Search results for ""quercus publishing""

A young woman struggles to assert herself within a regrettable marriage.A boy learns about life on an epic summer's journey to a new school.A doctor attempts to befriend his most interesting patient.A young man tries to figure out the best way to live.This riverrun edition presents a selection of Chekhov's longer stories - novellas, effectively - in Constance Garnett's timeless translations. These four stories, Ward No.6, The Wife, The Steppe and My Life, tell of characters attempting to create meaning through work, connection with others and art; they deal with misunderstandings and loss; they celebrate brief joys, sudden passions and unsatisfied longings, all underscored by Chekhov's gentle wit and great humanity. This unique collection - selected and introduced by the celebrated Janet Malcolm - is unmissable for the enthusiast and a brilliant introduction to one of the nineteenth century's greatest writers.

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A married woman restlessly seeks a deeper love.An insomniac ponders the meagreness of his life.A man loses the respect of his family because of a counterfeit coin.A duel of wits escalates into a clash of cultures - and more.The Duel and Other Stories is the second in an exclusive three-volume edition of Chekhov's stories. Encompassing the intricacy and range of social connection, these exquisitely crafted stories trace the mutability of our everyday relationships as they stall, separate or entwine. In the strangely lyrical deadpan prose so characteristic of Chekhov's drama, they expose the misplaced affections, broken vows, and brilliant dreams of what it is to be human. This unique collection offers a perfect introduction to one of Russia's - and the world's - greatest writers.

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'Escape first, talk about politics later!' said George.From the author of Number One Christmas bestseller, Five on Brexit Island, join the Five in their next hilarious adventure in this bestselling series for grown-ups!It's a year after the Brexit vote. The four housemates and Timmy are on a visit to see their evil genius cousin Rupert. Rupert owns a chunk of the Jurassic Coast, part of which he has turned into an island and declared independence from Britain. Its fifteenth-century Dorset castle is a tourist attraction, but a computer hack puts the ancient fortifications into lockdown and plunges the Five into peril. Can our intrepid friends escape to the safety of mainland Europe?

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A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy with a vintage twist, perfect for fans of Jo Thomas and Lucy Diamond.Every girl should know what the finishing touches are.When twenty-first-century girl Betsy is called on to rescue the exclusive finishing school where she grew up from financial ruin, she knows she must overhaul the school entirely. So it's out with debutante decorum and in with modern manners.But with hunky bursar Mark and her gorgeous friend Jamie on the scene, she will have to remind herself that in the modern world, you don't have to rely on old school feminine wiles to get what you want . . READERS LOVE HESTER BROWNE'S HILARIOUS ROMANTIC COMEDIES'A fabulous piece of escapism!' *****'Unputdownable! Really delicious' *****'A must read' *****'Perfect cosy day in bed read' *****

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THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY AND THE ENZO FILESAWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland 'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of BooksIn the second novel in the China series, Li Yan and Margaret Campbell are reluctantly reunited, on the trail of a killer reenacting a series of gruesome ritualsTHE SECOND OPINIONThe Chinese police have once more been forced to enlist the services of American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell: this time to investigate a series of four horrific ritual executions that have taken place in Beijing.THE THIRD DEGREEDetective Li Yan is determined to discover just how one of the victims in particular, an American diplomat, became caught up in the slaying. And he is arguably even more determined to have nothing to do with Campbell.THE FOURTH SACRIFICEThe polarity that once attracted Yan and Campbell eventually pulls them back into partnership. Yet the closer they are drawn to the truth, the nearer they come to a killer prepared to use extreme force to conceal it.LOVED THE FOURTH SACRIFICE? Read the third book in the series, THE KILLING ROOMLOVE PETER MAY? Buy his new thriller, THE NIGHT GATE

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A chilling modern horror story in which the source of the horror is totally unexpected - and utterly terrifying. Special Agent Gil Martins investigates domestic terrorism for the Houston FBI. Once a religious man, now his job makes him question the existence of a God who could allow the violence he sees every day. Gil is asked to investigate a series of unexplained deaths of victims known for their liberal views. When a woman tells Gil that these men have been killed by prayer, he questions her sanity. Yet the evidence mounts that there might be something in what she says, even more so when Gil finds that his own life is on the line.

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'Deliciously romantic. A perfect summer read!' Miranda Dickinson. Discover this feel-good bestseller set by the sea, perfect for fans of Jo Thomas and Cathy Bramley. When Imogen and Anna unexpectedly inherit their grandmother Vivien's ice cream parlour, it turns both their lives upside-down. The Brighton shop is a seafront institution, but while it's big on charm it's critically low on customers. If the sisters don't turn things around quickly, their grandmother's legacy will disappear forever. With summer looming, Imogen and Anna devise a plan to return Vivien's to its former glory. Rather than sell up, they will train up, and make the parlour the newest destination on the South Coast foodie map. While Imogen watches the shop, her sister flies to Italy to attend a gourmet ice cream-making course. But as she works shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best chefs in the industry, Anna finds that romance can bloom in the most unexpected of places...

