Search results for ""MACMILLAN""

Shortlisted for the 2018 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.Follow the Dead is the thrilling twelfth book in Lin Anderson's forensic crime series featuring Rhona MacLeod.On holiday in the Scottish Highlands, forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod joins a mountain rescue team on Cairngorm summit, where a mysterious plane has crash-landed on the frozen Loch A’an. Added to that, a nearby climbing expedition has left three young people dead, with a fourth still missing. Meanwhile in Glasgow, DS McNab’s raid on the Delta Club produces far more than just a massive haul of cocaine. Questioning one of the underage girls found partying with the city’s elite reveals she was smuggled into Scotland via Norway, and it seems the crashed plane in the Cairngorms may be linked to the club. But before McNab can discover more, the girl is abducted.Joined by Norwegian detective Alvis Olsen, who harbours disturbing theories about how the two cases are connected with his homeland, Rhona searches for the missing link. What she uncovers is a dark underworld populated by ruthless people willing to do anything to ensure the investigation dies in the frozen wasteland of the Cairngorms . . .Follow Rhona MacLeod in more forensic thrillers with Sins of the Dead and Time for the Dead.

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From the top-ten bestselling author of Beneath a Frosty Moon, Rita Bradshaw, comes One Snowy Night, a sweeping family saga set between the two world wars in the north-east of England.It’s 1922 and the Depression is just beginning to rear its head in Britain, but Ruby Morgan is about to marry her childhood sweetheart and nothing can mar her happiness. Or so she thinks. An unimaginable betrayal by those she loves causes her to flee her home and family one snowy night. Crushed and heartbroken, Ruby vows that despite the odds stacked against her she will not only survive, but one day will show the ones she left behind that she’s succeeded in making something of herself. Brave words, but the reality is far from easy. Dangers Ruby could never have foreseen and more tragedy threaten her new life, and love always seems just out of reach. Can a happy ending ever be hers?

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From the top-ten bestselling author of One Snowy Night, Rita Bradshaw, comes The Storm Child, a sweeping family saga set during the run up to WW2 in the north-east of England.It’s mid-winter, and in the throes of a fierce blizzard Elsie Redfern and her husband discover an unknown girl in their hay barn about to give birth. After the young mother dies, Elsie takes the infant in and raises her as her own daughter, her precious storm child.Gina grows into a beautiful little girl, but her safe haven turns out to be anything but. Torn away from her home and family, the child finds herself in a nightmare from which there’s no waking, but despite her misery and bewilderment, Gina’s determined to survive.Years pass. With womanhood comes the Second World War, along with more heartbreak, grief and betrayal. Then, a new but dangerous love beckons; can Gina ever escape the dark legacy of the storm child?

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‘Ackroyd makes history accessible to the layman’ – Ian Thomson, Independent Innovation brings Peter Ackroyd’s History of England to a triumphant close. In it, Ackroyd takes readers from the end of the Boer War and the accession of Edward VII to the end of the twentieth century, when his great-granddaughter Elizabeth II had been on the throne for almost five decades. A century of enormous change, encompassing two world wars, four monarchs (Edward VII, George V, George VI and the Queen), the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the Labour Party, women’s suffrage, the birth of the NHS, the march of suburbia and the clearance of the slums. It was a period that saw the work of the Bloomsbury Group and T. S. Eliot, of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin, of the end of the post-war slump to the technicolour explosion of the 1960s, to free love and punk rock and from Thatcher to Blair. A vividly readable, richly peopled tour de force, it is Peter Ackroyd writing at his considerable best.

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Who Lives Here is a charming lift-the-flap story from the bestselling, record-breaking partnership of Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb.One little boy is very excited when he receives an invitation to go and play at his friend Dan's house. But there's just one problem, he doesn't know which house on South Street Dan lives in. Along the way he meets some very interesting neighbours, including a cook, a pirate and ghost. But which door does Dan live behind? A wonderful game of dressing-up awaits. Will he ever be able to find the right house?Written in Julia Donaldson's trademark rhyming style and with adorable illustrations packed full of details to spot from the award-winning Rebecca Cobb. This is a book to delight young children, and to read again, and again . . . and again!

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Sleep Tight, Billy Bear is a charming story from Miriam Moss, author of I Forgot to Say I Love You. With warm, classic style illustrations from Anna Currey, this is the perfect book to share at bedtime.Billy Bear has brushed his teeth, had a bath and put on his pyjamas. Tonight is Mum’s pottery class so her friend Lucy is looking after Billy. Lucy reads Billy a story and they sing songs together, but when it’s time for bed Billy just can’t sleep. What can be bothering him?Read more delightful Billy & Rabbit stories with Billy Bear and the New Baby and I Forgot to Say I Love You.

