Search results for ""quercus publishing""

'Belissimo' - Daily Mail 'an amusing and charming read...Ross is the champion of the impulsive adventurer...If you are interested in Italy, in travel writing and the tales of a decent raconteur then this is for you.' - Paul Burke, NB Magazine Where do you go to when you only have a pittance for a home away from home for a huge family? Ian Ross realises that his small inheritance won't get him a place in France or even Spain, so he heads for southern Italy where he remembers the Blue Guide describing long empty sandy beaches in southern Calabria. When he arrives in Southern Italy he finds the house prices are encouragingly low. Why does no one go there? It's inaccessible and it's beloved of the Mafia. Not to be put off Ross stumes on the perfect beach on a crystal-clear bay in the deeply southern province of Reggio Calabria, an area he is soon advised is 'Bandit Country'. And the fact that there is a house right on the beach big enough for all the family at a price he can afford overcomes all fears and to a large extent all common sense. Buying it was only the beginning. Beached in Calabria catalogues the things that can go wrong in southern Italy for this English fish-out-of-waterman; he's out of his depth in a whirlpool of incomprehensible rules and regulations, family systems, conflicting advice and linguistic conundrums. Disaster follows disaster, but this travelogue encompasses tales of the friendships Ross makes on the way in this forgotten corner of Old Italy where the food and the 326 days of sunshine a year make for a perfect setting to a triumphant escapade.

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Olivia is thirty-two and living back home with her mother in Caprock, small-town Texas. Her therapist is a girl she went to high school with; her promising career in journalism has dwindled to nothing, and she spends her days hawking jewellery in a Mall following a favour from a friend. Life is back on an even-keel after her descent into drug abuse, but it's a far cry from the one she imagined ...Then, under pressure to take up a hobby, she decides to try urban exploration. Soon she's poking through derelict homes, churches and schools across North Texas. But Olivia knows her therapist would disapprove. What began as a harmless distraction soon becomes a lucrative business as she collects and sells antique fittings and fixtures online.Her new-found freedom starts to spiral out of control. Victimless trespass is fast evolving into criminal behaviour, and the path her rehabilitation is taking leads Olivia to question her own moral code. She's not supposed to withhold information from her therapist - yet she does.Nor is she supposed to be stashing money in a secret account when she owes so much to so many - and although she's supposedly prohibited from communicating with people from her past, old friends keep showing up, making demands and threats. To add to it all, her baby sister has turned up pregnant, the question of their absent fathers has once more been unearthed, and her prescribed medication is inducing an unnatural detachment that makes her feel as though she's not present in her own life.Tackling difficult subjects with a warmth and humour, and creating an unforgettable protagonist, Jen Waldo brings an electrifying tone to fiction - she is an astonishing new American voice who will stop you in her tracks.

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DI Joni Pax, a London homicide detective wounded in a disastrous raid, has been transferrred to the newly formed Police Force of North East England. Her boss, DCI Hector Rutherford is recently back at work after cancer treatment. Between them they are responsible for major crime in rural Northumberland and County Durham. Joni, the daughter of a black American and a white hippy, is a loner struggling to regain her self confidence. Heck is happily married, but his illness has left him fearful. Based in Corham, a town with Roman, medieval and industrial heritage, Paz and Rutherford investigate a murder at a brothel run by the Albanian mafia. In a series of breathtaking plot twists, the author demonstrates the corruption that underpins the beautiful northern English countryside as well as hinting at a mysterious world beyond the horizon. Carnal Acts explores abuse of many kinds sexual, psychological, economic taking the police procedural to places it has never been before.

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Starting in the ramshackle but romantic capital of Havana, Peter Millar travels with ordinary Cubans, sharing anecdotes, life stories and political opinions to the far end of the island, the Guantanamo naval base and detention camp.

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In the ruins of Gaza, the war-torn Palestinian city that has been a metropolis since the time of the Pharaohs, a plucky young female archaeologist has made a remarkable find: possibly the earliest known image of the Virgin Mary, created during her lifetime. But before she can reveal it to the world, it is stolen from her amidst the chaos of an Israeli airstrike. Who has stolen it and why? And what hidden secret does it conceal? 'A truly compelling, globetrotting thriller...Look out, Dan Brown, make way for Millar.' - Jeffery Deaver

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One night, two men waving guns and knives break and enter their Paris hotel room, terrorizing Russell and his much older companion, a famous American poet named Edward Cannon. The intruders, not finding what they seemingly expected, leave without further incident. But the baffling, traumatic events overwhelm Cannon who dies in his sleep later that night. Now Russell is left to ponder the meaning of the attack, what to do with the poet's unfinished, problematic memoir and, perhaps most importantly, how to reconstruct and move forward with his own life.Hearing of the disturbing circumstances of Cannon's death, an Italian writer, Marina Vezzoli, invites Russell to recuperate at her villa in Tuscany. But what at first seems like a generous invitation slowly reveals itself to be a calculated offer. As Russell's stay in Italy lengthens, he begins to realize that the people in his life are using or manipulating him, most of all the poet's New York publishers who, against the dying poet's wishes, are trying to acquire his unfinished manuscript. Looming over everything is the long and fascinating legacy of Villa Guidi, where during Word War II a Jewish family hid in the subterranean floors, later undergoing a conversion to Catholicism. In an echo of this dramatic history, Russell is forced to undergo a conversion of his own in order to find redemption and meaning in his life.

