Search results for ""transworld publishers ltd""

5 October 1982. It's been one of the worst days of Detective Sergeant Jack Frost’s life. He has buried his wife Mary, and must now endure the wake, attended by all of Denton’s finest. All, that is, apart from DC Sue Clark, who spends the night pursuing a bogus tip-off, before being summoned to the discovery of a human hand. And things get worse. Local entrepreneur Harry Baskin is shot outside his club, an off-licence is set on fire and a famous painting goes missing. As the week goes on, a cyclist is found dead in suspicious circumstances, and the arsonist strikes again. Frost is on the case, but another disaster – one he is entirely unprepared for – is about to strike . . .

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Bear Grylls knows what it takes to survive. But he's not the first.Take the American bombardier Louis Zamperini, who survived 47 days stranded at sea by catching and killing hungry sharks and drinking the warm blood of albatrosses ? only to be captured by the Japanese and horrifically tortured for years in their most brutal POW camps...Or Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL who single-handedly took on a Taliban regiment before dragging his bleeding, bullet-ridden body for days through the harsh mountains of Afghanistan...Or Nando Parrado, one of the survivors of a horrific air-crash high in the ice-bound Andes, who only lived because he was willing to eat the flesh of his dead companions...In this gripping new book, Bear tells the stories of the adventurers, explorers, soldiers and spies whose refusal to quit in the most extreme situations has inspired him throughout his life. Some of them make uncomfortable reading - survival is rarely pretty. But all of them are tales of eye-watering bravery, death-defying resilience and extraordinary mental toughness by men and women who have one thing in common: true grit.What readers are saying about True Grit:***** 'Exhilarating . . . It kept me gripped throughout.'***** 'Inspirational stories of survival and endurance . . . kept me interested till the end.'***** 'To keep going, to keep hopeful, to never quit these are lessons in life that all of us need to hear.'

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There is a secret hidden within a body, burning within the flames, that will change history forever.2014: In the French city of Orléans, a man’s charred corpse is found in a burned-out hotel, stripped of all ID. Police captain Inès Picaut must hunt down his killer before others fall prey to the fire. She has only one clue: the name of a woman who has been dead for over five hundred years.1429: Joan of Arc is taking the war to the English. They want her dead but the only way to reach her is through a fiercely loyal inner circle - until undercover spy Tomas Rustbeard finally earns her trust…The myths of the past hold the key to the mystery of the present, but how many must die before the truth is laid bare?

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‘Terry Pratchett will remain an enduring, endearing presence in comic literature’ Guardian The Discworld is very much like our own – if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . .In this life there are givers and takers. It's safe to say that vampires are very much in the latter camp. They don’t have much time for the givers of this world – except perhaps at mealtimes . . . Welcome to Lancre, where the newest residents are a thoroughly modern, sophisticated vampire family. They've got style and fancy waistcoats. They're out of the casket and want a bite of the future.Everyone knows you don't invite vampires into your house – unless you want permanent guests – nonetheless the King of Lancre has invited them to stay and celebrate the birth of his daughter. Now, these vampires have no intention of leaving . . . ever.But they haven’t met the neighbours yet. Between the vampires and their next meal stand the witches of Lancre: Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Magrat and young Agnes. As the residents of Lancre living are about to discover, it will take more than garlic and crucifixes to take back their home._____________The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Carpe Jugulum is the sixth book in the Witches series.

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Perfect for fans of Game of Thrones, Joe Abercrombie and Robin Hobb, a stunningly imagined and thrilling epic fantasy from bestselling author Stella Gemmell. 'One of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time - and I read a lot . . . utterly compelling . . . an awesome example of the genre' SF BOOK REVIEWS'An astonishing book . . . Easily the best fantasy novel I've read in the last decade' JAMES BARCLAY 'Vast, immersive and accomplished' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY'Superbly executed . . . I found myself absolutely hooked' THE ELOQUENT PAGE'Grips you from the first page' ***** Reader review'This ticked all the boxes for me' ***** Reader review'Such a great read, she has very much her own style of writing and I loved it' ***** Reader review************************************THEIR HOPES REST ON ONE MAN . . . EVEN THOUGH HE IS BELIEVED TO BE DEAD. The City, ancient and vast, has been waging almost constant war for centuries. At its heart resides the Emperor. Few have ever seen him. Those who have recall a man in his prime and yet he should be very old. Some wonder if he's no longer human; other question whether he ever truly was.A group of rebels have come to a desperate conclusion: the only way to halt the ceaseless slaughter is to end the emperor's unnaturally long life.From the crumbling catacombs beneath the City, where the poor struggle to stay alive, to the blood-soaked fields of battle where so few heroes survive, the rebels emerge. Their hopes rest on one man. A man who was once the Emperor's foremost general, a revered soldier who could lead an uprising and unite the City. A man who was betrayed, imprisoned, tortured and is now believed to be dead . . . The story continues in The Immortal Throne...

