Search results for ""Author""

FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE PROMISEA young man takes three journeys, through Greece, India and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way - including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge - he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man's best intentions, each journey ends in disaster. Together, these three journeys will change his whole life. A novel of longing and thwarted desire, rage and compassion, In a Strange Room is the hauntingly beautiful evocation of one man's search for love, and a place to call home.

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A love letter from the author to the places she's visited-and to the spirit of travel itself-that turns the adventure-travel canon long dominated by men on its head

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___________________________________A powerful novel about how life can change course in a heartbeat from the Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author of Never Say Goodbye.When fourteen-year-old Sophie Monroe suddenly vanishes one night, it looks at first as though she’s run away from home.Her computer and mobile phone have gone, and she’s taken a bag full of clothes.As the police investigation unfolds a wealth of secrets from the surrounding community start coming to light. And it seems everyone has something to hide.For Detective Sergeant Andrea Lawrence, the case is a painful reminder of the tragedy that tore her family apart over twenty years ago. She is convinced there is more to Sophie’s disappearance than teenage rebellion.But is the past clouding her judgement, preventing her from seeing a truth that neither she, nor Sophie’s family, would ever want to face?

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Pre-order UNSINKABLE, the astonishing new novel by Frances Quinn, coming February 2025. ‘What a heroine Endurance Proudfoot is! I loved her from the start. An unconventional woman who takes us on a fascinating - if bumpy - ride through a man’s world. I laughed, cried and most of all cheered! Can’t stop thinking about it… an absolute cruncher of a tale’ Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal 'A complete joy of a novel that, like it’s wonderful protagonist’s namesake, is a story of endurance against all odds. Full of heart and so eloquently written, THAT BONESETTER WOMAN had me cheering Durie on from start to finish - I absolutely loved it' Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora ​It’s usual, they say, for a young person coming to London for the first time to arrive with a head full of dreams. Well, Endurance Proudfoot did not. When she stepped off the coach from Sussex, on a warm and sticky afternoon in the summer of 1757, it never occurred to her that the city would be the place where she’d make her fortune; she was just very annoyed to be arriving there at all. Meet Endurance Proudfoot: clumsy as a carthorse, strong as an ox, with a tactless tongue and a face she’s sure only a mother could love. Durie wants one thing in life: to become a bonesetter like her father. It’s physically demanding work, requiring nerves of steel, and he’s adamant it’s not a job for a woman. Strong-willed and stubborn, Durie’s certain that in bonesetting, her big, usually clumsy hands have found their natural calling. So when she’s bundled off to London with her beautiful sister, she won’t let it stop her realising her dream. As her sister finds fame on the stage, Durie becomes England’s most celebrated bonesetter – but what goes up must come down, and her success may become her undoing. Inspired by the true stories of two of Georgian England’s most famous celebrities, That Bonesetter Woman is an uplifting tale about finding the courage to go your own way, when everyone says you can’t – and about realising that what makes you different can also make you strong.

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SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR * HENRY IV * THE MOUNTAIN GIANTS Pirandello ranks with Strindberg, Brecht, and Beckett as a seminal figure in modern drama. Innovative and influential, he broke decisively with the conventions of realist theatre to foreground the tensions between art and reality. In his best known play, six characters, imagined but then abandoned by their author, intrude on the rehearsals of a provincial theatre company in an attempt to play out their family drama. In the brilliant Henry IV, a young man believes himself to be the Holy Roman Emperor; attempts to cure him of his delusion have disastrous consequences. The Mountain Giants is Pirandello's last, unfinished masterpiece, in which he moves towards the mythical, and make-believe and real life once more become entangled. The play reflects its author's growing anxiety about the function of art under a fascist regime. This new edition includes Pirandello's important Preface to Six Characters, an essential critical document for understanding the play that made him famous. Anthony Mortimer's lively and performable translations remain scrupulously faithful to the letter and spirit of the originals.

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With more than 23 million books sold, the My Weird School series really gets kids reading! Filled with exercises to help young readers practice skills like identifying context clues and a story’s main idea, plus practical tips and tricks from bestselling author Dan Gutman, this book will help you become the best reader in the history of the world! This chapter book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 5 to 7 who are ready to read independently. It’s a fun way to keep your child engaged and as a supplement for activity books for children. The ability to read critically is an essential skill vital to success in school. For example, do you know what point of view means? Or how to “read” a picture? Can you tell fact from opinion? Well, whether you’re a kid who's just starting to read by yourself or a future librarian—or both!—this book of tips and activities to improve your reading comprehension skills is so much fun you’ll forget you’re learning!

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'Karin Slaughter is simply one of the best thriller writers working today, and Cop Town shows the author at the top of her game... I would follow her anywhere!' Gillian Flynn_________________________________________Atlanta, 1974As a brutal killing and a furious manhunt rock the city, Kate Murphy wonders if her first day on the police force will also be her last.But Kate is not the only woman on the force who is finding things tough. Maggie Lawson followed her uncle and brother into the ranks to prove her worth in their cynical eyes.When Maggie and Kate become partners, and are sidelined in the search for the city's cop killer, their fury, pain, and pride finally reach boiling point. But are they prepared to risk everything as they venture into the city's darkest heart?_________________________________________Praise for Karin Slaughter:'Her characters, plot, and pacing are unrivalled' MICHAEL CONNELLY'Passion, intensity, and humanity' LEE CHILD'A writer of extraordinary talents' KATHY REICHS'Fiction doesn't get any better than this!!' JEFFERY DEAVER

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'A warm, witty novel about love and friendship with a fun time-travel twist' HELLO Magazine Number one bestselling author Louise Pentland is back with her brand new novel that will make you laugh, make you cry and thoroughly charm you!Sometimes you have to go back, to move forwards.Tabby is stuck. She still lives in the small town she grew up in . . . the town she's barely ever left.So, when her dad drops a bombshell over their weekly Sunday dinner, Tabby takes a look at her own life. She lives firmly in her comfort zone and doesn't know how to break out. Sometimes she wishes she could go back and start all over again.When she meets Bea, a free spirit like no one else she's ever known with an 'interesting' sense of style, Tabby quickly befriends her, recognising in Bea the change she's been craving. But soon it becomes clear that more has changed than her new friend. Somehow Tabby has been transported back to the 1980s.With the chance to reinvent herself in another time, will Tabby finally manage to move forward?'Full of hope and courage and sisterhood' Emma B, Magic FM

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"Outback noir has a new star" Mark Sanderson, The Times"A rising star of crime fiction" Joan Smith, Sunday Times"Delivers another larger-than-life, take-no-prisoners slice of outback noir. A truly original writer" Emma Styles, author of NO COUNTRY FOR GIRLSWith DS Manolis on leave in Greece, Senior Constable Sparrow receives a phone call from a man who wants to turn himself in.Bob is sixty-five years old, confined to a Perth nursing home. But thirty years ago, he killed a man in the remote northern Kimberley mining region. He offers to show Sparrow where the body is, but there's a catch: Sparrow must travel north with him under the guise of being his carer. They are accompanied on the drive by another nursing home resident: Luke, thirty years old, paralysed in a motorbike accident. As they embark on their road trip through the guts of Western Australia, pursued by outback police and adrenaline-soaked miners, Sparrow begins to suspect that Bob's desire to head north may have sinister motivations. Is Luke being held against his will? And what lies in store for them when they reach their goal?