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From the bestselling author of BEHIND HER EYES. 'Few writers blend mystery and the supernatural as well as Sarah Pinborough, but there are none who do it better. Quite, quite brilliant' John Connolly Dr Thomas Bond is back, but this time the trial of murders leads straight to his front door. Dr Thomas Bond, Police Surgeon, is still recovering from the events of the previous year when Jack the Ripper haunted the streets of London - and a more malign enemy hid in his shadow. Bond and the others who worked on the gruesome case are still stalked by its legacies, both psychological and tangible. But now the bodies of children are being pulled from the Thames...and Bond is about to become inextricably linked with an uncanny, undying enemy.

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'WALKER BRINGS TO LIFE A COMPLETE COMMUNITY AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE WHO IS ITS PROTECTOR, TEACHER AND FRIEND' - Literary ReviewIn rural Dordogne, Bruno, Chief of Police, knows that WW2 casts the longest shadow. Rare bank notes are found, linking to the famous Neuvic train robbery of 1944 in the sixth internationally-bestselling case for France's favourite cop.In the small town of St Denis, Bruno, can't get a moment's rest. Some rare bank notes have come to light that may have links to the legendary Neuvic train robbery in 1944. The investigation is fraught with issues. Bruno is also dealing with a wave of local burglaries, which have brought his old flame, Isabelle - and their complicated history - back to the town. Worse is to come. Tasked with piecing together these past crimes, Bruno now finds he has the more pressing matter of a body on his hands. He must now trace the links between past and present to restore peace in his beloved town of St Denis.

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''Opposites attract with truly combustible chemistry. This is a top read of the year for me'' ELSIE SILVER, author of Flawless ''Tender, swoonworthy, and achingly romantic. . . Readers are going to be swept away by Ada and Wes'' B.K. BORISON, author of Lovelight Farms She''s the city girl who refuses to be saddled with a man. He''s the cowboy who wants her anyway.The last thing Ada Hart needs is a man to take care of her. Not anymore. After failing out of her interior design program and the disaster that was her short-lived marriage, Ada clawed her way up from her rock bottom. Now, the only person she trusts is herself, and that has gotten her further than ever before. She has her own business, and one of the largest ranches in Wyoming just hired her for the most important project of her career.When Ada arrives in Meadowlark, she finds herself in a dive bar where she can''t seem to shake the eyes of

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'I'm sorry? A fantasy romcom that is ACTUALLY funny and has a Black woman lead? And there's buckets of nachos? And a lesbian centaur? Give me a million books in the series, please.' Goodreads reviewAll I wanted to do was live my life in peace. Maybe get a cat, expand my spice farm. Really anything that doesn't involve going on a quest where an orc might rip my face off. But they say the Goddess has favourites. If so, I'm clearly not one of them.After saving the demon Fallon in a wine-drunk stupor, all he wanted to do was kill an evil witch enslaving his people.I mean, I get it, don't get me wrong. But he's dragging me along for the ride, and I'm kind of peeved about it. On the bright side, he keeps burning off his shirt.'This book is pure, sexy, dirty joy' Goodreads review

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"Pacy; witty; his characters are real and recognisable" LINTON KWESI JOHNSON"Alex Wheatle is the real deal; he writes with heart and authenticity, books that make you laugh and worry and cry and hold your breath" KIT DE WAAL"Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion" STEVE McQUEEN, director of Small AxeSouth London in the 1980s. Sixteen-year-old Brenton Brown is the mixed-race child of a mother he has never met. He's been living in a children's home all his life, and when he is unexpectedly reunited with his mother, Cynthia, his whole world seems poised to change. The best thing happens: Brenton has a family at last.And then the worst: Brenton falls in love with his beautiful half-sister, Juliet.As tensions brew in Brixton, Brenton finds himself embroiled in a violent feud with a killer. Vengeance seems like the only option as Brenton hurtles towards an explosive climax which will risk everything.Brixton Rock is the extraordinary debut of one of the UK's finest writers, a pitch-perfect depiction of South London life."A triumph . . . This is a debut which confirms its author is a pro in prose" The Times

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A sumptuous French cookbook that immerses readers in the incomparable cuisine of the Périgord region, by the bestselling author of the beloved Dordogne Mysteries series, co-authored with his wife, food writer and novelist, Julia Watson.Bruno Courrèges, the protagonist of Martin Walker's internationally acclaimed mystery series, is not only the local police chief of the idyllic village of St Denis. Bruno also happens to be an impressive amateur chef, and in this delightful new cookbook, the culinary and cultural inspiration behind Bruno's fiction world comes to life. Featuring local recipes, charming anecdotes, and a history of its French setting, Bruno's Cookbook invites readers into the bucolic life of Walker and his wife, Julia, and showcases their passion for the region's rich cuisine.Brimming with truffles, pate, top quality fruit and vegetables, famed regional cheeses and wines, the Périgord is a gourmet's paradise. Bruno's Cookbook includes over 90 recipes, steeped in local flavours and prepared in Walker's large country kitchen, from Duck Breast Fillets with Honey and Mustard, Red Onion Tarte Tatin, and a classic Beef Pot Roast, to Chard Gratin (Bruno's comfort meal), Hazelnut Meringue Cake, and Homemade Blackcurrant Liqueur. Centred on the splendid institution of the village market, the recipes are organised around the people who provide the food: the fisherman, the hunter, the cheesemaker, the forager, the baker, and the winemaker.A feast for the senses, Bruno's Cookbook transports readers to France's gastronomic heartland.

