Aeschylus

Aesop lived in the early sixth century BC on the island of Samos, which lies off the coast of modern Turkey. He originally came from Thrace which was a separate country in those days, though it now forms part of Greece and Bulgaria. Very little is known about his life except that he worked as a slave on Samos for a master called Iadmon, and that he became a very famous storyteller. He was so famous that almost any fable which could have been told by him became attributed to him.

Aesop

Afsaneh Knight

Afsaneh Moqadam

Afua Hirsch is a writer, filmmaker, and journalist. She is the author of Brit(ish), the Sunday Times bestseller that explores Britishness, identity and belonging, for which she was awarded the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize for Non-Fiction. She co-presented Enslaved, a 6-part series about the transatlantic slave trade with Samuel L Jackson. She is the presenter of the Audible podcast series We Need To Talk About the British Empire, and Africa Rising, an ongoing flagship series about art and culture for the BBC, through her production company Born in Me Productions. She is a longtime columnist for the Guardian and is a professor of journalism at the University of Southern California.

Afua Hirsch

AGAPI STASSINOPOULOS is an author, blogger and international speaker who inspires audiences around the world. She has spoken at many corporations and conferences, such as Nike Women, Starbucks,Time Inc., Virgin, Johnson &amp; Johnson and the American Heart Foundation. She was born in Athens and trained in London at RADA before gaining a Master’s in psychology at the University of Santa Monica. She has collaborated with her sister, Arianna Huffington, to develop talks and seminars, and has worked with the Oprah Winfrey network. She is currently hosting a new podcast series in collaboration with The Huffington Post, entitled ‘Sundays with Agapi’, which includes guided meditations and interviews with prominent guests. She lives in Los Angeles.

Agapi Stassinopoulos

Agatha Christie

Aggie MacKenzie

Aghnia Mardiyah is a London-based Illustrator and Character Designer with a passion for children's books and animation. She is drawn to fun, bright and vibrant colours. When she isn't disappearing under piles of work, she loves to travel! Exploring foreign places, exciting new sights and sensations is what inspires her the most!

Aghnia Mardiyah

Agnes Callard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. Her primary areas of specialization are ancient philosophy and ethics. She has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, Harper’s, Boston Review, and penned a monthly column for the Point. From 2019 to 2020, she held a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for the research that contributes to this book.

Agnes Callard

Agnes Jekyll

Agnes Bertha Marshall (24 August 1855-29 July 1905) was an English culinary entrepreneur who became a leading cookery writer, dubbed the 'Queen of Ices'. Her 1888 cookery book included a recipe for 'cornets with cream', possibly the earliest publication of the edible ice cream cone. Marshall was born in Walthamstow. She wrote four books: Ices Plain and Fancy: The Book of Ices (1885), Mrs A B Marshall's Book of Cookery (1888), Mrs A B Marshall's Larger Cookery Book of Extra Recipes (1891) and Fancy Ices (1894).

Agnes Marshall

Agnes Prus

Agri Ismaïl is a Kurdish author based in Sweden who has worked as a corporate lawyer in London, Dubai, and Iraqi Kurdistan. His work has been published in The White Review, The Rumpus, Litro, 3:AM Magazine, and Asymptote amongst other places. His piece 'Haunted Home' won the 2016 Stack award for best non-fiction for The Outpost, runner-up in the Lifted Brow &amp; RMIT non/fictionLab Prize for Experimental Non-Fiction, and he was longlisted for the 2017/2018 Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize. Hyper is his first novel.

Agri Ismaïl

Aharon Appelfeld authored more than 45 acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction and received many international awards including the MLA Commonwealth Award, the Independent Foreign Fiction prize, the prix Médicis étranger, the Israel prize, and the Nelly Sachs prize. Born in Czernowitz, Bukovina (now part of Ukraine) in 1932, he survived the Holocaust and passed away in Israel in 2018.

Aharon Appelfeld

Ahmadou Kourouma

Ahmed Alnaouq is a Palestinian journalist and human rights activist based in London. He is the co-founder and director of We Are Not Numbers and a journalist with Palestine Deep Dive. Ahmed holds a degree in English Literature from Al-Azhar university in Gaza, and an MA in International Journalism from Leeds University, where he was a Chevening Scholar. 
 
Pam Bailey is a social-justice activist and journalist based in Washington DC. She lived and worked in the Gaza Strip following the 2008/9 Israeli assault, and co-founded We Are Not Numbers. Today, in addition to her ongoing dedication to the Palestinian cause, she dedicates herself to two nonprofits that advocate for people detained in American prisons -- including one she co-founded in 2020, called More Than Our Crimes.