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'Enchanting to the point of escapism.' – Simon Ings, Spectator'Hugh Aldersey-Williams rescues his subject from Newton's shadow, where he was been unjustly confined for over three hundred years.' – Literary ReviewFilled with incident, discovery, and revelation, Dutch Light is a vivid account of Christiaan Huygens’s remarkable life and career, but it is also nothing less than the story of the birth of modern science as we know it. Europe’s greatest scientist during the latter half of the seventeenth century, Christiaan Huygens was a true polymath. A towering figure in the fields of astronomy, optics, mechanics, and mathematics, many of his innovations in methodology, optics and timekeeping remain in use to this day. Among his many achievements, he developed the theory of light travelling as a wave, invented the mechanism for the pendulum clock, and discovered the rings of Saturn – via a telescope that he had also invented.A man of fashion and culture, Christiaan came from a family of multi-talented individuals whose circle included not only leading figures of Dutch society, but also artists and philosophers such as Rembrandt, Locke and Descartes. The Huygens family and their contemporaries would become key actors in the Dutch Golden Age, a time of unprecedented intellectual expansion within the Netherlands. Set against a backdrop of worldwide religious and political turmoil, this febrile period was defined by danger, luxury and leisure, but also curiosity, purpose, and tremendous possibility.Following in Huygens’s footsteps as he navigates this era while shuttling opportunistically between countries and scientific disciplines, Hugh Aldersey-Williams builds a compelling case to reclaim Huygens from the margins of history and acknowledge him as one of our most important and influential scientific figures.

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The Hiding Game is an intoxicating story of love and betrayal, set in the Bauhaus art school. Heady, gripping and unforgettable, Naomi Wood's third novel explores the perils of secrecy in a changing and increasingly dangerous world.In Roaring Twenties Germany, Paul, Charlotte and Walter meet at the Bauhaus art school. The trio form a close-knit group, in which passions and rivalries collide. But when Walter is betrayed, he makes a terrible mistake – a secret he will keep from Paul and Charlotte for as long as he can.As political tensions escalate and the Nazis gain power, Walter’s secret – hidden in notebooks, paintings and blueprints – ultimately threatens the very lives of his friends, with devastating consequences.Shortlisted for The Historical Writers' Association Gold Crown Award.Longlisted for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

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The international bestseller.From the Sunday Times bestselling author Beezy Marsh, comes a moving true story of two women fighting to survive scandal, poverty and war.When Annie marries Harry after years of heartache in a London slum she believes she's found her happy ever after. But the horrors of the Blitz soon threaten everything they hold dear. The terrible sights Harry witnesses as an air raid warden bring back traumatic memories of his time during the First World War. Suddenly Annie finds herself struggling to cope not only with life in wartime and two little children, but also with a husband who seems like a stranger.Kitty has always been protective of her little brother Harry. Hiding the scandal about their father from the world was the only way to survive as they were growing up in Newcastle. But when she discovers Harry too has a shocking secret, she is torn. Meanwhile Annie wonders why Harry refuses to discuss his life before their marriage and why she has never met his sister. Will the truth ever come to light?From the bombed-out terraces of London to the docks of Newcastle, Her Father's Daughter is Beezy Marsh's moving and poignant true story about the unbreakable bonds of family, and the power of love to heal the worst wounds.

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Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-FictionLonglisted for the Orwell Prize for Political WritingThe Ministry of Truth charts the life of George Orwell's 1984, one of the most influential books of the twentieth century and a work that is ever more relevant in this tumultuous era of 'fake news' and 'alternative facts'. 'Fascinating . . . If you have even the slightest interest in Orwell or in the development of our culture, you should not miss this engrossing, enlightening book.' - John Carey, The Sunday TimesGeorge Orwell's 1984 has become a defining narrative of the modern world. Its cultural influence can be observed in some of the most notable creations of the past seventy years, from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale to the reality TV landmark Big Brother, while ideas such as 'thought police', 'doublethink', and 'Newspeak' are ingrained in our language.In the first book to fully examine the origin and legacy of Orwell's final masterpiece, Dorian Lynskey investigates the influences that came together in the writing of 1984 from Orwell's experiences in the Spanish Civil War and in wartime London to his fascination with utopian and dystopian fiction. Lynskey explores the phenomenon the novel became when it was first published in 1949 and the changing ways in which it has been read over the decades since, revealing how history can inform fiction and how fiction can influence history.'Everything you wanted to know about 1984 but were too busy misusing the word "Orwellian" to ask.' - Caitlin Moran

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A single book-length poem, The River in the Sky sees Clive James face up to his final moments of life with all the wisdom, lightly-worn erudition and good humour that defined his extraordinary career.Close to death for a number of years, Clive James wrote about the experience in a series of deeply moving poems. In this volume, we find him in ill health but high spirits. Though his body found him bound to his Cambridge home, his mind was free to roam. On a grand tour of 'the fragile treasures of his life', James is animated by powerful recollections. He presents a flowing stream of vivid images, moving from emotionally resonant personal moments, such as listening to jazz records with his future wife, to unforgettable encounters with all kinds of culture: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony sits alongside 'YouTube's vast cosmopolis'. James shares his passions with enormous generosity, making brilliant, original connections and fearlessly tackling the biggest questions: the meaning of life and how to live it. In the end, what emerges from this autobiographical epic is a soaring work of exceptional depth and feeling.'The River in the Sky is superb, an epic lament, written in late life, filled with exact and moving observations about life and culture' – New York TimesClive James (1939–2019) was a broadcaster, critic, poet, memoirist and novelist. His acclaimed poetry includes the collection Sentenced to Life and a translation of Dante's The Divine Comedy, both Sunday Times bestsellers. His passion for and knowledge of poetry are distilled in his book of criticism on the subject, Poetry Notebook, and, written in the last year of his life, his personal annotated anthology of favourite poems, The Fire Of Joy. Praise for Clive James:'He will be seen, I think, as one of the most important and influential writers of our time' – Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times'Wise, witty, terrifying, unflinching and extraordinarily alive' – A.S. Byatt, critic and author of Possession: A Romance'Clive James is a true poet' – Peter Porter, London Review of Books