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"Outback noir has a new star" Mark Sanderson, The Times"A rising star of crime fiction" Joan Smith, Sunday Times"Delivers another larger-than-life, take-no-prisoners slice of outback noir. A truly original writer" Emma Styles, author of NO COUNTRY FOR GIRLSWith DS Manolis on leave in Greece, Senior Constable Sparrow receives a phone call from a man who wants to turn himself in.Bob is sixty-five years old, confined to a Perth nursing home. But thirty years ago, he killed a man in the remote northern Kimberley mining region. He offers to show Sparrow where the body is, but there's a catch: Sparrow must travel north with him under the guise of being his carer. They are accompanied on the drive by another nursing home resident: Luke, thirty years old, paralysed in a motorbike accident. As they embark on their road trip through the guts of Western Australia, pursued by outback police and adrenaline-soaked miners, Sparrow begins to suspect that Bob's desire to head north may have sinister motivations. Is Luke being held against his will? And what lies in store for them when they reach their goal?

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'Absolutely thrilling' ALEX MICHAELIDES, bestselling author of The Silent Patient'A superior, creeping psychological thriller taut with tension and drama' SEATTLE TIMES'Easily the creepiest setting for a suspense novel since the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's The Shining' BOOKPAGE Six celebrities. One dead singer. No way out. The world's most exclusive rehab clinic offers treatment to the rich and famous. Meg's sister Haley was one of them - a troubled country singer running from a terrible addiction. Between the luxury spa, the ayurvedic yoga and the world-class therapy, the clinic is a perfect place to heal and brush shoulders with the world's most beautiful people. Safely locked in the secluded compound, its patients are a thousand miles away from crazed fans and paparazzi... with no one to call for help. When Haley is found dead at the clinic, Meg checks in under an alias to find out why. Soon she's confronting a whole lot more than her own addiction - there's a killer on the loose and anyone could be next . . .******PRAISE FOR CATE QUINN'Utterly compelling' MARIAN KEYES'A sly, contemporary crime masterpiece. I loved it' ADRIAN MCKINTY'Intense, gripping, superb' WILL DEANAtmospheric and addictive' THE SUN

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'A stunning piece of speculative fiction' The i'A haunting novel about love, survival and everything in between ... one to get excited about' Stylist, Best Modern Dystopia---But she isn't here, no one is here. And I have a terror of being alone, in this building, in London, in the world.Neffy is a young woman running away from grief and guilt, and the one big mistake that has derailed her career. When a debilitating new virus sweeps across the globe, volunteering in a vaccine trial offers her a way to make up for her past. But then, the virus mutates, and the future she had dreamed for herself is gone.As the London streets outside the medical unit fall silent, and food begins to run out, Neffy must decide where safety lies. Might she find solace by revisiting her own heady memories of the past? Can she trust the strangers trapped inside with her - despite her growing suspicions? Or is her best chance of a future to be found in the terrifyingly unknown world outside?Haunting and compelling, The Memory of Animals is a novel about freedom and captivity, survival and sacrifice, and what we cling to when everything else has been taken away, from the Costa Award-winning, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Unsettled Ground.---'Unsettling, moving and thoughtful, with horror lurking at the edges, this is a subtle, elegant novel. Claire Fuller is a huge talent' Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane'Compulsive and thoroughly convincing. Terrific!' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures

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'A stunning piece of speculative fiction' The i'A haunting novel about love, survival and everything in between ... one to get excited about' Stylist, Best Modern Dystopia---But she isn't here, no one is here. And I have a terror of being alone, in this building, in London, in the world.Neffy is a young woman running away from grief and guilt, and the one big mistake that has derailed her career. When a debilitating new virus sweeps across the globe, volunteering in a vaccine trial offers her a way to make up for her past. But then, the virus mutates, and the future she had dreamed for herself is gone.As the London streets outside the medical unit fall silent, and food begins to run out, Neffy must decide where safety lies. Might she find solace by revisiting her own heady memories of the past? Can she trust the strangers trapped inside with her - despite her growing suspicions? Or is her best chance of a future to be found in the terrifyingly unknown world outside?Haunting and compelling, The Memory of Animals is a novel about freedom and captivity, survival and sacrifice, and what we cling to when everything else has been taken away, from the Costa Award-winning, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Unsettled Ground.---'Unsettling, moving and thoughtful, with horror lurking at the edges, this is a subtle, elegant novel. Claire Fuller is a huge talent' Lucy Atkins, author of Magpie Lane'Compulsive and thoroughly convincing. Terrific!' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes two captivating new novellas surrounding the events of Foul Lady Fortune and following a familiar cast of characters from the These Violent Delights Duet!In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous in their peaceful, quiet life. But when they hear about several Russian girls showing up dead in nearby towns, they decide to investigate-and ultimately discover that this mystery is much closer to home than they ever imagined.In This Foul Murder, Benedikt and Marshall have been summoned by Roma to find the elusive scientist, Lourens, and bring him to Zhouzhuang. Time is of the essence aboard the week-long Trans-Siberian Express, but when someone is murdered on board, Benedikt and Marshall convince the officer in charge not to stop the train so that they aren't thrown off-schedule. Instead, they pretend that they are investigators and promise they can solve the murder, but as they dig deeper, they realize that the murder might having surprising ties to their own mission . . .PRAISE FOR CHLOE GONG'Electrifying' Cassandra Clare'Amazing, show-stopping, spectacular' Xiran Jay Zhao'Brilliant' Elizabeth Lim'Mesmerizing and mysterious' Renée Ahdieh

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'Gripping . . . Just brilliant' Clare Mackintosh'Emotionally compelling' Chris Brookmyre THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD . . .'Big George' McLaughlin is a bad person. He's snatched a little girl from her family, and he's not planning on giving her back. But George is also inherently good. He loves this little girl and has kidnapped her with pure intentions. She's his daughter and he wouldn't do a thing to hurt her. So when being together feels so right, why is it so terribly wrong? Is there such a thing as good bad love? From the Richard & Judy Book Club and international bestselling author of The Guilty One comes a suspenseful, gritty and emotionally charged journey of an estranged father and daughter, exploring the strength of family ties and our huge capacity for forgiveness.Praise for Lisa Ballantyne:'Thought-provoking, brave, challenging, compulsive' Rosamund Lupton'A page-turner with real emotional depth' Daily Express'Sophisticated, suspenseful, unsettling' Lee Child'Moving, insightful' Guardian'Will touch your heart, even as it leaves you unsettled' Hallie Ephron'Grips like a vice' Daily Mail'Thought-provoking and clever' Gilly Macmillan'Tense' Sunday Times'A tense and moving story that I will remember for a long time' Rachel Abbott'I couldn't get this book out of my head. It kept me up all night and guessing the whole way through. I loved it' Jenny Colgan