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This is an edge-of-your-seat Brock and Kolla mystery set within a radical artists' community in London where three children have been abducted in a matter of weeks. The most recent is six-year-old Tracey Rudd, daughter of the infamous Turner Prize winner Gabriel Rudd. After his wife's suicide five years ago, Tracey's grandparents laid the blame with the self-absorbed Rudd, and now hint at his complicity in this newest tragedy. Unbelievably, he begins almost immediately to exploit Tracey's abduction as inspiration for a major and controversial new artwork, in the full glare of media attention. The superb duo DCI David Brock and DS Kathy Kolla are embroiled in their most compelling case yet, conducting an intensive hunt for the missing children and their kidnappers, who appear to be connected to an eccentric and suspicious community of artists, dealers and collectors, all of whom are under suspicion.

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Henry Cage seemed to have it all. A successful business career, considerable wealth, and a reputation for being a just and principled man. But public virtues can conceal private failings, and as Henry faces retirement, his well-ordered life begins to unravel. On the eve of the new millennium he is the victim of a random act of violence which soon escalates into a prolonged persecution, with tragic consequences. Family secrets are revealed, and when his ex-wife Nessa summons Henry to Palm Beach, he realises that there is little time to redress the mistakes of the past. The Upright Piano Player explores with a tender, yet unflinching eye the small but devastating flaws in human nature that can shape our destinies.

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Pittsburgh was too small for Beryl Wexler. Barely out of high school, she changed her name to Buzz and set off for the bright lights of London. She never looked back. Now she's at the top of her game in the music PR business, looking after the coolest groups on the planet. And for a woman who was forty-two last birthday she certainly keeps up the pace. But her life is about to change. Some twenty-year-old has been given the new Japanese girl band predicted to go stellar, and Buzz is being sidelined. Instead, Buzz gets to tour with the Gorni Grannies, Bulgarian singers of a certain age. These ladies may not be the tantrum-throwing celebs Buzz is used to, but they present other challenges. How to stop Lubka straining yogurt through her knee highs? How to dissuade Kichka from stealing everything not nailed to the floor? Fuelled by copious shots of home-brewed plum rakia, Buzz and Lubka address life's ups and down, until the world tilts and a different future beckons.

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Olivia Harker grew up in Depression-era Kentucky. Ignored by her own mother, her black neighbours became her friends and playmates; their parents her guardian angels. Now, she runs a ramshackle grocery store with her beloved grandson and her difficult widowed mother. But Olivia has no idea of the long shadow cast by events of her childhood. When she finally becomes party to a decades-old mystery, she must get to grips with past betrayals before fighting to save her family, her community and her life.

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This is like a fairy tale, all this. A woman meets a stranger who tells her her identity is a lie. 772 (or 789) children's brains rest silently in jars. A traveller comes to a quotidian city, unknowingly approaching her past. From the author of Trieste (shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize) comes this bedazzling kaleidoscopic novel, stitching together fact and fiction, history and memory, words and images into a heart-breaking collage that manages to look askance at the blinding horror of history. Ranging across themes of memory, loss, inheritance and storytelling, Drndic borrows from every tradition of writing to weave together a fragmented narrative of love and disease, in a novel that's very format raises penetrating and unanswerable questions about history, and the processes by which we describe and remember it.

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Can Wild Alan unite the Discard against the tyranny of the Pyramid?Idle Hands is an ancient disease that once tore through the Discard, and if Wild Alan doesn't find a way into the Black Pyramid to administer the cure to his son, Billy, it will soon be stalking Gleam once again. Even with Bloody Nora's help, there's only one way in - and that's through the Sump, which was sealed long ago to contain the horrors within.And for Alan, the Black Pyramid will be even more dangerous. Thanks to the disease, the Pyramidders' fear and loathing of the Discard is reaching fever-pitch - and Alan is the most well-known Discarder of all.Bloody Nora has her own agenda. All the information she needs to complete her people's Great Work is hidden in the Pyramid - but just by being there, she is violating a centuries-old treaty between the Pyramid and the Mapmakers, which could spark conflict between the two greatest powers that Gleam knows.'Gleam's combination of dystopia, mythic quest, music and squishy monsters is hugely entertaining' SFX

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Quercus is delighted to introduce Julia Kelly, the bright new voice in fiction. She writes with intelligence, honesty and tremendous wit, and her future as a leading light is as assured as this, her first novel. With My Lazy Eye is the story of Lucy. Lucy's a misfit. She's growing up in a large family in a semi-detached house, dreaming of being someone else and making her father proud. It's not looking promising. He's an internationally renowned academic and her siblings are bright achievers, but Lucy is idle, directionless and never quite manages to succeed. Her lazy eye sets her apart from the crowd and gives her something to hide behind, and in truth, she's not really trying to overcome it. She hasn't got the energy to revise for exams, she can't convince herself to care about coming last and even when she goes to London and finds the perfect job, she is still destined to fail. And as far as men are concerned, Lucy tumbles into bed with one after another, never finding any she can find real affection for. As her sight deteriorates and her view of reality becomes increasingly oblique, Lucy comes to understand that if her life is going to improve, she'll have to take matters into her own hands. But when a family crisis looms, it might just be too late.

