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Consider Her Ways: And Others
by John WyndhamThe six stories in Consider Her Ways: And Others, the second collecton of John Wyndham's short tales, continue his exploration of the science fiction staple - what if? In the title story we are introduced to a world where all the men have been killed by a virus and women continue to survive in a strict caste system - bottom of the heap are the mothers. In others we meet the man who accidentally summons a devil and then has to find a way of getting rid of him without losing his immortal soul, as well as the woman who, thanks to an experiment in time, discovers why her lover abandoned her.'Wyndham writes strongly and has a gift for bizarre plots' Guardian'One of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence' SpectatorJohn Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote short stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called 'logical fantasy'. As John Wyndham he wrote The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), The Seeds of Time, Trouble with Lichen, The Outward Urge, Consider Her Ways and Others, Web and Chocky. John Wyndham died in March 1969.
Plan for Chaos: Classic Science Fiction
by John WyndhamIn a city that could well be New York, a series of identical women are found dead in suspicious circumstances. Magazine photographer Johnny Farthing, who is reporting on the suspected murders, is chilled to discover that his fiancée looks identical to the victims too - and then she disappears. As his investigations spiral beyond his control, he finds himself at the heart of a sinister plot that uses cloning to revive the Nazi vision of a world-powerful master race...Part detective noir, part dystopic thriller, Plan for Chaos reveals the legendary science fiction novelist grappling with some of his most urgent and personal themes.
A Case of Two Cities: Inspector Chen 4 (As heard on Radio 4 #4)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau is summoned by an official of the Party to lead a highly charged corruption investigation. Tentacles have spread through the police force, the civil service, the vice trade and deep into the criminal underworld. The principal figure and his family have long since fled to the United States, beyond the reach of the Chinese government. But the network is still intact and it is only a matter of time before it becomes stronger than before. Chen is charged -- and it is a job he cannot refuse -- with uncovering those responsible, and destroying the organisation from the top down to its roots. In a twisting case that reunites him with his counterpart from the US Marshals service -- Inspector Catherine Rohn -- Chen must find a measure of justice in a corrupt, expedient world.
Death of a Red Heroine: Inspector Chen 1 (As heard on Radio 4 #1)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.Shanghai in 1990. An ancient city in a country that despite the massacre of Tiananmen Square is still in the tight grip of communist control. Chief Inspector Chen, a poet with a sound instinct for self-preservation, knows the city like few others. When the body of a prominent Communist Party member is found, Chen is told to keep the party authorities informed about every lead. Also, he must keep the young woman's murder out of the papers at all costs. When his investigation leads him to the decadent offspring of high-ranking officials, he finds himself instantly removed from the case and reassigned to another area. Chen has a choice: bend to the party's wishes and sacrifice his morals, or continue his investigation and risk dismissal from his job and from the party. Or worse . . .
Don't Cry, Tai Lake: Inspector Chen 7 (As heard on Radio 4 #7)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.When Chief Inspector Chen Cao is offered a week's break at a luxurious resort near Lake Tai, he accepts immediately. Increasingly worn out by the politics of his job, the opportunity to relax and recover sounds like heaven. But the beautiful lake he remembers is much changed: covered by algae, its waters have been polluted by waste from local manufacturing plants. Even the local food is dangerous to eat. Is this the cost of progress in the new China?Then his holiday is fatally disturbed: the boss of one of the most polluting businesses has been murdered and the leader of a local ecological group is the prime suspect. Inspector Chen must tread carefully if he is to uncover the truth behind the death and find justice for both the victim and the accused.
Enigma of China: Inspector Chen 8 (As heard on Radio 4 #8)
by Qiu XiaolongChief Inspector Chen Cao never had a choice about his career. A poet by training, he was assigned to the Shanghai Police Department after college. To his own surprise, he became an excellent detective, and now he's in line to take over the top political position in the department. Which is why the Party has chosen him for the investigation into the death of Zhou Keng. Zhou Keng was running the Shanghai Housing Development Committee when a number of his corrupt practices were exposed. Removed from his position and placed into detention, he apparently hanged himself while under guard.The Party is anxious to have Zhou's death declared a suicide, but the sequence of events doesn't quite add up. Now Chen will have to decide what to do - follow the party line, or seek the justice his position requires and risk angering powerful people...
