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The Feiquon Heist
by D.C.J Wardle"Three people, three problems, one solution. That's why the three of us have to rob this bank. What's more, we have to do it tonight!" The colossal roll of thunder that roared from the night sky, close above, shaking the floor and rattling the windows in their frames did nothing to steady Kheng's frayed nerves or suppress his increasing anxiety as he cautiously led his co-conspirators through the dark corridors of the Maklai Provincial Bank. Still, once they'd made it through to the safe room, all they had to do was take the money that they needed and make their way back out. It was a simple plan, and would solve the ever-growing burden of problems that had been forming since Old Papa Han had passed away. It had never occurred to Kheng that his co-conspirators might have some very different ideas of their own about how the robbery should eventually play out. He was even less aware that he was far from alone in his attempts to capitalise on the evolving circumstances of recent weeks. Deciding to plan a heist of the provincial bank in a sleepy backwater town in South East Asia wasn't going to be the straightforward solution that Kheng had imagined, even if he did have the advantage of being the bank's longest-serving night guard.
Road Closed: A Detective Geraldine Steel Mystery (A DI Geraldine Steel Thriller #2)
by Leigh Russell‘COMPELLING’ – PETER JAMES * ‘UNMISSABLE’ – LEE CHILD * ‘A RARE TALENT’ – DAILY MAILWhen a man dies in a gas explosion, the police suspect arson. But the case takes on a new and terrible twist when the prime suspect, a local felon, is viciously attacked. As police enquiries lead from the expensive Harchester Hill estate to the local brothel, their key witness dies in a hit-and-run. Coincidence? Or cold-blooded murder?With so many lives lost already, DI Geraldine Steel must put her problems aside, to protect others. After all, in the race for justice, sacrifices must be made.'A well-written, soundly plotted, psychologically acute story' - TimesFor fans of Peter James, Helen Durrant and Angela MarsonsLook out for more DI Geraldine Steel investigations in Cut Short, Road Closed, Dead End, Death Bed, Stop Dead, Fatal Act, Killer Plan, Murder Ring, Deadly Alibi, Class Murder and Death RopeDon't miss the DI Ian Peterson series: Cold Sacrifice, Race to Death and Blood Axe
Beneath the World, a Sea: From the Arthur C. Clarke Award winning author of the Eden Trilogy
by Chris Beckett'A disturbing descent into a surreal world, written with a deft hand.' Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2016South America, 1990. Ben Ronson, a British police officer, arrives in a mysterious forest to investigate a spate of killings of Duendes. These silent, vaguely humanoid creatures - with long limbs and black button eyes - have a strange psychic effect on people, unleashing the subconscious and exposing their innermost thoughts and fears. Ben becomes fascinated by the Duendes, but the closer he gets, the more he begins to unravel, with terrifying results...Beneath the World, A Sea is a tour de force of modern fiction - a deeply searching and unsettling novel about the human subconscious, and all that lies beneath.'Beckett is superb at undercutting reader assumptions with a casual line of dialogue or acute psychological observation: the book reads like Conrad's Heart of Darkness reimagined by JG Ballard.' Guardian
Milo and One Dead Angry Druid: The Milo Adventures: Book 1 (The Milo Adventures #1)
by Mary ArriganOn the Bring-Something-Old-to-School day, Milo’s best friend Shane brings part of a carved ancient stone from his granny’s wild garden. When it is presented in class, Willie Jones’s lizard goes crazy and leaps from its glass container in terror. Milo realises this is no ordinary old stone. Afraid that his granny, Big Ella, will be annoyed with him for taking the carved stone, Shane asks Milo to mind the stone until the coast is clear. However, Milo encounters a shadowy figure wearing a tall hat shuffling about in the garden. This is the ghost of Mr Lewis, someone from the past and who is caught in a kind of limbo. He too is searching for the piece of ancient stone, which is part of a druidstone. He needs to find both pieces of the stone to lift a curse put upon him many years ago. But where is the other half of the stone?
A Season in Abyssinia: An Impersonation of Arthur Rimbaud
by Paul StrathernMarseilles, 1891: as Arthur Rimbaud lies dying in hospital, his mind wanders fitfully - taking him back to Commune-era Paris, and the scandalous life he led with Verlaine. But, above all, he is transported to Harar, Abyssinia, where he ventured in 1880 to seek his fortune, having chucking in the disreputable game of writing poetry...Paul Strathern's second novel, published in 1972, won a Somerset Maugham Award both for its superb evocation of the colour, squalor and hurlyburly of Harar and for its inspired 'impersonation' of Rimbaud - restless, ragged self-overcomer, would-be explorer-imperialist, and genius poet repulsed by his past literary life. In a new preface to this edition Strathern discusses the mercurial personality of Rimbaud, his novel's bold shifts between first and third person, and his own travels in East Africa that informed the book.