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When a young woman's naked body is discovered deep in the snowy undergrowth of Holland Park, ritualistically bound and gagged, the only clue is a verse from a bizarre poem found stuffed in her mouth. The woman is Rachel Tenison, a wealthy West End art dealer, who outwardly seemed to lead a normal, fulfilled life. However, as DI Mark Tartaglia and DS Sam Donovan scratch away at the surface, a darker, secret side begins to emerge. Then a tip-off spins everything in an entirely new direction, suggesting that the case is linked to the murder a year before in North London of Catherine Watson, a university lecturer. Still haunted by the aftermath of 'The Bridegroom' case three months before, which nearly brought about their own deaths, Tartaglia and Donovan are forced to confront their personal demons as they struggle to find what these two very different women had in common before the killer has a chance to strike again.

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Just after half past nine on the morning of Sunday 1 November 1755, the end of the world came to the city of Lisbon. On a day that had begun with blue skies and gentle warmth, Portugal's proud capital was struck by a massive earthquake. After a brief, two-minute tremor came six minutes of horror as Lisbon swayed 'like corn in the wind before the avalanches of descending masonry hid the ruins under a cloud of dust'. A third tremor shook most of the buildings still standing to the ground, causing catastrophic loss of life. Lisbon had been struck by a seismic disturbance estimated at 8.7 on the Richter scale - more powerful than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. An hour later, riverine Lisbon and the Algarve coast were engulfed by a series of tsunamis. In areas of the city unaffected by the waves, fires raged for six days, completing the destruction of Europe's fourth-largest city. By the time it was all over, 60,000 souls had perished and 85% of Lisbon's buildings, plus an unimaginable wealth of cultural treasures, had been destroyed by quake, fire or water. The earthquake had a searing impact on the European psyche. Theologians and philosophers were baffled by this awesome manifestation of the anger of God. How could the presence of such suffering in the world be reconciled with the existence of a beneficent deity? For Portugal itself, despite an ambitious programme of reconstruction (which gave birth to the modern science of seismology), the quake ushered in a period of decline, in which her seaborne supremacy was eclipsed by the inexorable rise of the British Empire. Drawing on primary sources, Edward Paice paints a vivid picture of a city and society changed for ever by a day of terror. He describes in thrilling detail the quake itself and its immediate aftermath, but he is interested just as much in its political, economic and cultural consequences. Wrath of God is a gripping account from a master writer of a natural disaster that had a transformative impact on European society.

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'The beautiful illusion, when reading Tolstoy, is that one is looking directly at the world, as opposed to a depiction' Andrew O'Hagan from his preface to Childhood, Boyhood and YouthPublished in 1852, when he was just twenty-four, Childhood was Tolstoy's first published work, and the first of a trilogy of stories that evoke the upbringing and traditional education of a Russian aristocrat in a world that vanished with the revolution. In this self-portrait, narrated by its protagonist Nikólya, the young Tolstoy captured the textures of adolescence with a psychological insight and subtlety of analysis that look forward to his mature achievements; while his matchless objectivity - summoning the smells, sights and sounds of early childhood - is already fully present in these pages. The riverrun edition reissues the translation of Louise and Aylmer Maude, whose influential versions of Tolstoy first brought his work to a wide readership in English.

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'For anyone who enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy or Educated, Unfollow is an essential text' - Louis Theroux'Such a moving, redemptive, clear-eyed account of religious indoctrination' - Pandora Sykes'A nuanced portrait of the lure and pain of zealotry' New York Times'Unfolds like a suspense novel . . . A brave, unsettling, and fascinating memoir about the damage done by religious fundamentalism' NPRA Radio Four Book of the Week Pick for June 2021As featured on the BBC documentaries, 'The Most Hated Family in America' and 'Surviving America's Most Hated Family'It was an upbringing in many ways normal. A loving home, shared with squabbling siblings, overseen by devoted parents. Yet in other ways it was the precise opposite: a revolving door of TV camera crews and documentary makers, a world of extreme discipline, of siblings vanishing in the night.Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church - the fire-and-brimstone religious sect at once aggressively homophobic and anti-Semitic, rejoiceful for AIDS and natural disasters, and notorious for its picketing the funerals of American soldiers. From her first public protest, aged five, to her instrumental role in spreading the church's invective via social media, her formative years brought their difficulties. But being reviled was not one of them. She was preaching God's truth. She was, in her words, 'all in'.In November 2012, at the age of twenty-six, she left the church, her family, and her life behind.Unfollow is a story about the rarest thing of all: a person changing their mind. It is a fascinating insight into a closed world of extreme belief, a biography of a complex family, and a hope-inspiring memoir of a young woman finding the courage to find compassion for others, as well as herself.---More praise for Unfollow'A beautiful, gripping book about a singular soul, and an unexpected redemption' - Nick Hornby'A modern-day parable for how we should speak and listen to each other' - Dolly Alderton'Her journey - from Westboro to becoming one of the most empathetic, thoughtful, humanistic writers around - is exceptional and inspiring' - Jon Ronson'A gripping story, beautifully told . . . It takes real talent to produce a book like this. Its message could not be more urgent' Sunday Times

