New Titles Digital April 2016 (arrived in March 2016)

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The back road Rachel Abbott

In a quiet country village, secrets abound. When a young girl, Abbie Campbell, is knocked over and left for dead on the back road of the village of Little Melham, waves of shock ripple through the small community and a chain of events, which threatens to expose long-kept secrets, is triggered. The peaceful English countryside belies the horrible truths that lurk beneath the trimmed hedgerows, behind the closed doors of smart sitting rooms and within unspoken conversations.

The one and only Ivan Katherine Applegate

When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.

The true confessions of Charlotte DoyleAvi

Charlotte Doyle is just such a girl and she swears to tell the truth in all its detail. It happened during the summer of 1832 aboard a ship called the "Seahawk". The only passenger on the long Atlantic Ocean crossing, Charlotte found herself caught between the madness of a ruthless captain and the rage of a mutinous crew. This is her terrifying account of that fateful voyage.

The sugar girls : tales of hardship, love and happiness in Tate & Lyle's East End factories Duncan Barrett & Nuala Calvi

On an autumn day in 1944, Ethel Alleyne walked the short distance from her house to Tate & Lyle's refinery on the shining curve of the Thames. Looking up at the giant gates, Ethel felt like she had been preparing for this moment all her life. She smoothed down her frizzy hair, scraped a bit of dirt off the corner of her shoe and strode through. She was quite unprepared for the sight that met her eyes.

A breath of French air H E (Herbert Ernest) Bates

'I should like to go to France,' said Ma. 'God Almighty,' Pop said. 'What for?' 'For a holiday of course,' Ma said. 'I think it would do us all good to get some sun.' And so at the end of a rainy English August the Larkins - all ten of them, including little Oscar, the family's new addition - bundle into the old Rolls and cross the Channel to escape the hostile elements. But far from being the balmy, sunny and perfick spot Ma Larkin hoped for, France proves less than welcoming to an eccentric English family. The tea's weak, the furniture breakable and the hotel manager is almost as hostile as the wind and the rain they've brought with them! And when the manager learns that Ma and Pop are unmarried yet sharing a room under his roof, the trouble really begins.

The Tottenham outrageMatthew Baylis

A family of Hasidic Jews dies suddenly while picnicking in Finsbury Park, and the finger is quickly pointed at a gang of Islamist youths. Too quickly, thinks local reporter Rex Tracey. Rex starts to investigate. But when his long-time colleague and friend is also accused of murder, the sleuthing journalist with a fondness for Polish lager and dry one-liners is catapulted out of his depth, into a disturbing world of religious fanaticism, false prophets and century-old secrets.

Another heartbeat in the house Kate Beaufoy

Two women living a hundred years apart. One home that binds them together. When Edie Chadwick travels to Ireland to close up her uncle's lakeside lodge, it's as much to escape the burden of guilt she's carrying as to break loose from the smart set of 1930s London. The old house is full of memories: not just her own, but those of a woman whose story has been left to gather dust in a chest in the attic, a handwritten memoir inscribed with an elegant signature Eliza Drury. As she turns the pages of the manuscript, Edie uncovers secrets she could never have imagined: an exciting tale of ambition, hardship, love and tragedy, a story that has waited a lifetime to be told.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue Melanie Benjamin

A novel about New York's "Swans" (socialites) of the 1950s--and the scandalous, headline-making, and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley.

Alan & Thora Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett introduces three monologues starring Thora Hird, including her final performance. Until the time of her death in 2003, much-loved actress Thora Hird worked regularly with the playwright Alan Bennett. Now, in a specially written introduction and postscript, Bennett recalls his work and friendship with Thora, and introduces three examples of their collaboration. The last of the sun - Dolly's remaining days in an old people's home are enlivened by a seemingly respectable man. Recorded in 2002, Thora Hird's last ever performance, in a part written especially for her, is moving and memorable.

Trust Mike Bullen

Greg and Amanda are happy. They've been together thirteen years and have two young daughters. They're very much in love. Dan and Sarah aren't so fortunate. Their marriage is going through the motions and they're just staying together for the sake of their son. When one bad decision sends a happy couple into turmoil and turns an unhappy couple into love's young dream, there's only one thing that can keep everything from falling apart: trust.

Bones in the nest Helen Cadbury

The Chasebridge Killer is out; racial tension is rising and the mutilated body of a young Muslim man is found in the stairwell of a tower block in Doncaster. As he gets drawn into the case, Sean Denton's family life and his police job become dangerously entwined. Meanwhile a young woman is trying to piece her life back together, but someone is out there; someone who will never let her forget what she's done.

The radiant road Katherine Catmull

After years of living in America, Clare Macleod and her father are returning to Ireland, where they'll inhabit the house Clare was born in - a house built into a green hillside with a tree for a wall. For Clare, the house is not only full of memories of her mother, but also of a mysterious boy with raven-dark hair and dreamlike nights filled with stars and magic. Clare soon discovers that the boy is as real as the fairy-making magic, and that they're both in great danger from an ancient foe.

The bay at midnight Diane Chamberlain

Her family's cottage on the New Jersey shore was a place of freedom and innocence for Julie Bauer-until her seventeen-year-old sister, Isabel, was murdered. It's been more than forty years since that August night, but Julie's memories of her sister's death still shape her world. Now someone from her past is raising questions about what really happened that night. About Julie's own complicity. About a devastating secret her mother kept from them all. About the person who went to prison for Izzy's murder-and the person who didn't. Faced with questions and armed with few answers, Julie must gather the courage to revisit her past and untangle the complex emotions that led to one unspeakable act of violence on the bay at midnight.

Nelly and the quest for Captain Peabody Roland Chambers

Captain Bones Peabody has gone sailing around the world, many years before, and had not returned. Although Nelly cannot remember her father, she is determined to find him and - when she is determined to do something - she generally does.

Nookietown V C Chickering

Recently divorced, 40-something single mum, Lucy, is lonely, bored and craving physical connection. So, when her trusted long-time married friend, Nancy, begs Lucy to sleep with her husband to save her marriage, Lucy goes for it. It's such a success, the two friends invent a town-wide underground barter system whereby Nancy's married girlfriends sub-contract Lucy's divorcee friends to sleep with their husbands so they don't have to as often. It's a win, win, win- for a while. Then it all goes to hell in a hand-basket. Laugh-out-loud funny, emotionally provocative and at times racy, Nookietown is a story of risk-taking, marriage, honesty and desire, and what one woman rationalizes in order to get what she wants.

Mermaid moon Colleen Coble

Shame and confusion have kept Mallory Davis from her home for the last fifteen years, but when her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she doesn't have any choice but to go back to Mermaid Point. Mallory believes her father was murdered and childhood sweetheart Kevin O'Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, confirms her suspicions. But Kevin is wary of helping Mallory in her search. She broke his heart - and left - without a word, years ago. When Mallory begins receiving threats on her own life - and her beloved teenage daughter, Haylie - their search intensifies. There's a tangled web within the supposed murder, and it involves much more than what meets the eye. As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father's killer - it is also about finding herself again ... and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together.

Just William Richmal Crompton

This collection of stories follows the adventures of that irrepressible and ageless schoolboy William Brown. Perpetually scruffy, mud-stained and mischievous, he is a lovable scamp whose pranks end in disaster - for his elders at least!

The London nobody knows Dan Cruickshank

Geoffrey Fletcher's London was not the big landmarks, but rather 'the tawdry, extravagant and eccentric'. He wrote about parts of the city no-one ever had before. This could be an art nouveau pub, a Victorian music hall, a Hawksmoor church or even a public toilet in Holborn in which the attendant kept goldfish in the cisterns. He was drawn to the corners of the city where 'the kids swarm like ants and there are dogs everywhere'. This classic book was originally published in 1962 and has been in and out of print ever since. In 1967 it was turned into an acclaimed documentary film starring James Mason. Following a series of sold out screenings at the Barbican and the ICA, the film was re-released on DVD in 2008. This book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in London, and will surprise even those who think they know it well.

Lit up : one reporter, three schools, twenty-four books that can change lives David Denby

It's no secret that millions of American teenagers, caught up in social media, television, movies, and games, don't read seriously--they associate sustained reading with duty or work, not with pleasure. This indifference has become a grievous loss to our standing as a great nation--and a personal loss, too, for millions of teenagers who may turn into adults with limited understanding of themselves and the world.Can teenagers be turned on to serious reading? What kind of teachers can do it, and what books? To find out, Denby sat in on a tenth-grade English class in a demanding New York public school for an entire academic year, and made frequent visits to a troubled inner-city public school in New Haven and to a respected public school in Westchester county. He read all the stories, poems, plays, and novels that the kids were reading, and creates an impassioned portrait of charismatic teachers at work, classroom dramas large and small, and fresh and inspiring encounters with the books themselves, including The Scarlet Letter, Brave New World, 1984, Slaughterhouse-Five, Notes From Underground, Long Way Gone and many more. Lit Up is a dramatic narrative that traces awkward and baffled beginnings but also exciting breakthroughs and the emergence of pleasure in reading. In a sea of bad news about education and the fate of the book, Denby reaffirms the power of great teachers and the importance and inspiration of great books.

Dreamland Sarah Dessen

After her older sister runs away, sixteen-year-old Caitlin decides that she needs to make a major change in her own life and begins an abusive relationship with a boy who is mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous. Suggested level: secondary.

The beginning of infinity : explanations that transform the world David Deutsch

This is a bold and all-embracing exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge from one of today's great thinkers. Throughout history, mankind has struggled to understand life's mysteries, from the mundane to the seemingly miraculous. In this important new book, David Deutsch, an award-winning pioneer in the field of quantum computation, argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe. They have unlimited scope and power to cause change, and the quest to improve them is the basic regulating principle not only of science but of all successful human endeavour.

Little Dorrit Charles Dickens

Hailed by George Bernard Shaw as Dicken's 'masterpiece among masterpieces' for its social indictment and sense of humanity, Little Dorrit is both an examination of Victorian England and a surprising love story. This BBC Radio 4 dramatisation recreates the author's mid-19th century London, in particular the East London area of Marshalsea. Drawing upon his own father's imprisonment in Marshalsea Debtors' Prison, Dickens placed the institution firmly in the heart of the novel when telling the story of Amy Dorrit.

The mystery of Edwin Drood Charles Dickens

John Jasper is haunted and restless. Unhappily settled as choirmaster in the provincial cathedral town of Cloisterham, Jasper finds himself striving for the divine in his music even as he struggles against madness brought on by ennui and opiates. Aware of his unravelling, Jasper believes his salvation may be found in the arms of Rosa, his prized pupil. His only obstacle is her fiance, Edwin Drood - Jasper's nephew.

Bright stars Sophie Duffy

Cameron Spark's life is falling apart. He is separated from his wife and has moved in with his widowed dad. Then he receives a letter. It is from Christie. Twenty-five years earlier, the shy Cameron attended University where he made three unlikely friends: Christie, the rich Canadian, Tommo, the wannabe rock star and Bex, the feminist activist. In a whirlwind of alcohol and music, Cameron feels as though he's finally living. Until a horrific accident shatters their friendship and alters their futures forever. Christie's letter offers them a reunion after all these years. But has enough time passed to recover from the events of that tragic night?

The Bletchley girls : war, secrecy, love and loss : the women of Bletchley Park tell their story Tessa Dunlop

The Bletchley Girls weaves together the lives of fifteen women who were all selected to work in Britain's most secret organisation Bletchley Park. It is their story, told in their voices; Tessa met and talked to 15 veterans, often visiting them several times. Firm friendships were made as their epic journey unfolded on paper. The scale of female involvement in Britain during the Second World War wasn't matched in any other country. From 8 million working women just over 7000 were hand-picked to work at Bletchley Park and its outstations. There had always been girls at the Park but soon they outnumbered the men three to one.

Remember me this way Sabine Durrant

Everyone keeps telling me I have to move on. And so here I am, walking down the road where he died, trying to remember him the right way. A year after her husband Zach's death, Lizzie goes to lay flowers where his fatal accident took place. As she makes her way along the motorway, she thinks about their life together. She wonders whether she has changed since Zach died. She wonders if she will ever feel whole again. At last she reaches the spot. And there, tied to a tree, is a bunch of lilies. The flowers are addressed to her husband. Someone has been there before her. Lizzie loved Zach. She really did. But she's starting to realise she didn't really know him. Or what he was capable of.

The guise of another Allen Eskens

After being subpoenaed by a grand jury under suspicion of corruption, Minnesota detective Alexander Rupert attempts to salvage his career and reputation investigating the false identity of recent car accident victim.

Seven up Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum, bombshell bounty hunter, is dropped into a smorgasbord of murder, kidnapping and extortion. However, her mind is on other matters - she has two proposals to consider: vice cop Joe Morelli is proposing marriage, and fellow bounty hunter, Ranger, is proposing a single perfect night.

One child : the story of China's most radical experiment Mei Fong

When Communist Party leaders adopted the one-child policy in 1980, they hoped curbing birth-rates would help lift China's poorest and increase the country's global stature. But at what cost? Now, as China closes the book on the policy after more than three decades, it faces a population grown too old and too male, with a vastly diminished supply of young workers. Mei Fong has spent years documenting the policy's repercussions on every sector of Chinese society. In One Child, she explores its true human impact, travelling across China to meet the people who live with its consequences.

Elspeth Hart and the School for Show-offs Sarah Forbes

Ever since her parents were tragically washed away in a flood, Elspeth Hart has been forced to live in the attic of the Pandora Pants School for Show-offs with her disgusting aunt, Miss Crabb. She spends her days helping out in the kitchen and dodging Tatiana Firensky, the most horrible show-off of them all. Her only friend is the awkward and shy Rory Snitter, who is inseparable from his pet lizard, Lazlo. But when a knock on the head from a falling book brings back some of Elspeth's memories from before the flood, she begins to suspect that Miss Crabb is hiding something. Elspeth hatches a daring escape plan, involving a high-profile festival, a pair of smelly underpants and a top-secret Extra-Special Sticky Toffee Sauce.

Mary, called Magdalene Margaret George

Draws on the Bible and secular historical research to present a fictional portrait of Mary of Magdala as she becomes part of Jesus' circle of disciples and comes into a realization of her faith.

Love on the line Deeanne Gist

In 1904 Texas Ranger Luke Palmer arrives in Brenham, Texas, with one goal - to capture the gang of outlaws led by Frank Comer. Undercover as a telephone repairman, he uses his days on the range to search, not realizing there's another pair of eyes watching him. Georgie Gail, switchboard operator and birder, heads out on a birding expedition, but instead of sighting a painted bunting, her opera glasses capture her telephone man, armed and far away from telephone lines. Palmer is forced to take this alluring troublemaker into his confidence and unwittingly puts her in harm's way. The closer he comes to the gang, the further she works her way into his heart, and into trouble. Soon it's more than just love that's on the line.

Mission HurricaneJenny Goebel

Who is the Outcast and why is he threatening the lives of innocent people?

The plain choice : a true story of choosing to live an Amish lifeSherry Gore with Jeff Hoagland

As a young adult, Sherry Gore dreamed of a radio career, but instead, a series of terrible mistakes left her wrecked and alone. Then one morning she walked into a church and the truth of Jesus' forgiving love shattered her world--and put it back together again. She began to rid her life of anything that might keep her from God, but still she wanted a deeper faith. Something more. Soon the life Sherry remade for herself and her children featured head coverings, simple dress, and a focus on Jesus Christ. Only then did she realize that there were others like her: the Amish

A son's vow Shelley Shepard Gray

Three months ago, everything changed for Darla Kurtz and her family. Darla's father was responsible for a terrible fire at Charm's lumber mill which killed five Amish men. And though he, too, lost his life, the town of Charm hasn't looked at her family the same since. Even Lukas Kinsinger - with whom Darla used to have a close friendship. Now her brother's anger at the town is spilling over onto Darla, and she has the bruises to prove it. The accident already cost five lives, but if something doesn't change soon, Darla fears it will cost her - and her family - even more. Lukas Kinsinger wants to mourn the loss of his father, but he can hardly find the time to breathe.

The beachside guest house Vanessa Greene

When Rosa and Bee get together in the run-up to Bee's wedding, they reminisce about the holiday they took together as teenagers to the beautiful Greek island of Paros. They remember the sandy coves, the guest house in the converted windmill where they stayed with their friend Iona, and the gorgeous local men. As memories of that long-forgotten holiday resurface, they are forced to confront the turns their lives have taken and the guilt they both feel about letting Iona slip away from them. When they learn that the windmill guest house is going bust they form a plan: why not go back to the island and take it over themselves? And so begins a life-changing journey because it turns out that opening a guest house and reliving their teenage dreams isn't that easy.

Frankencrayon Michael Hall

If the crayons cannot stop the scribble monster, this picture book and the play "Frankencrayon" may have to be cancelled.

The case of the exploding brains Rachel Hamilton

Noelle "Know-All" Hawkins has another case on her hands. Her famous scientist dad - Professor Brian "Big Brain" Hawkins is in prison as a result of his portaloo mishaps. A trip to the Science Museum results in an international mystery involving the moon, some mindreading, and an awful lot of grumpy people. But how are they all connected? Noelle, Holly and Porter are on the case. But will they piece the crazy clues together in time to save the planet? And why is Dad walking round prison with a blanket on his head? Rachel Hamilton does it again in this laugh-out-loud story of science, silliness and super-villains.

The heart of winter Emma Hannigan

Holly Craig's family have lived happily in Huntersbrook for generations but when times grow hard, even she must admit defeat and sell off their once-successful stables. The three Craig children, Lainey, Joey and Pippa find themselves locked in a fight to keep their beloved Huntersbrook; dare they transform it into one of Ireland's most sought after countryside venues? Renovation work is well underway when life rears its ugly head and everything stops in its tracks. The Craig family is forced to reassess what matters and although they no longer live at Huntersbrook, can the house work its magic even so and lead them into the light once more?

Benediction Kent Haruf

When Dad Lewis is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he and his wife work together to make his final days comfortable. Their daughter, Lorraine, comes home from Denver to help look after Dad, which helps to soften the bitter absence of the Lewis's estranged son, Frank. Next door, young Alice lives with her grandmother, and Dad's condition stirs painful memories of her own mother's death. Meanwhile, the town's newly arrived preacher attempts to mend his strained relationships with his wife and teenaged son, a task that proves all the more challenging when he faces the disdain of his congregation after offering more than they are accustomed to getting on a Sunday morning.

Battle of the beach freaks Sam Hay

Jess has wanted to be a bridesmaid, like, for ever. So when her aunt is dumped and her dreams are dashed, she puts herself up for hire. But the job she lands is more than she bargained for - an undead couple need her help to outwit the Duke of Spooks so they can tie the knot.

Pig Island Mo Hayder

Journalist Joe Oakes makes a living exposing supernatural hoaxes. A born sceptic, he believes everything has a rational explanation. But when he visits a secretive religious community on a remote Scottish island, everything he thought he knew is overturned. Questions mount: why has the community been accused of Satanism? What has happened to their leader, Pastor Malachi Dove? And, perhaps most important, why will no one discuss the strange apparition seen wandering the lonely beaches of Pig Island? Their confrontation, and its violent and bloody aftermath, is so catastrophic that it forces Oaksey to question the nature of evil, and whether he might not be responsible for the terrible crime about to unfold. Mo Hayder dares her readers to face their fears head on and to look at what lurks beneath the surface of everyday normality.

She tempts the duke Lorraine Heath

Sebastian Easton, the rightful Duke of Keswick, returns to London and cannot forget Lady Mary Wynne-Jones, the brave girl who helped him and his brothers and with whom he once shared a forbidden kiss.

Furious cool : Richard Pryor and the world that made himDavid Henry & Joe Henry

Richard Pryor was arguably the single most influential performer of the second half of the twentieth century, and certainly he was the most successful black actor/comedian ever. Controversial and somewhat enigmatic in his lifetime, Pryor's performances opened up a new world of possibilities, merging fantasy with angry reality in a way that wasn't just new - it was heretofore unthinkable. His childhood in Peoria, Illinois, was spent just trying to survive. Yet the culture into which Richard Pryor was born - his mother was a prostitute; his grandmother ran the whorehouse - helped him evolve into one of the most innovative and outspoken performers ever, a man who attracted admiration and anger in equal parts.

Through the dark wood : finding meaning in the second half of life/James Hollis

Have you ever looked at your career, your relationships, or your role in life and wondered, "Is this why I'm really here?" If so, then you are ready for your "midlife crisis" - the pivotal time when you have the opportunity to become the person your soul seeks to be. "When the illusions of our youth begin to crumble," explains James Hollis, "we reach a turning point that the poet Dante called the 'dark wood.'" With Through the Dark Wood, this author and Jungian analyst reveals the steps we all must take on our road to true maturity, meaning, and fulfilment.

Promise Lodge Charlotte Hubbard

Energetic widow Mattie Bender Schwartz is working day and night to get Promise Lodge going. She's also hoping the change will help her son Noah's heart to heal after his broken engagement. Filled with regret, and cast out by her dad for a reason she can't yet reveal, Deborah can only pray Noah will forgive her foolishness. But with her cruel words still ringing in his head, he's reluctant to accept her apology - even if the Old Order ways demand he try. If only he could obey Christ's most important commandment: love one another. But one thing is certain - his mother and aunts, and their beloved Preacher Amos, will do their best to help him get there.

Before it's too late Jane Issac

Following an argument with her British boyfriend, Chinese student Min Li is abducted whilst walking the dark streets of picturesque Stratford-upon-Avon alone. Trapped in a dark pit, Min is at the mercy of her captor. Detective Inspector Will Jackman is tasked with solving the case and in his search for answers discovers that the truth is buried deeper than he ever expected. But, as another student vanishes and Min grows ever weaker, time is running out.

My parents are driving me crazy Pete Johnson

Louis's parents swap roles. So now Dad is at home all day. And soon he's cooking meals no one wants to eat. And Dad even gives Louis his own duster, so he can clean his bedroom himself. Louis is outraged, he's far too busy. It's not long before there is total chaos. Louis and his brother quickly decide 'Dads are just not meant to be Mums.' Or are they? Meanwhile at school - never Louis's favourite place, he is in massive trouble for forging a letter to the deputy head from his dad. No one understands how Louis had no choice... And then there is the moment when he appears on TV and something truly yucky happens.

Postwar : a history of Europe since 1945 Tony Judt

Tracing the story of post-war Europe and its changing role in the world, this book presents history of Europe and investigates its political, social and cultural history from the wreckage of post-war Europe to the expansion of the EU into the former Soviet empire. Its stress is on the continent as a whole, from Greece to Norway.

Bryony and roses T Kingfisher

When Bryony is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge in an abandoned manor, she stumbles into a house full of dark enchantments. Is the Beast that lives there her captor or a fellow prisoner?

The dancing master Julie Klassen

Dancing master Alec Valcourt moved his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past. With an unlikely ally in Julia Midwinter, the matriarch's daughter, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul and hidden sorrows of her own. Can they uncover old secrets and restore life to the sombre village and to her mother's tattered heart?

The maid of Fairbourne Hall Julie Klassen

Fleeing a dishonourable man, Margaret abandons her pampered upper-class world for an anonymous life as a maid in the household of Nathaniel Upchurch, a suitor she once rejected in hopes of winning his brother.

The silent governess Julie Klassen

Fleeing her home after believing herself guilty of a crime, Olivia Keene stumbles upon the grand estate of Lord Bradley, who gives her a post to confine her lest she reveal a dark secret of his.

Audacity Jones to the rescueKirby Larson

In 1910, Audacity Jones is an eleven-year-old orphan living a monotonous life at Miss Maisie's School for Wayward Girls, and wondering why nothing exciting ever happens but when the mysterious Commodore Crutchfield whisks her away to Washington D.C., she finds herself involved in a sinister and dangerous plot against the president of the United States.

Cider with Rosie Laurie Lee

Laurie Lee's evocative account of childhood in the sleepy Gloucestershire village of Slad retains its atmosphere of innocence in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast production, dramatised on radio for the first time.

The blind side : evolution of a game Michael (Michael M) Lewis

Follows one young man from his impoverished childhood with a crack-addicted mother, through his discovery of the sport of football, to his rise to become one of the most successful, highly-paid players in the NFL.

What happened, Miss Simone? : a biography Alan Light

From music journalist and former Spin and Vibe editor-in-chief Alan Light comes a biography of incandescent soul singer and Black Power icon Nina Simone, one of the most influential, provocative, and least understood artists of our time. Drawn from a trove of rare archival footage, audio recordings and interviews (including Simone's remarkable private diaries), this nuanced examination of Nina Simone's life highlights her musical inventiveness and unwavering quest for equality, while laying bare the personal demons that plagued her.

The rogue not taken Sarah Maclean

When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside-first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn't saving her from ruin.

Country bride Debbie Macomber

Luke Rivers was a man of his word. He'd agreed to marry Kate Logan - but she knew it was only out of pity. Only because she'd been so devastated when Clay Franklin, the man she'd always loved, married someone else. In fact, it was at Clay's wedding to Rorie Campbell that Kate had rashly, foolishly proposed to Luke Rivers, the Logan foreman-turned-rancher. Now Luke refused to renege on his promise. Worse, he told Kate she didn't love Clay, she loved HIM. Yes, but just as a friend, an older brother, she told him. Luke disagreed, insisting that he knew Kate's mind better than she did herself!

Wicked lovely Melissa Marr

Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance.

The art of mingling Jeanne Martinet

Does the idea of going to a large party make your mouth go dry? Do you freeze when facing networking opportunities? Are you using your smartphone as a mingling crutch? You're not alone: Ninety percent of the world suffers from minglephobia.

Dry bones Peter May

What has happened to Jacques Gaillard? The brilliant teacher who trained some of France's best and brightest at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration vanished ten years ago, presumably from Paris. The mystery inspires a bet, one that Enzo Macleod, a biologist teaching in Toulouse instead of pursuing a brilliant career in forensics back home in Scotland, can ill afford to lose. The wager is that Enzo can find out what happened to Jacques Guillard by applying new science to an old case.

Under the influence Joyce Maynard

Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her son, Ollie. Weekend visits with her son are awkward; he's drifting away from her, fast. Helen meets Ava and Swift Havilland, wealthy, connected philanthropists, who have their own charity devoted to rescuing dogs. And she meets Elliott, a kind, quiet accountant who offers loyalty and love with none of her newfound friends' fireworks

Rain dogs Adrian McKinty

It's just the same things over and again for Sean Duffy: riot duty, heartbreak, cases he can solve but never get to court. But what detective gets two locked-room mysteries in one career? When journalist Lily Bigelow is found dead in the courtyard of Carrickfergus castle, it looks like a suicide. Yet there are just a few things that bother Duffy enough to keep the case file open. Which is how he finds out that she was working on a devastating investigation of corruption and abuse at the highest levels of power in the UK and beyond. And so Duffy has two impossible problems on his desk: Who killed Lily Bigelow? And what were they trying to hide?

Carry on, warrior Glennon Doyle Melton

A New York Times essayist shares her journey from a self-destructive college student to a devoted family woman and teacher while illuminating the importance of trusting in a higher power and being truthful about life's challenges.

Ransacking Paris : a year with Montaigne and friends Patti Miller

What does it mean to fulfil a dream long after it seems possible? When Patti Miller arrives to write in Paris for a year, the world glows 'as if the light that comes after the sun has set had spilled gold on everything'. But wasn't that just romantic illusion? Miller grew up on Wiradjuri land in country Australia where her heart and soul belonged. What did she think she would find in Paris that she couldn't find at home?

Forgotten ally : China's World War II, 1937-1945 Rana Mitter

For decades, a major piece of World War II history has gone virtually unwritten. China was the fourth great ally, partner to the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, yet its drama of invasion, resistance, slaughter, and political intrigue remains little known in the West. In this emotionally gripping book, made possible through access to newly unsealed Chinese archives, Rana Mitter unfurls the story of China's World War II as never before and rewrites the larger history of the war in the process. He focuses his narrative on three towering leaders Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, and the lesser-known collaborator Wang Jingwei and extends the timeline of the war back to 1937, when Japanese and Chinese troops began to clash, fully two years before Hitler invaded Poland. Unparalleled in its research and scope, Forgotten Ally is a sweeping, character-driven history that will be essential reading not only for anyone with an interest in World War II, but also for those seeking to understand today's China, where, as Mitter reveals, the echoes of the war still reverberate.

Shutter man Richard Montanari

Your face is a blur to him. But your body still bleeds. The Farren family has been a plague upon Philadelphia's most dangerous neighbourhood, the Devil's Pocket, for generations. There, row after row of tumbledown houses hide dark secrets none darker than Billy, the youngest Farren. Afflicted by a syndrome that means he can't recognise faces, Billy must use photographs to identify his family and his victims. And when your life has bled away, he takes a final, gruesome picture for his wall. But what is the meaning of the horrific ritual Billy enacts with every murder? And is there any connection to a childhood event Detective Kevin Byrne has buried so well it's hidden even from his former partner Jessica Balzano?

Rumpole and the Primrose Path John (John Clifford) Mortimer

This release comprises four 45 minute BBC Radio 4 plays adapted by John Mortimer from four stories in his latest published collection, Rumpole and the Primrose Path. Rumpole is a wine-imbibing friend of the South London criminal classes, and the scourge of all QCs. Acting as narrator, he tells a series of stories involving legal chicanery, criminal derring-do and startling coincidence, spiced with a modicum of domestic strife at home.

Tales of the fallen beastsBrandon Mull et al

All across the world, legends are appearing. Great Beasts once the most powerful beings in Erdas are being summoned as spirit animals. Bonded to special kids, they unite the human and animal worlds. But a mysterious stranger is hunting these legends, just as they are reborn, and he's rushing anyone who stands in his way. These are the stories of those stolen legends, and of the young heroes who will stop at nothing to get them back.

Dead of night Barbara Nadel

Barbara Nadel's gripping new Turkish crime novel tackles the treacherous and seedy underworld of Detroit's gang warfare. Inspectors Cetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman from Istanbul are sent to a policing conference in Detroit, but little can prepare them for the corruption that lies at its heart. When Ezekial Goins, an elderly man of Turkish descent approaches them to crack the long-unsolved murder of his son, a quiet trip takes a far more sinister turn. As they delve deeper into the case, the pair find themselves immersed in a terrifying world of inter-gang drug war and racial prejudice that puts them in mortal danger, and forces Ikmen to confront some demons of his own.

The spring at Moss Hill Carla Neggers

Kylie Shaw has found a home and a quiet place to work as an illustrator of children's books in little Knights Bridge, Massachusetts. No one seems to know her here--and she likes it that way. She carefully guards her privacy in the refurbished nineteenth-century hat factory where she has a loft. And then California private investigator Russ Colton moves in. Russ is in Knights Bridge to keep his client and friend, eccentric Hollywood costume designer Daphne Stewart, out of trouble.

The secret life and curious death of Miss Jean Milne Andrew Nicoll

A woman murdered. A crime unsolved. A mystery that has lasted a century. A hundred years ago, the true story of the brutal murder of Miss Jean Milne in a small seaside town captured the imagination of the whole country. A wealthy spinster who lived alone in a crumbling mansion, Miss Milne appeared to be the very model of respectability. But, behind the facade, Miss Milne was living a secret life. For a century, her murder has gone unsolved.

Hanover House Brenda Novak

Welcome to Hanover House. Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the antisocial mind. After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager, by her high school boyfriend, she's determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she's established a revolutionary new medical health centre in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst. But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. He knows what could happen if one little thing goes wrong...

Murder in an Irish village Carlene O'Connor

In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Natalie's Bistro has always been warm and welcoming. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhan O'Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago. It's been a rough year for the O'Sullivans, but it's about to get rougher. One morning, as they're opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table with a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest. With the local garda suspecting the O'Sullivans, and their business in danger of being shunned. It's up to feisty redheaded Siobhan to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.

The seaquel Mo O'Hara

When Tom saved Frankie the goldfish from near-death (by zapping him with a battery), Frankie somehow became a big fat zombie goldfish with hypnotic powers. Now Frankie is one lethal fish who's appointed himself as Tom's bodyguard. On a trip to the seaside they meet a strange old lighthouse keeper who warns them about the Evil Eel of Eel Bay. And in the second story all eyes are on Frankie as he takes on a starring role in the school play!

Hostage Kristina Ohlsson

Shortly after a crowded New York-bound flight takes off from Stockholm, a bomb threat is found on board. Anonymous hijackers demand that the Swedish government revoke its decision to deport a Moroccan man. If their demands are not met, the plane will explode if it attempts to land. The US and Swedish governments must choose between negotiating with terrorists in order to save the four hundred passengers held hostage at thirty thousand feet, or to stand their ground and pursue the deportation of a possibly innocent man.

