Search results for ""little, brown book group""

'Laugh-out-loud funny, intensely suspenseful, page-turning fun' Allison Brennan on A Bad Day for SunshineRunning a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff - and even fuller-time coffee guzzler - Sunshine Vicram, didn't get that memo.All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that's about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny's got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he's not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She's seen it. Once. Accidentally.Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn't know when to quit, Sunny's life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.'A Bad Day For Sunshine is a great day for the rest of us' Lee Child

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Chicago's Ferraro crime family will do anything to protect one of their own . . .Nicoletta Gomez was a terrified teenager when Taviano Ferraro and his brother saved her life. Ever since, she's been trying to rise above what was done to her, molding herself into a survivor under the protective eyes of the Ferraro family. All the while, she's been falling hopelessly in love with the man who knows her darkest secrets . . .With one look, Taviano knew that Nicoletta was his, just as he felt their shadows connect. But no matter how much he wanted to claim her, he knew she needed time to become her own woman. When Nicoletta once again finds herself in the sights of dangerous men, a split-second decision has Taviano breaking all of the Ferraro family's rules to keep her safe. And as far as he's concerned, the reward is more than worth the risk.Find out why readers are OBSESSED with the Shadow Series'Dark, gritty, edgy, magical . . . will hold you spellbound' Fresh Fiction'Exciting, nerve-wracking, suspenseful . . . a true page-turner' Long and Short'Dark and sensual . . . tore my heart apart and pieced it back together again' Harlequin Book Junkie'The family that Feehan introduces to us is freakin' AWESOME! I loved each and every sibling' Addicted to Romance'An exciting, action-packed romantic ride' Goodreads reviewer

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From Sunday Times bestselling author, Nora Roberts, the final thrilling instalment in the epic Dragon Heart trilogy.'If you're after the perfect pick-me-up, take-me-away-from-the-world read, then she's your woman'The GuardianIt's time for the final reckoning.... With Odran's defeat at the Battle of the Dark Portal, his quest to rule over Talamh and Breen has stalled - for now. But the terrible battle and heart-breaking losses have taken their toll. It's a time as painful as any Breen has ever known as she helps to treat the wounded, bring the dead home from blood-and ash-soaked battlegrounds and support her friends and family in their grief.With the enemy cast out and the portal sealed it is a time to recover but there is little time to rest. Soon the enemy's witches begin to appear to Breen in her sleep, practicing black magick, sacrificing the innocent, and plotting brutal destruction. It is time for Breen to seek out those in desperate need of rescue and confront the darkness with every weapon she has.An epic battle is coming. A battle Breen cannot afford to lose....

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''A sweeping tale of dark magic, artistic obsession, and a love unbound from the limits of time'' Paulette Kennedy A vanished star. A haunted film. A mystery only love can unravel . . .1968 Gemma Turner once dreamed of stardom, now she''s on the cusp of obscurity. When a radical new horror film offers her the leading role, her luck looks set to change. Until one dark night, Gemma disappears on set and is never seen again. But this is only the beginning... Gemma has been pulled into the film itself, where the script - and the horrors within it - are more real than she ever imagined, and she must play her role perfectly if she hopes to survive. 2007Gemma Turner''s disappearance is one of Hollywood''s greatest mysteries - one that''s captivated film student Christopher ever since he saw the infamous L''Étrange Lune for the first time. The film is screened just once a decade, and each time there is

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The gripping twenty-fifth mystery in the DI Wesley Peterson crime series set in Devon, by award-winning crime writer Kate Ellis.

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Amanda Quick, the New York Times bestselling author of 'Til Death Do Us Part, transports readers to 1930s California, where glamour and seduction spawn a multitude of sins . . .

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After escaping the grip of the workhouse, Lily has kept her fiance's business afloat while he is away fighting on the Western Front. Still battling on, she's now doing her bit for her country as an auxiliary nurse - but one thing above all else continues to weigh heavily on her heart: her long-lost sister. Born just before her mother died, the scandal was hushed-up and the baby spirited away. But now, at last, there is hope Lily could find her little sister for she has a clue to go on: the name of the notorious baby farmer who bought the child all those years ago. Mrs Jolley. Using all her pluck, and with the help of her two friends Margie and Fanny, Lily will do anything in her power to find her little sister and save her from the dark streets of London. With Winter drawing in, and the war with no end in sight, will she be able to bring her family together?

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After escaping the grip of the workhouse, Lily has kept her fiancé's business afloat while he is away fighting on the Western Front. Still battling on, she's now doing her bit for her country as an auxiliary nurse - but one thing above all else continues to weigh heavily on her heart: her long-lost sister.Born just before her mother died, the scandal was hushed-up and the baby spirited away. But now, at last, there is hope Lily could find her little sister for she has a clue to go on: the name of the notorious baby farmer who bought the child all those years ago. Mrs Jolley.Using all her pluck, and with the help of her two friends Margie and Fanny, Lily will do anything in her power to find her little sister and save her from the dark streets of London.With Winter drawing in, and the war with no end in sight, will she be able to bring her family together?