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"A multilayered exploration of ideas . . . [A] masterly voyage of discovery" New York Times"Fonseca's most ambitious, most complex and most accomplished novel to date" JAVIER CERCAS"An exceptional and intricate novel of depth, insight and understanding" Irish Times"A tender and thoughtful exploration of the painful irony of being alive" KATHARINA VOLCKMER"A beautifully knotted novel which unfolds with every traced layer of its deeply affecting narrative" GUY GUNARATNE"Expansive and thought-provoking" GuardianA dazzling novel about the traces we leave, the traces we erase and the traces we seek to rebuild.In this innovative novel three losses and three quests are pursued. English writer Aliza Abravanel tries, in a battle with aphasia, to finish her book. A last indigenous speaker is confronted with the fading of his culture and language while an anthropologist struggles to prevent it. And through the construction of an esoteric theatre of memory, a survivor of the Guatemalan genocide of the 1970s and '80s seeks to recover the memories lost after the traumas of war. And behind these three threads lies the narrator's own story: Julio, a disillusioned university professor, must try to understand and complete his friend Aliza's novel, and come to terms with a past he shared with her but has blanked for thirty years.From the Guatemalan wilderness to the high Peruvian Amazon, passing through Nueva Germania, the anti-Semitic commune founded in Paraguay by Nietzsche's sister, Austral takes us on a long journey south, following a trail of ecological and cultural destruction to excavate contemporary xenophobia."Reminiscent of the best of Bolaño, Borges and Calvino" GuardianTranslated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell

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A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICKTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (JUNE 2021)'A sexy, modern love story' Reese Witherspoon'I absolutely loved it' Jodi PicoultSeven days to fall in love, fifteen years to forget, and seven days to get it all back again...When Eva Mercy, a single mother and bestselling erotica writer, and the enigmatic, award-winning novelist Shane Hall meet at a literary event in New York, sparks fly. But what no one knows is that fifteen years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one week together, madly in love. While they may pretend to be strangers, they can't deny their chemistry.Over the next seven days, amidst a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect. But Eva is wary of the man who broke her heart and wants Shane out of the city so her life can return to normal. Before he disappears, though, she needs a few questions answered . . .With its keen observations of creative life in America today, as well as the joys and complications of being a mother and a daughter, Seven Days in June is a hilarious, romantic, and sexy-as-hell story of two writers discovering their second chance at love.'Deliciously witty' Zoella Book Club'Hilarious, romantic and incredibly sexy' Hello!'An absolute page turner . . . exuding love, hope and desire' Evening Standard'Electric and alive' Kirkus'A captivating love story' Melan Mag'A vision of life as it truly is: complications and difficulties punctuated by profound joy' Rumaan Alam

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A breathtaking blend of Mexican horror movies and dark occultism from the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.Montserrat has always been overlooked. She's a talented sound editor, but she's left out of the boys' club running the film industry in '90s Mexico City. And she's all but invisible to her best friend Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, even though she's been in love with him since childhood.'Gripping and unusual' - GuardianThen Tristán discovers his new neighbour is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he has a way to change their lives - even if his tales of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy. The magic film was never finished, which is why, Urueta swears, his career vanished overnight. He is cursed.Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse . . . but Montserrat soon notices a dark presence following her.As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristán might just find out that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies . . ."Perfection" - Kiersten White, bestselling author of Hide

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A delightful treasure trove of tips on how to hold animals without hurting them.Should you hold a mouse by its tail? A grasshopper by its leg? A butterfly by its wing?How do you pick up a prickly hedgehog? A slithering snake? A hissing cat?Most of us don't have nearly enough experience of being around animals. We feel a bit apprehensive when it comes to touching them. Maybe we're scared we'll hurt them, or that they'll hurt us. That is a huge shame, because connecting with animals is a magical life skill that can make you feel at peace and aligned with nature.Luckily, animal photographer and former zookeeper Toshimitsu Matsuhashi is here to give you advice and show you the very best way to care for the animals in our lives, from beetles to hamsters and from chickens to dogs. Fully illustrated with fascinating information (did you know that you should go for the smaller rather than the bigger horn when you pick up a stag beetle?), How To Hold Animals leaves no stone unturned and teaches us all how to be kind to the animals around us.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLainFrom the author of the No.1, two million-copy bestseller Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic story of a family separated, their search for answers, and an epic journey to reunite the missing . . .Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest. For heiresses Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question. Could her long-lost family still be out there?Louisiana, 1987: Arriving in Augustine, Louisiana, first-year teacher Benedetta Silva finds herself teaching students whose poverty-stricken lives she can scarcely comprehend. The town is impossibly set in its ways, suspicious of new ideas and new people. But amid the gnarled live oaks and ancient plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.A heart-wrenching novel inspired by little-known historical events, based on actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones, lost to them when their families were sold off.'Tragic, thought-provoking but ultimately uplifting . . . an enthralling adventure' Lancashire Evening Post

