of love and desire. Laura Warrell writes with an enormous understanding of human nature, a boundless sympathy for life's complications, and a keen eye for life's unexpected joys. * Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere *Beautifully and cleverly written, Laura Warrell's Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm is a stunner. The novel's tender, sensual, enchanting prose entices you into a world of deep longing and so much heartache. Still, I didn't want to leave it. A truly mesmerizing debut! * Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies *The most memorable novels of my life are boiling over with insatiably written secondary characters that crave their own books. The same can be said about our most jamming jazz quartets. This peculiar cacophony is exactly what we see in at least five characters in Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm. Koko, for example, is a once in lifetime, once in a galaxy character. Laura Warrell has crafted a world within the world with the achy mystery, wonder and subtexual bounce of the greatest jazz. Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm is a soulful, fleshy and absolutely stunning debut. Warrell will re-teach us how to wail, pause and reckon. I am thankful. * Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy *Jazz sets the tone in this tender debut from Laura Warrell . . . Through smoky bars and clubs, hotel rooms, and bedrooms in New York, Boston, and Miami, Warrell spins a big-hearted multicultural world that never ignores race but still allows each character to live their lives as they see fit. * APARTMENT THERAPY, If You’re Going to Read One Book in September, Make It This One *Moody, sexy, and (sometimes painfully) real. * PEOPLE, Best Fall Books of 2022 *A deeply engaging multifocal debut novel . . . [Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm] is built like a hastily assembled jazz ensemble, a group of players taking turns on a rough theme, gathering their solos into a rich, indelible composition, so much stronger than the sum of its parts. * LITERARY HUB *Circus Palmer, a 40-year-old jazz trumpet player, has spent a lifetime fleeing from romantic entanglements. Left in his wake are all the former wives, single mothers and other women he has avoided, including his teenage daughter, Koko. Warrell's engaging debut novel spotlights their stories, weaving together the lives of indelibly created characters as they struggle to forge and maintain intimate connections. * WASHINGTON POST *A buzzed-about debut that takes readers behind the scenes of jazz clubs and into the private lives of touring musicians. * BOSTON GLOBE *Soulful and gripping . . . In her debut novel, Warrell assembles a lush orchestra of female voices to sing a story about passion and risk, fathers and daughters and the missed opportunities of unrequited love. * THE MILLIONS *Jazz music is to be played sweet, soft, plenty rhythm,' proclaimed Jelly Roll Morton, and Warrell plays her exceptional first novel with plenty of rhythm and tenderness, delivered in brisk, mordantly gorgeous language that has its own natural flow. Each woman has her own life, her own story . . . and as in any good jazz piece these stories play off one another seamlessly. A highly recommended story of love and life that makes beautiful music. * LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review *An impressive debut novel weaves storylines of lost love, coming-of-age, and midlife crisis . . . Warrell displays delicately wrought characterization and a formidable command of physical and emotional detail. Her more intimate set pieces deliver sensual, erotic vibrations . . . she knows how to write about the way it feels to deliver jazz-and receive it. A captivating modern romance evoking love, loss, recovery, and redemption. * KIRKUS REVIEWS, Starred Review *Warrell unfurls in her engaging debut the story of a peripatetic trumpet player. . . [She] evocatively describes the women who inspire Circus's music and his lust . . . and finds the sadness deep in his heart. Warrell hits all the right notes. * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY *In an exceptional debut, Warrell turns love, or at least the love life of musician Circus Palmer into the proverbial jazz club: dark and sexy, freeing and frightening, ecstatic and lonely. This story is an example of how love, in all of its polyrhythms, can sometimes sound like song, and other times like noise. And this book is an example of how a great story can become a bass drum, kicking and thumping in your belly far after it's over. A modern masterpiece. * Jason Reynolds, author of Look Both Ways *Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm is a sultry and subversive debut. Laura Warrell's prose sparkles, but it's what she's got to say about sex and love and being a woman that will take your breath away. This book is a love song, and Warrell knows how to hold all the right notes. * Rachel Beanland, author of Florence Adler Swims Forever *Lyrical, sweeping, and life affirming, Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm is an astonishing debut that wraps you in the passionate pulse of its characters and their world, and doesn't let go until its pitch perfect final note. * Liska Jacobs, author of Catalina and The Pink Hotel *Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm kept me turning the pages to see what shenanigans the titular jazz musician pulled next, while also waiting to cheer the moment when the women in his life finally blocked his number. Laura Warrell has cooked up one of the most compelling, entertaining, and heartfelt reads in recent memory. * Chris Terry, author of Black Card *In Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, we meet trumpet player Circus Palmer, as problematic as he is