Search results for ""quercus publishing""

'Brims with laughs, love, family and friendship. You will love this heartwarming read!' Trisha Ashley, Sunday Times bestselling author.Meet the Reading Group: Grace, Anne-Marie, Kate, Jojo and Serena, as different as can be but who you can count on in good times and bad. No topic is off-limits: books, family, love and loss . . . and don't forget the glass of red! Each month they meet in Serena's beautiful cliff-top cottage to discuss a good book - and their lives, which are sometimes stranger than fiction! Between new loves and old flames, cheating husbands and wayward children, there's always a surprise around the corner...A laugh-out-loud tale of friendship, loyalty and love. Perfect for fans of Jo Thomas and Lucy Diamond.

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Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront a new challenge: is it possible to get a good gluten-free cream tea?Julian, Anne, Dick, George and Timmy are all feeling really rather rum, and it's been going on for days. Nothing seems to work, and with their doctors mystified, they're driven to trying out various expedients to cure themselves. Julian goes online to self-diagnose that he's got pancreatic cancer, bird flu and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Anne decides that the old methods are the best and decides to have herself exorcised - which proves to be an awful lot of bother for everyone, and such a mess. Dick goes to a witch-doctor who calls himself a 'homeopath' ('sounds only one short of sociopath, Dick!') but it's George who discovers they need to go on an exclusion diet, so they enter a world of hard-to-find, maddeningly expensive specialist foods . . .Just perfect for anyone who likes Deliciously Ella, Amelia Freer and the Naturalista - as well as any reluctant partners who are begrudgingly spiralising courgettes for dinner.

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Written by a retired British soldier, Trouble at Zero Hour is a breathless and vivid story, dramatizing three of the key Allied operations that turned the tide of the Second World War.6 June, 1944, somewhere over the Normandy coastline: Robbie Stokes sits in a glider, his Bren resting on the floor between his outstretched legs. The nose lowers and the glider descends rapidly: ten minutes of stomach-churning twists and turns until suddenly the call goes up to 'BRACE'. The belly makes contact with the ground and the first Allied troops tumble out into occupied Europe.For new recruit Robbie Stokes it is the beginning of ten months of brutal and relentless conflict that take him from D-Day, via Operation Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem Bridge, to the Rhine Crossing and the final push for victory. Three operations that change the course of the war and test Robbie Stokes and his band of brothers to their limits. If they fail, then the Allied invasion fails. They must succeed through their longest days.

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A Victorian Murder. A Victorian Madman. A Modern Judgement.Gateshead, April 1866The Apprentice of Split Crow Lane takes the forgotten case of a child murder in 1866 as a springboard to delve deeply into the pysche of the Victorians. What Jane Housham finds, in this exploration of guilt, sexual deviance and madness, is a diagnosis that is still ripe for the challenging and a sentence that provokes even our liberal modern judgement. Set around Gateshead, it is a revelatory social history of the North - an area growing in industry and swelling with immigration, where factory workers are tinged blue and yellow by chemicals, the first tabloids are printed, children are left alone by working parents and haystack fires sweep the county in rebellion against the introduction of the police force. Into this landscape, a five-year-old Irish girl named Sarah Melvin sets out over the fell to look for her father, and a troubled young man makes a frightening leap of logic to save his own skin.Told here for the first time, this is an extraordinary story of sexual deviance and murder. In lively, empathic prose, Jane Housham explores psychiatry, the justice system and the media in mid-Victorian England to reveal a surprisingly modern state of affairs.

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We are marching towards a future in which three-quarters of humans live in cities, more than half of the landmass of the planet is urbanized, and the rest is covered by farms,pasture, and plantations. Increasingly, as we become ever more city-centric, species and ecosystems crafted by millions of years of evolution teeter on the brink of extinction - or have already disappeared.A growing band of 'urban ecologists' is beginning to realize that natural selection is not so easily stopped. They are finding that more and more plants and animals are adopting new ways of living in the seemingly hostile environments of asphalt and steel that we humans have created. Carrion crows in the Japanese city of Sendai, for example, have learned to use passing traffic to crack nuts for them; otters and bobcats, no longer persecuted by humans, are waiting at the New York City gates; superb fairy-wrens in Australia have evolved different mating structures for nesting in strips of vegetation along roads; while distinct populations of London underground mosquitoes have been fashioned by the varied tube line environments.Menno Schilthuizen shows us that evolution can happen far more rapidly than Darwin had dared dream.

