Search results for ""transworld""

Let multi-million copy bestselling author Joanna Trollope draw you into this perceptive and prescient novel that will keep you gripped. She has a real skill in creating credible characters - and delving into our deepest thoughts and emotions. Perfect for readers of Elizabeth Noble, Erica James and Amanda Prowse, this is a novel that will stay with you for a long time...'Trollope at her best' -- Spectator'Undeniably warmhearted and socially topical...above all a novel filled with good advice' -- Observer'Truly, I couldn't put it down. I'm telling you, Trollope is a significant chronicler' -- Daily Mail'Trollope has a keen ear for the yelps of distress, as lives are sliced in half byshabby betrayal... A book that is as enjoyable as it is thoughtful' -- The Times'An absorbing read' -- ***** Reader review'Great story, very touching but - a wonderful read' -- ***** Reader review'An excellent book which I couldn't put down' -- ***** Reader review'Joanna Trollope never fails in her story telling' -- ***** Reader review****************************************************************************DOES 'FRIENDS' EVER REALLY MEAN JUST 'FRIENDS'?Gina and Laurence have been the best of friends ever since they were teenagers. Love has never been a factor.Now, Gina is married to the exquisitely tasteful Fergus and lives in stylish perfection in a huge house; Laurence is married to down-to-earth Hilary and lives in the Bee House, a home and hotel.When, with elegant disdain, Fergus announces that he is leaving Gina and their teenage daughter, Gina's misery ricochets through the two homes and she turns for emotional support to Laurence, her dearest friend.And as Laurence gives comfort, so his own marriage and the stability of his children edges towards destruction ...

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Multi-million copy bestselling author Joanna Trollope expertly depicts how grief can tip the family balance head over heels in this beautifully written novel about change and hope through adversity. Perfect for readers of Elizabeth Noble, Erica James and Amanda Prowse.'Extraordinarily powerful' -- Mail on Sunday'A devastatingly acute picture of a harsh rural world' -- The Sunday Times'Certainly one of her best' -- Daily Telegraph'A richly satisfying novel ... compulsively readable' -- Sunday Express'Kept me interested - twists and turns - great character development - well written' -- ***** Reader review'I couldn't put it down and finished the book in just a couple of days' -- ***** Reader review'Excellent' -- ***** Reader review'A wonderful book, a wonderful story, wonderful characters - a must have' -- ***** Reader review**************************************************************A FAMILY IN CRISIS. A CATALYST THAT THREATENS TO CHANGE EVERYTHING...The land running down to the River Dean has been farmed by the Meredith family for generations. Robin Meredith bought the farm from his father, just before he married his wife Caro and now he and his brother Joe work on the land. But now Caro has died, as much as a mystery to the family as she was when she arrived twenty years ago, and the whole family feels her loss acutely, none more so than her adopted daughter Judy.Into this unhappy family comes Zoe, Judy's London friend, an outsider with an independent spirit and a disturbing directness. Everyone underestimates Zoe's power as a catalyst for change as the realities behind the seeming idyll of a rural community become ever clearer...

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The sixth novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin’s best-selling San Francisco saga.‘Maupin's adeptness at fluid dialogue, his flair for shaping characters who thread the needle between pop archetypes and singular human beings… are all on display’ New York Times____________________A fiercely ambitious TV talk show host finds she must choose between national stardom in New York and a husband and child in San Francisco. Caught in the middle is their longtime friend, a gay man whose own future is even more uncertain. Wistful and compassionate yet subversively funny, Sure of You is Armistead Maupin’s addictively entertaining observation on family, friendship and every relationship in between.Hurdling barriers both social and sexual, Maupin leads the eccentric tenants of Barbary Lane through heartbreak and triumph, through nail-biting terrors and gleeful coincidences in 1980s San Francisco. The result is a glittering and addictive comedy of manners that continues to beguile new generations of readers.

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This captivating and charming novel from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris takes us back to the French village we first discovered in Chocolat. Seamlessly interweaving the past and the present, magic and memory, it is a sensual rollercoaster that will appeal to fans of Victoria Hislop, Fiona Valpy, Maggie O'Farrell and Rachel Joyce.'Thickly sensuous, wildly indulgent, magical escapism: Chocolat lovers will drink deeply' --GUARDIAN'Joanne Harris has the gift of conveying her delight in the sensuous pleasures of food, wine, scent and plants... Blackberry Wine has all the appeal of a velvety scented glass of vintage wine' -- DAILY MAIL'A wonderful story' -- ***** Reader review'A beautiful story... beautifully written and very atmospheric' ***** Reader review'I could NOT put this book down' ***** Reader review'A very good book, lots of warmth and light' ***** Reader review*******************************************************************Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his childhood, to which he longs to return.A bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide the key to an old mystery. As the unusual properties of the strange brew take effect, Jay escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet.There, a ghost from the past waits to confront him, and the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous - hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters.Between them, a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic?