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THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Explosive' Gregg Hurwitz, author of Orphan X1973: a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny module, a quarter of a million miles from home. A quarter of a million miles from help.As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras 'Kaz' Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be.Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.'An exciting journey' Andy Weir, author of The Martian'Nail-biting' James Cameron, writer and director of Avatar and Titanic'Not to be missed' Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal'Exciting, authentic' Linwood Barclay, author of Find You First'[A] stellar thrill ride' Chris Holm, author of The Killing Kind'Gripping' John Verdon, author of the Dave Gurney series'Relentlessly exciting' Stephen Mack Jones, author of August Snow

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What qualities made Attila the Hun a strategist of genius? How did Henry V of England achieve victory at Agincourt for the loss of a few hundred of his men, when the mounted French knights suffered casualties in the thousands? Why was Hernán Cortés able to lead a ragged band of men to bring down the extraordinary power of the Aztec empire? The answers to these and a myriad other fascinating questions can be found in Great Commanders of the Medieval World, a sumptuous chronological survey of the 25 greatest commanders of the medieval world. Compiled by an distinguished team of historians (including such names as Jonathan Sumption, Felipe Fernández-Armesto and John Julius Norwich) working under the general editorship of Andrew Roberts, Great Commanders of the Medieval World is an authoritative and beautifully illustrated account of the lives and careers of the 25 greatest military commanders of the period, from William the Conqueror to Genghis Khan, from the Black Prince to Tamerlaine, and from Joan of Arc to Süleyman the Magnificent. Every commander is profiled in a concise and informative 3000-word article which not only brings its subject vividly to life via a lively, fact-driven narrative, but also analyses and assesses his tactical and strategic gifts. As accessible and informative as it is rigorous and scholarly, Great Commanders of the Medieval World is the perfect introduction to its subject for the layperson - but also a stimulating and thought-provoking read for those with greater knowledge of military history. With its companion volumes, focusing on the great commanders of the ancient, early modern and modern eras, it forms an indispensable guide to the greatest generals the world has seen.

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Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was first played in the city of its birth on 9 August, 1942. There has never been a first performance to match it. Pray God, there never will be again. Almost a year earlier, the Germans had begun their blockade of the city. Already many thousands had died of their wounds, the cold, and most of all, starvation. The assembled musicians - scrounged from frontline units and military bands, for only twenty of the orchestra's 100 players had survived - were so hungry, many feared they'd be too weak to play the score right through. In these, the darkest days of the Second World War, the music and the defiance it inspired provided a rare beacon of light for the watching world. Setting the composition of Shostakovich's most famous work against the tragic canvas of the siege itself and the years of repression and terror that preceded it, Leningrad: Siege and Symphony is a magisterial and moving account of one of the most tragic periods in history.

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The third in the Black Forest Investigations series - by CWA shortlisted authorOne wet and misty weekend in October, the Niemann family find a stranger in their garden. He is armed and tries to force his way into the house, but disappears as soon as the police are alerted. That night he's back with an impossible ultimatum . . .Freiburg detective Louise Boni and her colleagues are put under enormous pressure. Traces of evidence lead her to a no-man's-land, and to a ruthless criminal who brings with him the trauma of conflict in the Balkans.Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch

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THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY AND THE ENZO FILESAWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland 'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of BooksThe first of Peter May's China critically acclaimed thrillers featuring Beijing detective Li Yan and American pathologist Margaret Campbell.LI YANA grotesquely burned corpse found in a city park is a troubling mystery for Beijing detective Li Yan. Yan, devoted to his career as a means of restoring the respect his family lost during the Cultural Revolution, needs outside help if he is to break the case.MARGARET CAMPBELLThe unidentified cadaver in turn provides a welcome distraction for forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell. Campbell, married to her work and having left America and her broken past behind, throws herself into the investigation, and before long uncovers a bizarre anomaly.THE FIREMAKERAn unlikely partnership develops between Li and Campbell as they follow the resulting lead. A fiery and volatile chemistry ignites: exposing not only their individual demons, but an even greater evil - a conspiracy that threatens their lives, as well as those of millions of others.LOVED THE FIREMAKER? Read the second book in the series, THE FOURTH SACRIFICELOVE PETER MAY? Buy his new thriller, A SILENT DEATH.

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A family story of epic scale, by the author of NORWEGIAN WOOD and THE BELL IN THE LAKE."An intricate story about war, family, secrets and,yes, wood ... An engaging, satisfying read" The Times"So cleverly plotted, and it builds up such effortless dramatic momentum as it zeroes in on its conclusion" ScotsmanEdvard grows up on a remote mountain farmstead in Norway with his taciturn grandfather, Sverre. The death of his parents, when he was three years old, has always been shrouded in mystery - he has never been told how or where it took place and has only a distant memory of his mother. But he knows that the fate of his grandfather's brother, Einar, is somehow bound up with this mystery. One day a coffin is delivered for his grandfather long before his death - a meticulous, beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Perhaps Einar is not dead after all. Edvard's desperate quest to unlock the family's tragic secrets takes him on a long journey - from Norway to the Shetlands, and to the battlefields of France - to the discovery of a very unusual inheritance. The Sixteen Trees of the Somme is about the love of wood and finding your own self, a beautifully intricate and moving tale that spans an entire century.A TIMES BESTSELLERMytting's book is as much a romantic historical thriller as it is a book of promise, a page-turner as it is a reflective journey into selfhood, history, life's meaning and individual moral responsibility - Mika Provata-Carlone, BookanistaTranslated from the Norwegian by Paul Russell Garrett