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Sergeant Andy McNab recounts the story of the top secret mission that would reveal the secrets of the SAS to the world for the first time.Their location: IraqTheir mission: to sever a vital enemy underground communication link, to find and destroy mobile Scud launchersTheir call sign: Bravo Two ZeroWhen eight members of the elite SAS regiment embark on a highly covert operation, they are each laden with 15 stones of equipment, needing to tab 20km across the desert to reach their objective. But within days, their location is compromised. They engage in a fierce battle. They escape on foot to the Syrian border. Three men die. One escapes.But four men are captured. For them, the worst is yet to come. Delivered to Baghdad, they are tortured with a savagery for which not even their intensive SAS training has prepared them…This is a story of superhuman courage, strength, endurance and dark humour in the face of overwhelming odds. It shows just how much it takes to be a member of the SAS._____________________________________________‘The best account yet of the SAS in action’ Sunday Times‘One of the best books to emerge from the first Gulf War … Magnificent’ Independent on Sunday

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Adolf Hitler despised cricket, considering it un-German and decadent. And Berlin in 1937 was not a time to be going against the Fuhrer’s wishes. But hot on the heels of the 1936 Olympics, an enterprising cricket fanatic of enormous bravery, Felix Menzel, somehow persuaded his Nazi leaders to invite an English team to play his motley band of part-timers.That team was the Gentlemen of Worcestershire, an ill-matched group of mavericks, minor nobility, ex-county cricketers, rich businessmen and callow schoolboys – led by former Worcestershire CC skipper Major Maurice Jewell. Ordered ‘not to lose’ by the MCC, Jewell and his men entered the 'Garden of Beasts' to play two unofficial Test matches against Germany. Against a backdrop of repression, brutality and sporadic gunfire, the Gents battled searing August heat, matting pitches, the skill and cunning of Menzel, and opponents who didn't always adhere to the laws and spirit of the game. The tour culminated in a match at the very stadium which a year before had witnessed one of sport's greatest spectacles and a sinister public display of Nazi might. Despite the shadow cast by the cataclysmic conflict that was shortly to engulf them, Dan Waddell's vivid and detailed account of the Gentlemen of Worcestershire's 1937 Berlin tour is a story of triumph: of civility over barbarity, of passion over indifference and hope over despair.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA fascinating and hilarious glimpse into Paul's life at home in the country with his animalsPaul O'Grady's Country Life for the first time gives a glimpse into the home life of one of Britain’s best loved stars, alongside the animals he adores. Sometimes rural idyll, sometimes hell on earth, Paul’s life in rural Kent has been shared over the years with some very vocal pigs, a mad cow, various rescued barn owls, the world’s most sadistic geese and Christine the psychotic sheep – among many other animal waifs and strays. And of course Paul tells the stories of the dogs in his life – including the tiny chihuahua/Jack Russell cross with Napoleonic ambitions, Eddie, Miss Olga, Bullseye, Louis, Boycie and, of course, Buster, the greatest canine star since Lassie. In addition, Paul shares some of his favourite recipes, explores country lore and superstitions, and extols the benefits of growing your own vegetables, herbs and fruit.This is a warts-and-all account of country living, as far removed from the bright lights of celebrity as you could ever imagine. The trials and tribulations Paul experienced on moving to deepest darkest Kent as a dyed-in-the-wool city dweller are every bit as hilarious and eventful as you would think. He had a lot of new skills to learn, and fast: everything from how to churn your own butter and how to birth a lamb to the best way to lure a cow out of your kitchen while naked from the waist down.Brilliantly funny and full of classic stories, Paul O’Grady’s Country Life is your armchair guide to the wonders and horrors of rural existence.

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'Imaginative, sense-of-wonder at its best . . . thrilling stuff from the masters' Independent on Sunday2040-2045: In the years after a cataclysmic eruption there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all involved in this perilous work when, out of the blue, Sally is contacted by her long-vanished father and inventor of the original Stepper device, Willis Linsay. He tells her he is planning a fantastic voyage across the Long Mars and wants her to accompany him. But he is not what he seems.For Joshua, the crisis he faces is much closer to home. He becomes embroiled in the plight of the Next: the super-bright post-humans who are beginning to emerge from their 'long childhood' in a hidden community located deep in the Long Earth. Ignorance and fear are causing 'normal' human society to turn against the Next - and a dramatic showdown seems inevitable . . .___________________The Long Mars is the third in The Long Earth series.

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‘As bright and shiny as a newly minted coin; clever, engaging and laugh-out-loud funny’ The TimesThe Discworld is very much like our own – if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . .Whoever said you can't fool an honest man wasn't one. The Royal Bank is facing a crisis, and it’s time for a change of management. There are a few problems that may arise with the job . . . The Chief Cashier is almost certainly a vampire – there's something nameless in the cellar and it turns out that the Royal Mint runs at a loss. Meanwhile, people actually want to know where the money’s gone. It's a job for life.But, as former con-man Moist von Lipwig is learning, that life is not necessarily a long one.He’s about to be exposed as a fraud, but if he’s lucky the Assassins’ Guild might get him first. In fact, a lot of people want him dead. Everywhere he looks he's making enemies.Oh. And every day he has to take the Chairman for walkies. ____________________The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Making Money is the second book in the Moist von Lipwig series.