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From the NUMBER 1 bestselling author of LIFE AFTER LIFE, SHRINES OF GAIETY and NORMAL RULES DON'T APPLYOn a peat and heather island off the west coast of Scotland, Effie and her mother Nora take refuge in the large mouldering house of their ancestors and tell each other stories.Nora, at first, recounts nothing that Effie really wants to hear, like who her father was - variously Jimmy, Jack, or Ernie. Effie tells of her life at college in Dundee, where she lives in a lethargic relationship with Bob, a student who never goes to lectures, seldom gets out of bed, and to whom the Klingons are as real as the French and the Germans (more real than the Luxemburgers).But strange things are happening. Why is Effie being followed? Why is everyone writing novels? Is someone killing the old people? And where is the mysterious yellow dog?'Sends jolts of pleasure off the page...Kate Atkinson's funniest foray yet...it is a work of Dickensian or even Shakespearean plenty' SCOTSMAN'A brilliant and profoundly original writer' DAILY TELEGRAPH

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'A dark page-turning debut of friendship, deceit and lies' Woman & Home'A compelling page-turner which kept me reading well into the night' Jane Corry, author of My Husband's WifeYOU TRUSTED YOUR BEST FRIEND . . . YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE.Vicky Seagrave is blessed: three beautiful children, a successful, doting husband, great friends and a job she loves. She should be perfectly happy.When she makes a split-second decision that risks everything she holds dear, there's only person she trusts enough to turn to.But Vicky is about to learn that one mistake is all it takes; that if you're careless with those you love, you don't deserve to keep them . . .Readers are obsessed with One Little Mistake***** 'Fast paced story with a shocking to the core ending!'***** 'Kept me hooked right up until the very last word.'***** 'Full of twists and turns, keeps you guessing to the end.'

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Fred 'Bogus' Trumper is a wayward knight-errant in the battle of the sexes and the pursuit of happiness. He also happens to have a complaint more serious than Portnoy's. Yet he stubbornly clings to the notion that he'll make something of his life, and is about to commit himself to a second marriage that bears remarkable resemblance to his first.The Water-Method Man is a work of cosummate artistry and comic invention, bizarre imagery and sharp social and psychological observation.

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'The reason Homer Wells kept his name was that he came back to St Cloud's so many times, after so many failed foster homes, that the orphanage was forced to acknowledge Homer's intention to make St Cloud's his home.'Homer Wells' odyssey begins among the apple orchards of rural Maine. As the oldest unadopted child at St Cloud's orphanage, he strikes up a profound and unusual friendship with Wilbur Larch, the orphanage's founder - a man of rare compassion and an addiction to ether. What he learns from Wilbur takes him from his early apprenticeship in the orphanage surgery, to an adult life running a cider-making factory and a strange relationship with the wife of his closest friend...

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It’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be.Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history.Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war. A war that will begin with a single bullet. But can a single bullet truly corrupt an entire century? And, if so, could another single bullet save it?

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Over the last two hundred years Parliament has witnessed and effected dramatic and often turbulent change. Political parties rose – and fell. The old aristocratic order passed away. The vote was won for the working classes and, eventually, for women. The world was torn apart by two extraordinarily bloody wars. And individual politicians were cheered for their altruism or their bravery and jeered for their sexual or financial misdemeanours.This second volume of Chris Bryant’s majestic Parliament: The Biography has a cast of characters that includes some of British history’s most famous names: the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Gladstone, Disraeli, Lloyd George, Churchill and Thatcher. Its recurring theme is reform and innovation, but it also lays bare obsessive respect for the past and a dedication to evolution rather than revolution, which has left us with a fudged constitution still perilously dependent on custom, convention and gentlemen’s agreements.This is riveting, flawlessly researched and accessible popular history for anyone with an interest in why modern Britain is the nation it is today.

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Born to parents who were enthusiastic naturalists, and linked through his wider family to a clutch of accomplished scientists, Richard Dawkins was bound to have biology in his genes. But what were the influences that shaped his life? And who inspired him to become the pioneering scientist and public thinker now famous (and infamous to some) around the world?In An Appetite for Wonder we join him on a personal journey from an enchanting childhood in colonial Africa, through the eccentricities of boarding school in England, to his studies at the University of Oxford’s dynamic Zoology Department, which sparked his radical new vision of Darwinism, The Selfish Gene. Through Dawkins’s honest self-reflection, touching reminiscences and witty anecdotes, we are finally able to understand the private influences that shaped the public man who, more than anyone else in his generation, explained our own origins.

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‘You must not become too friendly with them,’ she said. ‘They are not the same as us.’‘How?’ I asked. ‘How are they not the same?’When seven-year-old Irish orphan Lavinia is transported to Virginia to work in the kitchen of a wealthy plantation owner, she is absorbed into the life of the kitchen house and becomes part of the family of black slaves whose fates are tied to the plantation. But Lavinia’s skin will always set her apart, whether she wishes it or not. And as she grows older, she will be torn between the life that awaits her as a white woman and the people she knows as kin…A compelling, powerful and poignant coming-of-age story about the fragility of family,and where love and loyalty prevail.

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Over 150 of the world's leading scientists and thinkers offer their choice of the ideas, strategies and arguments that will help all of us understand our world, and its future, better. Includes contributions from:Richard Dawkins, Stephen Pinker, Daniel Dennett, Clay Shirky, Daniel Goleman, Sam Harris, Lee Smolin, Matt Ridley, Mark Henderson, David Rowan, Sir Martin Rees, Craig Venter, Brian Eno, Jaron Lanier and David Brooks . . . among others.With his organisation Edge.org, the literary agent and all-purpose intellectual impresario John Brockman has brought together the most influential thinkers of our age. Every year he sets them a question, this year that question was: What Scientific Concept Would Improve Everybody's Cognitive Toolkit?Their answers are collected in this book and explore philosophy, psychology, economics, and other disciplines - and all share one aim: to provide the most reliable ways of gaining knowledge about anything, whether it be human behaviour, corporate behaviour, the fate of the planet, or the future of the universe.

