Search results for ""canongate books""

Prepare to enter a world where the infatuation with death, ruin and destruction is total. Set in locations from New York to the west of Ireland, and to the nameless realms of the imagination, it is a world where beautiful but deranged children make lethal bombs, talented sculptors spend careers dismembering themselves in pursuit of their art, and wasters rise up with axes and turn into patricides.McCormack's celebrated debut collection is richly imaginative, bitterly funny, powerful and original.

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Crime writer-sleuth Francis Meadowes discovers something dark hiding under the beautiful Umbrian sun when one of his writing group is found dead in Italy.Francis Meadowes is soaking up the late summer sun in Italy, running a creative writing course at the beautiful Villa Giulia, deep in the remote Umbrian countryside. Recruited by the villa''s owners, Stephanie and Gerry, Francis''s students include snooty, irritating Poppy and her ex-ambassador husband Duncan, eccentric Northern Irishman Liam, quirky, self-styled ''Hampstead Jewess'' Zoe, bossy Scottish Diana, kooky young American Sasha, mysterious ''spy'' Tony and restless civil servant Roz.But what should be a magical week under the Italian sun turns into something far more sinister when one of the group is found dead, and the local police quickly turn to Francis for help. Uncovering betrayal, lies, secrets and old scores to be settled, Francis soon realizes something very dark is lurking beneath the

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg, comes an explosive, page-turning investigative thriller - with a mind-blowing twist.There''s a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . . The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away. But it''s the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption. Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance. His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave . . . and also tries to identify a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm. Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, f

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Spirited female sleuth Elizabeth Fairchild is drawn into Chicago''s growing jazz scene - and murder - in this compelling 1920s mystery.July, 1926. When Elizabeth Fairchild''s beau, Fred Wilkins, suggests going to Chicago''s Sunset Club to see Louis Armstrong, the world''s best trumpeter, in action, she faces a dilemma. The burgeoning jazz scene in the city is proving to be controversial, associated with gangsters and scandal. Even her dear friend Susannah refers to jazz as ''the devil''s music''.Intrigued, Elizabeth brushes her fears aside and visits the club with Fred, but an explosion causes panic - the Ku Klux Klan are intent on blowing up the club as part of a race war being waged in the city, and murder soon follows. Elizabeth has made herself a target, but she has a plan to save the club. The only problem is it involves jazz afficionado and the Sunset Club''s owner, the country''s most notorious criminal, Al Capone . . .

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A bizarre discovery right under Mrs Pargeter''s patio turns a quiet and sunny June morning into a thrilling hunt for answers in this new instalment of the light-hearted and entertaining Mrs Pargeter mystery series.When widow Mrs Pargeter decides to have her morning coffee on the patio of her mansion in Chigwell, her intention is to admire her beautiful garden in peace and quiet. Little does she expect one of the patio''s paving slabs to crack in two, depositing her on the ground - and revealing a human skull with a neat hole in the middle of its forehead!Not wanting to bother the police just yet, Mrs Pargeter decides to save them some trouble and starts investigating the curious find herself. And who better to assist than her late husband''s ''business associates'', private investigator Truffler Mason and chauffeur Gary? The trio are soon certain that a murder has been committed and the body disposed of under some convenient building work

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Albert Campion must dig deep into his memory to solve this latest mystery involving king of construction, Sir Lachlan McIntyre.London, 1972. Albert Campion''s nephew Christopher, an aspiring public relations guru, needs his uncle''s help with a client. Construction magnate Sir Lachlan McIntyre enjoyed a meteoric rise after the Second World War and is in line for a life peerage, but his reputation is in jeopardy as he becomes the prime suspect for a murder.Journalist David Duffy was curiously more interested in McIntyre''s youthful years before the war than his rags-to-riches story. Not long after the pair exchanged verbal blows, Duffy was shot dead in his car close to the M1 motorway and McIntyre''s home. Why was Campion''s name included on a list discovered in Duffy''s notebook under the heading 1932? What happened forty years ago, and could it be linked to Duffy''s death? Campion must dig deep into his memory to get to the bottom of the

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''Brilliant'' -Publishers Weekly Starred ReviewThe legendary Judge Dee Renjie investigates a high-profile murder case in this intriguing companion novel to Inspector Chen and the Private Kitchen Murder set in seventh-century China.Judge Dee Renjie, Empress Wu''s newly appointed Imperial Circuit Supervisor for the Tang Empire, is visiting provinces surrounding the grand capital of Chang''an. One night a knife is thrown through his window with a cryptic note attached: ''A high-flying dragon will have something to regret!''Minutes after the ominous warning appears, Judge Dee is approached by an emissary of Internal Minister Wu, Empress Wu''s nephew. Minister Wu wants Judge Dee to investigate a high-profile murder supposedly committed by the well-known poetess and courtesan, Xuanji, who locals believe is possessed by the spirit of a black fox.Why is Minister Wu interested in Xuanji? Despite Xuanji confessing to th

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Crime-fiction librarian Ray Ambler gets more than he bargained for when he acquires the archives of a controversial hardboiled crime author in this contemporary twisty mystery set in New York City.Hardboiled crime writer Will Ford might be critically acclaimed, but he''s every bit as debauched and disreputable as the ne''er-do-well private eye in his novels. So when Ford offers Raymond Ambler - crime-fiction curator at New York City''s prestigious 42nd Street Library - a collection of his papers, Ambler wonders if the project will be more trouble than it''s worth. Still, the disgraced author is an important talent, and Ambler''s never been afraid of a fight.Ambler''s ready for the controversy that greets news of the acquisition. He''s not ready, however, for what he finds when he finally receives the papers: a gripping unpublished short story apparently based on a real case, with an explosive author''s note. If it''s true, there''s been a shocking cover

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FBI dive instructor Jessie Madison''s survival skills are stretched to breaking point when she is plunged into danger in this exhilarating thriller - the first in a pulsating new series.Jessie Madison escaped to the Bahamas when she made a terrifying discovery at home and a bad decision got her dismissed from the FBI training program. Three months later, Jessie is ready to return to Virginia to pick up the pieces of her shattered life - until she and a friend are attacked during a boat ride and thrown overboard, with devastating consequences.Jessie is determined to bring their attackers to justice. Who are they? What were they looking for on the boat? And can she trust Nick, the handsome but enigmatic stranger who claims he wants to help her? Jessie must draw on all her survival and investigative skills if she is to stay alive long enough to get answers . . .

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Private investigators Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson take on another unusual and baffling case in Victorian London when a mummy unwrapping party takes a chilling turn.London, 1895. Although their last high-profile case was a huge success, private detectives Tim Badger and Benjamin Watson know they can''t afford to turn down any work, despite financial assistance from their mentor, Sherlock Holmes.So when the eminent Doctor Enoch Sawyer of St Bart''s Hospital asks Badger if the duo will provide security for a mummy unwrapping party he is hosting, Badger doesn''t hesitate to take the job. After all, how hard can guarding the doctor''s bizarre Egyptian artifacts be? But with Doctor Sawyer running late for his own party, the ''genuine'' ancient sarcophagus of Runihura Saa is unravelled to reveal the remains of . . . Doctor Sawyer! Suddenly, the pair are drawn into a case that''s stranger and twistier than they could ever have imagined.

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