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1860. Harriet Miles is trying to take care of her seriously ill mother, and just when she thinks things couldn’t get any worse she is fired from her job at the hostelry. The last thing she expects after her mother dies is a marriage proposal from a man she barely knows, but her only alternative is the workhouse. And so begins her new life with Noah Tuke. But instead of marital bliss, Harriet finds herself in the cramped farmhouse which Noah calls home, and in this overcrowded and angry household she meets with hostility and bitterness. The only person who offers her friendship is Noah’s brother, Fletcher. Gradually she learns the true reasons behind Noah’s desire to marry her – and realises that the only person she finds real companionship with is the person she can’t possibly be with . . .If you enjoy books by Katie Flynn and Dilly Court, you'll love Val's heartwarming stories of triumph over adversity.

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'This is one of Pratchett's best books. Hilarious and highly recommended' The TimesThe Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . ._________________'It was the usual Ankh-Morpork mob in times of crisis; half of them were here to complain, a quarter of them were here to watch the other half, and the remainder were here to rob, importune or sell hotdogs to the rest.'Insurrection is in the air in the city of Ankh-Morpork. The Haves and Have-Nots are about to fall out all over again.Captain Sam Vimes of the city's ramshackle Night Watch is used to this. It's enough to drive a man to drink. Well, to drink more. But this time, something is different - the Have-Nots have found the key to a dormant, lethal weapon that even they don't fully understand, and they're about to unleash a campaign of terror on the city.Time for Captain Vimes to sober up.

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It starts on a summer evening, with the kind of magic found only in Paris. Once a year in the City of Light, a lavish dinner takes place outside a spectacular landmark. Selected by secret invitation, the guests arrive dressed in white, and when the night is over, hundreds of white paper lanterns bearing everyone’s fervent wishes are released into the sky. Amid this wondrous White Dinner, a group of close friends stand at the cusp of change.Jean-Philippe and Valerie are high-flying, successful and devoted to their young family. But a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in China may lead to separation – and temptation.Bernadetta and Gregorio run an Italian clothing empire in Milan, but Gregorio has a weakness that will ignite a crisis in their company, and their marriage.Screenwriter Chantal and Indian tech entrepreneur Dharam arrive as friends, but their paths will be set on dramatically different courses before the night ends.A transformative year of successes and heartbreaks is to come, until the next White Dinner . . .Danielle Steel is famous for her inspirational stories about family, love and life. Her novels will be enjoyed by readers of Penny Vincenzi, Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain.

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'One taste, and you'll scour bookstores for more' Daily MailThe Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . . 'Death has to happen. That’s what bein' alive is all about. You're alive, and then you're dead. It can't just stop happening.'But it can. And it has. Death is missing – presumed gone. Which leads to the kind of chaos you always get when an important public service is withdrawn. If Death doesn't come for you, then what are you supposed to do in the meantime? You can't have the undead wandering about like lost souls - there's no telling what might happen!Particularly when they discover that life really is only for the living . . . ___________________The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Reaper Man is the second book in the Death series.

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Some secrets are best kept hidden...Nick Paleologus is summoned to resolve a dispute that threatens to tear his family apart. His father, Michael, is a retired archaeologist and supposed descendant of the last Emperors of Byzantium. Michael has received a hugely generous offer for the family home in Cornwall, but refuses to sell - and refuses to divulge why. But soon the stalemate between Nick's siblings and their father is tragically broken. And only then do they discover why their father was bound to protect the house at all costs. Their desperate efforts to conceal the truth drag them into a deadly conflict with an unseen and unknown enemy. Soon, Nick realises the only chance they have of escaping from their persecutor's trap is to hunt this ruthless adversary down. But the hunt involves excavating a terrible secret from their father's past. And once that secret is known, nothing will ever be the same again.

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For actor Toby Flood, Brighton is the final week of a long tour. One night he is visited at the theatre by his estranged wife, Jenny, who, visibly scared, thinks she is being stalked. She asks Toby, for old times' sake, to find out what is going on.Alarmingly he discovers a sinister connection with Jenny's new partner. Spurred on by a desire to win Jenny back, Toby begins to ask some difficult questions. Before he fully understands the risks he is running, he finds himself caught up in a mysterious - and dangerous - tangle of family rivalries and murderous intent. Suddenly the prospects for his survival start to look very far from good...

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Tristram Abberley was an acclaimed English poet of the 1930s whose legendary reputation was sealed when he died fighting for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. Nearly fifty years later, his sister Beatrix is brutally murdered in her seaside cottage. Her family are stunned by the crime - especially Beatrix's niece, Charlotte Ladram. But Charlotte has little time to mourn her aunt as fifty years of secrets begin to unravel. Beatrix is the victim of a dark conspiracy, one that her loved ones are powerless to defeat. A harrowing quest for answers begins, one that uncovers a shocking tale of wartime greed and treachery, and a vendetta seemingly without end...

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1931. The new, luxurious transatlantic liner Empress of Britain is on her eastward passage. Among the first-class passengers on board are two English confidence tricksters, making a discreet exit from a scam they have left behind them in the United States. A chance meting on deck brings them a tempting new target in the shape of the beautiful and wealthy heiress, Diana Charnwood.It's a trick they've pulled before, with some success. Charm the daughter into an engagement to marry, then get the father to buy you off. So confident are they of success, in fact, that they make a pact: whichever of them wins Diana Charnwood's love will share his fortune with the other. But a violent death is to interrupt their neat little scheme. And they find themselves stumbling into something much darker than either had suspected...