enigmatic, as irresistible as your favourite song, and the women whom he seeks out, and walks away from, are just as compelling. Laura Warrell writes with such assurance and grace - her sentences sing - and she has created a world I didn't want to leave: it's sexy and profound, painful and joyful. A remarkable, unforgettable debut. * Edan Lepucki, author of California and Woman No. 17 *A book about desire and about love, about where these emotions meet and part and sometimes interlace in inescapable ways. But it is about so much more: these characters, for instance, painted by Warrell's uniquely masterful brush so that even in small moments they seem entirely whole, entirely alive. Sentence by sentence, this is a novel showing its author at the top of her game - a classic in the making. * Brian Castleberry, author of Nine Shiny Objects *Told in a rich array of voices, this gorgeously written debut explores the myriad syncopations of love and desire. Laura Warrell writes with an enormous understanding of human nature, a boundless sympathy for life's complications, and a keen eye for life's unexpected joys. * Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere *Beautifully and cleverly written, Laura Warrell's Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm is a stunner. The novel's tender, sensual, enchanting prose entices you into a world of deep longing and so much heartache. Still, I didn't want to leave it. A truly mesmerizing debut. * Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies *An exceptional debut...This story is an example of how love, in all of its polyrhythms, can sometimes sound like song, and other times like noise. And this book is an example of how a great story can become a bass drum, kicking and thumping in your belly far after it's over. * Jason Reynolds, author of Look Both Ways *
£15.29
City Lights Books This War Called Love Nine Stories
Book SynopsisFrom Mexico City to San Francisco''s Mission District, nothing comes easy—in life or in love. Here is an unstereotypical view of a world as treacherous as it is tender, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking. Authentic and honest, these nine stories focus on today’s Latino men, their strength and vulnerability, their fears and deepest desires.“Danger, cruelty, lust, loss, blood, death and dance. . . . Couldn’t put the book down. So hot I had to smother it in half and half. Murguía''s a master of hearts on fire, working his storytelling anvil late at night, in a wrecked cubicle of SF called La Mission. No doubt the hungriest fiction and the most ferocious collection in the last three decades.”—Juan Felipe Herrera, author of Border Crosser with a Lamborghini Dream“Alejandro Murguía has returned the short story to the people. Though some of his characters are down on their luck, the author has hit the literary
£11.39
City Lights Books Atomik Aztex
Book Synopsis In the alternate universe of this glitteringly surreal first novel, the Aztecs rule, having conquered the European invaders. Zenzontli, Keeper of the House of Darkness, is visited by visions of a parallel world run by the Europeans, where consumerism reigns supreme. Aztecs armed with automatic weapons, totemic powers and blood sacrifice conquer and colonize 1940s Europe, as ghosts of the world wars emerge to haunt contemporary Los Angeles. Atomik Aztex is a hilarious read. A potent concoction, with influences from graphic novels, along with Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo, the paranoia of Philip K. Dick and William Burroughs, and an outrageous cyber-Aztlán mix reminiscent of Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Sesshu Foster is the author of the critically acclaimed City Terrace Field Manual. Trade Review"… a graphic, hilarious and violent chronicle of multiple realities that could emerge … an amazing exercise of radical imagination."—Guillermo Gómez-Peña "… this is an ambitious, energetic, and fiercely intelligent novel."—Bookforum "A fine example of alternative fiction with a strong social theme; recommended for most collections."—Library Journal, January 2006 "Atomik Aztex is hip, bloody, occasionally baffling and often piercingly brilliant."—Cherie Parker, Minneapolis Star Tribune, December 15, 2005 "Hilarious, poignant, and at times devastating, Foster has crafted a fine … cocktail of sublime anarchy to toss into the machine."—Rubén Martínez, author of The New Americans: Seven Families Journey to Another Country "The prose is an electrifying, eclectic phantasmagoria of Groucho's marxism, dadada, surreal and naturalcombined with double-edged intellectual/historical hysteria."—Rick Harsh, author of the Driftless Trilogy "This is one mad neighborhood carnival roller coaster ride through Aztlán, the underground, the QT … Oddball, hilariousdeep."—Marisela Norte, author of East L.A. Days/Fellini Nights "A book so heedlessly imaginative it often seems ready to burst its pages like a comic-book POW."—Emily Barton, Bookforum, December 2005 "… puts his finger on a particular nexus of World War II-era racism, factory life and the landscape of Los Angeles"—The Los Angeles Times, January 2006 Atomik Aztex was chosen the Winner of The Believer Magazine Book Award 2005!!—The Believer Magazine, March 2006
£16.14
City Lights Books The Shadows of Berlin
Book Synopsis Shadows of Berlin is, in part, a bleak chronicle of life in Europe growing ever more hostile at the edge of World War II, part mythic parable. Bergelson’s stories—passionate, honest, dark and often hilarious—hint at the possibility of redemption even as they suggest a horror just around the corner. David Bergelson’s Berlin stories reveal a moment of incredible possibility in Jewish culture—a time when some of the greatest Yiddish writers of the day saw the German capital as a beacon for progressive, modernist creative artists. In the course of one brief sentence, Bergelson masterfully descends from the teeming Berliner streets into the depths of his characters’ souls. His prose sparkles with stylistic virtuosity, savage humor, and creates a seamless fusion of Western and Eastern European modernisms. – Robert Adler Peckerar, Director of Education, National Yiddish Book Center Despair peoples Bergelson''s