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Ambition, betrayal, love. A wonderful love story from the bestselling author of Light a Penny Candle and Circle of Friends.'A powerful story of love and jealousy' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'A master storyteller' MARIAN KEYES'I have returned to read Maeve Binchy time and time again' LORRAINE KELLY'Compulsive reading... Binchy has the true story-teller's knack' OBSERVER_________________Growing up in a quiet seaside town, Clare O'Brien and David Power shout their hearts' desires into the echo cave, praying their destinies will carry them far away from Castlebay.Years later, their paths cross again. David, following in his father's footsteps, is studying medicine and Clare has won a scholarship to University College.But eventually Castlebay will draw them back and, against a backdrop of empty grey skies, sea-spray and howling winds, this drama of ambition, betrayal and love will reach its turbulent conclusion._________________Readers love Echoes . . .***** 'Maeve Binchy is a first class story teller, and ECHOES is one of her best. If you pick it up, you will not be disappointed.'***** 'I was transported by this book and also its characters stuck with me. 5 stars.'***** 'A warm, page-turning novel that makes you sad when it ends.'***** 'Maeve Binchy is always a pleasure and this book is no exception.'***** 'Just a wonderful and beautifully told story.'

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The instant Sunday Times bestseller, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel is a story of parallel worlds and possibilities that plays with the very line along which time should run. 'So wise, so graceful, so rich' - Naomi Alderman, author of The Power'Ingenious' - GuardianLives separated by time and space have collided, and an exiled Englishman, a writer trapped far from home, and a girl destined to die too young, have each glimpsed a world that is not their own. Travelling through the centuries, between colonies on the moon and an ever-changing Earth, together their lives will solve a mystery that will make you question everything you thought you knew to be true.From the award-winning author of Station Eleven.A Best Book of the Year - Guardian, Oprah Daily, Barack Obama'Brilliant and fiercely original' - Observer'One of her finest novels' - New York Times'Transcendent' - Wall Street Journal

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'Brilliant' Sunday Express'Addictive' Daily Mirror'Brutally funny' ObserverMeet the Dobsons and the Jamiesons: two ordinary families on the verge of a nervous breakdown.Joe Dobson left his wife and kids when his young girlfriend Nina discovered she was pregnant. Now he feels like a cliche and Nina feels like a drudge, swapping her wild nights out with friends for mild nights in wiping baby sick off the carpet. So when Joe announces that he's booked a week's luxury holiday in Italy, Nina is thrilled - until she realises Joe's kids Saul and Tabitha are coming along for the ride.Meanwhile Guy Jamieson is sure this will be his last family holiday; he plans to leave his wife Alice on his return. Guy is a high-powered advertising director, and Alice - with her elasticated skirts, inedible mince suppers and unshaven legs - just doesn't fit his image. But Alice has a secret plan of her own: to have another baby... Funny, smart and refreshingly honest, Having a Lovely Time is all about infidelity, jealousy, resentment, recriminations and, just occasionally, love - from the Sunday Times bestselling author Jenny Eclair. __________________PRAISE FOR JENNY ECLAIR:'Wonderfully written, insightful and riveting' Daily Mail'Both heart-rending and compelling' Clare Mackintosh'SO immersive, atmospheric and compelling' Marian Keyes'Witty, moving, dark and absorbing' Jo Brand'An elegant, gripping and mesmeric read' Helen Lederer'An absolute page-turner of a story' Judy Finnigan'Compelling, compassionate and keenly observed' Independent

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Discover this read-aloud adventure with a soothing, wind-down-to-bedtime ending. Somewhere near, a huge beast lies,with giant claws and great big eyes . . .DO NOT DISTURB THE DRAGON!Tiptoe over, under, round and through the book, just . . . don't disturb the DRAGON!Discover a brand new bedtime story from the bestselling author of the Ten Minutes To Bed series. With immersive and colourful illustrations on every page, join our heroes on their fairytale adventure.Perfect for toddlers, this rhyming adventure is perfect for banishing bedtime blues.Readers say: “Helps my very active toddler to wind down before bed!”“There is lovely repetition that your little ones will love to say over and over.”

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In the first decades after the end of French rule, Francophone authors engaged in an exercise of rewriting narratives from the colonial literary canon. In The Author as Cannibal, Felisa Vergara Reynolds presents these textual revisions as figurative acts of cannibalism and examines how these literary cannibalizations critique colonialism and its legacy in each author’s homeland. Reynolds focuses on four representative texts: Une tempête (1969) by Aimé Césaire, Le temps de Tamango (1981) by Boubacar Boris Diop, L’amour, la fantasia (1985) by Assia Djebar, and La migration des coeurs (1995) by Maryse Condé. Though written independently in Africa and the Caribbean, these texts all combine critical adaptation with creative destruction in an attempt to eradicate the social, political, cultural, and linguistic remnants of colonization long after independence.The Author as Cannibal situates these works within Francophone studies, showing that the extent of their postcolonial critique is better understood when they are considered collectively. Crucial to the book are two interviews with Maryse Condé, which provide great insight on literary cannibalism. By foregrounding thematic concerns and writing strategies in these texts, Reynolds shows how these rewritings are an underappreciated collective form of protest and resistance for Francophone authors.

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There are times when destiny and love collide. This story is one of them.From the number one bestselling author of The Notebook and Two by Two comes an unforgettable tale of enduring love . . .Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. After six years with her boyfriend, she is no longer sure what she wants, and when her father becomes ill she heads to her family's cottage at Sunset Beach in North Carolina to make some difficult decisions.Tru Walls has been summoned across an ocean from where he was born and raised in Zimbabwe by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. In journeying to Sunset Beach, Tru hopes to unravel the mystery surrounding his mother's life, but the letter will lead him in an unexpected direction. When these two strangers' paths cross, their chance encounter sets in motion a heart-breaking story - one that will transcend decades, continents and the workings of fate. 'A new Nicholas Sparks novel is a major event . . . [Every Breath] is deeply moving and I was captivated . . . fans are going to adore this latest, beautifully written tale' Daily Mail'[Every Breath is a] powerful read that tugs at the heartstrings' OK! Magazine Praise for multi-million-copy bestseller phenomenon, Nicholas Sparks:'When it comes to tales about love, Nicholas Sparks is one of the undisputed kings' Heat'An absorbing page-turner' Daily Mail'A fiercely romantic and touching tale' Heat on The Longest Ride'An A-grade romantic read' OK! on Safe Haven'This one won't leave a dry eye' Daily Mirror on The Lucky One