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Agent Nick Stone expects his latest mission to be a straightforward part of the fight against Osama Bin Laden's network of terror. Despatched to Malaysia, all he needs to do is assassinate a suspicious biochemist. But there are complications. Not least the attractive woman he is working alongside.Target neutralised, Stone returns to the USA to find turmoil in his personal life. He is guardian to a teenage girl who is haunted by her traumatic past and attempting to numb it with a heavy drug dependency. Stone knows he is the only one who can help her but her scars run deeper than he thinks.Before long, the conspiracy he has uncovered unravels to reveal a doomsday threat against the populations of New York, London and Berlin. And Stone faces the ultimate trade-off: the life of someone he loves, against those of millions he doesn't even know...

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An unputdownable, edge-of-your-seat thriller full of twists and turns from Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick - the UK's answer to Harlan Coben. Guaranteed to keep you gripped. Perfect for fans of David Baldacci, Stuart MacBride and Peter James.'Simon Kernick writes great plots, great characters, great action' -- Lee Child'Simon Kernick writes with his foot pressed hard on the pedal. Hang on tight!' -- Harlan Coben'Simon Kernick uses every trick in the book to keep the action breakneck' -- Time Out'Highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review'What an amazing read, it had me hooked!' -- ***** Reader review'From the first page to the last this story keeps you on the edge' -- ***** Reader review'Thriller writing at its best' -- ***** Reader review'Kept me engrossed all the way through' -- ***** Reader review*******************************************************************************************ONE NIGHT STAND. ONE DEAD GIRL.You wake up in a strange room on a bed covered in blood.You have no idea how you got there.Beside you is a dead girl. Your girlfriend.The phone rings, and a voice tells you to press play on the room's DVD machine.The film shows you killing your girlfriend. Then you're told to go to an address in East London where you're to deliver a briefcase and await further instructions.There's no way out.If you're to survive the next 24 hours, you must find out who killed your girlfriend, and why. Before they come for you too...

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Spring, 1648.When Thomas Hill, a bookseller living in rural Hampshire, publishes a political pamphlet he has little idea of the trouble that will follow. He is quickly arrested, forced on a boat to Barbados and condemned to life as a slave to two of the island’s most notoriously violent brothers.In England war has erupted again, with London under threat of attack. When news of the king’s execution reaches the island, political stability is threatened and a fleet commanded by Sir George Ayscue arrives to take control of the island for Cromwell. The threat of violence increases. Thomas finds himself witness to abuse, poison, rape and savage brutality. When a coded message from Ayscue to a sympathiser on the island is intercepted, Thomas is asked to decipher it. A disastrous battle seems inevitable.But nothing turns out as planned. And as the death toll mounts, the escape Thomas has been relying on seems ever more unlikely…

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Ex-special forces soldier Nick Stone is recuperating in Switzerland. His latest mission cost the life of one of his closest friends. And the woman he went to bed with last night has left without saying goodbye. When she fails to reappear, Stone begins his quest to find her. Once in Africa and in the heart of a very dirty Congo war, it isn't long before the past comes knocking on the door. One bloody twist leads to another and Stone finds himself catapulted into the dark, brutal world he thought he's managed to leave behind.

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1882. When the creak of the garden gate one autumn afternoon sounds the arrival of an unexpected stranger, William Trenchard is puzzled, but not alarmed. He cannot possibly know the destruction this visitor will wreak on all he holds dear. The stranger is James Norton, who claims to be the man William's wife Constance was once engaged to, and who was reported to have committed suicide eleven years ago. Trenchard fears the loss of his wife's affections, but he is forced to plumb the depths of his own despair before the dark secrets of the Davenall family can finally - shockingly - be revealed...

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In the brave new Japan of the 1870s, Taka and Nobu meet as children and fall in love; but their relationship will test the limits of society.Unified after a bitter civil war, Japan is rapidly turning into a modern country with rickshaws, railways and schools for girls. Commoners can marry their children into any class, and the old hatred between north and south is over - or so it seems. Taka is from the powerful southern Satsuma clan which now dominates the country, and her father, General Kitaoka, is a leader of the new government. Nobu, however, is from the northern Aizu clan, massacred by the Satsuma in the civil war. Defeated and reduced to poverty, his family has sworn revenge on the Satsuma. Taka and Nobu's love is unacceptable to both their families and must be kept secret, but what they cannot foresee is how quickly the tables will turn. Many southern samurai become disillusioned with the new regime, which has deprived them of their swords, status and honour. Taka's father abruptly leaves Tokyo and returns to the southern island of Kyushu, where trouble is brewing. When he and his clansmen rise in rebellion, the government sends its newly-created army to put them down. Nobu and his brothers have joined this army, and his brothers now see their chance of revenge on the Satsuma. But Nobu will have to fight and maybe kill Taka's father and brother, while Taka now has to make a terrible choice - between her family and the man she loves ...

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As the 1982 school year begins, Jack Sheffield returns to Ragley village school for his sixth year as headteacher. Nora Pratt celebrates twenty-five years in her coffee shop, Ronnie Smith finally tries to get a job, and little Krystal Entwhistle causes concern in the school Nativity play. It's the time of ET and Greenham Common,. Price William's birth, Fame legwarmers and the puzzling introduction of the 20p piece. Meanwhile, for Jack, the biggest surprise of his life is in store...