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The brilliantly fast and funny romantic comedy from NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR Sophie Kinsella."I let out a huge, embarrassing honk of laughter on the tube reading Wedding Night. And then, two stops later, I did it again. This is why Sophie Kinsella is beloved by millions." JOJO MOYESIt's all gone wrong with the man Lottie thought was Mr Right. Then out of the blue she gets a call from her first love. She decides it must be Fate, and rushes off to marry him and rekindle their sizzling Greek island romance.Lottie's older sister can't believe she's doing something so crazy. No more Ms Nice Sister, she's stopping this marriage. Right away! And she'll go to any lengths to do so...***** EVERYBODY LOVES SOPHIE KINSELLA: *****'I couldn’t put it down.' LOUISE PENTLAND (SprinkleofGlitter)'I almost cried with laughter' DAILY MAIL'Life doesn't get much better than a new Sophie Kinsella novel' RED'Hilarious . . . you'll laugh and gasp on every page' JENNY COLGAN

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OVER FOUR MILLION COPIES SOLDThe New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller - a heart-rending story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who face a life-changing moral dilemma'Unforgettable' GUARDIAN____________________A boat washes up on the shore of a remote lighthouse keeper's island. It holds a dead man - and a crying baby. The only two islanders, Tom and his wife Izzy, are about to make a devastating decision.They break the rules and follow their hearts. What happens next will break yours.____________________'Irresistible . . . a high concept plot that keeps you riveted from the first page' OPRAH MAGAZINE'A moving tale . . . prepare to weep' NEW YORK TIMES'A love story that is both persuasive and tender' SUNDAY TIMESWHAT READERS ARE SAYING:***** 'A beautiful, poignant story, very well told'***** 'By far, one of the best books I've ever read'***** 'A stunning and enjoyable read, one you won't forget'Now a major motion picture starring Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender and Rachel Weisz

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Retired Chief of the National Crime Police and Swedish Security Service Lars Martin Johansson has just suffered a stroke. He is paying the price for a life of excess - stress, good food and fine wine. With his dangerously high blood pressure, his heart could fail at the slightest excitement. In the hospital, a chance encounter with a neurologist provides an important piece of information about a 25-year-old murder investigation and alerts Lars Martin Johansson's irrepressible police instincts. The period for prosecution expired just weeks earlier and that isn't the only limitation. Lars Martin Johansson is determined to solve the atrocious crime – from his deathbed.The inimitable style, distinct voice and dark humour of Leif GW Persson, along with the fascinating exploration of a long-cold murder case, serves to make The Dying Detective a true masterpiece of the genre.

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Odran Yates enters Clonliffe Seminary in 1972 after his mother informs him that he has a vocation to the priesthood. He goes in full of ambition and hope, dedicated to his studies and keen to make friends.Forty years later, Odran’s devotion has been challenged by the revelations that have shattered the Irish people’s faith in the church. He has seen friends stand trial, colleagues jailed, the lives of young parishioners destroyed and has become nervous of venturing out in public for fear of disapproving stares and insulting remarks.But when a family tragedy opens wounds from his past, he is forced to confront the demons that have raged within a once respected institution and recognise his own complicity in their propagation.It has taken John Boyne fifteen years and twelve novels to write about his home country of Ireland but he has done so now in his most powerful novel to date, a novel about blind dogma and moral courage, and about the dark places where the two can meet. At once courageous and intensely personal, A History of Loneliness confirms Boyne as one of the most searching chroniclers of his generation.

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'The stand-out read of the summer. It's a masterclass in brilliant writing and whether you've read the earlier books in the series or not, you'll enjoy it.' Independent'Like all good detectives, he is a hero for men and women alike.' The Times'Laced with Atkinson's sharp, dry humour, and one of the joys of the Brodie novels has always been that they are so funny.' ObserverJackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village in North Yorkshire, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son Nathan and ageing Labrador Dido, both at the discretion of his former partner Julia. It's a picturesque setting, but there's something darker lurking behind the scenes.Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, seems straightforward, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network-and back into the path of someone from his past. Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking new literary crime novel, both sharply funny and achingly sad, by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today. _________What readers are saying:***** 'A glorious tapestry of storytelling.'***** 'An intelligently written, gripping book with characters you fall in love with.'***** 'Sheer genius, with the characteristic thread of humour.'

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The bestselling book behind the Oscar-winning film SLUMDOG MILLLIONAIRE directed by Danny Boyle'An absorbing and richly entertaining read' TimesFormer tiffinboy Ram Mohammad Thomas has just got twelve questions correct on a TV quiz-show to win a cool one billion rupees. But he is brutally slung in prison on suspicion of cheating. Because how can a kid from the slums know who Shakespeare was, unless he is cheating?In the order of the questions on the show, Ram tells us which incredible adventures in his life on the streets gave him the answers. From orphanages to brothels, gangsters to beggar-masters, and into the homes of Bollywood's rich and famous, Ram's story is brimming with the chaotic comedy, heart-stopping tragedy and joyousness of modern India.'Popular fiction at its best and brightest' Guardian'Colourful' Sunday Telegraph'Poignant, funny, rich' MEG ROSOFF, bestselling author of HOW I LIVE NOW'Not to be missed' Observer

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Life can change in an instant. A cold February morning . . . a snowy road . . . and suddenly all of Mia's choices are gone. Except one. As alone as she'll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all. Gripping, heartrending and ultimately life-affirming, If I Stay will make you appreciate all that you have, all that you've lost - and all that might be.

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Born in a surreal Moscow communal apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen, Anya von Bremzen grew up singing odes to Lenin, black-marketeering Juicy Fruit gum at school, and longing for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, drab, naively joyous, melancholy and, finally, intolerable. In 1974, when Anya was ten, she and her mother fled to the USA, with no winter coats and no right of return. These days, Anya is the doyenne of high-end food writing. And yet, the flavour of Soviet kolbasa, like Proust's madeleine, transports her back to that vanished Atlantis known as the USSR .In this sweeping, tragicomic memoir, Anya recreates seven decades of the Soviet experience through cooking and food, and reconstructs a moving family history spanning three generations. Her narrative is embedded in a larger historical epic: Lenin's bloody grain requisitioning, World War II starvation, Stalin's table manners, Khrushchev's kitchen debates, Gorbachev's disastrous anti-alcohol policies and the ultimate collapse of the USSR. And all of this is bound together by Anya's sardonic wit, passionate nostalgia and piercing observations. Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is a book that stirs the soul as well as the senses.