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EVAN IS A SUICIDE ASSISTANT. HIS JOB IS LEGAL - JUST.'A poignant, sharply funny story that raises questions about life, death, and love' Louise O'Neill'You might just want to find and hug a nurse after finishing this thoughtful and ethically nuanced novel' GuardianShortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal 2017.Evan is the one at the hospital who hands out the last drink to those who ask for it. Evan's friends don't know what he does during the day. His mother, Viv, doesn't know what he's up to at night. And his supervisor suspects there may be trouble ahead. As he helps one patient after another die, Evan pushes against the limits of the law - and his own morality. And with Viv increasingly unwell, his love life complicated, to say the least, Evan begins to wonder who might be there for him, when the time comes.From an award-winning author, The Easy Way Out is a brilliantly funny and exquisitely sad novel that gets to the heart of one of the most difficult questions each of us may face: would you help someone die?

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The setting is October 1879. The stage is New Georgetown, West Virginia.A mysterious figure by the name of 'The Maker' has entered this small community and, almost immediately upon doing so, started entering the minds of the townsfolk.Townsfolk who are as curious as The Maker himself. Like Dr Umbründ, the pint-sized physician with a prodigious capacity for sin; like the three sisters in the house on the hill - one stern, one wild, one mysterious; like the tavern's semi-mythical siren, 'The Bird', who plays spellbinding music from behind a black velvet curtain, and whom no patron has ever laid eyes on; like Odell, a youth with dreams and ambitions that his craven disposition will forever prevent him from seizing; and who has spent the entirety of his erstwhile existence under the crushing heel of Clay, New Georgetown's lead cad and chief alpha male.As we enter these characters' lives, and lightly tread our way through their brains, their bedrooms, their backstories and beyond, we will see what it is they all hope for and hide - and learn just why The Maker has chosen to meet them.

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The Artful Dodger faces his most dangerous adventure yet as he leaves Dickensian London and finds himself manning the barricades in defence of liberty, fraternity and larceny in the 1848 Paris uprising. For Dodger, life as a criminal kingpin is losing its allure. Leading a gang of petty thieves from the Seven Dials is not as easy as Fagin made it look and after a year in charge Jack Dawkins has been reduced to a shadow of the man who used to be the envy of every pickpocket in London. Opium-addicted and heavy-fingered, Dodger is fast becoming a laughing stock on his own patch until a chance encounter leads him to Paris and a job like nothing he's had before. In a city alive with rebellion, Dodger must avoid assassins, jilted lovers and revolutionaries, and rediscover his touch if he is to lift his most precious treasure yet. The third in the James Benmore's acclaimed series continuing the story of the Artful Dodger, this book confirms Jack Dawkins as one of the great fiction characters.

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On a warm Autumn afternoon, Tivoli Gardens - Denmark's largest amusement park - is devastated by a terrorist attack. 1,241 people are killed. The unknown bomber is blown to bits; the security forces have no leads. One year later, the nation is still reeling, and those behind the attack are still at large. Amidst the increasingly frustrated police force, Superintendent Lene Jensen is suffering the effects of tragedy closer to home. Everyone is aware the terrorists may soon strike again. Then Lene receives a strange call. A young desperate Muslim woman needs her help, but by the time Lene reaches her she's already dead - supposedly suicide. Already suspicious, Lene's initial investigations suggest that the woman was unknowingly part of a secret services research project. Silenced by her superiors, Lene turns to her old ally Michael Sander to dig deeper. But with even her allies increasingly adamant her actions are a risk to national security, Lene begins to understand that finding the truth might be the most dangerous thing of all.

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Is Astra ready to accept her destiny? A gripping novel for 'Hunger Games fans of all ages' says Library Journal. War is breaking out in Kadingir. Still struggling to accept her role as a long prophesied icon of unification between Is-Land and Non-Land, Astra Ordott is on a journey across the wind sands to join her father and his people - the mystics of Shiimti, who claim to hold the secret of truly healing the damaged relationship between human beings and the Earth.Astra's desperate to get there quickly, but when her guide and companion, the shepherd Muzi, leads her off course into the path of a vicious sandstorm, she is forced to confront what the gods of their devastated world might be telling her: that there will be no refuge from her destiny.

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Payback has a new name: Flashfire is now a major film - 'Parker' - starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez. Parker is a thief with a unique code of ethics: Don't steal from people who can't afford it and don't hurt people who don't deserve it. When he is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead, Parker is set on revenge. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist, and put right what they took from him.