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The Sunday Times BestsellerWhen Swiss-born Hugues Martin sees a small, run-down hotel in New York for the rough diamond it is, he transforms it into a beautiful boutique hotel of impeccable elegance, run with the precision and attention to detail he learned through his hotelier training in Europe.Renowned for its unparalleled service, the Hotel Vendôme soon becomes the ideal New York refuge for the rich and famous, as well as a perfect home for Hugues’ beautiful wife and their young daughter. But when his wife tires of his obsession for the hotel, she walks out on him for a notorious rock star, leaving Hugues a single parent to four-year-old Heloise.Heloise and her family live happily amid a colourful, exciting and sometimes mysterious milieu of celebrities, socialites, politicians, world travellers and hotel employees – and their inevitable intrigues.As unexpected challenges arise, the hotel is the centre of their world. And when Heloise grows us, she longs to follow in her father’s footsteps and one day run the Hotel Vendôme. The lessons she learned at his side will carry her through it all, in a story no reader will forget.

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No player has been more synonymous with the glory years of Manchester United Football Club over the past two decades than right-back Gary Neville. An Old Trafford regular since he attended his first match at the age of six, captain of the brilliant 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning team that became known as 'Fergie's Fledglings', outspoken representative of MUFC, Neville is the ultimate one-club man. He has been at the heart of it all and, at the end of an amazing career, is now ready to tell it all.Authoritative, insightful, fearless and never less than 100% honest, no-one has better credentials for documenting the story of United under Sir Alex Ferguson. Neville reveals the behind-the-scenes secrets of his early days with the likes of Giggs, Scholes and his best mate David Beckham; what it was like to play with Cantona, Keane and Ronaldo; the Treble in 1999; and of course an entire career of playing for the greatest manager in the game.Then there are all his experiences with England, from being the youngest starter at Euro 96 when football came home, to the ups and downs of five major championships and seven managers - Venables, Hoddle, Wilkinson, Keegan, Eriksson, McClaren and Capello. There are opinions and analysis on Gazza, Rooney, WAGs and the true story of the FA and Rio Ferdinand.For twenty glorious years, Gary Neville has worn his heart on his sleeve. This is his story.

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'Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don't let you go around again until you get it right'People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it's only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea? You could spend the time left drowning your sorrows, giving away all your possessions in preparation for the rapture, or laughing it off as (hopefully) just another hoax.Or you could just try to do something about it.

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Fans of Lisa Jewell, Cara Hunter and Karin Slaughter will devour this menacingly dark and disturbing thriller with an unnatural twist from bestselling author Sharon Bolton. Guaranteed to entrance and get right under the skin...'Spine-tingling suspense!' -- LISA GARDNER'A killer twist' -- Financial Times'Bolton knows precisely how to ratchet up the tension and tell a cracking story' --Guardian'Frisson-generating... dark, psychological crime' -- Independent'Brilliant and captivating' -- ***** Reader review'Addictive...you can't put it down!' -- ***** Reader review'A galloping tale of mystery and tension' -- ***** Reader review'Amazing book, had me on the edge of my seat' -- ***** Reader review*************************************************************************************SHE'S BEEN WATCHING US FOR SOME TIME NOW...Sometimes I wish that she'd just leave me in peace . . .Psychologist Evi has taken on a new patient: a grieving mother who lost her daughter in a fire two years ago - but who is convinced her little girl is still alive.Meanwhile, the new vicar in town is not feeling welcome. Disturbing events seem designed to scare him away.And all the while, a young boy keeps seeing a solitary girl playing among the graves in the churchyard.But who is she, and what is she trying to tell him?

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Harvard professor Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call while on business in Paris: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, begin to sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci - and suggests the answer to a mystery that stretches deep into the vault of history.Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle, a stunning historical truth will be lost forever...Origin, the spellbinding new Robert Langdon thriller from Dan Brown, is out now

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Generation Kill is about the young men sent to fight their nation's first open-ended war since Vietnam. Despite the flurry of media images to come of the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, you have never really met any of these people, who serve as front-line troops. For whatever reason, the media simply doesn't get them. As we all know, news accounts of the last two wars focused almost exclusively on battlefield imagery of high-tech weapons wreaking astounding destruction, comply with analysis from retired army grandees and other experts, punctuated by the odd heart-warming patriotic sound-bite. The troops themselves play a role in the media's presentation of recent wars rather like extras in The Triumph of the Will. They are everywhere yet somehow invisible. When they speak you get the sense that what they are saying has been carefully scripted. Now Generation Kill tells the soldiers' story in their own words.The narrative focuses on a platoon of 23 marines, many of them veterans of Afghanistan, whose elite reconnaissance unit spearheaded the blitzkrieg on Iraq. This is the story of young men that have been trained to become ruthless killers. It's about surviving death. It's about taking part in a war many questioned before it even began.Evan Wright was the only reporter with First Recon, which operated well ahead of most other forces, usually behind enemy lines. They were among the first marines sent into the fight and one of the last units still engaged on the outskirts of Iraq, even after the city centre fell. Generation Kill is not just a combat chronicle but an inside look at how people fighting in war actually experience it. It is both an action narrative like Black Hawk Down and a detailed portrait of a generation at war along the lines of Band of Brothers. It is not a book you are going to forget in a hurry...