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An addictive psychological thriller about dark family secrets, by the Top Ten ebook bestselling author of My Husband's Lies.

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'If you're a crime fiction fan and haven't discovered them yet, welcome to the very best day of your life' Heat MagazineThe brand new thriller in the Sunday Times bestselling series As it often did since he'd married a cop, murder interrupted more pleasant activities. The again, Roarke supposed, the woman lying in a pool of her own blood a few steps inside the arch in Washington Square Park had a heftier complaint. When a night out at the theatre is interrupted by the murder of a young woman in Washington Square Park, it seems like an ordinary case for Detective Eve Dallas and her team. But when her husband Roarke spots a shadow from his past in the crowd, Eve realises that this case is far from business as usual. Eve has two complex cases on her hands - the shocking murder of this wealthy young mother and tracking down the shadow before he can strike again, this time much closer to home. Eve is well used to being the hunter, but how will she cope when the tables are turned? As Eve and the team follow leads to Roarke's hometown in Ireland, the race is on to stop the shadow making his next move . . .

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'A thrilling new talent' PETER JAMES'Creepy, twisted and gripping' SUN'Dark, compelling and expertly paced' M. W. CRAVEN ___________________On a cold winter's morning, the body of a young boy is discovered in Epping Forest. The body is pristine and peaceful, his head resting gently on a pillow, an angel pendant clenched in his small fist. It is a murder as carefully planned as it is brutal, and there's one person DI Bishop needs back on his team to help solve such a calculated crime. Holly Wakefield, criminal psychologist for the Met Police, is better than anyone Bishop knows at getting inside the brains of psychopaths. But with the body count rising, it's going to take all their strength and resolve to stop the serial killer before any more angels are put to their rest . . .A breathtaking, page-turning thriller perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Stuart MacBride and Robert Bryndza.___________________What readers are saying:'Wow . . . An astonishingly gripping novel that grabbed me by the throat from the get-go''Awestruck, I finished this book with shaking hands and a pounding heart. Edge-of-your-seat stuff. Simply brilliant''A dark, riveting and absolutely compulsive must-read''I read it in one sitting as I couldn't wait to find out how it would end''Absolute must read . . . you won't be disappointed''Total page turner from start to finish''An immensely satisfying read and an absolutely gripping thriller''Unputdownable . . . would highly recommend''Amazing . . . I read it in a day''What a brilliant read, full of tension as the investigation gains pace, great characters, dark humour, and grips you right from the start to the end''Mark Griffin strikes again. Phenomenal''The writing is more expertly crafted, drawing you deeper into the darkness and walking with the characters as the desperate events unfold''Another masterpiece from Mark Griffin''Such a thrilling read that I couldn't put it down''Tightly plotted, intricate twists and turns, very human characters'

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LONGLISTED FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT AWARD'Sharp, funny . . . the best sort of murder mystery' Tatler'A perfect antidote to all the real-life craziness going on' Daily MailSir Ecgbert Tode of Tode Hall has survived to a grand old age - much to the despair of his younger wife, Emma. But at ninety-three he has, at last, shuffled off the mortal coil.Emma, Lady Tode, thoroughly fed up with being a dutiful Lady of the Manor, wants to leave the country to spend her remaining years in Capri. Unfortunately her three tiresome children are either unwilling or unable (too mad, too lefty or too happy in Australia) to take on management of their large and important home, so the mantle passes to a distant relative and his glamorous wife.Not long after the new owners take over, Lady Tode is found dead in the mausoleum. Accident? Or is there more going on behind the scenes of Tode Hall than an outsider would ever guess....?In the traditions of two great but very different British writers, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse, Waugh's hilarious and entirely original twist on the country house murder mystery comes complete with stiff upper lips, even stiffer drinks, and any stiffs that might embarrass the family getting smartly brushed under the carpet...What everyone's saying about In the Crypt with a Candlestick...'I couldn't put it down' Santa Montefiore'A delightful treat' The Lady'Deliciously entertaining' Andrew Wilson'An irresistible champagne bubble of pleasure and laughter' Rachel Johnson'A perfect antidote to wintry gloom' The Literary Review'What a triumph!' Antonia Fraser'A masterclass in how to write a rollicking good read' Sarah Vine'A jolly farce that never takes itself too seriously' Red Magazine'Fizzles, crackles and sparkles' Elizabeth Buchan'A work of sublime silliness' Simon Brett'An effervescent madcap whodunnit' Metro'A marvellous rollicking read' Mary Killen'She's skewered her targets brilliantly' Imogen Edwards-Jones

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''Laura Vanderkam is one of the world''s leading experts in time management and productivity . . . her insights in Off the Clock can change your life'' - Dorie Clark, author of Stand Out''Laura Vanderkam delivers a compelling and evidence-based argument that busyness is overrated in our current culture. Living a full life, at work and at home, is about doing the right things well, and confidently missing out on everything else'' - Cal Newport, bestselling author of Deep Work''I loved it . . . Vanderkam expertly weaves together interviews with experts, anecdotes about her own personal life, philosophical musings, and scientific research'' - Shana Lebowitz, Business Insider UKLearn to savour life''s best moments - no matter how busy you are - through mindset shifts that alter your perception of time.Laura Vanderkam, the acclaimed author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, isn''t like o