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Dr Adam Knox returns from the war in Afghanistan a little rougher, a little wiser, and a lot more inclined to kick it to the ones at the top. The ones in charge.He sets up a clinic in Los Angeles's most notorious district, tending to the vagrant, the vulnerable and the victims of skid row. One night they're beseeched by a Romanian woman who comes in with her son. Her bruises give away a story she's too scared to tell; escaping from traffickers and forced prostitution to try to get her son back. He was kidnapped by his father - who happens to be heir to one of the most influential dynasties on the West Coast.That same night, Knox is called upon for his private health service - cutting out a bullet from a businessman who was cutting himself a shady deal. Impressed by his ability to keep a secret, the impatient patient offers Knox a big tip for some extra work: helping him get revenge on the gangsters who shot him. Knox - and his clinic - need the cash.Playing one team against another, Knox must keep his wits scalpel-sharp. If his diagnosis is on the money, he might be able to trick the gangsters, free the Romanian mother and put the ones at the top in their place for once.

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Emiel Steegman, an unknown writer with a handful of novels to his name, is seeking a way to escape a dinner with Estonian colleagues. Although things are plodding along quite happily, he cancels at the last moment "due to a rather difficult time for the family".A nasty feeling immediately comes over him: is he inviting trouble for his family in doing so? And what if a biographer stumbled on this? Would he not then suspect that something significant had happened in his life? The thought gives him a great idea for a new novel about a successful author, T, who becomes famous with an existential crime novel and increasingly worries about what his future biographer will write about him, so he withdraws entirely from public life.But Steegman's initial misgivings prove well founded. Because fate does strike. One afternoon, his daughter Renée falls asleep and it is impossible to wake her . . .

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No one knows who will return as one of the Walkin'. But everyone agrees it's a curse . . . and there are those who will not suffer the wicked to live.Seven years after Thomas returned as a Walkin', the McDermott family are looking for a new life and Thomas has set his heart on starting a farmstead near the remote outpost of Fort Wilson. But the teachings of J.S. Barkley are not so easily forsaken - there are those who would see the sinners dead, and they are slowly closing in.

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'Stunning' The Times'Excellent' Independent on Sunday'Compelling, haunting and thrilling' David PeaceSeoul, South KoreaMia is an outsider. Half-English, half-Korean, a translator at the British Embassy; she treads a boundary between her roots and the acceptance she desires from the English - especially her boss, Thomas: a married diplomat.Thomas's career is jeopardized by an outrageous indiscretion until Mia comes to his rescue. At first grateful, his feelings are soon complicated by a commission to investigate the background of the woman who has captivated him.Hyun-min is a defector from North Korea, taken in by Mia's family. But he has a secret. One that could shatter Mia's family, her life and the fragile borders around them all.

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Gaspard Winckler, master forger, is trapped in a basement studio on the outskirts of Paris, with his paymaster's blood on his hands. The motive for this murder? A perversion of artistic ambition. After a lifetime lived in the shadows, he has strayed too close to the sun. Fittingly for such an enigmatic writer, Portrait of a Man is both Perec's first novel and his last. Frustrated in his efforts to find a publisher, he put it aside, telling a friend: "I'll go back to it in ten years when it'll turn into a masterpiece, or else I'll wait in my grave until one of my faithful exegetes comes across it in an old trunk." An apt coda to one of the brightest literary careers of the twentieth century, it is - in the words of David Bellos, the "faithful exegete" who brought it to light - "connected by a hundred threads to every part of the literary universe that Perec went on to create - but it's not like anything else that he wrote".

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He thought he'd escaped. But peace is hard to find - and harder still to keep . . . The third in Peter Liney's Detainee series.Over a year has passed since Clancy escaped the hell that was the City. Pursued by the ruthless leader of Infinity - the corporation behind the mass murders of thousands of 'lower class' citizens - he has been on the run ever since, constantly looking over his shoulder. Despite this, he has forged a new life working the land on an abandoned smallholding on the other side of the mountains. Hidden there, he is as close to happy as he can be. Until strange things start to happen in the valley: too many unlucky coincidences convince him that another power is rising, and there are questions to be answered: what is the shadow maker? And who - or what - has begun to howl in the night?'Impressively dark' - Financial Times

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Welcome to Hello and Goodbye: two dark tales from two deceased narrators - bottled-lightning treats that will make you gasp, gurn, shiver and squirm. HELLO MR BONES: two damaged souls have, thanks to each other's love, turned their lives around. But as London's weather takes a turn for the worse, so do their fates, when raw evil runs riot the night of the impossible hurricane. GOODBYE MR RAT: an IRA bomber watches over his ex-lover as she takes his ashes back to his rural hometown. This girl from northern Indiana may not be ready for rural Ireland, yet the townsfolk of Iron Valley certainly have plans for her...Stark, blackly humorous and compressed to the point of detonation; McCabe writes like M. R. James took a dread wrong turning on an Irish country road.

