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Tanked
by Eamon EvansVikings were on mushrooms. Booze may have cost us Gallipoli. The Nazis loved meth, and the Stone Age was more like the 'stoned age'. We tend to see the past as a dull, sober place - as a time of stiff collars and straight-laced conformity, when people's bodies were as pure as their minds. We need to think again. It turns out that many of the great events in history wouldn't have happened if someone hadn't got smashed. From presidents and prime ministers, soldiers and scientists, to explorers, writers, musos and more, many of mankind's great movers and shakers might have been better off having a quiet lie-down. And there's no one better placed to shine a light on their secrets than the ever-witty - and occasionally coherent - Eamon Evans. Substance by substance and binge by binge, Tanked is your guide to all the trashy little moments that have helped change the course of our world.
Error Australis
by Ben PobjieWe’re engrossed with reality TV these days, yet we so often neglect the greatest reality of all: the reality of our nation and how it came to be. In Error Australis, TV columnist, comedian and history buff Ben Pobjie recaps the history of Australia from its humble beginnings as a small patch of rapidly cooling rock to its modern-day status as one of the major powers of the sub-Asian super-Antarctic next-to-Africa region. As thrilling as it is to see Delta Goodrem’s chair turn around, there’s an argument that World War Two was even more exciting and, like any good recapper, Pobjie provides an immediate, visceral sense of what it was like to be there in the moment at our nation’s defining events. It is only by looking at where we have been that we can understand who we are, what we stand for and why nothing seems to work. Error Australis is a scholarly and hilarious account of a young nation that has spent many years seeking its place in the world, and almost as many years not liking what it has found.
Hester and Harriet (Hester and Harriet #0)
by Hilary SpiersThe gentle humour and relaxed pace make this an enjoyable read. - Daily MailSisters Hester and Harriet are reluctantly driving to visit relatives when they come across a young woman hiding with her baby in a bus shelter. Seeing the perfect excuse for returning to their own warm hearth, the pair insist on bringing Daria and Milo home with them.But with the arrival of a sinister stranger looking for a girl with a baby, followed quickly by their cousins' churlish fifteen-year-old son, Ben, who also appears to be seeking sanctuary, Hester and Harriet's carefully crafted peace and quiet quickly begins to fall apart. And, perhaps, that's exactly what they need...
Mothering Heights: A year of joy and survival in the trenches of early parenthood
by Rachael Mogan McIntoshFollowing Rachael Mogan McIntosh over the year she gave birth to her third child and completed her shapeshift from wild to mild, Mothering Heights is a hilarious, moving celebration of early parenthood.The sudden and total identity theft of motherhood leftRachael with a kind of emotional whiplash. One day, she was wearing a funky outfit in a dark club, and the next she was performing 'Dingle Dangle Scarecrow' for an underwhelmed crowd of toddlers.Rachael adored all three of her tiny dictators and their non-stop comedy shenanigans, but the life of service was a tougher job than she had ever imagined. Through joyous heights and heartbreaking lows, motherhood cracked her heart wide open.
The Pyramid of Needs
by Ernest PriceDarkly funny family drama about transphobia, political identity and family dynamics. Perfect for fans of My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh and The Dinner by Herman Koch.Cover Blurb:Linda Taylor is livestreaming her glamourous life as an alternative health guru when she trips over in front of her followers ‑ and can't get up. When Linda's children, Jack and Alice, find out she's broken her hip and can't care for their ailing father or pay her bills, they decide to help. There's just one problem: Jack hasn't spoken to Linda since he came out as a trans man over a decade ago.As the family gets together in Noosa and thunder clouds gather overhead, will family ties be enough to disentangle years of hurt, prejudice and pyramid-scheme brainwashing? Or will Jack have to cancel his mother for good?The Pyramid of Needs is a dark, wry and deeply illuminating examination of family dynamics in a world full of division and misinformation.