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'Smart, sexy, and oh-so romantic' Mary BaloghThey call him the Duke of Murder . . . The gossips whisper that the new Duke of Murdoch is a brute, a murderer, and even worse - a Scot. They say he should never be trusted alone with a woman. But Megan Windham sees in Hamish something different, someone different.No one was fiercer at war than Hamish McHugh, though now the soldier faces a whole new battlefield: a London Season. To make his sisters happy, he'll take on any challenge - even letting their friend Miss Windham teach him to waltz. Megan isn't the least bit intimidated by his dark reputation, but Hamish senses that she's fighting battles of her own. For her, he'll become the warrior once more, and for her, he might just lose his heart.The sparkling first book in the New York Times bestselling Windham Brides series - perfect for fans of Eloisa James, Tessa Dare and Elizabeth HoytThe Windham Brides series:The Trouble with DukesToo Scot to HandleNo Other Duke Will DoA Rogue of Her OwnPraise for Grace Burrowes: 'Wonderfully funny, moving romance, not to be missed!' Eloisa James'Sexy heroes, strong heroines, intelligent plots, enchanting love stories...Grace Burrowes's romances have them all' Mary Balogh'Grace Burrowes is a romance treasure' Tessa Dare'Grace Burrowes writes from the heart - with warmth, humor, and a generous dash of sensuality, her stories are unputdownable! If you're not reading Grace Burrowes you're missing the very best in today's Regency Romance!' Elizabeth Hoyt

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Hayley Phillips has come to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child. She isn't looking for a handout from her distant older cousin, Roz, just a job. What she finds is a home complete with resident ghost, and the best friends she's ever had. And if Roz's son Harper occasionally shows up in her private fantasies as more than a friend...well, she'll just have to get over it. Her new daughter, Lily, is the focus of her life now; and Hayley is reluctant to risk her friendship with Harper and her new life on the promise of an affair. However, the ghost - a madwoman who has been haunting the family home for centuries - has now turned her attentions to Hayley, consuming her thoughts and dreams. Harper is determined to protect her, but before Hayley can begin to trust her growing feelings for him, they must battle to discover the truth behind the ghost's despair, so that they can finally lay her spirit to rest.

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Sunday Times Top-Ten Bestseller and Richard and Judy Book Club Choice. I'll risk my life for you. On 24 November Yasmin and her ten-year-old daughter Ruby set off on a journey across Northern Alaska. They're searching for Ruby's father, missing in the arctic wilderness. More isolated with each frozen mile they cover, they travel deeper into an endless night. And Ruby, deaf since birth, must brave the darkness where sight cannot guide her. She won't abandon her father. But winter has tightened its grip, and there is somebody out there who wants to stop them. Somebody tracking them through the dark. Praise for The Quality of Silence: 'There are many things to love about Lupton's third novel, not least its stunning evocation of the stark, beautiful Alaskan wilds. An elegant and icily unique thriller: you won't read anything like it this year' Observer 'Scary, suspenseful and so exquisitely, evocatively written. I found myself shivering as if I were there in Alaska with Ruby and her mother. Everything you want in a wonderful novel' Liane Moriarty, author of The Husband's Secret 'Ambitious and imaginative. Narrated in part by Ruby (her deafness is treated with great sensitivity), the landscape, wildlife and bitter climate of Alaska are powerfully drawn. Chilling in every sense, you won't want to step away from this story' Sunday Mirror 'A sophisticated thriller which brilliantly evokes the sublime and terrifying landscape of Alaska, the culture of the Inupiat people and the fragility of our planet' Sunday Telegraph 'Like a breath of icy air, this relentlessly tense thriller is also a child's-eye family drama like none other. Not since Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow have I shivered like this' Emma Donoghue, author of Room 'Will have you gripped form start to finish' Cosmopolitan 'A taut psychological thriller, The Quality of Silence will have your heart thumping. Masterful pacing, riveting plotting. Absolutely gripping' Louise Penny 'A literary slow burn, whose focus is as much on human endurance and a mother's relationship with her deaf daughter as the mystery of her husband's disappearance. This is Lupton at the height of her storytelling powers' Daily Mail 'A beautifully written thriller, and the way in which Lupton used the tundra as a metaphor for grief and faith in stunning. The voice of Ruby and her compassionate exploration of a life without sound only adds to the richness of the book' Press and Journal 'A wonderful writer ...absolutely gripping' Jane Garvey, BBC Radio 2 Women's Hour 'The pressure is on to keep creating equally brilliant stores [and] Lupton has done that with The Quality of Silence' Red Magazine 'An elegant, chilling read from a writer who continues to stretch the bounds of suspense' William Landay, author of Defending Jacob