Half the World in Winter
by Maggie JoelIt is London, 1880, and Lucas Jarmyn struggles to make sense of the death of his beloved youngest daughter; his wife, Aurora, seeks solace in rigid social routines; and his eighteen-year-old daughter Dinah looks for fulfilment in unusual places. Only the housekeeper, the estimable Mrs Logan, seems able to carry on. A train accident in a provincial town on the railway Lucas owns claims the life of a young child and, amid the public outcry, a father journeys to London demanding justice. As he arrives in the city on a frozen January morning he finds a family with a terrible secret tearing their lives apart.
Brother's Blood: A Mediaeval Mystery (Book 4) (Mediaeval Mystery Ser. #4)
by C.B. Hanley1217: The war for the throne of England is far from over but as commoner-turned-earl’s-man Edwin Weaver waits to see where his lord’s loyalties lie, a messenger arrives from Roche Abbey: one of the monks has been murdered. The abbot needs help to find the killer and Edwin soon finds himself within the unfamiliar and claustrophobic confines of the abbey, where faces are hidden and a killer stalks unnoticed. Drawn ever deeper into a web of lies and deceit, Edwin not only has to discover the identity of the murderer, but must also decide where his real duty lies. The fourth book in C.B. Hanley’s popular Mediaeval Mystery series, following Whited Sepulchres.
Summer of My Amazing Luck: A Novel
by Miriam Toews'Toews's debut is a tart, affectionate look at welfare mothers...Toews is especially good on the "rollicking, happy, impoverished family" of the projects [and] scathing about the humiliations of poverty.' New York TimesLucy and her eight-month-old son live in a Winnipeg housing project filled with single mothers on the dole. Still dealing with her own mother's sudden death, and new to the ever-multiplying complications of life on welfare, Lucy strikes up a friendship with her neighbour, Lish. On the whole, they're pretty happy . . . But Lucy wants to make sure they stay happy. And she has a plan.Told with Toews's signature scalding wit and deep compassion, Summer of my Amazing Luck is a brilliantly funny book about the intricacies of friendship, grief, and poverty.'[A] picaresque account of two welfare moms having loopy adventures and getting by in the city... The novel's voice [is] amused, warm, curious, alive on the page.' The New Yorker
Magicians of Scotland, The: Enhanced eBook Edition with Audio
by Ron Butlin‘A lively collection of poems that will entertain, move and frequently amuse . . . this book confirms [Butlin] as one of our finest contemporary poets’ - Alexander McCall Smith on The Magicians of Edinburgh ‘The poetical genius of Butlin . . . Ron Butlin is the voice of Edinburgh’ - FringeReview.com ‘Butlin is the best, the most productive Scottish poet of his generation’ - Douglas Dunn The Magicians of Scotland will build upon the success of The Magicians of Edinburgh (reprinted five times) and on that book’s critical acclaim. Ron Butlin was the Edinburgh Makar and this collection will have an Edinburgh emphasis while seeking to celebrate and interrogate Scotland and its people at a crucial turning point in our country’s history. Just as The Magicians of Edinburgh’s themes ranged from Sir Walter Scott to the new parliament, from Greyfriar’s Bobby to the trams, the themes of the new collection will include Scotland’s past, present and future, its landscape and people, its myths and politics - from Bannockburn, Flodden to Faslane, the Loch Ness Monster, wind farms, Hutton to Higgs, Bonnie Prince Charlie to Donald Trump. It will be accessible, serious and entertaining.
Dead in Devon: The beautiful countryside holds a sinister secret (The Devon Mysteries #1)
by Stephanie AustinJuno Browne is a self-appointed Domestic Goddess. From cleaning to dog-walking to caring for the elderly, she flits around the picturesque village of Ashburton in her trusty van ready to turn her hand to anything.Despite warnings to the contrary, she ventures into the shady world of antiques dealing when she takes on a new client, Old Nick, who has a reputation for conducting business by the back door. When Juno prevents two menacing thugs from giving Nick a beating, it’s clear one of his deals has gone horribly wrong – and it isn’t long before Nick is found dead.As the police search for answers starts to stall, Juno begins her own investigation. But when one of her suspects is killed and Juno is herself the subject of unwanted attention, she must piece the puzzle together before she becomes the next victim.