The Inspector Chen Collection 1-3: Death of a Red Heroine, A Loyal Character Dancer, When Red is Black (As heard on Radio 4)
by Qiu XiaolongChief Inspector Chen wanted to be a poet, but the authorities gave him a job in the Shanghai Police Department. He is an excellent detective, but he can never escape the struggle between what the Party wants and what justice demands. The first three novels in Qiu Xiaolong's awardwinning series offer a glimpse into a fascinating country on the rise and an honourable man making his way in a world that does not always reward honesty.
A Loyal Character Dancer: Inspector Chen 2 (As heard on Radio 4 #2)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.Former dancer and party loyalist Wen Liping vanishes in rural China just before she was to leave the country. Her husband, a key witness against a smuggling ring suspected of importing aliens to the US, refuses to testify until she is found and brought to join him in America. A few days later, a badly mutilated body turns up in Shanghai's Bund Park. It bears all the hallmarks of a triad killing. The US immigration agency, convinced that the Chinese government are hiding something, send US Marshal Catherine Rohn to Shanghai to join the investigation. Inspector Chen, an astute young policeman with twin passions for food and poetry, is under political pressure to find answers fast. When Catherine Rohn joins him he must decide what is more dangerous: to hide the truth, or to risk unleashing a scandal that could destroy his career.
The Mao Case: Inspector Chen 6 (As heard on Radio 4 #6)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.Tucked away from the building sites of modern Shanghai are the beautiful mansions once owned by the smartest families in 1930s China. They have since been bought by rich businessmen and high-ranking members of the Communist Party. All except one. The owner is an old painter who holds a glittering party each night: swing jazz plays for his former neighbours, who dance, remember old times and forget for an evening the terrors that followed. But questions are being asked. How can he afford such a lifestyle? His paintings? Blackmail? A triad connection? Prostitution? Inspector Chen is asked to investigate discreetly what is going on behind the elegant façade. But, before he can get close to anyone, one of the girls is found murdered in the garden and another is terrified she will be next.Chen's quest for answers will take Chen to a strange businessman, triads, Chairman Mao himself and a terrible secret the Party will go to any length to conceal.
Red Mandarin Dress: Inspector Chen 5 (As heard on Radio 4)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.Political corruption, capitalist greed and past injustices are all revealed when Inspector Chen investigates a serial killer in Shanghai.An early morning jogger found her. Clad in nothing but a red mandarin dress, she had been dumped, barely concealed, on a traffic island. The death of a dancing girl was unpleasant but this was particularly unusual in that she had been left openly in the centre of town. She had probably angered one of the Mr Big Bucks that were taking over and transforming Shanghai.Inspector Chen is an intuitive investigator, a talented poet and an honourable man on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Desperate to find a way to release himself from the perilous police career that had been chosen for him, he takes time off to begin an MA in Literature. Then another girl is found dead . . . With a serial killer on the loose. Chen is pulled back to work and into his most dangerous assignment yet.
Shanghai Redemption: Inspector Chen 9 (As heard on Radio 4 #9)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.'The system has no place for a cop who puts justice above the interests of the Party. It's a miracle that I survived as long as I did.' For years, Chen Cao managed to balance the interests of the Communist Party and the demands made by his job. He was considered a rising star until, after one too many controversial cases that embarrassed powerful men, he found himself neutralised. Under the guise of a promotion, he's been stripped of his title and his influence, discredited and isolated. Soon it becomes clear that his enemies still aren't satisfied, and that someone is attempting to have him killed - quietly. Chen has been charged with the investigation into a 'Red Prince' - a high Party figure who embodies the ruthless ambition, greed and corruption that is on the rise in China. But with no power, few allies, and his own reputation and life on the line, he knows he is facing the most dangerous case of his career.
When Red is Black: Inspector Chen 3 (As heard on Radio 4 #3)
by Qiu XiaolongNow a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.When Inspector Chen Cao agrees to do a translation job for a Triad-connected businessman he is given a laptop, a 'little secretary' to provide for his every need, medical care for his mother. There are, it seems, no strings attached . . . Then a murder is reported: Chen is loath to shorten his working holiday, so Sergeant Yu is forced to take charge of the investigation. The victim, a middle-aged teacher, has been found dead in her tiny room in a converted multi-family house. Only a neighbour could have committed the crime, but there is no motive. It is only when Chen returns and starts to investigate the past that he finds answers. But by then he has troubles of his own.
