Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Sonoko Machida

The mega-bestselling winner of the Japan Booksellers' Award and author of THE CONVENIENCE STORE BY THE SEA: a deeply moving story of survival and found family. 
 
Readers adore THE WOMAN, THE BOY AND THE WHALE: 
 
'If you have to work tomorrow, don't read this, since your eyes will be swollen up the next day. I read this in a single sitting and it saved me from the loneliness I had in my heart' Reader review ***** 
 
'A wonderful, beautiful story of what is both ugly and precious about humanity, filled with what we need most' Reader review ***** 
 
HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD 
THE BESTSELLING WINNER OF THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS' AWARD 
MADE INTO AN AWARD-NOMINATED FILM 
 
Emotional rescue is a two-way street 
 
Kiko has run away from her Tokyo life to a rural village by the sea and rumours are flying among the locals about this mysterious newcomer. When she comes across an abandoned boy who is unable to speak, an unusual bond develops as she shares a tale of the lonely whale whose song is too high-pitched for others to hear. While she unpicks the boy's story, and he unravels hers, a gripping and powerful history of strength, survival and finding your voice begins to unfold.

The Woman, the Boy and the Whale

Philippe Collin

An Immediate Bestseller | A Bloomberg Best Book of 2025 
 
'Philippe Collin is a magnificent storyteller. This novel fascinates at every turn.' Elle 
 
When the Ritz becomes the Nazis’ favourite spot, its Jewish bartender has no choice but to keep working. 
 
Paris, 1940. Despite the Occupation, the prestigious Ritz Hotel has managed to remain open. Its bar becomes a favourite spot for Nazis eager for a taste of French refinement. Its celebrated barman, Frank Meier, is forced to adapt to this new clientele. But he is hiding a secret that no one can find out: he is Jewish. 
 
With every word and smile, the atmosphere becomes more and more suffocating. Yet Frank refuses to flee. With the unwitting help of the Nazis, Frank eventually uncovers secrets that help keep him and his loved ones alive — especially Luciano, his young apprentice, and Blanche, wife of the director of the Ritz and Frank’s impossible love — both of whom are Jewish too. 
 
Betrayal, lies, and backstabbing raise the stakes for the bartender — with Frank always just one step ahead of fate. 
 
Based on a true story, The Barman of the Ritz is as chilling as it is fascinating.

The Barman of the Ritz

Kang Jiyoung

Discover the Korean cult thriller, for fans of Butter and Killing Eve. A hilariously unsettling tale of love, food and one woman's unconventional quest to support her family by becoming a contract killer. 
_____________ 
 
I am no ordinary ajumma. I am a killer 
 
Recently widowed and unemployed, Mrs Shim and her two children face an empty fridge. As her job options run out, she answers an ad for the Smile Detective Agency. 
 
Within weeks, she has turned it around. For Mrs Shim is sharp as a blade, handles business cleanly and is like a padlock when it comes to keeping secrets. 
 
By day, she prepares kimchi for her family and her neighbour with dementia; by night Mrs Shim is out on a contract. 
 
But what starts as a need for survival escalates into a thirst for vengeance. For Mrs. Shim is done with being everyone’s doormat. 
 
Diving headfirst into her new career among petty criminals, ghosts and assassins, Mrs Shim's past soon comes hurtling towards her. 
 
Savage and unexpectedly moving, Kang Jiyoung paints a comedic world of twisted love, unhinged loathing and hopeful reinvention. Among the misfits and the meals is a powerful statement about class, capitalism and the role of women.

Mrs Shim is a Killer

Mizuki Tsujimura

Book Two in the LOST SOULS series of a young man with special powers to connect the living with the afterlife. For fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD and LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR 
____ 
 
The much-anticipated follow-up novel to Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon picks up seven years later with go-between Ayumi, a young man caught between the demands of everyday life and his extraordinary gift: reuniting the living with the dead. 
 
Ayumi has a rare and mysterious ability, inherited from his grandmother. During a full moon and guided by strict rules, he arranges meetings between souls who have passed and those they left behind. However, after years in this role, Ayumi begins to question its meaning and the impact it has had on his life. As he juggles his supernatural calling with his full-time job as a toy designer in Tokyo, Ayumi quietly wonders if he will ever find the peace he so often helps others attain. Meanwhile, he assists five individuals, including: a rising film star who seeks closure with the father who abandoned him; a passionate amateur historian longing to meet a forgotten 16th-century warlord; and a former cook whose repeated requests to visit an upper-class woman in the afterlife have been denied—but who refuses to give up on love. 
 
Luminous, magical, and deeply heartwarming, How to Hold Someone in Your Heart is an unforgettable novel from bestselling storyteller Mizuki Tsujimura and a profound meditation on living without regret, embracing the unexpected, and cherishing the fleeting moments we’re given. 
 
Readers adore it: 
‘Warms your heart’ ***** 
‘I can’t express how good this is. Made me feel the weight of human life’ ***** 
‘The relationship with the dead, the messengers, the clients, and the existence of fate – it all felt so intimate to me’ ***** 
'As good as the first book'*****

How to Hold Someone in your Heart

Hye-Young Pyun

Fall into the chilling and claustrophobic psychological novel and Korean bestseller from the award-winning author, perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, and Olga Ravn. 
 
WINNER OF THE SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD 
SOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM STARRING THEO JAMES AND SQUID GAME'S HOYEON 
 
'A superbly insidious and atmospheric chiller about caring and cruelty: grief, isolation, helplessness and existential fear' Guardian 
 
‘Korea's answer to Stephen King . . . a thoughtful and elegant exploration of a relationship . . . increasingly unnerving’ Observer 
 
‘Beautifully haunting… Probably my favourite book I’ve ever read.’ 5-star reader review 
 
Following a devastating car crash that killed his wife, Oghi wakes in hospital to find himself trapped in his own body and under the control of his vengeful mother-in-law as she grieves the loss of her only child. 
 