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The No. 1 New York Times bestselling 'queen of paranormal romance'* is back with a sexy new series starring a Chicago crime family that hides a dark, mystical secret . . . Whether it's fast cars or fast women, Stefano Ferraro gets what he wants. When he's not fodder for the paparazzi, he commands Ferraro family businesses - both legitimate and illegitimate. While their criminal activity is simply a rumour yet to be proven, no one knows the real truth. The Ferraros are a family of shadow riders capable of manipulating light and dark, an ability Stefano thought ran in his family alone - until now . . . With little left to her name, Francesca Cappello has come to Chicago in hopes of a new life. She wasn't expecting to attract the attention of a man with primal hunger in his eyes, driven to claim her as his to protect and to please. And if he discovers her secret, it could ruin her . . .Find out why readers are OBSESSED with the Shadow Series'Dark, gritty, edgy, magical . . . will hold you spellbound' Fresh Fiction'Exciting, nerve-wracking, suspenseful . . . a true page-turner' Long and Short'Dark and sensual . . . tore my heart apart and pieced it back together again' Harlequin Book Junkie'The family that Feehan introduces to us is freakin' AWESOME! I loved each and every sibling' Addicted to Romance'An exciting, action-packed romantic ride' Goodreads reviewer*J. R. Ward

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In this spellbinding novel about a woman whose past is catching up with her, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts dazzles readers 'a story you won't be able to put down' (Library Journal)Naomi Carson is a survivor. As a child, her family was torn apart by a shocking crime. It could have destroyed her, but Naomi has grown up strong, with a passion for photography that has taken her all around the world.Now, at last, she has decided to put down roots. The beautiful old house on Point Bluff needs work, but Naomi is looking forward to making a home of her own.But as Naomi plans for the future, her past is catching up with her. Someone in town knows her terrifying secret - and won't let her forget it... 'A read to be savored . . . Roberts has an unparalleled ability to paint a picture with words . . . and the story is expertly executed.' -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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LEAVE YOUR MARK isn't an advice book -- it's a mentorship in 288 pages. Aliza Licht -- global fashion communications executive, AKA fashion's favorite 'PR girl' and Twitter phenomenon -- is here to tell her story, complete with The Devil Wears Prada-like moments and insider secrets. Drawing invaluable lessons from her experience, Licht shares advice, inspiration, and a healthy dose of real talk in LEAVE YOUR MARK. She delivers personal and professional guidance for people just starting their careers and for people who are well on their way. With a particular emphasis on communicating and building your personal brand, something she knows a thing or two about, Aliza is your sassy, knowledgeable guide to the contemporary working world, where personal and professional lines are blurred and the most important thing you can have is a strong sense of self.

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Tatijana of the Dragonseekers spent centuries encased in ice with her sister, trapped in limbo between life and death, never speaking to a soul other than those who tormented her. Now, she has been freed from her frozen prison by an unknown descendent. Awakened in human form, Tatijana yearns to explore the modern world in which she now lives-a world with more mysteries than she is prepared for. Fenris Dalka has returned to the Carpathian Mountains after a long absence to be with his brother. He is scarred by centuries of battle, and every hard-won victory. But the real reason for his return home could prove deadly if discovered by the wrong man-or woman. Upon his arrival, he is compelled by a beautiful and enigmatic stranger who carries the scent of fresh earth, of forest, of the night itself.In time Tatijana and Fenris will discover all that unites them-their secrets and pasts, their predators, and the hot flush of passion that stirs their souls. Yet just as surely,

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Jane Gardam's funny and wise masterpiece, reissued with a new introduction by Nina Stibbe'Old Filth has stayed with me for years' SATHNAM SANGHERA'Sharp, humane, generous and wonderfully funny' HILARY MANTEL'The last great book I read' RACHEL WEISZ 'Gardam's masterpiece'GUARDIANFilth, in his heydey, was an international lawyer with a practice in the Far East. Now, only the oldest QCs can remember that his nickname stood for Failed In London Try Hong Kong. Long ago, Old Filth was a Raj orphan - one of the many young children sent 'Home' from the East to be fostered and educated in England. Jane Gardam's novel tells his story, from his birth in what was then Malaya to the extremities of his old age. In doing so, she not only encapsulates a whole period from the glory days of the British Empire, through the Second World War, to the present and beyond, but also illuminates the complexities of the character known variously as Eddie, the Judge, Fevvers, Filth, Master of the Inner Temple, Teddy and Sir Edward Feathers.

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The funniest, wildest and most original debut novel of 2024 ''A wild and funny ride through modern life'' Financial Times''Gobby, barbed and garrulous'' Eley Williams''Truly original'' Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies''Genuinely hilarious'' Keiran Goddard, author of Hourglass''It''s impossible not to be charmed by this big-hearted story'' BustleIt''s Natwest''s last day before he leaves for university, and there''s only one thing on his mind: the deeply embarrassing package he ordered to his house - which still hasn''t arrived. He won''t leave town without it. Any alternative is too distressing to consider ... This is the story of twenty-four hours in the life of NATWEST, and his small-town odyssey in pursuit of the missing package. And yet it''s also the story of a MIDDLE-AGED DENTIST who dreams of being a respected artist - but the only thing he can seem to pa

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'Original, tender, thoughtful and true' Reese Witherspoon'Part tender coming of age story, part electrifying tale of political awakening, part heartfelt love letter to Deaf culture, True Biz is a wholly a wonder' Celeste NgNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK - A 'tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged' (The New York Times Book Review) novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the acclaimed author of Girl at War.True biz (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talkTrue biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they'll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who's never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school's golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another - and changed forever.This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.