Wild Irish eyes Tricia O'Malley

Oh, to stop the voices in her head. Other people's voices, that is. As a pub owner with an extra-special gift, all Cait Gallagher craves is a moment of silence. That, and to own the building her pub is housed in along with the heart of the building's landlord, Shane MacAuliffe. Though she is irresistibly drawn to Shane, her vulnerabilities cause her to put up a tough exterior. When the two butt heads, more than sparks fly, and Cait finds herself trembling on the precipice of love. Shane has watched Cait for years. Stubborn, beautiful, and with a trim body that he is dying to get his hands on, Cait is it for him. And yet, she continues to infuriate him by walking away from his kiss every time. At his wits' end, Shane doesn't know what to do to make Cait his own.

Wild Irish heart Tricia O'Malley

An ancient book, a power untouched, and a heart unloved lead Keelin O'Brien from her graduate studies in Boston to a small village on the coast of Southern Ireland. Determined to unearth the secrets lying hidden in the enchanted waters of the cove, Keelin has little time for a surly Irishman who infuriates her during the day and haunts her fantasies at night. Inexplicably drawn to the woman who has stepped from his dreams and into his world, Flynn fights a stubborn battle against his increasing attraction for Keelin. Forces unknown have better plans for the two. Only the secrets of the cove can show Keelin who she really is, the beauty of her mysterious power, and a love that will break the bounds of what she knows.

Wild Irish soul Tricia O'Malley

In the third book in the Mystic Cove series, free-spirited artist Aislinn struggles to fight her attraction to a man who is her exact opposite: uptight psychiatrist Baird Delaney.

Himalaya Michael Palin

In his most challenging journey to date, Palin tackles the Himalayas, the greatest mountain range on earth. It is a virtually unbroken wall of rock stretching 1,800 miles from the borders of Afghanistan to south-west China. Penetrated but never conquered, it remains the world's most majestic natural barrier, a magnificent wilderness that shapes the history and politics of Asia to this day.

Amelia Bedelia by the yard Herman Parish

Amelia Bedelia's mother loves garage sales so much, she decides to have one herself! But Amelia Bedelia loves her garage and does not want to sell it, so she and her parents decide to call it a yard sale instead. People come from all over the neighbourhood to buy Amelia Bedelia and her parents' old things, and one woman even buys the yard!

Sisi : empress on her own Allison Pataki

Sisi tells the little-known story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary, the Princess Diana of her time, in an enthralling work of historical fiction that is also a gripping page-turner. Married to Emperor Franz Joseph, Elisabeth--fondly known as Sisi--captures the hearts of her people as their "fairy queen," but beneath that dazzling persona lives a far more complex figure. In mid-nineteenth-century Vienna, the halls of the Hofburg Palace buzz not only with imperial waltzes and champagne but with temptations, rivals, and cutthroat intrigue. Feeling stifled by strict protocols and a turbulent marriage, Sisi grows restless.

Cat & mouse James Patterson

Alex Cross is back-and so is a raging and suicidal Gary Soneji. Out of prison and dying from the AIDS virus he contracted there, he will get revenge on Cross before he dies. In addition, we are introduced to a new pair of rivals whose paths cross that of Alex and Soneji. Thomas Augustine Pierce has been chasing his demon, Mr. Smith, since the savage murder of his fiancee.

Dealing with China : an insider unmasks the new economic superpower Henry M Paulson

Dealing with China takes the reader behind closed doors to witness the creation and evolution and future of China's state-controlled capitalism. Hank Paulson has dealt with China unlike any other foreigner. As head of Goldman Sachs, Paulson had a pivotal role in opening up China to private enterprise. Then, as Treasury secretary, he created the Strategic Economic Dialogue with what is now the world's second-largest economy. While negotiating with China on needed economic reforms, he safeguarded the teetering U.S. financial system. Over his career, Paulson has worked with scores of top Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping, China's most powerful man in decades.

A rule against murder Louise Penny

Anticipating a wedding anniversary trip to luxurious Menoir Bellechasse, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache finds his plans interrupted by his fellow guests as well as old secrets that serve as a prelude to murder.

The glass castleTrisha White Priebe & Jerry B. Jenkins

"Avery dragged her three-year-old brother behind a boxwood bush and listened for footsteps in the brittle leaves. She couldn't be sure which was louder--the person on their trail or her own heart, galloping like a stallion in her ears. With one hand over Henry's mouth, Avery looked down at the nicest dress she owned. Not only had she torn the ruffles and destroyed the hem, but the white linen stood out in the shadowy woods, making her an easy target. If she survived this afternoon and made it home tonight--and that felt like a giant if--her father would demand to know why her dress was stained with grass and mud and tinged with blood.

Regrets only M J (Manda J) Pullen

At thirty-three, Suzanne Hamilton has no regrets. A successful event planner with a swanky condo in a hot Atlanta neighbourhood, she's got a close group of friends and a list of men a mile long who would happily bend over backwards to win her heart. Plus, she's just landed the event that will take her career to the next level. Then a freak accident changes everything.

Ten things I love about you Julia Quinn

When Sebastian Grey's uncle, the Earl of Newbury, decides that she is the answer to all of his problems, Annabel Winslow, refusing to marry this horrid aristocrat who once romanced her grandmother, turns to Sebastian, a wickedly handsome rogue with a secret, for help.

Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho Stephen Rebello

Here is the complete inside story on the making of psycho, the forerunner of all psychothrillers. Rebello takes us behind the scenes at the creation of one of cinema's boldest and most influential films. From Hitchcock's private files and from new in-depth interviews with the stars, writers, and technical crew we get a unique and unparalleled view of the master at work

I, spy : how to be your own private investigator Daniel Ribacoff

Have you ever wanted to be your own private eye? Have you ever wanted to track down long-lost relatives or people who've scammed you? Have you ever wanted to know if your kids really are where they say they are? Or if your significant other is cheating on you? Or how to locate assets in order to collect on a judgment? In, I, Spy, World-renowned private investigator Dan Ribacoff will show you how.

The atonement child Francine Rivers

When tragedy strikes Dynah, a devout Christian with a bright future, the Carey family struggles to cope. In considering the question of abortion, Dynah and her family must come to terms with God's provision and goodness and what it means to live out the truth even when the cost is high.

Moonlight over Paris Jennifer Robson

Spring, 1924. Recovering from a broken wartime engagement and a serious illness that left her near death, Lady Helena Montagu-Douglas-Parr vows that for once she will live life on her own terms. Breaking free from the stifling social constraints of the aristocratic society in which she was raised, she travels to France to stay with her free-spirited aunt. For one year, she will simply be Miss Parr. She will explore the picturesque streets of Paris, meet people who know nothing of her past, and pursue her dream of becoming an artist. She soon meets Sam Howard, an irascible and infuriatingly honest correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.

Lady Bridget's diary Maya Rodale

In the first novel of Maya Rodale's stunning new series, an American heiress must learn to navigate London society and an infuriatingly irresistible rake ...Lord Darcy is the quintessential Englishman: wealthy, titled, impossibly proper, and horrified that a pack of Americans has inherited one of England's most respected dukedoms. But his manners, his infamous self-restraint, and his better judgment fly out the window when he finds himself with the maddening American girl next door.

Carry on Rainbow Rowell

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here -- it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

The happiness project : or, Why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle, and generally have more fun Gretchen Craft Rubin

On the outside, Gretchen Rubin had it all--a good marriage, healthy children and a successful career--but something was missing. Determined to end that nagging feeling, she set out on a year-long quest to learn how to better enjoy the life she already had. Each month, Gretchen pursued a different set of resolutions--go to sleep earlier, tackle a nagging task, bring people together, take time to be silly. She read everything from classical philosophy to cutting-edge scientific studies, from Winston Churchill to Oprah, developing her own definition of happiness and a plan for how to achieve it. She kept track of which resolutions worked and which didn't, sharing her stories and collecting those of others. Bit by bit, she began to appreciate and amplify the happiness in her life. With a wicked sense of humour and sharp insight, Gretchen's story will inspire readers to embrace the pleasure in their lives.--From publisher description.

The girl who wasn't there Ferdinand von Schirach

Sebastian von Eschburg, scion of a wealthy, self-destructive family, survived his disastrous childhood to become a celebrated if controversial artist. He casts a provocative shadow over the Berlin scene; his disturbing photographs and installations show that truth and reality are two distinct things. When Sebastian is accused of murdering a young woman and the police investigation takes a sinister turn, seasoned lawyer Konrad Biegler agrees to represent him - and hopes to help himself in the process. But Biegler soon learns that nothing about the case, or the suspect, is what it appears. The new thriller from the acclaimed author of The Collini Case, The Girl Who Wasn't There is dark, ingenious and irresistibly gripping.

Young bloods : the Wellington and Napoleon quartet: 1769-1795 Simon Scrarrow

Arthur Wesley (the future Duke of Wellington) was born and bred to be a leader. With a firm belief that the nation must be led by a king, the red-coated British officer heads for battle against the French Republic, to restore the fallen monarchy. Napoleon Bonaparte joins the French military on the eve of the Revolution. He believes leadership is won by merit, not by noble birth. When anarchy explodes in Paris he's thrust into the revolutionary army poised to march against Britain. As two mighty Empires embark on a bloody duel, Wesley and Bonaparte prepare to face a sworn enemy, unaware that the fate of Europe will one day lie in their hands.

Writing my wrongs : life, death, and redemption in an American prison Shaka Senghor

In 1991, Shaka Senghor was sent to prison for second-degree murder. Today, he is a lecturer at universities, a leading voice on criminal justice reform, and an inspiration to thousands. In life, it's not how you start that matters. It's how you finish.

Salt to the sea Ruta Sepetys

It's early 1945 and a group of people trek across Germany, bound together by their desperation to reach the ship that can take them away from the war-ravaged land. Four young people, each haunted by their own dark secret, narrate their unforgettable stories. Fans of The Book Thief or Helen Dunmore's The Siege will be totally absorbed. This inspirational novel is based on a true story from the Second World War. When the German ship the Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk in port in early 1945 it had over 9000 civilian refugees, including children, on board. Nearly all were drowned. Ruta Sepetys, acclaimed author of Between Shades of Grey, brilliantly imagines their story.

The bronze horseman Paullina Simons

In 1941, as the invading German army moves ever closer to Leningrad, sisters Tatiana and Dasha Metanov become embroiled in a turbulent romantic triangle when they both fall in love with the same man, a Red Army officer.

Always too much and never enough Jasmin Singer

One woman's journey to find herself through juicing, veganism, and love, as she went from fat to thin and from feeding her emotions to feeding her soul. From the extra pounds and unrelenting bullies that left her eating lunch alone in a bathroom stall at school to the low self-esteem that left her both physically and emotionally vulnerable to abuse, Jasmin Singer's struggle with weight defined her life. Most people think there's no such thing as a fat vegan. Most people don't realize that deep-fried tofu tastes amazing and that Oreos are, in fact, vegan. So, even after Jasmin embraced a vegan lifestyle, having discovered her passion in advocating for the rights of animals, she defied any "skinny vegan" stereotypes by getting even heavier.

Wicked plants Amy Stewart

A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. In "Wicked Plants," Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature's most appalling creations. It's an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. You'll learn which plants to avoid (like exploding shrubs), which plants make themselves exceedingly unwelcome (like the vine that ate the South), and which ones have been killing for centuries (like the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother). Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinating portrait of the evildoers that may be lurking in your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.

Circus of thieves and the raffle of doom William Sutcliffe

Hannah's life is boring, boring, boring! But when Armitage Shank's Impossible Circus comes to town, Hannah's world is turned on its head. She meets Billy Shank, his astonishing camel, Narcissus, and a host of other bizarrely brilliant members of the circus. But all is not as it seems, Armitage Shank, evil ringmaster and Billy's surrogate father, has a dastardly plan involving light-fingered thievery. Can Hannah and Billy stop his rotten scheme before it's too late...?

Escaping peril Tui Sutherland

Peril is possibly the most dangerous dragon in Pyrrhia, because she has firescales that can kill an opponent with a touch, but now she has a mission find her former queen, Scarlet, who is threatening the Jade Mountain Academy, and then stop her, and she is not sure if the persistent SeaWing, Turtle, who is accompanying her, will be a help or a hindrance.

Only love can break your heart Ed Tarkington

Six-year-old Rocky worships his older brother Paul - sixteen and full of rebel cool, smoking cigarettes, driving around in his Nova blasting Neil Young - until the day Paul, in an ill-advised act of vengeance against their father, picks Rocky up from school and nearly leaves him for dead in the woods. Paul then runs off with his beautiful, fragile girlfriend, never to be heard from again. Eight years later Rocky is a teenager himself. Although he's never forgotten the abandonment of his boyhood hero, he's now getting over it, with the help of the wealthy neighbours' daughter, Patricia, ten years his senior, who has taken him as her lover. Rocky's in love - or thinks he is - but the affair sets off a sequence of events that bring ruin to the lives of both families.

Murder on Lenox Hill : a gaslight mystery Victoria (Victoria E) Thompson

Midwife Sarah Brandt finds herself in the thick of a scandal that threatens to ruin not only one upstanding family but an entire community.

Murder on Marble Row : a gaslight mystery Victoria (Victoria E) Thompson

Midwife Sarah Brandt is drawn into a politically charged case in which her help is not wanted but very much needed.

No shred of evidenceCharles Todd

On the north coast of Cornwall, an apparent act of mercy is repaid by an arrest for murder. Four young women have been accused of the crime. A shocked father calls in a favour at the Home Office. Scotland Yard is asked to review the case. However, Inspector Ian Rutledge is not the first Inspector to reach the village. Following in the shoes of a dead man, he is told the case is all but closed. Even as it takes an unexpected personal turn, Rutledge will require all his skill to deal with the incensed families of the accused, the grieving parents of the victim, and local police eager to see these four women sent to the infamous Bodmin Gaol. Then why hasn't the killing stopped? With no shred of evidence to clear the accused, Rutledge must plunge deep into the darkest secrets of a wild, beautiful and dangerous place if he is to find a killer who may-or may not-hold the key to their fate.

The way we live now Anthony Trollope

The Way We Live Now is a complex and compulsive tale that traces the career of Augustus Melmotte, a strange and mysterious financier who bursts into London society like a guided missile. In setting up a dubious scheme based on speculative money and stock market gambles, Melmotte manages to lure in several members of the English aristocracy, for whom money is the summum bonum. The world is at his feet, until the corruption catches up with him. Considered one of Trollope's greatest works, The Way We Live Now leaves the listener questioning whether much has changed in the last century, or if this, after all, is the way we live now.

Brideshead revisited Evelyn Waugh

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Evelyn Waugh's stunning, tragi-comic novel of the lives, loves and mores of the English aristocracy. The action moves between 1944 and 1923, to tell the story of Charles Ryder and his infatuation with the decadent Sebastian Flyte.

Chasing the dead Tim Weaver

Mary Towne's son, Alex, went missing six years ago. Five years later he finally turned up - as a corpse in a car wreck. Missing persons investigator David Raker doesn't want the work: it's clearly a sad but hopeless case of mistaken identity brought to him by a woman unable to let go of her son. But haunted by a loss of his own, Raker reluctantly agrees. Big mistake. For as he digs deeper, he discovers that Alex's life was not the innocent one his mother believed. Buried in his past are secrets that were never meant to be found - and dark, dangerous men willing to kill to protect them. Soon Raker will discover that there are things far worse than death . . .

The scruffy puppy ; The brave kitten Holly Webb

Bella instantly falls in love with scruffy puppy Sid when she sees him at the animal shelter. She gets her family to agree that he's the perfect pet for them. But Bella's friend Megan is pretty snooty about Bella's mongrel, so Bella decides to enter Sid in the local dog show...Helena loves to help out at the vet's surgery where her older cousin Lucy works as a nurse. Then one day a young cat is rushed in after an accident. Helena helps care for the brave kitten, but where will he go if his owner can't be found...?

Fly away home Jennifer Weiner

Sometimes all you can do is fly away home ...When Sylvie Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school, she had wild curls, wide hips, and lots of opinions. Decades later, Sylvie has remade herself as the ideal politician's wife - her hair dyed and straightened, her hippie-chick wardrobe replaced by tailored knit suits. At fifty-seven, she ruefully acknowledges that her job is staying twenty pounds thinner than she was in her twenties and tending to her husband, the senator.

Downloadable eBooks

Belle's new friend based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Belle, the new engine, is determined to have lots of fun - but not everyone wants to join in!

The giant magnet based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Thomas finds himself in trouble when he gets too close to Butch's giant magnet. Will Thomas be able to get the magnet off again?

Happy Hiro based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Another exciting tale from the Really Useful Engines on the island of Sodor.

Huia short stories. 11 : contemporary Maori fiction

Here are the best short stories and novel extracts from the 2015 Pikihuia Awards for Maori writers as judged by Witi Ihimaera, Sir Wira Gardiner and Poia Rewi. The book contains the stories from the finalists for Best Short Story written in English, Best Short Story written in Maori and Best Novel Extract.

Korean language eBook titles

Because the Library is unable to display Korean characters satisfactorily in individual records in its catalogue, it has added this generic record. Please follow the link to view the collection.

Old Macdonald had a farm illustrations by Ben Mantle

Join Old MacDonald on a day at the farm as he looks after his animals.

Politics and the media edited by Geoff Kemp, Babak Bahador, Kate McMillan and Chris Rudd

Journalists and presidents, hacks and spin doctors, media moguls and prime ministers: in New Zealand and around the world, politics and the media are deeply intertwined. Politics and the Media is the second edition of New Zealand's leading introduction to the subject. The book introduces students to the rich literature on media and politics internationally, covering history, political economy and contemporary trends, and then analyses the particular shape of the media in New Zealand and its political role. This second edition features extensive coverage of the 2014 'Dirty Politics' campaign, the increasing importance of online media, and updated material in all chapters.

Portfolios of the poor : how the world's poor live on $2 a day Daryl Collins et al

Nearly forty percent of humanity lives on an average of two dollars a day or less. If you've never had to survive on an income so small, it is hard to imagine. How would you put food on the table, afford a home, and educate your children? How would you handle emergencies and old age? Every day, more than a billion people around the world must answer these questions. Portfolios of the Poor is the first book to systematically explain how the poor find solutions to their everyday financial problems.

Race to the rescue! based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Flynn's wheels have gone all wobbly! Can he still be Sodor's brave fire engine?

The runaway kite based on the Railway series by W Awdry

It's a windy day on Sodor, perfect for the Kite Festival. But when a kite blows away, can Thomas track it down?

Scruff gets clean based on the Railway series by W Awdry

When Scruff gets rusty, he's sent to the Steamworks to be painted. But how can he move rubbish trucks and stay clean?

Skarloey the strong engine based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Skarloey first came to the railway 100 years ago. Read about the troubles he had when he was brand new - and couldn't stop bouncing up and down!

Snowy tracks based on the Railway series by W Awdry

The Island of Sodor is covered in a thick blanket of snow and the engines have been told to be careful, but will Gordon listen? Find out in this chilly tale from Thomas & Friends.

The sounds of Sodor based on the Railway series by W Awdry

With their wheeshing and whooshing, Thomas' friends are too noisy for the composer to hear the sounds of Sodor... or are they?

Spencer the express engine based on the Railway series by W Awdry

With his sleek shape and silver paint, Spencer thinks that he is a very splendid engine indeed. But the other engines showed him that when it comes to getting jobs done, it is hard work that really counts.

Stafford gets stuck based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Spencer is chosen to show Stafford the Electric Engine around Sodor. But will Stafford's battery last the day?

Terence the tractor based on the Railway series by W Awdry

When Thomas met Terence ploughing a field, he was very rude to him. But when the snow came to Sodor, Thomas found out that Terence's caterpillar tracks could be Really Useful!

Thomas and Scruff based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Thomas meets a new engine named Scruff. But when Scruff gets scared and hides away, can Thomas get him to come out?

Thomas and the piglets based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Thomas is very excited because some piglets are about to be born. Will he be able to deliver the soft straw they need on time?

Thomas' crazy day based on the Railway series by W Awdry

When Thomas tries to be Really Useful and Really Fun at the same time, he finds that sometimes it can be difficult to do too much at once!

Thomas scares the crows based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Some crows are ruining Farmer McColl's field. Can Thomas save the day?

Toby the tram engine based on the Railway series by W Awdry

Toby loved people, but everyone thought he was too old-fashioned. Toby felt very sad, until one day someone came to his rescue...

True ladies and proper gentlemen : Victorian etiquette for modern-day mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, boys and girls, teachers and students, and more edited and introduced by Sarah A Chrisman

Regardless of time period, some things hold true: kindness is timeless. Invasion of privacy; divorce; relationship issues; encounters between people from different places and cultures; new technologies developed at dizzying speeds ... the hectic pace of life in the late nineteenth century could make the mind reel.

The chariot of Queen Zara Tony Abbott

Galen is back, and the kids are going to need his help. But first, they have to find him! Eric and his friends soon learn that the old wizard is trapped in the city of Parthnoop, on the dark side of the moon, and only Queen Zara's flying chariot will take them there. But with genies, urn-riders, and secrets around every turn, can they reach Galen in time? Or will they be trapped in Parthnoop, too?

The fortress of the Treasure Queen Tony Abbott

Ko is back in power - and nothing in Droon is safe! His beasts have found a lightning-powered submarine hidden in the secret Fortress of the Treasure Queen. Now Eric and his friends have to stop Ko before he destroys Jaffa City. But first they'll need help from their worst enemy - Lord Sparr. If he can be trusted ...

Please Mrs Butler Allan Ahlberg

This witty collection of school poems by Allan Ahlberg, re-jacketed for its 30th anniversary and for a whole new generation of school children to fall in love with, is full of typical classroom events that will be recognized and enjoyed by everyone. From never-ending projects, reading tests, quarrelling, making-up, excuses and 'Please, Sir, it isn't fair.'

Woof! Allan Ahlberg

He felt a curious tingling in his hands and feet. He felt his nose becoming cold and wet, his ears becoming flappy. The thought in his mind was: 'I'm turning into a dog!' Eric is a perfectly ordinary boy. Perfectly ordinary that is, until the night when, in fifteen seconds flat, he turns into a dog! Eric and his best friend are determined to sniff out the truth - what makes an ordinary boy go 'woof'?

Burglar Bill Janet Ahlberg

Burglar Bill decides to change his way after he becomes a victim of burglary.

Each peach pear plum Janet Ahlberg

In this book with your little eye, take a look and play I spy - so starts the classic story from best-selling author/illustrator team, Janet and Allan Ahlberg. Each Peach Pear Plum introduces favourite fairy tale characters, such as Tom Thumb and The Three Bears and, with a poem on each page hinting as to what is hiding in the picture, children are encouraged to participate and follow the story themselves.

Peepo! Janet Ahlberg

See exactly what the baby sees at various stages through the day.

Black hearts in Battersea Joan Aiken

Simon, hero of "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase", comes to London to study painting. He finds it a sinister place seething with plots, a town of dark alleys, mysterious meetings and still odder disappearances, of the grandeur of eccentric dukes and the evil of conspirators.

The cuckoo tree Joan Aiken

Dido Twite is home from the seas and on her way to London when she gets caught up in strange events in Sussex. While tending a sick man in a filthy cottage lent her by the local wise woman, she has to foil plots centred around the manor house.

Dido and Pa Joan Aiken

Dido Twite is back in London, where the street life is gutsy and original, and only someone with as much wit and skill for improvisation as Dido can hope to escape the terrible plots of the evil Margrave of Nordmarck.

In Thunder's Pocket Joan Aiken

When Ned is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle in Thunder's Pocket, he's not very pleased. But from the moment a bird flies into the train carriage on his journey there, Ned realises this isn't going to be an ordinary seaside holiday. Has the eccentric sulptor, Marlot Corby, really put a curse on Ned's aunt? What secrets will he find in Marlot's house and gardens? Life in Thunder's Pocket is going to be anything but dull. Suggested level: primary, intermediate.

Is Joan Aiken

Bound to keep a promise to her dead uncle, Is travels to the mysterious north country to find two missing boys, one of them a prince, and to discover why so many children in London are disappearing.

Limbo Lodge Joan Aiken

Dido Twite, returning to England, is told to go and bring home Lord Herodsfoot, who is looking for rare games to cheer up the ailing King James III, but Dido has not reckoned with the Angrian settlers who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends.

Midwinter nightingale Joan Aiken

The Wolves Chronicles continue as Dido and her friend Simon, Duke of Battersea, have many perilous adventures trying to protect the ailing King James from the plotting of the evil Baron Magnus who is determined that his brutish son Lothar will be the next king of England.

Night birds on Nantucket Joan Aiken

A shipwrecked Dido Twite is picked up by a whaling ship and finds herself embroiled in a sinister plot to blow up Parliament.

The wolves of Willoughby Chase Joan Aiken

This historical fantasy takes place in 1832, in a period of English history that never happened. For Good King James III is on the throne, and the country is ravaged by wolves who have migrated through a newly opened Channel Tunnel. It portrays the trials of cousins Bonnie and Sylvia brought on by their evil guardian who sends them to a workhouse when Bonnie's parents leave for a sea voyage.

The new Jim Crow : mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness Michelle Alexander

This work argues that the War on Drugs and policies that deny convicted felons equal access to employment, housing, education, and public benefits create a permanent under caste based largely on race. As the United States celebrates the nation's "triumph over race" with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status - much like their grandparents before them.

My friend Ernest Emma Allen

It's the first day of school and Ernest seems so mean and scary. But is he really? It's the first day of school and Oscar is trying hard to be brave. Oscar's mum feels sure he will make lots of friends, but Oscar isn't so sure, particularly when Ernest seems so mean and scary. But is he really?

The boy who swam with piranhas David Almond

Stanley Potts is just an ordinary boy, but when all the jobs in Fish Quay disappear his Uncle Ernie develops an extraordinary fascination with canning fish. Suddenly their home is filled with the sound of clanging machinery and the stench of mackerel, and Uncle Ernie's obsession reaches such heights that he would even can Stan's beloved goldfish! Stan, however, has his own destiny, which leads him via a hook-a-duck stall to Pancho Pirelli, the blue-caped madman who swims with piranhas. And as Stan delves into the waters, he finally discovers who he really can be.

Landfall Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

It has been many moons since Star received his starfire power, and now he will face his toughest challenge yet. Star is gravely injured, and Nightwing the Destroyer vows to make a pact with whoever brings him the black yearling - dead or alive. As Nightwing amasses an army to destroy him and all of Anok, Star must act fast. But as the threat of war looms, Star wonders if the current peace among the united pegasi is strong enough to survive.

Stormbound Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Star has moved his herd of refugee pegasi to the coast to escape the Mountain Herd and the bitter memories of the past, and as head stallion it is up to him to protect and lead them but the freezing storms of winter are coming, old enemies are seeking revenge, and an ancient adversary has awoken from sleep.

Going home A American

When Morgan Carter's car breaks down 250 miles from his home, he figures his weekend plans are ruined. But things are about to get much, much worse: the country's power grid has collapsed. There is no electricity, no running water, no Internet, and no way to know when normalcy will be restored - if it ever will be. An avid survivalist, Morgan takes to the road with his prepper pack on his back. During the gruelling trek from Tallahassee to his home in Lake County, chaos threatens his every step but Morgan is hell-bent on getting home to his wife and daughters - and he'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

New leaf Catherine (Adeline Catherine) Anderson

When Taffeta Brown loses everything, including custody of her daughter, she moves to Mystic Creek, Oregon, to start over, where she unexpectedly meets the one man who might be able to help her get her daughter back.

Silver thaw Catherine (Adeline Catherine) Anderson

Jeb is annoyed and then intrigued by little strips of paper he finds scattered across his land containing the secret yearnings of Amanda, who has recently moved to Mystic Creek, Oregon, with her six-year-old daughter to escape an abusive husband. Jeb is determined to do anything to make her yearnings come true.

Blood of the cosmos Kevin J Anderson

As the second book of the trilogy opens, the humans and Ildirans, having narrowly escaped annihilation at the hands of the Shana Rei and their robot allies in book one, are desperate to find a way to combat the black cloud of antimatter of the Shana Rei. The mysterious alien Gardeners, who had helped them previously, turn out to be a disaster in disguise and because of them, the world tree forests are again in danger. The allies, believing they have found a way to stop their dreaded enemies, test a new weapon, but it's a horrible failure, throwing the human race and its allies to the brink of extinction.

Island in a sea of stars Kevin J Anderson

An adventure from The Saga of Shadows: The Dark Between the Stars. Island in a Sea of Stars is a prequel to the new trilogy set in the same universe and 20 years after the conclusion of his seven book series Saga of the Seven Suns. Island in a Sea of Stars tells the story of Garrison Reeves, his wife Elisa Reeves and Lee Iswander. Reeves predicts a big disaster at Ilwander's facility, Elias and Iswander ignore his warning so he takes his son and leaves. Everything unfolds from there. Elisa chases Garrison, the disaster happens and a new discovery set the stage for the series.

Three many cooks : one mom, two daughters : their shared stories of food, faith & family Pam Anderson

When the women behind the popular blog Three Many Cooks gather in the busiest room in the house, there are never too many cooks in the kitchen. Now acclaimed cookbook author Pam Anderson and her daughters, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio, blend compelling reflections and well-loved recipes into one funny, candid, and irresistible book. Together, Pam, Maggy, and Sharon reveal the challenging give-and-take between mothers and daughters, the passionate belief that food nourishes both body and soul, and the simple wonder that arises from good meals shared. Pam chronicles her epicurean journey, beginning at the apron hems of her grandmother and mother, and recounts how a cultural exchange to Provence led to twenty-five years of food and friendship. Firstborn Maggy rebelled against the family's culinary ways but eventually found her inner chef as a newlywed faced with the terrifying reality of cooking dinner every night.

Crusade Taylor Anderson

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the USS Walker, have chosen sides in a war not of their making. Swept from the World War II Pacific into an alternate world, they have allied with the Lemurians - a mammalian race threatened by the warlike reptilian Grik. The Lemurians are vastly outnumbered and ignorant of warfare, and even the guns and technology of Walker cannot turn the tide of battle.

Deadly shores Taylor Anderson

Many Lemurians see an opportunity to reconquer their sacred homeland, which was stolen long ago, and have no intention of simply striking a blow and then pulling back. Others, Lemurian and human, have their own agendas which may not be in the best interests of the Alliance. Complicating matters further is Reddy's suspicion that his task force is being stalked by an unknown power bent on aiding the Grik for reasons of its own.

Distant thunders Taylor Anderson

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy waits for his destroyer, the Walker, to be repaired after battling alongside their Lemurian allies to repel the savage Grik, and questions the loyalties of Commodore Jenks, who may be devoted to those representing an even greater danger.

Firestorm Taylor Anderson

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy and the crew of the USS "Walker" find themselves caught between the nation they swore to defend and the allies they promised to protect.

Into the storm Taylor Anderson

Pressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker - a Great-War vintage "four-stacker" destroyer - finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits. In desperation, he heads Walker into a squall, hoping it will give them cover and emerges somewhere else. Familiar landmarks appear, but the water teems with monstrous, vicious fish. And there appear to be dinosaurs grazing on the plains of Bali. Gradually Matt and his crew must accept the fact that they are in an alternate world and they are not alone. Humans have not evolved, but two other species have. And they are at war. With its steam power and weaponry, the Walker's very existence could alter the balance of power. And for Matt and his crew, who have the means to turn a primitive war into a genocidal Armageddon, one thing becomes clear. They must decide whose side they're on. Because whoever they choose to side with is the winner.

Iron gray sea Taylor Anderson

Matt Reddy sets off in pursuit of a rogue Japanese destroyer, the Hidoiame, while the invasion of Grik "Indiaa" begins with the Human-Lemurian Alliance fighting against the Dominion.

Maelstrom Taylor Anderson

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the U.S.S. Walker, are once again at war. Having sided with the peaceful Lemurians against the savage, reptilian Grik, they now find themselves scrambling to prepare for the attack that is sure to come, searching for resources to support their forces even as they look for allies to join their struggle. Meanwhile, the Japanese juggernaut Amagi, also trapped in this strange world, is under Grik control with her fanatical commander approaching madness. And soon they will have amassed a force that no amount of firepower and technology will be able to stop. As the raging conflict approaches, Reddy, his crew, his allies, and his loved ones face annihilation. But if there is one thing they have learned about their new world, it is that hope and help may be just over the horizon.

Rising tides Taylor Anderson

Reddy and Jenks are united in their desire to hunt down the traitor who abducted two women both men would die to protect - but first they have a new battle to win. They must navigate a tempest of politics, deception and betrayal when it becomes obvious that the ruthless Company is attempting to overthrow the Imperial Throne.

Storm surge Taylor Anderson

The Alliance is on the offensive everywhere, but its enemies have a few surprises, including new weaponry and new tactics - and a stunning geographic advantage that Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy never suspected.

Straits of hell Taylor Anderson

Matt Reddy's old Asiatic Fleet destroyer USS Walker has been mysteriously transported to an alternate version of earth. Here WWII is no longer raging, and Reddy and his crew have been trying to find a new place for themselves in this strange new world. Now, along with the felinoid Lemurians and Imperial allies, they fight to keep the reptilian Grik, a race growing in supremacy, from reconquering the Lemurians' ancestral home on Madagascar.