Ahmed Alnaouq

Ahmed Errachidi

Ahmed Rashid

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar

Ahron Bregman is the author of four books about Israel and the Arabs: The Fifty Years War (with Jihan el Tahri), Israel's Wars, A History of Israel and Elusive Peace. He teaches at the Department of War Studies, King's College London.

Ahron Bregman

Ai Qing is regarded as one of the finest modern Chinese poets, whose free verse was influential in the development of new poetry in China.

Ai Qing

Ai Weiwei

Aidan Chambers was born in County Durham in 1934. After national service in the Royal Navy he became a teacher and then, for seven years, a monk. His young adult novels have been widely acclaimed, with POSTCARDS FROM NO-MAN'S LAND winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and the US Michael L Printz Award. With his wife Nancy he ran Signal magazine and he has served as the president of the School Library Association. His devoted services to children's literature were recognised by his receipt of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002.

Aidan Chambers

Aidan Higgins was born in 1927. Langrishe Go Down, his first novel, won the James Tait Black memorial Prize and the Irish Academy of Letters Award, and was later filmed for television with a screenplay by Harold Pinter. His second novel, Balcony of Europe, was shortlisted for the 1972 Booker Prize. The novel Lions of the Grunewald appeared in 1993 and a collection of shorter fiction, Flotsam and jetsam, in 1996. Donkey's Years and Dog Days were the first two volumes of the Higgins Bestiary which concludes with this volume.

Aidan Higgins

Aidan Mathews

Aidan Potts

Aidan Smith

Aidan Storey

Aidan Trimble is the Chief Instructor to the Federation of Shotokan Karate and a former British, European and World Karate Champion, winning the world title in Tokyo - the home of Karate. Aidan has trained with some of the world's leading teachers of 'traditional' and 'sport' karate and is now an award-winning instructor and teacher who is in demand throughout the world. He can be contacted via www.fsk-karate.com.

Aidan Trimble

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Anna McPartlin

'And just like that my boy was gone.' 
 
Maisie Bean is a fighter. A survivor. Seventeen years ago, she went on a first date that went so badly it was enough to put the girl off chips. The marriage that followed was hell but it gave her two children: funny, caring Jeremy and bullish but brilliant Valerie. 
 
 Just as it seems everything might finally start going right, sixteen-year-old Jeremy goes missing. The police descend and a media storm swirls, over five days of searching that hurtle towards an inevitable, terrible conclusion. 
 
 Maisie is facing another fight, and this time it’s the fight of her life. But she’s a survivor. Whatever the odds, she’ll never give in. 
 
 From the bestselling author of The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes comes this heart-breaking yet uproariously uplifting new novel about love, resilience and the life-changing power of hope.

Somewhere Inside of Happy

Joanne Harris

Captivating, complex and compellingly intense, this psychological thriller from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris is perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid. Brilliantly written, expertly plotted and ingeniously structured...with its fair share of plot twists and unreliable narrators, this is one book that will not let you go... 
 
'Delivers an almighty twist in the tale late on...brilliantly atmospheric and at times heartbreaking' -- The Times 
'An ingenious, gripping read...it terrified the living daylights out of me' -- Daily Express 
'Engrossing psychological thriller...a novel of unusual complexity...Harris, best known for Chocolat, again shows her skill and versatility' -- Mail on Sunday 
'Joanne Harris never fails to deliver' -- ***** Reader review 
'A story superbly told with a brilliant, totally unexpected, twist at the end. Made my blood run cold!' -- ***** Reader review 
'I couldn't put this one down!' -- ***** Reader review 
'An enthralling read' -- ***** Reader review 
'I read this book in two days; I just couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review 
 
****************************************************************** 
 
FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOANNE HARRIS COMES THIS GRIPPING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER... 
 
 Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child; timid and dull. But Blue was his mother's favourite. And he was a murderer. 
 
 blueeyedboy is a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. 
 
Told through a series of anonymous posts on the internet, this is a thriller that makes creative use of all the multiple personalities, disguise and mind games that are offered by playing out a life online.

Blueeyedboy

the second in a trilogy of dark, chilling and witty psychological thrillers from bestselling author Joanne Harris

Meera Syal

'Dazzling. Intense and gritty at times, sparkling and hilarious at others. I found it absorbing, witty, joyous and moving…and that’s all I really want from a book!' - JO BRAND 
 
'Warm and witty' Sunday Times 
 
'The gifted Syal does it again' Indpendent 
 
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO GET THE LIFE YOU CAN'T HAVE? 
 