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A gripping, twisty story of adultery and scandal from the bestselling author of Our House.'Tense, twisty and completely addictive' Good Housekeeping'A nail-biter until the very last pages' Daily Express Some secrets are too dangerous to share . . . When Emily Marr begins an affair with her married neighbour, the celebrated surgeon Arthur Woodhall, she has no idea of the tragedy and scandal their actions will cause. With shattering speed, she becomes the object of a media witchhunt, her only choice to change her identity and vanish. Soon after, Tabby Dewhurst arrives on the Ile de Ré in France, estranged from her family and unable to afford even a room for the night. By chance, she meets Emmie Mason, whose offer of friendship is at odds with her obsession with privacy. As Tabby sinks deeper into Emmie's strange, hidden world, she begins to form suspicions - suspicions that will lead her back to England and to a revelation so shocking she must question everything she knows.Praise for Louise Candlish:'Twists the knife right up to the very final page' Ruth Ware'Addictive, twisty and oh so terrifyingly possible' Clare Mackintosh'Terrifically twisty . . . hooks from the first page' Sunday Times'Louise Candlish is a great writer; she inhaled me into her nightmarish world where everything we think we know is ripped from under our feet' Fiona Barton'Keeps you guessing to the end - and beyond' Stylist'Candlish's writing draws you in immediately' Heat'A master of her craft' Rosamund Lupton'A well-crafted story of scandal, identity and infidelity' Sunday Mirror'Not afraid to tackle darker issues . . . moving and thought-provoking' Daily Mail

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'A truly adorable, heart-warming, swoon-worthy love story' Beth O'LearyThe latest swoonworthy romcom from the bestselling author of TikTok sensation The Hating GameFirst impressions aren't always what they seem . . . Ruthie Midona is twenty-four (going on ninety-four) and fully committed to her job at a luxury retirement village. Keeping herself busy caring for the eccentric residents means that Ruthie can safely ignore her own life - what little there is of it. Teddy Prescott is practically allergic to a hard day's work. When he rocks up as the retirement village's newest employee, Ruthie is less than impressed. The last thing she needs is a distraction as irritating (and handsome) as this selfish rich kid. Lucky for Ruthie, her favourite pair of mischievous residents need a new assistant to torture... so she hands over Teddy, ready for them to send him running. Except Teddy may be about to surprise her - not just by surviving the old women's antics, but by charming Ruthie so much, she starts to remember that there's more to life than work. And just maybe, her second first impression will lead to the love of a lifetime . . . PRAISE FOR SALLY THORNE'Hilarious, heartfelt, smart and sexy . . . everything I want in a romance' Sarah J. Maas'The warmest, coziest, sweetest book of the year, an absolutely perfect blend of humour and heart' Emily Henry'Funny, sexy and instantly unputdownable' Paige Toon'Charming, self-deprecating, quick-witted and funny' New York Times'Bursting at the seams with love (and hate) and heart' Christina Lauren'One of the most delectable rom-coms I've ever read' Entertainment Weekly'Lovely' Bella

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From E. Lockhart, author of the New York Times bestseller and Zoella Book Club 2016 title, We Were Liars, comes a story about one girl who saw everything . . .'I think this might be the best YA novel...I've ever read. It's hilarious, and it's so very smart. I mean, I'm serious...It's really amazing.' - John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our StarsAt the Manhattan School of Art and Music, where everyone is unique, Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. It doesn't help that she's known as the shy girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of her favourite superhero, just so she won't have to talk to anyone. It's no surprise that Gretchen isn't exactly successful in the boy department. Her ex-boyfriend is a cold-fish-sometimes-flirty ex who she can't stop bumping into. Plus, she has a massive crush on a boy named, Titus but is too scared to make the first move. One minute he seems like a sensitive guy, the next, he's a completely different person when he's with his friends. She can't seem to figure boys out!Gretchen has one wish: to be a fly on the wall in the boy's locker room. What are boys really like? What do they talk about?This is the story of how one girl's wish came true.

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“One of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.” —Thomas Mallon, The Wall Street Journal “Fun and fascinating…It’s witty, charming, and fantastically learned. I loved it.” —Rick Perlstein Based on a decade of research and reporting, Author in Chief tells the story of America’s presidents as authors—and offers a delightful new window into the public and private lives of our highest leaders. Most Americans are familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s famous words in the Gettysburg Address and the Eman­cipation Proclamation. Yet few can name the work that helped him win the presidency: his published collection of speeches entitled Political Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln labored in secret to get his book ready for the 1860 election, tracking down newspaper transcripts, editing them carefully for fairness, and hunting for a printer who would meet his specifications. Political Debates sold fifty thousand copies—the rough equivalent of half a million books in today’s market—and it reveals something about Lincoln’s presidential ambitions. But it also reveals something about his heart and mind. When voters asked about his beliefs, Lincoln liked to point them to his book. In Craig Fehrman’s groundbreaking work of history, Author in Chief, the story of America’s presidents and their books opens a rich new window into presidential biography. From volumes lost to history—Calvin Coolidge’s Autobiography, which was one of the most widely discussed titles of 1929—to ones we know and love—Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father, which was very nearly never published—Fehrman unearths countless insights about the presidents through their literary works. Presidential books have made an enormous impact on American history, catapulting their authors to the national stage and even turning key elections. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, the first presidential book to influence a campaign, and John Adams’s Autobiography, the first score-settling presiden­tial memoir, Author in Chief draws on newly uncovered information—including never-before-published letters from Andrew Jackson, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan—to cast fresh light on the private drives and self-doubts that fueled our nation’s leaders. We see Teddy Roosevelt as a vulnerable first-time author, struggling to write the book that would become a classic of American history. We see Reagan painstakingly revising Where’s the Rest of Me?, a forgotten memoir in which he sharpened his sunny political image. We see Donald Trump negotiating the deal for The Art of the Deal, the volume that made him synonymous with business savvy. Alongside each of these authors, we also glimpse the everyday Americans who read them. Combining the narrative felicity of a journalist with the rigorous scholarship of a historian, Fehrman delivers a feast for history lovers, book lovers, and everybody curious about a behind-the-scenes look at our presidents.

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Acclaimed author and quilter Susan Briscoe presents an irresistible new collection of patchwork bag designs to excite and inspire bag-lovers everywhere. From exquisite evening bags to practical portfolios and robust rucksacks, each project is presented with full step-by-step instructions and illustrations, allowing you to create your own unique accessories with ease, and prompting the question wherever you go, 'where DID you get that bag?!' The book features 21 gorgeous patchwork bags produced from 13 basic designs, specifically with quilters in mind. Each bag is shown with variations in colourways or adapted for a different purpose, to inspire you to take the designs further. These bag designs allow quilters to explore several new techniques on a small scale, while making something useful and beautiful at the same time. Essential information is also included on fabric selection, secure fastenings, and comfortable carrying straps and handles. With this book you will be able to: make practical bags for your quilting essentials; produce exquisite gifts for friends and family; embellish away with charms and creative stitching techniques; create designer solutions to your carrying needs; and add a unique twist to old favourites. Beautiful photography of the finished bags is accompanied by detailed step-by-step photographs and piecing diagrams to guide you through each design, while a useful techniques section at the back of the book covers patchwork techniques including cutting fabric strips, machine piecing patchwork and how to create patchwork blocks such as Seminole, triangle squares, flying geese, log cabin, as well as foundation piecing and crazy patchwork. Appliqué and quilting techniques, both by hand and machine, are also included, along with specific bag making techniques such as making and attaching bindings, how to insert a zip, making straps, adding pockets and inserting linings. A stitch library of decorative stitches you can use to embellish your bags, advice on fabric colour themes and a patchwork block library complete the book.