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Journey to the clouds and back in Colt of the Clouds, the breathtaking second Winged Horse Race adventure from Kallie George, illustrated by Lucy Eldridge.Ever since Pippa and her beloved horse, Zephyr, were banished from the slopes of Mount Olympus, they’ve tried to adjust to living a normal life on the ground. But when Pippa rescues a winged colt, she knows she must take return him to the land of the gods and goddesses. Up on Olympus, however, disaster awaits. The gods and goddesses are at war, and all of the winged horses have disappeared.With the help of a new friend, Hero, Pippa takes on a task few mortals would dare: to find the winged horses and end the war. Join the winged horses in this fast-paced story of loyalty, friendship and bravery.

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The Wench is Dead is the eighth novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series featuring Inspector Morse.That night he dreamed in Technicolor. He saw the ochre-skinned, scantily clad siren in her black, arrowed stockings. And in Morse's muddled computer of a mind, that siren took the name of one Joanna Franks . . .The body of Joanna Franks was found at Duke's Cut on the Oxford Canal at about 5.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 22nd June 1859.At around 10.15 a.m. on a Saturday morning in 1989 the body of Chief Inspector Morse – though very much alive – was removed to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital. Treatment for a perforated ulcer was later pronounced successful.As Morse begins his recovery he comes across an account of the investigation and the trial that followed Joanna Franks' death . . . and becomes convinced that the two men hanged for her murder were innocent . . .The Wench is Dead is followed by the ninth Inspector Morse book, The Jewel That Was Ours.

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The Very Best of Paul Cookson brings together twenty-five years of poetry. It includes his favourite poems and his most thoughtful, uplifting and memorable poems. Includes Let No One Steal Your Dreams, Father's Hands, May You Always, Invisible Magicians, This is Our School and many more.

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'No banned foods, no recipes, no fads – psychologist and addiction expert Shahroo Izadi’s weight-loss book is all about changing the way you relate to what you eat.' – The TimesThis is the last diet you'll ever need. Transform your relationship with food and your body for good with The Last Diet from Behavioural Change Specialist, Shahroo Izadi.Shahroo Izadi presents the best approach to losing weight, without telling you what or how to eat. Shahroo goes deeper than traditional diet plans, using her professional experience working in addiction treatment and personal experience of struggling with her own weight and body image to help you find the best diet for your body and your life.She shares how the same evidence-based tools she used effectively with her clients in active addiction helped her to lose eight stone in weight, increase her self-esteem and help her manage a range of unwanted habits around food and negative talk. Shahroo introduces her revolutionary kindness method and highlights the importance of positive self-perception, showing how to embrace self-kindness and self-respect.The Last Diet helps you identify where your unhealthy habits come from, and how to accept them, change them and what to do when you slip up through self-tailored exercises to maintain your physical and mental wellbeing. Shahroo guides you through every step, helping you to draw out your own wisdom and find motivation for changing long-term habits and losing weight – for good.

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'How refreshing, to read a book about music written for a music lover and not a musicologist. In clear, lucid, entertaining prose, Jane Glover makes those of us who lack musical literacy better understand and appreciate Handel’s divinity.' - Donna Leon, author of Handel's Bestiary and the Inspector Brunetti mysteriesHandel in London tells the story of a young German composer who in 1712, followed his princely master to London and would remain there for the rest of his life. That master would become King George II and the composer was George Frideric Handel.Handel, then still only twenty-seven and largely self-taught, would be at the heart of musical activity in London for the next four decades, composing masterpiece after masterpiece, whether the glorious coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest, operas such as Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo and Alcina or the great oratorios, culminating, of course, in Messiah. Here, Jane Glover, who has conducted Handel’s work in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, draws on her profound understanding of music and musicians to tell Handel’s story. It is a story of music-making and musicianship, of practices and practicalities, but also of courts and cabals, of theatrical rivalries and of eighteenth-century society. It is also, of course, the story of some of the most remarkable music ever written, music that has been played and sung, and loved, in this country – and throughout the world – for three hundred years.

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Gods, demons, and even more dragons . . . Jenn Lyons' powerful epic fantasy continues in The Memory of Souls.The longer he lives, the more dangerous he becomes . . .The city of Atrine lies in ruins. And now Relos Var has revealed his plan to free the monstrous god, Vol Karoth, the end of the world is closer than ever.To buy time for humanity, Kihrin and his friends need to convince a king to perform an ancient ritual. The power released would imprison the god for an age to come. But this may come at too high a price for the King of the Vane, as the ritual would strip his people of their immortality. As a result, some will do anything to prevent this ritual – including assassinating those championing this solution.Worse, Kihrin must come to terms with a horrifying possibility. It seems his connection to Vol Karoth is growing in strength . . . but what does it mean? And how can Kihrin hope to save his world, when he might be the greatest threat of all?The Memory of Souls is the third book in the thrilling series, A Chorus of Dragons, which begins with The Ruin of Kings. Continue the action with The House of Always.'What an extraordinary book . . . everything epic fantasy should be: rich, cruel, gorgeous, brilliant, enthralling and deeply deeply satisfying. I loved it' – Lev Grossman on The Ruin of Kings'Delightful and entertaining . . . it’s a fast, pacey read' - Locus Magazine‘Lyons raises stakes to a fever pitch' - Publishers Weekly