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‘If you are accompanied by a dog you can talk to anyone, and anyone can talk to you – about anything …’ And they do. Edward Stourton’s walks with, Kudu, his dog, become an opportunity for wonderfully unlikely encounters, and reflecting on the world from the dog-walker’s perspective proves remarkably illuminating. Ed and Kudu’s small trips to the park offer up big insights into romantic attachment, honour and heroism, guilt and depression, our sense of duty, beauty and the hard facts of life’s pecking order. Diary of a Dog-Walker is witty, wise and will be utterly irresistible to any man or woman with a dog.

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'Tremendous. A moving and haunting tribute to the human spirit' WILLIAM BOYDInto the heart of a genocide that left a million people dead6 April 1994: In the skies above Rwanda the president’s plane is shot down in flames. Near Kigali, Jean-Pierre holds his family close, fearing for their lives as the violence escalates. In the chapel of a hillside village, missionary priest Vjeko Curic prepares to save thousands of livesThe mass slaughter that follows – friends against friends, neighbours against neighbours - is one of the bloodiest chapters in historyTwenty years on, BBC Newsnight producer David Belton, one of the first journalists into Rwanda, tells of the horrors he experienced at first-hand. Now following the threads of Jean-Pierre and Vjeko Curic’s stories, he revisits a country still marked with blood, in search of those who survived and the legacy of those who did not. This is David Belton's quest for the limits of bravery and forgiveness.

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Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, shook society to its core on publication in 1859. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke but he would surely have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later. Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity.In The Greatest Show on Earth Richard Dawkins takes on creationists, including followers of 'Intelligent Design' and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection. Like a detective arriving on the scene of a crime, he sifts through fascinating layers of scientific facts and disciplines to build a cast-iron case: from the living examples of natural selection in birds and insects; the 'time clocks' of trees and radioactive dating that calibrate a timescale for evolution; the fossil record and the traces of our earliest ancestors; to confirmation from molecular biology and genetics. All of this, and much more, bears witness to the truth of evolution.The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is now flourishing as never before, especially in America. In Britain and elsewhere in the world, teachers witness insidious attempts to undermine the status of science in their classrooms. Richard Dawkins provides unequivocal evidence that boldly and comprehensively rebuts such nonsense. At the same time he shares with us his palpable love of the natural world and the essential role that science plays in its interpretation. Written with elegance, wit and passion, it is hard-hitting, absorbing and totally convincing.

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'Memories, aphorisms and stern good advice from America's favourite naughty aunt' Independent on Sunday'This book is as grown-up as a dirty martini' Sunday Times'Sharp as a knife' Daily Express___In her final book, Nora Ephron reflects on life, growing older, and everything she will and won't miss. Filled with Nora's trademark wit, wisdom and warmth.* No one actually likes to admit they're old. The most they will cop to is that they're older. Or oldish.* Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one.* I have been forgetting things for years-at least since I was in my thirties. I know this because I wrote something about it at the time. I have proof. Of course, I can't remember exactly where I wrote about it, or when, but I could probably hunt it up if I had to.___Praise for Nora Ephron'So bold and so vulnerable at the same time. I don't know how she did it' Phoebe Waller-Bridge'Oh how I loved Nora Ephron' Nigella Lawson'Funny, knowing and smart' India Knight'Nora's exacting, precise, didactic, tried-and-tested, sophisticated-woman-wearing-all-black wisdom is a comfort and a relief' Dolly Alderton

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PARIS - one of the most visited cities in the world.BUT do you know ... Which is the most romantic spot to say 'je't'aime'? And the sexiest?Where to see fantastic art, away from all the crowds?Why Parisian men feel compelled to pee in the street?How to choose a hotel room where you might actually get a good night's sleep?Stephen Clarke goes behind the scenes to reveal everything Parisians know about their city - but don't want to tell you.

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SMALL, WELL APPOINTED FUTURE. SEMI DETACHED.If the end of the world is nigh, then surely it's only sensible to make alternative arrangements. Certainly the Earth has its points, but what most people need is something smaller and more manageable. Of course there are those who say that's planetary treason, but who cares what the weirdos and terrorists think? Not Nathan. All he cares is that his movie gets made and that there's somebody left to see it.In marketing terms the end of the world will be very big. Anyone trying to save it should remember that.

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Clive Wearing has one of the most extreme cases of amnesia ever known. In 1985, a virus completely destroyed a part of his brain essential for memory, leaving him trapped in a limbo of the constant present. Every conscious moment is for him as if he has just come round from a long coma, an endlessly repeating loop of awakening. A brilliant conductor and BBC music producer, Clive was at the height of his success when the illness struck. As damaged as Clive was, the musical part of his brain seemed unaffected, as was his passionate love for Deborah, his wife.For seven years he was kept in the London hospital where the ambulance first dropped him off, because there was nowhere else for him to go. Deborah desperately searched for treatments and campaigned for better care. After Clive was finally established in a new special hospital, she fled to America to start her life over again. But she found she could never love another the way she loved Clive. Then Clive's memory unaccountably began to improve, ten years after the illness first struck. She returned to England. Today, although Clive still lives in care, and still has the worst case of amnesia in the world, he continues to improve. They renewed their marriage vows in 2002.This is the story of a life lived outside time, a story that questions and redefines the essence of what it means to be human. It is also the story of a marriage, of a bond that runs deeper than conscious thought.