£11.39
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Hot Water Music
Book SynopsisWith his characteristic raw and minimalist style, Charles Bukowski takes us on a walk through his side of town in Hot Water Music. He gives us little vignettes of depravity and lasciviousness, bite sized pieces of what is both beautiful and grotesque.The stories in Hot Water Music dash around the worst parts of town - a motel room stinking of sick, a decrepit apartment housing a perpetually arguing couple, a bar tended by a skeleton - and depict the darkest parts of human existence. Bukowski talks simply and profoundly about the underbelly of the working class without raising judgement. In the way he writes about sex, relationships, writing, and inebriation, Bukowski sets the bar for irreverent art - his work inhabits the basest part of the mind and the most extreme absurdity of the everyday.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Bring Me Your Love
Book Synopsis“The Walt Whitman of Los Angeles.”—Joyce Carol Oates, bestselling author“He brought everybody down to earth, even the angels.”—Leonard Cohen, songwriterCharles Bukowski''s acerbic wit shines through in this dark short story about a cheating lover—accompanied by the illustrations of R. Crumb. Bring Me Your Love is must-have for every Bukowski collection.
£11.90
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Theres No Business
Book Synopsis
£9.75
Picador USA Tuff
Book SynopsisFrom Paul Beatty, the author of the Man Booker Prize winner The Sellout, comes Tuff, a novel as fast-paced and hard-edged as the Harlem streets it portrays.Age nineteen and weighing in at 320 pounds, Winston Tuffy Foshay is an East Harlem denizen who breaks jaws and shoots dogs and dreams of earning millions from his idea for Cap'n Crunch: The Movie, starring Danny DeVito. His best friend is a disabled Muslim who wants to rob banks, his guiding light is an ex-hippie Asian woman who worked for Malcolm X, and he married his wife, Yolanda, over the phone from jail.He's funny and fierce, frustrated and feared. And when Tuff decides to run for City Council, this dazzling novel goes from astoundingly funny to acerbically sublime. By turns profound and irreverent, and populated with a hilarious supporting cast, Paul Beatty''s Tuff is satire at its razor-sharp best.An extravagant, satirical cri de couer...Beatty's blunt, i
£13.60
Hodder & Stoughton Dead Heat
Book SynopsisThe gripping new gangland thriller from the Sunday Times bestseller and Queen of the Underworld, Jessie Keane.Once, he loved her. Now he''s going to put her away for murder.Christie Doyle is living the dream: she has a beautiful mansion on the South Downs with an infinity pool and stables, and her husband, Kenny, spoils her rotten. It''s her birthday and she is the centre of the most amazing party.And then the bombshell drops. Kenny confesses to an affair and asks for a divorce. Worse is to come when the ''other woman''- Lara, nineteen years old and pregnant with Kenny''s child - is found dead.Suspicion falls on Christie and the Doyles'' life is ripped apart as the police hunt for evidence: lead investigator DCI Dexter Cooper is a face from Christie''s own troubled past and he knows better than anyone what she is capable of.The race to unmask a killer is on...Trade ReviewA brilliant historical crime read * Bella *This thrilling and twisty crime novel is perfect for fans of Martina Cole * My Weekly *Mills & Boon meets Peaky Blinders in a mix of heaving bosoms and cut-throat razors * The Sun *A gritty and enlightening read * Yours *No one delves into the underworld like Keane! * Woman's Weekly *Authentically gritty! * Crime Monthly *Another charged gangland thriller from the bestselling author * Woman's Weekly *An epic drama starring an unforgettable heroine. Keane...has a wicked eye for the ruthless, fiercely factional criminal underworld and her books never fail to pack a powerful punch... Every story that Keane writes transports her readers into the heart of a terrifying but addictive underworld, and into the lives of people of every shade... And this cracking page-turner is certainly packed with Keane's trademark cast of larger-than-life characters - each superbly fleshed out and each inhabiting a world so palpably real that we can feel the menace... Brimming with drama, suspense, cruelty and the kind of gobsmacking violence that has made Keane one of the most powerful writers in contemporary crime fiction, this is full-on, eye-watering (of every kind!) entertainment from start to finish! * Lancashire Evening Post *
£15.29
Pan Macmillan Dangerous
Book SynopsisDangerous by Jessie Keane is a deadly story of London's criminal underworld, from the bestselling author of Nameless and the Annie Carter series.Whatever the cost, she would pay it . . . Fifteen-year-old Clara Dolan's world is blown apart following the death of her mother. Battling to keep what remains of her family together, Clara vows to protect her younger siblings, Bernadette and Henry, from danger, whatever the cost. With the arrival of the swinging Sixties, Clara finds herself swept up in London's dark underworld where the glamour of Soho's dazzling nightclubs sits in stark contrast to the terrifying gangland violence that threatens the new life she has worked so hard to build.Sinking further into an existence defined by murder and betrayal, Clara soon realizes that success often comes at a very high price . . .