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Our future diet will be shaped by diverse forces. It will be shaped by novel technologies and the logic of globalisation, by geopolitical tensions and the evolution of cultural preferences, by shocks to the status quo - pandemics and economic strife, the escalation of the climate and ecological crises - and by how we choose to respond. It will also be shaped by our emotions. It will be shaped by the meat paradox.'Should we eat animals?' was, until recently, a question reserved for moral philosophers and an ethically minded minority, but it is now posed on restaurant menus and supermarket shelves, on social media and morning television. The recent surge in popularity for veganism in the UK, Europe and North America has created a rupture in the rites and rituals of meat, challenging the cultural narratives that sustain our omnivory.In The Meat Paradox, Rob Percival, an expert in the politics of meat, searches for the evolutionary origins of the meat paradox, asking when our relationship with meat first became emotionally and ethically complicated. Every society must eat, and meat provides an important source of nutrients. But every society is moved by its empathy. We must all find a way of balancing competing and contradictory imperatives. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the origins of our empathy, the psychology of our dietary choices, and anyone who has wondered whether they should or shouldn't eat meat.

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The riveting story of the hundred-year intelligence war between Russia and the West with lessons for our new superpower conflict with China''A masterpiece'' CHRISTOPHER ANDREW, author of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorised History of MI5''The book we have all been waiting for'' BRENDAN SIMMS, author of Hitler: A Global Biography''Gripping, authoritative... A vivid account of intelligence skulduggery'' KirkusEspionage, election meddling, disinformation, assassinations, subversion, and sabotage - all attract headlines today about Putin''s dictatorship. But they are far from new. The West has a long-term Russia problem, not a Putin problem. Spies mines hitherto secret archives and exclusive interviews with former agents to tell the history of the war that Russia and the West have been waging for a century. Espionage dark arts were the Kremlin''s means to equalise the imbalance of arms

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Migrants cuts through the toxic debates to tell the rich and collective stories of humankind's urge to move. 'Fascinating... Miller's perspective may be just what we need' Daily Telegraph 'Enjoyable, provocative and timely' Spectator 'Timely and empathetic: a rare combination on this most controversial issue' Remi Adekoya, author of Biracial Britain 'Tremendous: blends the personal and the panoramic to great effect' Robert Winder, author of Bloody Foreigners Humans are, in fundamental ways, a migratory species, more so than any other land mammal. For most of our existence , we were all nomads, and some of us still are. Houses and permanent settlements are a relatively late development - dating back little more than twelve thousand years. Borders and passports are much more recent. From the Neanderthals

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'Oliver Harris is always pure quality and I'm loving the hell out of his foray into the contemporary spy novel' Ian Rankin'Scary if true, or even half true' Sunday Times star pickThere is a dark side to MI6 that needs men like Elliot Kane - mercurial, inquisitive, free floating. He's spent fifteen years managing events overseas that never make the papers, deniable and deeply effective. Kane is a ghost in his own life, picking up and dropping personalities as each new cover story comes into play. But when a woman he loves, Joanna Lake, vanishes without a trace in Kazakhstan, he is forced centre stage. Drawn ever deeper into a realm of deception, Kane moves from merely infiltrating events to steering them. He's used to a new mode of hybrid psychological warfare - but snowbound Kazakhstan presents unique challenges. Poised between China, Russia and the West, dictatorship and democracy, state intelligence and an increasingly powerful world of private agencies, it's impossible to work out who is manipulating who. And Kane's not the only one trying to figure out where Joanna Lake has gone or what she learned before disappearing.Unable to trust anyone, hunted by his own colleagues, and with the life of someone he loves at stake, Kane needs to work out who is driving events, and why...Readers say:'Damn, Harris knows what he is talking about, and damn if he doesn't stream that knowledge hard and fast through a sniper's ricocheting trickshot of a plot' five star reader review'I love the geopolitical skullduggery, the contemporary Great Game ... and it does feel contemporary. It puts espionage solidly in the digital world without losing the essence - people on the ground' five star reader review'Up there with LeCarre in my view. I'll get everything he's written now' five star reader review

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At the beginning of each decade for 200 years the national census has presented a self-portrait of the British Isles.The census has surveyed Britain from the Napoleonic wars to the age of the internet, through the agricultural and industrial revolutions, possession of the biggest empire on earth and the devastation of the 20th century's two world wars.In The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker, Roger Hutchinson looks at every census between the first in 1801 and the latest in 2011. He uses this much-loved resource of family historians to paint a vivid picture of a society experiencing unprecedented changes.Hutchinson explores the controversial creation of the British census. He follows its development from a head-count of the population conducted by clerks with quill pens, to a computerised survey which is designed to discover 'the address, place of birth, religion, marital status, ability to speak English and self-perceived national identity of every twenty-seven-year-old Welsh-speaking Sikh metalworker living in Swansea'.All human life is here, from prime ministers to peasants and paupers, from Irish rebels to English patriots, from the last native speakers of Cornish to the first professional footballers, from communities of prostitutes to individuals called 'abecedarians' who made a living from teaching the alphabet.The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker is as original and unique as those people and their islands on the cutting edge of Europe.