Red hot reunion Bella Andre

The last time Jason saw Emma Holden, she crushed his heart. As college students, they were opposites in every way except for their thrilling, unpredictable passion. But deep down Emma was very proper, and in their senior year she blindsided Jason by dumping him for a wealthy jock and a dull, safe life.

Luke Lancelot and the golden shield Giles Andreae

When Luke's brother Arthur is given an ancient and magnificent sword for his birthday, Luke is crushed. He is the one who dreams of being a knight - it's not fair! But as promised by Merlin, Luke soon gets the chance to prove himself as a true and courageous knight. When the evil Morgana poisons Arthur and her brother Mandrake turns into a dragon and steals him away to a secret lair, Luke and sister Gwinnie chase after them on the magnificent flying horse Avalon. Together they manage to save Arthur and defeat the evil Morgana and Mandrake. Afterwards, back at Camelot, Luke is made a knight for his bravery - the bravest knight of all!

Sir Scallywag and the battle of Stinky Bottom Giles Andreae

King Colin is in need of our 6-year-old-hero Sir Scallywag's help again. This time he has set his sights on a Golden Sausage that will make him live forever. Unfortunately it is guarded by hundreds of angry trolls.

Sir Scallywag and the deadly dragon poo Giles Andreae

Sir Scallywag is back, and he's mightier than ever! When Baron Greedyguts steals King Colin's sweet machine, the King knows there's only one knight who can help - even if he is only six years old. Sir Scallywag and trusty steed Doofus come to the rescue in this epic tale of bravery, chivalry... and deadly dragon poo.

Sir Scallywag and the golden underpants Giles Andreae

When King Colin's golden pants go missing, he calls for Sir Scallywag, the bravest knight in the land. But . . . Sir Scallywag is only 6 years old and with an evil giant to pursue, it's nearly mission impossible! Luckily, it's a story of David and Goliath. With his trusted steed Doofus at his side, Sir Scallywag proves that even the unlikeliest hero can be the bravest knight of all.

Babylon's ark : the incredible wartime rescue of the Baghdad Zoo Lawrence Anthony

When the Iraq War began, conservationist Lawrence Anthony could think of only one thing: the fate of the Baghdad Zoo, located in the city centre and caught in the cross fire. His worst fears were confirmed when he entered Baghdad and discovered that full-scale combat and uncontrolled looting had killed many of the animals of the zoo. But not all of them. Even during the heat of battle, individual U.S. soldiers had taken the time to help care for the remaining animals, and a few of the zoo's staff had returned to work in spite of the constant firefights. Together, the Americans and Iraqis had managed to keep alive the animals that had survived the invasion. Babylon's Ark chronicles the zoo's transformation from war-torn chaos to peaceful park, and the heroic efforts of Anthony and others to restore the zoo's inhabitants to health and safety.

Gulag : a history of the Soviet camps Anne Applebaum

This work draws together the mass of memoirs published in Russia to explore the vast network of labour camps which were once scattered across Russia. It argues that the camps remained the state's ultimate weapon throughout the 70 years of the Soviet Union.

Liar liar M J Arlidge

In the dead of night, three raging fires light up the city skies. It's more than a tragic coincidence. For DI Helen Grace the flames announce the arrival of an evil she has never encountered before. Because this is no firestarter seeking sick thrills, but something more chilling: a series of carefully calculated acts of murder. But why were the victims chosen? What's driving the killer? And who will be next? A powder keg of fear, suspicion and dread has been laid. Now all it needs is a spark to set it off.

Avalon Mindee Arnett

Seventeen-year-old Jeth Seagrave, the leader of a ragtag team of teenage mercenaries, skirts the line between honour and the law in an attempt to win freedom for his sister and himself in the form of their parents' old spaceship, Avalon.

Polaris Mindee Arnett

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of mercenaries are pulled into one last high-stakes mission.

Women chefs of New York Nadia Arumugam

Women Chefs of New York is a colorful showcase of twenty-five leading female culinary talents in the restaurant capital of the world. In a fiercely competitive, male-dominated field, these women have risen to the top, and their stories - and their recipes - make it abundantly clear why. Food writer Nadia Arumugam braves the sharp knives and the sputtering pans of oil for intimate interviews, revealing the chefs' habits, quirks, food likes, and dislikes, their proudest achievements, and their aspirations. Each chef contributes four signature recipes - appetizers, entrees, and desserts - to recreate the experience of a meal from their celebrated kitchens.

Happy birthday, Big Bad Wolf Frank Asch

In this comic twist on The Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf is shocked when the Pig family throws him a surprise birthday party. The comedy-tinged suspense and the softening up of a famous bully will have children squealing with delight.

Breakpoints : how to shift your business to the next level Mike Ashby

If you're feeling stuck, stale or stalled, this book is your ticket out of the rut and into profitable growth. You'll learn the 7 Mistakes Business Owners Make, and identify the choices, behaviours and practices that are keeping your business in a holding pattern. Practical formulas, frameworks, strategies and tools get you started right away on refocusing and reprioritising, and taking back your life.

The madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie Jennifer Ashley

In the aristocratic circles of London, 1881, everyone says Lord Ian McKenzie is crazy - and possibly a murderer - but a young widow longing for passion is determined to bare the truth about the dashing and darkly charming Scotsman.

The Automobile Club of Egypt Ala Aswani

Abd el-Aziz Gaafar, formerly a well-respected landowner now in the grip of penury, moved his family to Cairo and took on menial work at the Automobile Club - a place of refuge and luxury for its European members, a place where Egyptians may appear only as servants. Alku, the lifelong Nubian servant of Egypt's corrupt king, runs the show in all but name. The servants, a squabbling, humorous, and deeply human group, live in a perpetual state of fear: beaten for their mistakes, their wages dependent on Alku's whims. When Abd el-Aziz's pride gets the better of him and he stands up for himself, his death - as much from shame as from his injuries after Alku has him beaten - leaves his widow further impoverished, and two of his sons obliged to work in the Club. As the family is drawn into the turbulent politics - public and private - both servants and masters are subsumed by Egypt's social upheaval. Soon the Egyptians of the Automobile Club face a stark choice: to live safely but without dignity as servants, or to fight for their rights and risk everything.

Thomas the tank engine W (Wilbert) Awdry

Thomas worked really hard, shunting coaches for the big engines. But what he wanted more than anything was his very own branch line...

Longbourn Jo Baker

If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah thought, she would be more careful not to trudge through muddy fields. It is wash-day for the housemaids at Longbourn House, and Sarah's hands are chapped and bleeding. Domestic life below stairs, ruled tenderly and forcefully by Mrs Hill the housekeeper, is about to be disturbed by the arrival of a new footman smelling of the sea, and bearing secrets. For in Georgian England, there is a world the young ladies in the drawing room will never know, a world of poverty, love, and brutal war.

A cure for suicide Jesse Ball

A man and a woman have moved into a small house in a small village. The woman is an "examiner," the man, her "claimant." The examiner is both doctor and guide, charged with teaching the claimant a series of simple functions: this is a chair, this is a fork, this is how you meet people. She makes notes in her journal about his progress: he is showing improvement, yet his dreams are troubling. One day, the examiner brings him to a party, and here he meets Hilda, a charismatic but volatile woman whose surprising assertions throw everything the claimant has learned into question. What is this village? Why is he here? And who is Hilda? A fascinating novel of love, illness, despair, and betrayal, "A Cure for Suicide" is the most captivating novel yet from one of our most exciting young writers.

Burn Maya Banks

Ash, Jace, and Gabe: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They're accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Ash, it's the woman who changes everything he's ever known about dominance and desire. When it comes to sex, Ash McIntyre has always explored his wilder side - extreme and uncompromising. He demands control. And he prefers women who want it like that. Even the women he's shared with his best friend, Jace..

Fever Maya Banks

Jace, Ash, and Gabe: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They're accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Jace, it's a woman whose allure takes him completely by surprise. Jace Crestwell, Ash McIntyre, and Gabe Hamilton have been best friends and successful business partners for years. They're powerful, they're imposing, they're irresistibly sexy, and Jace and Ash share everything - including their women. When they meet Bethany, Jace begins to feel things he's never experienced before: jealousy, and a powerful obsession that threatens him, overwhelms him - and excites him beyond control. Jace isn't sharing Bethany with anyone. He's determined to be the only man in her life, and it's jeopardizing a lifelong friendship with Ash. Bethany will be his and his alone. Even if it means turning his back on his best friend.

Rush Maya Banks

Gabe is wealthy, powerful, and accustomed to getting anything he wants. Anything - and anyone. For Gabe, it's one particular fantasy with a woman who was forbidden fruit. Now she's ripe for the picking... Mia was his best friend's little sister... but she's not so little any more. Mia knows Gabe is way out of her league, but she's an adult now, and there's no reason not to act on her most secret desires. But she doesn't know how exacting his demands can be...

The life of elves Muriel Barbery

A moving and deeply felt homage to the power of nature and art by one of the world's most beloved authors. Do two young girls have the power to change the world? Maria, raised by powerful older women, lives in a remote village in Burgundy, where she discovers her gift of clairvoyance, of healing and of communicating with nature. Hundreds of miles away in Italy, Clara discovers her musical genius and is sent from the countryside to Rome to nurture her extraordinary abilities. Who are the mysterious elves? Will they succeed in training the girls for their higher purpose in the face of an impending war?

Reversing diabetes Alan Barclay

The evidence is in. The latest research into type 2 diabetes shows that for some people it's possible to put diabetes into remission and for others they can prevent or at least delay the complications of diabetes. Reversing Diabetes explores what these findings mean for you. Drawing on over 20 years of clinical experience as an Accredited Practising Dietitian, including nearly 16 years at Diabetes Australia, Dr Alan Barclay combines the highest- quality evidence about the nutritional management and prevention of diabetes into one easy-to-read book.

One evening in Paris Nicolas Barreau

Alain Bonnard, the owner of a small art cinema in Paris, is a dyed-in-the-wool nostalgic ... He wants to show films that create dreams, and he likes most of the people that come to his cinema. Particularly the enchanting, shy woman in the red coat who turns up every Wednesday in row 17 ... One evening, Alain plucks up courage and invites the unknown beauty to dinner. The most tender of love stories is just getting under way when something incredible happens: The Cinema Paradis is going to be the location of Allan Woods' new film Tender Memories of Paris.

Baby orca Mary Batten

Baby orca lives in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean with her family. They click and whistle to communicate. Baby orca spends her days playing with friends, napping, and swimming. As she gets older, she learns to hunt. Eventually, she has her own baby orca to take care of!

I am Rebecca Fleur Beale

Life inside a religious cult becomes too much for 16-year-old Rebecca when she finds out who she is to marry.When she turns 14, Rebecca will find out who she is to marry. All the girls in her strict religious sect must be married just after their 16th birthdays. Her twin sister Rachel desperately wants to marry the boy she's given her heart to. All Rebecca wants is to have a husband who is kind, but both girls know the choice is not theirs to make.But what will the future hold for Rebecca? Is there a dark side to the rules which have kept her safe? Can the way ahead be so simple when the community is driven by secrets and hidden desires?

A bedtime for Bear Bonny Becker

A small but effervescent overnight guest tries the patience of a curmudgeonly bear who needs absolute quiet to fall asleep.

A birthday for Bear Bonny Becker

Despite Bear's efforts to ignore his birthday, Mouse will not rest until his friend celebrates.

A visitor for Bear Bonny Becker

Bear's efforts to keep out visitors to his house are undermined by a very persistent mouse.

The ageless body : how to hold back the years to achieve a better body Peta Bee

Discover the new goals and new rules that are the route to a healthier, better looking and better functioning body. For life. From Gwen Stefani and Cameron Diaz to Jennifer Aniston and Naomi Watts, a new breed of 40 and 50 plus women are redefining not just what an ageless body looks like, but what's entailed in achieving it. A dramatic shift in body expectations in the last few years means that, despite being plagued by a slowing metabolism and a naturally-occurring loss of muscle mass, pre- and post-menopausal women can realistically aim for the healthy, well-functioning body they crave as well as a physique that looks good with a flat stomach and sculpted arms. Peta Bee and Dr Sarah Schenker are the living embodiment of this new breed of woman: both in their forties with children, both with hectic careers and social lives. And both with the same bodies they had in their 30s. What matters, they have discovered through self-experimentation and trawling the scientific literature, is how you go about holding back the years. And the rules for both exercise and diet have changed.

Mrs. Beeton's book of household management Mrs (Isabella Mary) Beeton

Originally published as twenty-four newspaper columns from 1859 to 1861, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management is many things, but it is first and foremost a guide to managing a household during the nineteenth century. Beeton wrote, "As with the commander of an army, or the leader of any enterprise, so is it with the mistress of a house." Running an extravagant household was a monumental task and a responsibility not to be taken lightly. It meant supervising every employee, from the butler to the laundry-maid to the footman and the wet nurse. It meant managing the safety, happiness, comfort, and well-being of the family. In addition to offering advice on a wide range of domestic topics, this abridged edition of Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management contains hundreds of original recipes. A compendium of practical information about everything from animal husbandry to child care, this Victorian classic is both fascinating and still useful.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue Melanie Benjamin

A novel about New York's "Swans" (socialites) of the 1950s - and the scandalous, headline-making, and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley.

The uncommon reader Alan Bennett

The Uncommon Reader is none other than HM the Queen who drifts accidentally into reading when her corgis stray into a mobile library parked at Buckingham Palace. She reads widely and intelligently. Her reading naturally changes her world view and her relationship with people such as the oleaginous prime minister and his repellent advisers.

Fck feelings : less obsessing, more living Michael Bennett

The only self-help book you'll ever need, from a psychiatrist who will help you put aside your unrealistic wishes, stop trying to change things you can't change, and do the best with what you can control - the first steps to solving all of life's impossible problems.

The rabbit's tale Lynne Benton

Rabbit's burrow is far too small so he goes to Wise Owl for advice. But is Owl serious when he tells Rabbit to invite all his friends and family to stay?

The stonecutter : a folktale from Japan Lynne Benton

The traditional Japanese tale of the unhappy stonecutter, specially retold as part of the Usborne Reading Programme for children just starting to read alone. This ebook includes audio and reading-related puzzles.

The long and faraway gone Louis Berney

In the summer of 1986, two tragedies rocked Oklahoma City. Six movie-theatre employees were brutally killed in an armed robbery. Then a teenage girl vanished from the annual state fair. Neither crime was ever solved.Twenty-five years later, the reverberations of those unsolved cases continue to echo through the lives of those devastated by the crimes. Wyatt, the one teenage employee who inexplicably survived the movie-theatre massacre, is now a private investigator in Las Vegas. A case unexpectedly brings him back to a hometown and a past he's tried to escape - and drags him deeper into the harrowing mystery of the movie-house robbery that left six of his friends dead.

Final chapters : how famous authors died Jim Bernhard

Famous authors, like everybody else, know that one day they will die. Final Chapters tells the fascinating stories of more than one hundred writers' encounters with death - and their attitudes toward the Grim Reaper: fear, uncertainty, or acceptance.

Hannah and Sugar Kate Berube

Every day after school, Hannah's school bus is greeted by her classmate's dog, Sugar. All of the other kids love Sugar, but Hannah just can't conquer her fear of dogs. Then, one day, Sugar goes missing, so Hannah joins the search with her classmates. Will Hannah find a way to be brave, and make a new friend in the process?

On immunity : an inoculation Eula Biss

Upon becoming a new mother, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear: fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what is in children's food, mattresses, medicines, and vaccines. Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding the conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. As she hears more and more fears about vaccines, Biss researches what they mean for her own child, her immediate community, America, and the world.

The Bad Guys Aaron Blabey

They sound like the Bad Guys, they look like the Bad Guys ... and they even smell like the Bad Guys. But Mr Wolf, Mr Piranha, Mr Snake and Mr Shark are about to change all of that! Mr Wolf has a daring plan for the Bad Guys' first good mission. The gang are going to break 200 dogs out of the Maximum Security City Dog Pound. Will Operation Dog Pound go smoothly? Will the Bad Guys become the Good Guys? And will Mr Snake please spit out Mr Piranha?

Mission unpluckable Aaron Blabey

The Bad Guys are back with a daring plan to rescue 10,000 chickens from a high-security cage farm! But how do you rescue chickens when one of you is known as The Chicken Swallower? Join them as they return for more dodgy good deeds with a new member of the team. And watch out for the super villain who might just be the end of them!

The Iron Trial Holly Black

Most people would do anything to get into the Magisterium and pass the Iron Trial. Not Callum Hunt. Call has been told his whole life that he should never trust a magician. And so he tries his best to do his worst but fails at failing. Now he must enter the Magisterium. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister.

The Paris key Juliet Blackwell

An American in Paris navigates her family's secret past and unlocks her own future. As a girl, Genevieve Martin spent the happiest summer of her life in Paris, learning the delicate art of locksmithing at her uncle's side. But since then, living back in the States, she has become more private, more subdued. She has been an observer of life rather than an active participant, holding herself back from those around her, including her soon-to-be-ex-husband.

Drive around the world : one family, one car, one year, one planet Danny Rosner Blay, Sandra Khazam, Maddy Blay, Raffy Blay. [and others].

We've driven around Australia, how about we drive around the world? And with this one fanciful remark, the seeds were sown for what would become a worldwide adventure for one Melbourne family. Fuelled by itchy feet and a profound desire to expand their family's horizons, after five years of meticulous planning and seemingly endless vaccinations, Danny and Sandra packed their two kids, Maddy and Raffy, into their 4WD and headed off on their 'Big Trip'. Over the next 360 days and more than 36,000kms, this ordinary family undertook a truly extraordinary expedition, circumnavigating the globe and taking in experiences, both profound and everyday, which would prove to be life-changing. Based on the blog that the family kept while on the road, Drive Around the World is a touching, at times hilarious and genuinely unique account of their journey. Filled with tales of the unexpected, close calls and boundless adventure, it's a book that the whole family can enjoy and be inspired by.

The 6:41 to Paris Jean-Philippe Blondel

Cecile, a stylish forty-seven-year-old, has spent the weekend visiting her parents in a provincial town southeast of Paris. By early Monday morning, she's exhausted. These trips back home are always stressful and she settles into a train compartment with an empty seat beside her. But it's soon occupied by a man she instantly recognizes: Philippe Leduc, with whom she had a passionate affair that ended in her brutal humiliation thirty years ago. In the fraught hour and a half that ensues, their express train hurtles towards the French capital.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand Greg Bloom

Lonely Planet Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Tempt your tastebuds with pho noodle soup in Vietnam, sail past the limestone peaks of Halong Bay, or experience the transcendent tranquility of temples like Angkor Wat; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand and begin your journey now.

The night strangers Chris Bohjalian

It begins with a door in a dusky corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire. A door that someone has sealed it shut with thirty-nine enormous carriage bolts. The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin daughters. Chip was an an airline pilot until he was forced to crash land on a remote lake the jet he was flying after double engine failure. Thirty-nine people aboard Flight 1611 died that day - a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door ...Meanwhile, his wife is increasingly troubled about the women in this sparsely populated village, self-proclaimed 'herbalists'. Why do they seem excessively interested in her young daughters. Emily is terrified, too, that her husband's grip on sanity seems to have become increasingly tenuous, in the wake of the devastating plane accident.

The sandcastle girls Chris Bohjalian

When Elizabeth Endicott arrives in Syria, she has a diploma from Mount Holyoke College, a crash course in nursing, and only the most basic grasp of the Armenian language. The First World War is spreading across Europe, and she has volunteered on behalf of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to deliver food and medical aid to refugees of the Armenian genocide. There, Elizabeth becomes friendly with Armen, a young Armenian engineer who has already lost his wife and infant daughter.

Lawless Matt Bondurant

Running moonshine liquor during the prohibition years, a notorious trio of brothers continues their illicit business after prohibition and play a central role in a violent conspiracy trial - a story that is investigated in 1935 by a magazine journalist.

Nine years under : coming of age in an inner city funeral home Sheri Booker

Sheri Booker was only fifteen when she started working at Wylie Funeral Home in West Baltimore. She had no idea her summer job would become nine years of immersion into a hidden world. Reeling from the death of her beloved great aunt, Sheri found comfort in the funeral home and soon had the run of the place. With AIDS and gang violence threatening to wipe out a generation of black men, Wylie was never short on business. As families came together to bury one of their own, Booker was privy to their most intimate moments of grief and despair. But along with the sadness, Booker encountered moments of dark humour: brawls between mistresses and widows, and car crashes at McDonald's with dead bodies in tow. While she never got over her terror of the embalming room, Booker learned to expect the unexpected and to never, ever cry. Nine Years Under offers readers an unbelievable glimpse into an industry in the backdrop of all our lives.

The red queen : short stories Gemma Bowker-Wright

In her first collection of stories, Gemma Bowker-Wright leads us into the phases of transition and transformation in people's lives: a dream job, a rare afternoon between son and father, a man losing his wife to Alzheimer's, a first snow. Like the Red Queen of Through the Looking-Glass, many of these characters are running hard to stay in the same place, but moving ever forward. Their stories, which echo stories from evolution, ecology, and meteorology, form a deeply perceptive and captivating first book.

The knave of hearts Elizabeth Boyle

Lavinia Tempest has been eagerly anticipating a spectacular season. But one disastrous pile-up on the Almack's dance floor derails all her plans. Add to that, the very stunning revelations about her mother's scandalous past have become the ton's latest on dits. Lavinia's future has gone from shining bright to blackest night in one misstep. Alaster 'Tuck' Rowland admits he's partly to blame for Lavinia's disastrous debut. But it's not guilt that compels him to restore her reputation. Rather, he's placed a wager that he can make Lavinia into one of the most sought-after ladies in London. Who better than an unrepentant rake to set society astir?

Tempted by the night Elizabeth Boyle

They say he's a shameless rake who cares for nothing but pleasure, a rogue who spends his nights in London's lustiest locales, gambling and carousing until dawn. But Lady Hermione Marlowe refuses to believe that the handsome gentleman she's loved from afar for so long could be so wicked. If only she had a way to prove to the town that Lord Rockhurst is as proper as the rest. If only she knew what he really did under cover of the night. Lord Rockhurst knows what they say about him, and he doesn't care. Let them think his nights are filled with craven debauchery. Only he knows his true purpose, his dangerous goal. But when a mysterious woman falls into his arms, and thereby saves his life, Rockhurst will struggle to save his secret. Who is this creature with such tempting curves and an enticing touch? Rockhurst can only wonder how he can trust her, for he knows he cannot resist her.

The boy at the top of the mountain John Boyne

When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his Aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy household at the top of the German mountains. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Quickly, Pierrot is taken under Hitler's wing, and is thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world: a world of terror, secrets and betrayal, from which he may never be able to escape.

Passenger Alexandra Bracken

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles, but years from home. And she's inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she's never heard of. Until now. Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods-a powerful family in the Colonies-and the servitude he's known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can't escape and the family that won't let him go so easily.

The ring of earth Chris Bradford

With no sensei to guide him, he has just his wits and his swords against many new and unknown enemies, as he journeys along the treacherous road to the port of Nagasaki and perhaps home... But the Shogun's samurai are hot on his trail. Barely escaping their clutches, Jack runs headlong into a trap. Kidnapped by ninja and led to their village deep in the mountains, Jack has no means of escape. The only question is who will kill him first - the ninja or samurai?

The ring of fire Chris Bradford

After a snowstorm forces him to take shelter, Jack comes across a village in need of protection from raiding mountain bandits. Torn between moving on or helping, Jack is persuaded to stay and fight the villagers' cause. But Jack is the first and only samurai to do so. Now he must enlist other warriors to the villagers' aid before the bandits return to steal their harvest. No easy task when the reward is so little and he is a foreigner. If only he had his friends to call on... Using the Ring of Fire, can Jack overpower the bandits and win?

The ring of sky Chris Bradford

Jack Fletcher is running for his life. The port of Nagasaki is within reach, but the Shogun's samurai are closing in fast for the kill. So too is Jack's old school rival, Kazuki. Every road is blocked and every mountain pass guarded as Jack makes his final dash for safety. But with all of Japan hunting him, he's going need a miracle to survive. And even if he reaches the end of the road, will there be a ship bound for home? Or will he be burned at the stake first? Only the Ring of Sky knows his fate...

The ring of water Chris Bradford

Jack Fletcher has been left for dead. Bruised and battered, Jack Fletcher wakes up in a roadside inn wrapped only in a dirty kimono. He has lost everything, including his memory of what happened. Determined to discover the truth, Jack goes on a quest to retrieve his belongings - his precious swords, his friend Akiko's black pearl and most important of all, his father's prize possession. Relying on his samurai and ninja training, Jack realises The Ring of Water is the key to his survival. But with only a washed up Ronin - a masterless samurai - for help, what will Jack manage to find? What will he lose? And what will he have to sacrifice?

The way of fire Chris Bradford

Japan, 1612. Shipwrecked and his father murdered by ninjas, Jack Fletcher is rescued by the legendary swordmaster Masamoto Takeshi and taken to his samurai school in Kyoto. Hunted by the ninja Dragon Eye, Jack's only hope is to become a samurai warrior. And so his training begins . . . In order to perfect his fighting skills, Jack goes on a gasshuku. But nothing can prepare him for the punishment of warrior camp - the climax of which is to enter the Way of Fire, a terrifying ritual that burns away evil. Can Jack overcome his fear and walk the Way of Fire?

The way of the dragon Chris Bradford

June 1613. Japan is threatened with war and Jack is facing his greatest battle yet. Samurai are taking sides and, as the blood begins to flow, Jack's warrior training is put to the ultimate test. His survival - and that of his friends - depends upon him mastering the Two Heavens, the secret sword technique of the legendary samurai Masamoto Takeshi. But first Jack must recover his father's prize possession from the deadly ninja Dragon Eye. Can Jack defeat his ruthless enemy? Or will the ninja complete his mission to kill the young samurai . . .

The way of the sword Chris Bradford

One year of training in samurai school and Jack is in real trouble ...He's busy preparing for the Circle of Three, an ancient ritual that tests courage, skill and spirit to the limit. And, at the same time, Jack is caught in a running battle with fellow student Kazuki and his gang. But these are the least of Jack's problems. He knows his deadly rival - the ninja Dragon Eye - could strike at any moment. Jack possesses the very thing he will kill for. Can Jack master the Way of the Sword in time to survive a fight to the death?

The way of the warrior Chris Bradford

August 1611. Jack Fletcher is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan - his beloved father and the crew lie slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by the legendary sword master Masamoto Takeshi, Jack's only hope is to become a samurai warrior. And so his training begins. But life at the samurai school is a constant fight for survival. Even with his friend Akiko by his side, Jack is singled out by bullies and treated as an outcast. With courage in his heart and his sword held high, can Jack prove himself and face his deadliest rival yet?

Appleby Farm Cathy Bramley

Freya Moorcroft has wild red hair, mischievous green eyes, a warm smile and a heart of gold. She's been happy working at the cafe round the corner from Ivy Lane allotments and her romance with her new boyfriend is going well, she thinks, but a part of her still misses the beautiful rolling hills of her Cumbrian childhood home: Appleby Farm. Then a phone call out of the blue and a desperate plea for help change everything. The farm is in financial trouble, and it's taking its toll on the aunt and uncle who raised Freya. Heading home to lend a hand, Freya quickly learns that things are worse than she first thought. As she summons up all her creativity and determination to turn things around, Freya is surprised as her own dreams for the future begin to take shape.

Notes from the sofa Raymond Briggs

In Notes from the Sofa, Raymond Briggs traces the course of his life in a series of wonderfully observed vignettes that take him from the awkwardness and embarrassment of growing up to the vicissitudes and frustrations of growing old. This collection features the best pieces from Briggs' regular column 'Notes from the Sofa' in The Oldie, Richard Ingrams' humorous monthly magazine. Amusing and touching by turn, these include his unwavering dedication to the arts and why he takes pleasure in being labelled a 'creative sociopath'; amusing anecdotes, such as how he became an accidental Winnie the Pooh tour guide to Japanese tourists; and general musings on life, including his confusion as a young child as to exactly where babies come from. This is Briggs like you've never read him before, with a newfound freedom to write and draw about whatever he wants, without the restrictions of children's books and sometimes without the happy endings.

The postman David Brin

This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth. A timeless novel as urgently compelling as War Day or Alas, Babylon, David Brin's The Postman is the dramatically moving saga of a man who rekindled the spirit of America through the power of a dream, from a modern master of science fiction. He was a survivor - a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter's day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.

The next big thing Anita Brookner

Herz is 73 and facing the difficult question: what is he going to do with the rest of his life? How is it all going to end? He could propose marriage to an old friend; he could travel; he could sell his flat, move, start afresh. He must do something with the time left - but what?

Jarka Ruus Terry Brooks

Grianne Ohmsford, rescued from oblivion by her brother Bek, has renounced her former life as the evil Ilse Witch, and now serves as the head of a new Druid Council. Her purpose is to defend the Four Lands from anarchy and warfare. But there are some who are loathe to follow her leadership.

Straken Terry Brooks

Imprisoned in the Druid's Keep, young Pen Ohmsford is separated from all and is at the mercy of usurper Shadea a'Ru, who will do anything to destroy the rightful High Druid. Although Pen obtained the magical staff called the Tanequil, Shadea has taken it from him. Without it, Pen cannot open the gateway to the Forbidden and rescue his aunt.

Tanequil Terry Brooks

Dark magic has opened a gateway to the Forbidding and trapped within it Grianne Ohmsford, rightful High Druid of Shannara. Rescuing Grianne will be merely the beginning of the effort to return the Four Lands to some semblance of peace. Only her young nephew, Penderrin, has any hope of returning her to power. But to breach the Forbidding and bring Grianne back to the natural world, Pen must find the fabled Tanequil - and the talisman it alone can provide. That means journeying into the Inkrim - a dreaded region thick with shadows and haunted by harrowing legends. And there, Pen will strike a bargain more dire than he could ever imagine.

Suspicious minds : why we believe conspiracy theories Rob Brotherton

We're all conspiracy theorists. Some of us just hide it better than others. Conspiracy theorists do not wear tin-foil hats (for the most part). They are not just a few kooks lurking on the paranoid fringes of society with bizarre ideas about shape-shifting reptilian aliens running society in secret. They walk among us. They are us. Everyone loves a good conspiracy. The plots of countless Hollywood blockbusters, bestselling books, and beloved TV shows revolve around conspiratorial shenanigans. And surprising numbers of people believe that the kinds of vast, insidious conspiracies that Mulder and Scully routinely unearthed in The X-Files are happening right now in the real world. Yet conspiracy theories are not a recent invention. And they are not always a harmless curiosity. psychology of conspiracy theories tells us a lot.

Wish upon a dream Margaret Wise Brown

"Dreaming child, what you shall see, Deep in sleep might someday be." Explore a magical bedtime world of favourite dreams - what will you wish upon tonight?

The guards Ken Bruen

Still stinging from his unceremonious ouster from the Garda Siochana - the Guards, Ireland's police force - and staring at the world through the smoky bottom of his beer mug, Jack Taylor is stuck in Galway with nothing to look forward to. In his sober moments Jack aspires to become Ireland's best private investigator, not to mention its first - Irish history, full of betrayal and espionage, discourages any profession so closely related to informing. But in truth Jack is teetering on the brink of his life's sharpest edges, his memories of the past cutting deep into his soul and his prospects for the future nonexistent." "Nonexistent, that is, until a dazzling woman walks into the bar with a strange request and a rumor about Jack's talent for finding things. Odds are he won't be able to climb off his bar stool long enough to get involved with his radiant new client, but when he surprises himself by getting hired, Jack has little idea of what he's getting into.

The killing of the tinkers Ken Bruen

When Jack Taylor blew town at the end of The Guards, his alcoholism was a distant memory and sober dreams of a new life in London were shining in his eyes. In the opening pages of The Killing of the Tinkers, Jack's back in Galway a year later with a new leather jacket on his back, a pack of smokes in his pocket, a few grams of coke in his waistband, and a pint of Guinness on his mind. So much for new beginnings. Before long he's sunk into his old patterns, lifting his head from the bar only every few days, appraising his surroundings for mere minutes, and then descending deep into the alcoholic, drug-induced fugue he prefers to the real world. But a big gypsy walks into the bar one day during a moment of Jack's clarity and changes all that with a simple request. Jack knows the look in this man's eyes, a look of hopelessness mixed with resolve topped off with a quietly simmering rage; he's seen it in the mirror. Recognizing a kindred soul, Jack agrees to help him, knowing but not admitting that getting involved is going to lead to more bad than good. But in Jack Taylor's world, bad and good are part and parcel of the same lost cause, and besides, no one ever accused Jack of having good sense.

The English Son Wanda E Brunstetter

My sister's secret Tracy Buchanan

Willow's memories of her parents are sun-drenched and full of smiles, love and laughter. But a mysterious invitation to a photographic exhibition exposes a secret that's been buried since a tragic accident years ago. Willow is forced to question everything she knew about Charity, her late mother, and Hope, the aunt she's lived with since she was a child. How was the enigmatic photographer connected to Willow's parents? Why will Hope not break her silence? Willow cannot move forward in her life without answers. But who can she really trust? Because no one has been telling the truth for a very long time.