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ONE MANWhen the beautiful twenty-year-old daughter of a Moldovan businessman goes missing from her university, British Intelligence are unusually interested in her safe return. They will do anything in their power to track her down. ONE MISSIONOnly one man is skilled and ruthless enough for the job - but for the first time in his life, Nick Stone doesn't want to play ball...ONE HELL OF A READ

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This riveting and action-packed historical thriller from bestselling author Douglas Jackson is real edge of your seat stuff! Perfect for fans of Simon Scarrow and Ben Kane.Readers are loving Gaius Valerius Verrens! "Absolutely incredible." - 5 STARS."Gripping, violent and captivating." - 5 STARS."The best Roman historical series I've yet read. Just pips Ben Kane and Conn Iggulden." - 5 STARS **************************************************************Gaius Valerius Verrens returns to Rome from the successful campaign against Boudicca in Britain. But he is not the man he once was - scarred both physically and emotionally by the battles he has fought. And neither is Rome the same city as the one he left.The Emperor Nero grows increasingly paranoid. There is talk of a new threat, one found within the walls of Rome itself. A new religious sect, the followers of Christus, deny Nero's divinity and are rumoured to be spreading sedition.Nero calls on Valerius to seek out this rebel sect and to capture their leader. Failure would be to forfeit his life, and the lives of twenty thousand Judaeans living in Rome. But as Valerius begins his search, a quest which will take him to the edge of the empire, he will discover that success may cost him nearly as much as failure.Gaius Valerius Verrens's adventures continue in Avenger of Rome.

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With two tours of Iraq under his belt, Sergeant Dave Henley knows what modern war looks like. But nothing can prepare him for the posting to Forward Operating Base Senzhiri, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. This is a battlezone like he's never seen before.He's in charge of 1 Platoon, a ragbag collection of rookies who he must make into a fighting force - and fast. But this is a brutal, unforgiving conflict which takes no prisoners. Their convoy is ambushed on the way to the FOB, leaving two men grievously wounded - before they've fired a shot.Back at home, Dave's wife, Jenny, seven months pregnant, must try to hold together the fragile lives of the families left behind, who all wait for the knock on the door and the arrival of bad news...

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-------------------------------'A genuine voice of our times' The Times'Riveting, moving and utterly feel-good' Daily Mail-------------------------------Once broken up, can a family ever be mended again?Jolyon Chadwick, a famous television presenter, takes his new girlfriend Henrietta home meet his extended family - and also to meet Marie, the mother who deserted him and his father many years ago, now re-appeared and seeming to want forgiveness.Jolyon, however, is not in the mood for forgiveness - although his father Hal, now married to his cousin and childhood sweetheart, feels a lingering guilt about Marie and wants them all to be friends. And Henrietta, still vulnerable from the break-up of her own parents' marriage, is not sure whether she can move on.Enthralling and heartwarming, The Prodigal Wife is perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Victoria Hislop and Erica James.

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Sunday Times bestselling author Simon Kernick, the UK's answer to Harlan Coben, brings us this spine-tingling, compelling and captivating thriller that you won't be able to put down. Real edge-of-your-seat stuff!'The pace is breakneck, the plot twists like a hooked eel...The sort of book that forces you to read so fast you stumble over the words' - Evening Standard"Simon Kernick writes with his foot pressed hard on the pedal. Hang on tight!" - Harlan Coben"Simon Kernick writes great plots, great characters, great action" - Lee Child'Totally submerged myself in this from beginning to end.' -- ***** Reader review'Yet another excellent page turner from the master of suspense'-- ***** Reader review'If you like your thrillers non-stop, this is one to savour.' -- ***** Reader review*********************************************************************************************NO ONE TO TRUST.When writer Rob Fallon goes out one night and ends up with his best friend's girlfriend, Jenny, he feels guilty before anything has even happened.NOWHERE TO RUNBut guilt quickly turns to shock when two men break into Jenny's apartment, abduct her, and try to kill Rob. When Rob reports this to the police, no one believes him. And when he speaks to Jenny's father, he says she's on holiday abroad.NO PLACE TO HIDERob knows Jenny's life is in danger and starts asking questions. Soon he's the target of brutal killers who are as terrifying as they are elusive. But what do they want? And what does it have to do with an ordinary girl like Jenny?Either Rob finds out or he's dead. It's that simple ...

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FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SNAP'Extraordinarily powerful and evocative . . . will leave you breathless.' Daily MirrorVOTED CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR when it was first released, and still the most gripping, powerful thriller debut you will read this year.___Steven Lamb is 12 when he writes his first letter . . . to a serial killerEvery day after school, whilst his classmates swap football stickers, twelve-year-old Steven digs holes on Exmoor, hoping to find a body. His uncle disappeared aged eleven and is assumed to have fallen victim to the notorious serial killer Arnold Avery - but his body has never been found.Steven's Nan does not believe her son is dead. She still waits for him to come home, standing bitter guard at the front window while her family fragments around her. Steven is determined to heal the widening cracks between them before it's too late - even if that means presenting his grandmother with the bones of her murdered son.But when Steven realises this is an impossible task, he crafts a careful letter to Arnold Avery in prison. And there begins a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between a desperate child and a bored psychopath . . .Readers love Blacklands:'A dark, gripping story . . . full of tension' *****'A truly chilling and disturbing read' *****'An intelligent crime thriller that seeps with atmosphere' ******Belinda Bauer's pulse-pounding new thriller, EXIT, is out now*