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Winner of an English PEN 'PEN Translates!' award.Barcelona, 1952: General Franco's fascist government is at the height of its oppressive powers, casting a black shadow across the city. When wealthy socialite Mariona Sobrerroca is found dead in her mansion in the exclusive Tibidabo district, the police scramble to seize control of the investigation. Ana Martí Noguer, an eager young journalist, is surprised to be assigned this important story, shadowing Inspector Isidro Castro.But Ana soon realises that a bundle of strange letters unearthed at the scene point to a sequence of events dramatically different from the official version. She enlists the help of her cousin Beatriz, a scholar, and what begins as an intriguing puzzle opens up a series of revelations that implicate the regime's most influential figures. The two women have placed themselves in mortal danger. As the conspiracy unfolds, Ana's courage and Beatriz's wits will be their only weapons against the city's corrupt and murderous elite.

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Hands, face, space. Curfews. Don''t drink. Bend your knees. Conform, obey, comply - surrender. British life has become infested by bossiness. Boris Johnson won power as one of life''s free-wheelers but his first year as PM saw a fever of finger-wagging. The real pandemic? Passive-aggressive ninnying by politicians, scientists and officialdom. From Sage with its graphs to BBC grandees telling us not to sing ''Rule Britannia'', the National Trust with its slavery mania, to calorie counts on menus: why won''t they leave us alone? Theatre directors beat us over the head with their agitprop. Militant cyclists scream at us from their saddles. Meghan Markle ticks us off for not being more Californian. Bossiness: did it begin when Moses came down from the mountain with his tablets? Cromwell beat Chris Whitty to it by four centuries and banned Christmas. A. Hitler, B. Mussolini and J.V. Stalin: they liked to throw their weight around, but today''s self-serving dictators are

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*AN EVENING STANDARD BEST THRILLERS TO READ IN 2022*'This gripping thriller explores what it's like to have a picture perfect life but with a deep and secret past' EVENING STANDARD'I devoured it in a single sitting' C. J. COOPER, author of THE BOOK CLUB'A tense, page-turning thriller' LISA BALLANTYNE, author of ONCE UPON A LIE___________When Grace Jensen returns to her home one day, she finds a body in a pool of blood and a menacing gift left for her.The community of Lookout Beach is shocked by such a brutal intrusion in their close-knit neighbourhood - particularly to a family as successful and well-liked as the Jensens - and a police investigation to find the trespasser begins.But Grace knows who's after her. She might have changed her name and moved across the world, deciding to hide on the Oregon coast, but she's been waiting seventeen years for what happened in the small Welsh town where she grew up to catch-up with her.Grace might seem like the model neighbour and mother, but nobody in Lookout Beach - not even her devoted husband Elias - knows the real her. Or how much blood is on her hands.___________The hottest, edge-of-your-seat summer thriller, perfect for fans of THE HOLIDAY by T. M. Logan and BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING . . .'I have devoured this book in one sitting with no regrets. I NEED more''A page turner of a book, I couldn't put it down. 5 stars all the way''Utterly captivating . . . Compelling, addictive''Wow, I loved this one. The perfect setting with a gripping storyline''Atmospheric, dark and chilling, I couldn't put it down!''A page turner . . . loved everything about this book''Definitely one to pack in your bag for holiday''An absolutely wonderful and thrilling page turner. It had me on the edge of my seat'

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'Essential reading ... An incisive and urgently needed book' Tim Harford'[An] entertaining introduction to the uses (and misuses) of data ... a penetrating analysis of why statistical literacy matters to our politics and our daily lives' Professor Jonathan Portes Our politicians make vital decisions and declarations every day that rely on official data. But should all statistics be trusted?In BAD DATA, House of Commons Library statistician Georgina Sturge draws back the curtain on how governments of the past and present have been led astray by figures littered with inconsistency, guesswork and uncertainty.Discover how a Hungarian businessman's bright idea caused half a million people to go missing from UK migration statistics. Find out why it's possible for two politicians to disagree over whether poverty has gone up or down, using the same official numbers, and for both to be right at the same time. And hear about how policies like ID cards, super-casinos and stopping ex-convicts from reoffending failed to live up to their promise because they were based on shaky data.With stories that range from the troubling to the empowering to the downright absurd, BAD DATA reveals secrets from the usually closed-off world of policy-making. It also suggests how - once we understand the human story behind the numbers - we can make more informed choices about who to trust, and when.

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Happy with her husband-to-be and beloved son, Isabel Dalhousie has feelings about parenthood that grow more tender daily. So when Jane, a visiting academic adopted and sent to Australia as a baby, asks for help in tracing her Scottish origins, she cannot refuse.However, habitually upright Isabel finds herself beset by temptation - for instance, to be suspicious of Professor Lettuce''s latest subterfuge, and of her niece Cat''s weakness for the wrong man. And when the search for Jane''s parents turns troubling, she can hardly prevent herself from interfering too forcefully in family secrets. As she steers a course between love and laissez-faire, our philosopher heroine succeeds in resisting all temptations but those which must be answered, and teases a solution from every problem.