On cats Charles Bukowski

Felines touched a vulnerable spot in Charles Bukowski's crusty soul. For the writer, there was something majestic and elemental about these inscrutable creatures he admired, sentient beings whose searing gaze could penetrate deep into our being. On Cats offers Bukowski's musings on these beloved animals and the toughness and resiliency.

One snowy night M Christina Butler

Awakened from hibernation when an ill-fitting, gift-wrapped red wool cap falls nearby, Little Hedgehog passes along the present to Rabbit, but somehow ends up with it again by the end of the day.

On Lone Star trail Amanda Cabot

Gillian Hodge goes to Rainbow's End Resort for some R&R after her promising career as a concert pianist is crushed, along with her right hand, after an encounter with a man on a motorcycle. Now she finds herself the reluctant rescuer to another one. TJ Benjamin finds himself stranded with a busted bike after wandering the country on his motorcycle for the past year after the death of his wife and the loss of his faith.

The crunching munching caterpillar Sheridan Cain

Caterpillar wants to fly like Butterfly, Bumblebee, and Sparrow, and Butterfly thinks his wish may come true.

The Groom Wore Plaid Gayle Callen

Boyhoodlum : memoirs of a devious child Anson Cameron

Anson Cameron was born in the Victorian town of Shepparton in 1961, the son of a country lawyer and an English rose. Through the shoeless neighbourhoods and surrounding forests, sipping a Blue Heaven milkshake, shooting at anything that moves, and singing an Irish Rovers song, this boy wends his way smiling and lying and creating chaos in his wake. He joins a peeing club and becomes a tycoon of urine; assassinates the Cisco Kid; keeps a deaf man as an entertainment; starts a war between hags; electrocutes a friend's mother; and has a Bodgie clubbed by the police before he is seven. His war on schoolteachers means he is forced to cycle home from school dyed a different colour every day. At High School, with a maturing political outlook, he joins a gang of Anglos to fight a war on Wogs. There is hardly a trap of vanity into which he doesn't fall. This is the story of a family and a town through the eyes of a boy who laughed at them and loved them equally. With a wry narrator and a cast of rural originals, Boyhoodlum is at once a clear window into a time and place, and a hilarious crash-investigator's report into how not to be a boy.

A Scoundrel by Moonlight Anna Campbell

The sudden departure of the Frasers Louise Candlish

Welcome to Lime Park Road. A picture-perfect street with a secret at its heart. When Joe and Christy Davenport step behind the Oxford Blue painted door of their 'for ever' home, they believe their dreams have come true. Yet the boxes aren't even unpacked before a series of events leads Christy to become obsessed with the previous occupant, the glamorous, enigmatic Amber Fraser, whose departure from Lime Park Road is shrouded in mystery. What happened to her? And why are Joe and Christy's attempts at friendship with neighbours met with an unnerving silence? As Christy unravels the shocking truth about the Frasers and the place she now calls home, she discovers that behind the closed doors of even the most desirable postcodes, terrible secrets lurk.

Don't know Jack Diane Capri

Jack Reacher: Friend or Enemy? It's been a while since we first met Lee Child's Jack Reacher in Killing Floor. Fifteen years and sixteen novels later, Reacher still lives off the grid, until trouble finds him, and then he does whatever it takes, much to the delight of readers and the dismay of villains. Now someone big is looking for him. Who? And why? Hunting Jack Reacher is a dangerous business, as FBI Special Agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar are about to find out. Otto and Gaspar are by-the-book hunters who know when to break the rules; Reacher is a stone cold killer. Reacher is a wanted man, but is he their friend or their enemy? Only the secrets hidden in Margrave, Georgia will tell them.

The worry trick : how your brain tricks you into expecting the worst and what you can do about it David A Carbonell

Are you truly in danger or has your brain simply "tricked" you into thinking you are? In The Worry Trick, psychologist and anxiety expert David Carbonell shows how anxiety hijacks the brain, and offers effective techniques based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help readers break the cycle of worry - once and for all. Anxiety can often play subtle tricks to convince us of something that is not true. This book helps readers understand this so they can observe anxious feelings with distance and clarity.

The falling detective Christoffer Carlsson

Still abusing prescription drugs and battling his inner demons, he's doing his best to appear fit for duty. Then a sociologist named Thomas Heber is found murdered. The only clues the police have to work with are Heber's cryptic research notes, which indicate that someone else's life is also under threat. But who? Leo is put on the Heber case with his former nemesis Gabriel Birck, but when the case is abruptly reassigned to the Swedish Security Service, he realises this is no ordinary street mugging. Soon he finds himself en-tangled in a clash between a racist gang and their rivals, and enters a war that's being waged on the streets, in the public eye, and in the shadows.

One scandalous kiss Christy Carlyle

When a scheming marquess's daughter offers her one hundred pounds to publicly kiss a nobleman, a desperate Jessamin Wright agrees. She believes the money will save her failing bookstore and finally free her from her father's debts. But when Jess bursts into an aristocratic party and shocks the entire town, she never expects to enjoy the outrageous embrace she shares with a grim viscount. Lucius Crawford, Viscount Grimsby, has never met, or kissed, anyone like the beautiful suffragette who unsettles him with a single touch. He has always strived for control and avoided passion at all costs. Lucius is determined to protect his title and restore the estate he's unexpectedly inherited, but Jess's appearance in his life poses a threat to his plans and his heart. After a country house party brings them together once more, neither can resist temptation, and both find that one scandalous kiss just isn't enough.

The chance Robyn Carr

With its breathtaking vistas and down-to-earth people, Thunder Point is the perfect place for FBI agent Laine Carrington to recuperate from a gunshot wound and contemplate her future. The locals embraced Laine as one of their own after she risked her life to save a young girl from a dangerous cult. Knowing her wounds go beyond the physical, Laine hopes she'll fit in for a while and find her true self in a town that feels safe. She may even learn to open her heart to others, something an undercover agent has little time to indulge. Eric Gentry is also new to Thunder Point. Although he's a man with a dark past, he's determined to put down roots and get to know the daughter he only recently discovered. When Laine and Eric meet, their attraction is obvious to everyone. But while the law enforcement agent and the reformed criminal want to make things work, their differences may run too deep unless they take a chance on each other and find that deep and mysterious bond that belongs to those who choose love over fear.

Creativity, inc. : overcoming the unseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration Edwin E Catmull

In 1986, Ed Catmull co-founded Pixar, a modest start-up with an immodest goal: to make the first-ever computer animated movie. Nine years later, Pixar released Toy Story, which went on to revolutionize the industry, gross $360 million, and establish Pixar as one of the most successful, innovative, and emulated companies on earth. This book details how Catmull built an enduring creative culture one that doesn't just pay lip service to the importance of things like honesty, communication, and originality, but committed to them, no matter how difficult that often proved to be. As he discovered, pursuing excellence isn't a one-off assignment. It's an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And one he was born to do.

The radiant road Katherine Catmull

After years of living in America, Clare Macleod and her father are returning to Ireland, where they'll inhabit the house Clare was born in - a house built into a green hillside with a tree for a wall. For Clare, the house is not only full of memories of her mother, but also of a mysterious boy with raven-dark hair and dreamlike nights filled with stars and magic. Clare soon discovers that the boy is as real as the fairy-making magic, and that they're both in great danger from an ancient foe.

Daisies for innocence Bailey Cattrell

The Enchanted Garden behind Elliana Allbright's perfume shop draws people of all ages with its fragrant flowers and lush greenery. But when the magical serenity is interrupted, it's up to Ellie to sniff out a killer. Ellie's life has blossomed in Poppyville, California, since she opened Scents & Nonsense, a custom-made-perfume store. Her skills with aromas and botanical essences - some from her very own garden - seem almost...supernatural. Her perfumes can evoke emotions, bring about change, or simply make people happy. Customers are flocking to the store to buy her wares or just to sit in her beautiful garden, sip tea and enjoy homemade cookies. But she smells trouble when she learns that her part-time assistant Josie is dating her ex. And before she can tell the young woman to beware of his charms, she finds Josie dead in the Enchanted Garden. Now the prime suspect in Josie's murder, Ellie must search for the real culprit in Josie's past - because it'll take a miracle to nip this problem in the bud.

Mindful Relationships Dr Richard Chambers

The promise of home Darcie Chan

These days, Mill River, Vermont is a hub of activity. Karen Cooper and her son bid a temporary farewell to husband and father Nick, off to Saudi Arabia to work as a contractor. But when he goes missing Karen turns to the beloved nonagenarian priest Father O'Brien for counsel. Kyle Hansen and Claudia Simon blissfully prepare for their wedding until a part of Kyle's past arrives in town and shakes up their solid romance. Emily DiSanti, still haunted by a tragedy that tore her world apart a decade ago, is renovating the old McAllister mansion, eager to restore it to its former beauty and to find peace in the intense workload. All of these lives and the lives of others in this sleepy small town move forward, bump up against one another, and intertwine. But when a cache of hidden letters is discovered, a decades-old secret comes to light one that is rooted deeply in the childhood of the longtime resident who has touched the lives of everyone in town, and that will change his own life in a powerful and unexpected way.

Demon child Kylie Chan

War with Hell looms and the cruel demons could gain control of everything. Emma Donahoe has faced down threats to her loved ones and never given up the fight. But as the demons close in, she faces a new danger John's love for her could lead to her complete annihilation. As battles rage for control of Heaven and Earth, Emma must fight her own war to retain her identity as it disintegrates into the man she loves.

Incy Wincy Spider Keith Chapman

Incy Wincy Spider travels on his web throughout the farmyard encountering many of the farm animals along the way in this ebullient retelling of the popular children's song.

Black Rabbit Hall Eve Chase

One golden family. One fateful summer. Four lives changed forever. At Black Rabbit Hall nothing much ever happens time seems to move slower at this idyllic holiday home in Cornwall. Until the worst thing happens and for the Alton children time feels like it's stopped altogether. As they run wild, lost in grief and confusion, an outsider, Caroline Shawcross, and her dark, angry son Lucian enter their lives, changing them forever. In the present day, Lorna Smith is searching for her perfect wedding venue and is inexplicably drawn to the now crumbling Black Rabbit Hall, unaware that her own history is locked up in those derelict walls.

Catch your death Lauren Child

Tigers are roaming the streets of Twinford, and it looks like someone has deliberately released some very rare and very dangerous animals. Things are going to get wild - and Ruby is going to get badly lost in the wilderness. The question is: will she ever make it out alive? Well, as always, you wouldn't want to bet against her...

Feel the fear Lauren Child

Ruby must pit her wits against a seemingly invisible foe. How do you set your sights on catching a light-fingered villain if you can't even see him...?

Look into my eyes Lauren Child

Here's the low-down on Ruby Redfort: she's a genius code-cracker, a daring detective, and a gadget-laden special agent who just happens to be a thirteen-year-old girl. She and her slick side-kick butler, Hitch, foil crimes and get into loads of scrapes with evil villains, but they're always ice-cool in a crisis. In this first book, we go right back to Ruby's beginnings as an agent. When an anonymous caller sets Ruby a challenge, it's not long before she finds her way into the HQ of the most secret of secret agencies - SPECTRUM. They need her help to crack a code but her desk job soon spirals into an all-out action adventure, as Ruby uncovers the dastardly plans of the formidable Fool's Gold Gang...

Pick your poison Lauren Child

Ruby Redfort: undercover agent, code-cracker and thirteen-year-old genius - you can count on her when you're between a rock and a hard place. There's a lot to lose sleep over in Twinford: there's the snakes and the bivalves, but they aren't half as poisonous as the rumours. With so many twists and turns it's hard to know who to trust, particularly when no one trusts you. Will Ruby make it out in one piece? Well, happy endings are for fairy tales, bozo.

Your cherished baby Howard Chilton

The way we nurture our babies, from their earliest moments, has a lifelong effect on their health and happiness. What many of us have known instinctively is now a matter of science. Study after study proves that how we hold, feed, play with and settle our babies is a major factor in their long-term wellbeing. Dr Howard Chilton has been a neonatologist (a babies' physician) for over thirty years. He has seen numerous baby-care fads come and go, but has always held to the philosophy now proved by science: you can't give your baby too much love. In Your Cherished Baby, Dr Chilton introduces mothers to a complete approach for settling, feeding and engaging their 0-2 infants. He explains the neurological processes of both baby and mother in this early bonding period. He debunks the myth of baby routines, provides a compelling explanation for colic and excessive crying, and argues for the introduction of varied foods to aid the development of a child's palette and to guard against obesity later in life. Most prevalent to many a sleep-deprived parent, Dr Chilton presents a practical alternative to controlled crying, a currently popular sleep settling technique that he regards as inhumane. Accessible, compassionate and occasionally controversial, Your Cherished Baby is the essential guide to giving babies the best possible start in life.

This Victorian life Sarah A Chrisman

We all know that the best way to study a foreign language is to go to a country where it's spoken, but can the same immersion method be applied to history? How do interactions with antique objects influence perceptions of the modern world? From Victorian beauty regimes to nineteenth-century bicycles, custard recipes to taxidermy experiments, oil lamps to an ice box, Sarah and Gabriel Chrisman decided to explore nineteenth-century culture and technologies from the inside out. Even the deepest aspects of their lives became affected, and the more immersed they became in the late Victorian era, the more aware they grew of its legacies permeating the twenty-first century. Most of us have dreamed of time travel, but what if that dream could come true? Certain universal constants remain steady for all people regardless of time or place. No matter where, when, or who we are, humans share similar passions and fears, joys and triumphs. In her first book, Victorian Secrets, Chrisman recalled the first year she spent wearing a Victorian corset 24/7. In This Victorian Life, Chrisman picks up where Secrets left off and documents her complete shift into living as though she were in the nineteenth century.

Victorian secrets : what a corset taught me about the past, the present, and myself Sarah A Chrisman

On Sarah A. Chrisman's twenty-ninth birthday, her husband, Gabriel, presented her with a corset. The material and the design were breathtakingly beautiful, but her mind immediately filled with unwelcome views. Although she had been in love with the Victorian era all her life, she had specifically asked her husband not to buy her a corset - ever. She'd heard how corsets affected the female body and what they represented, and she wanted none of it. However, Chrisman agreed to try on the garment ... and found it surprisingly enjoyable. The corset, she realized, was a tool of empowerment, not oppression. After a year of wearing a corset on a daily basis, her waist had gone from thirty-two inches to twenty-two inches, she was experiencing fewer migraines, and her posture improved. She had successfully transformed her body, her dress, and her lifestyle into that of a Victorian woman and everyone was asking about it. In Victorian Secrets, Chrisman explains how a garment from the past led to a change in not only the way she viewed herself, but also the ways she understood the major differences between the cultures of twenty-first-century and nineteenth-century America. The desire to delve further into the Victorian lifestyle provided Chrisman with new insight into issues of body image and how women, past and present, have seen and continue to see themselves.

Jane Austen, game theorist Michael Suk-Young Chwe

Game theory - the study of how people make choices while interacting with others - is one of the most popular technical approaches in social science today. But as Michael Chwe reveals in his insightful new book, Jane Austen explored game theory's core ideas in her six novels roughly two hundred years ago. Jane Austen, Game Theorist shows how this beloved writer theorized choice and preferences, prized strategic thinking, argued that jointly strategizing with a partner is the surest foundation for intimacy, and analyzed why superiors are often strategically clueless about inferiors. With a diverse range of literature and folktales, this book illustrates the wide relevance of game theory and how, fundamentally, we are all strategic thinkers. Although game theory's mathematical development began in the Cold War 1950s, Chwe finds that game theory has earlier subversive historical roots in Austen's novels and in "folk game theory" traditions, including African American folktales. Chwe makes the case that these literary forebears are game theory's true scientific predecessors. He considers how Austen in particular analyzed "cluelessness" - The conspicuous absence of strategic thinking - and how her sharp observations apply to a variety of situations, including U.S. military blunders in Iraq and Vietnam. Jane Austen, Game Theorist brings together the study of literature and social science in an original and surprising way

Lady Midnight Cassandra Clare

Pinnacle event Richard A Clarke

Against the backdrop of the 2016 presidential election, five simultaneous murders on three continents leads a cyber sleuth to a thread revealing someone has just bought five nuclear weapons. But who and what is their target? American intelligence expert Ray Bowman is brought in to find out. With the help of a Mossad agent and a female South African intelligence officer, he races around the world to stop nuclear terror. Washington fears the bombs are intended for American cities, timed to explode before the election that is just weeks away. What Bowman discovers is that the people who control the bombs intend to do something so devastating that it will make nuking a few U.S. cities look like a mild attack. Richard A. Clarke's Pinnacle Event is a gripping international thriller written from the rare vantage point of a true Washington insider.

Five minutes alone : a thriller Paul Cleave

Theodore Tate returns in the latest thriller from bestselling international crime writer Paul Cleave. Back in the police force and with his wife Bridget out of hospital, Tate looks to be getting his lifeon track. Meanwhile, his former detective partner Carl Schroder is finding life a little more challenging. The bullet he took in the head six months ago hasn't killed him . . . but it'sleft him with time on his hands. When the body of a convicted rapist is found, obliteratedby an oncoming train,and other criminalsbegin to disappear,it seems somebody might be helping their victims exactrevenge. There's a common plea from victims' loved ones: when you find the man who did this, give me five minutes with him. And that's what someone is doing. But then innocent people start to die, and Tate and Schroder find themselves caught up in a dangerous cat and mouse chase that only one of them can win.

Trust no one Paul Cleave

Most of the world knows Jerry Grey by his crime-writing pseudonym, Henry Cutter. But now that he has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at the age of forty-nine, Jerry's career is coming to an abrupt end. His 12 books tell stories of brutal murder committed by bad men. As his dementia continues to break down the wall between his real life and the lives of his characters, Jerry confesses that the stories are real. He committed the crimes himself. His family and friends all insist that it's all in his head, just a side effect of the terrible disease - but is it?

Offshore : a short story collection Ann Cleeves

Offshore is a striking collection of short stories, all set on islands off the coast of the UK, and features cases for both DI Jimmy Perez on Shetland, and DI Willow Reeves on Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

Shetland Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves' bestselling series of crime novels, featuring Detective Jimmy Perez, and now also adapted for a major BBC television series, draw their inspiration from the place in which they take place: Shetland. An archipelago of more than a hundred islands, it is the one of the most remote places in the United Kingdom. Its fifteen hundred miles of shore mean that wherever one stands, there is a view of the sea. It has sheltered voes and beaches and dramatically exposed cliffs, lush meadows full of wild flowers in the summer and bleak hilltops where only the hardiest of plants will grow. It is a place where traditions are valued and celebrated, but new technologies and ways of working are also embraced. In this gloriously illustrated companion to her novels, Ann Cleeves takes readers through a year on Shetland, learning about its past, meeting its people, celebrating its festivals and seeing how the flora and fauna of the islands changes with the seasons. Whether it is the drama of the Viking fire festival of Up Helly Aa in winter, or the piercing blue and hot pink of spring flowers on the clifftops, the long, white nights of midsummer or the fierce gales and high tides of autumn, Shetland is vividly captured in all its bleak and special beauty.

Did You Ever Have a Family Bill Clegg

Armada Ernest Cline

It's just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He's daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedom if he can make it that long without getting suspended again. Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer. At first, Zack thinks he's going crazy. A minute later, he's sure of it. Because the UFO he's staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders. But what Zack's seeing is all too real. And his skills as well as those of millions of gamers across the world are going to be needed to save the earth from what's about to befall it. Yet even as he and his new comrades scramble to prepare for the alien onslaught, Zack can't help thinking of all the science-fiction books, TV shows, and movies he grew up reading and watching, and wonder: Doesn't something about this scenario seem a little too familiar?

Ready player one Ernest Cline

"Ready Player One takes place in the not-so-distant future - the world has turned into a very bleak place, but luckily there is OASIS, a virtual reality world that is a vast online utopia. People can plug into OASIS to play, go to school, earn money, and even meet other people (or at least they can meet their avatars), and for protagonist Wade Watts it certainly beats passing the time in his grim, poverty-stricken real life. Along with millions of other world-wide citizens, Wade dreams of finding three keys left behind by James Halliday, the now-deceased creator of OASIS and the richest man to have ever lived. The keys are rumored to be hidden inside OASIS, and whoever finds them will inherit Halliday's fortune. But Halliday has not made it easy. And there are real dangers in this virtual world. Stuffed to the gills with action, puzzles, nerdy romance, and 80s nostalgia, this high energy cyber-quest will make geeks everywhere feel like they were separated at birth from author Ernest Cline."

Kissed by a cowboy Debra Clopton

Cassidy was looking for a home and a place to belong not for a cowboy to steal her heart. Having lived through her parents' endless string of "matrimonial bliss gone wrong," Cassidy Starr knows when the odds are not in her favour. Divorced and humiliated, her faith on rocky ground, Cassidy is through with love. She's been bucked off that horse far too many times. Instead, she returns to Wishing Springs, Texas, and the rundown farm she's inherited from her great aunt Roxie. She'll reopen the strawberry farm and a bed & breakfast and follow in her aunt's footsteps, remaining forever-independent, happy and single. Rancher Jarrod Monahan's hands are full running the ranch, looking after his ailing grandfather, and chasing down a group of rustlers on the loose. He's pushed his longing for a family to the bottom of his list of priorities. Besides, he was in love once but ran scared and lost his shot at happiness. But suddenly, the biggest regret of his life has moved in next door with a wounded heart, determined to become a spinster. and that's a challenge that Jarrod can't pass up. Jarrod sets his mind to breaking down the walls around Cassidy's stubborn heart. How can he show her that a cowboy's kiss lasts forever? For the good folks of Wishing Springs, falling in love has never been so much fun to witness.

Mermaid moon Colleen Coble

Shame and confusion have kept Mallory Davis from her home for the last fifteen years, but when her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she doesn't have any choice but to go back to Mermaid Point. Mallory believes her father was murdered and childhood sweetheart Kevin O'Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, confirms her suspicions. But Kevin is wary of helping Mallory in her search. She broke his heart - and left - without a word, years ago. When Mallory begins receiving threats on her own life - and her beloved teenage daughter, Haylie - their search intensifies. There's a tangled web within the supposed murder, and it involves much more than what meets the eye. As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father's killer - it is also about finding herself again . . . and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together.

Astonished dice Geoff Cochrane

Astonished Dice compiles award-winning poet and author Geoff Cochrane's two slim volumes of short stories, originally published in limited editions and his early novella Quest Clinic with more recent stories.

The masked city Genevieve Cogman

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he's been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds. Kai's dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people and the forces of order and chaos themselves. Irene's mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it's always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

A Perfect World David Cohen

Kiko and the hellojars Ross Collins

In Coldpole, everyone loves to receive a hellojar. Just open the lid to hear its frozen message, news, good wishes or simply hello! But when little Kiko and her polar bear, Tunnu, set off to deliver hellojars to Uncle Ukluk in far-off Hotpole, the animals they meet on the way have very different uses in mind for the precious hellojars.

Atlantia Allyson Braithwaite Condie

Rio has always dreamed of leaving the underwater city of Atlantia for life in the Above; however, when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, Rio is left stranded below where she must find a way to unlock the secrets of the siren voice she has long hidden and save Atlantia from destruction.

R.H.I. : two novellas Tim Corballis

A researcher sits in the archive of the British Psychoanalytic Society in London, examining fragile pieces of paper, small notebooks, and diaries. A writer in Berlin finds himself haunted by the city's socialist-era buildings, and by their designer. Each begins to sketch the historical figure at the heart of his fixation. Joan Riviere was an early English psychoanalyst and Sigmund Freud's earliest translator. Hermann Henselmann was a German architect, famous for many of the post-war buildings of the German Democratic Republic. The two novellas about their lives form an incomplete history of Europe's 20th century-its wars, its politics and thought.

Redcoat Bernard Cornwell

That empty feeling Peter Corris

Legendary PI Cliff Hardy has reached an age when the obituaries have become part of his reading, and one triggers his memory of a case in the late 1980s. Back then Sydney was awash with colourful characters, and Cliff is reminded of a case involving Ten-Pound Pom Barry Bartlett and racing identity and investor Sir Keith Mountjoy. Bartlett, a former rugby league player and boxing manager, then a prosperous property developer, had hired Hardy to check on the bona fides of young Ronny Saunders, newly arrived from England, and claiming to be Bartlett's son from an early failed marriage. The job brought Hardy into contact with Richard Keppler, head of the no-rules Botany Security Systems, Bronwen Marr, an undercover AFP operative, and sworn adversary Des O'Malley. At a time when corporate capitalism was running riot, an embattled Hardy searched for leads was Ronny Saunders a pawn in a game involving big oil and fraud on an international scale? Two murders raise the stakes and with the sinister figure of Lady Betty Lee Mountjoy pulling the strings, it was odds against a happy outcome.

Nearly gone Elle Cosimano

A math-whiz from a trailer park discovers she's the only student capable of unravelling complex clues left by a serial killer who's systematically getting rid of her classmates.

The beggar maid Dilly Court

This is the wonderfully nostalgic, vivid and compelling new novel from the Sunday Times top five bestselling author of A Loving Family. From the age of eight, sixteen-year-old Charity Crosse has been living rough with her grandfather and begging on the streets. When he grandfather passes away, Charity is helped by a kindly doctor who introduces her to bookseller, Jethro Dawkins. He takes Charity in to help in his bookshop and keep house in their one room behind the shop. Charity sleeps under the counter and is not well treated, but Jethro instills in her the love of books that began when her grandmother taught her to read. And she starts to hope of a better future for herself. But Jethro dies unexpectedly, and Charity is faced with eviction when the rent is raised by the unscrupulous landlord. Must Charity give up her dream of running the bookshop herself, and worse, be forced to return to the streets?

Ragged Rose Dilly Court

With the fate of her family in her hands, Rose has to make a terrible choice. Be thrown onto the streets without a penny to her name, or watch her loved ones fall into ruin. Rose is keeping a dreadful secret, and too scared to ask her strict father for help, it's down to her to keep her brother from the hangman's noose whatever it takes. Her innocent sister Cora is on a different road to ruin, bewitched by a handsome cad whose intentions are anything but gallant. When Rose's father discovers that his children have disgraced his name he turns them onto the street. Penniless, homeless and with the noose tightening, Rose must rescue her brother and keep her sister from the streets, even if it means putting herself in the most terrible danger.

The workhouse girl Dilly Court

Circumstances force eight-year-old Sarah Scrase and her widowed mother Ellen to enter St Giles and St George's Workhouse in Bloomsbury. When Ellen dies in childbirth, an independent-minded, spirited Sarah falls foul of the workhouse master Trigg and his cruel wife. Sarah's ordeal seems to be over when philanthropist and sugar mill owner James Arbuthnot takes her into his home. But her wealthy benefactor reports Trigg and his wife. And blaming Sarah for their misfortune, in a fit of revenge the couple decide to take the law into their own hands.

Human universe Brian Cox

Human life is a staggeringly strange thing. On the surface of a ball of rock falling around a nuclear fireball in the blackness of a vacuum the laws of nature conspired to create a naked ape that can look up at the stars and wonder where it came from. What is a human being? Objectively, nothing of consequence. Particles of dust in an infinite arena, present for an instant in eternity. Clumps of atoms in a universe with more galaxies than people. And yet a human being is necessary for the question itself to exist, and the presence of a question in the universe any question is the most wonderful thing. Questions require minds, and minds bring meaning. What is meaning? I don't know, except that the universe and every pointless speck inside it means something to me. I am astonished by the existence of a single atom, and find my civilisation to be an outrageous imprint on reality. I don't understand it. Nobody does, but it makes me smile. This book asks questions about our origins, our destiny, and our place in the universe. We have no right to expect answers; we have no right to even ask. But ask and wonder we do. Human Universe is first and foremost a love letter to humanity; a celebration of our outrageous fortune in existing at all. I have chosen to write my letter in the language of science, because there is no better demonstration of our magnificent ascent from dust to paragon of animals than the exponentiation of knowledge generated by science. Two million years ago we were apemen. Now we are spacemen. That has happened, as far as we know, nowhere else. That is worth celebrating.

Do princesses count? Carmela LaVigna Coyle

A little girl counts the animals she sees while on a hike.

Do princesses really kiss frogs? Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Our favourite princess returns - hiking boots and all - this time loaded with questions for her daddy. Everyone knows a princess. As this princess and her daddy wander through the woods, all kinds of wonders reveal themselves. She discovers that no matter who you are, a princess lies inside of us.

Do princesses scrape their knees? Carmela LaVigna Coyle

Through belly-flops and missed baskets, our princess discovers that doing your best is all that really matter - even when your little brother is tagging along.

The girl with no past Kathryn Croft

Leah Mills lives a life of a fugitive, kept on the run by one terrible day from her past. It is a lonely life, without a social life or friends until, longing for a connection, she meets Julian. For the first time she dares to believe she can live a normal life. Then, on the twentieth anniversary of that day, she receives a card. Someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won't stop until they've destroyed the life Leah has created. But is Leah all she seems? Or does she deserve everything she gets?

The girl you lost Kathryn Croft

Eighteen years ago, Simone Porter's six-month-old daughter, Helena, was abducted. Simone and husband, Matt, have slowly rebuilt their shattered lives, but the pain at losing their child has never left them. Then a young woman, Grace, appears out of the blue and tells Simone she has information about her stolen baby. But just who is Grace - and can Simone trust her? When Grace herself disappears, Simone becomes embroiled in a desperate search for her baby and the woman who has vital clues about her whereabouts. Simone is inching closer to the truth but it'll take her into dangerous and disturbing territory. Simone lost her baby. Will she lose her life trying to find her?

The loss of the Jane Vosper Freeman Wills Crofts

The Jane Vosper is plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic by a series of explosions in her hold. It is clear that something is wrong, as there is no innocent explanation of the cause. The only possibility appears to be that someone has sunk the ship for the insurance money (either for the goods on board or the ship itself). The loss of the goods will cause a problem for The Land and Sea Insurance Co., and they decide to look into matters themselves. When their private detective goes missing, Inspector French of Scotland Yard is called in and he decides that the only way to solve the missing person case is to solve the mystery of the Jane Vosper as well. But even he is baffled, until his hard work and assiduous following of the clues leads him to the correct conclusion.

The pit-prop syndicate Freeman Wills Crofts

When Seymour Merriman stopped at the side of the road twenty-six miles outside Bordeaux, little did he know how his life was about to change. The events that followed would take him through an adventure wrought with mystery, smuggling, murder and love. As this classic tale unfolds, it follows two amateurs in their attempt to unlock the mystery of changing number plates, and all else that surrounds the pit prop syndicate, before the case is handed over to Inspector Willis of Scotland Yard, who through thorough chasing of clues, finally manages to unravel the scheme.

The Ponson case Freeman Wills Crofts

When the body of Sir William Ponson is found in the Cranshaw River near his home of Luce Manor, it is assumed to be an accident until the evidence points to murder. Inspector Tanner of Scotland Yard discovers that those who would benefit most from Sir William's death seem to have unbreakable alibis, and a mysterious fifth man whose footprints were found at the crime scene is nowhere to be found.

Make your home among strangers Jennine Capo Crucet

Lizet, a daughter of Cuban immigrants and the first in her family to graduate from high school, secretly applies and is accepted to an ultra-elite college, her parents are furious at her decision to leave Miami. Just weeks before she's set to start school, her parents divorce and her father sells her childhood home, leaving Lizet, her mother, and Leidy-Lizet's older sister, a brand-new single mom-without a steady income and scrambling for a place to live...Pulled between life at college and the needs of those she loves, Lizet is faced with difficult decisions that will change her life.

Soul secrets : Inspiration for a happier and more fulfilling life Kelvin Cruickshank

'Don't underestimate the power of positive thoughts. Thinking positively really can change your reality.' In this book, bestselling psychic medium Kelvin Cruickshank shares hisviews on how to live a full, happy life by making the most of your journey - even in times of loss. Covering key themes of love, grief, forgiveness and belief, Kelvin offers inspirational thoughts, quotesand reflections gathered from his own experiences in helping people to connect with spirit. Whether you're seeking reassurance, comfort or motivation to help you on your road through life, you'll find plenty in Kelvin's words to inspire you.

Wild pork and watercress Barry Crump

When Social Welfare threatens to put Ricky into care, the overweight Maori boy and cantankerous Uncle Hec flee into the remote and rugged Ureweras. The impassable bush serves up perilous adventures, forcing the pair of misfits to use all their skills to survive hunger, wild pigs and the vagaries of the weather. Worse still are the authorities, determined to bring Ricky and Uncle Hec to justice. But despite the difficulties of life on the run, a bond of trust and love blossoms between the world-weary man and his withdrawn side-kick. This rattling good yarn has now been made into a major movie: Hunt For the Wilderpeople, directed and written by Taika Waititi, and starring Sam Neill and Julian Dennison.