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In the summer of 1967, not long after the Six Day War, three young Palestinian men ventured into the town of Ramla in Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes, from which they and their families had been driven out nearly twenty years earlier. One cousin had the door slammed in his face, one found that his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir, was met at the door by a young woman named Dalia, who invited him in...This poignant encounter is the starting point for the story of two families - one Arab, one Jewish - which spans the fraught modern history of the region. In the lemon tree his father planted in the backyard of his childhood home, Bashir sees a symbol of occupation; Dalia, who arrived in 1948 as an infant with her family, as a fugitive from Bulgaria, sees hope for a people devastated by the Holocaust. Both are inevitably swept up in the fates of their people and the stories of their lives form a microcosm of more than half a century of Israeli-Palestinian history.What began as a simple meeting between two young people grew into a dialogue lasting four decades. The Lemon Tree offers a much needed human perspective on this seemingly intractable conflict and reminds us not only of all that is at stake, but also of all that is possible.

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NOW UPDATED to include material on the Discworld books up to Raising Steam.Most of us grow up having always known to touch wood or cross our fingers, and what happens when a princess kisses a frog or a boy pulls a sword from a stone, yet sadly some of these things are now beginning to be forgotten. Legends, myths, fairytales: our world is made up of the stories we told ourselves about where we came from and how we got there. It is the same on Discworld, except that beings which on Earth are creatures of the imagination - like vampires, trolls, witches and, possibly, gods - are real, alive and in some cases kicking on the Disc. In The Folklore of Discworld, Terry Pratchett teams up with leading British folklorist Jacqueline Simpson to take an irreverent yet illuminating look at the living myths and folklore that are reflected, celebrated and affectionately libelled in the uniquely imaginative universe of Discworld.

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Bryan Sykes, the world's first genetic archaeologist, takes us on a journey around the family tree of Britain and Ireland, to reveal how our tribal history still colours the country today.In 54BC Julius Caesar launched the first Roman invasion of Britain. His was the first detailed account of the Celtic tribes that inhabited the Isles. But where had they come from and how long had they been there? When the Romans eventually left five hundred years later, they were succeeded by invasions of Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Did these successive invasions obliterate the genetic legacy of the Celts, or have very little effect?After two decades tracing the genetic origins of peoples from all over the world, Bryan Sykes has now turned the spotlight on his own back yard. In a major research programme, the first of its kind, he set out to test the DNA of over 10,000 volunteers from across Britain and Ireland with the specific aim of answering this very question: what is our modern genetic make-up and what does it tell us of our tribal past? Are the modern people of the Isles a delicious genetic cocktail? Or did the invaders keep mostly to themselves forming separate genetic layers within the Isles? As his findings came in, Bryan Sykes discovered that the genetic evidence revealed often very different stories to the conventional accounts coming from history and archaeology. Blood of the Isles reveals the nature of our genetic make-up as never before and what this says about our attitudes to ourselves, each other, and to our past. It is a gripping story that will fascinate and surprise with its conclusions.

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Fall in love with Jilly Cooper, one of Britain's most popular authors, in this fabulously frothy rom-com. Fans of Jojo Moyes, Marian Keyes, Dolly Alderton and Jane Fallon will love this witty and whimsical read - the perfect dose of laugh-out-loud escapism!'Unputdownable' -- Marian Keyes'Joyful and mischievous' -- Jojo Moyes'The funniest and sharpest writer there is' -- Jenny Colgan'Flawlessly entertaining' -- Helen Fielding'An absolute delight to read' -- ***** Reader review'The pages just whizzed by and I'm gutted to have finished it' -- ***** Reader review'Frothy, light, humorous.....loving it' -- ***** Reader review'Couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review'Wonderful writing from Jilly, she really grabs you and pulls in you the book' -- ***** Reader review****************************************************************************************The trouble with the Mulholland family, Prudence decided, was that they were all in love with the wrong people. She'd been overjoyed when Pendle, her super-cool barrister boyfriend, invited her home for the weekend to meet his family.But home turned out to be a decaying mansion in the Lake District, and family were his glamorous, scatty mother who forgot the mounting bills by throwing wild parties, and brothers, Ace, dark and forbidding, and Jack, handsome, married and only too ready to take over with Pru if Pendle didn't get a move on.It was only when she noticed the way Pendle looked at Jack's wife Maggie that it began to dawn on Pru that there was more to this weekend than met the eye.It looked like a non-stop game of changing partners . . .

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A collection of five heart-stopping stories from the master thriller writer.A miracle in war-torn Siena that begins with the persecution of a young nun in the turbulent days of the sixteenth century and culminates in the bitter German retreat from Italy; a drug smuggling heist on an international flight where the Knock pit their wits against the smugglers; a brural urban murder, where a brilliant QC decides to defend the killers, resulting in a startling justice; an incandescent art scam at a famous London auction house, and a brilliantly plotted revenge that shatters the elegant world of the Old Masters - each story is a remarkable tour de force.And above all here is a brilliant novella, 'Whispering Wind', which begins with the single survivor of Custer's Last Stand at the battle of Little Big Horn. Then follows the rescue from rape and murder of a Cheyenne girl and a flight across the mountains and forests of the West, ending in a savage present-day manhunt in the wild lands of Montana.