100 Funniest Moments in Australian Cricket
by Dan LiebkeFrom Alex Price's on-field karaoke session to Rob Quiney's resurrection of a dead seagull and Shane Watson's formidably funny front pad, these are the moments of physical slapstick and verbal repartee that make Australian cricket unique. Some moments are instant classics while some take decades to pay off and, naturally, some involve players getting hit in the nuts.In 100 Funniest Moments in Australian Cricket, sports journalist, comedy writer and well-known cricket tragic Dan Liebke takes us on a hilarious journey through cricket history, showing us that good cricket is good, but funny cricket is amazing.
The Lucky Country: Amazing Australian tales of fortune, flukes and windfalls
by Eamon EvansThe happy accident that created wi-fi. The well-placed piece of coral that saved the Endeavour from sinking. The karaoke night that launched Kylie's singing career.Australia may be known as 'the lucky country', but just how accurate is that description? Turns out, very. From the Gold Rush to Stephen Bradbury, our history is full of times when lady luck made a spectacular appearance. Now, Eamon Evans dives deep to deliver the most hilarious, fascinating tales of the Australians who were almost too lucky to be believed.
Get Your Act Together, Doris Kozlowski
by Jo DabrowskiDoris Kozlowski's life is anything but normal. Her mum plays singing vegetables in TV commercials. Her little brother befriends pebbles and potatoes. And don't even get her started on her babcia.But Doris is good at pretending to be just like everyone else, and she has a plan to get through Year Six: keep her head down, keep her family away from the school, and keep her best and only friend, the perfect Felicity.So when Felicity ditches her for the popular girls before their first class even starts, Doris needs a new plan. She figures if she can win the talent show, Felicity will want to be friends again, and Doris can get her life back.That is, if her babcia stops trying to 'help'. And if her mum avoids more embarrassing commercials. And if her brother manages to keep her secrets.Who is she kidding? Doris is DOOMED.
The Guy Who Decides: Australia's funniest social media sensation
by Jimmy ReesHave you ever wondered who made the call on imperial measurements, collective nouns for animals, horoscopes and Olympic sports? What were they thinking? And why do parents insist on naming their children after cities, cars and smoothie ingredients (Paris, Mercedes and Kale, we're looking at you...)?The Guy Who Decides, Jimmy's first book for adult readers, expands upon his hilarious videos lampooning the absurd conventions and rules of our modern world through the outlandish characters of The Guy Who Decides (who appears to be several martinis deep at all times) and his underling, Jason. Meanwhile, from Brighton to Byron Bay and beyond, prepare to meet a bunch of Australians who are as funny/scary as they are uproariously familiar!
In My Defence I Have No Defence: Catastrophes In Pursuing Perfection
by Sinèad StubbinsSinéad Stubbins has always known that there was a better version of herself lying just outside of her grasp. That if she listened to the right song or won the right (any) award or knew about whisky or followed the right Instagram psychologist or drank kombucha, ever, or enacted the correct 70-step Korean skincare regime, she would become her 'best self'. In My Defence, I Have No Defence raises the white flag on trying to live up to impossible standards. Wild and funny and wickedly relatable, it is one woman's reckoning with her complete inability to self-improve and a hilarious reprieve for anyone who has ever struggled to be better.
Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions: THE TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK (Pizza Pete #1)
by Carrie SellonTwenty-five days ago, something awful happened, and I made a promise to myself. Never to leave home again.Pete loves the pizza shop, where he lives with his dad, and is terrified of the outside world. But when a new restaurant steals their customers, Pete and his friend Anna have to come up with an INGENIOUS plan to sell more pizzas, otherwise he’ll be forced to move.When they find a mysterious briefcase in the attic, they create the most extraordinary magical pizzas, and soon a queue of customers snakes down the road. But can they make enough money in four days to save Pete’s home?Throw in an exploding headmistress, a fire-breathing dog and a vengeful bully and Pete’s life soon ramps up from Margherita to Spicy Pepperoni!
Love Politics and Possibly Murder
by Jane IonsSally lives with husband Bill, adult son Dan and four of his friends. Her best friend Jan makes a shocking confession and alarmed Sally gives her some very bad advice.