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‘A richly researched food history, gentle memoir and left-field recipe book.’ i newspaper ‘A dazzling, thorny new essay collection.’ Samin Nosrat, New York Times ‘A beautiful, fascinating read full of surprises – a real pleasure.’ Claudia Roden ‘Inventive and charming . . . profound and deeply felt.’ Buzzfeed Inspired by twenty-six fruits, essayist, poet and pie lady Kate Lebo expertly blends the culinary, medical and personal. A is for Aronia, berry member of the apple family, clothes-stainer, superfruit with reputed healing power. D is for Durian, endowed with a dramatic rind and a shifty odour – peaches, old garlic. M is for Medlar, name-checked by Shakespeare for its crude shape, beloved by gardeners for its flowers. Q is for Quince, which, fresh, gives off the scent of ‘roses and citrus and rich women’s perfume’ but if eaten raw is so astringent it wicks the juice from one’s mouth. In this work of unique invention, these and other difficult fruits serve as the central ingredients of twenty-six lyrical essays (and recipes!) that range from deeply personal to botanical, from culinary to medical, from humorous to philosophical. The entries are associative, often poetic, taking unexpected turns and giving sideways insights into life, relationships, self-care, modern medicine and more. What if the primary way you show love is to bake, but your partner suffers from celiac disease? Why leave in the pits for Willa Cather’s Plum Jam? How can we rely on bodies as fragile as the fruits that nourish them? Lebo’s unquenchable curiosity leads us to intimate, sensuous, enlightening contemplations. The Book of Difficult Fruit is the very best of food writing: graceful, surprising and ecstatic. Includes black and white illustrations.

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‘A well-reported and researched history of the ways in which plucky economists helped rewrite policy in America and Europe and across emerging markets.’ The Economist ‘A highly readable, exhilaratingly detailed biographical account.’ Sunday Telegraph As the post-World War II economic boom began to falter in the late 1960s, a new breed of economists gained influence and power. Over time, their ideas reshaped the modern world, curbing governments, unleashing corporations and hastening globalization. Their fundamental belief? That governments should stop trying to manage the economy. Their guiding principle? That markets would deliver steady growth and broad prosperity. But the economists’ hour failed to deliver on its premise. The single-minded embrace of markets has come at the expense of economic equality, the health of liberal democracy and of future generations. Across the world, from both right and left, the assumptions of the once-dominant school of free-market economic thought are being challenged, as we count the costs as well as the gains of its influence. In The Economists’ Hour, acclaimed New York Times writer Binyamin Appelbaum provides both a reckoning with the past and a call for a different future. ‘A reminder of the power of ideas to shape the course of history.’ New Yorker

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The Dark Side is a powerful and unsettling novel of loss, motherhood and the innocence of childhood from the world’s favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel.Zoe Morgan was just ten years old when her life changed forever. Her sister, Rose, died of a rare illness, her parents turned into people she didn’t know, and Zoe’s lonely childhood drove her to excel in her studies.As a graduate of Yale, Zoe takes a leave of absence from medical school to work in a shelter for abused children in New York, where she meets well-known child advocacy attorney, Austin Roberts. Austin is bowled over by her beauty, brains and talent. He is her first love and the man she marries.Austin and Zoe have a perfect life and, after the birth of their longed-for daughter Jaime, Zoe knows that the aching void she had lived through for twenty-four years is finally complete. But it is only then that the true impact of Rose’s death all those years ago affects their lives in a way that nobody could ever have imagined.

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Come and meet some adorable characters in this special collection of Jenny Dale's Kitten Tales illustrated with black and white pictures.Felix the Fluffy Kitten certainly lives up to his name - his fluffy fur gets everywhere - even in the bath! Will Jodie's mum learn to deal with fluff?Nell the Naughty Kitten can't stop making mischief! On the farm where she lives she is always pestering the pigs and disturbing the ducks. Will she ever learn to be a real farm kitten?Meet Snuggles the Sleepy Kitten - he spends all his time snoozing! But in his dreams he's a fierce and brave hero, chasing mice and climbing trees. Will he ever find his real world as exciting as his dreams? When Star the Snowy Kitten is found by Michael it seems like the perfect fit - Michael has always wanted a kitten, and Star really wants a new home. But Michael's mum says he's not old enough to look after a kitten yet. Will he be able to keep Star?Featuring the cutest kittens around, these four feline adventures are sure to become firm favourites with any cat lover!