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Pre-order the next thrilling Hawthorne mystery CLOSE TO DEATH - coming soon!By the global bestselling author, Anthony Horowitz, the third novel in his acclaimed Hawthorne and Horowitz series. The Russian mafia, a strange religious order and not one but two murders - stand by for a hugely enjoyable, twisty turny read.'EASILY THE GREATEST OF OUR CRIME WRITERS' Sunday Times'A homage to the Golden Age of mystery - it is pure delight' New York Times'Witty, wry, clever, a fabulous detective story and perfect summer reading' Kate Mosse'Funny, intriguing, thrilling and thought-provoking: a marvellous mystery' Adam Hamdy'A golden-age whodunnit on steroids' Kirkus Reviews______________Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and the writer Anthony Horowitz have been invited to a literary festival on the island of Alderney to talk about their new book . . .Very soon they discover that dark forces are at work.Alderney is in turmoil over a planned power line that will cut through it, desecrating a war cemetery and turning neighbour against neighbour.And the visiting authors seem to be harbouring any number of unpleasant secrets.When the festival's wealthy sponsor is found brutally murdered, Alderney goes into lockdown and Hawthorne knows he doesn't have to look too far for suspects. There's no escape. The killer is still on the island.And there's about to be a second death . . .______________Readers can't get enough of Hawthorne and Horowitz ...***** 'I loved this smartly written whodunit, but it's the characters of Hawthorne and Horowitz that have completely won me over.'***** 'A Line to Kill was a very clever, suspenseful and compelling murder mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed '***** 'This is a worthy addition to this highly addictive series, and I can't wait to begin the next installment.'***** 'Engaging, fun banter between Horowitz and Hawthorne, double deception, locked room mystery, multiple suspects that all have a motive, and someone with murder in their eyes.'

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From the bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal, now a major Netflix series… Reputation: it takes a lifetime to build and just one moment to destroy.‘Sarah Vaughan has done it again. Superb’ Shari Lapena Emma Webster is a respectable MP. Emma Webster is a devoted mother. Emma Webster is innocent of the murder of a tabloid journalist. Emma Webster is a liar. #Reputation: The story you tell about yourself. And the lies others choose to believe… 'Uncannily timely… As dark and gripping as you’d expect from the author of Anatomy of a Scandal’ ObserverYour favourite authors love Reputation: ‘A terrifically entertaining legal drama and an unsettling cautionary tale for any woman considering entering politics’ Louise Candlish ‘Perceptive, elegant, thrilling and addictive’ Chris Whitaker ‘Tense. Gripping. And bang up to date. This is a rollercoaster of a book’ Imran Mahmood ‘Wonderfully written, tense, taut and timely. I loved it!’ Claire Douglas ‘A stylish, challenging thriller. Do yourself a favour and read this book’ Fiona Cummins ‘Sarah Vaughan has distilled the zeitgeist into a pulse-racing thriller. Gripping all the way’ Erin Kelly ‘I read Reputation in one sitting, which is my highest possible praise’ Bella Mackie ‘Sarah Vaughan has another smash hit on her hands. Reputation is nuanced, complex, and thought-provoking, while still being a gripping, fast-paced read’ Louise O’Neill ‘Sarah Vaughan does it again. Another taut, gripping thriller that also shines a light on some of the most important issues of the day' Bryony Gordon

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The stunning follow-up to The Lonely Wife from bestselling author Val Wood.'With fully developed characters and a compelling story, it's no wonder the author won the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction for her debut... A great choice for a book club' Belfast Telegraph--------------------------------1864: Following the untimely death of her cold-hearted husband, Beatrix and her three children are finally free. While Ambrose has already determined his path in life, eldest son Laurie's future is less certain. With the responsibility of the family estate on his shoulders, Laurie must decide between staying in Yorkshire to farm the family land and following his dreams.Meanwhile, headstrong and independent Alicia is defying expectation and excelling at school. There she befriends the enigmatic Olivia Snowdon and they quickly become inseparable. But Olivia's past is shrouded in mystery and as the two families grow closer, secrets start to come tumbling out...A powerful story of family ties, long-held secrets and the fleeting days of childhood.--------------------------------Praise for Val Wood:'A heart-warming story filled with compelling action' Rosie Goodwin'Hull's answer to Catherine Cookson' BBC Radio 4's Front Row'Wonderfully fully-fleshed characters are the mainstay of [Val Wood's] stories' Peterborough TelegraphReaders are loving Children of Fortune:***** 'Excellent story, great characters bounding with interest from start to finish. Strongly recommend'***** 'Another excellent book from Val Wood and cannot wait for the next one'***** 'Val Wood never fails to keep me interested in her books, I love them'

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'Vivid, smart, propulsive. A thoroughly immersive thriller' Lisa UngerFor fans of Serial and Making a Murderer comes this clever, twisty and innovative thriller by New York Times bestselling author Gilly Macmillan, author of the Richard & Judy book club pick The Nanny___________________Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Page and Scott Ashby were murdered, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime but, decades later, questions still linger.For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood friends. Hoping to uncover new evidence, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don't want the case reopened, especially Charlie's mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands.When another body is found in the same location the boys were left decades before, the disturbing discovery launches another murder investigation. Now Detective John Fletcher, the investigator on the original case, must reopen his dusty files and decide if the two murders are linked. With his career in jeopardy, the clock is ticking and lives are in jeopardy . . .___________________PRAISE FOR GILLY MACMILLAN: 'Amazing, gripping, beautifully written' LIANE MORIARTY 'Deserves to stay on the bestseller list' DAILY MAIL'Electrifyingly good. An absolute firecracker of a thriller' SUNDAY MIRROR'Deceptively clever. I found myself racing through to find out what happened' ROSAMUND LUPTON'A nail-biting, sleep-depriving, brilliant read' SASKIA SARGINSON'A very clever, tautly-plotted page-turner' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'You won't rest until you know what happened' LISA BALLANTYNE

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A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERLONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE & THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONAn exquisite story of mothers and daughters from the Pulitzer prize-winning author of Olive KitteridgeLucy is recovering from an operation in a New York hospital when she wakes to find her estranged mother sitting by her bed. They have not seen one another in years. As they talk Lucy finds herself recalling her troubled rural childhood and how it was she eventually arrived in the big city, got married and had children. But this unexpected visit leaves her doubting the life she's made: wondering what is lost and what has yet to be found.The story continues in Anything is Possible, Oh William! and Lucy by the Sea, available to read now!*****'A terrific writer' Zadie Smith'A superbly gifted storyteller and a craftswoman in a league of her own' Hilary Mantel'So good it gave me goosebumps. One of the best writers in America' Sunday Times