Salad Anniversary (Pushkin Collection)
by Machi TawaraAn exquisite collection of Japanese poetryThis internationally bestselling book took the world by storm on its publication. Covering the discovery of new love, first heartache and the end of an affair, these poems mix the ancient grace and musicality of the tanka form with a modern insight and wit. With a light, fresh touch and a cool eye, Machi Tawara celebrates the small events in a life fully lived and one that is wonderfully touched by humour and beauty. This book will stay with you through the day, and long after you have finished it.
The Circle
by Elaine Feinstein'Feinstein's triumph is to write so well that she makes Lena's predicament not only moving, in a perfunctory dismissive way, but also painful ... [she has] an accurate and acute feeling for language, and pauses, and silence.' Guardian Lena's seemingly contented family life is coming apart at the seams. Her husband Ben has been having an affair with the au pair, and as their relationship slides he retreats more and more into his work in a science lab. Sons Alan and Michael may appear happy enough, but this is far from the case - both are responding to a physical world which they alone inhabit. And Lena - desperately lost and seeking an identity of her own, both inside and outside of her family unit - increasingly finds solace at the bottom of a bottle. An exploration of just how lonely - and how magic - a marriage can be, The Circle is a poignant, poetic and incredibly assured debut novel.
Stigmata (Edge of the World)
by Colin Falconer1205 AD: Philip of Vercy sails away from the roasting wasteland where he has passed the last year. As a Knight of the Realm, he has fought the infidel in the Holy Land. Now, after twelve months of savage, bloody warfare in the scorching sun, he is finally coming home to his castle, to peace, and to his beloved wife. But France offers neither comfort or peace. His wife has died in childbirth, his young son is dying of a wasting disease, and, in the south, his Cathar countrymen are being brutally persecuted. When Philip hears rumours of a healer in the Languedoc, a young woman blessed by God and marked with Christ's Stigmata, he rides out on a desperate quest to save his son. His journey takes him into a vision of hell that outstrips even what he saw in Outremer. Disgusted by the senseless slaughter, Philip gradually becomes embroiled in the Cathar cause. And then he finds his miracle: Fabrisse Berenger, the beautiful, loving daughter of Cathar parents. She is bewildered by her strange wounds, but Philip is fascinated by them... and more fascinated by the serene goodness of Fabricia herself. Together, the pair must flee persecution under cover of darkness - but they cannot hold off the Pope's soldiers forever. Their destiny will be decided in the snows of the Black Mountains where Fabricia and Philip must make choices not just to save their lives, but their souls.
The Break: The powerful tale of love, loss and violence, endorsed by Margaret Atwood
by Katherena VermetteLonglisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2018Crime Book of the Month, Sunday Times, February 2018'A tough, close-up look at a side of female life that's often hard to acknowledge: the violence girls and women sometimes display towards other girls and women ... An accomplished writer who will go far.' - Margaret AtwoodStella, a young Métis mother, lives with her family by the Break, an isolated strip of land on the edge of their small Canadian town. Glancing out of her window one winter's evening Stella spots someone in trouble; horrified, she calls the police. But when they arrive, no one is there, scuff marks in the compacted snow the only sign anything may have happened.What follows is a heartbreaking and powerful tale of a community in crisis as the people connected to the victim, a young girl on the edge of a precipice, begin to lay bare their stories leading up to that fateful night. From Lou, a social worker grappling with the end of a relationship, to Cheryl, an artist mourning the premature death of her sister. And from Phoenix, a homeless teenager released from a youth detention centre with no one to turn to, to Officer Scott, a Métis policeman caught between two worlds. Through the prism of one extended, intergenerational family, Vermette's urgent story shines a light on the power, violence and love shared between women of all cultures, creeds and ages.
The Mystery Feast: Thoughts on Storytelling
by Ben Okri‘In every moment, we are part of the infinite stories that the universe is telling us and that we are telling the universe.’Packed with ideas and inspiration, The Mystery Feast offers numerous pathways into the magical world of storytelling. Beginning with a poem, ‘All we do’, Booker prize-winning novelist Ben Okri presents his considered thoughts on the purpose and meaning of stories, concluding with a series of condensed ‘Notes to the modern storyteller’. The collection is completed with a ‘stoku’ – a brief tale on the theme.Based on decades of honing his art, this stimulating booklet gives a glimpse into the mind of a master of contemporary storytelling.