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With an introduction by award-winning novelist Colm TóibínOpening with a crime of passion after a years-long love affair has soured, The Dead Girls soon plunges into an investigation of something even darker: Serafina Baladro and her sister run a successful brothel business in a small town, so successful that they begin to expand. But when business starts to falter, life in the brothel turns ugly, and slowly, girls start disappearing . . . Based on real events, the story of serial-killing brothel owners Delfina and María de Jésus González, whose crimes were uncovered in 1964, The Dead Girls is a deliciously satirical black comedy - a potent blend of sex and mayhem. Written in the laconic tones of a police report, it cleverly uncovers the hopeless pedantry of a broken justice system, and the dark world of prostitution.

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Rising '44 is a brilliant narrative account of one of the most dramatic episodes in 20th century history, drawing on Davies' unique understanding of the issues and characters involved. In August 1944 Warsaw offered the Wehrmacht the last line of defence against the Red Army's march from Moscow to Berlin. When the Red Army reached the river Vistula, the people of Warsaw believed that liberation had come. The Resistance took to the streets in celebration, but the Soviets remained where they were, allowing the Wehrmacht time to regroup and Hitler to order that the city of Warsaw be razed to the ground. For 63 days the Resistance fought on in the cellars and the sewers. Defenceless citizens were slaughtered in their tens of thousands. One by one the City's monuments were reduced to rubble, watched by Soviet troops on the other bank of the river. The Allies expressed regret but decided that there was nothing to be done, Poland would not be allowed to be governed by Poles. The sacrifice was in vain and the Soviet tanks rolled in to the flattened city. It is a hugely dramatic story, vividly and authoritatively told by one of our greatest historians.

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Winner of the 2019 Somerset Maugham Award'A great galloping joy of a book - funny, lyrical, fast paced, heart-warming – a delicious celebration of love and life' – Rebecca Stott, author of In the Days of RainIn 1857, Elizabeth Gaskell set sail for Rome, a city that would prove to be a place of inspiration and love: she would make enduring friendships, and meet a man – Charles Norton – who would become the love of her life.In 2013, Nell Stevens is writing about Mrs Gaskell in Rome, and falling drastically in love with a man who lives in another city altogether. As Nell chases her heart around the world, and as Mrs Gaskell forms the greatest connection of her life, these two women, though centuries apart, are drawn together, and for Nell, Mrs Gaskell becomes more than a figure from the past. Here is a confidante, a friend, a woman who – living outside the conventions of her time – might have some wisdom to offer Nell.Mrs Gaskell and Me is about unrequited love and the romance of friendship, it is about forming a way of life outside the conventions of your time, and it offers Nell the opportunity – even as her own relationship falls apart – to give Mrs Gaskell the ending she deserved.

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'The best Scottish crime series since Rebus' Daily RecordThe sins of the dead are all consuming . . . While illegally street racing in the underground tunnels of Glasgow, four Harley-Davidson riders make a horrifying discovery: a dead man left in the darkness, hands together on his chest as if peacefully laid to rest. The cause of death is unclear, the only clues being a half glass of red wine and a partially eaten chunk of bread by his side that echo the ancient religious practice of sin-eating.Called to the scene, forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is perplexed by the lack of evidence. But when another body is found near her own flat, laid out in a similar manner, she fears a forensically aware killer stalks the city and is marking the victims with their unique signature. Even more worryingly, the killer appears to be using skills they may have learned while attending her forensic science lectures at Glasgow University.There are signs that Rhona is being targeted, that the killer is playing with her and the police, drawing them into a deadly race against time, before the sin-eater’s next victim is chosen . . .Sins of the Dead is the thrilling thirteenth book in Lin Anderson’s forensic crime series featuring Rhona MacLeod, followed by Time for the Dead.

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'One of the most successful MI5 undercover surveillance officers of his time.' - Sun'The brutal truth about the war against terror. Fast-paced and gripping.' - Ant Middleton The explosive book from ex-MI5 surveillance officer Tom Marcus takes the reader on a non-stop, adrenalin-fuelled ride as he hunts down those who would do our country harm. Tom spent years working covertly to stop those who want to do us harm. In his bestselling memoir Soldier Spy, he told how he was recruited and described some of his top-secret operations. In I Spy, he takes us deeper undercover as he puts his life on the line once more.I Spy plunges the reader straight into the action as Tom and his team race to prevent terrorists from causing carnage on our streets and outsmart Russian agents, blocking a daring plot that threatens the security of the nation. Relying on their quick wits, training and courage, the extraordinary men and women of MI5 are under intense pressure every day. Not everyone is suited for the work, and Tom shows how the incredibly tough challenges he faced growing up gave him the mental strength and skills to survive in a dangerous world.Gritty and eye-opening, this is a unique insight into a hidden war and the sacrifices made by those who fight it. You will never take your safety for granted again.