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'Even better than Child 44. Akyl Borubaev is a terrific creation' Anthony HorowitzWE UNCOVERED THE LAST OF THE BODIES IN THE RED HOUR BEFORE DUSK, AS THE SUN STAINED THE SNOWCAPS OF THE TIAN SHAN MOUNTAINS THE COLOUR OF DRIED BLOOD. . .Inspector Akyl Borubaev of Bishkek Murder Squad has been exiled to the far corner of Kyrgyzstan, but death still haunts him at every turn. Borubaev soon finds himself caught up in a mysterious and gruesome new case: several children's bodies have been found buried together - all tagged with name bands. In his search for the truth behind the brutal killings, Borubaev hits a wall of silence, with no one to turn to outside his sometime lover, the beautiful undercover agent Saltanat Umarova.When Borubaev himself is framed, accused of involvement in the production of blood-soaked child pornography, it looks as though things couldn't get any worse. With the investigation at a dangerous standstill, Borubaev sets out to save his own integrity, and to deliver his own savage justice on behalf of the many dead who can't speak for themselves . . .'Just keeps getting better . . . buy the whole series right away' Peter Robinson, No.1 bestselling author of Sleeping in the Ground'Storytelling of the highest quality . . . Introduces a detective it is impossible not to believe in. Callaghan is a new voice to be welcomed' Daily Mail

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WINNER OF THE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS 2018 & THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER (April 2018) ___________'This book can save lives. This book can change lives. This book can help to bring forth another generation of boys who dare to be different.' Benjamin Zephaniah___________Daniel Radcliffe, Galileo Galilei, Nelson Mandela, Louis Armstrong, Grayson Perry, Louis Braille, Lionel Messi, King George VI, Jamie Oliver... all dared to be different.Prince charming, dragon slayer, mischievous prankster... More often than not, these are the role-models boys encounter in the books they read at home and at school. As a boy, there is an assumption that you will conform to a stereotypical idea of masculinity.But what if you're the introvert kind? What if you prefer to pick up a book rather than a sword? What if you want to cry when you're feeling sad or angry? What if you like the idea of wearing a dress?There is an ongoing crisis with regards to young men and mental health, with unhelpful gender stereotypes contributing to this malaise. Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different offers a welcome alternative narrative. It is an extraordinary compilation of 100 stories of famous and not-so-famous men from the past to the present day, every single one of them a rule-breaker and innovator in his own way, and all going on to achieve amazing things. Entries include Frank Ocean, Salvador Dalí, Rimbaud, Beethoven, Barack Obama, Stormzy, Ai Weiwei and Jesse Owens - different sorts of heroes from all walks of life and from all over the world.A beautiful and transporting book packed with stories of adventure and wonderment, it will appeal to those who need the courage to reject peer pressure and go against the grain. It is the must-have book for all those boys who worry about stuff and all those parents who worry about their boys who worry about stuff. It will educate and entertain, while also encourage and inspire.*For tales of even more brilliant men who have dared to be different, STORIES FOR BOYS WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT 2 is out now!*

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Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront possibly their toughest challenge yet: parenthoodBringing up a baby would surely be kid's play for The Five. How hard could it possibly be?! When the doorbell rings one Saturday afternoon, the last thing the Five were expecting to find on their doorstep was a baby... But the Five are next of kin to Cousin Rupert and his wife, so when they find themselves in a spot of bother and are destined for a short spell behind bars, Anne, Dick, George and Anne are the first port of call. First, it's the fear and the tiredness that kicks in. They are terrified at being responsible for this new life and have no idea they're doing it right. Why is it crying? They use Dr Google constantly, who whatever the situation offers the same range of advice from 'don't worry about it' to 'rush her to the A&E'. 'Why is she crying?' they constantly ask. 'Why?' It keeps them up all night every night, until they are reduced to walking ghosts, haunted by a numb and impotent fury. Is this an adventure too far for our Five?

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'Sympathetic and suspense-packed' Sunday Times'A classy, satisfying read, superbly put together' Mari HannahA cold case leads DI Grace Fisher on the hunt for the most dangerous killer of her career - but after twenty-five years, can she really be sure she will get to the truth?The same night a local hero saved two people from the burning Marineland resort in Southend, a young woman was raped and murdered minutes from the scene of the fire, the culmination of a series of brutal rapes in the town. The killer was never found.Twenty-five years on, new DNA techniques have blown the cold case open. DI Grace Fisher relishes the prospect of finally catching the culprit, but when the evidence doesn't point to one clear suspect, she must reconstruct the original investigation. Any suggestion that the Essex force was less than thorough at the time could alienate her colleagues and destroy her chances of reaching the truth.Grace finds her investigation shadowed by a young true-crime podcaster backed by veteran crime reporter Ivo Sweatman. As pressure mounts she cannot afford to be distracted. She knows that a cold-blooded killer is slowly being backed into a corner, and a cornered predator is often the most dangerous of all...