The Favourite
by S. V. BerlinWelcome to the dark heart of the family – the secrets we keep, the memories we treasure and the relationships we feel bound to, but long to escape. Edward and Isobel haven’t spoken for years and live on opposite sides of the Atlantic. When their mother, Mary, dies unexpectedly, they are thrown together to sort through the family home. With Julie, Edward’s diffident but devoted girlfriend, making an awkward third, each stumbles through the practicalities and funeral preparations, trying to make sense of their emotions and their feelings towards one another. Then Isobel makes a disturbing discovery and her fateful decision has consequences for them all, challenging their beliefs about the past, hopes for the future, and understanding of Mary’s role in keeping them at once apart and together. This utterly immersive novel is rich with insightful and wickedly comic observations of family members behaving badly in stressful situations – of sibling rivalries, a parent torn between the two, and a grieving process that takes time to unfold. Beginning in a small coastal town during the Spring Bank Holiday, the novel moves forward through the point of view of each of the characters in turn, and culminates on Christmas Eve.
Hoors
by Gregory BurkeSmall Town, Fife. Andy and Vicky were meant to be getting married tomorrow.The trouble is, Andy's stag weekend was so epic, so legendary, that he didn't survive it. The finest pleasures that Amsterdam and Hamburg have to offer, together with a mile-high fling with a budget-airline stewardess, brought him down to earth with a bump. Now it's time for the post-mortem. A black comedy about waking up to find the party's over, Gregory Burke's Hoors premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in May 2009.
The Mirror
by Richard SkinnerErik Satie - composer, dandy, eccentric - is dead. Told to select one memory to take with him into the afterlife, he finds himself in limbo with a community of the deceased, looking back at his fifty-nine years for their most precious moments. Evenings of absinthe at the Chat Noir? Friendships with Debussy, Duchamp and Man Ray? What of his great musical triumphs and disasters? How will he choose his own legacy before silent whiteness descends? Venice, 1511. In the convent of Sant' Alvise, Oliva is about to take the veil and become a bride of Christ. When her world is shaken - first, literally, by an earthquake, and then, spiritually, by forces that threaten to change the convent for ever - she begins to ask questions about her faith and her future. When she agrees to sit for Signor Avílo, the renowned portrait painter, he brings with him a diabolical object: a mirror. And reflections can be dangerous. Told with playful elegance, these are two utterly original tales of art and devotion, of religious and creative fervour. They contemplate the eternal in different ways - one examining a life only just beginning, tentatively; the other a life lived without compromise as it reaches its close.
Friends of the Dusk (Merrily Watkins Series #13)
by Phil RickmanThe discovery of centuries old human bones; a haunted 12th century house; a medieval legend spawning a modern cult... Merrily must piece together a most insidious mystery.'No-one in the business deals with the spooky stuff better.' - Crime Review UK'She dragged herself back up, holding her scraped hands inside the sleeves of her parka like paws. As she came to her knees, a sound like laughter was chopped up by the wind, and the woman was back . . .'A legend of the undead, still seductive, still deadly. A storm unearths a medieval corpse in the old city of Hereford, and the past returns to menace diocesan exorcist Merrily Watkins.
Rachel Weeping
by Brett Michael InnesRachel Weeping is a contemporary drama that explores the theme of motherhood, loss and forgiveness through the experience of three victims of a horrible accident. This job was money. It was the roof over her head. It was what kept her parents alive and what allowed her to remain in South Africa legally. She knew how hard it was to find stable work, especially as a domestic worker when there were ten other women ready and willing to do your job for half the wages. She had seen the trucks at the border post taking illegals back to Mozambique and had heard the stories of the weeks spent in detention centres if you were caught in South Africa without a work visa. She had no choice. Rachel Nyaga, a Mozambican domestic worker living in Johannesburg, is forced to make a life-changing decision after her young daughter dies whilst under the care of her South African employers, Chris and Michelle Jordaan. She can either leave her job and return to poverty stricken Mozambique, losing her income, visa and means of supporting her parents, or continue working for the people responsible for the death of her child. Trapped by circumstance, she decides to stay but things become even more complicated when she finds out that the Jordaans are expecting their first child. Held together in guilt and shame, fear and desolation, Rachel, Michelle and Chris recognise that while their lives are now forever and inextricably linked in an unending nightmare, somehow they will need to break free if they are to survive.