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Russia, 1915: Sixteen year old farmer's son Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin's bullet intended for a senior member of the Russian Imperial Family and is instantly proclaimed a hero. Rewarded with the position of bodyguard to Alexei Romanov, the only son of Tsar Nicholas II, the course of his life is changed for ever. Privy to the secrets of Nicholas and Alexandra, the machinations of Rasputin and the events which will lead to the final collapse of the autocracy, Georgy is both a witness and participant in a drama that will echo down the century.Sixty-five years later, visiting his wife Zoya as she lies in a London hospital, memories of the life they have lived together flood his mind. And with them, the consequences of the brutal fate of the Romanovs which has hung like a shroud over every aspect of their marriage...

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Tantalising and seductive short stories from the bestselling author of Chocolat and The Strawberry Thief... Perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson and Kate Mosse as well as readers of Eve Chase and Stacey Halls.'Evocative, mystical and funny - perfect for curling up on the sofa with' - COMPANY'Leaves us wanting more' -- SUNDAY TIMES'The best thing I've read in years' -- ***** Reader review'I found myself gripped by the stories and not wanting them to end' -- ***** Reader review'A marvellous magic carpet ride!' -- ***** Reader review********************************************************************************************TAKE YOUR PARTNERS PLEASE!Suburban witches, defiant old ladies, ageing monsters, suicidal Lottery winners, wolf men, dolphin women and middle-aged manufacturers of erotic leatherwear: in Joanne Harris's first collection of short stories the miraculous goes hand-in-hand with the mundane, the sour with the sweet, and the beautiful, the grotesque, the seductive and the disturbing are never more than one step away.This is an eclectic selection of tales for our times that shows a side to Joanne Harris you have never seen before. So go on, be tempted. After all, it's only dancing.

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The hilarious romantic comedy from NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR Sophie Kinsella . . . soon to be a major motion picture!Emma is like every girl in the world. She has a few little secrets.Secrets from her mother:1. I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom to Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching TV.… From her boyfriend:2. I’m a size twelve. Not a size eight, like Connor thinks.3. I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken.… From her colleagues:4. When Artemis really annoys me (which is pretty much every day), I feed her plant orange juice.5. It was me who jammed the copier that time. In fact, all the times.…Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world:6. My G string is hurting me.7. I faked my Maths GCSE grade on my CV.8. I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is……until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. After all, she’ll never see him again.But on Monday morning, Emma’s office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO. Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. Things couldn’t possibly get worse... Until they do.***** EVERYBODY LOVES SOPHIE KINSELLA: *****'Funny, fast and farcical. I loved it' JOJO MOYES'I couldn’t put it down.' LOUISE PENTLAND (SprinkleofGlitter)'I almost cried with laughter' DAILY MAIL'Life doesn't get much better than a new Sophie Kinsella novel' RED'Hilarious . . . you'll laugh and gasp on every page' JENNY COLGAN

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'A BRILLIANT TRIBUTE TO A BRILLIANT MAN.' BOOK OF THE MONTH - CLASSIC AND SPORTS CAR---A celebration of the extraordinary life of legendary commentator Murray Walker, with tributes from key figures in Formula 1 and motorsport.Murray Walker was the voice of Formula One, matching the thrill of the track with his equally fast-paced and exhilarating commentary, delivering the euphoria of motor racing to millions.Commentating on his first grand prix for the BBC at Silverstone in 1949, Murray's broadcasting career spanned over fifty years. His natural warmth and infectious enthusiasm won great affection with audiences, whilst his passion and knowledge of motorsport allowed him to hone his instinctive presenting style into a craft.When Murray passed away in March 2021, tributes came flooding in from every corner of the sporting world. This book, compiled by Murray's great friend and colleague Maurice Hamilton, celebrates the extraordinary life of this truly legendary man. With contributions from drivers and industry figures, and many friends from the world of motorsport and beyond, Incredible! combines fond memories, never-before-told stories and famous Murrayisms with reflections on the highlights of a life lived at full throttle.

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A work of horror genius from the Godfather of zombie film-making, George A. Romero, and celebrated writer Daniel Kraus . . .It begins with one body. A pair of medical examiners find themselves facing a dead man who won't stay dead. It spreads quickly. In a Midwestern trailer park, an African American teenage girl and a Muslim immigrant battle newly-risen friends and family.On a US aircraft carrier, living sailors hide from dead ones while a fanatic preaches the gospel of a new religion of death. At a cable news station, a surviving anchor keeps broadcasting, not knowing if anyone is watching, while his undead colleagues try to devour him.In DC, an autistic federal employee charts the outbreak, preserving data for a future that may never come.Everywhere, people are targeted by both the living and the dead.We think we know how this story ends. We. Are. Wrong.'A horror landmark, a work of gory genius.' JOE HILL, author of NOS4A2'A monumental achievement.' ADAM NEVILL, author of The Ritual'Like a lost Romero classic.' CLIVE BARKER, author of Hellraiser'A sprawling, timely, scary epic.' PAUL TREMBLAY, author of The Cabin at the End of the World

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERBestselling author of The Four and NYU Business School professor delivers an insightful, urgent analysis of who stands to win and who's at risk to lose in a post-pandemic world.'Thought-provoking... As good an analysis as you could wish to read.' FINANCIAL TIMES_______________The Covid-19 outbreak has turned bedrooms into offices, pitted young against old and widened the gaps between rich and poor, red and blue, the mask-wearers and the mask-haters. Some businesses, like Amazon and video conference software maker Zoom, woke up to find themselves crushed under an avalanche of consumer demand. Others, like the restaurant, travel, hospitality and live entertainment industries, scrambled to not become instantly obsolete. But the pandemic has not been a change agent so much as an accelerant of trends that were already well underway.In Post Corona, Galloway outlines the contours of both crisis and opportunity that lie ahead. While the powerful tech monopolies will thrive in the disruption other businesses, like higher education, will struggle to maintain a value proposition that no longer makes sense when we can't stand shoulder to shoulder.Combining his signature humour and brash style with razor-sharp business insights, Galloway offers both warning and hope in equal measure.__________'Entertaining and informative.' THE ECONOMIST