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From the author who brought you the bestselling book everyone is talking about, The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k: the no-f**ks-given, no-holds-barred guide to living your best life. Ever find yourself snowed under at the office - or even just glued to the sofa - when you really want to get out (for once), get to the gym (at last), and get started on that daunting dream project you're always putting off? Then it's time to get your sh*t together. In The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k, 'anti-guru' Sarah Knight introduced the joys of mental decluttering. Get Your Sh*t Together takes you one stop further - organizing the f*cks you want and need to give to help you quit your day job and move abroad, balance work and fun - and save money while you're at it - or simply get out of the door for happy hour, every day. Praise for the bestselling The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k: 'The best book I have read recently ...Absolutely blinding. Read it. Do it.' Daily Mail 'Genius' Cosmopolitan 'I love Knight's book before I even start reading it' Sunday Times Magazine 'Self-help with an edge' Vogue 'The anti-guru' The Observer

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A moving saga about love and forgiveness from a bestselling author. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Sheila Newberry and Rosie Goodwin.Abby Reed, grieving after the loss of her mother, finds an unexpected source of comfort exploring the rugged, snowy countryside with the brooding Gillan Collingwood, son of a local shipping merchant. It isn't long before she begins to hope that she and Gill might someday be more than friends . . . But then Gill meets his elder brother's new wife Helen, and falls instantly, deeply in love with her. Abby is shattered by the news and throws herself into an imprudent love affair. Her impulse will take her away from the frosty wilds of her homeland to London's glittering social scene . . . but can she ever forget the boy she left behind? A sparkling winter wonderland of a novel - the perfect fireside read!

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A moving saga about love and forgiveness from a bestselling author. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Sheila Newberry and Rosie Goodwin.Abby Reed, grieving after the loss of her mother, finds an unexpected source of comfort exploring the rugged, snowy countryside with the brooding Gillan Collingwood, son of a local shipping merchant. It isn't long before she begins to hope that she and Gill might someday be more than friends . . . But then Gill meets his elder brother's new wife Helen, and falls instantly, deeply in love with her. Abby is shattered by the news and throws herself into an imprudent love affair. Her impulse will take her away from the frosty wilds of her homeland to London's glittering social scene . . . but can she ever forget the boy she left behind? A sparkling winter wonderland of a novel - the perfect fireside read!

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My husband's lover. They said her death was a tragic accident. And I believed them . . . until now.Carmen is happily married to Tom, a successful London lawyer and divorcé with three children. She is content to absorb the stresses of being a stepmother to teenagers and the stain of 'second wife'. She knows she'll always live in the shadow of another woman - not Tom's first wife Laura, who is resolutely polite and determinedly respectable, but the lover that ended his first marriage: Zena. Zena who was shockingly beautiful. Zena who drowned swimming late one night. But Carmen can overlook her husband's dead mistress . . . until she starts to suspect that he might have been the person who killed her.'Absolutely gripping, I raced through Undertow' Rosamund Lupton.

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My husband's lover. They said her death was a tragic accident. And I believed them . . . until now.Carmen is happily married to Tom, a successful London lawyer and divorcé with three children. She is content to absorb the stresses of being a stepmother to teenagers and the stain of 'second wife'. She knows she'll always live in the shadow of another woman - not Tom's first wife Laura, who is resolutely polite and determinedly respectable, but the lover that ended his first marriage: Zena. Zena who was shockingly beautiful. Zena who drowned swimming late one night. But Carmen can overlook her husband's dead mistress . . . until she starts to suspect that he might have been the person who killed her.'Absolutely gripping, I raced through Undertow at the speed of knots' Rosamund Lupton.

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The fastest way to understanding quantum physics - learn about how our universe works, in minutes. Quantum physics is the most fundamental, but also the most bewildering, of sciences. Allowing for simultaneously dead-and-alive cats, teleportation, antimatter and parallel universes, it also underpins all digital technology and even life itself. But at last it's possible through this clear and compact book, illuminated with 200 simple diagrams for anyone to understand the strange and beautiful subatomic world, and hence the nature of reality itself. Contents include: inside the atom, the Higgs boson, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Schrödinger's cat, relativity, dark energy and matter, black holes, God playing dice, the Theory of Everything, the birth and fate of the Universe, string theory, quantum computing, superconductivity, quantum biology and consciousness, and much more.