Still foolin' 'em : where I've been, where I'm going and where the hell are my keys? Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal is turning 65, and he's not happy about it. With his trademark wit and heart, he outlines the absurdities and challenges that come with growing old, from insomnia to memory loss to leaving dinners with half your meal on your shirt. In humorous chapters like "Buying the Plot" and "Nodding Off," Crystal not only catalogues his physical gripes, but offers a road map to his 77 million fellow baby boomers who are arriving at this milestone age with him. He also looks back at the most powerful and memorable moments of his long and storied life, from entertaining his relatives as a kid in Long Beach, Long Island, his years doing stand-up in the Village, up through his legendary stint at Saturday Night Live, When Harry Met Sally, and his long run as host of the Academy Awards. Readers get a front-row seat to his one-day career with the New York Yankees (he was the first player to ever "test positive for Maalox"), his love affair with Sophia Loren, and his enduring friendships with several of his idols, including Mickey Mantle and Muhammad Ali. He lends a light touch to more serious topics like religion ("the aging friends I know have turned to the Holy Trinity: Advil, bourbon, and Prozac"), grandparenting, and, of course, dentistry. As wise and poignant as they are funny, Crystal's reflections are an unforgettable look at an extraordinary life well lived.

They let me write a book : Jamie's world Jamie Curry

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jamie, I'm 19-years-old. I make videos on the Internet, and enough people watched them that they let me write a book. I know. What is life?" Inside these pages is my life so far, and what I've learnt - or haven't learnt - along the way. Read about my cowboy hat years, the year I dug a big hole, and the time I pulled down my pants at a badminton game. I'll tell you my top travel tips (drink water), how to have fun at a school ball (don't go) and how to be an adult (eat an oyster). And I'll talk about YouTube, because I suppose that's what got us into this mess in the first place ...

Lost empire Clive Cussler

While scuba diving in Tanzania, Sam and Remi Fargo come upon a relic belonging to a long-lost Confederate ship. An anomaly about the relic sets them off chasing a mystery - but unknown to them, a much more powerful force is engaged in the same chase. Mexico's ruling party, the ultranationalist Mexica Tenochca, is intent on finding that artefact as well, because it contains a secret that could destroy the party utterly. Through Tanzania and Zanzibar, into the rainforests of Madagascar, and across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia and the legendary site of the 1883 Krakatoa explosion, the Fargos and their ruthless opponents pursue the hunt - but only one can win. And the penalty for failure is death.

It's okay to die : Shirley Dando's story - dying graciously Shirley Dando

When Shirley and Graeme Dando were both diagnosed with cancer they began a journey which would test their faith and change them forever.This book tells that story, making use of Shirley's diaries and writings, along with Graeme's recollections. To Shirley, healing was never based on an 'all or nothing' concept but viewed as a catalyst to bring her to a closer relationship with God. Along the way, there were set-backs and difficulties as well as all kinds of victories and milestones. The road was marked with resilience, hope, the love of their family, the encouragement and doubts of those around them, questions, unexpected twists and turns, unquenchable faith in the face of disappointment and an ever-deepening relationship with God. When one of them dies and the other is healed, it leaves forever the unanswered question "Why was one saved and the other not?" and fuels the never-ending debate regarding healing in our time. As Shirley put it in her journal: "On the one hand was the belief that if we ask we shall receive and that God would therefore heed our prayers and heal us; and on the other hand was the conflicting perspective that this illness was God's will and we should submit: Your will Lord, not mine."

Lord Dashwood missed out Tessa Dare

Miss Elinora Browning grew up yearning for the handsome, intelligent lord-next-door...but he left England without a word of farewell. One night, inspired by a bit too much sherry, Nora poured out her heartbreak on paper. Lord Dashwood Missed Out was a love letter to every young lady who'd been overlooked by gentlemen - and an instant bestseller. Now she's on her way to speak in Spindle Cove when snowy weather delays her coach. She's forced to wait out the storm with the worst possible companion: Lord Dashwood himself. And he finally seems to have noticed her. George Travers, Lord Dashwood, has traveled the globe as a cartographer. He returned to England with the goal of marrying and creating an heir - only to find his reputation shredded by an audacious, vexingly attractive bluestocking and her poison pen. Lord Dashwood Missed Out, his arse. Since Nora Browning seems to believe he overlooked the passion of a lifetime, Dash challenges her to prove it.

One dance with a duke Tessa Dare

A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members - yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing "Duke of Midnight." Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke - until Lady Amelia d'Orsay tries her luck.

Mortality Doctrine James Dashner

Cinderella Susanna Davidson

Illustrated with fresh, bright pictures, for beginner readers, this title is part of the Usborne Reading Programme, which includes over 250 titles across seven levels all developed in conjunction with reading experts at Roehampton University.

Thumbelina Susanna Davidson

Thumbelina is as tiny as a thumb. When she's abandoned in the outside world, she faces some very big adventures indeed.

The town mouse and the country mouse Susanna Davidson

When the town mouse and the country mouse visit each other, they find they prefer very different ways of life.

Noah's ark Kate Davies

Noah is told to build an ark that will hold two of every animal before the big flood comes.

Razor's edge Sylvia Day

It was a cool night in Carmel but for Deputy US Marshal Jack Killigrew, thoughts of Rachel were generating a lot of heat and sweat into his lonely nights. But having her could never be more than a fantasy. She was his best friend's widow. He promised to look after her should anything happen. And there's no way Jack could betray the memory of his buddy by making moves on the guy's wife - no matter how long hess desired her. Rachel's marriage had been perfect. So had her husband. But fate had a different plan. Now Rachel's a single mother, resilient and independent. It's time for her to move on and let a new man into her life. Jack's been there for her in the past but now she needs him in a different way. All Rachel has to do in convince him that it's right, that it's the best thing for both of them, and that it's about time ...

The stranger I married Sylvia Day

They are London's most scandalous couple. Isabel, Lady Pelham, and Gerard Faulkner, Marquess of Grayson, are well matched in all things - lusty appetites, constant paramours, provocative reputations, and their absolute refusal to ruin a marriage of convenience by falling in love. It is a most agreeable sham, until a shocking event sends Gerard from her side. When, four years later, Gerard returns, the boyish rogue is now a powerful, irresistible man determined to seduce Isabel. He is not the man she married - but is he the one to finally steal her heart?

Taking the heat Sylvia Day

Layla Creed and Deputy US Marshal Brian Simmons have a history that is as hot and heartbreaking as it is unforgettable. Now their paths have crossed once again. This time things are twice as hot. Layla, a protected witness, has been persuaded to come out of hiding and testify in a sensational murder trial. But as far as Brian's concerned, there's an even more pressing problem. Once Layla testifies she'll get sucked back into the Witness Protection Program. A new identity, a new location, a new occupation and a new inspector to check up on her. In other words, out of his life forever. There is one more option: take Layla and go on the run. Rekindling what they once had should be easy. But a stranger in their shadow has plans of his own, forcing Brian and Layla to risk everything in the name of love.

The ant and the grasshopper Katie Daynes

It's the middle of summer and while the grasshopper is enjoying himself, the ant is busy preparing for winter and when winter arrives both the ant and the grasshopper learn something about the merits of hard work

The day the crayons quit Drew Daywalt

Debut author Drew Daywalt and international bestseller Oliver Jeffers team up to create a colourful solution to a crayon-based crisis in this playful, imaginative story that will have children laughing and playing with their crayons in a whole new way. Poor Duncan just wants to colour in. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown, Blue needs a break from colouring in all that water, while Pink just wants to be used. Green has no complaints, but Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking to each other. The battle lines have been drawn. What is Duncan to do?

The Umbrian Supper Club Marlena De Blasi

Luscious and evocative, The Umbrian Supper Club recounts the stories of a small group of Umbrian women who sometimes with their men and, as often, without them gather in an old stone house in the hills above Orvieto to cook, to sit down to a beautiful supper, to drink their beloved local wines. And to talk. During the gathering, the preparation, the cooking and the eating, they recount the memories and experiences of their gastronomic lives and, as much, of their more personal histories. For a period of four years, it was Marlena de Blasi's task, her pleasure, to cook for the Supper Club to choose the elements for supper, to plan the menu and, with the help of one or another of the women in the club, to prepare the meal. What she learnt, what they cooked and ate and drank and how they talked is the fundamental stuff of this book.

Pete the cat : scuba-cat James Dean

As Pete the Cat searches underwater for a seahorse, he comes into contact with all manner of sea creatures.

Seriously, I'm kidding Ellen DeGeneres

The stand-up comedian, television host, best-selling author and actress candidly discusses her personal life, her professional career and describes what it was like to become a judge on American Idol.

The diary of a provincial lady E M Delafield

'January 22nd - Robert startles me at breakfast by asking if my cold - which he has hitherto ignored - is better. I reply that it has gone. Then why, he asks, do I look like that? Feel that life is wholly unendurable, and decide madly to get a new hat'. It's not easy being a provincial lady in Devonshire in the 1920s, juggling a grumpy husband, mischievous children and a host of domestic dilemmas - from rice mould to a petulant cook. But this provincial lady will not be defeated; not by wayward flower bulbs, not by unexpected houseguests, not even by the Blitz. She will continue to preside over the W.I., endure rain-drenched family picnics and succeed as a published author, all the while tending to her strawberries. The Diary of a Provincial Lady is a brilliantly observed comic novel, as funny and fresh today as when it was first written.

Alice Joseph Delaney

A lot of dark stuff happened when I was young that I've never even told to my dearest friend, Tom Ward. Dark and scary things I hoped I had left behind for ever. Over the years, Alice has fought evil side by side with the Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward. But now Alice is alone in the realm of the dark. And the creatures she has helped to banish there, now have the chance to take their revenge. Alice must seek the final weapon needed to destroy the Fiend for good. If she fails, the world will fall into despair and darkness. If she succeeds, it means facing her own death at the hands of her dearest friend. But can she prevent the darkness from overtaking her over completely? The penultimate instalment of the Wardstone Chronicles follows Alice, Thomas Ward's loyal companion, to the most terrifying place of all.

The spook's blood Joseph Delaney

Time is running out for Thomas Ward. His final battle against the Fiend is drawing near, and the Spook's apprentice has never felt more alone in his task. Isolated and afraid, the Fiend is set to send the greatest of his servants against him - Siscoi, a Vampire God more ferocious than anything he has yet faced. Tom must risk his life to prevent the evil beast from entering this world, even as he learns that the final destruction of the Fiend may involve a sacrifice more terrible than he can imagine.

The spook's destiny Joseph Delaney

The Spook, Tom and Alice travel to Ireland, fleeing from the war in the County. There, Tom must tackle a group of evil mages who are desperate to rid their land of the Spook and his apprentice, and to increase their own dark powers. His dangerous mission against the mages leads Tom to the Destiny Blade - a sword with a dark side, and a thirst for blood. Will this new weapon give him a fighting chance against the Fiend? If he's to survive, he'll need training, and only one person can help - Grimalkin, the witch assassin. The dark against the dark ...

Spooks. I am Grimalkin Joseph Delaney

Grimalkin has made it her ambition to destroy the Fiend, avenging the murder of her son. Having grudgingly joined forces with the Spook and his apprentice, Tom, and assisted them in the binding of the Fiend, she is now on the run.

Saint Anything Sarah Dessen

The Silent Inheritance Joy Dettman

Two for one Kate DiCamillo

The state fair is in town, and for Bink and Gollie utter opposites and best friends, three comical adventures await! Bink attacks the Whack-a-Duck with an unswerving winning attitude - the world's largest doughnut is up for grabs! And, with a quiet determination, Gollie storms the stage at the talent show. But a lousy shot and a case of stage fright spoil each girl's chances! Undeterred, they use their grey matter and turn it all around! In the final story, Bink and Gollie make a date with destiny: Madame Prunely, fortune teller spectacular! She looks into her crystal ball and tells them everything they could ever need to know they'll always be together. Without question. This is the second volume in a fantastically hilarious best-friend adventure trilogy for the early reader. With Tony Fucile's kinetic illustrations, these two characters burst into the reader's world with great wit, warmth and imagination.

The magic pear tree Rosie Dickins

Shen doesn't like to share anything - especially not his yummy pears. Can a hungry beggar teach him a little kindness?

The magic porridge pot Rosie Dickins

Poor Hannah never has enough to eat, and can't believe her luck when she is given a magic porridge pot. But when a greedy boy steals it, is he in for more than he bargained for?

The ghost network Catie Disabato

One minute insanely famous pop singer Molly Metropolis is on her way to a major performance in Chicago, and the next, she's gone. A journalist who's been covering Molly joins the singer's personal assistant in an increasingly desperate search to find her, guided by a journal left behind in her hotel room, and possible clues hidden in her songs - all of which seem to point to an abandoned line in the Chicago subway system. It leads them to a map of half-completed train lines underneath Chicago, which in turn leads them to the secret, subterranean headquarters of an obscure intellectual sect - and the realization that they've gone too far to turn back. And if a superstar can disappear without a trace . . . what can happen to these young women?

Bad things happen Harry Dolan

The man who calls himself David Loogan is leading a quiet, anonymous life in the college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. He's hoping to escape a violent past he would rather forget. But his solitude is broken when he finds himself drawn into a friendship with Tom Kristoll, publisher of the mystery magazine Gray Streets - and into an affair with Laura, Tom's sleek blond wife. When Tom offers him a job as an editor, Loogan sees no harm in accepting. What he doesn't realize is that the stories in Gray Streets tend to follow a simple formula: Plans go wrong. Bad things happen. People die.

The last dead girl Harry Dolan

On a rainy night in April, a chance encounter on a lonely road draws David into a romance with Jana Fletcher, a beautiful young law student. Jana is an enigma: living in a run-down apartment and sporting a bruise on her cheek that she refuses to explain. David would like to know her secrets, but he lets them lie until it's too late. When Jana is brutally murdered, the police consider David a prime suspect. But as he sets out to uncover the truth about Jana, he begins to realize he's treading a very dangerous path and that her killer is watching every move he makes.

Very bad men Harry Dolan

Mystery magazine editor David Loogan receives a sinister manuscript that begins with a murder confession and names individuals who are being stalked and killed for their involvement in a notorious robbery years earlier.

The pyjama girls of Lambert Square Sara Donati

For John Dodge, moving to new places and reviving ailing businesses is a way of life. So when he sees an ad for Scriveners, a stationery shop in a small town in South Carolina, he decides to take the plunge. As soon as he arrives in Lambert's Corner, Dodge falls happily into the whirl of gossip, gifts and quintessential Southern hospitality. But the one person who really catches Dodge's eye is Julia Darrow - the beautiful but aloof pyjama wearing-owner of the Cocoon, a popular store specializing in luxury linens. Dodge tries to befriend her, but she remains elusive and mysterious. Everyone knows that she is a widow, but no one seems to know why she came to town or why she never leaves Lambert Square-or does she? Like Dodge, Chicago-born Julia is fleeing a tumultuous past. But with the help of a hilarious and endearing cast of characters, Julia and Dodge learn that, sometimes, you don't need to go far to find home.

Tied to the tracks Sara Donati

When a southern writer demands that their untraditional, shoestring film company make the movie of her life, producer Angie accompanies her colleagues to Georgia, where a man from her past is preparing to marry a wealthy debutante.

Lamplighter Kerry Donovan Brown

Old World lamplighters once lit the streets of cities like Constantinople, Alexandria, and Rome. In the countryside, in the new colonies, the lamplighter doesn't light passages through the dark; he lights perimeters against it, and the wildernesses beyond. In the tiny South Island beach settlement of Porbeagle, Candle is apprentice to his grandfather, Ignis. But as the community prepares to celebrate the lamplighter's retirement, old stories take on darker hues. If the origins of folklore are in a sunken history of violence and prejudice, what is the price of Candle's freedom? Inhabiting a luminous space between realism and parable, between an all-too-familiar contemporary New Zealand and a magical otherworld, Lamplighter is as captivating as it is unsettling.

The robe Lloyd C (Lloyd Cassel) Douglas

A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Christ's robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe - a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity and is set against the vividly limned background of ancient Rome. Here is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.

Missing you Louise Douglas

Fen works in a bookshop and is devoted to her young son, Connor, but she keeps herself to herself. Haunted by a terrible secret, Fen lives a compromised life, too afraid of the past to risk becoming close to anyone. Sean, on the other hand, is enjoying a seemingly perfect life, with a successful career, dream marriage and beautiful daughter. That is until the day Belle announces she has found someone else and wants Sean to move out. Circumstance throws Fen and Sean together. Slowly their quiet friendship turns into something much deeper and the joy they find in one another eventually gives them the confidence to trust and love again. But will the past tear them apart just as they find happiness?

Our magic hour Jennifer Down

Audrey, Katy and Adam have been friends since high school a decade of sneaky cigarettes, drunken misadventures on Melbourne backstreets, heart-to-hearts, in-jokes. But now Katy has gone. And without her, Audrey is thrown off balance: everything she thought she knew, everything she believed was true, is bent out of shape. Audrey's family, her neurotic mother, her wayward teenage brother, her uptight suburban sister are likely to fall apart. Her boyfriend, Nick, tries to hold their relationship together. And Audrey, caught in the middle, needs to find a reason to keep going when everything around her suddenly seems wrong. Evocative and exquisitely written, Our Magic Hour is a story of love, loss and discovery.

This is the ritual Rob Doyle

Jean-Paul Finnegan stands on board the Ulysses ferry heading home to Ireland. 'Not one person in Ireland has even read Joyce!' he rants, terrifying the passengers around him. A young man in a dark depression roams the vast, formless landscape of a Dublin industrial park where he meets a strange vagrant in the grip of a dangerous ideology. A woman fleeing the break-up of a long-term relationship finds herself taking part in an unusual sleep experiment. A man obsessed with Nietzsche clings desperately to his girlfriend's red shoes. Among these masterful stories lurk characters that straddle the boundary between fiction and non-fiction. What did happen to Killian Turner, Ireland's vanished literary outlaw? Or the Glaswegian novelist Malcolm Donnelly? And just who is Rob Doyle?

Air and darkness David Drake

Corylus, a soldier, emerges as one of the most compelling heroic figures in contemporary fantasy. Battling magicians, spirits, gods, and forces from supernatural realities, Corylus and his companions from the family of the nobleman Saxa-especially Saxa's impressive wife Hedia, and his friend (and Saxa's son) Varus-must face constant deadly and soul-destroying dangers, climaxing in a final battle not between good and evil but in defense of logic and reality.

The legions of fire David Drake

The great city of Carce (a fantasy world based on Europe during the later Roman Empire) and all life on Earth will be destroyed unless two young men, Corylus and Varus, and two women, Hedia and Alphena, pursue the answer to the mysterious and threatening happenings that prefigure this disaster.

Out of the waters David Drake

When a great creature seems to rise from the sea to devastate the city during Senator Gaius Alphenus Saxa's lavish theatrical event, the crowd is delighted. A few in the audience, although not Saxa, understand that this was not mere stagecraft, but something much darker and more dangerous.

Charlie the ranch dog : rock star Ree Drummond

Charlie the irrepressible basset hound embarks on the life of famous rock-and-roll star before discovering that he misses the ranch.

Both sides of the moon Alan Duff

A powerful novel by the author of Once Were Warriors about a half caste and his Maori warrior ancestor, cast out of his tribe. Jimmy understands all about belonging and not belonging. He sees himself as part of both sides of the moon: 'Kind of black man, sort of nigger, in my own country, and kind of white, sort of The Man, by the other half of me. I am torn, yet I am more whole since I am both . . .'He is part of a fractured family, and it's only when he learns about his forebear - a brave warrior who became an outcast from his tribe - that he begins to understand the darker implications of his heritage.

Frederick's coat Alan Duff

A powerful story of love between father and son, of contrasting ways of looking at the world and of revenge. When Johno comes out of prison, he resolves never to go back again. But his new life is not easy, especially as he soon finds himself in sole charge of his strange young son, Danny. Danny isn't the kind of son he would have chosen, but, in caring for the boy, Johno finds new meaning and new direction. But what do you do when the world you've so carefully built comes crashing down? Can you ever escape your past? This is a return to the world of criminals and violence that Alan has written about so effectively in the past, but it is also a touching exploration of the relationship between father and son.

Once were warriors Alan Duff

A New Zealand classic, this novel is a raw and powerful portrayal of Maori in New Zealand society.Alan Duff's groundbreaking first novel is one of the most talked-about books ever published in New Zealand and is the basis of a major New Zealand film. This hard hitting story is a frank and uncompromising portrait in which everyone is a victim, until the strength and vision of one woman transcends brutality and leads the way to a new life

State ward Alan Duff

A moving, powerful novel about facing your crimes, about freedom and about redemption, from the renowned author of Once Were Warriors. 'I'm thirteen and I'm in a cell. A cell. It's got real bars, up there protecting that high window. I can jump up and touch them. I'm in a cell. That door is for real; it's made of solid steel, and it's got a peephole. So they can spy on me. But I ain't gonna bust. I damn well ain't'. Charlie Wilson, the 'state house boy' from Two Lakes, is sent to Riverton Boys' Home as a state ward 'until such time as you are seen fit to return to society'. The door in the cellblock isn't the only thing that Charlie finds is for real. There's also the name 'George' scrawled on the walls, and by it the word 'kehua' or ghost.

Counting the stars Helen Dunmore

In the heat of Rome's long summer, the poet Catullus and his older married lover, Clodia Metelli, meet in secret. Living at the heart of sophisticated and brittle Roman society Catullus is obsessed with Clodia, the Lesbia of his most passionate poems. He is jealous of even of her pet sparrow. And Clodia? Catullus is possibly not her only interest.

The lie Helen Dunmore

Cornwall, 1920, early spring. A young man stands on a headland, looking out to sea. He is back from the war, homeless and without family. Behind him lie the mud, barbed-wire entanglements and terror of the trenches. Behind him is also the most intense relationship of his life. Daniel has survived, but the horror and passion of the past seem more real than the quiet fields around him. He is about to step into the unknown. But will he ever be able to escape the terrible, unforeseen consequences of a lie?

Talking to the dead Helen Dunmore

Nina and Isabel are the closest of sisters and are devastated when their baby brother dies suddenly. Later when Nina has her first child, Isabel comes to help. Memories of the past and hidden secrets threaten their relationship.

Lady in the mist Laurie Alice Eakes

By virtue of her profession as a midwife, Tabitha Eckles is the keeper of many secrets. Dominick Cherrett is a man with his own secret to keep: namely, why he, a British aristocrat, is on American soil working as an indentured servant. In a time when relations between America and England rest on the edge of a knife, Tabitha and Dominick cross paths, leading them on a journey of intrigue, threats, public disgrace and ... love. But can Tabitha trust Dominick? Finding true love seems impossible in a world set against them.

Always watching Lynette Eason

The bodyguards of Elite Guardians Agency have more than just skill and prowess in common - they're also all women. When it becomes clear that popular psychiatrist and radio personality Wade Savage has a stalker, his father secretly hires Elite Guardians in order to protect his son. But when Wade's bodyguard is attacked and nearly killed, agency owner Olivia Edwards must step in and fill the gap. Olivia's skills are about to be tested to the limit as Wade's stalker moves from leaving innocent gifts at his door to threatening those closest to him. Olivia has the feeling that she's next on the list. And to complicate things even further, she realizes that her heart may be in as much danger as her client.

The Danish girl David Ebershoff

Inspired by the true story of Danish painter Einar Wegener and his California-born wife, this tender portrait of a marriage asks "What do you do when someone you love wants to change?"

Under the visible life Kim Echlin

Fatherless Katherine carries the stigma of her mixed-race background through an era that is hostile to her and all she represents. It is only through music that she finds the freedom to temporarily escape and dream of a better life for herself, nurturing this hard-won refuge throughout the vagaries of unexpected motherhood and an absent husband, and relying on her talent to build a future for her family. Orphaned Mahsa also grows up in the shadow of loss, sent to relatives in Pakistan after the death of her parents. Struggling to break free, she escapes to Montreal, leaving behind her first love, Kamal. But the threads of her past are not so easily severed, and she finds herself forced into an arranged marriage. For Mahsa, too, music becomes her solace and allows her to escape from her oppressive circumstances. When Katherine and Mahsa meet, they find in each other a kindred spirit as well as a musical equal, and their lives are changed irrevocably. Together, they inspire and support one another, fusing together their cultures, their joys, and their losses, just as they collaborate musically in the language of free-form, improvisational jazz.

Enchanters' end game David Eddings

'Come, Belgarion, Child of Light. I await thee in the City of Night ...' A confrontation that has been prophesied for thousands of years is racing towards a conclusion. For as Garion comes into his heritage as the Rivan King, Overlord of the West, and takes up the Orb of Aldur to protect the land, Torak awakes and his evil hordes of Murgo soldiers and Grolim priests march in his name. While the princess Ce'Nedra mobilises the forces of the free lands to repel the invaders, Garion heads for his duel with Torak - a duel upon which the fate of the whole world depends.

Queen of sorcery David Eddings

Legends tell how Belgarath the sorcerer and his daughter Polgara defeated the evil God Torak, imprisoning him in an endless sleep. But now a priest of Torak is racing to his God with the Orb of Aldur and is racing to reawaken him. Belgarath and Polgara are on his trail. With them is Garion, a simple farm boy only months before. And with each league the group travel, the power of sorcery is growing in Garon.

The cat's pajamas Wallace Edwards

A collection of animal portraits will have you buzzing like a bee in this amusing introduction to idioms and eye-spy book. Depicts twenty-six idioms contextualized within a sentence along with illustrations that bring new meaning to each, and includes explanations of the sayings.

The Circle Dave Eggers

When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world's most powerful internet company, she feels she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company's modernity and activity.

Bream gives me hiccups : & other stories Jesse Eisenberg

Written in the droll tradition of Woody Allen, Simon Rich and David Sedaris these short pieces from Jesse Eisenberg are hilarious and ironic. The series of stories that gives the book its unusual title are written from the point of view of a nine-year-old boy whose mother brings him to expensive Los Angeles restaurants so that she can bill her ex-husband for the meals. One story in this series begins: Last night, Mom and I went to Thanksgiving dinner at a Vegan family's house, which is kind of like going to Temple for Christmas. Mom said that Vegans are 'people that don't eat any meat or cheese or shave.' Other stories imagine discussions in ancient Pompeii just before the volcanic eruption, explore the vagaries of post-gender-normative dating in New York City, and conjure up Alexander Graham Bell's first five phone calls: Have you heard anything from Mabel? I've been calling her all day, she doesn't pick up! Yes, of course I dialled the right number 2! In different ways, these stories explore what it means to navigate the modern world, and are all illuminated by Eisenberg's ironic wit and funny, original voice.

Builder mouse Sofia Eldarova

Edgar the mouse is frustrated when his architectural and artistic creations, made from tasty leftovers, are gobbled up by other mice, until he finds the perfect solution.

Burned Thomas Enger

A brutalised victim in the wilds: A solitary tent is found to contain the body of a half-buried woman. She's been stoned to death. There are lash marks across her back. One of her hands has been cut off. A lone voice: Two years earlier internet reporter Henning Juul lost his son, Jonas, in a domestic fire. As he returns to work, physically and emotionally scarred, Henning struggles to escape this past and to be taken seriously again as a reporter - by his colleagues, his ex-wife and the police. A Mystery Ignited: Told to cover the story of the woman in the tent, he finds an increasingly dangerous trail and, despite an early arrest, he is convinced that the story is more complex than the police think.

Pierced Thomas Enger

A convicted killer: Despite always maintaining his innocence, Tori Pulli, once a powerful player on Oslo's underground crime scene, has been found guilty of murder. A loose end: Scarred reporter, Henning Juul, is contacted by Pulli, who claims that if Henning can help clear his name he can give him details of who was responsible for the fire which killed his six-year-old son, Jonas. A double threat: Desperate to continue his own search for justice, Henning realises that the information Pulli promises is life threatening, to both of them and to others. As events take a deadly turn, Henning finds himself on the trail of two killers for whom the stakes have never been higher...

Scarred Thomas Enger

Trine Juul-Osmundsen, Norway's Secretary of State and Henning Juul's sister, is accused of sexually harassing a young male politician. As the allegations cause a media frenzy, Trine receives an anonymous threat telling her to resign. If she doesn't, the truth about what she really did that night will be revealed.

How to seduce a Scot Christy English

Determined to see his hellion of a sister wed, Highlander Alexander Waters is willing to face anything - even the English. He just didn't expect his own rough manners to cause such a riot...or for a blooming English rose to catch his eye. Gently bred Catherine Middlebrook must find a respectable man to marry or her family will be ruined. She won't allow herself to be distracted by Highland barbarians...no matter how her body may thrill whenever Alex is near. Catherine wasn't part of the plan, but as their battle of wills escalates, Alex comes to realize this "proper" English girl is as wild as the Highlands themselves...and nothing will stop him from having her.

Love on a midsummer night Christy English

To escape the scheming, pawing clutches of her late husband's nephew, Arabella Darlington turns to Raymond Olivier, the only man she ever loved, for help. But the sweet Raymond she knew as a girl is now the dissolute Earl of Pembroke?the most notorious rake in London. When the situation turns deadly, Arabella and Raymond are forced to hide in the country. As she finds herself succumbing to Raymond's puckish charm, Arabella starts formulating a new plan: how to persuade a rake to propose.

Much ado about Jack Christy English

Angelique Beauchamp, the widowed Countess of Devonshire, has been twice burned by love, and she is certain that no man will ever touch her heart again. But that doesn't mean she can't indulge a little - and it would be hard to find a more perfect dalliance than one with the dashing Captain James Montgomery. After a brief torrid affair, James tries to forget Angelique and his undeniable thirst for more. The luscious lady was quite clear that their liaison was temporary. But for the first time, the lure of the sea isn't powerful enough to keep him away...

The last report on the miracles at Little No Horse Louise Erdrich

For over half a century, Father Damien Modeste has lived a secret life as a woman, while serving his beloved people, the Ojibwe, on the remote reservation of Little No Horse. Now nearing the end of his life, Father Damien dreads the discovery of his physical identity. To complicate his fears, his quiet life changes when a troubled colleague comes to the reservation to investigate the life of the perplexing, difficult, possibly false saint, Sister Leopolda. Father Damien alone knows the strange truth of Sister Leopolda's piety, but the facts are bound up in his own secret. He is forced to choose: Should he reveal all he knows and risk everything? Or should he manufacture a protective history? In a masterwork that both deepens and enlarges the world of her previous novels set on the same reservation, Louise Erdrich captures the essence of a time and the spirit of a woman who feels compelled by her beliefs to serve her people as a priest.

The guise of another Allen Eskens

After being subpoenaed by a grand jury under suspicion of corruption, Minnesota detective Alexander Rupert attempts to salvage his career and reputation investigating the false identity of recent car accident victim.

Isolation Mary Anna Evans

Archaeologist Faye Longchamp-Mantooth has dug herself a deep hole and she can't make her way out of it. As she struggles to recover from a shattering personal loss, she sees that everyone she loves is trying to reach out to her. If only she could reach back. Instead she's out digging holes all over her home, the Florida island of Joyeuse. In their old plantation home, Joe Wolf Mantooth is surrounded by family - Faye, the wife he loves; their toddler son he adores; and his father, who hasn't gotten around to telling him how long he's been out of prison or how he got there - yet Joe has never felt so helpless or alone. Then a close friend at the local marina is brutally murdered, the first in a string of crimes against women that rocks Micco County. Joe, desperate to help Faye, realizes she is in danger from both her inner demons and someone who has breached the island's isolation. Local law and environmental officials say they want to help, but to Faye and Joe they feel more like invaders. A struggling Faye reaches back over a century into her family's history for clues. And all the while, danger snakes further into their lives, threatening the people they love, their cherished home, even the very ground - some of it poisoned - beneath their feet

Rituals Mary Anna Evans

Archaeologist Faye Longchamp doesn't believe in ghosts. But in Rosebower, New York, the site of her most recent dig, people most certainly do. This community of spiritualists seems harmless - until their most prominent citizen, Tilda Armistead, dies. Evidence says that someone trapped Tilda in a small room before setting her home on fire. There is no possible way for Tilda to have escaped the blaze, let alone drive for miles before finding Faye and dying in her arms. Yet Tilda did. How? And why? Faye tries to uncover the truth, watching as the psychics and charlatans jockey for power. Will Rosebower reveal its secrets to Faye before more goes up in flames?

The back of his head Patrick Evans

Raymond Thomas Lawrence was one of the great literary colossi to bestride the twentieth century. Seven years after Lawrence's death, however, the four trustees of the literary trust set up to memorialize New Zealand's greatest writer are facing rising costs and dwindling visitor numbers at the Residence. While fending off a self-appointed biographer, they find themselves confronting the secrets of their own intimate relationships with The Master. 'But is bumping off biographers really the sort of thing literary trusts do?' Marjorie creaks. 'Don't we just handle copyright?' The Back of His Head is a hilarious and troubling satire on the making and manipulation of literary fame, by the author of the acclaimed novel Gifted.