The Thinking Man's Survival Guide to Managing a Menopausal Partner
by Tiggy BaileyMenopausal Ladies! Frustrated that your man doesn't understand you as you go through this uncomfortable stage in your hormonal journey? Allow some "lightening-up" to bridge the divide and help you get your point across. So much better than stony silences that the gentleman just can't understand, may misinterpret as companionable silence, or at worst, not even notice. An essential guide for you to leave "lying around" for your significant other to find (if your tidiness OCD allows). It may obviate the need for much nagging, misunderstanding and shrewish behaviour. It may not. But then at least you have tried, and things are explained and justified. We hope. There must always be hope. Gentlemen! Not sure how to weave your way through the menopausal minefield? Let us inject some humour here and provide you with a safe (or safer) pathway. Please be assured that you are not alone, but indeed are one amongst many. Your sufferings are recognised and acknowledged. As is the unfairness of it all. Help is out there, starting with this book.
Mirror Image: The present mirrors the past in a chilling Varg Veum thriller (Varg Veum #0)
by Gunnar StaalesenAs Bergen PI Varg Veum investigates two different cases, it becomes clear that they are uncannily similar to harrowing events that took place thirty-six years earlier… A gripping instalment of the award-winning Varg Veum series, by one of the fathers of Nordic Noir.Bergen Private Investigator Varg Veum is perplexed when two wildly different cases cross his desk at the same time. A lawyer, anxious to protect her privacy, asks Varg to find her sister, who has disappeared with her husband, seemingly without trace, while a ship carrying unknown cargo is heading towards the Norwegian coast, and the authorities need answers.Varg immerses himself in the investigations, and it becomes clear that the two cases are linked, and have unsettling – and increasingly uncanny – similarities to events that took place thirty-six years earlier, when a woman and her saxophonist lover drove their car off a cliff, in an apparent double suicide. As Varg is drawn into a complex case involving star-crossed lovers, toxic waste and illegal immigrants, history seems determined to repeat itself in perfect detail … and at terrifying cost...A chilling, dark and twisting story of love and revenge, Mirror Image is Staalesen at his most thrilling, thought-provoking best.
The Opposite of Lonely (The Skelfs #5)
by Doug JohnstoneA body lost at sea, arson, murder, astronauts, wind phones, communal funerals and existential angst … This can ONLY mean one thing! The Skelfs are back, and things are as tense, unnerving and warmly funny as ever!The Skelf women are recovering from the cataclysmic events that nearly claimed their lives. Their funeral-director and private-investigation businesses are back on track, and their cases are as perplexing as ever.Matriarch Dorothy looks into a suspicious fire at a travellers’ site, and takes a grieving, homeless man under her wing. Daughter Jenny is searching for her missing sister-in-law, who disappeared in tragic circumstances, while grand-daughter Hannah is asked to investigate increasingly dangerous conspiracy theorists, who are targeting a retired female astronaut … putting her own life at risk.With a body lost at sea, funerals for those with no one to mourn them, reports of strange happenings in outer space, a funeral crasher with a painful secret, and a violent attack on one of the family, The Skelfs face their most personal – and perilous – cases yet. Doing things their way may cost them everything…Tense, unnerving and warmly funny, The Opposite of Lonely is the hugely anticipated fifth instalment in the unforgettable Skelfs series, and this time, danger comes from everywhere…
The Acapulco: The breathtaking serial-killer thriller kicking off an addictive series (Chastity Riley #0)