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A heartwarming romantic comedy about a most unlikely love affair. Perfect for fans of Holly Martin, Ellie Adams and Kirsty Greenwood.Tom doesn't need any more women in his life. He already has a five-year-old daughter, an estranged wife who keeps blocking his efforts to get divorced and a mother who might be having an affair with the vicar. So when Fran Mayhew turns up - years younger and with all the tact of a dinosaur with its backside on fire - she's just another tricky person to deal with . . . And what's she doing in his remote part of Northumberland crawling around in graveyards anyway? But soon Tom discovers that there's more to the mysterious Miss Mayhew than meets the eye - and that it's not just his heart he's in danger of losing.

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Cassandra White is a woman on a mission. Her Lakeland farm may be falling apart, but at least she's escaped the madness of modern life. But when her valley is invaded by bankers buying up second homes, she's determined to put up a fight. What begins as a hare-brained scheme with a few unruly locals soon has the whole community taking up arms - and, before she knows it, Cassandra's leading a revolution...

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'I am in awe of Dan Simmons' STEPHEN KINGAmerica, 2036. A wasteland in ruin.Terrorism and ultra-violence plague a once powerful society, whose only escape is to numb itself on flashback: a euphoric yet cripplingly addictive regression drug.Ex-cop and addict Nick Bottom has seen flashback take his badge, his reputation and the love of his son. Alone and in despair, he has hit rock bottom.Nick is about to receive a proposition. Billionaire magnate Hiroshi Nakamura needs his services, and, in particular, his memories.Readers are loving Flashback'Astounding' *****'Gripping from beginning to end' *****'Thought-provoking' *****'Terrifyingly plausible' *****

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Discover the legendary story of Adidas, where three signature stripes took the globe by storm. In this compact guide, style writer Josh Sims delves into the incredible journey of one of the most iconic brands in the world today. From a small town in Germany to a symbol of quality, performance and cutting-edge design, Adidas'' rise is nothing short of extraordinary. Featuring all their most iconic innovations, highlighting their revolutionary technology and cultural impact, A Pocket Guide to Adidas is an essential read for all style seekers and sneakerheads.

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*THE HEARTWARMING KOREAN BESTSELLER**A new book from Shanna Tan, translator of Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop*Situated at the heart of a rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, the Yeonnam-dong Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold. It is already a haven of tranquility and reflection for locals, but when someone leaves a notebook behind, the laundromat becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd. But there is more to the diary than first appears, and before long the laundromat's regulars are teaming up to solve a mystery and help the notebook's former owner find peace. A heartwarming, healing debut that instantly captured the hearts of Korean readers, this is a novel about the preciousness of human relationships and the power of solidarity in a world that is increa

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''Absolutely not to be missed'' - Kate Quinn on this sumptuous historical epic from the author of Mexican Gothic.Golden Age Hollywood - a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue. Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary temptress.So when the film''s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.As Vera navigates the glitz and the gilded glamour of her new city, Nancy follows silently behind, trying to take everything she believes Vera has been unfairly handed.But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself. Consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her ste

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A beautifully packaged collection of inspirational quotes with a hilariously explicit twist from Sarah Knight's beloved No F*cks Given Guides series In The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving A F*ck Sarah liberated you from people and things that don't make you happy; with Get Your Sh*t Together she provided a tough-love push towards getting organized to achieve your goals; You Do You offered a roadmap to embracing your individuality; Calm the F*ck Down delivered practical solutions for managing ever-more stressful times; and F*ck No! taught you to set boundaries and stick to them with confidence and flair. No F*cks Given: Life-Changing Words to Live By gathers the very best of this no-bullsh*t, life-changing advice into one must-have gift book that enlightens and entertains on every page.

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'Bridgerton lovers have found their next read in Aphrodite and the Duke' - Sarah MacLean, New York Times bestselling author of A Duke Worth Falling ForAphrodite wishes to escape the marriage mart but will a second chance with the elusive Duke of Everely change her mind?Aphrodite Du Bell is a diamond of the first water and a favourite of the queen. But her renowned loveliness didn't stop the love of her life, Evander Eagleman, from jilting her and marrying another woman four years ago.Aphrodite has been in self-imposed exile ever since. However, when her formidable mother summons her back to London Aphrodite has no choice but to acquiesce.Upon her return, Aphrodite learns that the newly widowed Evander is in town and, despite her best efforts, the grand society events of the season repeatedly push them together. With each encounter, Aphrodite's traitorous feelings make it perfectly clear that the Duke still holds court over her heart.Why did Evander cast Aphrodite aside all those years ago, and now that they have a second chance, can the couple make strides to mend past hurts?______________________'Fantastically pacy with a lovely heroine and a great Austenian villain. Perfect for all Bridgerton fans' - Phoebe Wynne, author of The Ruins'An enthralling read full of intrigue and romance!' - Caroline Khoury, author of Always You'An engrossing and original read celebrating strong women and the healing power of love' - Scarlett Peckham, USA Today bestselling author of The Duke I Tempted'Aphrodite and the Duke is a vibrant historical romance, full of heart, heat, and thrilling period drama. A delectable treat for fans of Bridgerton!' - Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author of The Siren of Sussex