 Shyama, aged forty-eight, has fallen for a younger man. They want a child together. 
 
Meanwhile, in a rural village in India, young Mala, trapped in an oppressive marriage, dreams of escape. 
 
When Shyama and Mala meet, they help each other realise their dreams. But will fate guarantee them both happiness?... 
 
Brimming with warmth, wit and indignation, Meera Syal immerses us in a devastating story of friendship, family and the lengths we will go to have a perfect life. THE HOUSE OF HIDDEN MOTHERS is her long-awaited third novel and shows Meera Syal at the height of her literary powers 
 
 
'Brilliant. It is destined to be a bestseller.' - ESTHER FREUD

The House of Hidden Mothers

Johan Theorin

Summer on the beautiful Swedish island of Öland. Visitors arrive in their thousands, ready to enjoy the calm and relaxation of this paradise. 
 
Amongst them is Jonas Kloss, excited at the prospect of staying with his aunt, uncle and older cousins. But it is not as he had hoped. One night he takes a boat out onto the moonlit sea. A ship looms out of the darkness and the horror he finds on board is unimaginable. 
 
Fleeing for his life, Jonas arrives at the door of an elderly islander, Gerlof Davidsson. Once Gerlof has heard his tale of dead sailors and axe-wielding madmen, he realizes that this will be a summer like none other Öland has ever seen. 
 
For one man – the Homecomer – this is a very special journey. He seeks revenge that he’s waited a lifetime to exact…

The Voices Beyond

(Oland Quartet Series 4)

Su Tong

Disgraced Secretary Ku has been banished from the Party - it has been officially proved he does not have a fish-shaped birthmark on his bottom and is therefore not the son of a revolutionary martyr, but the issue of a river pirate and a prostitute. Mocked by the citizens of Milltown, Secretary Ku leaves the shore for a new life among the boat people on a fleet of industrial barges. Refusing to renounce his high status, he maintains a distance - with Dongliang, his teenage son - from the gossipy lowlifes who surround him. 
 
One day a feral little girl, Huixian, arrives looking for her mother, who has jumped to her death in the river. The boat people, and especially Dongliang, take her to their hearts. But Huixian sows conflict wherever she goes, and soon Dongliang is in the grip of an obsession for her. He takes on Life, Fate and the Party in the only way he knows . . .

The Boat to Redemption

Deborah Install

For fans of THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS, THE FIFTEEN LIVES OF HARRY AUGUST and ET. 
 
'A MOST UNUSUAL AND DELIGHTFUL BOOK' Alexander McCall Smith 
 
Funny, touching, charming, wise: a friendship novel that explores what it is to be human. 
 
Some time in the future: 
Ben Chambers wakes up to find an old robot - rusty and dazed- sitting underneath the willow tree in his garden. It's not a new android model, the type people now use for domestic chores around the house, but an antique one, no longer of any use. Refusing to throw it on the skip as his wife Amy advises, he brings it inside. 
 
He names it Tang. Tang turns out to be needy, he has a chronic oil leak and some inside parts don't work properly. As Ben - who has never wanted children or even a job - grows closer to his new friend, he and his wife, Amy, grow further apart. 
 
When Amy finally walks out, Ben begins to realise he has now alienated all the human beings in his life. 
But his new friend needs to be fixed, if he is to have a future. And so Ben decides to take Tang back to his maker, half way across the world, on a remote island in the Pacific ... 
 
Soon to be a major Warner Brothers Japan movie, starring Kazunari Ninomiya from Arashi 
 
READERS LOVE IT TOO: 
 
There were so many funny parts in this book and i did not want it to end' 5 ***** 
'A lovely book about friendship and discovery. Heartwarming' 4 **** 
'i knew nothing about this book when i started it and i could not put it down' 5 **** 
'Wonderful. i did not want it to stop' 5 **** 
'The characters are drawn with such tenderness' 5 ****

A Robot In The Garden

The Number One cosy friendship novel

TPerfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid, this is an astute and intelligent psychological thriller centring around obsession and rage from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. Fast paced with unexpected twists and turns, it will get right under the skin... 
 
'[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen &amp; Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form' -- DAILY EXPRESS 
'[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you'd think she'd been writing thrillers all her life' -- DAILY MAIL 
'It kept me on the edge of my seat and I was thinking about it long after I turned the last page' -- ***** Reader review 
'An intricate, engrossing novel' -- ***** Reader review 
'Wonderfully, horribly plausible' -- ***** Reader review 
'I read it in three days which is as close as I get to "couldn't put it down"' -- ***** Reader review 
'Well written and enthralling' -- ***** Reader review 
'A must read....' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absolutely loved this book!' -- ***** Reader review 
 
******************************************************************************************* 
At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. 
 