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WINNER OFHugo Award for Best NovellaNebula Award for Best NovellaReddit Stabby Award for Best NovellaBritish Science Fiction Association Award for Best NovellaSHORTLISTED FOR2020 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial AwardThe Ray Bradbury PrizeKitschies Red Tentacle AwardKitschies Inky TentacleBrave New Words AwardCo-written by two award-winning writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That's how war works. Right?'A fireworks display from two very talented storytellers' Madeline Miller, author of Circe'An intimate and lyrical tour of time, myth and history' John Scalzi, bestselling author of Old Man's War'Lyrical and vivid and bittersweet' Ann Leckie, Hugo Award-winning author of Ancillary Justice'Rich and strange, a romantic tour through all of time and the multiverse' Martha Wells, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of The Murderbot Diaries

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Guardian Best Book of 2020 Irish Times Best Crime Fiction of 2020 Times Book of the Month Mail on Sunday Thriller of the Month The Spectator Crime Fiction of the Month Crime Time Book of the Year 2020 'Vivid, stylish, funny' Mick Heron The first time I met Harold Challenor, he frisked me for weapons - I was ten years old. Bent is the explosive story of the rise and fall of SAS commando, and notorious Detective Sergeant, Harold 'Tanky' Challenor. During the Second World War, Challenor was parachuted behind enemy lines into Italy and France, performing remarkable feats of bravery. In the grimy underbelly of 1960s Soho, he was a ferocious and controversial presence, mediating between factions of club owners and racketeers, and cultivating informers. But just how far will he go to break the protection gang that has a grip on his manor? It can be a fine line that divides hero and villain. PRAISE FOR JOE THOMAS 'Brilliant' The Times 'Feverish energy' Guardian 'Wonderfully vivid' Mail on Sunday'Sophisticated, dizzying' GQ'Vivid and visceral' The Times'Superbly realised vivid and atmospheric' Guardian'Original' Mail on Sunday'A stylish, atmospheric treat an inspired blend of David Peace and early Pinter' Irish Times 'Sparse, energetic, fragmented prose' The Spectator 'Vibrant, colourful, and complex' Irish Independent 'Stylish, sharp-witted, taut. A must for modern noir fans' NB Magazine 'Definitive confident and energetic' Crime Time 'Brilliant manic energy' Jake Arnott 'Wildly stylish and hugely entertaining' Lucy Caldwell 'Vivid, stylish, funny' Mick Herron 'Gripping, fast-paced, darkly atmospheric' Susanna Jones 'Snappy, thoughtful, moving' John King 'Exciting, fresh, incredibly assured' Stav Sherez 'Happy days!' Mark Timlin 'Utterly brilliant' Cathi Unsworth 'Had James Ellroy and David Peace collaborated on a novel they'd have written something like this' Paul Willets

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA INTERNATIONAL DAGGER AWARD 2019 Hamburg, 1948In a routine operation, Chief Inspector Frank Stave is shot down. He survives, but transfers from the murder commission to the office combatting the black market. There, Stave is confronted with an enigmatic case: Trummerfrau, women helping to clear rubble from Hamburg's bombed streets, discover works of art from the Weimar period - right next to a unidentified corpse. Shortly afterwards, mysterious banknotes whose existence disturbs the Allies' secret plans begin to pop up on the black market. The Supervisor soon discovers strange parallels between the two cases. With the introduction of a new currency, Stave thinks he is on the brink of a solution. But the truth is dangerous, and not just for him.Praise for the Frank Stave Investigations'Undoubtedly the most powerful work of crime fiction I have read this year' Independent'Vivid and harrowing' Sunday Times'Police procedural, romance, thriller The Murderer in Ruins has a bit of everything and it's one hell of a read.' BücherReader Reviews for The Forger'An excellent series based in Hamburg just after World War II. Interesting characters and story lines - a view from defeated Germany we wouldn't normally hear' *****'Characters were good, plot good and it really highlights post war Germany and the inequalities among both sides. The only really disappointing thing is there is not a fourth one to read' *****'I could not put it down. Brilliant' *****Translated from the German by Peter Millar

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London today is embattled as rarely before. In a city of enormous wealth, poverty is rampant. The burnt-out hulk of Grenfell Tower stands as an appalling reminder that inequality can be so acute as to be murderous. Here, Claire Armitstead has drawn together fiction, reportage and poetry to capture the schisms defining the contemporary city. With nearly 40% of the capital's population born outside the country, Tales of Two Londons eschews what Armitstead labels a "tyranny of tone," emphasising voices rarely heard. Featuring writers such as Ali Smith, Jon Snow, Arifa Akbar and Ruth Padel alongside stories from previously unpublished immigrants and refugees, this is a compelling collection which captures the fabric of the city: its housing, its food, its pubs, its buses, even its graveyards.