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'One of my favourite books of 2023. A totally gorgeous read' BETH O'LEARY, author of THE FLATSHARE 'Perfectly observed and brilliantly funny, I adored it' EMMA HUGHESTWO BEST FRIENDS. ONE HUGE CRUSH. A YEAR THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING. . .El Evans is stuck in a dead-end job, hopelessly in unrequited love with her best friend, Ray, and in need of a major life change. After a New Year's resolution to 'Be More Wild', El is soon in possession of one (small) tattoo, one (bad) hangover and memories of one (very disappointing) threesome. . . but she's trying and surely it can only get better?So when a plan is hatched for El, Ray and their two closest friends - newly heartbroken Will and Instagram darling Jamie - to ditch the big city and move out to a ramshackle house in the middle of the English countryside, El can hardly say no. This is her big chance for a fresh start, the perfect wild thing.But living in close proximity to the love of your life without letting on isn't as easy as El might think. . .WILL A YEAR OF WILD THINGS TURN THESE FRIENDS INTO LOVERS?A must-read romance for fans of Emily Henry, Bolu Babalola and Beth O'Leary'Joyous, funny, sexy and romantic. . . real Emily Henry vibes - a triumph!' Kate Sawyer'Heady, giddy, and outrageously flirty' Lily Lindon'A joyfully messy story of contemporary queer life' Bethany Rutter

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* From the writer and executive producer of the award-winning Netflix series The Good Place that made moral philosophy fun: a foolproof guide to making the correct moral decision in every situation you ever encounter, anywhere on earth, forever *'An absolute breeze to read; funny and enlightening and revealing' - Guardian'Enormously enjoyable, useful and readable' - The TimesHow can we live a more ethical life?This question has plagued people for thousands of years, but it's never been tougher to answer than it is now, thanks to challenges great and small that flood our day-to-day lives and threaten to overwhelm us with impossible decisions and complicated results with unintended consequences.Plus, being anything close to an 'ethical person' requires daily thought and introspection and hard work; we have to think about how we can be good not, you know, once a month, but literally all the time.To make it a little less overwhelming, this fascinating, accessible and funny book by one of our generation's best writers and adept minds in television comedy, Michael Schur, boils down the whole confusing morass with real life dilemmas (from 'should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?' to 'can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people?'), so that we know how to deal with ethical dilemmas. Much as Chidi used humour and philosophy to make Eleanor a less selfish person, Schur takes us on a journey through the 2,500-year discussion of ethics, sketching a roadmap for how we ought to act along the way.By the time the book is done, we'll know exactly how to act in every conceivable situation, so as to produce a verifiably maximal amount of moral good. We will be perfect, and all our friends will be jealous. OK, not quite. Instead, we'll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every dayWith contributions from Professor Todd May of Clemson University, who served as an advisor on The Good Place, this is a brilliant, clever and hugely entertaining book about one of the most important topics in the world.'The problem is, if all you care about in the world is the velvet rope, you will always be unhappy, no matter which side you're on.' - Tahani Al-Jamil, The Good Place

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Marketing Fashion is a practical guide to the fundamental principles of marketing, branding and promotion, from creating a customer profile to developing a brand identity. The book explains key concepts and illustrates how they are applied within the global fashion and retail industry, from haute couture to the mass market. For this third edition, examples drawn from a broad range of fashion, textile and retail have been updated to include more on social media and digital and emerging technologies, such as fashion in the metaverse. The updated text increases the focus on sustainability issues, while also tracing recent disruptions to traditional marketing frameworks such as degrowth. There are also more examples of global fashion weeks and brand collaborations. The book will appeal to students at degree or foundation level as well as those contemplating a career in the fashion industry. Chapters: Marketing Theory The Fashion Market Resea

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''Rebecca Serle is a maestro of love in all its forms'' GABRIELLE ZEVIN, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ''Everything you could wish for in a love story - beautifully told, effortlessly romantic, and surprising in the very best of ways'' HOLLY MILLER, author of What Might Have Been Daphne has never left her love life to chance. The truth is, she can''t . . . Every time she meets a man, a note will arrive. On it, a name and a date. An expiration date.Without fail, Daphne has always known when her next relationship will end. So when a note arrives with only a name on it: Jake, she is sure this is it. Finally, her own happy ever after. But is it . . . ? Because Daphne has another secret, and this one has the power to break Jake''s heart. Will their love story have an expiration date, or is fate on Daphne''s side at last? A heartbreaking and emotional read from the queen of unexpected