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It was 1882 when Antoinette Giry, Maitresse du Corps de Ballet at the Paris Opera House, took her small daughter to the funfair at Neuilly. And there, in a cage, she saw a filthy manacled creature whose tormented eyes shone from a grotesquely deformed face. It was Antoinette Giry who saved him, freed him, cured his wounds and finally let him find a dwelling place in the labyrinthine depths of the Opera House. The creature - Erik - whose hideous face hid a brilliant brain of near-genius, was to become the Phantom of the Opera - magician, artists, musician, and lover. When he tried to lure the object of his adoration to his underground domain - it was to end in tragedy.It was Madame Giry who saved him once more, set him on a ship to the New World - and there Erik Muhlheim began a new and secret life, a life that began in misery and poverty but in which his incredible skills finally carved out an unexpected kingdom of power. And there it was he learned again of Christine, whose life had changed dramatically since that night in the Paris Opera House.Inevitably, their paths must cross again in the old sequence of tragedy and triumph.The Phantom, one of the most mysterious and romantic figures ever created, soars again in a world of his own making. Frederick Forsyth's magnificent and evocative story adds a new dimension to the legend of the Phantom.

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‘Possibly the most accurate picture of police work in crime fiction today… An absolute cracker’ – Mike RipleyDenton is having more than its fair share of crime. A serial killer is murdering local prostitutes; a man demolishing his garden shed uncovers a long-buried skeleton; there is an armed robbery at a local minimart and a ram raid at a jewellers.But Detective Inspector Jack Frost's main concern is for the safety of a missing eight-year-old. And soon after another girl is reported missing, her body is found . . . raped and strangled. Then Frost's prime suspect hangs himself in his cell, leaving a note blaming Frost for driving him to suicide. Frost may be coarse, insubordinate and fearless. But he’s also in serious trouble.

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Set in Europe through the World Wars, three generations of women share a story that will echo across time.The summer of 1915 was a time of prosperity and unease for the Wittgenstein family, and for eldest daughter Beata it was a time of awakening. By the glimmering waters of Lake Geneva, she met a young French officer and fell in love. As the years pass, Beata must watch in horror as Europe is once again engulfed in war. Her daughter Amadea is forced into hiding, and family and friends are swept away without a trace. Taking on daring missions behind enemy lines, Amadea discovers her place in an unbreakable chain between generations . . . between her lost family and the family of her future.

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In 1986 Brian Keenan and John McCarthy were forced to take a journey without maps. For the next four years they were incarcerated in a Lebanese dungeon. From the blank outlook of a tiny cell, with only each other and a few volumes of an ancient American encyclopaedia to sustain them, they could only wander the wide open spaces of their imagination. To displace the ugly confines of their existence, they envisaged walking in the High Andes and across the wastes of Patagonia.Five years after their return Brian and John chose to travel together again to see how the reality of Chile matched their imagination and to revisit their past experiences. They journeyed by every means available through vast empty deserts, verdant plains and barren tundra. Between Extremes is the story of that journey which once more found them far from home, in an unfamiliar landscape, but which for the first time allowed them to live by their own rules.

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As she checked into the lush Beverly Hills Hotel, Tanya Harris dreaded being away from her husband, Peter, and three teenaged children. Dressed as pure Marin County mom among supermodels and movie stars, Tanya was here to do a major screenplay after years of writing stories and articles on the side, always putting her family first. And when Tanya steps into her temporary home, she is amazed at what she finds: lilies, orchids and roses. A pink marble tub. Her favorite chocolates, a cashmere robe, and slippers that fit perfectly. Things are going to be different in Bungalow 2.From her first day on the set, Tanya is thrust into an intoxicating new world, where friendships and romances come and go . . . and where she feels reborn, energized by the creativity and genius swirling around her. Suddenly she's working alongside A-list actors and a Hollywood legend: Oscar-winning producer Douglas Wayne, a man who always gets what he wants - and seems to have his sights set on her. Flying back to Marin County between shoots, struggling to reconnect with a family that seems to need her less and less, Tanya watches helplessly as her old life is pulled out from under her in the most crushing of ways. As her two lives collide, as one Award-winning film leads to another, Tanya begins to wonder if she can be a wife, a mother and a writer at the same time. And just as she confronts the toughest choice she has faced, she is offered another dazzling opportunity - one that could recast her story in the most amazing of ways, complete with an ending she never could have written herself. In Bungalow 2, Danielle Steel takes us into a world few ever see - a world of fame and fortune, celebrity and genius - daring to show us the real lives, real dreams, and real struggles hidden beneath the flash and glitter of Hollywood.

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A young woman's dream, an old man's gift, and the surprises that await us behind every closed door. . .The house on the hill outside San Francisco was magnificent, built in 1923 by a wealthy man for the woman he adored. When Sarah, a perfectly sensible lawyer, walks through its empty rooms, she is drawn to the once-grand mansion in a way she cannot explain.- to a drama that first unfolded in war-torn France, and to a history she never knew she had.Using an unexpected legacy, Sarah takes on the dilapidated house and its mysteries. With the help of architect Jeff Parker Sarah brings the exquisite house back to life, and as one relationship shatters and another begins, she discovers a whole new future.A novel of daring and hope, of embracing life and taking chances ...

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