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For many men, middle age arrives too fast and without due warning. One day you are young, free and single; the next you are bald, fat and washed-up, with weird tendrils of hair growing out of your ears. None of it seems fair. With age should come dignity and respect, but instead everyone makes tired jokes about buying a motorbike.Marcus Berkmann isn't having it. Having marked his fiftieth birthday by hiding under the duvet for six weeks, the author of the cricket classics Rain Men and Zimmer Men is now determined to find some light in the all-consuming darkness. Musing over birth, death and all the messy stuff in between, he concludes that however dreadful you look in the mirror today, it will be much worse in ten years' time. His brutally candid despatch from the frontline is not for the faint-hearted, which is to say anyone under thirty-five.

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Hauled in a cart to a field hospital in northern France in March 1916, an American woman wakes from unconsciousness to the smell of gas gangrene, the sounds of men in pain, and an almost complete loss of memory: she knows only that she can drive an ambulance, she can draw, and her name is Stella Bain. A stateless woman in a lawless country, Stella embarks on a journey to reconstruct her life. Suffering an agonising and inexplicable array of symptoms, she finds her way to London. There, Dr August Bridge, a cranial surgeon turned psychologist, is drawn to tracking her amnesia to its source. What brutality was she fleeing when she left the tranquil seclusion of a New England college campus to serve on the Front; for what crime did she need to atone - and whom did she leave behind? Vivid, intense and gripping, packed with secrets and revelations, The Lives of Stella Bain is at once a ravishing love story and an intense psychological mystery.

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For you, I was a chapter-a good chapter maybe, or even your favorite chapter, but, still, just a chapter-and for me, you were the book.' Judith Whitman believes in the sort of love that 'picks you up in Akron, Ohio, and sets you down in Rio de Janeiro'. But she married more pragmatically. Before her marriage to a banker, before her career as a film editor in Los Angeles, Judith was 17 and living in Nebraska, where she met Willy Blunt, a carpenter whose pale blue eyes and easy smile awakened in Judith the reckless girl he alone imagined her to be. Marrying Willy seemed a natural thing to promise. But a violent episode followed by acceptance to a prestigious university carried Judith away. Twenty years later, Judith's sturdy-seeming marriage is suddenly hazy with secrets, and her thoughts drift back to the time when she and Willy had escaped to a small world where sunlight seemed always to fall from a softer angle. What happens now when she holds in her hand the number for the man who believed it, long ago, when she declared her love?

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The first book in the Jasmine Sharp series, from author Christopher Brookmyre.A ''tense, moving, and gloriously twisted'' (Mark Billingham) top ten Sunday Times bestseller from the award-winning author of Quite Ugly One Morning Detective Catherine McLeod was always taught that in Glasgow, they don''t do whodunit. They do score-settling, vendettas and petty revenge. And however she looks at it, the discovery of a dead drug-dealer in a back alley means she''s going to be busy.Meanwhile, aspiring actress Jasmine Sharp is reluctantly - and incompetently - working for her uncle Jim''s private investigation business. When Jim goes missing, Jasmine has to take on the investigator mantle for real, and her only lead points to a professional assassin who has been dead for twenty years. Soon Jasmine stumbles into a web of corruption and secrets that leaves her running for her life.''[A] smartly written mainstream detective story .

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Who makes most money from the demand for cappuccinos early in the morning at Waterloo Station? Why is it impossible to get a foot on the property ladder? How does the Mafia make money from laundries when street gangs pushing drugs don''t? Who really benefits from immigration? How can China, in just fifty years, go from the world''s worst famine to one of the greatest economic revolutions of all time, lifting a million people out of poverty a month?Looking at familiar situations in unfamiliar ways, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST is a fresh explanation of the fundamental principles of the modern economy, illuminated by examples from the streets of London to the booming skyscrapers of Shanghai to the sleepy canals of Bruges. Leaving behind textbook jargon and equations, Tim Harford will reveal the games of signals and negotiations, contests of strength and battles of wit that drive not only the economy at large but the everyday choices we make.

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''An enthralling book'' Sunday Telegraph''Fascinating'' Sunday TimesThe Royal Navy to which Admiral Lord Nelson sacrificed his life depended on thousands of sailors and marines to man the great wind-powered wooden warships. Drawn from all over Britain and beyond, often unwillingly, these ordinary men made the navy invincible through skill, courage and sheer determination. They cast a long shadow, with millions of their descendants alive today, and many of their everyday expressions, such as ''skyscraper'' and ''loose cannon'', continuing to enrich our language. Yet their contribution is frequently overlooked, while the officers became celebrities. JACK TAR gives these forgotten men a voice in an exciting, enthralling, often unexpected and always entertaining picture of what their life was really like during this age of sail. Through personal letters, diaries and othe

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Life is so unfair, and it sends many things to try Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs and pillar of the Institute of Romance Philology in the proud Bavarian city of Regensburg.There is the undeserved rise of his rival (and owner of a one-legged dachshund), Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer; the interminable ramblings of the librarian, Herr Huber; and the condescension of his colleagues with regard to his unmarried state. But when his friend Ophelia Prinzel takes it upon herself to match-make, and duly produces a cheerful heiress with her own Schloss, it appears that the professor''s true worth is about to be recognised.Maddening, idiotic and hugely entertaining, von Igelfeld is an inspired comic creation.