by Simone BuchholzHamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley becomes involved in the horrifying, perplexing search for a violent serial killer targeting dancers from a club … the first book in an award-winning, wildly original, addictive series…‘Such a revelation’ Laura Lippman‘Gruesome and assured, Buchholz’s work remains as persuasive as ever’ Barry Forshaw, Financial Times‘Reading Buchholz is like walking on firecrackers … a truly unique voice in crime fiction’ Graeme Macrae Burnet**WINNER of the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger**–––––––––––––––––––––––––––A serial killer is on the loose in Hamburg, targeting dancers from The Acapulco, a club in the city’s red-light district, taking their scalps as gruesome trophies and replacing them with plastic wigs.Chastity Riley is the state prosecutor responsible for crimes in the district, and she’s working alongside the police as they investigate. Can she get inside the mind of the killer?Her strength is thinking like a criminal; her weaknesses are pubs, bars and destructive relationships, but as Chastity searches for love and a flamboyant killer – battling her demons and the dark, foggy Hamburg weather – she hits dead end after dead end.As panic sets in and the death toll rises, it becomes increasingly clear that it may already be too late. For everyone…–––––––––––––––––––––––––––‘Caustic, incisive prose. A street-smart, gutsy heroine. A timely and staggeringly stylish thriller’ Will Carver‘The coolest character in crime fiction … Darkly funny and written with a huge heart’ Doug Johnstone, Big Issue‘Modern noir, with taut storytelling, a hard-bitten heroine, and underlying melancholy peppered with wry humour’ New Zealand Listener‘Dark, atmospheric, and complex, with often surprisingly emotional … a classy piece of fiction from an author who never disappoints’ Jen Med’s Book ReviewsPraise for the Chastity Riley series:'Combines nail-biting tension with off-beat humor ... Elmore Leonard fans will be enthralled' Publishers Weekly'Buchholz doles out delicious black humor ... interwoven in a manner that ramps up the intrigue and tension' Foreword Reviews’Lyrical and pithy' Sunday Times'Fierce enough to stab the heart' Spectator'A real blast of adrenaline' Big Issue'Simone Buchholz writes with real authority and a pungent, noir-ish sense of time and space' Financial Times'A stylish, whip-smart thriller' Russel McLean
Thirty Days of Darkness
by Jenny Lund MadsenA Danish literary author is challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days, travelling to a small village in Iceland for inspiration, and then a body appears … an atmospheric, darkly funny, twisty debut thriller, first in an addictive new series. Copenhagen author Hannah is the darling of the literary community and her novels have achieved massive critical acclaim. But nobody actually reads them, and frustrated by writer’s block, Hannah has the feeling that she’s doing something wrong. When she expresses her contempt for genre fiction, Hanna is publicly challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. Scared that she will lose face, she accepts, and her editor sends her to Húsafjöður – a quiet, tight-knit village in Iceland, filled with colorful local characters – for inspiration.But two days after her arrival, the body of a fisherman’s young son is pulled from the water … and what begins as a search for plot material quickly turns into a messy and dangerous investigation that threatens to uncover secrets that put everything at risk … including Hannah. Atmospheric, dramatic and full of nerve-jangling twists and turns, Thirty Days of Darkness is a darkly funny, unsettling debut thriller that marks the start of a breathtaking new series.
Dashboard Elvis is Dead: The epic, extraordinary new novel from one of Scotland’s most exceptional novelists
by David F. RossA failed writer connects the murder of an American journalist, a drowned 80s musician and a Scottish politician’s resignation, in a heart-wrenching novel about ordinary people living in extraordinary times.‘A dazzling, time-hopping patchwork of pop and politics, sewn together with wit and compassion’ Kirstin Innes‘This amiable and ambitious transatlantic extravaganza is a busy social tapestry pegged to real-life events in Scotland and the US … Ross’s affection for his characters shines through. There’s so much going on here that value for money is pretty much all but guaranteed’ Daily Mail ‘A mesmerising road trip through the America of Kerouac, Warhol and Reagan. Dashboard Elvis may be dead, but this book is full of vibrant, authentic, colourful life’ Stuart Cosgrove**David F. Ross was shortlisted for Scottish Fiction Book of the Year in the Scottish Book Awards**–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Renowned photo-journalist Jude Montgomery arrives in Glasgow in 2014, in the wake of the failed Scottish independence referendum, and it’s clear that she’s searching for someone.Is it Anna Mason, who will go on to lead the country as First Minister? Jamie Hewitt, guitarist from eighties one-hit wonders The Hyptones? Or is it Rabbit – Jude’s