But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. 
 
And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt. 
 
The trilogy continues with blueeyedboy and Different Class.

Gentlemen & Players

the first in a trilogy of gripping and twisted psychological thrillers from bestselling author Joanne Harris

Peyton Marshall

'Page-turning' KAREN JAY FOWLER 
'Powerful NEW YORK TIMES 
 
Goodhouse is not supposed to be a prison. Despite the guard dogs, the tracking devices, and the fact that the boys are mandated to attend and unable to leave, it’s supposed to be a second - and final -chance. 
 
Across the country, sixty thousand boys are locked into Goodhouse campuses until they turn 18. What they all have in common are the genetic markers that indicate a predisposition towards violent and criminal behavior. Every lesson taught at Goodhouse is meant to be an honest effort to correct their inherent ‘wrong-thinking,’ to train them for a future when they might join the civilian world. 
 
Goodhouse tells the story of James, a boy condemned to the system at the age of three. With no memory of his parents or even his real name, James thrives at the La Pine campus where he’s grown up, following the (many) rules, making friends, singing in the choir, all the while practicing ‘right-thinking’- until the school is violently attacked by Zeros, a group of people who think Goodhouse boys should simply be eliminated, much like rabid dogs. 
 
James is the only survivor. Traumatised, he is transferred to a larger and more terrifying school. There he realizes that whatever its intentions, the Goodhouse system has created a culture of good-seeming boys that aspire to do wrong, to be the meanest and strongest no matter the stakes. A morning beating is more common than a decent breakfast; the boys are used as guinea pigs to test dangerous new drugs; some disappear without warning, never to be seen again. 
 
Goodhouse has come to be a world that thrives on fear and division - where hatred and hopelessness are the heartbeat of a population on the verge of chaos. In order to survive, James must forge new alliances and break every rule he’s been conditioned to follow for his entire life.

Goodhouse

Linda Newbery

It was the day when everything stopped… 
 
 At quarter past two on a hot summer afternoon, Anna’s beautiful, headstrong older sister Rose disappears. And Anna was the last person to see her. 
 
 Their parents, Rose’s friends, the police – no-one can find where Rose has gone or who might have taken her. 
Twenty years later, Rose is still missing. Anna is the only one who still believes she might be alive, and unable to take control of her own life while her sister’s disappearance remains unsolved, she begins to hunt for the truth herself. But the search for Rose will uncover secrets she is not prepared for… 
 
 The compelling novel from the Costa Award-winning author. 
 
Originally published in hardback as Quarter Past Two on a Wednesday Afternoon

Missing Rose

Belinda Bauer

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SNAP 
 
'The most polished crime writer on the murder beat' Daily Express 
 
Five footprints are the only sign that Daniel Buck was ever here. 
 
Yesterday they were a family just like any other: Anna and James, and their little boy, Daniel. 
 
But in one careless moment everything changed. 
 
A front door accidentally left ajar . . . and Daniel was gone. 
 
 
Now they are a pair of strangers who can't even look each other in the eye. 
 
Distrust and unspoken words fill the void where their son used to be. 
 
Anna will go to any lengths to find Daniel - a four-year-old doesn't just vanish into thin air. But how far will this desperate search push her? 
 
Right to the brink. 
 
And beyond. 
 
___ 
 
Readers love The Shut Eye: 
 
'Original and inventive . . . Fabulous stuff!' ***** 
'I was absolutely gripped by this novel' ***** 
'A captivating story with such strong characters' *****

The Shut Eye

The exhilarating crime novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Snap

Judy Astley

With unforgettable characters, charming romance and lots of laughter, A Merry Mistletoe Wedding is a gorgeous Christmas read from much-loved and ever-popular author Judy Astley. Perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Jenny Colgan, Lucy Diamond and Milly Johnson. 
 
'Elegant, witty writing, endearing characters and a wonderful romance. What more could you want?' -- Katie Fforde 
 'A light-hearted, romantic and escapist read' -- Good Housekeeping 
'With dialogue that will have you laughing out loud, and well drawn characters to boot, this is an enjoyable light read' -- Sunday Mirror 
'It was like putting on your favourite jumper - warm and cosy - and great to cuddle up with this winter' -- ***** Reader review 
'Warm and witty' -- ***** Reader review 
'Full of fun and charm' -- ***** Reader review 
'Fantastic from start to finish!' -- ***** Reader review 
 
***************************************************************************************** 
 CHURCH BELLS RING...ARE YOU LISTENING? 
 