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'These tongue-in-cheek books [will] have you chuckling over your Christmas dinner' - PrimaTHE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANYONE WHO IS, MIRACULOUSLY, STILL IN A RELATIONSHIP Be prepared and know exactly what not to say when...... she's off to book group... she's shopping for holiday clothes... she's giving birth to your childWhat Not to Say to Your Wife is the first book in a brand-new series by comedy-writing duo Jason Hazeley (co-author of the Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups series) and comedy writer Nico Tatarowicz. This compendium of questions and comments you shouldn't say to your partner in a wide range of critical moments - at your wedding reception, as he's getting dressed for a fancy do, when you're at a family reunion - is a hilarious tonic for our times. Fully illustrated with Sarah Sumeray's dark and witty line-drawings, this book might not make your husband irritate you less, but it might just save your marriage.

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The next gripping volume in The Brighton Mysteries series by bestselling author Elly Griffiths.It starts with a magician and a murder in a Brighton boarding house; throw in a show on Brighton pier, a sinister radio personality and a potential serial killer, and you've got the next gripping book in the Brighton Mysteries series. Magician Max Mephisto, now divorced and living in London, is on his way to visit daughter Ruby and her new-born baby when he is hailed by a voice from the past, fellow performer Ted English, aka the Great Deceiver. Ted's assistant, Cherry, has been found dead in her Brighton boarding house and he's convinced that he'll be accused of her murder.Max agrees to talk to his friend, Superintendent Edgar Stephens, who is investigating the case. What Max doesn't know is that the girl's family have hired private detective duo Emma Holmes (aka Mrs Stephens) and Sam Collins to do some digging of their own. The inhabitants of the boarding house, most of whom are performing in an Old Time Music Hall show on Brighton pier, are a motley crew. The house is also connected to a sinister radio personality called Pal. When a second magician's assistant is killed, Edgar suspects a serial killer. He persuades Max to come out of semi-retirement and take part in a summer show. But who can pose as his assistant? Edgar shocks the team by recommending someone close. . .***************************Praise for The Brighton Mysteries'Original, lively and gripping' Independent'Full of period detail, smart plotting and likeable characters' Mail on Sunday'Full of fun and expertly plotted' Sunday ExpressThe Last Remains, the final instalment of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, was a Sunday Times bestseller in August 2023.

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From two leaders of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, a bold, contrarian guide to retiring at any age, with a reproducible formula to financial independence.A bull***t-free guide to growing your wealth, retiring early, and living life on your own terms.Kristy Shen retired with a million dollars at the age of thirty-one, and she did it without hitting a home run on the stock market, starting the next Snapchat in her garage, or investing in hot real estate. Learn how to cut down on spending without decreasing your quality of life, build a million-dollar portfolio, fortify your investments to survive bear markets and black-swan events, and use the 4 percent rule and the Yield Shield - so you can quit the rat race forever. Not everyone can become an entrepreneur or a real estate baron; the rest of us need Shen's mathematically proven approach to retire decades before sixty-five.

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'One of the undisputed masterpieces of early nineteenth-century French prose fiction.'From Richard Sieburth's preface to AdolphePublished simultaneously in London and Paris in 1816, Adolphe is the story of a tragic love affair between its narrator and his lover Ellenore, two characters locked into a fatal dance of self-destruction. In what is one of the earliest examples of autofiction, from a period when all creative endeavour was permeated by autobiography. Constant's aim was to create an exemplary fiction of high moral purpose which would also function as an act of intimate self-vindication and revenge on his former lover, the formidable Madame de Stael. The result is a tautly-strung Racinian tragedy in prose.Soon after publication, Constant was defending himself from charges that he had written a novel based on real people, which he strenuously denied. The work was translated into English by Alexander Walker, and overseen by the author, resulting in what Richard Sieburth describes as 'an eccentrically bevelled jewel of Regency prose'.This riverrun edition publishes Walker's translation and Constant's preface in a new edition here for the first time since 1817.