Murder In Paharganj
by Kulpreet YadavOn a cold December morning, a white woman is found murdered in a cheap hotel in Paharganj, New Delhi.Vicks Menon, an out-of-work journalist, is tipped off by the hotel's receptionist and is the first to arrive at the crime scene, where he discovers a lead. It's the bus ticket used by the dead woman two days earlier. But Vicks is battling personal trouble. He has no money, an alcohol problem, and a nearly broken relationship with Tonya, his estranged live-in partner, a clinical psychologist who specializes in profiling hardened criminals. Moving in and out of the shadows, Vicks pushes his investigation harder as it takes him from Udaipur to Bangkok. On his side, for resources, he has a nameless intelligence operative, and to read minds, a lover who is beginning to trust him again. But above all, his instinct to stay inches ahead of death will be the key to his survival. If Vicks lives, this is one story that will change his life forever.
The Wrong Goodbye
by Toshihiko YahagiA classic slice of Japanese hard-boiled noir paying homage to the master of the genre: Raymond ChandlerThe Wrong Goodbye pits homicide detective Eiji Futamura against a shady Chinese business empire and U.S. military intelligence in the docklands of recession Japan. After the frozen corpse of immigrant barman Tran Binh Long washes up in midsummer near Yokosuka U.S. Navy Base, Futamura meets a strange customer from Tran's bar. Vietnam vet pilot Billy Lou Bonney talks Futamura into hauling three suitcases of "goods" to Yokota US Air Base late at night and flies off leaving a dead woman behind. Thereby implicated in a murder suspect's escape and relieved from active duty, Futamura takes on hack work for the beautiful concert violinist Aileen Hsu, a "boat people" orphan whose Japanese adoption mother has mysteriously gone missing. And now a phone call from a bestselling yakuza author, a one-time black marketeer in Saigon, hints at inside information on "former Vietcong mole" Tran and his "old sidekick" Billy Lou, both of whom crossed a triad tycoon who is buying up huge tracts of Mekong Delta marshland for a massive development scheme. As the loose strands flashback to Vietnam, the string of official lies and mysterious allegiances build into a dark picture of the U.S.-Japan postwar alliance. Translated from the Japanese by Alfred Birnbaum
Punishment of a Hunter: A Leningrad Confidential
by Yulia YakovlevaThe first in a thrilling new series of historical mysteries set in Stalinist Russia‘The most successful retro-detective since Akunin’ LiterraturaMURDER1930s Leningrad. Stalin is tightening his grip on the Soviet Union, and a mood of fear cloaks the city. Detective Vasily Zaitsev is tasked with investigating a series of bizarre and seemingly motiveless homicides.MAYHEMAs the curious deaths continue, precious old-master paintings start to disappear from the Hermitage Collection. Could the crimes be connected?MISTRUSTWhen Zaitsez sets about his investigations, he meets with obstruction at every turn. Soon even he comes under suspicion from the Soviet secret police.The resolute detective must battle an increasingly dangerous politicasl situation in his dogged quest to find the murderer - and stay alive.
Future Perfect
by Felicia YapWhat if today was your last day... A bomb has exploded during a fashion show, killing a beautiful model on the catwalk. The murderer is still at large... and he may strike again. Yet this is the least of Police Commissioner Christian Verger's worries. His fiancée Viola has left him. He has to keep his tumultuous past a secret. To make things worse, his voice assistant Alexa is 99.74% sure he will die tomorrow.Moving from snowy 1980s Montana to chic 1990s Manhattan to a drone-filled 2030s Britain, FUTURE PERFECT is an electrifying race to solve a murder before it's too late. Yet it is also a love story, a riveting portrait of a couple torn apart by secrets, grief and guilt. A twisted tale of how the past can haunt a person's future and be used to predict if he will die... or kill.'Yap is a phenomenon' - Guardian'A thrilling new voice' - Red'The one that everyone is talking about . . . Enthralling' - Woman & Home'A blockbuster-worthy twist . . . YESTERDAY stands out from the crowd' - Stylist'The intrigue of GONE GIRL and the drama of BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP - iNews
Yesterday: The phenomenal debut thriller of secrets, lies and betrayal
by Felicia YapA brilliant high-concept debut thriller - just how do you solve a murder when you only remember yesterday?'The thriller of the summer' - Observer'Yap is a phenomenon' - Guardian'The intrigue of Gone Girl and the drama of Before I Go to Sleep' - iNews'So hotly tipped it should come with scorch marks... Quite literally mind-bending' - RedToday, the police are at your door. They say that the body of your husband's mistress has been found in the River Cam. They think your husband killed her two days ago.You can't recall what he did that day, because you only remember yesterday.You rely on your diary to tell you where you've been, who you love and what you've done. So, can you trust the police? Can you trust your husband? Can you trust yourself?