It is almost a year since Sean and Thea met and it's been a roller-coaster ride: they're getting married on Christmas Day! 
 
 Neither Thea or Sean want a big fuss - a simple wedding, with Christmas lights and just a few sprigs of mistletoe for decoration is all they need. But before they know it, things begin to get complicated... 
 
Trying to manage a long-distance relationship in the build-up to their Christmas wedding is one thing, but as one challenge after another comes their way, the happy couple begin to wonder if they'll ever make it down the aisle . . . 
 
 Thea and Sean's story begins in It Must Have Been The Mistletoe - have you read it?

A Merry Mistletoe Wedding

the perfect festive romance to settle down with this Christmas!

Chan Koonchung

SEX, LIES, AND ROCKY ROADS … 
 
Life is simple for Champa. He has a good job as a chauffeur in his hometown of Lhasa, and if his Chinese boss Plum is a little domineering, well, he can understand that – she’s a serious art-collector after all. And he does get to drive her huge Toyota. 
 
When he starts to sleep with his boss as well as drive her around, life becomes a whole lot more complicated. But not in a bad way. Suddenly Champa’s sex life is beyond his wildest dreams. 
 
But then Plum brings home a Tara statue - a statue that shines with exquisite feminine beauty – and suddenly life is not simple at all, as Champa finds himself on the long road to Beijing in search of its inspiration … 
 
THE UNBEARABLE DREAMWORLD OF CHAMPA THE DRIVER is a rollicking road novel brim-ful of sensuality and danger. Underlying the optimism and humour of its hero is a darker picture of racism and rough justice in modern Beijing.

The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver

Louise Douglas

'Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lake is Louise Douglas at her best' TAMMY COHEN, author of The Wedding Party 
 
-------------------- 
 
A FAMILY TRAGEDY 
 When a tragedy forces the family Amy works for as a nanny to retreat to a small lakeside cottage, she realises she cannot leave them now. 
 
 A SISTER'S SECRET 
 But Amy finds something unsettling about the cottage by the lake. This is where the children's mother spent her childhood - and the place where her sister disappeared mysteriously at just seventeen. 
 
 A WEB OF LIES 
 Soon Amy becomes tangled in the missing sister's story as dark truths begin rising to the surface. But can Amy unlock the secrets of the past before they repeat themselves? 
 
 The captivating and thrilling novel from bestselling author of The Secrets Between Us and The House by the Sea, winner of The Jackie Collins Romantic Thriller Award. 
 
 -------------------- 
 
 Readers love The Secret by the Lake: 
 
 ***** 'A real page-turner. Plenty of suspense and twists and turns' 
 ***** 'An easy 5* for me. I loved it' 
 ***** 'Couldn't put it down' 
 ***** 'An absolutely captivating story' 
 ***** 'I enjoyed every line... the characters and the story were fab and kept me wanting more'

The Secret by the Lake

A captivating read from the Richard & Judy bestseller

Mamen Sanchez

'A perfect blend of literature, mystery and love . . . and side-splitting humour' Lucy Robinson, author of The Greatest Love Story of All Time 
 
Atticus Craftsman never travels without a supply of Earl Grey and a favourite book. So when he is sent to shut down a failing literary magazine in Madrid, he packs both. A short Spanish jaunt later, he’ll be back in Kent, cup of tea and smoked-salmon sandwich in hand. 
 
But the five ladies who run the magazine have other ideas. They’ll do anything to keep the jobs they love - even if it involves hoodwinking Atticus with flashing eyes, the ghosts of literature past and a winding journey into the heart of Andalucía. 
 
With not the most efficient of detectives in pursuit, it’s only a matter of time before Atticus Craftsman either falls in love, disappears completely or – worst of all – runs out of Earl Grey. 
 
Crime comedy, love story and literary adventure all at once, The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman is fiendishly fun and delightfully different. 
 
'A delightfully funny literary adventure' Choice Magazine 
'What a fabulous read! Written with verve and wit' Frances Mayes, author of bestselling Under the Tuscan Sun

The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman

John O'Farrell

Re-live the glory and the heartache of England's greatest ever game - and THAT World Cup Final back in 2022. 
 
Well now it’s 2022 and the discussion is finally over, England have eleven players as good as any of them. The unbeatable national team have reached the final of the Qatar World Cup. But one journalist is convinced there is a scandalous secret behind England’s incredible form. His lifetime’s dream is to see the Three Lions win the World Cup. But if he pursues and exposes the shocking truth, his beloved England could be sent home in disgrace. 
 