£13.85
Pan Macmillan Stay Dead
Book SynopsisStay Dead is the heartstopping sixth book in Jessie Keane's gritty Annie Carter series. Annie Carter finally believes that life is good.She and Max are back together and she has a new and uncomplicated life sunning herself in Barbados. It's what she's always dreamed of.Then she gets the news that her old friend Dolly Farrell is dead, and suddenly she finds herself back in London and hunting down a murderer with only one thing on her mind . . . revenge.But the hunter can so quickly become the hunted, and Annie has been keeping too many secrets. She's crossed and bettered a lot of people over the years, but this time the enemy is a lot closer to home and she may just have met her match . . .Trade ReviewGritty and powerful, Martina Cole fans will love this addictive novel * Closer *A cracking story -- Mandasue Heller
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Run
Book SynopsisRun by Mandasue Heller is a gritty story of Manchester's criminal underworld.After being cheated on by her ex, Leanne Riley is trying her hardest to get her life back on track, which isn't easy without a job and living in a bedsit surrounded by a junkie and a mad woman.On a night out with her best friend she meets Jake, a face from her past who has changed beyond all recognition. Jake is charming, handsome and loaded, a far cry from the gawky teenager he used to be. Weary of men, Leanne isn't easy to please, but Jake tries his best to break through the wall she's built around herself.But good looks and money can hide a multitude of sins. Is that good-looking face just a mask? And what's more, what will it take to make it slip, and who will die in the process . . . ?'Heller doesn’t mince words, her gritty plots create a Manchester underworld to rival Martina Cole’s raw and rough East End' - PeTrade ReviewMandasue has played a real blinder with this fantastic novel -- Martina Cole on Forget Me NotCaptivating from first page to last -- Jeffery Deaver on Lost AngelThoroughly gripping * Guardian on Two-Faced *One of the bad girls of gritty crime, Heller has written a blinder * Daily Mirror *Heller doesn't mince words, her gritty plots create a Manchester underworld to rival Martina Cole's raw and rough East End * Evening Telegraph *A confident take on the serial murder genre * Irish News - Belfast *
£8.54
Pan Macmillan Brutal
Book SynopsisFrom the back streets of Manchester to the nightclubs and penthouses of the beautiful people, Mandasue Heller, author of the top ten bestseller Run, knows the world she writes. Born in Warrington, she moved to Manchester in the 1980s, where she found the inspiration for her novels. She spent ten years living in the infamous Hulme Crescents and was a professional singer for many years before turning her hand to writing.She has three children and three grandchildren, and still writes and records songs with her musician partner, Wingrove, between books.Trade ReviewA good read that is difficult to put down * Yorkshire Gazette *Heller doesn’t mince words, her gritty plots create a Manchester underworld to rival Martina Cole’s raw and rough East End * Peterborough Evening Telegraph *Praise for Forget Me Not: Mandasue has played a real blinder with this fantastic novel -- Martina ColePraise for Lost Angel: Captivating from first page to last -- Jeffery Deaver
£9.49
Open Road Media Choice of Straws
Book Synopsis In London, racial hatred leads to a mugging, a murder, and a mystery in a powerful novel of intolerance, loss, and self-discovery by the bestselling author of To Sir, With Love Identical twins Jack and Dave Bennett enjoy nothing better than a rowdy night out in London—listening to hot jazz, hoisting a few pints, flirting with girls . . . and then finishing off the evening by roughing up a stranger. But one night they ambush the wrong victim, a young black man who fights back. Suddenly bottles break and a knife is drawn, and when it’s over, Jack stumbles home alone—only to awaken the next morning to discover his brother’s bed empty and policemen at the door. The police are investigating a fatal car accident that left two people dead, their bodies burned beyond recognition. One of the dead was apparently the car’s owner, a young black doctor, but the only clue to the second corpse’s identity is a knife
£15.26