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The Break explodes into the gangland world of 90s Soho, by snooker world champion and national superstar, Ronnie O'Sullivan.It’s 1997 and Cool Britannia’s in full swing. Oasis and Blur are top of the pops and it feels like the whole country’s sorted out for E’s and wizz.But it’s not just UK plc that’s on a high. Life’s looking up for Frankie James too. He’s paid off his debts to London’s fiercest gang lord, Tommy Riley. His Soho Open snooker tournament is about to kick off at his club. The future looks bright.But then Frankie finds himself being blackmailed by a face from his past. They want him to steal something worth millions. It's enough to get him killed. Or banged up for life if he says no.Frankie’s going to need every ounce of luck and guile that he’s got if he’s going to pull off the heist of the century and get out of this in one piece.The Break is the third, fast-paced Soho Nights thriller, by snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

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Jackie Kay’s first collection as Scottish Makar is a book about the fighting spirit – one, the poet argues, that we need now more than ever. Bantam brings three generations into sharp focus – Kay’s own, her father’s, and his own father’s – to show us how the body holds its own story. Kay shows how old injuries can emerge years later; how we bear and absorb the loss of friends; how we celebrate and welcome new life; and how we how we embody our times, whether we want to or not. Bantam crosses borders, from Rannoch Moor to the Somme, from Brexit to Bronte country. Who are we? Who might we want to be? These are poems that sing of what connects us, and lament what divides us; poems that send daylight into the dark that threatens to overwhelm us – and could not be more necessary to the times in which we live.

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The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins is an edge-of-your-seat, nerve-wrangling thriller – full of breathtaking action and twists you'll never see coming.If you go down to the woods today . . . Two girls go backpacking in the woods. Things go very wrong.And, then, their paths collide with a serial killer . . .

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The Winner is a novel brimming with suspense-filled roller-coaster action from one of the world's master storytellers, David Baldacci.LuAnn Tyler is a single parent striving to escape a life of endless poverty. Then a mysterious Mr Jackson makes her an offer he thinks no one can refuse: a guarantee to be the winner of the $100 million lottery. But LuAnn won't do it.Less than twenty-four hours later, she is fighting for her life and running from a false murder charge. Jackson's offer – and its condition that she leave the country forever – seems her only hope.Ten years later, LuAnn secretly returns to the United States to begin a new life with Matthew Riggs, a man whose origins are as murky as her own. But a canny reporter has picked up her trail, as have the FBI – and Jackson. Matt Riggs is the only person who can help her. But is help what Matt intends or is he too closing in for the kill?

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Quo are the most successful band in British history after the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. From 1973 to the mid-80s they had a string of hits, including 'Down, Down', 'Rockin' All Over the World', 'Again and Again', 'What You're Proposing' - all classic rock anthems. When the band imploded, and the other members left, Rossi and Parfitt reinvented Quo for the 90s and kept going, touring constantly and winning new fans. The story of Status Quo is essentially the story of two people: Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. It is the story of two outwardly very different characters - Rossi, the moody insecure one, Parfitt, the smiling, permanantly at ease golden boy - who against the odds forged an unlikely yet enduring bond that would see them through the dizzying highs and terrifying lows of a forty-year career. Rossi and Parfitt admit that in the past they've hidden some of the truth about their lives, unable to admit how out of control things were even to themselves. Now they tell it all - the drug-taking, the marriage breakdowns, Parfitt's brush with death when he was forced to undergo by-pass surgery. From their early days as a sixties 'boy band' through the massive international success of the seventies to the present day, this is an explosive no-holds-barred autobiography from two of Britain's most enduring rock stars.

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‘Taylor has done us a great service in making the personal stories of what it was actually like to live through the most crucial year of the twentieth century vivid, compelling and salutary.’ - Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald MacleanIn the autumn of 1938, Europe believed in the promise of peace. Still reeling from the ravages of the Great War, its people were desperate to rebuild their lives in a newly safe and stable era. But only a year later, the fateful decisions of just a few men had again led Europe to war, a war that would have a profound and lasting impact on millions.Bestselling historian Frederick Taylor focuses on the day-to-day experiences of British and German people trapped in this disastrous chain of events and not, as is so often the case, the elite. Drawn from original sources, their voices, concerns and experiences reveal a marked disconnect between government and people; few ordinary citizens in either country wanted war.1939: A People’s History is not only a vivid account of that turbulent year but also an interrogation of our capacity to go to war again. In many ways it serves as a warning; an opportunity for us to learn from our history and a reminder that we must never take peace for granted.

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'Superb. Uncomfortable, ambiguous, erotic . . . first rate prose and an old-fashioned ability to tell a story.' Eimear McBride, author of A Girl Is A Half-formed ThingMaggie is entirely devoted to her husband Thomas, their two beautiful children, and to God.But then what begins as innocent letter writing with poet James starts to become something far more erotically charged, their meeting of minds threatening to become a meeting of bodies.As everything Maggie believes in is thrown into doubt the reader is drawn ever deeper into the battleground of her soul.Fire Sermon is a daring debut novel of obsession, desire and salvation that shows the radical light and dark of love itself. This is a visceral, rich and devastating portrait of life and loves lived and lost that cannot fail to echo in your own experience.

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A special edition of The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle reissued with a bright retro design to celebrate Pan’s 70th anniversary.In a rip-roaring journey of peril and adventure, four explorers find a lost prehistoric world in the remote wilds of South America. Huge pterodactyls rule the skies and the jungle beneath is home to lumbering stegosaurus, carnivorous dinosaurs and terrifying ape-men. If the adventurers can survive then fame and fortune almost certainly await them back in London, but in this dangerous land that defies all science and reason who knows what could happen.First published in 1912, this thrilling story by the creator of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson was the inspiration for Jurassic Park.