Suddenly this is much more than England vs Germany; it’s Love vs Duty, it’s Truth vs Happiness. 
The pressure of the penalty shoot-out is nothing compared to this. 
 
There’s Only Two David Beckhams is John O’Farrell’s love-letter to football; part-detective story, part-sports memoir, part-satire on the whole corrupt FIFA circus; it just made the final for the funniest football fiction ever written...

There's Only Two David Beckhams

Stephanie Butland

“It smelled bittersweetly of sourdough, and there was the trace of hot, fresh bread in the air. She took a deep breath and unlocked the door” 
 
Fifteen years ago Bettina May’s life’s veered off course in one disastrous night. Still reeling from the shock of losing everything she thought was hers, Bettina opens a bakery in a village and throws herself into the comfort of bread-making. 
 
She spends her days kneading dough and measuring ingredients. She meets someone. She begins to heal. 
 
Until someone who knows what happens that night walks into Bettina's bakery. In the pause of a heartbeat, fifteen years disappear and Bettina remembers a time she thought was lost for ever . . . 
 
Can she ever go back?

The Other Half Of My Heart

Tammy Cohen

________ 
 
'A taut, psychologically gripping, gut-wrenching thriller from one of my favourite writers.’ - LISA JEWELL 
 
'Astonishingly good' C L TAYLOR 
 
'We guarantee you'll be gripped' Closer 
________ 
 
There are three things no-one can prepare you for when your daughter goes missing: 
 
- You are haunted by her memory day and night 
- Even close friends can't understand what you are going through. 
- Only in a group with mothers of other lost children can you find real comfort. 
 
But as the parents gather to offer each other support in the wake of another disappearance, a crack appears in the group that threatens to rock their lives all over again. 
 
Welcome to the club no one wants to join. 
________ 
 
'FIRST ONE MISSING gripped me from the beginning and didn't let go. It'll keep you guessing until the last chapter' JANE FALLON) 
 
'Head and shoulders above the rest. Gripping' DAILY MAIL

First One Missing

Fleur Smithwick

Have you ever thought someone was watching you . . . but there was no one there? 
 
One summer’s evening, Alice sees something out of the corner of her eye. She turns to look: just a trick of the light. She is no longer the lonely little girl she once was, with her games of make-believe and imaginary friend, Sam. 
 
Then Alice’s world is shattered in a tragic accident, and Sam creeps out of the shadows and back into her life. At first Alice is comforted by his presence: a best friend to help fill the void in her heart. Perhaps even help her find someone real to share her life with. 
 
But Alice and Sam know he can only exist if she wants him there. So when Alice decides it’s time for him to leave, who will get hurt in order for him to stay alive? 
 
A compelling novel that fans of page-turners such as Clare Mackintosh's I LET YOU GO and S. K. Tremayne's THE ICE TWINS will be gripped by.

How To Make A Friend

Jane Yardley

It is 1969. London swings, men land on the moon, and thirteen-year-old Kim Tanner appears on Imogen's doorstep to announce she is her long-lost daughter. 
 
Imogen wrote a bestseller about the baby she was forced to give away, so there have been many contenders, but Kim is special, and she is convinced. Kim and her dog Welly move in with the beautiful, bohemian Imogen and proceed to bring order to chaos. Then along comes pretty, appealing Sukie, also claiming to be Imogen's child. Kim is determined to prove she is Imogen's daughter but when the starts digging she unearths a very murky story...

A Saucerful of Secrets

The day Nina's father dies, she discovers an old music manuscript written in his hand and locked away in a desk. Her father was no musical genius, so where did this symphony come from, and what compelled him to keep it hidden? The answer lies in a web of deceit that reaches back forty years. 
 
Digging into her family's past, Nina is forced to reconsider her own traumatic childhood, when her father's chronic hypochondria nearly destroyed her family. Nina's sole refuge had been the home of her best friend, whose parents were world champions of ballroom dancing. There she had found relief in the glittering world of Argentinian tango. 
 
But as the symphony forces her to confront difficult questions about her past and her father's dark secret, Nina soon begins to wish she had never unlocked that desk . . .

Dancing With Dr Kildare

It is the summer of 1965. Annie Cradock, the only child of exacting parents who run the village school, is an imaginative girl with a head full of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Annie whiles away the school holiday with her friends: Ollie the rag-and-bone man (and more importantly his dog); the beautiful piano-playing Mrs Clitheroe who turns Beethoven into boogie-woogie (and like Annie sees music in colour); and Annie's best friend Babette - streetwise, loyal, and Annie's one solid link with common sense. But everything changes when the village is rocked by a series of murders and the girls know something they've no intention of telling the police. 
 