Book book Fiona Farrell

An evocative and moving mix of memoir and fiction from an award-winning novelist. As war is waged in the Middle East, a woman in New Zealand has her nose in a book. Kate is immersed in other battles, engrossed in eyewitness accounts of an earlier war in ancient Persia. She has grown up, left her Otago home and returned, and in all these years books have shaped her life and made sense of the world - offering mystery and solace, entertainment and enlightenment. From The Little Red Hen to Owls Do Cry, from T.S. Eliot to Aphra Behn, this frequently funny, always original novel is another extraordinary offering from the author of The Hopeful Traveller.

Light readings Fiona Farrell

A superb collection of short stories that celebrate the power of the written word. Giving an innovative take on the many forms of reading that bombard us in our everyday lives - from e- to junk-mail, gardening to cookbooks, tourist guides to romance novels - these stories play with them all. They illuminate the gap between living and reading, that moment when words become light. These stories are funny, wise, moving and compulsive. They are examples of 'light reading' in their accessibility, but there is also depth and a beautiful style, offering the very best in literary reading.

Limestone Fiona Farrell

Clare Lacey is on a quest. In Ireland to attend an art history conference, she sets out to find her father who walked out one day to buy a packet of cigarettes when she was a child, and disappeared. She is urged on her way by chance encounters: with a woman in a high tower, a blind man at a crossroads, a singer whose song she does not understand . . . Clues lie all around on a labyrinth of walls - but the final clue lies deep within. With Irish roots and a nod to the Irish classic, The Year of the Hiker by John B. Keane, this is a contemporary novel about inheritance, belief, art, love . . . and limestone.

Mr. Allbones' ferrets : an historical pastoral satirical scientifical romance, with mustelids Fiona Farrell

An historical, pastoral, satirical, scientifical romance, with mustelids! A young man out poaching. A beautiful maiden in a mysterious house. A perilous voyage to distant islands. All the ingredients of a highly coloured Victorian romance are played out in the context of the great colonial experiment. Exotic species travelled back to stock the collections of Europe while useful species were dispatched to found new colonies in the antipodes. Walter Allbones really existed. So did his ferrets. From these facts, Fiona Farrell has spun a delicate, satirical fantasy about human folly and the perils attendant on disturbing the subtle balance of nature.

Six clever girls who became famous women Fiona Farrell

On 22 September 1960, six girls gather behind the school toilets to read Peyton Place: Caroline the leader, Heather the caregiver, Kathy the actress, Raeleen the explorer, Greer the mystic and Margie the rebel. Like the historical heroines whose stories are repeatedly held up to them as models, these girls confront in their various ways the uncertainty and fears of adolescence. On 22 September 1995 we meet them again, confronting the issues of middle age. Caroline's on the way up, Raeleen's now Ra, Margie climbs higher and higher. They're all relearning in the process the joy of making that vital, terrifying, thrilling leap 'out into the sun'...

The strange case of the disappearing body Fiona Farrell

An astute short story that challenges the formulaic and inhumane murder mysteries of television.A body is found floating in the bottom of a swimming pool. The police have no leads. Might the nosy cleaner have a theory about this strange case? After all, she is well used to reading the mess that people leave lying all around. Award-winning writer Fiona Farrell offers a refreshing take on death and justice in this intriguing mystery.

Wrath of a mad god Raymond E Feist

The Darkwar rages upon Midkemia and Kelewan, bringing bleak days of destruction and despair. To save the future of both worlds, the powerful sorcerer Pug and select members of the secretive Conclave of Shadows must journey deep into the dangerous realm of the bloodthirsty Dasati, there to carry out an audacious mission that has little, if any, chance of succeeding.

The status of all things Liz Fenton

Kate is a 35-year-old social media obsessed woman, who, after being jilted at her rehearsal dinner, discovers she can change her life by what she writes in her Facebook status. Heartbroken and confused over why she was left, she wishes to go back in time to before her fiance Max, broke things off so she can try to save their relationship. Because it turns out, the reason Max ended their engagement has a lot to do with Kate's close friend and co-worker, Courtney. Kate, with all of the power at her finger tips, continuously writes status updates to try keep them apart, but for reasons she doesn't understand, she ends up pushing them together over and over again. And she starts to wonder if it's even possible to literally re-write fate. Meanwhile, the only two people who know she's time travelled are her two best friends since college, Jules, a frazzled married mom of two and pastry chef and Drew, a comfortably single computer programmer.

The story of the lost child Elena Ferrante

The quartet traces the friendship between Elena and Lila, from their childhood in a poor neighbourhood in Naples, to their thirties, when both women are mothers but each has chosen a different path. Their lives are still inextricably linked, for better or worse, especially when it comes to the drama of a lost child.

To rise again at a decent hour Joshua Ferris

After noticing his identity has been stolen and used to create various social media accounts, a man with a troubled past, Paul O'Rourke, begins to wonder if his virtual alter ego is actually a better version of himself.

The 4-hour work week : escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich Timothy Ferriss

Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan - there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, here is the blueprint. This step-by-step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches: how Tim went from $40,000 per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per month and 4 hours per week; how to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want; how blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs; how to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist; how to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent "mini-retirements.

A French affair Katie Fforde

Gina and Sally Makepiece have inherited a stall in the French House, an antiques centre nestled in the heart of the English countryside. Gina is determined to drag the French House and its grumpy owner into the twenty-first century. Bearing all the attributes of a modern-day Mr Rochester, Matthew Ballinger is less than happy with the whirlwind that has arrived on his doorstep. The last thing either of them want is to fall in love. But will a trip to France change their minds?

The glassblower of Murano Marina Fiorato

Venice, 1681. Glassblowing is the lifeblood of the Republic, and Venetian mirrors are more precious than gold. Jealously guarded by the murderous Council of Ten, the glassblowers of Murano are virtually imprisoned on their island in the lagoon. But the greatest of the artists, Corradino Manin, sells his methods and his soul to the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, to protect his secret daughter. In the present day his descendant, Leonora Manin, leaves an unhappy life in London to begin a new one as a glassblower in Venice. As she finds new life and love in her adoptive city, her fate becomes inextricably linked with that of her ancestor and the treacherous secrets of his life begin to come to light.

The island escape Kerry Fisher

Can one woman's marriage survive her best friend's divorce? Fans of Veronica Henry and Erica James, this is the next book to add to your reading list. It's time to get back to where it all began ... Octavia Sheldon thought she'd have a different life. One where she travelled the world with an exotic husband and free-spirited children in tow. But things didn't turn out quite like that. Married to safe, reliable Jonathan, her life now consists of packed lunches, school runs and more loads of dirty washing than she ever thought possible. She's not unhappy. It's just that she can barely recognise herself any longer. So as Octavia watches her best friend's marriage break up, it starts her thinking. What if life could be different? What if she could escape and get back to the person she used to be? Escape back to the island where she spent her summers? And what if the man she used to love was there waiting for her ...

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Adventure number one Ian Fleming

The Pott family is anything but ordinary. With an inventor for a father, twins Jeremy and Jemima have learned to expect the unexpected, so they aren't at all worried that the new family car, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, produces wings and flies them out of a traffic jam. And they don't bat an eye when Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang soars out over the English Channel to find the perfect beach for sun-bathing. And when they are faced with MORTAL DANGER, who else but Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang could rescue them?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Adventure number three Ian Fleming

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Adventure number two Ian Fleming

Faced with MORTAL DANGER, the Pott family trade one peril for another as, during their escape from the isolated beach they found at the end of Adventure #1, they come face to face with a group of dangerous gangsters. But with Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang to rescue them, the Pott family can rest easy at their hotel in the French countryside...or can they?

The bad penny Katie Flynn

Midwife Patty Peel delivers a baby girl in a filthy Liverpool slum dwelling, just as the mother dies. The drunk and violent father tells Patty to get rid of it. She means to deliver the child at an orphanage, but brings it up herself.

Just one day Gayle Forman

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of "Twelfth Night" in England, there's an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Where she went Gayle Forman

If you had a second chance at first love ...would you take it? It's been three years since Adam's love saved Mia after the accident that annihilated life as she knew it ...and three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future and each other. Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, powerful prose that defined If I Stay, "Where She Went" explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

A passage to India E M (Edward Morgan) Forster

"A Passage to India" sparked such political fury that enraged Anglo-Indians threw copies into the Indian Ocean, while in England it helped create a climate of opinion which would take the British out of India in less than a generation. Adela Quested, visiting from England, shows an interest in Indian ways of life that is frowned upon by the British community. What happens to Adela at the infamous Marabar caves, and the subsequent ordeal of the charming young Dr Aziz, is wrought into a tense drama which throws Chandrapore into a fever of racial tension.

My life in houses Margaret Forster

'I was born on May 25, 1938, in the front bedroom of a house in Orton Road, on the outer edges of Raffles, a council estate. I was a lucky girl.' So begins Margaret Forster's journey through the houses she's lived in, from that sparkling new council house, built as part of a utopian vision by Carlisle City Council, to her beloved London house of today, via Oxford, Hampstead, the Lake District and a spell in the Mediterranean. This is not a book about bricks and mortar, or about how a house becomes a home with the right scatter of cushions. This is a book about what houses are to us, the effect they have on the way we live our lives. It is also a wonderful backwards glace at the changing nature of our accommodation: from blacking grates and outside privies; to cities dominated by bedsits and lodgings; to houses today being converted back into single dwellings, all open-plan spaces and bringing the outside in. Finally, it is a gently insistent, personal inquiry into the meaning of home.

The unknown bridesmaid Margaret Forster

When Julia was eight, she was asked to be a bridesmaid at her beautiful cousin Iris' wedding. Her mother saw this as a chore expensive, inconvenient but Julia was thrilled. When the time came, even the fact that her bridesmaid's dress didn't fit, and was plain cream rather than the pink she'd hoped for, couldn't ruin the day. But after this, things began to go wrong for Julia, starting with an episode involving her cousin's baby, a pram and a secret trip round the block. A lifetime later, Julia is a child psychologist who every day deals with young girls said to be behaving badly. Some are stealing, some are running away from home, some are terribly untidy, some won't eat or get out of bed. Julia has a special knack with these girls. She understands which really are troubled, and which are at the mercy of the way they are seen by the adults around them. But one day, Julia's own troubled past starts to creep into her present. And as she struggles to understand her childhood self, she must confront the possibility that the truth may not be as devastating as she feared.

Billy Lynn's long halftime walk Ben Fountain

A satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq that explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad. Follows the surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and cheerleaders.

The Jane Austen book club Karen Joy Fowler

As six Californians get together to form a book club to discuss the novels of Jane Austen, their lives are turned upside down by troubled marriages, illicit affairs, changing relationships, and love.

Adventures in human being Gavin Francis

We have a lifetime's association with our bodies, but for many of us they remain uncharted territory. In Adventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads the reader on a journey through health and illness, offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the secret workings of the heart and the womb; from the pulse of life at the wrist to the unique engineering of the foot. Drawing on his own experiences as a doctor and GP, he blends first-hand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined and portrayed over the millennia. If the body is a foreign country, then to practise medicine is to explore new territory: Francis leads the reader on an adventure through what it means to be human. Both a user's guide to the body and a celebration of its elegance, this book will transform the way you think about being alive, whether in sickness or in health.

Winter siege Ariana Franklin

Run, run, girl. In the name of God, run. 1141. A mercenary watches from the icy reeds as a little girl with red hair is attacked by his own men. He is powerless to stop them. But a strange twist of fate brings them together again. Sheltering in a church, he finds the girl freezing cold, close to death, clutching a sliver of parchment. And now he is certain of what he must do. He will bring her back to life. He will train her to fight. And he will protect her from the man who calls himself a monk, who lost a piece of parchment he will do anything to get back. An epic account of the brutal winter when Stephen and Matilda tore England apart in their battle for its crown, when atrocities were inflicted on the innocent, but bravery found a home in an old solider and a young girl.

The silk roads : a new history of the world Peter Frankopan

The sun is setting on the Western world. Slowly but surely, the direction in which the world spins has reversed: where for the last five centuries the globe turned westwards on its axis, it now turns to the east. For centuries, fame and fortune was to be found in the west in the New World of the Americas. Today, it is the east which calls out to those in search of adventure and riches. The region stretching from eastern Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia deep into China and India, is taking centre stage in international politics, commerce and culture and is shaping the modern world. This region, the true centre of the earth, is obscure to many in the English-speaking world. Yet this is where civilization itself began, where the world's great religions were born and took root. The Silk Roads were no exotic series of connections, but networks that linked continents and oceans together. Along them flowed ideas, goods, disease and death. This was where empires were won and where they were lost. As a new era emerges, the patterns of exchange are mirroring those that have criss-crossed Asia for millennia. The Silk Roads are rising again. A major reassessment of world history, The Silk Roads is an important account of the forces that have shaped the global economy and the political renaissance in the re-emerging east.

A work in progress : a memoir Connor Franta

In this intimate memoir of life beyond the camera, Connor Franta shares the lessons he has learned on his journey from small-town boy to Internet sensation-so far. Here, Connor offers a look at his Midwestern upbringing as one of four children in the home and one of five in the classroom; his struggles with identity, body image, and sexuality in his teen years; and his decision to finally pursue his creative and artistic passions in his early twenties, setting up his thrilling career as a YouTube personality, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and tastemaker. Exploring his past with insight and humour, his present with humility, and his future with hope, Connor reveals his private struggles while providing heartfelt words of wisdom for young adults. His words will resonate with anyone coming of age in the digital era, but at the core is a timeless message for people of all ages: don't be afraid to be yourself and to go after what you truly want. This full-colour collection includes photography and childhood clippings provided by Connor and is a must-have for anyone inspired by his journey.

Oh baby! : birth, babies & motherhood uncensored Kathy Fray

Much-recommended by new mothers, this is the only book you'll need for the best baby advice. Now completely revised and updated.Refreshingly honest, openly frank and candidly blunt, this book has been written by a mother (who is also an experienced midwife) for other mothers. It oozes warm fuzzies, exudes realism in every paragraph and is refreshing in its guiltless honesty. Modern first-time mothers are often alone - devoid of once-traditional motherhood knowledge and practical support. Often previously self-confident women find themselves isolated, fumbling over everyday mothering tasks, enduring sleep deprivation, feeling desperately despondent - and aching and leaking everywhere. This book provides supportive, caring advice - one mum to another - while at the same time serving as an encyclopaedic medical reference regarding the mother and baby. Checked thoroughly by medical professionals, this book is a unique blend, like having access to a kind and gentle GP as well as to all the gems of wisdom of years of mothers' coffee groups. This title clearly and compassionately explains the ups as well as the downs which are perfectly normal aspects of giving birth and mothering in today's society.

Star Wars Battlefront. Twilight company Alexander Freed

Features a squad of ordinary soldiers caught in the trenches of that galactic war, where the ideals of a free galaxy can seem light years away, where loyalty to one's squad is paramount, yet every skirmish, every confrontation, every life or death decision can bring you closer to that ultimate struggle between good and evil.

Real delicious Chrissy Freer

Nutritious, delicious whole food recipes and food know-how from Chrissy Freer, qualified nutritionist, food writer and author of Supergrains and Superlegumes.

According to yes Dawn French

The Foreign Land of the Very Wealthy otherwise known as Manhattan's Upper East Side has its own rigid code of behaviour. It's a code strictly adhered to by the Wilder-Bingham family. Emotional displays unacceptable. Unruly behaviour definitely not welcome. Fun no thanks. This is Glenn Wilder-Bingham's kingdom. A beautifully-displayed impeccably-edited fortress of restraint. So when Rosie Kitto, an eccentric thirty-eight-year-old primary school teacher from England, bounces into their lives with a secret sorrow and a heart as big as the city, nobody realises that she hasn't read the rule book. For the Wilder-Bingham family, whose lives begin to unravel thread by thread, the consequences are explosive. Because after a lifetime of saying no, what happens when everyone starts saying yes?

Oh dear Silvia Dawn French

Who is in Coma Suite Number 5? A matchless lover? A supreme egotist? A selfless martyr? A bad mother? A cherished sister? A selfish wife? All of these. For this is Silvia Shute who has always done exactly what she wants. Until now, when her life suddenly, shockingly stops. Her past holds a dark and terrible secret, and now that she is unconscious in a hospital bed, her constant stream of visitors is set to uncover the mystery of her broken life. And she must lie there, victim of the beloveds, the borings, the babblings and the plain bonkers. Like it or not, the truth is about to pay Silvia a visit. Again, and again and again.

Secret hero society. [Book 1], Study hall of justice Derek Fridolfs

My name is Bruce Wayne, and I'm the new kid (UGH) at Ducard Academy. I can't say for certain, but I think something fishy's going on. There's a gang of clowns roaming the halls, a kid named Bane wants to beat me up, and the guidance counselor, Hugo Strange, seems really, well, strange. At least I have two new friends - Clark and Diana are kinda cool, I guess. We're going to solve this case no matter what, even if I have to convince Alfred to let me stay up past eleven.

The greedy dog Alex Frith

Dog is always on the lookout for food. Soon he finds a juicy bone to eat... but will one bone be enough? A lively retelling of the classic Aesop fable, specially written for children just starting to read alone.

King Midas and the gold Alex Frith

King Midas loves gold - but his greed soon gets him into trouble.

Our endless numbered days Claire Fuller

1976: Peggy Hillcoat is eight. She spends her summer camping with her father, playing her beloved record of The Railway Children and listening to her mother's grand piano, but her pretty life is about to change. Her survivalist father, who has been stockpiling provisions for the end which is surely coming soon, takes her from London to a cabin in a remote European forest. There he tells Peggy the rest of the world has disappeared. Her life is reduced to a piano which makes music but no sound, a forest where all that grows is a means of survival. And a tiny wooden hut that is everything.

A breath of snow and ashes Diana Gabaldon

The American revolution approaches, and Jamie and Claire Fraser find themselves caught up in a war that threatens to destroy everything they know.

Lord John and the private matter Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1757. On a clear morning in mid-June, Lord John Grey emerges from London's Beefsteak Club, his mind in turmoil. A nobleman and a high-ranking officer in His Majesty's Army, Grey has just witnessed something shocking. But his efforts to avoid a scandal that might destroy his family are interrupted by something still more urgent: the Crown appoints him to investigate the brutal murder of a comrade in arms, who may have been a traitor. Obliged to pursue two inquiries at once, Major Grey finds himself ensnared in a web of treachery and betrayal that touches every stratum of English society and threatens all he holds dear. From the bawdy houses of London's night-world to the stately drawing rooms of the nobility, and from the blood of a murdered corpse to the thundering seas ruled by the majestic fleet of the East India Company, Lord John pursues the elusive trails of a vanishing footman and a woman in green velvet, who may hold the key to everything - or nothing.

I'll see you in Paris Michelle Gable

Michelle Gable's I'll See You in Paris winds together the lives of three women born generations apart, but who face similar struggles of love and heartbreak. After losing her fiance in the Vietnam War, nineteen-year-old Laurel Haley takes a job in England, hoping the distance will mend her shattered heart. Laurel expects the pain might lessen but does not foresee the beguiling man she meets or that they'll go to Paris, where the city's magic will take over and alter everything Laurel believes about love. Thirty years later, Laurel's daughter Annie is newly engaged and an old question resurfaces: who is Annie's father and what happened to him? Laurel has always been vague about the details and Annie's told herself it doesn't matter. But with her impending marriage, Annie has to know everything. Why won't Laurel tell her the truth? The key to unlocking Laurel's secrets starts with a mysterious book about an infamous woman known as the Duchess of Marlborough. Annie's quest to understand the Duchess, and therefore her own history, takes her from a charming hamlet in the English countryside, to a decaying estate kept behind barbed wire, and ultimately to Paris where answers will be found at last.

Chu's first day at school Neil Gaiman

Chu is a little panda with a big sneeze and when his first day at school approaches he is nervous. Will the other boys and girls be nice? Will they like Chu? A fabulously warm and funny story about little Chu and his enormous sneeze!

Diving in Gretchen Galway

For schoolteacher Nicki Fitch, a summer in Hawaii is the perfect opportunity to overcome a lifetime of phobias and heartbreak. But when she gets to Maui, she discovers the guy who broke her heart in college is living in her paradise. How can she tackle her fears when the biggest one of all is walking around shirtless - and refuses to leave her alone? About to turn thirty, Ansel has never wasted his life of privilege - if only his father saw it that way. When Dad cuts him off financially, Ansel moves into his family's vacation home to make his own fortune in real estate. The last thing he needs is his sister's leggy, beautiful friend distracting him. Unfortunately, he's had little practice resisting temptation. As the days and nights unfold along the luxurious Maui shores, Nicki and Ansel find themselves sharing more and more? and more. But will either one of them have the courage to bring what they find together home with them when the summer's over?

Fever at dawn Peter Gardos

Twenty-five-year-old Holocaust survivor Miklos is being shipped from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp to Gotland, Sweden, to receive treatment at the Larbro Hospital. Here he is sentenced to death again: he is diagnosed with tuberculosis and his doctor informs him that he has six months to live. But Miklos decides to wage war on his own fate: he writes 117 letters to 117 Hungarian girls, all of whom are being treated in the Swedish camps, with the aim of eventually choosing a wife from among them. Two hundred kilometres away, in another Swedish rehabilitation camp, nineteen-year-old Lili receives Miklos's letter. Since she is bedridden for three weeks due to a serious kidney problem, out of boredom and curiosity she decides to write back. The slightly formal exchange of letters becomes increasingly intimate. When the two finally manage to meet, they fall in love and are determined to marry, despite the odds that are against them.

That other me Maha Gargash

Majed, the head of the eminent Naseemy family, is proud to have risen into the upper echelons of Emirati society. As one of the richest businessmen in Dubai, he's used to being catered to and respected-never mind that he acquired his wealth by cheating his brother out of his own company and depriving his niece, Mariam, of her rights. Not one to dwell on the past-he sent Mariam to school in Egypt, what more could she want from him?-Majed spends his days berating his wife and staff and cavorting with friends at a private apartment. But he's suddenly plagued by nightmares that continue to haunt him during the day, and he feels his control further slipping away with the discovery that his niece and his daughter are defying his orders. Mariam despises Majed, and although she blames him for her father's death, hers is a strictly-organized, dutiful existence. But when she falls for a brash, mischievous fellow student named Adel, he might just prove to be her downfall. Largely abandoned by Majed as the daughter of a second, secret marriage, the vivacious Dalal has a lot to prove. The runner-up on "Nights of Dubai," an American Idol-type reality show for Arab talent, Dalal is committed to being a singer despite the fact that it's a disreputable career. When her efforts to become a celebrity finally begin to pay off, she attracts the attention of her father, who is determined to subdue Dalal to protect the family name. As Majed increasingly exerts his control over both Dalal and Mariam, both girls resist, with explosive consequences. An exhilarating look at the little-known Khaleeji (Gulf-Arab) culture, That Other Me explores the ways social mores contribute to the collapse of one family.

Castles Julie Garwood

Orphaned and besieged, Princess Alesandra knew that only a hasty marriage to an Englishman could protect her from the turmoil in her own land. To the amusement of her makeshift guardian, Colin, younger brother of the Marquess of Cainewood, the bold, raven-haired beauty instantly captivated London society. But when Alesandra was nearly abducted by her unscrupulous countrymen, the fighting instincts that won Colin a knighthood for valor were rekindled. Deceiving himself that he wanted only to protect her, Colin swept her into a union meant to be a marriage in name alone . . . yet Alesandra's tender first kiss and hesitant caress ignited a wildfire in his soul. As the lovely princess dashed headlong into unforeseen dangers, Colin would follow, knowing he must claim her as his own forever. Now he would risk life itself before he would lose this sweet, tempestuous angel ...

Hotshot Julie Garwood

Inheriting a luxurious oceanfront resort under a condition that she must run it profitably for one year to claim full ownership, food critic Peyton Lockhart is targeted by dangerous rivals and is protected from a threat against her life by childhood friend and attractive FBI agent Finn MacBain.

Saving grace Julie Garwood

When Lady Johanna learned that she was a widow, she vowed she would never marry again. Only sixteen, already she possessed a strength of will that impressed all who looked past her golden-haired beauty. Yet when King John demanded that she remarry - and selected a bridegroom for her - it seemed she must acquiesce, until her beloved foster brother suggested she wed his friend, the handsome Scottish warrior Gabriel MacBain. At first Johanna was shy, but as Gabriel tenderly revealed the splendid pleasures they would share, she came to suspect that she was falling in love with her gruff new husband. And it was soon apparent to the entire Highlands clan that their brusque, gallant laird had surrendered his heart completely. But now a desperate royal intrigue threatened to tear her from his side ? and to destroy the man whose love meant more to her than she had ever dreamed!

Sweet talk Julie Garwood

When his carefully planned FBI sting is foiled by IRS attorney Olivia MacKenzie's efforts to untangle an elaborate Ponzi scheme, agent Grayson Kincaid becomes the woman's protector against dangerous and corrupt adversaries.

The wedding Julie Garwood

Journeying from England to Scotland to wed a highlander, Lady Brenna had resigned herself to the arranged match. But when a band of fierce, painted warriors captured her en route, she fearlessly met their demand to marry their leader - the quick-tempered laird Connor MacAlister. She couldn't know that her capture was merely the first act of vengeance against her betrothed, Connor's sworn enemy. Brenna harboured no illusions that her husband was in love with her; after a hasty forest wedding, MacAlister assured her she could return home once she had borne him a son. But she could not deny that she had once proposed to MacAlister - ten years ago, when she was just a child, and the visitor to her father's castle charmed her with his dazzling, unexpected smile. Now, as she sets out to win the brave chieftain whom she has come to adore, a legacy of revenge ensnares Brenna in a furious clan war - and only her faith in her gallant hero can save her...

Bear is not tired Ciara Gavin

Bear and his duck family do everything together. That is, until winter arrives. Bear is supposed to hibernate this time of year, but he doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun. But can Bear really stay awake all winter long?

One and all Elisa Gehin

Simple text and illustrations reveal how individual people, objects, plants, and animals are part of a larger whole, such as a single star, followed by the night sky, followed, under a gatefold, by a view of outer space.

The peripheral William Gibson

Depending on her veteran brother's benefits in a city where jobs outside the drug trade are rare, Flynne assists her brother's latest beta-test tech assignment only to uncover an elaborate murder scheme.

The sweet poison quit plan cookbook David Gillespie

Ex-lawyer and ex-sugarholic David Gillespie revolutionised the lives and eating habits of thousands of Australians with his bestsellers on the dangers of sugar, Sweet Poison and The Sweet Poison Quit Plan. To help get us unhooked from sugar, David with the help of wife Lizzie, gave us recipes for sweet foods made with dextrose-pure glucose, a healthy alternative to table sugar. Here, David has worked with a chef to develop more delicious fructose-free recipes. Sweet Poison Quit Plan Cookbook features more than 80 illustrated recipes for Australia's favourite sweet treats, from Anzac biscuits, lamingtons and pavlova to chocolate cake, baklava, brownies and doughnuts. If you don't eat sugar but still have kids to feed, birthday parties to throw, and guests popping in for morning tea, the solution is right here. These are the special treats that you can eat for the rest of your life.

The clouds roll away Sibella Giorello

Closing her assignment with the FBI's Seattle office, forensic geologist Raleigh Harmon returns to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia, expecting a warm welcome. Instead she finds herself investigating an ugly cross burning at a celebrity's mansion and standing in the crosshairs of her boss at the Bureau. As Raleigh digs into the case, she is left wondering who the real victims might be.

The mountains bow down Sibella Giorello

Even Alaska can't give Raleigh Harmon a vacation from her job as an FBI forensic geologist. A cruise to Alaska sounds like the perfect vacation; it's a geologist's dream and will give Raleigh space to sort out her feelings about her recent engagement. But before the ship even reaches its first port, a case manages to find her. The producer of a movie that's being filmed onboard goes missing and is then discovered hanging from the railing. Suicide seems to be the cause, but Raleigh quickly realizes the pieces don't add up. When the Seattle field office sends Jack Stephanson to assist her in the investigation, her personal uncertainty skyrockets. Why is it that she forgets to even call her fiance back in Virginia. And Jack seems to know her as well as she knows herself. She'll have to wait to sort out those feelings, though, because she and Jack only have five days before the cruise ends to solve this case.

The rivers run dry Sibella Giorello

Raleigh Harmon, geologist and special agent for the FBI, is suddenly transferred from the Richmond field office to Seattle. A missing hiker, a ransom note, and a "friend" with deadly intentions all ensure that there's no time for an easy transition.

The stars shine bright Sibella Giorello

Sent undercover to a thoroughbred horse track, geologist Raleigh Harmon investigates a string of mysterious horse deaths, but when her own life is threatened, only her connection to the FBI, Jack Stephanson, can help her.

Novel interiors : living in enchanted rooms inspired by literature Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

For those who have ever lost themselves in the beautiful worlds of Sense and Sensibility, The Age of Innocence, Wuthering Heights, and even movie sets like It's Complicated - this design book embraces the fantasy of time and place, showing you how to bring some of those elements into your own home. Lisa Giramonti inspires a new approach to decorating: by teaching us through the lens of worlds we may already know and love. With aspirational photographs by World of Interiors photographer Ivan Terestchenko, entertaining quotes, and tailored reading lists, Novel Interiors reveals the essence and details of interiors mentioned in great literary works. This is a stunning, photo-driven book that shares enchanting and timeless ways to live more elegantly.

Bear make den Jane Godwin

Bear loves to get things done. He can make just about anything! He even builds a wonderful den. But something is missing. What could it be?

Mission Hurricane Jenny Goebel

Who is the Outcast and why is he threatening the lives of innocent people?

Old MacDonald had a truck Steve Goetz

An update of Old MacDonald featuring farm vehicles like excavator, dump truck, and bulldozer.

Rock, meet window Jason Good

Memoir from celebrated familyman blogger Jason Good delves into the magic, fails, and meaning of fatherhood. He shares the story of his father, a charismatic, communicative, and affectionate man who taught him how to live and how to be a dad to his own two young sons. The moment Jason was told he would lose his father to cancer, and the year that followed, inspired him to reflect on how an imperfect father can be perfection in all the ways that matter in the end.

Chappy Patricia Grace

A literary milestone: Patricia Grace's first novel in ten years. Uprooted from his privileged European life and sent to New Zealand to sort himself out, twenty-one-year-old Daniel pieces together the history of his Maori family. As his relatives revisit their past, Daniel learns of a remarkable love story between his Maori grandmother Oriwia and his Japanese grandfather Chappy. The more Daniel hears about his deceased grandfather, the more intriguing - and elusive - Chappy becomes. In this touching portrayal of family life, acclaimed writer Patricia Grace explores racial intolerance, cross-cultural conflicts and the universal desire to belong. Spanning several decades and several continents and set against the backdrop of a changing New Zealand, Chappy is a compelling story of enduring love.

The dream sleepers and other stories Patricia Grace

The Dream Sleepers - stories of family life in the country and the city, of the contrasts between young and old, of relationships between people who know what it means to be Maori in a society whose predominant values are alien. Also available as an eBook

Electric city and other stories Patricia Grace

These are short stories about ordinary folk leading seemingly ordinary lives. The power of community, extended family and culture are central to all.

Mutuwhenua : the moon sleeps Patricia Grace

This is the story of Ripeka, who leaves her extended family and its traditional lifestyle to marry Graeme, a Pakeha schoolteacher. In the strange world of the city, Ripeka discovers that she cannot make the break with her whanau and that the old ways are too strong. Patricia Grace's first novel is a powerful, moving story of contrasts - between light and darkness, old and new, young and old, and Maori and Pakeha.

Ned & Katina : a true love story Patricia Grace

In Crete during the Second World War a wounded Maori Battalion soldier and a young Cretan woman fall in love when the young infantryman is sheltered by her family. After marrying in Crete, Ned and Katina come back to live in New Zealand, settling in the Far North. They live a long, rich and happy life together, raising a family and involving themselves in community affairs there and in the Wellington region. Ned dies in 1987, Katina in 1996. Years later, the whanau of Ned and Katina approached writer Patricia Grace to compile their parents' story. Ned & Katina is the result. This warm, beautifully written true story is impossible to put down.

Small holes in the silence : short stories Patricia Grace

This is a fine new collection of short stories by the much-loved Patricia Grace, probably never more popular since the great commercial success of the novel Tu. The feast of stories is varied: urban, rural, New Zealand, overseas, tribal, contemporary. An elderly woman, whose husband has died, gathers firewood on the beach while the appliances in her house fall to bits one by one. Willie falls in love with a statue. Great-grandmother reveals how she chose her husband-to-be both of them. Rona curses the Moon. Petina tells Ray Charles she's looking for a father for her baby. The thread that runs through all the stories, though, is Grace's huge sympathy for the underdog and the perspective of the outsider. The world she depicts is often a stark and unsentimental place, in which people struggle against ageing, rejection, violence and betrayal.