estranged foster sister, now a world-famous artist?Three apparently unconnected people, who share a devastating secret, whose lives were forever changed by one traumatic night in Phoenix, forty years earlier.Taking us back to a school shooting in her Texas hometown, and a 1980s road trip across the American West – to San Francisco and on to New York – Jude’s search ends in Glasgow, and a final, shocking event that only one person can fully explain…An extraordinary, gritty and tender novel about fate and destiny, regret and absolution – and a road trip that changes everything…–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––‘Few do raw, authentic, almost palpably believable characters better than David F. Ross' The Times‘A masterclass in transatlantic intertwining storytelling from one of Scotland’s finest writers’ Derek Steel, Razur Cuts‘A rich and rewarding novel that takes in the culture and social history of both Scotland and the USA, beautifully weaving stories together over decades … devastating’ Alistair Braidwood, Scots Whay Hae‘An ambitious, sweeping novel … Taut and gritty, Dashboard Elvis Is Dead interrogates truth, and pulses with life’ Donna McLean‘An irresistible story of chances taken and missed, and of last-ditch hopes of redemption … the writing is exquisite’ Katie Allen‘Gripping, gritty and gloriously written, David F. Ross captures characters, places and moods like few other writers … a triumph of a novel’ Martin Geissler‘A rawness and sensitivity that is so visceral … another extraordinary novel from David F. Ross’ Anne Cater‘Simultaneously intimate and epic … my head and heart are spinning’ From Belgium with Booklove
The Moose Paradox (The Rabbit Factor #2)
by Antti TuomainenInsurance mathematician Henri has his life under control, when a man from the past appears and a shady trio take over the adventure park’s equipment supply company … Things are messier than ever in the absurdly funny, heart-stoppingly tense second instalment in Antti Tuomainen’s bestselling series…‘In these uncertain times, what better hero than an actuary?' Chris Brookmyre‘One of those rare writers who manages to deftly balance intrigue, noir and a deliciously ironic sense of humour … a delight’ Vaseem Khan‘What a book! Antti has managed to put the fun into funerals and take it out of fun fairs in a gripping nail-biter … a thrilling and hilarious read’ Liz Nugent**Soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell**_______________________________Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen has finally restored order both to his life and to YouMeFun, the adventure park he now owns, when a man from the past appears – and turns everything upside down again. More problems arise when the park’s equipment supplier is taken over by a shady trio, with confusing demands. Why won’t Toy of Finland Ltd sell the new Moose Chute to Henri when he needs it as the park’s main attraction?Meanwhile, Henri’s relationship with artist Laura has reached breaking point, and, in order to survive this new chaotic world, he must push every calculation to its limits, before it’s too late…Absurdly funny, heart-stoppingly poignant and full of nail-biting suspense, The Moose Paradox is the second instalment in the critically acclaimed, pitch-perfect Rabbit Factor Trilogy and things are messier than ever…________________________________‘Finnish crime maestro Antti Tuomainen is unique in the Scandi-crime genre, infusing his crime narratives with the darkest humour … [his] often hilarious, chaotic narrative never vitiates the novel’s nicely tuned tension’ Financial Times‘Enter hitmen, serendipity, offbeat comedy and the reappearance of literally the last person Henri expects to see … unlike anything else out there’ The Times‘A thriller with black comedy worthy of Nabokov’ Telegraph Book of the YearPraise for The Rabbit Factor Trilogy**Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger****Shortlisted for the Last Laugh Award**‘The antic novels of Antti Tuomainen prove that comedy is not lost in translation …Tuomainen, like Carl Hiaasen before him, has the knack of combining slapstick with genuine emotion’ The Times'The funniest writer in Europe, and one of the very finest … original and brilliant story-telling' Helen FitzGerald‘British readers might think they know what to expect from Nordic noir: a tortured detective, a bleak setting, a brutal crime that shakes a small community. Finnish crime novelist Tuomainen turns all of this on its head … The ear of a giant plastic rabbit becomes a key weapon. It only gets darker and funnier’ Guardian‘Dark, gripping and hilarious … Tuomainen is the Carl Hiaasen of the fjords' Martyn Waites‘A triumph, a joyous, feel-good antidote to troubled times' Kevin Wignall‘Finland's greatest export’ M.J. Arlidge'You don’t expect to laugh when you’re reading about terrible crimes, but that’s what you’ll do when you pick up one of Tuomainen’s decidedly quirky thrillers' New York Times‘Tuomainen is the funniest writer in Europe’ The Times‘Right up there with the best’ Times Literary Supplement‘Tuomainen continues to carve out his own niche in the chilly tundras of northern’ Daily Express