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From the multi award-winning creator of the modern classic Meerkat Mail, this gorgeous festive treat follows Sunny the meerkat as he travels the world in the search of the perfect Christmas.Sunny wants a white Christmas, with a decorated tree, carols and sprouts for dinner . . . none of which he can see at home in the Kalahari desert. So off he heads to find the perfect Christmas elsewhere, before realizing that maybe Christmas isn't all about the trimmings.Emily Gravett's witty and heartwarming celebration of festive fun and family love shows that Christmas can be whatever you want it to be.

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Shortlisted for the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal 2022.From the creator of modern classic Meerkat Mail, this warm, funny story about the dangers of having too much stuff, features a host of gorgeous animal characters including Pete the badger, star of Emily Gravett's award-winning book Tidy, which is set in the same forest. Meg and Ash are a pair of magpies who are building a nest for their perfect eggs. Although they begin their nest construction using the usual mud, sticks and grass, Meg and Ash are soon convinced that their nest doesn’t have enough stuff and begin to collect more things to add to an ever-growing pile. From cuckoo clocks to mops and socks, a pram and even a car – their need for stuff seems endless. Until – crash! – the inevitable happens.Emily Gravett's engaging, exquisitely illustrated story will appeal to fans of Tidy and of such classics as The Animals of Farthing Wood.

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'Intensely moving, vital and artful' - Guardian'A dizzying ride . . . both timely and beguiling' - Sunday TimesFrom the award-winning author of Crudo, this is an exhilarating and eminently readable study of the long struggle for bodily freedom – from gay rights and sexual liberation to feminism and the civil rights movement.Drawing on her own experiences in protest and travelling from Weimar Berlin to the prisons of McCarthy-era America, Laing grapples with some of the most significant and complicated figures of the past century, among them Nina Simone, Sigmund Freud, Susan Sontag and Malcolm X.At a time when basic rights are once again in danger, Everybody is a crucial examination of the forces arranged against freedom – and a celebration of how ordinary human bodies can resist oppression and reshape the world.Longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize.'An ambitious, absorbing achievement that will make your brain hum' – Evening Standard 'Sets her alongside the likes of Arundhati Roy, John Berger and James Baldwin' – Financial Times

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Dead Guilty by Michelle Davies is the captivating fourth novel in the critically acclaimed Maggie Neville crime series, following False Witness.Has the killer in DC Maggie Neville’s cold case returned after a decade of silence?Katy Pope was seventeen when she was brutally murdered on a family holiday in Majorca. Despite her mother’s high rank in the Met and the joint major investigation between the British and Spanish police, Katy’s killer was never caught.Ten years later, Katy’s family return to the Spanish island to launch a fresh appeal for information, taking with them the now skeletal team of investigating Met detectives, and newly seconded Maggie as the family liaison officer.But Maggie’s first international investigation quickly goes from being more than just a press conference when another British girl there on holiday goes missing, and Katy’s killer announces that it’s time for an encore . . .

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Captivating . . . Will appeal to fans of Room, The Lovely Bones and The Fault in Our Stars' – IndependentHeartstopping. Heartbreaking. Heartwarming.Compelling, compassionate and powerful, Rhiannon Navin's Only Child is the most heartfelt book you'll read this year.We all went to school that Tuesday like normal. Not all of us came home.When the unthinkable happens, six-year-old Zach is at school. Huddled in a cloakroom with his classmates and teacher, he is too young to understand that life will never be the same again.Afterwards, the once close-knit community is left reeling. Zach's dad retreats. His mum sets out to seek revenge. Zach, scared, lost and confused, disappears into his super-secret hideout to try to make sense of things. Nothing feels right – until he listens to his heart . . .But can he remind the grown-ups how to love again?Narrated by Zach, Only Child is full of heart; a real rollercoaster of a read that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.

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Mira Levenson is bursting with excitement as she flies to India to stay with her aunt and cousin for the first time. As soon as she lands Mira is hurled into the sweltering heat and a place full of new sights, sounds, and deeply buried family secrets . . . From the moment Mira meets Janu she feels an instant connection. He becomes her guide, showing her both the beauty and the chaos of Kolkata. Nothing is as she imagined it - and suddenly home feels a long way away.Before Mira leaves India she is determined to uncover the truth about her family, whatever it takes, and she must also make a decision that will break someone's heart.

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Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Fiction with a Sense of Place Award.Longlisted for the Jhalak Prize.'Remarkable . . . her characters glow with life and humour' Ian McEwan2003. Singapore. Friendless and fatherless, sixteen-year-old Szu lives in the shadow of her mother Amisa, once a beautiful actress and now a hack medium performing séances with her sister in a rusty house. When Szu meets the privileged, acid-tongued Circe, they develop an intense friendship which offers Szu an escape from her mother’s alarming solitariness, and Circe a step closer to the fascinating, unknowable Amisa.Seventeen years later, Circe is struggling through a divorce in fraught and ever-changing Singapore when a project comes up at work: a remake of the cult seventies horror film series ‘Ponti’, the very project that defined Amisa’s short-lived film career. Suddenly Circe is knocked off balance: by memories of the two women she once knew, by guilt, and by a past that threatens her conscience . . .Told from the perspectives of all three women, Ponti by Sharlene Teo is an exquisite story of friendship and memory spanning decades. Infused with mythology and modernity, with the rich sticky heat of Singapore, it is at once an astounding portrayal of the gaping loneliness of teenagehood, and a vivid exploration of how tragedy can make monsters of us.Shortlisted for Hearsts' Big Book Award 2018.