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**Don't miss Jenny Holmes's latest wartime series, The Air Raid Girls. Part 3 - The Air Raid Girls: Wartime Brides - is available now!**---------------------------------------------Yorkshire 1944: All they want this year is a truly happy Christmas... The end of the war feels tantalisingly close, but Air Transport Auxiliary girls Bobbie, Viv and Mary have plenty more flights in their beloved Spitfires yet - battling everything from snow to enemy fire on their journeys. Risking their lives doing their bit for their country, this Christmas they're determined to have some festive fun. But as they set about bringing good tidings for all, a stern and mysterious new flyer in the form of Peggy arrives. What secret is Peggy hiding? Mary has a wedding to plan before her fiancé is sent away, then makes a devastating discovery so shameful she can't tell the other girls. Bobbie's beau issues an ultimatum, and Viv is wondering whether she wants a man at all... With the big day around the corner and hope of peace on the horizon, can the girls find joy and love this Christmas after so many years of war?A heart-warming story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity that fans of Elaine Everest and Nancy Revell will adore.Readers love Jenny Holmes'A delight to read''I highly recommend this book, great job Jenny!''Really enjoyed this book cant wait to read the next one''Lovely historical drama''I love reading these books on life in WW2''A book you can't put down'

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Bestseller Wickham Hall was originally published as a four-part serial. This is the complete story in one package.Seeking: Events Co-ordinator – highly organised, a good communicator with an ability to adapt to the unexpected … Holly has her life all planned out, she’s pretty sure everything can be confined to a clipboard or a to-do list. A perfect candidate to plan events at Wickham Hall – the beautiful country manor that rests at the heart of the village. Holly has always felt an unusual kinship with the old house. It might just be the place where Holly can uncover the secrets of the past and find out who she truly is. In the meantime, there’s lots to plan at Wickham Hall; family weddings, summer festivals and Christmas grottos litter the calendar. But life and love can still surprise you… Something Holly learns when sparks fly with her new boss Ben and it seems nothing can extinguish the flames of desire… Life just isn’t as easy to organise as an event at Wickham Hall (and even those don’t always run smoothly…). Can Holly learn to let go, live in the moment and enjoy the unexpected?After all, life is what happens when you’re making plans… A charming and romantic story certain to make you smile - perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Trisha Ashley and Katie Fforde.Your favourite authors have loved reading Cathy Bramley:‘Engaging characters, a stately home and a sweeping romance. This is delightful!’ Katie Fforde‘Delightfully warm with plenty of twists and turns’ Trisha Ashley'A witty, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy' Miranda Dickinson

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*THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER* What is a dream? Why do we dream? How do our bodies and minds use dreams? These questions are the starting point for this unprecedented, astonishing study of the role and significance of dreams, from the beginning of human history. An investigation on the grand scale, encompassing literature, anthropology, religion, and science, it articulates the essential place dreams occupy in human culture, and how they functioned as the catalyst that compelled us to transform our earthly habitat into a human world. From the earliest cave paintings - where the author finds a key to humankind's first dreams, which contributed to our capacity to perceive past and future - to cutting-edge scientific research, Ribeiro arrives at startling and revolutionary conclusions about the role of dreams in human existence and evolution. He explores the advances that contemporary neuroscience, biochemistry and psychology have made into the connections between sleep, dreams, and learning, before revealing what dreams have taught us about the neural basis of memory and the transformation of memory in recall. And he makes clear that the earliest insight into dreams as oracular has been confirmed by contemporary research. Accessible, authoritative, and fascinating from first to last, The Oracle of Night gives us a wholly new way to understand this most basic of human experiences.

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STOP PRESS! The Stranger Times wins the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Audio Work! 'Wonderfully dark, extremely funny' proclaimed ADAM KAY, author of the No.1 bestselling This is Going to Hurt'A filmic romp with great characters, a jet-propelled plot, and a winning premise' said the GUARDIANJASON MANFORD thinks it's 'Hilarious. You'll never look at Manchester the same way again.'The Chronicles of St Mary's series author JODI TAYLOR declared 'I loved this . . . great premise - great story - great characters . . . hugely enjoyable.'And THE TIMES called it 'ripping entertainment from start to finish.'There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them . . . A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable.At least that's their pitch. The reality is rather less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor . . . well, that job is a revolving door - and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who's got problems of her own.When tragedy strikes in her first week on the job The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they'd previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined.The Stranger Times is the first novel from C.K. McDonnell, the pen name of Caimh McDonnell. It combines his distinctive dark wit with his love of the weird and wonderful to deliver a joyous celebration of how truth really can be stranger than fiction.Readers love The Stranger Times:***** 'A delight from start to finish - laugh out loud funny yet with plenty of thrills.'***** 'Full of wit and humour, and knows how to keep the reader hooked.'***** 'You'll soon fall in love . . . fans of Pratchett, Gaiman, Aaronovich will be blown away.'The Stranger Times and This Charming Man shortlisted for a 'Dead Good Reader Award' - the 'The New Kid on the Block Award for Best New Series'!