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'Take on January with new-found serenity with this series of self-help books' StylistOvercome your fears and change your life.We all feel frightened sometimes - it's totally natural - but if fear is holding you back, making you feel stuck in a rut and hindering your ambitions, it's time to make changes. Jo Usmar provides a concise, straight-forward guide to battling your fears. There are strategies, tools and relatable examples throughout that offer simple and effective ways to feel brave, independent and confident. Pushing through your fear will allow you to take back control of your life so you can make changes, accept that you have choices and recognise that you absolutely can cope with whatever life throws at you. Anxiety is one of the biggest mental health challenges of our times. Rather than a downbeat 'coping with' book this is an inspiring modern take on 'feel the fear and do it anyway'. Chapters include: CBT-based techniques, dealing with physical anxiety, getting to the root cause of your fear, negotiating obstacles, stopping self-sabotage, building confidence, combatting guilt and shame, feeling more powerful, breaking negative patterns.Praise for This Book Will series:'Top tips for making your life loads better.' Cosmo'The answer to all my problems.' Katie Piper

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What do you do when you find out that your whole life could be a lie? A chilling family drama for fans of Sue Fortin, Louise Candlish and Sabine Durrant's Lie With Me. I talked to my mother the night she died, losing myself in memories of when we were happiest together. But I held one memory back, and it surfaces now. I see a green postbox and a small hand stretching up to its oblong mouth. I am never sure whether that small hand is mine. But if not mine, whose?Louise Redmond left Ireland for London before she was twenty. Now, more than two decades later, her heart already breaking from a failing marriage, she is summoned home. Her mother is on her deathbed, and it is Louise's last chance to learn the whereabouts of a father she never knew. Stubborn to the end, Marjorie refuses to fill in the pieces of her daughter's fragmented past. Then Louise unexpectedly finds a lead. A man called David Prescott . . . but is he really the father she's been trying to find? And who is the mysterious little girl who appears so often in her dreams? As each new piece of the puzzle leads to another question, Louise begins to suspect that the memories she most treasures could be a delicate web of lies.

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Heraklion, May 1941. On the north coast of Crete, the British forces are redeploying troops, ahead of a German invasion of the island. A brutal defeat in Greece has forced them to withdraw from the mainland, weakened and dejected. For Captain Bentley Paine, of the Yorks & Lancs Regiment, the planned assault is a chance to finally prove himself in this war, not least to his infuriating assistant, Corporal Hallmark. But when the attack begins at dawn, no one can be prepared for the death and bloody fighting that will ensue. As German paratroopers fire at will, victory is decided in a matter of days. But both sides will face devastating losses, in a game-changing campaign, that will become one of the most intense and horrific battles of the Second World War.

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Desperate for the next Game of Thrones? Prince of the Spear continues the Sunsurge Quartet and delivers a full-on fix of epic fantasy.The unthinkable has happened. With the Leviathan Bridge critically damaged and its towers unable to control the skies between Yuros and Antiopia, the East has invaded the West. A vast windfleet, constructed in secret, is winging across the Pontic SeaThe holy Shihad has begun.The Rondian Empire is divided and weak. Empress Lyra has barely survived a coup, triggered by a masked cabal whose members still remain concealed in the highest echelons of her court. Only Lyra's secret affinity to the heretical power of dwyma saved her - but that affinity is also her most dangerous weakness.As empires clash, lives are torn apart and long-held beliefs are overthrown by circumstance and desperation. A young queen whose court is riddled with traitors turns to the wrong people in her hour of need. Two princes clash in the skies, the fate of two nations riding on their skill. Two brothers must reconcile disparate cultures to regain their kingdom. An idealistic rabble-rouser sees a chance to strike. And a small group of dwymancers grope blindly for knowledge in a race against time before the masked Cabal strike again.'Represents modern epic fantasy at its best' - Fantasy Book Critic on the Moontide Quartet

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A beautiful historical mystery for fans of Sarah Waters, Amitav Ghosh's The Sea of Poppies, and Jamaica Inn.London in the 1770s is bursting with opportunity. It's a city fuelled by new ideas and new money, where everything is for sale - including entrée into the ruling class. Making their way in this buccaneering society are Carey Ravine, a spirited young woman of enigmatic background, and her husband, the charming, endlessly enterprising Oliver Nash. Carey and Nash share a historic connection to India and a desperate ambition to better themselves. But as Nash's plans draw them into a restless association of gamblers and secret societies, Carey begins to question what's really hidden behind the seedy glamour of their lives. Her unease grows with the appearance of a mysterious man whose appearance unearths a troubling secret from the past. Carey finds herself forced to investigate the truth behind the stranger's claims­­ - and to confront her own illusions about herself.

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Dr Adam Knox returns from serving with an NGO in the Central African Republic in disgrace. His attempt to protect patients from a brutal militia ended in disaster. he's a little rougher, a little wiser, and a lot more cynical.His new clinic tends to the vagrant, vulnerable and victimized of LA's streets. It earns from the villains willing to pay for discretion.His cynicism remains, until the night a beaten Romanian woman abandons her son on his operating table. She seems to be on the run. And in trying to return the boy to her, Knox can't help but try to figure out from whom she's running. He's going to wish he hadn't.Helping other people won't help him much when his struggle to rescue the woman and her boy leads Knox into a tangle of human traffickers, Russian mobsters and directly into the cruel business of LA's most powerful family.