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'I just LOVE [Elin Hilderbrand's] books, they are such compulsive reads' -Marian KeyesWarm up for winter on a Caribbean beach with New York Times Bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand.Irene Steele's life is idyllic, until it is rocked by a late-night phone call that brings news of her husband's sudden death. Even in the midst of her crippling grief, Irene cannot get one question out of her head: why was his body found on St. John, a tropical Caribbean paradise far removed from their suburban life?Leaving the cold Nantucket winter behind, Irene flies hundreds of miles to get to the island - only to learn that her husband had a secret second family. As she delves deeper into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the man she loved, she is plunged into a web of intrigue and deceit belied by the pristine white sandy beaches of St. John's. ************** Praise for Elin Hilderbrand: 'Oozes plenty of drama' - Heat 'A page turner' - Coastal Living 'Her imagination is endless' - Book Reporter

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'Alluringly gritty' TIME 'An extraordinary thriller' Lee Child #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns with the second thrilling instalment in her Gunnie Rose series . . .When Lizbeth Rose is hired onto a new crew to transport a crate into Dixie, she sees it as an easy protection gig. Dixie, the self-exiled southeast territory of the former United States, might be just about the last place she wants to visit, but the job itself is straightforward . . . until their cargo is stolen and her journey turns into a massacre.Up against a wall in Dixie, Lizbeth has to go undercover with an old friend to retrieve the crate. Forces across three territories will be racing her, for what the crate contains is something powerful enough to spark a rebellion, if she can get it back in time . . .Internationally bestselling Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and Midnight, Texas trilogy) is at her best here, building a compelling world of this alternate history of the United States, where magic is an acknowledged but despised power.

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______________Maggie Mason is the pen name of bestselling author Mary Wood***Previouslypublished as BLACKPOOL EVACUEE in hardback only***'In the grand tradition of sagas set down by the late and great Catherine Cookson'Jean Fullerton on Blackpool LassBlackpool's Angel - the first book in Maggie Mason's brand new Sandgronian trilogy - is OUT NOW.______________England, 1940Clara is forced to flee her home as the Nazis invade the beautiful island of Guernsey, leaving her mother Julia behind. She's scared and alone, but her spirits lift a little when she learns she's headed for Blackpool. Her slight hopes are crushed however when she is housed with and at the mercy of a cruel shopkeeper, Miss Brandon. Clara is worked like a dog, but the warmth of some newly made Blackpool friendships will go far to save her. Separated from her beloved daughter, Julia heads to London to try and track Clara down but she is thwarted at every turn. With no idea where her daughter is, and the trials of war keeping them far apart, will they ever be reunited?The perfect read for fans of Mary Wood, Kitty Neale, Val Wood and Nadine Dorries

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A house full of love. A house full of secrets.#1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks is back with his best novel yet.*Trevor Benson never intended to return to North Carolina. But here he is, back where it all began.Trevor found himself unable to resist the call home when he inherited a tumbledown cabin from his grandfather. He's come back to live the simple life but nothing here is simple. There's Callie, the sullen local teenager who seems to know more than she should about Trevor's grandfather's death. And there's Natalie, the deputy sheriff intent on making a point and lingering in Trevor's mind long after she's left his porch.In a bid to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets and to find out what really happened to his grandfather, Trevor is about to learn more than he's bargained for - that sometimes, in order to move forward, we have to return to the place where it all began.Praise for Nicholas Sparks:'A fiercely romantic and touching tale' Heat'An A-grade romantic read' OK!'Pulls at the heartstrings' Sunday Times'An absorbing page-turner' Daily Mail'This one won't leave a dry eye' Daily Mirror

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With all her signature warmth, wonderful characters and unforgettable drama, start this brand new chapter in the storytelling of Rosie Goodwin, Britain's best-loved saga author.1850.When Opal Sharp finds herself and her younger siblings suddenly orphaned and destitute, she thinks things can get no worse. But soon three of them - including Opal - are struck down with the illness that took their father, and her brother Charlie makes an impossible decision. Unable to afford a doctor, he knows the younger children will not survive. So, unbeknownst to Opal, Charlie takes their younger siblings to the workhouse. When she finds out, Opal is heartbroken, and things go from bad to worse when Charlie is accused of stealing and transported on a convict ship to Australia.Homeless and alone, Opal doesn't know where to turn, but then she manages to secure a position as a lady's maid, working for the formidable but kind-hearted Mrs King. She thinks she has finally found some security in life, until she attracts the unwanted attention of her mistress's son . . .Desperately missing her family, Opal makes a promise to reunite them all one day. But will the Sharps ever find their way back to each other?

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THE NO. 1 EBOOK BESTSELLER'A fabulous tale with refreshingly inspiring heroines' ***** Heat WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT is an enchanting read by Sheila O'Flanagan, bestselling author of THE HIDEAWAY, perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Lisa Jewell. ThenWhen Lola Fitzpatrick catches the eye of Philip Warren, she's new to Dublin and loving it. He's used to getting what he wants...and she can't resist him. Until one night he forces her to make an impossible choice.If she'd known then what she knows now, everything might have been different.NowLola's daughter Bey has inherited her mother's impulsive streak and it takes her down dangerous paths.Then one night she too finds herself in front of a man she loves, with impossible choices of her own to make.For both women, what happened that night changes everything. For better. For worse. For ever.What readers are saying about What Happened That Night: 'Brilliant book from start to finish. Another smash from Sheila O'Flanagan' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'A great, warm, life-affirming read that is not your traditional 'romcom', but offers so much more' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars'This is an exquisite book - everyone who loves a family story will love this book. Ready to change your life?' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars'Excellent book. I looked forward to reading it every day on my commute... On one occasion I was so engrossed I missed my stop' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars

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From the bestselling, award-winning David Almond comes a book of hope and joy: under a boundless starry sky, the unforgettable Sylvia Carr finds out what it means to be brave. For readers of Michael Morpurgo and Katherine Rundell, from the author of the beloved Skellig.She felt like a ghost. She woke in the night. What was that music?Sylvia has never been so far away. Her mother has brought her to this village, this place of silence and dark, endless forest, and she yearns for the city, the bright lights, her friends, even a phone signal.Late one night she hears the music, a weird jagged spiralling sound. It is played by Gabriel, a troubled, beautiful boy.Gabriel uses the strangest of flutes, a hollow bone. Play it well enough, he says, and you cross the borders between the living and the dead.Sylvia knows she'll follow him into the depths of the forest. But will they ever find their way out again?Praise for David Almond:"A master storyteller." Independent"Spell-binding... impossible to resist... breathless, intoxicating prose. [Almond's] books seem to exist in their own otherworldly universe, outside all the trends in modern publishing, yet resolutely of the now." Glasgow Herald "David Almond's books are strange, unsettling wild things - unfettered by the normal constraints of children's literature. They are, like all great literature, beyond classification." Guardian"[David Almond] is that rare thing - a writer of lucid, mature elegance, who can still see the world through adolescent eyes." Daily Telegraph