Black Hearts (The Skelfs #4)
by Doug JohnstoneA faked death, an obsessive stalker, an old man claiming he’s being abused by the ghost of his late wife, and a devastating spectre from the past. The Skelfs are back in another explosive thriller, and this time things are more than personal…‘A new outing for the Skelfs deserves dancing in the streets of Edinburgh' Val McDermid‘Tense, funny and deeply moving’ Mark Billingham‘A total delight to be returned to the dark, funny, compulsive world of the Skelfs … Johnstone never fails to entertain whilst packing a serious emotional punch. Brilliant!’ Gytha Lodge________________________Death is just the beginning…The Skelf women live in the shadow of death every day, running the family funeral directors and private investigator business in Edinburgh. But now their own grief interwines with that of their clients, as they are left reeling by shocking past events.A fist-fight by an open grave leads Dorothy to investigate the possibility of a faked death, while a young woman’s obsession with Hannah threatens her relationship with Indy and puts them both in mortal danger. An elderly man claims he’s being abused by the ghost of his late wife, while ghosts of another kind come back to haunt Jenny from the grave … pushing her to breaking point.As the Skelfs struggle with increasingly unnerving cases and chilling danger lurks close to home, it becomes clear that grief, in all its forms, can be deadly…________________________‘The Skelfs keep getting better and better. Compelling and compassionate characters, with a dash of physics and philosophy thrown in’ Ambrose Parry‘Expertly written, with poise, insight and compassion’ Mary Paulson-Ellis’If you loved Iain Banks, you’ll devour the Skelfs series’ Erin Kelly‘Dynamic and poignant … Johnstone balances the cosmos, music, death and life, and wraps it all in a compelling mystery’ Marni Graff‘Just when you thought you couldn’t love the Skelfs more, Doug Johnstone finds a way to turn up the heat’ Live & DeadlyPraise for The Skelfs series***Shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year******Longlisted for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year******Shortlisted for Amazon Publishing Capital Crime Thriller of the Year***‘An engrossing and beautifully written tale that bears all the Doug Johnstone hallmarks in its warmth and darkly comic undertones’ Herald Scotland‘Gripping and blackly humorous’ Observer‘A tense ride strong, believable characters’ Kerry Hudson, Big Issue‘The power of this book, though, lies in the warm personalities and dark humour of the Skelfs, and by the end readers will be just as interested in their relationships with each other as the mysteries they are trying to solve’ Scotsman‘Remarkable’ Sunday Times‘Keeps you hungry from page to page. A crime reader can’t ask anything more’ The Sun‘A thrilling, atmospheric book, set in the dark streets of Edinburgh. Move over Ian Rankin, Doug Johnstone is coming through!’ Kate Rhodes‘An unstoppable, thrilling, bullet train of a book that cleverly weaves in family and intrigue, and has real emotional impact. I totally loved it’ Helen Fields‘This enjoyable mystery is also a touching and often funny portrayal of grief ... more, please’ Guardian‘Wonderful characters: flawed, funny and brave’ Sunday Times‘Exceptional … a must for those seeking strong, authentic, intelligent female protagonists’ Publishers Weekly
Whisper of the Seals: The Nail-biting, Chilling New Instalment In The Award-winning Detective Moralès Series (A Detective Moralès Mystery #3)