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'The Norwegian Chandler' Jo Nesbø'One of my very favourite Scandinavian authors' Ian RankinMORE THAN FIVE MILLION BOOKS SOLD WORLDWIDEA dramatic, poetic and page-turning thriller from Norway's most dazzling crime writer.On a frosty January day in Bergen, Private Detective Varg Veum is visited by a prostitute. Her friend Margrethe has disappeared and hasn't been seen for days. Before her disappearance, something had unsettled her: she'd turned away a customer and returned to the neighbourhood in terror. Shortly after taking the case, Veum is confronted with a brutal, uneasy reality. He soon finds the first body - and it won't be the last either. His investigation leads him into a dark subculture where corrupted idealism has had deadly consequences.Dark secrets lurk everywhere, as the murky pattern of wounded people, worm-eaten lives, and hearts long grown cold proves deadly . . . for someone.Translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett

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Raj is oblivious to the Second World War being fought beyond his tiny exotic island. His mother is his sole company while his father works as a prison guard, so the boy thinks only of making friends. One day, from the far-away world, a ship brings to the island Jewish exiles who have been refused entry to Israel. David, a recently orphaned boy of his own age from Prague, becomes the friend that he has longed for, and Raj takes it upon himself to help David to escape from the prison. As they flee through sub-tropical forests and devastating storms, the boys battle hunger and malaria - and forge a friendship only death could destroy.

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From star of Great British Bake Off, heart-wrenching romantic fiction about a scandalous love affair between a professional cook and a high-ranking politician. If exposed it could wreck both their careers.Kate is thirty-six and mother to five-year-old Toby. She has a thriving business catering for private clients and her life is on an even keel. That is, until she gets a job cooking lunch at the Foreign Office and has her first fateful meeting with Oliver Stapler, Secretary of State. He's powerful and charismatic, but also married and a father. He's totally out of bounds but she falls for him. When a journalist spots them together, he alerts the gutter press. Who cares whether Kate's affair with Oliver is true or not? It's a great story and will sell a ton of newspapers - and destroy several lives in the process.

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Second historical thriller in the Alexander Seaton series sweeps the hero back to his roots in Ulster, and a family living under a curse and riven with long-held secretsAberdeen, 1628.Alexander Seaton's happily settled life as a university teacher is shattered by the arrival in town of a stranger who looks like his twin and who carries a plea for help from Alexander's dead mother's family in Ireland. The family has been placed under a poet's curse, threatening death to various members. Elements of the curse have already begun to play out. Reluctantly answering the call, Seaton travels to Ulster, to find himself among a family torn apart by secrets and deep resentments. As he seeks out the author of the curse, he becomes deeply entangled in a conflict that involves fugitive priests, displaced poets, rebellious plotters and agents of the king. Confronted by murder within his family, he finds the lines between superstition and faith, duty and loyalty are becoming increasingly blurred, while his Scottish homeland grows ever more remote.

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The richly varied lives of the Martin brothers reflected the many upheavals of Britain in the age of Industrial Revolution. Low-born and largely unschooled, they were part of a new generation of artists, scientists and inventors who witnessed the creation of the modern world. William, the eldest, was a cussedly eccentric inventor who couldn't look at a piece of machinery without thinking about how to improve it; Richard, a courageous soldier, fought in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo; Jonathan, a hellfire preacher tormented by madness and touched with a visionary genius reminiscent of William Blake, almost burned down York Minster in 1829; while John, the youngest Martin, single-handedly invented, mastered and exhausted an entire genre of painting, the apocalyptic sublime, while playing host to the foremost writers, scientists and thinkers of his day. In The Prometheans Max Adams interweaves the fascinating story of these maverick siblings with a magisterial and multi-faceted account of the industrial, political and artistic ferment of early 19th-century Britain. His narrative centres on a generation of inventors, artists and radical intellectuals (including the chemist Humphry Davy, the engineer George Stephenson, the social reformer Robert Owen and the poet Shelley) who were seeking to liberate humanity from the tyranny of material discomfort and political oppression. For Adams, the shared inspiration that binds this generation together is the cult of Prometheus, the titan of ancient Greek mythology who stole fire from Zeus to give to mortal man, and who became a potent symbol of political and personal liberation from the mid-18th century onwards. Whether writing about Davy's invention of the miner's safety lamp, the scandalous private life of the Prince Regent, the death of Shelley or J.M.W. Turner's use of colour, Adams's narrative is pacy, characterful, and rich in anecdote, quotation and memorable character sketch. Like John Martin himself, he has created a sprawling and brightly coloured canvas on an epic scale.

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At the dawn of the Roman Empire, when tyranny ruled, a daughter of Egypt and a son of Rome found each other...Selene's parents are gone, her country has been taken from her and she has been brought to the city of Rome in chains, with only her twin brother, Alexander, to remind her of home and all she once had. Paraded as captives and brought to live among the ruling family, Selene and her brother attend lessons, learning how to be Roman and where allegiances lie. Devoting herself to her artistic skill and training as an architect, she tries to make herself useful, in hope of staying alive and being allowed to return to Egypt. But before long, she is distracted by the young and handsome heir to the empire. But all is not well in the city and when the elusive 'Red Eagle' starts calling for the end of slavery, causing riots and murder, and the Roman army goes to war, Selene and Alexander, the children of Mark Antony, Rome's lost son and greatest rival, find their lives in grave danger.