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This laugh-out-loud story about Gus the grumpy dog will tickle every dog-lover's funny bone. Gus doesn't like much of anything, not going walkies, not playing fetch, and especially not making new friends. So what will Gus do when a lively little puppy appears on the scene? Is grumpy Gus really a big old softie – maybe, or maybe not...Giggle away those grumps with This is Gus, a hilarious picture book written and illustrated by bestselling Chris Chatterton, about bad moods, friendship and learning to compromise. After all . . . we all have Gus days!

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Comforting, charming and hilarious, Yours Cheerfully is the tonic we've all been waiting for, from AJ Pearce, the beloved author of Dear Mrs Bird.‘Loved. Every. Word.' - Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in ChemistryLondon, 1941. For plucky, determined Emmy Lake, working at Woman's Friend magazine has become everything she dreamed. There's a break in the bombing at last and her best friend Bunty, injured during a raid on central London, is getting better. Now Emmy can get on and Do Her Bit.When the Ministry of Information calls on Woman's Friend to help recruit women to the war effort, Emmy is thrilled, but then she meets a young war widow working in a munitions factory and it becomes clear that she and her friends at the factory have a story of their own to tell. Suddenly Emmy must tackle a life-changing dilemma: should she carry out her duty to her country or stand by her new friends?'Buoyant . . . a tonic in testing times' – Mail on Sunday'A brilliant follow up to Dear Mrs Bird' – Clare Mackintosh'Absolutely lovely!' – Marian Keyes'Full of wit, friendship and the uplifting knowledge that when people come together, great changes can be made' – Katie Fforde

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Sophie Cameron's Out of the Blue is a story of love and acceptance and finding your place in this world, as angels drop out of another. When angels start falling from the sky, it seems like the world is ending. But for Jaya the world ended when her mother died, two weeks before the first angel fell.Smashing down to earth at extraordinary speeds, wings bent, faces contorted, not a single angel has survived and, as the world goes angel crazy, Jaya's father uproots the family to Edinburgh, intent on catching one alive. But Jaya can't stand his obsession and, struggling to make sense of her mother's sudden death and her own role on that fateful day, she's determined to stay out of it. Then something extraordinary happens: an angel lands right at Jaya’s feet, and it’s alive . . .Set against the backdrop of the frenzied Edinburgh festival, Out of the Blue tackles questions of grief and guilt and fear over who we really are.

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The phenomenal New York Times Number One bestseller about the unbreakable bond between a dog and their human. Now a major film starring Dennis Quaid.This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog's Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of eight-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures, Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.But this life as a family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders – will he ever find his purpose?Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, W. Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

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'That word, "vacation," makes me sweat.' Coco Chanel on taking a break'You must do it irregardless, or it will eat its way out of you.' Zora Neale Hurston on writing'One has to choose between the Life and the Project.' Susan Sontag on choosing artFrom Vanessa Bell and Charlotte Brontë to Nina Simone and Jane Campion, here are over one hundred and forty female writers, painters, musicians, sculptors, poets, choreographers, and filmmakers on how they create and work.Barbara Hepworth sculpted outdoors and Janet Frame wore earmuffs as she worked to block out noise. Kate Chopin wrote with her six children ‘swarming around her’ whereas the artist Rosa Bonheur filled her bedroom with the sixty birds that inspired her work. Louisa May Alcott wrote so vigorously – skipping sleep and meals – that she had to learn to write with her left hand to give her cramped right hand a break.From Isak Dinesen subsisting on oysters, champagne and amphetamines, to Isabel Allende's insistence that she begins each new book on 8 January, here are the working routines of over 140 brilliant female painters, composers, sculptors, writers, filmmakers and performers.Filled with details of the large and small choices these women made, Mason Currey's Daily Rituals Women at Work is a source of fascination and inspiration.'An admirably succinct portrait of some distinctly uncommon lives' - Meryle Secrest

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Take to the sky in the gripping thriller Mile High by bestselling author, Rebecca Chance.First class can be murder . . . Pure Air's new LuxeLiner is flying from London to LA – its inaugural journey – with a first-class cabin packed with A-list celebrities. As the feuding crew compete to impress their famous passengers, the handsome pilot tries to win the attention of a pretty young stewardess.But one VIP singer is battling something seriously sinister: watching her every step is a very determined stalker, someone who will go to any lengths to get the star to satisfy their desires. At thirty thousand feet there is nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide . . .

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Richard Meier’s first collection of poetry, Misadventure, won many admirers for its wry, wise and sharp-eyed insight into the minutiae of daily life. This, his second, Search Party, casts its net more widely – and looks at our experiences of being lost to others, as well as lost from ourselves. Many of the poems in this collection explore attempts to repair severed connections, or to forge links never properly established: from a father’s desperate search for his son missing at sea, to a child’s reaction to being denied a responsive gaze, and a footballer’s sublime (if optimistic) pass to a teammate – these poems address the nature of the distances between us. Most importantly, they also show the lengths to which we will go to ensure that these distances are closed, and that the most basic of our needs are met: to be seen, to be recognized – and ultimately, sought out and found by one another.

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