Isolated from his friends and neglected by his nurse, Oghi’s world shrinks to the room he lies in and his memories of his wife, a sensitive woman who found solace in cultivating her garden. 
 
But as Oghi remains alone and paralysed, his mother-in-law is hard at work in the now-abandoned garden, uprooting what her daughter had worked so hard to plant and obsessively digging larger and larger holes… 
 
A bestseller in Korea, The Hole is a superbly crafted and deeply unnerving novel about the horrors of isolation and neglect in all of its banal and brutal forms. 
 
Praise for The Hole 
 
‘A gripping read for fans of literary horror’ The Bookseller 
 
‘Will stay with you long after you turn the last page’ Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow and Orpheus Builds a Girl 
 
‘Masterfully unsettling.’ Leon Craig, author of Parallel Hells 
 
'Like Hitchcock or Abe, Pyun peers head on into the unnerving depths of human grief' Blake Butler, author of 300,000,000 
 
'A Korean take on Misery' Time 
 
'Suspenseful, eerie and surprisingly profound' Big Issue 
 
'While reading The Hole, you’ll find yourself suddenly doubting everything' Kyung-sook Shin, New York Times bestselling author of Please Look After Mother 
 
‘A chilling psychological thriller . . . the reader is drawn in deeper with each new revelation’ PA Media

The Hole

Kim Ryeo-ryeong

**NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX TV SERIES, STARRING GONG YU AND SEO HYUN-JIN ** 
 
Read the gripping international feminist satire for fans of KIM JIYOUNG BORN 1982, CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN and YELLOWFACE. 
 
‘So this is the world we live in, where even spouses can be rented’ 
 
Meet Noh Inji: thirty years old, five wedding rings so far, and she’s never once been in love. 
 
When Inji takes a job at Wedding & Life, the popular matchmaking service, she never imagines her role will be with NM, their secretive marriage division that rents out ‘field spouses’ for a fixed period to their elite clientele. Just like a real marriage, Inji’s assignments involve a wedding, some sex and a spot of housework. It’s all tailored exactly to the client’s desires - no legal battles, no fights, no emotional baggage. 
 
In no way is Inji interested in finding real love, because accidents happen when you mistakenly assume that you are somehow special. 
 
When one of Inji’s old husbands, a mysterious high-profile music producer, requests her back for another year of marriage, Inji’s own dark past will begin to unravel – as well as the sinister underbelly of the NM management, who will stop at nothing to preserve their reputation - and that of their wealthiest clients … 
 
Readers love THE TRUNK!!!: 
 
‘It enraged me, it made me laugh, it was everything’ 
‘Intriguing and gripping’ 
‘Unique and intriguing and perfect for fans of Kim Jiyoung, born 1982’ 
‘Absorbing and consistently fascinating’ 
‘Really interesting book full of social commentary, rich characters … I had vibes of The Handmaid's Tale meets Convenience Store Woman’ 
___________

The Trunk

Michiko Aoyama

THE GLOBAL BESTSELLER 
 
By the multi-million-copy author of WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY for fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD 
_______________ 
Tucked behind the trees in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, the beloved Marble café offers a cup of warm, healing matcha to all who pass through its doors. 
 
Customers flock all week to Café Marble, tucked away behind the cherry trees. But Monday is a special day: the enigmatic owner hosts a tea tasting. The ritual invites its clientele to pause, reconnect with their inner peace, and rediscover the value of simplicity, allowing the bitterness of matcha to soothe their troubles. 
 
Following the twelve calendar months, Matcha on Monday follows people from all walks of life: a woman who needs to change her attitude, a couple facing a crisis, an artist who has lost her purpose, and a young woman struggling to break free from family expectations. As each customer frequents Café Marble’s cosy haven, they start their week with a warm sip of matcha and the joys of everyday human connection. 
 
Warm and luminous, this heart-warming story brings together a community of untold unfolding lives. As a snow-white cat peacefully puzzles over the surrounding humans, Café Marble becomes the setting for unexpected encounters that will change everything for those who walk through its doors—all starting with a cup of matcha. 
 
Loving praise from international readers for MATCHA ON MONDAY: 
‘These words resonate in my heart’ ***** 
‘I felt the depth of each relationship and burst into tears a few times’ ***** 
‘A miraculous story that shows the importance of giving things perspective’ ***** 
‘It would be a great idea to read this together with HOT CHOCOLATE ON THURSDAY’***** 
‘The same taste and feeling as drinking a cup of matcha’ *****

Matcha on Monday

Naoko Higashi

THE REDISCOVERED JAPANESE CLASSIC 
 
Read the original and moving literary gem for fans of Banana Yoshimoto and Kawaguchi's BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, with stunning illustrated endpapers. 
 
What if you could come back after death to watch over your loved one, installing yourself in a treasured mug, for example, or perhaps your mother's hearing aid, a diary, or even a climbing frame, to feel the clambering limbs of a beloved younger sister? 
 
Eleven recently deceased protagonists find themselves floating in the afterlife where a nameless ghost offers them a joyous reunion with their loved ones. 
 
But not as you would expect. 
 
In a world where souls linger restlessly around after death, unwilling to depart, The Soul Catchers is a comforting, witty, and surprisingly sensual take on the Japanese folk belief that objects can be inhabited by human presences. Utterly charming, Higashi's classic is an original exploration of our eternal reluctance to let go.

The Soul Catchers

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