Evelyn Waugh was born in Hampstead in 1903 and educated at Hertford College, Oxford. In 1928 he published his first novel, Decline and Fall, which was soon followed by Vile Bodies (1930), Black Mischief (1932), A Handful of Dust (1934) and Scoop (1938). During these years he also travelled extensively and converted to Catholicism. In 1939 Waugh was commissioned in the Royal Marines and later transferred to the Royal Horse Guards, experiences which informed his Sword of Honour trilogy (1952-61). His most famous novel, Brideshead Revisited (1945), was written while on leave from the army. Waugh died in 1966.

Evelyn Waugh

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Kang Jiyoung

A hilariously unsettling tale of love, food and one woman's unconventional quest to support her family. 
_____________ 
 
I am no ordinary ajumma. I am a killer 
 
When Mrs Shim - widowed, unemployed, with two children at home and a fridge to fill - answers a job ad at the Smile Detective Agency, she boosts its fortunes forever. 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, crooked cops, ghosts and assassins, Mrs Shim's past comes hurtling towards her. 
 
Savage and unexpectedly moving, Kang Jiyoung presents a kaleidoscopic tale of twisted love, unhinged loathing and hopeful reinvention. Her world of endearing misfits, dead bodies and good food marks the exuberant arrival of a major new international literary voice.

Mrs Shim is a Killer

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

DISCOVER THE BRAND NEW NOVEL BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY** 
 
Readers adore Healing Hippo: 
'I wanted to discover the magical hippo in myself as I read this book' ***** 
'How does Aoyama depict human emotion so vividly? I imagined myself in this book' ***** 
'I almost wept on my train home from work' ***** 
'It gripped my heart. I wish there was a magical hippo near my home' ***** 
'Whenever I feel hurt, I want to re-read this wonderful book' ***** 
______________ 
 
Nestling at the bottom of a five-storey apartment block is the children's playground, Hinode Park. If you look to the side, standing on stubby legs, is a hippo. Its upturned eyes give it a teary look, yet for decades, its quiet power has sustained the hearts of one community. 
 
Meet the neighbours who will reach out to kabahiko hippo: 
-Kanato presses his head to the hippo's cheek, hoping to recover the stellar marks he once scored; 
- Sawa, a lonely new mother, strokes its mouth, hopes to connect as she once did when she was an award-winning retail assistant; 
- Chiharu, a wedding-planner, hopes to be able to listen for the happiness of others; 
- Yuya avoids sports day with a fake injury, only to find he really is in pain. 
- despite Kazuhiko's fading eyes from too much editorial work, he will learn to see life's everyday wonders. 
 
A quietly powerful story of hope, friendship and connection, Michiko Aoyama's beloved bestseller is a celebration of everyday encounters. Its subtle portrayal of the magic of community will lodge itself in every reader's heart.

The Healing Hippo Of Hinode Park

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 favorite 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

Hiro Arikawa

THE INSTANT TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FEELGOOD JAPANESE NOVEL, BY THE AUTHOR OF THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES 
 
Over 1.4 million copies sold in Japan 
 
'You will be wrapped in laughter and tears' Reader review***** 
'What I love about it is its Kindness' Reader review***** 
'I wanted to tap the shoulders of the characters' Reader review***** 
‘Imagine Murder on the Orient Express without the untimely fatalities and you'll be halfway towards this cosy and affecting read' Harper's Bazaar 
_________ 
 
The contents of each traveller's heart is a mystery known only to themselves 
 
Trundling through the scenic countryside of Kyoto and Osaka is the Hankyu line, a burgundy-coloured electric train that has been carrying its commuters to their destinations for decades. 
 
Over the course of a single journey in springtime, and the return journey six months later just as the leaves begin to fall: 
 
- a young man meets the woman who happens to take out the last copy of the library book he was about to borrow; 
- an angry wedding guest dresses in a white gown to upstage the bride; 
- a university student leaves home for the first time; 
- a twenty-something finally grows the courage to walk away from an abusive partner 
- a widow learns independence, as she and her granddaughter discuss their new dog. 
 
As the seasons and the landscapes change, passengers jostle and connect, as this timeless train carries each one forward towards the person they intend to become.

The Passengers on the Hankyu Line

Minyoung Kang

A chilling psychological horror tale of a green-fingered serial killer. 
 
Will you dare to disrespect her plants? 
 
Moving on from a traumatic experience, Yoohee has opened up her own Plant Shop to start afresh. 
Rows of plants, meticulously arranged like soldiers, thrive under her green fingers; sunlight filters through the windows at just the right angle making every leaf shimmer with health. It is a plant-lovers' sanctuary, where peperomias and marigolds bloom, while the air itself is like an elixir of peace. 
 
Yoohee welcomes her customers, eager to share her tips, while scolding anyone attempting to caress an unfurling bloom, let alone snap off a stem. 
 
But as night falls, the soothing atmosphere transforms as Yoohee takes her shovel and hoe, and vanishes into her moonlit garden. 
 
In the shadows, she scatters the remains of the day - some finely ground powder and occasionally, the bloody remnants of an unfortunate encounter. 
 
Just as Yoohee thinks the past is buried, a young and determined police inspector comes knocking ... 
 
Atmospheric and haunting, PLANT LADY is a subtle story of obsession and misogyny that will fertilise your deepest fears and keep you rooted right to its chilling last page.

Plant Lady

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

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