by Roxanne BouchardDetective Moralès becomes immersed in a chilling case set on the icy seas of Quebec’s remote Magdalen Islands, in the midst of a brutal seal hunt. A breathtaking, atmospheric, race-against-the-clock thriller… **Number One bestseller in Canada****Shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best French Crime Book**'A shocking, exquisitely plotted mystery set in the brutal seas off Quebec. The writing is sublime … you can feel the sting of salt on your cheeks' Gill Paul‘Detective fiction [with] a dreamily poetic cast’ Sunday Times'Unique, stylish Canadian Noir … absolutely superb' Kjell Ola Dahl_________________________There’s only one thing more deadly than the storm…Fisheries officer Simone Lord is transferred to Quebec’s remote Magdalen Islands for the winter, and at the last minute ordered to go aboard a trawler braving a winter storm for the traditional grey seal hunt, while all of the other boats shelter onshore.Detective Sergeant Joaquin Moralès is on a cross-country boat trip down the St Lawrence River, accompanied by Nadine Lauzon, a forensic psychologist working on the case of a savagely beaten teenager with Moralès’ old team in Montreal. When it becomes clear that Simone is in grave danger aboard the trawler, the two cases converge, with startling, terrifying consequences for everyone involved…The award-winning author of The Coral Bride returns with an atmospheric, race-against-the-clock thriller set on the icy seas in the midst of a brutal seal hunt, where nothing is as it seems and absolutely no one can be trusted. For fans of Louise Penny, Ann Cleeves, Emma Stonex and Annie Proulx_________________________‘From the very beginning I had a feeling of tragic inevitability … the sense of isolation, both physical and emotional, pours from every page’ Jen Med’s Book Reviews‘Beautiful prose, simple yet powerful, and a boatload of suspense … an absolute winner’ From Belgium with Booklove‘Thrums with rhythm and tears at the heart … the best Detective Moralès yet’ Live & DeadlyWhat Readers are saying…*****‘Breathlessly gripping’‘Masterful storytelling’‘The suspense is palpable’‘If you like Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series, you’ll LOVE this’'No one does atmospheric quite like Roxanne Bouchard'‘Intricate, beautiful and compelling' ‘Gloriously shocking’Praise for Roxanne Bouchard:**WINNER of the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best French Crime Book****Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger**'A haunting murder mystery about how human nature is every bit as dangerous and inscrutable as the sea draws out its suspense to the very last moment' Foreword Reviews'A police procedural like no other – marvel at the clever plotting' Crime Fiction Lover'An absolute joy to read, with as much tension as there is poetry' Le Journal de Montréal 'With a cast of characters you'll engage with and love and a mystery that will have you on edge, Bouchard pulls you into her world wonderful' Michael J. Malone'Roxanne Bouchard is reinventing the crime novel' Quebec TV‘Lyrical and elegiac, full of quirks and twists' William Ryan'Asks questions right from page one' Quentin Bates'A tour de force of both writing and translation' Su Bristow
Keep Her Sweet: The tense, shocking, wickedly funny new psychological thriller from the author of The Cry
by Helen FitzGeraldWhen a middle-aged couple downsizes to the countryside for an easier life, their two daughters become isolated, argumentative and violent … A chilling, vicious and darkly funny psychological thriller from bestselling author Helen FitzGerald‘Sharp, shocking and savagely funny. Helen Fitzgerald is a wonderfully original storyteller’ Chris Whitaker‘A new novel from Helen Fitzgerald is always, a major event … magnificent’ Mark Billingham‘I devoured Keep Her Sweet … shite parenting and a dysfunctional sister relationship goes to fatal extremes’ Erin Kelly–––––––––––––––––Desperate to enjoy their empty nest, Penny and Andeep downsize to the countryside, to forage, upcycle and fall in love again, only to be joined by their two twenty-something daughters, Asha and Camille.Living on top of each other in a tiny house, with no way to make money, tensions simmer, and as Penny and Andeep focus increasingly on themselves, the girls become isolated, argumentative and violent.When Asha injures Camille, a family therapist is called in, but she shrugs off the escalating violence between the sisters as a classic case of sibling rivalry … and the stress of the family move. But this is not sibling rivalry. The sisters are in far too deep for that.This is a murder, just waiting to happen…Chilling, vicious and darkly funny, Keep Her Sweet is not just a tense, sinister psychological thriller, but a startling look at sister relationships and they bonds they share … or shatter.