Waiariki Patricia Grace

Patricia Grace's popular first collection - sensitive stories of Maori life which explore Maori spirituality and values and pursue relationships between people, family and races.

R is for riicochet Sue Grafton

Reba Lafferty was a daughter of privilege, the only child of an adoring father. Over the years, he quietly settled her many scrapes with the law, but he wasn't there for her when she was convicted of embezzlement and sent to the California Institute for Women. Now, at thirty-two, she is about to be paroled, having served twenty-two months of a four-year sentence. Nord Lafferty wants to be sure she stays straight, stays at home and away from the drugs, the booze, and the gamblers. It seems a straightforward assignment for Kinsey: babysit Reba until she settles in, make sure she follows all the rules of her parole. Maybe all of a week's work. Nothing untoward - the woman seems remorseful and friendly. And, the money is good. But life is never that simple, and Reba is out of prison less than twenty-four hours when one of her old crowd comes circling around.

S is for silence Sue Grafton

Thirty-four years ago, Violet Sullivan put on her party finery and left for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display. She was never seen again. In the small Californian town of Serena Station, tongues wagged. Some said she'd run off with a lover. Some said she was murdered by her husband.But for the not-quite-seven-year-old daughter she left behind, Violet's absence has never been explained or forgotten. Now Daisy wants to solace of closure and she hopes that Kinsey Millhone will be the one to bring that about.

T is for trespass Sue Grafton

In what may be her most unsettling novel to date, Sue Grafton's "T is for Trespass" is also her most direct confrontation with the forces of evil. Beginning slowly with the day-to-day life of a private eye, Grafton suddenly shifts from the voice of Kinsey Millhone to that of Solana Rojas, introducing readers to a chilling sociopath. Rojas is not her birth name. It is an identity she cunningly stole, an identity that gives her access to private caregiving jobs. The true horror of the novel builds with excruciating tension as the reader foresees the awfulness that lies ahead. The suspense lies in whether Millhone will realize what is happening in time to intervene. Though set in the late eighties, "T is for Trespass" could not be more topical: identity theft; elder abuse; betrayal of trust; the breakdown in the institutions charged with caring for the weak and the dependent. It reveals a terrifying but all-too-real rip in the social fabric.

U is for undertow Sue Grafton

After a recent reference to a kidnapping triggers a flood of memories, unemployed college dropout Michael Sutton hires Kinsey Millhone to locate a four-year-old girl's remains and find the men who killed her.

A wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn Shelley Shepard Gray

Emma Keim was heartbroken when her husband Sanford passed away, leaving her to raise three young daughters alone. In the years since, her relatives have made it no secret that they expect Emma to remain a widow, mourning Sanford indefinitely. But when she meets Jay Hilty - a widower with three young sons of his own - Emma is delighted to have a new friend who understands her struggles. Still, Emma is dismayed that her family is so opposed to their friendship - and the idea of it ever becoming anything more. She honours her husband's memory every day, but is she destined to be alone forever? Jay knows that few people his age understand what it's like to lose a spouse, and Emma's gentleness with his boys stirs something in his heart that's been quiet for far too long. But when Jay's oldest son becomes engaged to a local woman, suddenly Jay, Emma, and their children are swept up in wedding preparations. Witnessing his son's joy, Jay wonders if it's time for him to move forward, too, and find happiness again.

Tom & Lucky (and George & Cokey Flo) C Joseph Greaves

Charles 'Lucky' Luciano is the most powerful gangster in America, Mob overlord and bootlegger millionaire. Thomas E. Dewey is an ambitious young prosecutor determine to bring him down, and Cokey Flo Brown grifter, heroin addict and sometime prostitute is the witness who claims she can do it. Only a wiley defence attorney named George Morton Levy stands between Lucky and a life behind bars, and between Dewey and the New York Governor's mansion. As the Roaring Twenties give way to the austere reality of the Great Depression, four lives, each on its own incandescent trajectory, intersect in a New York courtroom. The events of this seminal Mob trial will introduce America to the violent and darkly glamorous world of organised crime, and leave its culture, laws and politics for ever changed.

The headmaster's wife, Thomas Christopher Greene

Found wandering naked and mentally traumatized in Central Park, the headmaster of an elite boarding school imparts a story that is shaped by complicated memories, the evolution of a loving relationship, and a tragedy he cannot comprehend.

Naturally sassy Saskia Gregson-Williams

Be fit and strong not skinny, happy not guilty with 100 healthy recipes for every day, deliciously free from meat, dairy and wheat. Saskia's delicious, easy-to-make recipes will prove to sugar addicts, hardened carnivores and dairy lovers that plant-based eating is delicious, fun and satisfying - as well as really good for you. Recipes are either quick and simple or can be made ahead, ingredients are affordable and easy to find, and you don't need lots of expensive equipment to make this food.

Syd Hoff's Danny and the dinosaur and the new puppy Bruce Hale

When Danny gets a new puppy, he reunites with longtime friend Dinosaur for a fun-filled day of playing fetch and rolling over, dinosaur-style.

Syd Hoff's Danny and the dinosaur. Too tall Bruce Hale

When his dinosaur thinks he's too tall, Danny decides to cheer his friend up.

Iris and the tiger Leanne Hall

Twelve-year-old Iris has been sent to Spain on a mission: to make sure her elderly and unusual aunt, Ursula, leaves her fortune - and her sprawling estate - to Iris's scheming parents. But from the moment Iris arrives at Bosque de Nubes, she realises something isn?t quite right. There is an odd feeling around the house, where time moves slowly and Iris's eyes play tricks on her. While outside, in the wild and untamed forest, a mysterious animal moves through the shadows. Just what is Aunt Ursula hiding? But when Iris discovers a painting named Iris and the Tiger, she sets out to uncover the animal's real identity - putting her life in terrible danger.

Goodbye sweetheart Marion Halligan

A successful lawyer, bon vivant, loving husband and father, has a heart attack and dies while swimming in the local pool. A man apparently happily married, yet, with two divorces behind him and three puzzled children. In death it seems that he is not the person everyone thought. As his extended family gathers to mourn, secrets and lies unfold uncomfortably around them. Those pornographic images on his laptop? An unexpected lover - is he still philandering? But somewhere in the turmoil of mourning each of them has to find an answer to the question who was this man really? What mysteries has he taken to the grave with him? Goodbye Sweetheart is a powerful novel of love, the desire for understanding, and the inevitable messiness of life.

Sapiens : a brief history of humankind Yuval N Harari

How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? This book deals with these questions.

Retribution Cristin Harber

Fallen Navy SEAL and Titan Group's Delta recruit Trace Reeves wants nothing more than a one-night stand to forget that his twin brother was killed-in-action. But when his one-time fling becomes his high value target, the lines blur between her rescue mission and saving himself.

Tinkers Paul Harding

An old man lies dying. Confined to bed in his living room, he sees the walls around him begin to collapse, the windows come loose from their sashes, and the ceiling plaster fall off in great chunks, showering him with a lifetime of debris: newspaper clippings, old photographs, wool jackets, rusty tools, and the mangled brass works of antique clocks. Soon, the clouds from the sky above plummet down on top of him, followed by the stars, till the black night covers him like a shroud. He is hallucinating, in death throes from cancer and kidney failure. A methodical repairer of clocks, he is now finally released from the usual constraints of time and memory to rejoin his father, an epileptic, itinerant peddler, whom he had lost seven decades before. In his return to the wonder and pain of his impoverished childhood in the backwoods of Maine, he recovers a natural world that is at once indifferent to man and inseparable from him, menacing and awe inspiring. Heartbreaking and life affirming, TINKERS is an elegiac meditation on love, loss, and the fierce beauty of nature.

The lie tree Frances Hardinge

Faith's father has been found dead under mysterious circumstances, and as she is searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. The tree only grows healthy and bears fruit if you whisper a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, will deliver a hidden truth to the person who consumes it. The bigger the lie, the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered. The girl realizes that she is good at lying and that the tree might hold the key to her father's murder, so she begins to spread untruths far and wide across her small island community. But as the tree bears more and more fruit, she discovers something terrifying - that her lies were closer to the truth than she could ever have imagined ...

Benji's new friends Jillian Harker

Benji is the new toy in the house, and he wants someone to play with. Luckily for him, the toy box is full of magical friends!

A is for arsenic : the poisons of Agatha Christie Kathryn Harkup

A is for Arsenic celebrates the use of science in Christie's work. Written by Christie fan and research chemist Kathryn Harkup, each chapter takes a different novel and investigates the poison (or poisons) the murderer used. A is for Arsenic looks at why certain chemicals kill, how they interact with the body, and the feasibility of obtaining, administering and detecting these poisons, both at the time the novel was written and today. This book is published as part of the 125th anniversary celebration of Christie's birth.

Katie McGinty wants a pet! Jenna Harrington

Katie McGinty really wants a pet. But she doesn't want an ordinary pet; hamsters, cats, and dogs are just yuck! What she wants more than anything else in the world is a zebra! A zebra who slurps spaghetti, sleeps in her bunk bed and bathes in the local swimming pool. And she's determined to get one! This funny picture book will resonate with any child who has ever wanted a pet and any parent who has ever been nagged for one! With joyful illustrations from Finn Simpson and a hilarious twist at the end, Katie McGinty Wants a Pet! is the perfect book for animal-mad children!

Forget me K A Harrington

Morgan never minded her boyfriend Flynn's dark and private nature. She found it mysterious and alluring. But now he's dead, and she can't move on. She feels much like her dying town, River's End, with its overgrown amusement park and abandoned houses: once happy . . . now fading away. Hoping for some closure, Morgan uploads her only picture of Flynn to the social media site FriendShare along with a note to say good-bye. But she's shocked when the facial recognition software suggests she tag him as Evan Murphy. She's never heard of Evan. A quick search reveals that he lives in a nearby town and looks exactly like Flynn. Same eyes, nose, jawline. Only this boy is very much alive. Digging through layers of secrets, Morgan questions everything she thought she knew about her town, her boyfriend, and even her parents' involvement in this massive web of lies.

An officer and a spy Robert Harris

January 1895. On a freezing morning in the heart of Paris, an army officer, Georges Picquart, witnesses a convicted spy, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, being publicly humiliated in front of twenty thousand spectators baying 'Death to the Jew!' The officer is rewarded with promotion: Picquart is made the French army's youngest colonel and put in command of 'the Statistical Section' the shadowy intelligence unit that tracked down Dreyfus. The spy, meanwhile, is given a punishment of medieval cruelty: Dreyfus is shipped off to a lifetime of solitary confinement on Devil's Island unable to speak to anyone, not even his guards, his case seems closed forever.

Dirty deeds Liliana Hart

JJ and Jack are finally on their honeymoon, but a ritualistic murder and secrets that have been kept for more than half a century interrupt their wedded bliss.

Benediction Kent Haruf

When Dad Lewis is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he and his wife work together to make his final days comfortable. Their daughter, Lorraine, comes home from Denver to help look after Dad, which helps to soften the bitter absence of the Lewis's estranged son, Frank. Next door, young Alice lives with her grandmother, and Dad's condition stirs painful memories of her own mother's death. Meanwhile, the town's newly arrived preacher attempts to mend his strained relationships with his wife and teenaged son, a task that proves all the more challenging when he faces the disdain of his congregation after offering more than they are accustomed to getting on a Sunday morning. And throughout, an elderly widow and her middle-aged daughter do everything they can to ease the pain their friends and neighbors are suffering. Bracing, sad and deeply illuminating, Benediction captures the fullness of life by representing every stage of it - including its extinction - as well as the hopes and dreams that sustain us along the way.

Our souls at night Kent Haruf

Addie Moore's husband died years ago, so did Louis Waters' wife, and, as neighbours in Holt, Colorado they have naturally long been aware of each other. With their children now far away both live alone in houses empty of family. The nights are terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk to. Then one evening Addie pays Louis an unexpected visit. Their brave adventures-their pleasures and their difficulties-form the beating heart of Our Souls at Night. Kent Haruf's final novel is an exquisite and moving story about love and growing old with grace. It is a lasting tribute to the extraordinary author who wrote it.

Alice-Miranda at camp Jacqueline Harvey

This school camp is full of secrets and surprises! An exciting announcement has been made and Alice-Miranda and her schoolmates are going on camp. There are sleep outs, treasure hunts and so many other activities to look forward to! However, it's not all fun and games. Alice-Miranda and Millie will need to keep a close eye on Caprice, the school's newest student, who seems determined to cause trouble. Next door to the camp is Pelham Park, where Alice-Miranda's father, Hugh, grew up. These days, Hugh's beautiful old house serves as a retirement home but when some startling objects are uncovered in its cellar, the peaceful estate is turned upside down. With help from a much-loved relative, Alice-Miranda sets out to investigate.

Alice-Miranda at school Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones is waving goodbye to her weeping parents and starting her first day at boarding school. But something is wrong at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies. The headmistress, Miss Grimm, hasn't been seen for ten years. The prize-winning flowers are gone. And a mysterious stranger is camping in the greenhouse. Alice-Miranda must complete a series of impossible tests. Can she really beat the meanest, most spoilt girl at school in a solo sailing mission? Could she camp in the forest all on her own for five whole days and nights? Well, of course. This is Alice-Miranda, after all.

Alice-Miranda at sea Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda is set for a luxurious cruise aboard the royal yacht Octavia, where Aunty Gee is hosting the wedding of Aunt Charlotte and Lawrence Ridley. Even Ambrosia Headlington-Bear has come along, much to her daughter Jacinta's surprise. Wild weather and rumours of a jewel thief throw the travellers into turmoil, but something else is giving Alice-Miranda one of her strange feelings. Why does the ship's doctor look so familiar? And who is the shy blond boy hiding in one of the suites? When Alice-Miranda seeks help from an unexpected source, will they manage to set things to rights in time for the celebrations?

Alice-Miranda in Japan Jacqueline Harvey

When Alice-Miranda, Millie and Jacinta travel to Japan during the school holidays, they are in for a fascinating treat. Dolly Oliver, the family cook, has been invited to speak at a conference in Tokyo on her Just Add Water (JAW) food creation. But she is even more interested in her newest invention, and vows to try it out while overseas. Alice-Miranda becomes embroiled in an elaborate missing persons hunt when a gift from her father confuses the authorities. Things come to a head when Alice-Miranda and her friends are invited to dinner at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, and the plans of a jealous sister begin to unravel, with startling consequences.

Alice-Miranda in New York Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda is in bustling New York City. It's a blur of skyscrapers, hot dog carts, chats with zoo animals and classes at Mrs Kimmel's School for Girls, right next to glorious Central Park. Her family's glamorous department store, Highton's on Fifth, has just been renovated but plans for the fabulous re-opening party are going curiously wrong. Is that why Alice-Miranda's father Hugh seems so worried? And why is her new friend Lucinda so shy about inviting Alice-Miranda home?

Alice-Miranda in Paris Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda and her friends are in Paris with a group of teachers from Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale and the Fayle School for Boys to sing at various shows as part of Paris fashion week. It's such an amazing city and during Fashion Week the whole place hums with excitement and outrageous fashion choices, quite often coming from Professor Lipp, the children's choir conductor. But a couple of France's best known designers are harbouring serious secrets, and when Christian Fontaine has some expensive fabric stolen just days before his show, Alice-Miranda and her friends realise there is a darker side to the glitz and glamour in this famous city of lights.

Alice-Miranda on holiday Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones has survived her first term at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale. And now Jacinta Headlington-Bear, the school's second best tantrum thrower, is joining Alice-Miranda's family for term break. Who would have thought it! The two girls are looking forward to a relaxing holiday at Highton Hall. But a cranky boy is causing mischief on the estate, a movie star has come to visit, and a stranger is snooping about. Add a naughty pony, a hint of romance and a dastardly scheme, and Jacinta and Alice-Miranda might have a more exciting holiday than they were expecting.

Alice-Miranda shines bright Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda and Millie have made a dazzling discovery in the woodlands near their school. They vow to keep the secret to themselves, but it seems that a greedy politician and a pair of old friends are searching for the same treasure. Back at school, the sixth grade girls are preparing for a change to high school. Jacinta is being particularly grumpy with everyone and even with the most persistent questioning, no one quite knows why. When Myrtle Parker's husband awakes from his coma and disappears, Alice-Miranda puts on her detective hat. She's determined to find Reginald Parker, deter the politician and uncover exactly why Jacinta is playing up.

Alice-Miranda shows the way Jacqueline Harvey

One of the highlights of the Winchesterfield show is the Queen's Cup horserace. But Aunty Gee's prize racehorse, Rockstar, is refusing to leave the stables. That is, until Alice-Miranda introduces him to her own naughty pony, Bonaparte. Preparations for the show are coming along well until a series of thefts rocks the community. Things quickly go from bad to worse when Alice-Miranda's beloved Bony is horse-napped. Can Alice-Miranda uncover the culprit and get her horse back in time for Rockstar to compete in the race?

Alice-Miranda takes the lead Jacqueline Harvey

Alice-Miranda is thrilled to be back at school, where the girls are preparing a play with the neighbouring boys' school. But it's not all glitter and stage lights: there are rumours of a witch in the woods, and Jacinta and Millie are clashing with a rude new student, Sloane, and her pushy mother, September. September Sykes wants to win her family the fortune she's sure it deserves, but her scheme could end in disaster. When Alice-Miranda learns of the plot, she knows just how to set things right.

Clementine Rose and the surprise visitor Jacqueline Harvey

Clementine Rose was delivered not in the usual way, at a hospital, but in the back of a mini-van, in a basket of dinner rolls. So begins the story of a lovely little girl who lives in Penberthy Floss in a large ramshackle house with her mother, Lady Clarissa, Digby Pertwhistle the butler and a very sweet teacup pig called Lavender. When her scary Aunt Violet arrives unexpectedly, the household is thrown into disarray. What is it that Aunt Violet really wants and what is she carrying in her mysterious black bag?

Silent boy Torey L Hayden

When special education teacher Torey Hayden first met fifteen-year-old Kevin, he was barricaded under a table. Desperately afraid of the world around him, he hadn?t spoken a word in eight years. He was considered hopeless, incurable. But Hayden refused to believe it, though she realised it might well take a miracle to break through the walls he had built around himself. With unwavering devotion and gentle, patient love, she set out to free him - and slowly uncovered a shocking violent history and a terrible secret that an unfeeling bureaucracy had simply filed away and forgotten. Torey refused to give up on this tragic "lost case." For a trapped and frightened boy desperately needed her help ? and she knew in her heart she could not rest easy until she had rescued him from the darkness.

Poppet Mo Hayder

The Maude is outside. It wants to come in. It wants to sit on your chest. The mentally ill patients in Amberly Secure Unit are highly suggestible. A hallucination can spread like a virus. When unexplained power cuts lead to a series of horrifying incidents, fear spreads from the inmates to the staff. Amidst the growing hysteria, AJ, a senior psychiatric nurse, is desperate to protect his charges. Detective Inspector Jack Caffery is looking for the corpse of a missing woman. He knows all too well how it feels to fail to find a loved one's body. When AJ seeks Caffery's help in investigating the trouble at Amberly, each man must face a bitter truth in his own life. Before staring pure evil in the eye.

Wolf Mo Hayder

I believe, from what I can hear, that either my daughter or my wife has just been attacked. I don't know the outcome. The house is silent. Fourteen years ago two teenage lovers were brutally murdered in a patch of remote woodland. The prime suspect confessed to the crimes and was imprisoned. Now, one family is still trying to put the memory of the killings behind them. But at their isolated hilltop house the nightmare is about to return.

I am Pilgrim Terry Hayes

Can you commit the perfect crime? Pilgrim is the codename for a man who doesn't exist. The adopted son of a wealthy American family, he once headed up a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote definitive book on forensic criminal investigation. But that book will come back to haunt him.

The husband Jason Hazeley

This delightful book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them. The large clear script, the careful choice of words, the frequent repetition and the thoughtful matching of text with pictures all enable grown-ups to think they have taught themselves to cope. The subject of the book will greatly appeal to grown-ups.

The Ladybird book of mindfulness Jason Hazeley

The Ladybird book of the hipster Jason Hazeley

From bestselling authors Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris - a nugget of wisdom in the phenomenal Ladybirds for Grown Ups series. This book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them.

The Ladybird book of the mid-life crisis Jason Hazeley

The wife Jason Hazeley

A book about the inner workings of being a wife.

Black-Eyed Susans Julia Heaberlin

As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving "Black-Eyed Susan," the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessa's testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row. Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans - a summertime bloom - just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implication that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at large, Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution.

The shattering Karen Healey

I had a plan for what to do if a member of my family was murdered. It went: 1) Find the killer. 2) Make sure they were guilty. 3) Destroy them. Completely. Summerton is perfect: gorgeous weather, stunning scenery, cute out-of-towners to hook up with. But sharp-tongued Keri is immune to her hometown's charms. Her older brother's sudden death has left her shattered by grief and with too many unanswered questions. When Keri discovers that childhood friend turned rock-chick Janna and seriously smart rich-boy Sione have also lost brothers in unusual circumstances, she begins to suspect that sunny Summerton holds some very dark secrets. As the three investigate, the answers they uncover become more and more frightening. Can the teenagers save Summerton's next victim? Or will they succumb themselves to its strange summer magic?

While we run Karen Healey

Abdi Taalib thought he was moving to Australia for a music scholarship. But after meeting the beautiful and brazen Tegan Oglietti, his world was turned upside down. Tegan's no ordinary girl - she died in 2027, only to be frozen and brought back to life in Abdi's time, 100 years later. Now, all they want is for things to return to normal (or as normal as they can be), but the government has other ideas. Especially since the two just spilled the secrets behind Australia's cryonics project to the world. On the run, Abdi and Tegan have no idea who they can trust, and when they uncover startling new details about Project Ark, they realise thousands of lives may be in their hands.

How to get a meeting with anyone : the untapped selling power of contact marketing Stu Heinecke

The hard part just got easy. You know how to sell - that's your job, after all - but getting CEOs and VIPs to call you back is the tricky part. You're in luck: That impossible-to-reach person isn't so impossible to reach after all. Hall-of-Fame-nominated marketer and Wall Street Journal cartoonist Stu Heinecke discovered that he could get past traditional gatekeepers to reach those elusive executives by thinking outside the box and using personalized approaches he calls "Contact Campaigns." Including presidents, a prime minister, celebrities, countless CEOs, and even the Danish model who became his wife, Heinecke found that getting meetings with previously unreachable people was easier than ever. Now he shares his tactics and tips in this essential guide for anyone who needs to make contact. In How to Get a Meeting with Anyone, Heinecke explains how you can use your own creative Contact Campaigns to get those critical conversations. He divulges methods he's developed after years of experience and from studying the secrets of others who've had similar breakthrough results - results that other marketers considered impossible, with response rates as high as 100 percent.

Notes on a scandal Zoe Heller

When the new teacher first arrives, Barbara immediately senses that this woman will be different from the rest of her staff-room colleagues. But Barbara is not the only one to feel that Sheba is special, and before too long Sheba is involved in an illicit affair with a pupil.

Danger in the shadows Dee Henderson

Sara is terrified. She's doing the one thing she cannot afford to do: fall in love with former pro-football player Adam Black, a man everyone knows. Sara's been hidden away in the witness protection program, her safety dependent on staying invisible - and loving Adam could get her killed!

Jennifer Dee Henderson

A summer of change for Jennifer O'Malley. The busy physician has a pediatrics practice in Dallas, and meeting Tom Peterson, and falling in love, is adding a rich layer to her life. She's sorting out how to introduce him to her family - she's the youngest of seven - and thinking about marriage. She's falling in love with Jesus too, and knows God is good. But that faith is about to be tested in a way she didn't expect, and the results will soon transform her entire family.

Kidnapped Dee Henderson

Someone snatched his cousin's wife and son. FBI agent Luke Falcon is searching for a kidnapper and sorting out the crime. He's afraid it's the work of a stalker. He's afraid they're already dead. And he'll do anything required to get them back alive...but he didn't plan on falling in love with the only witness.

The marriage wish Dee Henderson

Successful, blessed with friends and a rich faith - as Scott Williams's thirty-eighth birthday dawned, he was at the top of his game. Or was he? Although his life seemed perfect to others, Scott felt that something was missing. But how could a rugged executive admit he yearned for a family of his own to love? After making a birthday wish to meet the woman of his dreams, Scott encountered enchanting author Jennifer St. James strolling along the beach. Her beautiful looks hid a heart mourning her late husband and a faith once deep, now fragile. Would Scott's hopes and prayers bring fulfillment for both of their dreams?

Taken Dee Henderson

Abducted at the age of sixteen and coerced into assisting the Jacoby crime family, Shannon Bliss has finally found a way out. She desperately wants to resume some semblance of normal life, but she also knows she has some unfinished business to attend to. She might have enough evidence to put her captors behind bars for a very long time. When Shannon contacts private investigator Matthew Dane, a former cop, to help her navigate her reentry into society, he quickly discovers that gaining her freedom doesn't mean her troubles are over. If the Jacoby family learns she is still alive, they'll stop at nothing to silence her. If justice is to be done, and if Shannon's life is ever to get on track again, Matthew will need to discover exactly what happened to her - even if it means stirring up a hornet's nest of secrets.

Undetected Dee Henderson

Commander Mark Bishop is deliberately low-key: "I'm in the Navy." But commanding the ballistic missile submarine USS Nevada, keeping her crew trained and alert during ninety-day submerged patrols, and being prepared to launch weapons on valid presidential orders, carries a burden of command like few other jobs in the military. Mark Bishop is a man who accepts that responsibility, and handles it well. And at a time when tensions are escalating around the Pacific Rim, the Navy is glad to have him. Mark wants someone to come home to after sea patrols. The woman he has in mind is young, with a lovely smile, and very smart. She's a civilian, yet she understands the U.S. Navy culture.

The witness Dee Henderson

Police Chief Luke Granger's witness to a murder, Amy Griffin, has been on the run for years. Her family thinks she was murdered eight years ago, but Amy chose to accept a life in the shadows in order to protect her sisters' lives. Now unveiled secrets about their father have thrust the sisters into the public spotlight. The man who wants Amy dead now sees her sisters as the way to locate her. Luke and two of his homicide detectives are determined to stand in the way. They are each falling in love with a different sister, and it's become a personal mission to keep them safe. But chances are that at least one of them will fail, and facing the future will take a faith deeper than any of them currently knows.

The very noisy night Diana Hendry

Little Mouse feels scared when he lies in bed. What is that huffing and puffing? Is it a ghost? Little Mouse asks if he can come into Big Mouse's bed. But Big Mouse is determined that Little Mouse should sleep alone.

Furious cool : Richard Pryor and the world that made him David Henry

Richard Pryor was arguably the single most influential performer of the second half of the twentieth century, and certainly he was the most successful black actor/comedian ever. Controversial and somewhat enigmatic in his lifetime, Pryor's performances opened up a new world of possibilities, merging fantasy with angry reality in a way that wasn't just new - it was heretofore unthinkable. His childhood in Peoria, Illinois, was spent just trying to survive. Yet the culture into which Richard Pryor was born - his mother was a prostitute; his grandmother ran the whorehouse - helped him evolve into one of the most innovative and outspoken performers ever, a man who attracted admiration and anger in equal parts. persona and his art.

The love that split the world Emily Henry

They're just momentary glimpses at first: her front door is red instead of its usual green, there's a pre-school where the garden store should be. But when her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, Natalie knows something isn't right. She gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls "Grandmother," who tells her: "You have three months to save him." And when she meets Beau, it's as if time just stops and nothing exists... except Natalie and Beau.

Healthy little eaters : how to help your children develop a healthy relationship with food Wal Herring

How to help your children make healthy food choices throughout their lives.The choices we make influence our children in ways we are not always aware of. This book helps readers recognise their hidden assumptions about food, and the ways we can offer food options to children that help them make good choices - and not just while Mum and Dad are watching! Packed full of brilliant ideas that will make you really think about how you see food, this book also offers practical suggestions and action steps to set your children on a healthy pathway for a lifetime. You will gain confidence through seeing the bigger picture and will be able to choose eating habits that fit your particular lifestyle. Use this book to make your mealtimes less stressful and more enjoyable.

Lightless C A (Caitlin A) Higgins

Serving aboard the Ananke, an experimental military spacecraft launched by the ruthless organization that rules Earth and its solar system, computer scientist Althea has established an intense emotional bond - not with any of her crewmates, but with the ship's electronic systems, which speak more deeply to her analytical mind than human feelings do. But when a pair of fugitive terrorists gain access to the Ananke, Althea must draw upon her heart and soul for the strength to defend her beloved ship.

Edge of danger Jack Higgins

Blake Johnson, head of a clandestine White House operation, and his Irish colleague Sean Dillon work together to stop a murderous vendetta aimed at the president of the United States, who is blamed for a series of attacks on a ruthless Arab-British dynasty.

The enemy Charlie Higson

In the wake of a devastating disease, everyone sixteen and older is either dead or a decomposing, brainless creature with a ravenous appetite for flesh. Teens have barricaded themselves in buildings throughout London and venture outside only when they need to scavenge for food.

The fallen Charlie Higson

First the sickness rotted the adults' minds. Then their bodies. Now they stalk the streets, hunting human flesh. The Holloway crew are survivors. They've fought their way across London and made it to the Natural History Museum alive just. But the fight will never end while the Enemy lives, unless there's another way. The kids at the museum are looking for a cure. All they need are medical supplies. To get them means a journey down unknown roads. Roads where not only crazed, hungry sickos hide in the shadows. Suddenly it's not so clear who or what they're fighting.

The fear Charlie Higson

In London, after a worldwide sickness infects adults, turning them into zombie-like creatures, DogNut and his crew embark on a deadly mission to find missing friends, as hungry, bloodthirsty grownups lie in wait.

Enemy camp David Hill

'We knew straightaway that something was happening. Extra men in khaki uniforms stood at the main gates. Behind the wire, figures in blue sat on the ground. None of the usual moving around, washing up, wrestling, anything like that. Just rows of prisoners, sitting silently.' It's 1942, and the tiny farming town of Featherston is about to receive hundreds of Japanese soldiers into its prisoner-of-war camp. Ewen, whose dad is a guard there, can't stop wondering about the enemy just down the road. Some say the captives are evil and cruel and should be treated harshly - or shot. But when Ewen and his friends ride out to the camp to peep through the barbed wire, the POWs just seem like . . . well, people. Then a new group from a captured warship arrives and the mood in the camp darkens. Guards and inmates begin to clash. As tension builds the boys are told to stay away. But on 25 February 1943, Ewen and his friends are there at the moment the storm breaks - and terrible, unforgettable events unfold before their eyes.

And yet : essays Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens was an unparalleled, prolific writer, who raised the polemical essay to a new art form, over a lifetime of thinking and debating the defining issues of our times. As an essayist he contributed to the New Statesman, Atlantic Monthly, London Review of Books, TLS and Vanity Fair. Any publication of a volume of Hitchens' essays was a major event on both sides of the Atlantic. Now comes the last of the last; a volume of Hitchens' previously unpublished essays, covering the themes that define Hitchens the thinker: literature, religion and politics. These essays remind us, once more, of the fierce, brilliant and trenchant voice of Christopher Hitchens.

Fashion, lies and murder Sibel Hodge

Amber Fox has been making too many mistakes, and something's got to give ... For starters, Amber accidentally shoots Chief Inspector Janice Skipper and gets thrown off the police force. Oops! Then, she accepts a job as an insurance investigator from her ex-fiance, Brad Beckett. Only Brad thinks they've still got unfinished business in the romance department, making for a steamier working environment than Amber counted on. And when fashion designer, Umberto Fandango, goes missing, Amber's investigative skills are put to the ultimate test. Nothing about the case is what it seems, and to make matters worse Amber's arch-enemy, Chief Inspector Skipper, is also investigating the disappearance. If Amber wants her old job back, she's in a race against time to solve the mystery before Skipper does ... all the while dodging her ex-fiance, her own mixed up feelings, and a couple of crazy mobsters. Who is Umberto Fandango? Is he dead? And can Amber stay one step ahead to stay alive?

Bettyville : a memoir George Hodgman

A witty, tender memoir of a son's journey home to care for his irascible mother a tale of secrets, silences, and enduring love. When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict: Betty, who speaks her mind but cannot quite reveal her heart, has never really accepted the fact that her son is gay.

A crucible of souls Mitchell Hogan

When young Caldan's parents are brutally slain, the boy is raised by monks who initiate him into the arcane mysteries of sorcery. Growing up plagued by questions about his past, Caldan vows to discover who his parents were, and why they were violently killed. The search will take him beyond the walls of the monastery, into the unfamiliar and dangerous chaos of city life.

I'm Grumpy Jennifer L Holm

From the bestselling creators of Babymouse and Squish and the author of The Fourteenth Goldfish comes a new comic board-book series about feelings! Eisner Award winners Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm use panel frames, speech balloons, and thought bubbles to teach children how to read a story. In I'm Grumpy, a grumpy cloud upsets his friend Sunny and must make amends. A sweet, funny, and simple introduction to the impact that emotions can have on those around you.