Black Chalk: Black Chalk
by Christopher J. YatesOne game. Six students. Five survivors.It was only ever meant to be a game. A game of consequences, of silly forfeits, childish dares. A game to be played by six best friends in their first year at Oxford University. But then the game changed: the stakes grew higher and the dares more personal, more humiliating, finally evolving into a vicious struggle with unpredictable and tragic results. Now, fourteen years later, the remaining players must meet again for the final round.
Grist Mill Road: Everyone knows what happened. No one knows why.
by Christopher J. Yates'Darkly, intricately layered, full of pitfalls and switchbacks, moving and merciless' Sunday Times bestseller Tana FrenchA gripping, heart-stopping and strikingly original thriller about friendship, family and revenge, perfect for fans of THE SILENT PATIENT, Lucy Foley's THE HUNTING PARTY and Peter Swanson's THE KIND WORTH KILLING.'A must-read novel . . . Spine-tingling' Hello!It all began on Grist Mill Road . . .Matthew and Hannah were just playing in the woods, a little way from home.But now he's tying Hannah to a tree. And she has never been so terrified.Patrick is there too, hidden, watching. He can't move. He can't take his eyes off Matthew's gun.Years later, in New York City, leading adult lives they never would have imagined, the three will meet again. With even more devastating consequences.'Arresting . . . Sophisticated . . . Elegant' New York Times'Dark, compelling and beautifully written, Grist Mill Road absolutely captivated me' Cass Green, author of In A Cottage In A Wood'At once disturbing and discomforting, at the same time as being excitingly un-put-down-able . . . A superblywritten psychological thriller with the power and deadly ferocity of a harpoon' Shots magazine'I couldn't put Grist Mill Road down. Yates is particularly brilliant on the dark urgency of adolescence, and conjuring up a sense of place . . . I loved it' Eve Chase, author of Black Rabbit Hall and The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde'Dark, intense, and disturbing . . . A thriller with imagination to spare' Krysten Ritter'A sinister, plot-twisty tale . . . Intelligent' Oprah.com'If you like layered, psychological suspense stories then I highly recommend Grist Mill Road. 5 stars!!!' Goodreads reviewer
Rancher's Wild Secret (Gold Valley Vineyards #1)
by Maisey YatesHe's come for revenge…Not to fall for the enemy!
Lemon
by Kwon Yeo-sunThis is not a murder story. It is the story of those left behind. Parasite meets The Good Son in this piercing psychological portrait of three women haunted by a brutal, unsolved crime.In the summer of 2002, nineteen-year-old Kim Hae-on was murdered in what became known as the High School Beauty Murder. There were two suspects: Shin Jeongjun, who had a rock-solid alibi, and Han Manu, to whom no evidence could be pinned. The case went cold.Seventeen years pass without justice, and the grief and uncertainty take a cruel toll on her younger sister, Da-on, in particular. Unable to move on with her life, Da-on tries in her own twisted way to recover some of what she's lost, ultimately setting out to find the truth of what happened.Shifting between the perspectives of Da-on and two of Hae-on's classmates struck in different ways by her otherworldly beauty, Lemon ostensibly takes the shape of a crime novel. But identifying the perpetrator is not the main objective here: Kwon Yeo-sun uses this well-worn form to craft a searing, timely exploration of privilege, jealousy, trauma, and how we live with the wrongs we have endured and inflicted in turn.___________'Discovering whodunnit isn't really the point here; Lemon is a subtle, often intense meditation on the after-effects of violence' Guardian'Chilling, suspenseful and disconcerting... I couldn't put it down and read deep into the night until I finished it, with my heart hammering' Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face'Lemon is a chilling yet deeply moving story about grief, trauma, life, death, and the shattered pieces left behind by those who are gone. The humanity of Kwon's characters will break your heart on every page' An Yu, author of Braised Pork'A haunting literary crime story... Razor-sharp observations of class, gender and privilege in contemporary Korea' Cosmopolitan'Jolts with its brilliance and tartness. It's simply electric' Kyung-sook Shin, author of Please Look After Mother'A confounding masterpiece... One of the most profound page-turners you will ever encounter' Matthew Salesses, author of Craft in the Real World'Charming, beguiling, and unique... Lemon, like a great painting, makes you see the world differently' Patrick Hoffman, author of Clean Hands and Every Man a Menace'This fascinating, psychologically astute vignette about grief, blame and searching for the truth delivers piercing emotional depth in unique and elegant style' LoveReading'A sharp, explosive novel that challenges the reader to consider the impact of beauty standards in our culture on young people, and compels us to examine our notion of what justice can be when we are faced with the unthinkable. Highly recommended' Han Clark, Lunate.co.uk'Lemon is a strange, haunting book, an elegant hybrid of crime novel and psychological thriller, the story of an overlooked sister obsessively picking over the tantalising facts of her sister's unsolved murder' Patrick Gale