The Fall of Doctor Onslow
by Frances VernonThe Fall of Doctor Onslow (1994) was the sixth and final novel by Frances Vernon (1963-91). Published posthumously, it is perhaps her finest work. Set in 1858, it is the story of Dr George Onslow, reformist headmaster of a leading public school, who harbours private passions that are fated to be the death of his life's ambition.'A searing indictment of the process of education... The narrative is tersely written in a style that successfully captures Victorian restraint and its stifling sensibilities.' Ben Preston, The Times'A remarkable work, written with spirit and erudition... It is difficult to believe when reading it that the author was a child of our times and did not actually live in the middle of the last century: she recreates that world so vividly, with such understanding of its characters, such an ear for its speech, such feeling for its attitudes and taboos.' Jill Delay, Tablet
The Territory Truth: Book 3 (Territory Trilogy)
by Sarah GovettGuardian Children's Book of the Month’I love reading Sarah Govett - she's whip-smart, funny and by plugging into the hope and energy of the youth makes me feel better about these dark times.' Dame Emma ThompsonThird and final in the highly acclaimed Territory series. Noa and her friends must topple the system that sends thouands of teens to their deaths each year. But will their plan to alter the uploads that are brainwashing the childes even work? A nail-biting conclusion to the Territory series, that explores fake news, education and global warming and asks: how far can you go and still be on the right side...‘Truly heart wrenching! ... the 1984 of our time’ The Guardian online‘Gripping dystopia with a keen political edge’ Imogen Russell Williams, Metro‘This is a truly exceptional novel, exciting, gripping and intense’ BookTrust‘pacy dystopian fantasy thriller’ Telegraph’s Best YA Books of 2015‘thrilling and thought-provoking’ The Times‘powerful and shocking’ Children’s Books Ireland‘a terrific book. It simply is.’ Bookwitch‘brilliant’ Teen Librarian‘Brilliantly plotted, utterly gripping’ Gemma Malley (The Declaration)One of The Telegraph's best YA books of 2015
The Curiosity Cabinet
by Catherine Czerkawska"Moving, poetic and quietly provocative." – The Independent A novel sure to appeal to fans of Outlander. When Alys revisits the beautiful Scottish island of Garve after an absence of 25 years, she is captivated by the embroidered casket on display in her hotel. She discovers that it belongs to Donal, her childhood playmate, and soon they resume their old friendship. Interwoven with the story of their growing love is the darker 18th-century tale of Henrietta Dalrymple, kidnapped by the formidable Manus McNeill and held on Garve against her will. Despite the 300 years separating them, the women are strongly connected: their parallel lives are linked by the cabinet and its contents, by the tug of motherhood and by the magic of the Hebridean island itself. But Garve has its secrets, past and present. Donal must learn to trust Alys enough to confide in her and, like Henrietta before her, Alys must earn the right to belong. "Elegant, restrained prose... compelling." Sunday Times pick of historical fiction "Historical fiction at its most luxurious." Authors Electric "A powerful story of love and obligation." John Burnside "Moving, poetic and quietly provocative." The Independent "Heart-warming, realistic and page-turning." Lorraine Kelly "Beautiful – lyrical and sensual." Hilary Ely "Blisteringly eloquent." The Scotsman
Edwina Currie: Diaries 1987-1992
by Edwina CurrieAfter Margaret Thatcher, Edwina Currie was the second most prominent woman in British politics during the 1980s. Indeed, she was often spoken of as a potential Prime Minister. Her outspokenness and her lively, media-friendly personality won her a much higher profile than her status as a junior minister would otherwise have commanded. When she was forced to resign from the government after warning of the danger signs of salmonella infection in eggs, she was already a national figure. Revealing her four-year affair with former Prime Minister John Major, Edwina's diaries caused a media sensation. A decade on, and now with previously unpublished material, the diaries still provide a remarkable insight into politics at the top by a writer with an observant eye and a sharp sense of humour. Edwina Currie's honesty, her frankness and her courage make these unexpurgated diaries an irresistible read.
The Devil in the Flesh (Neversink Ser.)
by Raymond RadiguetFrançois, the adolescent narrator, meets Marthe at the start of the First World War. While her husband is away at the Front, they fall deeply in love - with tragic consequences. Set in wartime and post-war Paris, The Devil in the Flesh debates the ever-contemporary battle between individual freedom and convention, passion and honour. Written when the author was still a teenager, and following his own love-affair with a married woman, the novel was considered highly scandalous upon its publication in 1923.