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If you want to write a murder mystery, you have to do some research... In a luxury flat in Monaco, John Houston's supermodel wife lies in bed, a bullet in her skull. Houston is the world's most successful novelist, the playboy head of a literary empire that produces far more books than he could ever actually write. Now the man who has invented hundreds of best-selling killings is wanted for a real murder and on the run from the police, his life transformed into something out of one of his books. And in London, the ghostwriter who is really behind those books has some questions for him too...

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Egdar "Lefty" Mendieta investigates the death of a notorious stripper in this second sweltering "Narco-lit" noir from the Godfather of Mexican crime fictionAn intelligent, atmospheric police procedural series for fans of John Le Carré and Mick HeronWhen the mutilated body of Mayra Cabral de Melo is found in a dusty field, Detective Edgar "Lefty" Mendieta has personal reasons for bringing the culprit to justice. Mayra, a well-known stripper, had no shortage of ardent, deluded and downright dangerous admirers, and Lefty himself is haunted by the night he spent in her company.As Mexico's drug war ramps up, Lefty's pursuit of a gallery of jealous and powerful suspects, all with a murderous glint in their eye, leads him to Samantha Valdés, the godfather's daughter, who is battling to retain her father's empire. And as the mystery deepens, the bodycount rises.

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I was winning when I met your gaze . . . So begins the confession of Gwendolen Harleth: dazzling beauty, wilful vivant and gambler of hearts: who bet her strength against her cruel husband, staked it all on the love of Daniel Deronda, and played her way back to a winning hand. With the profound insight of her acclaimed biographies, Diana Souhami fashions a real life for this most mercurial and magnetic of literary heroines, plotting Gwendolen's course in step with the drama of the age as a pioneer of women's aspirations in our own.

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Courland is an entity that no longer exists. With the Gulf of Riga to the north, the Baltic to the west and Lithuania at its southern border, and now part of modern Latvia, the region was occupied by Nazi Germany and returned to Soviet Russia after the war, remaining largely inaccessible until 1991. It is now a nowhere land of wide skies and forests, deserted beaches, ruined castles and ex-KGB prisons. For years Jean-Paul Kauffmann has been irresistibly drawn to this buffer between the Germanic and Slav worlds. His digressive travels at the wheel of a Skoda become an investigation into the whereabouts of a former lover, a search for an excavator of tombs, and a journey in the footsteps of Louis XVIII, for whom Courland was once a place of exile.

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From the bestselling author of Miss Appleby's Academy comes a gritty, emotional saga, perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Nadine Dorries and Maggie Hope.1920, Durham. Since she was a child, Lucy Charlton has dreamed of working with her father in the family solicitor's firm. But a scandal shatters her dreams and, when her father disowns her, she finds herself on the streets, fighting for survival. Joe Hardy has returned to London after the Great War to find his life in tatters - his father is dead and his pregnant fiancée has disappeared. Then Joe learns he's unexpectedly inherited an old river house in Durham from a stranger called Margaret Lee. With nothing left for him in London, he makes arrangements to travel north and claim it. Lucy's determination has finally secured her a job as a legal secretary, campaigning for the rights of the poorest in society. As Joe arrives in her office to collect the keys to his new home, she promises to help him uncover information about his mystery benefactor. But before long, the past comes back to haunt them both, with shocking consequences...

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What is lurking in the corners of Mire House? Chillingly atmospheric, The Unquiet House is perfect for fans of Stephen King. Struggling to recover from the catastrophic loss of both of her parents, Emma Dean desperately needs a fresh start. When she inherits an old house in the depths of the Yorkshire countryside, she realises that this could be her chance. Mire House is dreary, dark and cold - yet when Emma walks inside, she feels an immediate sense of belonging.It isn't long before Charlie Mitchell, grandson of the original owner, appears, claiming he wants to seek out his family. But Emma suspects he's more interested in the house than his long-lost relations.And when she starts seeing ghostly figures, Emma begins to wonder: is Charlie trying to scare her away, or are there darker secrets lurking in the corners of Mire House?'Reads like a timeless classic of the genre' - Guardian

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Lola Jost is busy fending off boredom with a jigsaw puzzle when she hears the news. Arnaud Mars - a disgraced police divisionnaire on the run after a seismic defence contracts scandal - has been found dead in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. The gun that killed him belongs to Commandant Sacha Duguin, a former colleague of Lola's. Convinced of Duguin's innocence, Lola throws off her torpor. Together with her occasional partner in crime fighting Ingrid Diesel, she embarks on a quest to clear her old friend's name.Faced by a shadowy adversary determined to keep its past crimes under wraps, Lola and Ingrid must travel as far as Abidjan and Hong Kong to uncover the truth behind their most dangerous case to date.Translated from the French by Nick Caistor