Death on Gokumon Island
by Seishi YokomizoKosuke Kindaichi arrives on the remote Gokumon Island bearing tragic news - the son of one of the island's most important families has died, on a troop transport ship bringing him back home after the Second World War. But Kindaichi has not come merely as a messenger - with his last words, the dying man warned that his three step-sisters' lives would now be in danger. The scruffy detective is determined to get to the bottom of this mysterious prophecy, and to protect the three women if he can.As Kosuke Kindaichi attempts to unravel the island's secrets, a series of gruesome murders begins. He investigates, but soon finds himself in mortal danger from both the unknown killer and the clannish locals, who resent this outsider meddling in their affairs.Loosely inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, the fiendish Death on Gokumon Island is perhaps the most highly regarded of all the great Seishi Yokomizo's classic Japanese mysteries.
The Devil's Flute Murders
by Seishi YokomizoAnother fiendish classic murder mystery, from one of Japan's greatest crime writers - the author of The Honjin Murders‘The diabolically twisted plotting is top-notch’ New York Times‘Readers will delight in the blind turns, red herrings and dubious alibis... Ingenious and compelling’ Economist‘With a reputation in Japan to rival Agatha Christie's, the master of ingenious plotting is finally on the case for anglophone readers’ GuardianAmid the rubble of post-war Tokyo, inside the grand Tsubaki house, a once-noble family is in mourning. The old viscount Tsubaki, a brooding, troubled composer, has been found dead.When the family gather for a divination to conjure the spirit of their departed patriarch, death visits the house once more, and the brilliant Kosuke Kindaichi is called in to investigate. But before he can get to the truth Kindaichi must uncover all the Tsubakis' most disturbing secrets, while the gruesome murders continue...The Devil's Flute Murders is an ingenious and highly atmospheric classic whodunit from Japan's master of crime.
The Honjin Murders: The classic locked room mystery
by Seishi YokomizoJapan's greatest classic murder mystery, translated into English for the first timeIn the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour – it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions about the Ichiyanagis around the village.Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi family are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music – death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. The murder seems impossible, but amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is determined to get to the bottom of it.Seishi Yokomizo (1902–81) was one of Japan's most famous and best-loved mystery writers. He was born in Kobe and spent his childhood reading detective stories, before beginning to write stories of his own, the first of which was published in 1921. He went on to become an extremely prolific and popular author, best known for his Kosuke Kindaichi series, which ran to 77 books, many of which were adapted for stage and television in Japan. The Honjin Murders is the first Kosuke Kindaichi story, and regarded as one of Japan's great mystery novels. It won the first Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948 but has never been translated into English, until now.
The Inugami Curse: A classic Japanese murder mystery from the author of The Honjin Murders
by Seishi YokomizoA fiendish classic murder mystery, from one of Japan's greatest crime writersIn 1940s Japan, the wealthy head of the Inugami Clan dies, and his family eagerly await the reading of the will. But no sooner are its strange details revealed than a series of bizarre, gruesome murders begins. Detective Kindaichi must unravel the clan's terrible secrets of forbidden liaisons, monstrous cruelty, and hidden identities to find the murderer, and lift the curse wreaking its bloody revenge on the Inugamis.The Inugami Curse is a fiendish, intricately plotted classic mystery from a giant of Japanese crime writing, starring the legendary detective Kosuke Kindaichi.Seishi Yokomizo (1902–81) was one of Japan's most famous and best-loved mystery writers. He was born in Kobe and spent his childhood reading detective stories, before beginning to write stories of his own, the first of which was published in 1921. He went on to become an extremely prolific and popular author, best known for his Kosuke Kindaichi series, which ran to 77 books, many of which were adapted for stage and television in Japan. The Inugami Curse is one of Kindaichi's most famous mysteries and has twicce been adapted for film in Japan.