In the present day, adult Annie is a successful singing coach in a stifling marriage. Her ambitious American husband, impatient with his quirky wife, is taking a job in New York - but is she staying with him? As Annie struggles with her future, she first has to come to terms with the bizarre events of 1965.

Painting Ruby Tuesday

It is 1971 - hippies, hot pants and extraordinary footwear. Jo and her friend Frankie are fifteen, and they have a problem. Frankie's American mother, in England against her will, is determined to move out of the scruffy Essex village to civilized London. Jo's family would follow them if only they could sell their great rambling home, the Red House, but unfortunately, the house is putting up a fight. An architectural oddity built by an eighteenth-century madman to irritate his wife, it always did have a life of its own, but now its sinister goings-on are driving prospective buyers away. The capable Jo has always coped with her eccentric family but they're getting worse. Even more disturbing, Jo and Frankie are convinced that there's been a murder on the premises. 
 
As the Red House crumbles around them, the girls are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery so the Starkey family can sell up and start an ordinary life. But along comes the devastatingly attractive Florian, folk singer and opportunist, to cause a chaos all of his own... 
 
RAINY DAY WOMEN is a black comedy in which teenaged hopes, fears and egomaniacal tunnel vision are played out against the background of a seriously dysfunctional family, some of its members deeply loveable - and some of them not.

Rainy Day Women

James Hannah

AN OBSERVER 'NEW FACE OF FICTION 2015' 
AN AMAZON RISING STAR 2015 
'Genuinely one of the best books I've read ever read' LISA JEWELL 
 
'Spare, poignant and with a quirky charm all of its own, it reminds us how kind people can be.' RACHEL JOYCE 
 
'Absolutely bloody heartrending. Hannah's eccentric style is never mawkish and often wonderfully funny' - THE TIMES 
 
'Hannah writes with emotional acuity. Warm, wry, thoughtful and devastating in places, this is a life-enhancing missive from death's door' - THE SUNDAY TIMES 
 
A striking literary debut of love and mortality perfect for fans of quirky, heart-wrenching fiction like Nathan Filer, David Nicholls and Rachel Joyce. 
 
 
Ivo has all kinds of everyday joy in his life – he’s young, he's in love, he has friends who promise to stand by him if life ever goes wrong.Then one day, life does go wrong. He makes a mistake, and it’s big and unforgiveable. Now time is running out and his life is falling apart. But he’s going to put it together again. His own way. 
 
This is a story about how far love must stretch to gather a life in pieces. And how strong friendship never dies.

The A to Z of You and Me

Robert Edric

Haworth, West Yorkshire, 1848. 
 
Branwell Brontë - unexhibited artist, unacknowledged writer, sacked railwayman, disgraced tutor and spurned lover - finds himself unhappily back in Haworth Parsonage, to face the disappointment of his father and his three sisters, the scale of whose own pseudonymous successes is only just becoming apparent. 
 
With his health failing rapidly, his aspirations abandoned and his once loyal circle of friends shrinking fast, Branwell resorts to a world of secrets, conspiracies and endlessly imagined betrayals. But his spiral of self-destruction only accelerates the sense of his destiny to be a bystander looking across at greatness, and the madness which that realisation will bring…

Sanctuary

Sarah Jasmon

'A wonderfully atmospheric first novel' Claire Fuller 
'An evocative and atmospheric coming-of-age story' Carys Bray 
 
The summer the Dovers move in next door, sixteen-year-old Helen's lonely world is at once a more thrilling place. She is infatuated with the bohemian family, especially the petulant and charming daughter Victoria. 
 
As the long, hot days stretch out in front of them, Helen and Victoria grow inseparable. But when a stranger appears, Helen begins to question whether the secretive Dover family are really what they seem. 
 
It’s the kind of summer when anything seems possible . . . 
 
Until something goes wrong. 
 
A suspenseful, spell-binding coming-of-age story about how one simple action on a summer's day can echo through the years. Perfect for fans of Louise Doughty's Apple Tree Yard, Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret and Helen Dunmore's The Lie.

The Summer of Secrets

Whether on holiday or dreaming of one, this is the perfect easy-going, cosy read to relax with. Brilliant for fans of Jenny Colgan, Milly Johnson and Trisha Ashley... 
 