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From the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Crossfire saga comes the conclusion of a twisty tale of three women fighting to outrun their pasts-one for love, one for power and one for revenge.-----With the trademark emotional intensity and scorching sensuality of multimillion bestseller Sylvia Day, the dangerous and sultry Blacklist duology comes to its riveting conclusion.‘There's so much suspense and mystery in the entire book and it made for such an amazing story’ 5***** Reader Review‘Sylvia Day has created such a beautifully written masterpiece which is adorned with the mysterious, sexy, exciting and suspenseful vibes’ 5***** Reader Review‘One of the best I have read this year’ 5***** Reader Review‘Lots of emotion, tension and violence but love finds a way through’ 5***** Reader ReviewLily Black was presumed dead for years.Now, she's back in the unquestioning arms of her loving husband, Kane.Where she's been remains a mystery, but her past sins haunt her and bring deadly danger into the lives of the family.Meanwhile Aliyah, Kane's mother, has worked hard for her position of power. She has never believed Lily is who she says she is, and will stop at nothing to expose her.Amy, Kane's sister-in-law, has always been a pawn in the dangerous games this family plays. But she knows she deserves more, and will do anything to claim the biggest prize.Three women fight to outrun their pasts.But could they have more in common than they think?***So Close was a Sunday Times bestseller April 2023***

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THE DEBUT THRILLER IN THE BESTSELLING DAVID RAKER MISSING PERSONS SERIES, PERFECT FOR FANS OF MO HAYDER, LINWOOD BARCLAY AND MICHAEL CONNELLYOne year ago, Alex Towne's body was found.One month ago, his mother saw him on the street.One week ago, David Raker agreed to look for him.Now he wishes he hadn't.Mary Towne's son, Alex, went missing six years ago. Five years later he finally turned up - as a corpse in a car wreck. Missing persons investigator David Raker doesn't want the work: it's clearly a sad but hopeless case of mistaken identity brought to him by a woman unable to let go of her son. But haunted by a loss of his own, Raker reluctantly agrees.Big mistake. For as he digs deeper, he discovers that Alex's life was not the innocent one his mother believed. Buried in his past are secrets that were never meant to be found - and dark, dangerous men willing to kill to protect them. Soon Raker will discover that there are things far worse than death . . .Praise for Tim Weaver:'Weaver has delivered another cracking crime thriller' Daily Mail'I couldn't put it down' The Sun'Weaver's books get better each time - tense, complex, written with flair as well as care' Guardian'The reader is educated as well as entertained, enthralled and intrigued. David Raker is a most complex and engaging investigator, each case leaving its mark on his soul, and ours' Sunday Times bestselling author Liz Nugent

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Often, to move forward we must return to the place where it all began.#1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with a moving new novel about an injured army doctor and the two women whose secrets will change the course of his life.Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked as an orthopedic surgeon sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, he comes to regroup in the dilapidated cabin inherited from his grandfather. Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love, yet from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a deep connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson. Though she seems to reciprocate his feelings, Natalie remains frustratingly distant.Further complicating his stay is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie. Claiming to be 17, she works at the local store and keeps to herself. Discovering that she was once befriended by his grandfather, Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues - until a crisis triggers a race that will uncover the true nature of Callie's past.In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . Praise for Nicholas Sparks:'A fiercely romantic and touching tale' Heat'An A-grade romantic read' OK!'Pulls at the heartstrings' Sunday Times'An absorbing page-turner' Daily Mail'This one won't leave a dry eye' Daily Mirror

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'I raced through this murder mystery' Good Housekeeping, 10 Books to Read Right Now!'Smiley is a masterful writer' Sunday Times'Outstanding. Her sentences are sublime' Roxane GayFrom a brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author: a rollicking murder mystery set in Gold Rush California, as two young prostitutes follow a trail of missing girls.Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can't resist confronting. Side by side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by Edgar Allan Poe's detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who begin to seem more and more suspicious.Eliza and Jean are determined not just to survive, but to find their way in a lawless town on the fringes of the Wild West - a bewitching combination of beauty and danger - as what will become the Civil War looms on the horizon.As Mrs. Parks says, 'Everyone knows that this is a dangerous business, but between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise . . .'

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A superb saga from Sunday Times bestselling author Evelyn Hood. 'Scotland's Catherine Cookson' Scots Magazine 'Hood is immaculate in her historical detail' HeraldJenny Gillespie has suffered her share of troubles during the Great War, not least the loss of her fiance, Robert Archer. For although Robert was not killed in action, he is as dead to her as any sweetheart slaughtered in France when he eventually meets another woman. Jenny, meanwhile, is trapped in Clydeside's dockland, unable to leave her mother, who is worn out and heartbroken. Jenny has little choice but to abandon her dream of making a new start in Glasgow and return to her job in the tracing office of Dalkieth's shipyard and the domination of her relentlessly demanding family.Unexpectedly, Robert Archer returns to Clydeside and becomes Jenny's boss. Single again, penitent and seemingly eager to rekindle his relationship with Jenny, Robert would offer her a way out of the dead end she finds herself in. But Jenny, to her surprise, receives a proposal of marriage from a decent man, one that offers the obvious way to fulfil her duties to her family, escape from their cramped tenement home - and to forget Robert Archer forever. Perhaps only then, Jenny thinks, will she finally be able to reach out and grasp the handful of happiness she longs for...READERS LOVE EVELYN HOOD...'Touching, romantic and unforgettable''Love all her books''Evelyn Hood produces the best of stories''I cannot put her books down''Love everything Evelyn Hood writes'

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‘In a certain sense, nothing had changed — two men in a house and a half-century passing without a ripple — but seen with the light from a different angle, none of it had remained the same.’ What is the purpose of a man? Living in a disused farmhouse with his elderly father, Paul Krüzen is not sure he knows anymore. The mill his grandfather toiled in is closed, the glory of the Great Wars is long past, and it has been many years since his mother escaped in the arms of a Russian pilot, never once looking back. What do they have to look forward to now? Saint Rita, the patron saint of lost causes, watches over Paul and his best friend Horseradish Hedwig, two misfits at odds with the modern world, while Paul takes comfort in his own Blessed Rita, a prostitute from Quezon. But even she cannot protect them from the tragedy that is about to unfold. In this darkly funny novel about life on the margins of society, Dutch sensation Tommy Wieringa asks what happens to those left behind.

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At the turn of the twentieth century, Amélie Rives was one of the most famous women in America. A member of Virginia’s First Families—and granddaughter of a U.S. senator, she belonged to the southern aristocracy. Considered one of the great beauties of her time, Rives leveraged both her connections and her own considerable talent to become a best-selling author and then married into the wealthy Astor family. As Jane Turner Censer makes clear in this long overdue biography, Rives’s personal story—filled with enormous triumphs and calamities—was, if anything, as fascinating as her art.Rives’s most famous novel, The Quick or the Dead?, published when she was just twenty-four, was a sensation in its time, but soon she began to grapple with marital woes, an addiction to morphine and cocaine, and reams of unfavorable press coverage. Dramatically she took control of her celebrity: she divorced her husband and married a Russian prince, broke free of addiction, and changed her image to that of a European princess. Rives then regained her writing career, including plays produced on Broadway.Censer draws from Rives’s early diaries, correspondence, and publications as well as the massive newspaper coverage she received during her lifetime to provide insights into the limits imposed on and actions taken by ambitious, elite young women in the late nineteenth-century South. As a trailblazer, Rives used her beauty, brains, and wayward behavior to make a splash in a manner later adopted by southern women as disparate as Zelda Fitzgerald and Tallulah Bankhead.