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A hunt for a stolen painting turns into a murder investigation for Spenser, Robert B. Parker's legendary private eye.Private Detective Spenser is on his easiest job yet. Art professor Ashton Prince has hired him to help recover a stolen painting. The thieves will return it in exchange for a ransom. All Spenser has to do is accompany Prince, just in case. And collect his fee. But, as Prince walks away from the exchange towards Spenser's car carrying the wrapped painting, it explodes. Prince is gone, and with him, Spenser's cash. Starting to investigate, Spenser discovers Prince's past is far from squeaky clean, but nothing warrants going to such unusual lengths to kill him. Who did it, and why?

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Following a rash moment of insolence, Dr Siri Paiboun, Laos' reluctant national coroner, confused shaman and disheartened communist, is forced to go on a road trip with Judge Haeng and the Justice Department. While newly pregnant Nurse Dtui and Dr Siri's fiance Madame Daeng are left at the morgue to defend the staff against exploding corpses and geriatric gunslingers, Siri has his own problems. On a deserted jungle trail, Siri is kidnapped. His only route to freedom is to exorcise the local village of its demon - but that means lifting the curse of the pogo stick.

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Fully illustrated with 400 of the most striking and up-to-date astronomical images and covering all the major constellations and landmarks of the night sky, The Stargazer's Handbook reveals the treasures of the cosmos - what they are, where they are, and how to see them, including month-by-month guides to the changing hemispheres and tips and guides on the best stargazing equipment. This new compact edition is perfect for browsing at home or accompanying you out at night under the stars. Filled with stunning photography, this book is all you need to start discovering the universe.

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Who invented zero? Why 60 seconds in a minute? How big is infinity? Where do parallel lines meet? And can a butterfly's wings really cause a storm on the far side of the world? In 50 Maths Ideas You Really Need to Know, Professor Tony Crilly explains in 50 clear and concise essays the mathematical concepts - ancient and modern, theoretical and practical, everyday and esoteric - that allow us to understand and shape the world around us. Packed with diagrams, examples and anecdotes, this book is the perfect overview of this often daunting but always essential subject. For once, mathematics couldn't be simpler. Contents include: Origins of mathematics, from Egyptian fractions to Roman numerals; Pi and primes, Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio; What calculus, statistics and algebra can actually do; The very real uses of imaginary numbers; The Big Ideas of relativity, Chaos theory, Fractals, Genetics and hyperspace; The reasoning behind Sudoku and code cracking, Lotteries and gambling, Money management and compound interest; Solving of Fermat's last theorem and the million-dollar question of the Riemann hypothesis.

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Italy's Maigret returns in another smouldering noir from a master of the police procedural "A master storyteller" Barry Forshaw, IndependentA few days before Christmas, with Parma gripped by frost and fog, Ghitta Tagliavini, the elderly owner of a guesthouse in the old town centre, is found murdered in her apartment. The case is assigned to Commissario Soneri, but the investigation holds a painful, personal element that sends waves of nostalgia sweeping through him. Tagliavini's guesthouse is where Soneri met his late wife Ada, and where the young couple spent unforgettable hours in each other's company. But the present can embitter even the sweetest memories. An old photograph of Ada with another man sends Soneri into a spiral of despondency, ever more so when he realises her death may be linked to Tagliavina's lucrative sideline as a backstreet abortionist and faith healer. Though Soneri would like nothing more than to be allowed to drop the case, he doggedly persists, uncovering at last, along with the truth behind Tagliavini's death, rife corruption at Parma's rotten heart and a raft of ghosts from Italy's divisive past.Translated from the Italian by Joseph Farrell

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After her husband's sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Westhoven never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she's planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn't she more excited?At first, Kate blames her pre-wedding jitters on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she's really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something about his death and is there a chance his nighttime visits could be more than just wishful thinking?

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How different are men and women's brains? Does altruism really exist? Are our minds blank slates at birth? And do dreams reveal our unconscious desires? Psychology is everywhere in today's society. No crime fiction, documentary, chat show or medical consultation is complete without the introduction of a psychological angle. Psychology seeks to understand and explain thoughts, feelings and behaviour through a dizzying array of ideas and theories, shedding light on everything from memory, social mobility and attitude formation to delusions of grandeur, alcoholism and computer phobia, to name a few. In 50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know, Professor Adrian Furnham explains the central ideas of psychology in 50 concise and accessible essays. Packed with the latest research, most important case studies and arguments of key thinkers, this book is the perfect introduction to psychological theory. Contents include: Placebo effect; Kicking the habit; Hallucinations; Positive psychology; Emotional intelligence; IQ and you; Multiple intelligences; The Rorschach inkblot test; Detecting lies; Obedience to authority; Self-sacrifice or selfishness; Gambler's fallacy; Remembrance of things past; Artificial intelligence; Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon; Psychosexual stages; Tabula rasa; Phrenology; Dyslexia.