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‘It grips like a python from the first page, squeezing the breath out of the reader’ DAILY MAIL‘Outstanding’ SUNDAY TIMES‘Breathless action’ THE TIMESHidden from prying Western satellites, Iranian scientists are at work on a banned device . . . They are acting on the orders of a renegade cell within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose objective is to transform their country into a nuclear-armed nation, and so seal its domination of the Middle East.Britain’s intelligence agencies know something is up. Someone on the inside is ready to hand over information - but the rendezvous with SIS officer Luke Carlton goes bloodily wrong . . . Then MI6 sees an opportunity to recruit an individual with unique access to the IRGC hardliners. Luke is chosen to reel them in. Going into Iran undercover is dangerous enough, but then there’s a killing and a kidnapping and the British government is presented with a shocking ultimatum. With time running out, it seems only Luke can stop a cataclysmic new war in the Gulf . . . ________Readers love Ultimatum:***** ‘An action-packed thriller . . . very authentic’***** ‘A real page turner . . . thrilling adventure’***** ‘Gripping page turner that keeps you glued to the story’

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'The queen of the one-sit read' Linwood BarclayThe latest unputdownable bestseller from Shari Lapena, author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR and SOMEONE WE KNOW.'Shari Lapena is one of the best thriller writers in the business' Steve Cavanagh*******It starts with a shocking accusation . . .Stephanie and Patrick are recently married, with new-born twins. While Stephanie struggles with the disorienting effects of sleep deprivation, there's one thing she knows for certain - she has everything she ever wanted.Then a woman from his past arrives and makes a horrifying allegation about his first wife. He always claimed her death was an accident - but she says it was murder. He insists he's innocent, that this is nothing but a blackmail attempt. But is Patrick telling the truth? Or has Stephanie made a terrible mistake? How will it end?*******Praise for Shari Lapena:'A masterful whodunnit, perfectly paced and expertly plotted, that had me guessing all the way through. I loved it and couldn't put it down.' C L Taylor'No-one does suburban paranoia like Shari Lapena - this slowly unfurling nightmare will have you biting your nails until the end' Ruth Ware'Shari Lapena just gets better and better' Cara Hunter

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Love can be a truly terrible thing.Marriages are tricky at the best of times, especially when one of you is dead.Vincent Banecroft, the irascible editor of The Stranger Times, has never believed his wife died despite emphatic evidence to the contrary. Now, against all odds, it seems he may actually be proved right; but what lengths will he go to in an attempt to rescue her?With Banecroft distracted, the shock resignation of assistant editor, Hannah Willis, couldn't have come at a worse time. It speaks volumes that her decision to reconcile with her philandering ex-husband is only marginally less surprising than Banecroft and his wife getting back together. In this time of crisis, is her decision to swan off to a fancy new-age retreat run by a celebrity cult really the best thing for anyone?As if that wasn't enough, one of the paper's ex-columnists has disappeared, a particularly impressive trick seeing as he never existed in the first place.Floating statues, hijacked ghosts, homicidal cherubs, irate starlings, Reliant Robins and quite possibly several deeply sinister conspiracies; all-in-all, a typical week for the staff of The Stranger Times.

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'The Sanatorium will keep you checking over your shoulder. This spine-tingling, atmospheric thriller has it all: an eerie Alpine setting, sharp prose, and twists you'll never see coming. A must-read.' Richard Osman'An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat.' Reese WitherspoonYOU WON'T WANT TO LEAVE... UNTIL YOU CAN'T.*WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH**ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD**THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOKCLUB PICK**CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2022 FINGERPRINT AWARDS**COLD AS ICE AWARD WINNER AT 2022 DEAD GOOD READERS AWARDS*A beautiful, eerie hotel in the Swiss Alps, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, is the last place Detective Elin Warner wants to be. But her estranged brother has invited her there for his engagement party, and she feels she has no choice but to accept.Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. And things only get worse when they wake the next morning to find her brother's fiancée is missing. With access to the hotel cut off, the guests begin to panic.But this is only the first disappearance. Everyone's in danger - and anyone could be next . . .____________________'The Sanatorium is an absolutely splendid Gothic thriller.' A. J. Finn'One of the best books of 2021 [...] guaranteed to give you goosebumps.' Woman & Home'I absolutely loved The Sanatorium - it gave me all the wintry thrills and chills.' Lucy Foley'A menacing, creepy debut [...] echoes of Hitchcock and du Maurier.' Daily Mail'A chillingly vivid thriller in a fantastic setting.' T. M. LoganReaders love The Sanatorium:***** 'Thrilling, chilling - a tingles down my spine type of read.'***** 'Imagine a universe where Agatha Christie and Stephen King collaborated on a book.'***** 'Sarah Pearse wastes no time in ramping up the tension and is clearly destined to be a master of this genre.'Don't miss The Retreat, the addictive new thriller from the global bestselling author of The Sanatorium.

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'Beautifully written, incredibly evocative with a real sense of place and of the sea. Heart-stoppingly tense' Catherine Cooper, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE CHALET'Fiendishly clever' Sunday TimesThe new pulse-pounding thriller from the bestselling author of THE MEMORY WOOD.******HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?The news doesn't strike cleanly, like a guillotine's blade. Nothing so merciful. This news is a slovenly traveller, dragging its feet, gradually revealing its horrors. And it announces itself first with violence - the urgent hammering of fists on the front door.Life can change in a heartbeat.Lucy has everything she could wish for: a beautiful home high on the clifftops, a devoted husband and two beloved children.Then one morning, time stops. Their family yacht is recovered, abandoned far out at sea. Lucy's husband is nowhere to be found and as the seconds tick by, she begins to wonder - what if he was the one who took the boat? And if so, where is he now?As a once-in-a-generation storm frustrates the rescue operation, Lucy pieces together what happened onboard. And then she makes a fresh discovery. One that plunges her into a living nightmare . . .Wherever her husband is, he isn't alone. Because their children are missing, too.******Praise for Sam Lloyd:'Lloyd is a rare new thriller talent.' Daily Mail'Stunning prose and compulsive reading.' Lesley Kara'An intense, atmospheric, and truly original thriller.' Shari Lapena'A beautifully written, fast-paced thriller.' Heat'A darkly chilling and original novel . . . a series of twists keeps readers captivated until a shocking climax.' Daily Express'Brilliant writing, a terrifying story, and characters so real it feels like you know them.' Samantha Downing'A truly chilling story.' Woman & Home