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"You have one chance," said the voice of the goddess...'Pitch-perfect... Part historical, part fantasy, all top-notch queer romance'KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)'All the interpersonal drama of Jane Austen meets all the complex treachery of Greek mythology'PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)'Whimsically wonderful, witty writing that evokes Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde... An effervescent, genre-blurring romantic confection'BOOKLISTIt is the year 1814 and Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into the highest society of Bath hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough, with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at the ball of the season, a scandal she only narrowly manages to escape.However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, she realises she must seek out urgent assistance, even if that means mixing with the most undesirable company - and there are few less desirable allies than the brooding Lady Georgiana Landrake - who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune.If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress.Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.A devilishly funny and heartwarming sapphic Regency romantasy from bestselling author of Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall, Mortal Follies is unmissable for fans of Juno Dawson's Her Majesty's Royal Coven and Freya Marske's A Marvellous Light.What readers are saying:'This book is just delightful. Hall is so talented at writing funny, sexy rom-coms that leave me with the biggest smile on my face, and this one is no exception' Kiley, 5* NetGalley review'A frolicsome delight, which is as much about stories, and how stories are told, as anything else. Thanks (yet again) for the joy, Alexis Hall' Melissa, 5* NetGalley review'Such a lot of fun! For anyone who loves Georgette Heyer-esque Regency historical rom-coms, you'll adore the tonnish style of the plot, and for those of us who love magic and witchery and faerie, then having Robin Goodfellow as the narrator adds a lot of wry humour' Lynne, 5* NetGalley review'I LOVED this book! It's fun, exciting, tumultuous and sapphic. It's incredibly written with one of the most enjoyable narrators I've read... Kept me on the edge of my seat and not wanting to put my book down, even at 3am... Will be recommending to all my friends' Anonymous, 5* NetGalley review'Be still my beating heart. I absolutely loved this! This book is perfect for readers who love Bridgerton' Bee, 5* NetGalley review'So much fun to read' Courtney, 5* NetGalley review

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"Social commentary meets thriller in Delphine de Vigan’s smart novel, which explores the frightening phenomenon of the 'kidfluencer'" —The Telegraph (5 stars) The first time that Mélanie met Clara, Mélanie was stunned by Clara’s sense of authority, and Clara was struck by Mélanie’s pink, glittery nails, which shimmered in the dark. “She looks like a child,” thought the first. “She looks like a doll,” pondered the second. These two women, both of the same generation and exposed to the same media throughout their lives, could not be more different in adulthood. Mélanie is a social media superstar, broadcasting her children's daily lives on a family YouTube channel. Clara is a young police officer, assigned to the case after Mélanie’s daughter Kimmy is abducted. Traversing the Big Brother generation, the social media influencer generation, and right up to the 2030s, Delphine de Vigan offers a bone-chilling exposé of a world where everything is broadcasted and profited from, even family happiness.

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When a one-night stand leads to a long-desired pregnancy, Susan will do anything to ensure her husband won’t find out … including the unthinkable. But when something horrendous is unleashed around the globe, her secret isn’t the only thing that is no longer safe…‘The first half is a high-concept thriller; the second edges into science fiction as a generation of genetically optimised children respond to the social pressures they are under … an astute, well-researched and convincing novel of ideas’ The Times'If you could create a "perfect" baby through genetic engineering, would you? A disturbing and interesting thriller, perfect for book club discussions' Nina Pottell, Prima‘A fantastic exploration of the ethics and allure of genetic engineering woven into a captivating, thought-provoking thriller. Provocative, pacy and scarily all-too-possible’ Philippa East––––––––––––An unthinkable decisionA deadly mistakeIn an all-too-possible near future, when genetic engineering has become the norm for humans, not just crops, parents are prepared to take incalculable risks to ensure that their babies are perfect … altering genes that may cause illness, and more…Susan has been trying for a baby for years, and when an impulsive one-night stand makes her dream come true, she’ll do anything to keep her daughter and ensure her husband doesn’t find out … including the unthinkable. She believes her secret is safe. For now.But as governments embark on a perilous genetic arms race and children around the globe start experiencing a host of distressing symptoms – even taking their own lives – something truly horrendous is unleashed. Because those children have only one thing in common, and people are starting to ask questions…Bestselling author of The Waiting Rooms, Eve Smith returns with an authentic, startlingly thought-provoking, disturbing blockbuster of a thriller that provides a chilling glimpse of a future that’s just one modification away…_____________‘An effective thriller that will keep you hooked to the very end … more than that, it’s a nuanced, believable examination of how human genetic engineering might play out...’ SFX Magazine ‘A brilliantly chilling work of speculative fiction – a disturbing but all-too-possible vision of the near future, where each of us gets to play God. Superb!’ Guy Morpuss‘Sharp, intelligent, frightening and original’ NB Magazine‘An eerily prophetic near-future viewed through a compassionately anchoring lens ... As tempting and tantalising a read as the vision of the future it presents’ SciFi Now‘This is what speculative fiction should be – plausible, pacy, and with a story that packs real emotional punch’ Louise Mumford‘When a writer’s work is compared to Michael Crichton’s, there’s reason to sit up and pay attention … a cautionary tale that’s full of thrills’ LoveReading ‘With jaw-dropping twists, high stakes and so much heart, this is a book that everyone will be talking about’ Awais Khan‘Fast-paced, emotional, disturbing. Lovers of cleverly plotted speculative fiction should jump on this’ Catherine McCarthy‘Eve Smith has done it again! A brilliant read’ J.M. Hewitt‘One of the most exciting writers around … master of the high-concept thriller’ Chris McDonald‘Eve Smith has crafted a world that feels not only lived-in, but utterly plausible’ Russel McLean‘Captivating’ Professor Joanna Verran‘Eve Smith is becoming the Jodi Picoult of speculative medical thrillers’ The Reading ClosetPraise for The Waiting Rooms*****‘Combines the excitement of a medical thriller à la Michael Crichton with sensitive characterisation and social insight in a timely debut novel all the more remarkable for being conceived and written before the current pandemic’ Guardian‘STUNNING and terrifying … The Waiting Rooms wrenches your heart in every way possible’ Miranda Dickinson‘Chillingly close to reality, this gripping thriller brims with authenticity … a captivating, accomplished and timely debut from an author to watch’ Adam Hamdy‘Engrossing and eye-opening, with heart-stopping plot twists … a stunning medical thriller set in a terrifying possible future’ Foreword Reviews For fans of Emily St John Mandel, Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen and Louise Dought

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