––––––––––––––‘A wonderful book about a toxic family … funny, shocking and full of heart. FitzGerald at her coruscating best' Doug Johnstone‘Definitely one for those who love deadly dysfunctional families, whip-smart writing, and their stories dark, dark, deliciously dark’ Amanda Jennings‘A novel rippling with power and intensity. A true page-turner’ Michael Wood‘Wickedly funny, breath-stealingly tense and utterly chilling … a book you’ll want to talk about’ Miranda Dickinson‘Helen Fitzgerald has an uncanny ability to balance savagery and hilarity … an absolute banger of a book’ Matt Wesolowski'A crazy but addictive, dark and funny, read’ Louise Beech ‘Dark humour sings from the pages’ Russel McLean‘A fascinating and original tale of a family in rapid decline’ Jen Med’s Book ReviewsPraise for Helen FitzGerald*Worst Case Scenario was Guardian, Telegraph, Herald Scotland AND The Week BOOK OF THE YEAR**Sunday Times TOP 40 Crime Novels in the Last 5 Years**Longlisted for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2020*‘The main character is one of the most extraordinary you’ll meet between the pages of a book’ Ian Rankin‘Sublime’ Guardian‘A dark, comic masterpiece which manages to be both excruciatingly tense and laugh out loud funny at the same time’ Mark Edwards‘Urgent, angry, absolutely terrifying, yet suffused with the humanity and humour you expect from a Helen Fitzgerald novel’ Erin Kelly ‘Tantalisingly powerful’ The Times‘Ash Mountain is the author at her masterly best … I loved it!’ Louise Candlish‘The classic thriller gets a hell of a twist’ Heat‘FitzGerald writes like a more focused Irvine Welsh or a less misogynist Philip Roth’ Daily Telegraph‘Domestic life is rarely served up quite so dark as this – but that only makes you hungry for more’ The Sun
Another Ragbag Of Riches
by James ChiltonFollowing the original A Ragbag of Riches published in 2017, here is another bundle of funny, factual, thought provoking and charming entries to “mingle quiet music with amiable irreverance”. Not just witty, pithy quips and quotations but a diverse collection that have caught the eye or ear of James Chilton's enquiring mind and zany humour. Drawing from politians, scholars, artists, influential thinkers, jokers and the common man, from antiquity to the contemporary, they are partisan choices contributed to by Chilton's varied life as a soldier, traveller, singer, plantsman, author, painter, busnessman, designer and family man. It is the essence of the commonplace book but organised loosely into topics and enhanced by the sparkling illustrations of cartoonist Charlie Dunn. In addition and where possible, each author of the various entries has their dates added and a few relevant (and sometimes irrelevant) notes on their lives. From John Arlott to Boris Yeltsin (there is a useful index), from the trivial to the profound, from razor sharp criticism to poignant tributes, this is a book for all occasions. Each anecdote, musing, poem or prayer showcases humanity's variety. Whether to mine for speeches, to raise a smile in low moments, to inform or to entertain, Another Ragbag of Riches will provoke and delight. It is perfect for the bedside, for travel, for browsing and for present giving.
The France Alphabet
by David LawdayThe France Alphabet is a wry, informative handbook for the discerning international traveller on how to handle the French. It offers essential A-Z insights into France and its ways through a snap alphabetic look at characters, traditions and historical events that together get to the essence of who the French are. France's best known writers and thinkers over the centuries come under the handbook's microscope with a light, challenging touch, as do world figures like Napoleon and Joan of Arc as well as France's role in high fashion, sex and the art of staying slim. For newcomers to France, indeed also for those already acquainted with its ways, The France Alphabet gives fresh insider counsel on how to discuss these things, some extremely touchy, when in French company. Each A-Z feature, from A is for Art, through R is for Revolution to Z is for Zola is the selection of English author David Lawday, who has long made France his home and has a French wife. Each one - with a brisk commentary and matching cartoon - epitomizes what it is that helps make the French the way they are.
My Body Is My Business
by Melissa ToddClara left Oxford university to become a stripper. 25 years later, a porn star and disciplinarian, she decides to figure out how she got here - and where she might go next. A funny, fresh new voice, filthy, twisted and delectable.