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The Four Horsemen - War, Pestilence, Famine and Death - first appeared in the Book of Revelations a thousand years ago, but they continue to track us in our own time. This original and inspiring study bycelebrated historian Emily Mayhew traces the advances in science, technology and humanitarianism that are enabling us to take them on, one by one.'The beauty of The Four Horsemen is how she takes her quaking readers to the edge of the abyss . . . I was left moved and uplifted . . . [A] first-class example of popular science' The Times'[A] thoughtful and ultimately uplifting analysis of the unsung heroes of our age' IndependentIt begins in Mosul, our oldest surviving city, and the extraordinary coalition created in a matter of days to save its people from the worst horrors of the liberation battle against ISIS. As the city and the humanitarian operation that helped it to survive are restructured for a new age, Mayhew shows other people whose work gives us hope for the future, from the search to find new ways to discover and use antimicrobial medicines and the innovations in preventing the spread of deadly viruses; the laboratory work being taken to protect crops from disease and reduce famine, and why the potato, not the banana is the future; to the unique courage and resolution of those dedicated to securing the rights of the dead and their families. Standing in the way of the Horsemen is what Emily Mayhew calls, 'the most extraordinary alliance ever to come together in defence of our humanity.' These are the doctors, scientists, statisticians, engineers, peace negotiators, pharmacists, historians, forensic scientists, vaccinators and volunteers who are creating solutions to life and death problems which threaten us all. They are the new heroes of our age and this book is about them.

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Tripoli, 1960s. During the years in which post-colonial Libya fell prey to the sprawling greed of the West, Michele Balistreri suffered a succession of blows that would scar him for life. The death of his mother; the unspeakable horror that befell his best friend's family; his father's role in Gaddafi's ascent to power; and the innocent blood pact that would corrupt the course of his future. Rome, 1982. In the wake of a ruinous blunder, a ground-down Commissario Balistreri escapes his regrets through sex, alcohol and gambling. His sole responsibilities are now a stilted investigation into the death of a South American student, and a tiresome obligation - as a gratitude to the man who saved his career - to a rising television starlet needing protection from the pitfalls of fame. As the risks to this girl, Claudia Teodori, begin to rise along with her reputation, the sorrows of Balistreri's past also start to push back into his present. Both of their fates are inextricably linked - and this driven, obsessive young woman must help this damaged detective fight a foe that follows her and refuses to forget him.

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Australia, 1919. Quinn Walker returns from the Great War to the New South Wales town of Flint: the birthplace he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of a heinous act. Aware of the townsmen's vow to hang him, Quinn takes to the surrounding hills. Here, deciding upon his plan of action, and questioning just what he has returned for, he meets Sadie Fox. This mysterious girl seems to know, and share, his darkest fear. And, as their bond greatens, Quinn learns what he must do to lay the ghosts of his past, and Sadie's present, to rest.

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The currents of History run deep and often unseen beneath the everyday ripple of events. But now and again the current rises to the surface, and the events of a single day shed an exceptional light on the meaning of the past. Such events are the subject of Days that Changed the World. Some of the 50 days described here mark the end of an era; others the start of something new. Many are the dates of bloody battles or murders; others of momentous decisions or breathtaking discoveries. All are remembered as powerful symbols of their time. Our story begins almost 2500 years ago on 28 September 480 before the Christian Era, when the Athenian navy destroyed the Persian invasion fleet in the Bay of Salamis. Had the Persians won we might never have heard the names of Plato, Aristotle or Alexander, nor recognize the word democracy. Charting 50 such defining moments, concluding with 11 September 2001 and the destruction of New York's Twin Towers, Days that Changed the World is a unique and fascinating way to portray the story of world history. These 50 history-making days include: The Battle of the Salamis; The Assassination of Julius Caesar; The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ; The Dedication of Constantinople; The Death of Muhammad; The Coronation of Charlemagne; The Death of Genghis Khan; The Fall of Constantinople; The Defeat of the Spanish Armada; The Defenestration of Prague; The Fall of the Bastille; The Battle of Waterloo; Parliament Passing the Emancipation Act; The Battle of Sedan; The Boxer Rebellion; The First Day of the Somme; The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbour; The Bombing of Hiroshima; Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream'; The Breaching of the Berlin Wall; Nelson Mandela's Release from Prison; Nine Eleven.

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It is 1919 in Breslau. The hideously battered bodies of four young sailors are discovered on an island in the River Oder. When Criminal Assistant Mock arrives at the scene to investigate, he discovers a note addressed to him, asking him to confess his sins and to become a believer. As he endeavours to piece together the elements of this brutal crime, Mock combs the brothels and drinking dens of Breslau and is drawn into an insidious game: it seems that anyone he questions during the course of the investigation is destined to become the murderer's next victim. Ultimately he uncovers a secret society which has the Inspector himself clearly in its sights. Dark, sophisticated and uncompromising, the distinctive Breslau series has already received broad critical acclaim. Phantoms of Breslau confirms Criminal Assistant Mock as surely the most outrageous and original detective in crime fiction.