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A love story like no other! Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Jojo Moyes and Richard Curtis films, You, Me and the Movies will leave you crying tears of joy and sadness.When Arden meets Mac she quickly falls for the handsome, charismatic film lecturer. Their love is the sort you see in movies: dramatic, exciting and all-consuming... and complicated. A love like theirs could never last. But years later, whilst visiting a friend in hospital, Arden sees the one face she could never forget. Badly injured, Mac can only make brief references to the classic films they once watched together. Which is all it takes for Arden to remember everything... Will Arden ever find a movie-worthy love again?________What everyone is saying about You, Me and the Movies:'Moving and emotional' Eva Woods, bestselling author of How to be Happy 'I LOVED THIS BOOK!! You, Me and The Movies is beautifully crafted, funny, uplifting and guaranteed to leave you smiling!!! This is one of those BIG WONDERFUL books that pulls you in and doesn't let you go until the very last page.' Lauren North, author of The Perfect Betrayal'It made me laugh, cry and want to watch lots more old movies' *****'Nostalgic and lovely and just leaves you with a warm feeling' *****'Pulls you in and doesn't let you go until the very last page' *****'I can't begin to say how much I LOVED this book. It had me laughing, falling in love and ultimately crying.' *****'I'm an absolute mess. This is a beautiful novel. Completely unexpected... I was captured by the now and then aspect of the story... I'm off now to re-watch The Way We Were.' *****

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I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me...Jovan wears two faces. Outwardly, he is the lifelong friend of the Chancellor’s charming, irresponsible heir. He’s quiet. Forgettable even. But in truth he is a master of poisons and chemicals, trained to protect the Chancellor’s family. Then there is his sister, Kalina. She hides her frustrations behind a mask of serenity. While other women of the city holds positions of power and responsibility, her path is full of secrets and lies - some hidden even from her own brother. It's when the Chancellor succumbs to an unknown poison and an army lays siege to the city that the siblings' world begins to truly unravel. Trapped and desperate, they soon discover that the society into which they were born and grew up also possesses two faces - for behind the sophistication and the beauty lies an ugly truth - this is a world built on oppression and treachery . . . This fabulous epic fantasy debut that will appeal to readers of Joe Abercrombie and Terry Brooks, Robin Hobb and Mark Lawrence and all points in between.

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As heard on BBC R4's Woman's Hour'A must-read for any parent who feels stressed out and living in an environment often rife with tension and anxiety.' Evening StandardAn essential 10-step plan for a stress-free family life.We all know that raising happy, confident and resilient children can be a tough job in this fast-paced world – and there’s never any shortage of well-meaning advice on how to be a better parent. So, if you’re anxious and struggling to cope with the pressures of school and family life – or if you worry that you’re not doing enough to support your child through their problems – give yourself a break: this book really can help you.Clinical psychologist Dr Genevieve von Lob draws on her extensive experience working with hundreds of families to provide a simple 10-step plan for a stress-free family life. As she helps you to tackle the dilemmas every parent faces and defuse tension and anxiety in the home, Genevieve also aims to bring a sense of confidence, calm and balance both to you and your child. This is a practical, down-to-earth guide – and essential reading for every parent.

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*NOW A MAJOR THREE-PART ITV1 DRAMA, STARRING EMILY WATSON AND DENISE GOUGH*'Too Close is a fantastically compelling, brilliantly scripted whydunnit' Guardian'A gripping psychological thriller with a Killing Eve twist' Radio Times'Seriously brilliant - quality writing, three dimensional characters and a sharp wit.' Emma Curtis, author of the bestselling One Little Mistake*****Connie has woken up in a psychiatric hospital. She's been accused of a terrible crime, but she says she can't remember a thing. Forensic psychiatrist Dr Emma Robinson is assigned to the case. Her assessment will determine Connie's fate: prison, life in hospital - or freedom.Emma hopes the high-profile case will make her career but their sessions quickly become a cat-and-mouse game of manipulation and exploitation. Emma must get close enough to her patient to uncover the truth. But when dealing with someone as potentially dangerous as Connie, how close is too close?*****AUTHORS LOVE TOO CLOSE:'Wonderfully suffocating . . . Natalie Daniels is one to watch!' Phoebe Morgan'Subtle, deep and chilling . . . I couldn't put it down.' Rosanna Ley'A tremendous, powerful, audacious novel - full of scathing insight ; full of raw, compelling feeling.' William BoydWHAT READERS ARE SAYING: 'I truly am astounded with this novel''Utterly absorbing, a real page turner' 'Full of twists and turns, enjoyed from beginning'

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'I was the shadow child no one ever saw...'From the day she was born until she escaped aged 30, Katy Morgan-Davies knew nothing but a life in captivity. Her father was the deluded and cruel leader of a cult based in South London who brainwashed those around him.Her father's paranoia and his need to completely control others led to Katy being imprisoned indoors and denied any kind of love or friendship. From a young age, Katy's father subjected her to violence and mental abuse. She was not permitted contact with anyone outside the house and on the rare occasions she did have to go out, she was always chaperoned. Katy never gave up hope of one day breaking free from her father's cruel clutches and finally found her freedom. This is her true story of endurance and survival.

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