'A great writer, funny and sharp... her prose is a pleasure to read, her dialogue sparkles' - DAILY MAIL 
 
'Great, memorable characters, funny storylines and a lovely escapist holiday setting, it would be a shame for anyone to miss out!' -- ***** Reader review 
 
'My favourite Judy Ashley book! Read it several times and each time enjoyed it just as much and laugh!' -- ***** Reader review 
 
'A heart-warming story of love, lust, mishaps and summer fun.' -- ***** Reader review 
 
****************************************************** 
 
SHE'S MORE THAN READY FOR HER CORNISH HOLIDAY... 
 
AND A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA? 
 
Every July, the lucky owners of Cornish holiday homes set off for their annual break. They close up their desirable semis in smartish London suburbs - having turned off the Aga and turned on the burglar alarm - and look forward to a carefree, restful, somehow more fulfilling summer. 
 
Clare is more than usually ready for her holiday. Her daughter, Miranda, is hitting adolescence bigtime, and her husband Jack is harbouring unsettling thoughts of a change in lifestyle. 
 
No wonder that Clare is contemplating a bit of extra-marital adventure, possibly with Eliot, the successful, heavy-drinking author in the adjoining holiday property. 
 
Unexpected disasters occur, revelations are made and, as the summer ends, real life will never be quite the same again...

Just For The Summer

escape to Cornwall with this light-hearted, feel-good romantic adventure

Ben Elton

It’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be. 
 
Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history. 
 
Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war. A war that will begin with a single bullet. But can a single bullet truly corrupt an entire century? 
 
And, if so, could another single bullet save it?

Time and Time Again

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Take Me With You by bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde is a moving, thought-provoking story that fans of Jodi Picoult, Susan Lewis, Mitch Albom and Alice Sebold will love - the perfect read for those looking for something special to curl up with. 
 
'Hyde gives her characters great internal depth, and the book's scope gives readers time to savour this memorable, moving journey.' -- Publishers Weekly 
'Incomparable writing by this most gifted woman!' -- ***** Reader review 
'Started this book thinking maybe it wasn't for me, but soon couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review 
'Intoxicating read' -- ***** Reader review 
'I can really recommend this book thoroughly great from the beginning to end. Couldn't put it down' -- ***** Reader review 
'One of the best stories I have ever read' -- ***** Reader review 
 
********************************************************************************* 
ONE SUMMER...ONE LIFE CHANGING JOURNEY 
 
Seth and his little brother Henry haven't had the most stable of upbringings. Their father has been in and out of jail; their mother took off years ago and hasn't been seen since. Life is constantly uncertain - but a twist of fate could be just what they need. 
 
August stopped drinking the day his son died. While on a journey that's very close to his heart, a breakdown leaves him stranded in a small town and at the mercy of the local mechanic - Seth and Henry's father. 
 
But then August is presented with an offer he doesn't expect: take the two boys with him for the summer, and pay no charge for the repairs. 
 
As the unlikely trio set out on their road trip, the most unlikely, unforgettable friendship begins to take shape.

Take Me With You

Ildefonso Falcones

1748, Seville: Caridad, a recently freed Cuban slave, wanders the streets of the city. Her master is dead and she has nowhere to go. When she meets Milagro Carmona - a young, rebellious gypsy - the two women are instantly inseparable. Milagros introduces Caridad to the gypsy community, an exotic fringe society that will soon bring them love and change their life forever. 
 
From the tumultuous bustle of 18th-century Seville to the theatres of Madrid, THE BAREFOOT QUEEN takes us into the murky world of tobacco smuggling and ther persecution of the gypsies. 
 
Showing us the birth of Flamenco, it is a historical fresco filled with characters that live, love, fight and suffer for what they believe.

The Barefoot Queen

Gyorgy Dragoman

'Disturbing, compelling, beautifully translated' The Times 
 
'Electric, urgent, luminous ... a coming-of-age with a difference' Daily Mail 
 
Eleven-year-old Djata makes sure he is always home on Sundays. It is the day the State Security came to take his father away, and he believes it will be a Sunday when his father finally comes home again. 
 
While he waits, Djata lives out a life of adventure. He plays wargames in flaming wheat fields; hunts for gold in abandoned claymines; watches porn in a backroom at the cinema, and plays chess with an automaton. But lurking beneath his rebel boyhood, pulling at his heartstrings, is the continued absence of his father. When he finally uncovers the real truth, he risks losing his childhood for ever. 
 
With THE WHITE KING, György Dragomán won the prestigious Sándor Márai prize. An urgent, humorous and melancholy picture of a childhood behind the Iron Curtain it introduces a stunning new voice in contemporary fiction.

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