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'BRINGS ALL THE BEAUTY OF DEEPEST FRANCE VIBRANTLY ALIVE' - Irish Independent on SundayBruno, Chief of Police's beloved Dordogne town of St Denis is tearing itself apart. Can he keep it together in the gripping eighth instalment in this internationally bestselling series? St Denis may be picturesque and sleepy, but it has more than its fair share of murder and mystery, as Bruno knows all too well. When Bruno is invited to the 90th birthday of a powerful local patriarch - a war hero with high-level political connections in France, Russia and Israel - he encounters a family with more secrets than even he had imagined. When one of the other guests is found dead the next morning and the family try to cover it up, Bruno knows it's his duty to prevent the victim from becoming just another skeleton in their closet. Even if his digging reveals things Bruno himself would rather keep buried.Meanwhile, very modern battles are being fought in St Denis between hunters defending their traditions and environmentalists protecting local wildlife. Neither side, it seems, is above the use of violent tactics. At the centre of it all, Bruno must use all his cunning and character to protect his community's future from its present - and its past.

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When Abwehr Captain Eberhard Mock is called from his New Year's Eve revelries to attend a particularly grisly crime scene, even his notoriously robust stomach is turned. A young girl - and suspected spy - who arrived by train from France just days before, has been found dead in her hotel room, the flesh torn from her cheek by her assailant's teeth. Ill at ease with the increasingly open integration of S.S., Gestapo and police, Mock is partially relieved to be assigned to liaise with officers in Lvov, Poland, where a series of similar crimes - as yet unsolved - cast a long shadow over the town.

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The day begins like any other Saturday for beautiful Parisian restaurateur Aurélie Bredin, until she wakes up to find her apartment empty - her boyfriend gone off with another woman. Heartbroken, Aurélie walks the streets of Paris in the rain, finally seeking refuge in a little bookshop in the Île Saint-Louis, where she's drawn to a novel titled The Smiles of Women by obscure English author Robert Miller. She buys it and takes it home, but when she begins to read she's astonished: The Smiles of Women can't possibly be about her restaurant, about her. Except, it is. Flattered and curious to know more, Aurélie attempts to get in touch with the reclusive Mr Miller, but it proves to be a daunting task. His French publishers seem determined to keep his identity secret, and while the Editor-in-Chief André Chabanais is happy to give Aurélie his time, he seems mysteriously unwilling to help her find her author. Is Robert Miller really so shy, or is there something that André isn't telling Aurélie?

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Roads to Berlin maps the changing landscape of Germany, from the period before the fall of the Wall to the present. Written and updated over the course of several decades, an eyewitness account of the pivotal events of 1989 gives way to a perceptive appreciation of its difficult passage to reunification. Nooteboom's writings on politics, people, architecture and culture are as digressive as they are eloquent; his innate curiosity takes him through the landscapes of Heine and Goethe, steeped in Romanticism and mythology, and to Germany's baroque cities. With an outsider's objectivity he has crafted an intimate portrait of the country to its present day.

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MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is summoned to a meeting with her boss Charles Wetherby, head of the Service's Counter-Espionage Branch. His counterpart over at MI6 has received alarming intelligence from a high-placed Syrian source. A Middle East peace conference is planned to take place at Gleneagles in Scotland and several heads of state will attend. The Syrians have learned that two individuals are mounting an operation to disrupt the peace conference in a way designed to be spectacular, laying the blame at Syria's door. The source claims that Syrian Intelligence will act against the pair, presumably by killing them. No one knows who they are or what they are planning to do. Are they working together? Who is controlling them? Or is the whole story a carefully laid trail of misinformation? It is Liz's job to find out. But, as she discovers, the threat is far greater than she or anyone else could have imagined. The future of the whole of the Middle East is at stake and the conference deadline is drawing ever closer.

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In September 1298, the rival Italian republics of Genoa and Venice fought a fierce sea battle at Curzola off the rocky coast of southern Dalmatia. Against the odds the Venetians, led by Admiral Andrea Dandolo, son of the Doge, were defeated. Among the thousands of Venetians captives was one Marco Polo, gentleman, merchant of Venice, and sometime traveller to East Asia. Incarcerated in a Ligurian fastness, he told his story to a fellow-prisoner, a writer of romances named Rustichello of Pisa. The account of his travels that Marco Polo dictated to Rustichello in captivity - Il Milione - would be exceptionally widely read and would stimulate European interest in the East and its riches. Marco Polo: from Venice to Xanadu is Laurence Bergreen's thrilling and masterly reconstruction of the life and wanderings of one the great adventurers of world history. Between 1271 and 1275 Marco Polo accompanied his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo on a journey east from Acre into central Asia along the Silk Route, eventually reaching China and the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan. Entering the service of the Khan, he travelled extensively in the Mongol Empire. The three Venetians returned home by sea in 1292-5, calling at Sumatra and southern India before reaching Persia, and making the last part of their journey to Venice overland. Three years later came that fateful encounter with the Genoese fleet in the Adriatic...

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Roger Ferris is one of the CIA's soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission - to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as 'Suleiman'. Ferris's plan for getting inside Suleiman's tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: he prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks.This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity, and when it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service - a man who just might be an Arab version of John le Carré's celebrated spy, George Smiley. But can Ferris trust him? And can he trust the CIA?

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