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She's suffered the very worst of betrayals. And now Sarah's facing a divorce she never expected. With Christmas round the corner, what better time to re-evaluate her life? As she reconsiders every choice she's made, she starts to wonder if her life was so perfect after all. This winter, lose yourself in Sarah's world of unmade decisions, lost friends and old flames . . .

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Jeannie is twenty years old and she's Lancashire's worst perfume girl. She works in her small town's department store, where all the other girls have perfect make-up (if a little too orange, and a mite too thick) and hair in buoyant ponytails. Jeannie, with wet hair and pale skin, doesn't fit the bill. And she doesn't really care - she arrived as a temp two years ago and has never got round to leaving. Being bored by work gives her plenty of time to think about her impending nuptials to Jimmy, her teenage sweetheart who's now a mechanic. He's a local lad and like everyone in the town, he lives for Saturday nights: beer, brawls and bare flesh. Jeannie is happier at home on the sofa, or better still, day-dreaming about leaving the town behind. Just as her feet are at their most cold, she stumbles upon Danny at the train station. He's a well-read, well-travelled, sophisticated ladies' man and represents everything her life is not. Or at least that's how it seems. And before long, it all becomes complicated.

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THE NEW AWARD-WINNING INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER BY THE AUTHOR OF THE MOUNTAIN"Can be compared (with no fear of hyperbole) to Stephen King and Jo Nesbø" - Massimo Vincenz, La Repubblica."D'Andrea piles on the action and the atmosphere with the panache of a seasoned writer" Marcel Berlins, The Times.Marlene Wegener is on the run. She has stolen something from her husband, something priceless, irreplaceable.But she doesn't get very far. When her car veers off a bleak midwinter road she takes refuge in the remote home of Simon Keller, a tough mountain man who lives alone with his demons. Here in her high mountain sanctuary, she begins to rekindle a sense of herself: tough, capable, no longer the trophy on a gangster's arm.But Herr Wegener does not know how to forgive, and in his rage he makes a pact with the devil. The Trusted Man. He cannot be called off, he cannot be reasoned with and one way or another he will get the job done.Unless, of course, he's beaten to it . . .Translated from the Italian by Howard Curtis and Katherine Gregor

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Fresh from the staggering success of The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair, Marcus Goldman is struggling to write his third novel. A chance encounter in Florida throws him some inspiration from a surprising source: Alexandra Neville, the beautiful, phenomenally successful singer and Marcus's first love. All at once, memories of his childhood come flooding back. Memories of a family torn apart by tragedy, and a once glorious legacy reduced to shame and ruin.The Baltimore Boys. The Goldman Gang. That was what they called Marcus, and his cousins Hillel and Woody. Three brilliant young men with their whole lives ahead of them, before their kingdom crumbled beneath the weight of lies, jealousy and betrayal. For years, Marcus has struggled with the burdens of his past, but now, he must attempt to banish his demons and tell the real story of the Baltimore Boys.Translated from the French by Alison Anderson

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Venezuela 2012: The President's illness casts a shadow over the lives of his citizens - he divides opinion, but life without him is almost unimaginable. Miguel Sanabria is a retired oncologist, ambivalent towards the President but caught between a virulently anti-Chávez wife and a equally vehement pro-Chávez brother. He is asked by his nephew to hide a mobile phone carrying secret footage that could shed new light on the President's condition.His neighbour Fredy has found a fresh angle for a new book about Chávez, but to take advantage he must agree to a "green-card" marriage and leave his girlfriend and their son for two months, even as their landlady plots to repossess their home.In another apartment live nine-year-old María and her neurotic, near-agoraphobic mother. Taken out of school to be educated at home, María turns to internet chat rooms for company, while her mother's fears about the city's endemic violence are proved tragically prescient.The fates and fortunes of these neighbours will prove inextricably entwined as the hour of the President's death draws ever closer.REVIEWS FOR THE SICKNESS"A great book" Michael Morpurgo"Powerful themes and powerful writing" Susan HillTranslated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey

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After their successful solving of three cold cases and exposing corruption at the very highest level of the Paris police force, Anne Capestan's squad of misfits and no-hopers should be in a celebratory mood. However, now despised by their colleagues at 36 quai des Orfèvres and worried for their future, morale has never been lower among the members of the Awkward Squad.Capestan does her best to motivate her troops, but even she cannot maintain a cheerful façade when she has to investigate the murder of Commissaire Serge Rufus, the father of her ex-husband. Worse, it soon appears that his murder is linked to two other victims, both of whom were warned by the killer before they struck . . .

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