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* In her wonderfully witty fifth novel, bestselling author Candace Bushnell tells the stories of five women living in Manhattan's swankiest apartment building

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For centuries, electricity was viewed as little more than a curious property of certain substances that sparked when rubbed. Then, in the 1790s, Alessandro Volta began the scientific investigation that ignited an explosion of knowledge and invention, transforming our world. The force that once seemed inconsequential was revealed to be responsible for everything from the structure of the atom to the functioning of our brains. A superb storyteller, Bodanis weaves tales of romance, divine inspiration, and fraud through lucid accounts of scientific breakthrough. The great discoverers come to life in all their brilliance and idiosyncrasy, including the visionary Michael Faraday, who struggled against the prejudices of the British class system, and Alexander Graham Bell, driven to invent by his love for a young deaf student. From the cold waters of the Atlantic, to the streets of Hamburg during a World War II firestorm and the interior of the human body, Electric Universe is a mesmerizing journey of discovery by a master science writer.

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Doctorow''s new novel is set towards the end of the American Civil War and follows General Sherman''s epic march with sixty thousand Union troops through Georgia and the Carolinas, one of the major manoeuvres to bring the war to its conclusion. THE MARCH ranges widely over a diverse set of characters - each of whom is brilliantly realised - so that we see the war through the eyes of both white-skinned Pearl (daughter of slave and slave owner) and General Sherman; a deserting confederate who sets himself up as a photographer; a ruthless army surgeon who enjoys his reputation as an amputator; and the two brothers of a brutal slave owner who find themselves in uniforms facing Sherman''s forces. Doctorow''s narrative brilliantly blends the intimate and the epic, sweeping the reader along the route of Sherman''s notorious march and making us care deeply about each individual''s fate.

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THE WARS OF THE ROSES is the definitive account of one of the bloodiest episodes in British history - wars between the houses of York and Lancaster. Trevor Royle provides a military history of the Wars while placing the conflict in the context of the time. This was a period with a rich legacy: William Caxton introduced the art of printing; there was a growing body of literature, such as Chaucer, in the English tongue; architecture flourished and great educational institutions were born such as Winchester School and King''s College, Cambridge.

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The fourth book in the Jack Parlabane series, from author Christopher Brookmyre.It was a junket, a freebie. A ''team-building'' weekend in the highlands for lawyers, advertising execs, businessmen, even the head of a charity. Oh, and a journalist, specially solicited for his renowned and voluble scepticism - Jack Parlabane. Amid the flying paintballs and flowing Shiraz even the most cynical admit the organisers have pulled some surprises - stalkers in the forest, power cuts in the night, mass mobile phone thefts, disappearing staff, disappearing guests: there''s nothing can bring out people''s hidden strengths or break down inter-personal barriers quite like not having a clue what''s going on and being scared out of your wits. However, when the only vehicular access for thirty miles is cut off it seems that events are being orchestrated not just for pleasure ... And that''s before they find the first body. Thereafter, ''finding out who your colleagues really ar

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*The controversial autobiography of one of the most celebrated historians of our time

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An Oprah''s Book Club selection, this gripping and powerfully wrought novel from the bestselling author of The Weight of Water is a stunning meditation on grief, betrayal and ''the ultimate unknowability of those closest to us'' (Daily Telegraph) Who can guess what a woman will do when the unthinkable becomes her reality? Being married to a pilot has taught Kathryn Lyons to be ready for emergencies, but nothing has prepared her for the late-night knock on her door and the news of her husband''s fatal crash. As Kathryn struggles through her grief, she is forced to confront disturbing rumours about the man she loved and the life that she took for granted. Torn between her impulse to protect her husband''s memory and her desire to know the truth, Kathryn sets off to find out if she ever really knew the man who was her husband. In her determination to test the truth of her marriage, she faces shocking revelations about the secrets a man can keep and

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In the hazardous fictional terrain of his historical novels, Gore Vidal is never especially kind to American history in general, or to its icons in particular. Yet in this brilliantly realised study of Abraham Lincoln, he paints a surprising and near-heroic picture of the man who led America through four of the most divisive and dangerous years of the nation''s history. Observed alternately by his loved ones, his rivals and his future assassins, Lincoln at first appears as an inept and naïve backwoods lawyer. People in this novel are not averse to turning up, getting drunk, and regaling the reader with details of Lincoln''s whoring activities and his seemingly inexhaustible supply of folksy stories. Yet gradually Lincoln the towering leader of deep vision emerges in a Washington engulfed by fear, greed and the horrors of the Civil War. Lincoln''s loving but mentally decomposing wife, his view from the White House on slavery and America''s bloodiest war, and his own, fierce personal

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