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'Funny and touching' Sunday Express'A feel-good, thought-provoking gem' Star'Both tear-jerking and hilarious, it got my vote' Take a BreakSOMETIMES, THE CRAZIEST IDEAS TURN OUT TO BE THE BEST ONES.When Sam, Jackie and Anna successfully campaign to save their children's school lollipop lady, they are asked by a TV reporter if they fancy standing in the general election. It is, of course, a crazy idea: Sam's youngest son has an incurable disease, Jackie is desperate for another child and her mum is struggling with Alzheimers, Anna's teenagers - and marriage - are in danger of going off the rails. But just think what they could do if they got to run the country . . .WHAT READERS ARE SAYIING ABOUT THE MUMMYFESTO'Brilliant, just brilliant!! Best book I've read in years!' *****'Just who we need to run the country!' *****'Irresistible!' *****'Takes you on a rollercoaster adventure full of hope' *****

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What can we learn from fish in a pond? How do social networks connect the world? How can artificial intelligences learn? Why would life be different in a mirror universe? Mathematics is everywhere, whether we are aware of it or not. Exploring the subject through 35 of its often odd and unexpected applications, this book provides an insight into the 'hidden wiring' that governs our world. From the astonishing theorems that control computers to the formulae behind stocks and shares, and from the foundations of the internet to the maths behind medical imaging, Chaotic Fishponds and Mirror Universes explains how mathematics determines every aspect of our lives - right down to the foundations of our bodies.

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Dis//Integration, a previously unpublished work by William Melvin Kelley, author of A Different Drummer, is a notable and welcome addition to African American literature.The linked 2 novelas, 3 stories, and a little play that make up DIS//INTEGRATION follow the life journeys of Charles Chig Dunford from his Nanny Eva sermonizing from her front porch, when he is only seventeen, to his peripatetic studies in Reupeo (an anagram of Europe) as a college student, to his unsettled bachelorhood as an English professor at a small Vermont college, where he continues to struggle to finish his life-long study of theReupeonese author Dupukshamin and find true love.Along the way, as Chig''s sentimental education unfolds, we meet an array of memorable characters: John Hoenir, the Hemingway-esque expatriate novelist who takes Chig under his wing; Wendy Whitman, an actress passing for white, who breaks Chig''s heart; Merry, his troubled teen-age niece who Chi

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Is three days with a cat enough to change your life?The troubled and anxious of Tokyo are desperate to find out. They all have their problems - and they all want to believe that a feline companion from a unique pet shop can help them find a solution. But there are rules: they must be returned after three days, and they must always sleep in their own familiar blankets.In The Blanket Cats, we meet seven such customers, including a couple struggling with infertility, a middle-aged woman on the run from the police, and two families in very different circumstances simply seeking joy.But like all their kind, the blanket cats are mysterious creatures with their own unknowable agendas, who delight in confounding expectations. And perhaps what their hosts are looking for isn''t what they really need. Three days may not be enough to change your life. But it might be enough to change how you see it.Translated from the Japanese by

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Host a magical, sophisticated, and traditional tea party inspired by the Wizarding World with Harry Potter: Afternoon Tea Magic!Learn to prepare and enjoy this indulgent tradition with afternoon treats inspired by your favourite wizards and Muggles, from Harry Potter and Hermione Granger to Newt Scamander, Queenie Goldstein, Jacob Kowalski and more.Bursting with gorgeous photography of afternoon tea nibbles, drinks and sweets, this cookbook offers step-by-step instructions on how to arrange a magical Wizarding World-themed traditional tea.Recipes include:- Aunt Petunia''s Teatime Windtorte Pudding- Honeydukes Lemon Drop Meringue Teatime Bites- Queenie''s Mini Brandied Apple Strudels- Deathly Hallows Pull-Apart Teatime Bread- Kowalski Bakery''s Buttery Teatime Witch Hats- And many more!With more than 60 recipes for clever beverages, enchanting sweets and savoury treats, Harry Potter: Afternoon Tea Magic is the p

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Brilliant - funny, wise and completely addictive - a work of angry, outrageous and hilarious genius VICTORIA HISLOPFull of energy and blistering rationality LISA McINERNEYA must-read . . . While waiting for society to evolve, Virginie Despentes stays the same VogueDear Dickhead,I read the piece you posted on Insta. You''re like a pigeon shitting on my shoulder as you flap past. It''s shitty and unpleasant. Congratulations: you''ve had your fifteen minutes of fame! You want proof? Here I am writing to you.Rebecca Latté is a famous actress in her fifties, perhaps past the peak of her career.Oscar Jayack is a middle-aged, moderately successful author who, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, has been accused of sexual harassment by his former publicist-turned-feminist blogger Zoé Katana.When Oscar insults Rebecca''s appearance on Instagram, she sends a scorching reply and the pair fall i

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An inspiring book exploring all aspects of interior design in 100 engaging and beautifully illustrated entries. Interior design is not about paint colors and accent cushions. It is an important practice that affects all our lives. This entertaining book explores the world of interior design with a snappy set of 100 entries, all explaining what interior design is in an attractive format. The wide range of topics covered just proves that interiors are an integral part of our lived experience. The book will appeal to students, professionals and anyone interested in the fascinating subject of what surrounds us. Contents: media and culture psychology concepts space project types materials environment and wellbeing technical issues the profession

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