I'm Sunny /by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm Jennifer L Holm

From the bestselling creators of Babymouse and Squish and the author of The Fourteenth Goldfish comes a new comic board-book series about feelings! Eisner Award winners Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm use panel frames, speech balloons, and thought bubbles to teach children how to read a story. In I'm Sunny, the cheerful sun upsets his friend and must make amends. A sweet, funny, and simple introduction to the impact that emotions can have on those around you.

Supercharged food for kids : building stronger, healthier, brighter kids from the ground up Lee Holmes

The traitor Jonathan Holt

He died in the darkness, surrounded by friends. They found him at sunrise, on Venice's most popular beach. His throat had been cut, his tongue removed. Captain Kat Tapo suspects a ritual murder with Masonic roots. The brotherhood won't give up its secrets to a policewoman but Kat won't give up the hunt. She'll use all the allies she has: friends, lovers, hackers, spies. But shocking truths about the case are about to come to light. And when they do, it will be a race against time to unlock the secrets of Italy's past before Venice itself starts to burn. Want to know Italy's secret history? You'll find answers at Carnivia.com.

Etta and Otto and Russell and James Emma Hooper

Etta's greatest unfulfilled wish, living in the rolling farmland of Saskatchewan, is to see the sea. And so, at the age of eighty-two she gets up very early one morning, takes a rifle, some chocolate, and her best boots, and begins walking the 2, 000 miles to water. Meanwhile her husband Otto waits patiently at home, left only with his memories.

Submission Michel Houellebecq

In a near-future France, Francois, a middle-aged academic, is watching his life slowly dwindle to nothing. His sex drive is diminished, his parents are dead, and his lifelong obsession, the ideas and works of the novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans, has led him nowhere. In a late-capitalist society where consumerism has become the new religion, Francois is spiritually barren, but seeking to fill the vacuum of his existence. And he is not alone. As the 2022 Presidential election approaches, two candidates emerge as favourites: Marine Le Pen of the Front National, and Muhammed Ben Abbes of the nascent Muslim Fraternity. Forming a controversial alliance with the mainstream parties, Ben Abbes sweeps to power, and overnight the country is transformed. Islamic law comes into force: women are veiled, polygamy is encouraged and, for Francois, life is set on a new course.

I Went to the Supermarket Paul Howard

I went to the supermarket and I bought . . .When a brother and sister play their favourite game of I Went To the Supermarket, they compete to see who can think of the most bizarre and brilliant things. As their words come to life, they get more and more carried away . . . Until the game comes to a surprising, and somewhat messy, end!A new take on an old favourite, children will love this laugh-out-loud, test-your-memory story, with witches, dragons, aliens, flamingos and much, much more!

Orwell's revenge Peter W (Peter William) Huber

Mark Zuckerberg's 'A Year of Books' Selection. George Orwell's bleak visions of the future, one in which citizens are monitored through telescreens by an insidious Big Brother, has haunted our imagination long after the publication of 1984. Orwell's dystopian image of the telescreen as a repressive instrument of state power has profoundly affected our view of technology, posing a stark confrontational question: Who will be master, human or machine? Experience has shown, however, that Orwell's vision of the future was profoundly and significantly wrong: The conjunction of the new communications technologies has not produced a master-slave relation between person and computer, but rather exciting possibilities for partnership. In an extraordinary demonstration of the emerging supermedium's potential to engender new forms of creativity, Huber's book boldly reimagines 1984 from the computer's point of view.

A little salty to cut the sweet Sophie Hudson

There's nothing quite like family - and some people would say that there's nothing better. But in a world where we sometimes know more about the Kardashians than we do about the people sleeping right down the hall, it's easy to forget that walking through life with our family offers all sorts of joy wrapped up in the seemingly mundane. There's even a little bit of sacred sitting smack-dab in the middle of the ordinary. And since time's-a-wastin', we need to be careful that we don't take our people - and their stories - for granted. Whether it's a marathon bacon-frying session, a road trip gone hysterically wrong, or a mother-in-law who makes every trip to the grocery store an adventure, author Sophie Hudson reminds us how important it is to slow down and treasure the day-to-day encounters with the people we love the most. Written in the same witty style as Sophie's BooMama blog, A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet is a cheerful, funny, and tender account of Sophie's very Southern family. It's a look into the real lives of real people - and a real, loving God right in the middle of it all.

Magic cakes : bthree cakes in one : one mixture, one bake, three delicious layers Christelle Huet-Gomez

Three cakes in one, this is every cake-lovers dream! Composed of just eggs, sugar, flour, butter and milk, and with a super simple preparation method, at first glance these recipes look just like any other cake recipe. But the magic in these cakes is in the cooking. Baked at a low temperature, the cake mixture divides itself into three layers, each with a distinct texture and taste: a dense, moist cake base; a delicate cream filling; and a light and fluffy sponge to top it off. The result is a cake like you've never tasted before - an explosion of textures and flavours in a moreish cake you just can't have one bite of! With chapters covering the basics; tutti-frutti; special and occasion cakes; and savoury, there are a host of flavours at your fingertips, from the simple vanilla cake of chocolate hazelnut, to more exotic flavour combinations of raspberry and Matcha green tea. Take the magic cake to a whole new level with the occasion cakes - try the Valentine mango passion cake or the intense chocolate Easter cake. More than just cakes, there are recipes for cupcakes, pies, cheesecakes and brownies - all with the special 'magic' touch.

A high wind In Jamaica Richard Arthur Warren Hughes

After a terrible hurricane levels their Jamaican estate, the Bas-Thorntons decide to send their children back to the safety and comfort of England. On the way their ship is set upon by pirates, and the children are accidentally transferred to the pirate vessel. Jonsen, the well-meaning pirate captain, doesn't know how to dispose of his new cargo, while the children adjust with surprising ease to their new life. As this strange company drifts around the Caribbean, events turn more frightening and the pirates find themselves increasingly incriminated by the children's fates. The most shocking betrayal, however, will take place only after the return to civilization.

Bathsheba : reluctant beauty Angela Elwell Hunt

After sending his army to besiege another king's capital, King David forces himself on Bathsheba, a loyal soldier's wife. When her resulting pregnancy forces the king to murder her husband and add her to his harem, Bathsheba struggles to protect her son while dealing with the effects of a dark prophecy and deadly curse on the king's household. Combining historical facts with detailed fiction, Angela Hunt paints a realistic portrait of the beautiful woman who struggled to survive the dire results of divine judgment on a king with a divided heart.

Born at midnight C C Hunter

Sixteen-year-old Kylie Galen thinks her misbehaviour in the wake of her grandmother's death and her parents' separation are the reasons she has been sent to Shadow Falls Camp, but learns it is a training ground for vampires, werewolves, and other "freaky freaks," of which she may be one.

The goodbye bride Denise Hunter

Lucy Lovett can't remember the last seven months of her life. She doesn't remember leaving her fiance Zac Callahan weeks before their wedding or moving to Portland, Maine. And she sure doesn't remember getting engaged to another man. All she remembers is loving Zac more than life itself. Zac was just beginning to get his life back on track after Lucy left him with no explanation. And now she's back - vulnerable, homeless, and still in love with him. Has he been given a second chance with the only woman who stirs his passion and haunts his dreams? Lucy knows she must unlock those missing months and discover why she threw everything away. And Zac knows that if he follows his heart he'll win back the love of his life - but if Lucy's memory returns, his would-be bride will say good-bye forever.

Ravenpaw's farewell Erin Hunter

In this novella from the world of Erin Hunter's #1 nationally bestselling Warriors series, follow Ravenpaw on his final adventure. Since Ravenpaw chose to leave his life as a warrior behind, he has lived for many happy moons on the farm near the Clans' old forest territories. But now two kits in need will send him on one last journey - in search of a long-lost warrior Clan.

The conquest of Lady Cassandra Madeline Hunter

The impoverished and scandalous Lady Cassandra Vernham tries to get Viscount Ambury to pay her the considerable sum of money that he owes her, but Ambury, who blames her for the death of his friend, is reluctant to help her.

His wicked reputation Madeline Hunter

Gareth Fitzallen is celebrated for four things: his handsome face, his notable charm, his aristocratic connections, and an ability to give the kind of pleasure that has women begging for more. Normally he bestows his talents on experienced, worldly women. But when he heads to Langdon's End to restore a property he inherited - and to investigate a massive art theft - he lays plans to seduce a most unlikely lady. Eva Russell lives a spinster's life of precarious finances and limited dreams while clinging to her family's old gentry status. She supports herself by copying paintings while she plots to marry her lovely sister to a well-established man. Everyone warns her of Gareth's reputation, and advises her to lock her sister away. Only it is not her sister Gareth desires. One look, and she knows he is trouble. One kiss, however, proves she is no match for this master of seduction.

Hartley's grange Nicole Hurley-Moore

On the very same day Lily Beckett is betrayed by a colleague she's horrified to discover her long-term boyfriend is having an affair. Totally devastated, she quits her job in fashion and breaks off their relationship...Fleeing the city, Lily heads for sanctuary with her big sister, Violet, who lives in the country with her daughter Holly. But bad luck comes in threes when Lily has a car accident on the way. Thankfully she's not badly injured and local grazier, Flynn Hartley, arrives on the scene and looks after her...Life gradually picks up for Lily. She enjoys living with Violet and Holly, and decides to stay for a while, designing clothes while renovating the beautiful old shop she inherited...In the months that follow Flynn showers Lily with attention and it's clear he's falling for her. But Lily's aware of Flynn's 'bad boy' reputation and doesn't want to risk further heartbreak...From bestselling author Nicole Hurley-Moore, Hartley's Grange is an inspirational story about a woman pursuing her dreams and taking charge of her future.

Take me with you Catherine Ryan Hyde

August Shroeder, a burned-out teacher, has been sober since his 19-year-old son died. Every year he's spent the summer on the road, but making it to Yellowstone this year means everything. The plan had been to travel there with his son, but now August is making the trip with Philip's ashes instead. An unexpected twist of fate lands August with two extra passengers for his journey, two half-orphans with nowhere else to go. What none of them could have known was how transformative both the trip and the bonds that develop between them would prove, driving each to create a new destiny together.

Iran awakening : from prison to peace prize : one woman's struggle at the crossroads of history Shirin Ibadi

Throughout an extraordinary career as a lawyer, writer, activist, and dissident, Shirin Ebadi has spoken out clearly and strongly for her native Iran - and her voice has resonated far beyond that country's borders. As a dedicated human rights advocate and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Ebadi has almost single-handedly given both Iran and the world reason to hope for a better future.

The abominables Eva Ibbotson

A hundred years ago, in the Himalayan peaks of Nanvi Dar, the daughter of an English earl is kidnapped by a huge hairy monster. In a secret valley Agatha Farley is introduced to a family of motherless yetis and devotes her life to their upbringing. She teaches them to speak, tells them stories and insists on polite manners. But as the decades pass, tourists come to the mountains, a hotel is built and yeti-hunters arrive. Agatha knows that there is one place in the world where they would be protected her ancestral home at Farley Towers.

A company of swans Eva Ibbotson

Ibbotson's latest romantic frolic concerns the delightful young daughter of a pompous, repressive Cambridge University professor. After escaping her father's stifling household (maintained by his spinster sister) and pursuing her dream to join a ballet company, Harriet Morton finds herself on a physically exhausting yet emotionally uplifting journey up the Amazon to perform in Brazil's famous opera house in Manaus. Naturally, she is pursued by her outraged father and rescued by a dashing Englishman who has hewn his fortune and a wondrous estate out of the South American jungles.

One dog and his boy Eva Ibbotson

When lonely, ten-year-old Hal learns that his wealthy but neglectful parents only rented Fleck, the dog he always wanted, he and new friend Pippa take Fleck and four other dogs from the rental agency on a trek from London to Scotland, where Hal's grandparents live.

A song for summer Eva Ibbotson

On the eve of World War II, a young Englishwoman takes a job as housemother in a boarding school in Austria. She falls in love with the groundsman who is in reality a Czech composer. The arrival of the Nazis leads to drama, the lovers are separated but they will reunite.

I've been thinking about you, sister Witi Ihimaera

A wry, touching short story from one of New Zealand's best-loved writers.When Uncle Rangiora visits his sister and dances with her in the garden, she knows she has to visit the place where he died, and where he and other of his comrades from the Maori Battalion were buried during the Second World War. His sister is an old woman now, her husband is even older, but that's not going to stop them from setting off across the world alone, to the great consternation of their children who wonder if they will ever get there and back. This moving and entertaining story is a fictionalised version of the trip to Tunisia taken by the author's elderly parents. Musing upon postcolonial politics and perspectives, it also considers the lyrical form the author used at the beginning of his literary career and the wit, style and drama that readers can discover in his newer works.

Matriarch Witi Ihimaera

In keeping with his commitment to revisit his first five pieces of fiction, Witi Ihimaera has reworked the original text of this much-loved classic. The matriarch is a woman of intelligence, wit, beauty and ruthlessness, and has become a mythical figure through her fight to repossess the land and sustain her people against the ravages wrought by the Pakeha. Priestess of the Ringatu faith, she has been virtually a law unto herself. In his search for the truth behind the legends surrounding the matriarch, his grandmother, Tama Mahana delves deeper and deeper into Maori history and lore to understand the mysterious sources of her power and ambition. Witi Ihimaera's prose is at turns lyrical and spare, sensuous and savage. Weaving fact with fiction, this remarkable odyssey of New Zealand history is a novel of stunning imagination.

Maori boy :a memoir of childhood Witi Ihimaera

This is the first volume of Witi Ihimaera's enthralling memoir, packed with stories from the formative years of this much-loved writer. Witi Ihimaera is a consummate storyteller - one critic calling him one of our 'finest and most memorable'. Some of his best stories, however, are about his own life. This honest, stirring work tells of the family and community into which Ihimaera was born, of his early life in rural New Zealand, of family secrets, of facing anguish and challenges, and of laughter and love. As Ihimaera recounts the myths that formed his early imagination, he also reveals the experiences from real life that wriggled into his fiction. Alive with an inventive, stimulating narrative and vividly portrayed relatives, this memoir is engrossing, entertaining and moving, but, more than this, it is also a vital record of what it means to grow up Maori.

The Parihaka woman Witi Ihimaera

A wonderfully surprising, inventive and deeply moving riff on fact and fiction, history and imagination from one of New Zealand's finest and most memorable storytellers. There has never been a New Zealand novel quite like The Parihaka Woman. Richly imaginative and original, weaving together fact and fiction, it sets the remarkable story of Erenora against the historical background of the turbulent and compelling events that occurred in Parihaka during the 1870s and 1880s. Parihaka is the place Erenora calls home, a peaceful Taranaki settlement overcome by war and land confiscation. As her world is threatened, Erenora must find within herself the strength, courage and ingenuity to protect those whom she loves. And, like a Shakespearean heroine, she must change herself before she can take up her greatest challenge and save her exiled husband, Horitana.

Sky dancer Witi Ihimaera

A fine novel from Witi Ihimaera in which a great story about a feisty teenager is interwoven with a dazzling trip through Maori mythology. Stroppy teenager Skylark O'Shea is on holiday with her mother at a town on the coast. But all is not what it seems. What is the threat facing the town and the birds of the forest? Where do the two old charismatic Maori women Hoki and Bella fit in? Skylark becomes embroiled in a prophecy that much to her dismay involves her in an extraordinary journey. Soon she is pitting her wits in a race of breathtaking dimension, a dazzling trip through Maori mythology. This novel by Witi Ihimaera is fascinating and unique. At one level it is a romp and a rollercoaster ride that sometimes reminds you of Lord of the Rings. At other levels it is a brilliant accomplishment of combining this with new ways of exploring Maori myth.

The thrill of falling Witi Ihimaera

A stunning collection of stories from one of New Zealand's favourite authors. What's new? A young woman utters her favourite mantras to take on the world. An old woman lives like a diva, re-enacting Casablanca. In a rewrite of a play, a singer becomes a rock chick in London. Moby Dick is reincarnated as an iceberg. Darwin's giant tortoises on the Galapagos Islands are re-encountered. A young man adds a twist to his intriguing heritage. In this richly imaginative and compelling collection of longer stories, Witi Ihimaera makes a playful and delightfully unique nod to influences from the past. Ranging across an intriguing and innovative variety of styles, subjects and settings, they defy the expected to reaffirm Ihimaera as one of New Zealand's finest technicians and storytellers.

The uncle's story Witi Ihimaera

Michael Mahana's personal disclosure to his parents leads to the uncovering of another family secret - about his uncle, Sam, who had fought in the Vietnam War. Now, armed with his uncle's diary, Michael goes searching for the truth about his uncle, about the secret the Mahana family has kept hidden for over thirty years, and what happened to Sam. Set in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam and in present-day New Zealand and North America, Witi Ihimaera's dramatic novel combines the superb story-telling of Bulibasha, King of the Gypsies with the unflinching realism of Nights in the Gardens of Spain. A powerful love story, it courageously confronts Maori attitudes to sexuality and masculinity and contains some of Ihimaera's most passionate writing to date.

White lies Witi Ihimaera

A powerful, prize-winning novella from the much-loved author of The Whale Rider, plus a moving screenplay, film stills and commentary on writing and movie making. A medicine woman - a giver of life - is asked to hide a secret that may protect a position in society, but could have fatal consequences. When she is approached by the servant of a wealthy woman, three very different women become players in a head-on clash of beliefs, deception and ultimate salvation. This compelling story tackles moral dilemmas, exploring the nature of identity, societal attitudes to the roles of women and the tension between Western and traditional Maori medicine. This book, though, is also about the richness of creativity, illustrating the way a single story can take on different lives. The original novella, Medicine Woman, has been rewritten and expanded by Witi Ihimaera to become White Lies. It has also evolved into a screenplay by internationally acclaimed director and screenwriter Dana Rotberg, which has been made into a superb film by South Pacific Pictures. Thus this book offers an intriguing insight into the process of adapting work, as well as offering new versions of this potent story.

Nice work (if you can get it) Celia Imrie

Tucked between glitzy Monte Carlo and the red-carpets of Cannes, Bellevue-Sur-Mer seems like a perfect place for an enterprising band of inhabitants to try their hand at opening a new restaurant. But once the project is underway, it soon becomes apparent that someone is trying to sabotage their efforts. Meanwhile, along the coast Cannes Film Festival is in full swing. Celebrities are flying in, luxury yachts arriving. As the excitement spills over into the usually calmer Bellevue-Sur-Mer, tension is mounting, and the residents must unravel romantic entanglements and dodge unexpected obstacles - for the race is on to get the restaurant opened in time.

The opposite of everyone Joshilyn Jackson

After being placed in foster care, Paula Vauss grows up to become a tough divorce attorney only to have her life thrown into chaos by an astonishing revelation and a cryptic message from the mother she has not seen in years.

It happened one wedding Julie James

Refusing the advances of special agent Vaughn Roberts, the best man in her sister's wedding, investment banker Sidney Sinclair soon discovers that the sexy playboy, who won't take "no" for an answer, is after much more than just a one-night stand.

Clawback Judith A Jance

When Ali's parents lose their life savings to a Ponzi scheme, her father goes to confront his long-time friend and financial advisor, only to stumble into the scene of a bloody double homicide. With her father suddenly a prime suspect, Ali and her husband work to clear her father's name, while at the same time seeking justice for her parents as well as the scheme's other suddenly impoverished victims, one of whom is a stone cold killer.

Tandem Anna Jarzab

Sasha, who lives a quiet life with her grandfather in Chicago but dreams of adventure, is thrilled to be asked to prom by her long-time crush, Grant, but after the dance he abducts her to a parallel universe to impersonate a princess.

How the scoundrel seduces Sabrina Jeffries

Investigator Tristan Bonnaud has one aim in life - to make sure that his half-brother George can't ever ruin his life again. So when the pesky Lady Zoe Keane, the daughter of the Earl of Olivier, shows up demanding that the Duke's Men find a mysterious gypsy woman, he seizes the opportunity to also hunt for a gypsy friend who knows secrets about George. Tristan doesn't expect to uncover Lady Zoe's family secrets, as well... or end up falling for the woman who will risk all to discover the truth.

Be Frank with me Julia Claiborne Johnson

Meet Frank - a modern nine-year-old boy with the wit of Noel Coward and the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star. Meet Mimi Banning - reclusive literary legend and mother to Frank. Mimi has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years, keeping her secrets, hiding from the world. Until Alice. Meet Alice - a level-headed young woman who finds herself thrust into the Banning household, charged with looking after Mimi's unusual son. Alice doesn't want mysteries, she doesn't want eccentricity and she certainly doesn't want a love-affair. But she finds all of them under the Banning roof. In so doing, she discovers a part of herself she never knew was missing. Full of heart and humour, Be Frank With Me is a captivating and unconventional story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their unforgettable world.

Heartbeat Joan Johnston

A series of unexplained deaths have occurred at the hospital where lawyer Maggie Wainwright works. Considered a suspect, Maggie tries to clear her name with the investigating officer, Texas Ranger Jack Kittrick. As Jack digs into the case, he starts falling for Maggie and hopes she is innocent. Working together to stop the killer, Maggie and Jack discover a warm passion growing between them.

A guide to Berlin Gail Jones

We travel to find ourselves; to run away from ourselves. 'A Guide to Berlin' is the name of a short story written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1925, when he was a young man of 26, living in Berlin. A group of six international travellers, two Italians, two Japanese, an American and an Australian, meet in empty apartments in Berlin to share stories and memories. Each is enthralled in some way to the work of Vladimir Nabokov, and each is finding their way in deep winter in a haunted city. A moment of devastating violence shatters the group, and changes the direction of everyone's story. Brave and brilliant, A Guide to Berlin traces the strength and fragility of our connections through biographies and secrets.

A heart stuck on hope Jennie Jones

Move to the country for $1 a week. Dulili is suffering a people drought. Over the years more people have moved away than have arrived to stay in this old New South Wales farming town, and now only a handful of young families and elderly residents are left. The locals put a plan into action to entice newcomers: offering the town's empty houses to newcomers from anywhere in Australia. Who could resist renting a beautiful homestead for a dollar a week?There's nothing left for Adele Devereux in Sydney: no job, no relationship, no hope, and no diagnosis for her shy, uncommunicative daughter Ali. So she packs her bags, takes her meagre savings, and moves her small family to the country. She never expects to meet Tom Wade, a man facing his own hopeless situation, but whose kindness reaches her daughter in an unexpected friendship. As the small town of Dulili attempts to regenerate itself, Adele finds herself drawn further in to the community - and into her attraction to Tom. Tom is not back in Dulili to build a relationship. He's there to heal wounds, help his grandmother, and make new plans. Plans that don't come with his grandmother's new tenant, part of the Dulili dollar scheme. But as Adele and Ali effortlessly work their way into his thoughts and his heart, he realises that there are two crucial elements that he left out of his long-term plans - the chance to find love and renewed hope for the future. .

The tortoise and the eagle Rob Lloyd Jones

Tortoise is jealous of Eagle. He wants to fly too. So he decides to try. Aesop's classic fable retold for beginner readers.

Fear of dying Erica Jong

As the afternoon of life looms over Vanessa Wonderman, she watches her parents age, attends doctor appointments with her pregnant daughter, and sits by the hospital bed of her husband, Asher, fifteen years her senior. With her best years as an actress behind her, she's discovering that beginnings are easy, but endings can be hard. Could her fountain of youth fantasies be fulfilled on zipless.com? A site inspired by the writings of her best friend, Isadora Wing, it promises "no strings attached" encounters - and Vanessa is so restless that she's willing to try anything.

This paper boat Gregory Kan

In these poems, rich in understatedly beautiful imagery, two authors, their families and their many ghosts navigate oceans, forests, gardens and houses in New Zealand, Singapore, China, and in dreams. This Paper Boat follows the author as he traces his own history through the lives and written fragments of Iris Wilkinson (aka Robin Hyde), of his parents and their parents. He explores old territories of Robin Hyde's, still dripping with the past - the tide pool at Island Bay with its shrimp and driftwood, the garden at Laloma with its crushed lemon leaves. He listens to the stories of his parents and their parents, the eels and milk, frangipani trees, drains and barbed wire of their childhoods. He remembers a jungle of his own; he searches for ghosts in the water. While stumbling across irreparable fractures between worlds, the author uncovers the permission to have beautiful and imperfect plans.

The devil's thief Samantha Kane

The daughter of a reformed jewel thief, Julianna Harte knows a thing or two about stealth. When the foundling home she provides for finds itself in dire financial straits, Julianna is forced to do the unthinkable. In a bit of misguided Robin Hood derring-do, she slips through the window of a wealthy rake to search for a treasure she knows is there: an invaluable pearl. But when the towering and very naked occupant of the moonlit bedroom ambushes her with a bargain - a night in his bed in exchange for the pearl - Julianna doesn't know if it's masculine heat or sheer desperation that makes his terms so tempting.

Tempting a devil Samantha Kane

As wealthy and beautiful as she is desperate, Harriet Mercer can have any man she wants - which makes picking the worst of the lot quite easy. By convincing the ton she is a ruined woman, Harry hopes to outwit the greedy, conniving cad blackmailing her into a loveless marriage. Roger Templeton is a rogue with a scandalous reputation, no expectations, and no shame. He is perfect for Harry's fall from grace. Her brazen attempts at a very public seduction are delightful fodder for gossip ... and pure torment for Roger. With his pockets as empty as his heart, Roger is in no mood for games and decides to show Harry how foolish it is to tempt a devil. But behind her mesmerizing golden eyes, he sees something unexpected: a woman in trouble.

Ellis Island Kate Kerrigan

The Party Dress Kate Kerrigan

Firelight Kazu Kibuishi

At the end of Darwin Road Fiona Kidman

An evocative memoir about the emergence of a pre-eminent writer in a changing world. 'What I have to tell is largely a personal narrative about how I came to inhabit a fictional world'. This absorbing memoir explores the first half of writer Fiona Kidman's life, notably in Kerikeri amid the 'sharp citric scent of orange groves, bright heat and . . . the shadow of Asia' - at the end of Darwin Road. From the distance of France, where Kidman spent time as the Katherine Mansfield Fellow in Menton, she reconsiders the past, weaving personal reflection and experience with the history of the places where she lived, particularly the fascinating northern settlements of Kerikeri and Waipu, and further south the cities of Rotorua and Wellington. Her story crosses paths with those of numerous different New Zealanders, from the Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana, to descendants of the migration from Scotland led by a charismatic Presbyterian minister, to other writers and significant friends. We learn of Kidman's struggles to establish herself as a writer and to become part of different communities, and how each worked their way into her fiction. At the End of Darwin Road is a vivid memoir of place and family, and of becoming a writer: 'I was certain that . . . I would continue to write, if possible, every day of my life.'

The best of Fiona Kidman's short stories Fiona Kidman

An engrossing collection of short stories from one of New Zealand's most distinguished writers. Fiona Kidman first wrote short stories in the 1960s and has continued to publish them in books, magazines and journals ever since. Her style has evolved as she has explored different forms over the years, but her piercingly vivid realisations of everyday people have remained a characteristic of her striking work. This is a collection of the best of her stories from the first thirty years of her writing career, including many old favourites from her acclaimed collections, Mrs Dixon and Friend, Unsuitable Friends and The Foreign Woman. She has gone on to write many more prize-winning books - including further stories, poetry, novels and memoir - but these stories stand the test of time and are testament to the quality and lasting appeal of her work.

The book of secrets Fiona Kidman

A classic, prize-winning novel about an epic migration and a lone woman haunted by the past in frontier Waipu.In the 1850s, a group of settlers established a community at Waipu in the northern part of New Zealand. They were led there by a stern preacher, Norman McLeod. The community had followed him from Scotland in 1817 to found a settlement in Nova Scotia, then subsequently to New Zealand via Australia. Their incredible journeys actually happened, and in this winner of the New Zealand Book Awards, Fiona Kidman breathes life and contemporary relevance into the facts by creating a remarkable fictional story of three women entangled in the migrations - Isabella, her daughter Annie and granddaughter Maria. McLeod's harsh leadership meant that anyone who ran counter to him had to live a life of secrets. The 'secrets' encapsulated the spirit of these women in their varied reactions to McLeod's strict edicts and connect the past to the present and future. First published in 1987, this book has been in print ever since - a continual classic and perennial favourite.

A breed of women Fiona Kidman

A bestselling and influential novel, this compulsive story examines women's changing lives. 'One thing she had learnt was that she and Leonie belonged to a breed of women who were indestructible. They were survivors.'Taking risks is something Harriet seems driven to do as she struggles to retain her identity as a woman in the face of opposing demands from society. Through her adolescence in rural New Zealand, two marriages and a television career, she steadfastly maintains her quest. But, in the end: What has she won? What had she lost?

The house within Fiona Kidman

A novel of linked stories about a woman's search for identity beyond family ties, expectations and demands. Bethany Dixon is at the centre of a complex network of relationships. She is mother and stepmother, wife and ex, daughter-in-law, sister and lover. Earthy, generous, addicted to children and food, Bethany has yet to establish her place in the world. Peter, who has loved and left her, still perceives her as the central drama of his life. In fragments and snapshots, Bethany, Peter and their children see their lives revealed as twenty-five years pass in the blink of a shutter. They discover their separate identities from unlikely sources.

The infinite air Fiona Kidman

A superbly written novel offering an intriguing interpretation of one of the world's greatest aviators, the glamorous and mysterious Jean Batten. Jean Batten became an international icon in the 1930s. A brave, beautiful woman, she made a number of heroic solo flights across the world. The newspapers couldn't get enough of her; and yet she suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and dying in obscurity in Majorca, buried in a pauper's grave. Fiona Kidman's enthralling novel delves into the life of this enigmatic woman, exploring mysteries and crafting a fascinating exploration of early flying, of mothers and daughters, and of fame and secrecy.

Preservation Fiona Kidman

A serious but also blackly funny short story about old friendships, love and formaldehyde by one of New Zealand's most distinguished writers. Now middle-aged, the one-time teenage rebels live staid, safe lives, while their friend Jan, who had been the good one of their pack, is now locked up in prison. With Jan's mother just dead, there is no one to organise the funeral except for her two old class mates. They agree to help, but Jan's request for a special dress for the corpse leads to a moral dilemma.

The trouble with fire Fiona Kidman

A beautiful collection of stories by a pre-eminent writer, shortlisted for major awards.Fiona Kidman has a genius for peeling back the lives of ordinary people to reveal their hidden passions and complexities. In this brilliant new collection, she explores - with her customary subtlety and insight - how we are all touched and sometimes scarred by the flames of emotion - whether it be the impossible love of a pregnant woman for a married man, grief for a dead baby or loss of a young woman in mysterious circumstances. Ranging in time from the colonial period to the present day, these stories by one of New Zealand's foremost writers are beautifully crafted, intriguing and evocative.

Blood year : Islamic State and the failures of the war on terror David Kilcullen

We have seen a "blood year" - massacres and beheadings, fallen cities, collapsed and collapsing states, the unravelling of a decade of foreign policy and military strategy. We witnessed the rise of ISIS, the splintering of government in Iraq, and a brutal Syrian civil war. What went wrong? In Blood Year, David Kilcullen calls on twenty-five years' experience to answer that question. He looks to strategy and history to make sense of the crisis. What are the roots of the global jihad movement? What is ISIS? What threats does it pose for Australia? What does its rise say about the effectiveness of the War on Terror since 9/11, and what does a coherent strategy look like after a disastrous year?

In real life Chris Killen

For a while, Ian, Lauren and Paul shared the same friends, the same university, the same dreams and the same potential. Ten years on they are worlds apart. Call centres, charity shops and bedrooms that smell like cabbage were never part of the plan. The real world doesn't look quite like any of them imagined. But when Lauren, in a moment of nostalgia, cracks open a long-forgotten Hotmail account, she comes face to face with the people these three friends used to be. For two of them it will mean a new beginning to an old love story. Hilarious and heart-breaking, In Real Life paints a searingly honest portrait of a generation and captures a world where human connection is easier than ever before but where relationships remain just as tricky.

The secret life of Anna Blanc Jennifer Kincheloe

It's 1907 Los Angeles. Mischievous socialite Anna Blanc is the kind of young woman who devours purloined crime novels but must disguise them behind covers of more domestically-appropriate reading. She could match wits with Sherlock Holmes, but in her world women are not allowed to hunt criminals. Determined to break free of the era's rigid social roles, Anna buys off the chaperone assigned by her domineering father and, using an alias, takes a job as a police matron with the Los Angeles Police Department. There she discovers a string of brothel murders, which the cops are unwilling to investigate.

Absence Joanna King

Edgy, insightful and brilliantly evoked, this compelling novel is impossible to put down.Four sisters meet for a holiday on the spectacularly beautiful Cinque Terre coast of Italy. One of the sisters goes missing. Under the stress, the hidden emotional and sexual rivalries between the others are laid bare. For the youngest, the disappearance of her sister is a profound threat. This is the person with whom she has had the truest bond since the collapse of the family twenty years ago. Only the absent sister knows about the man she loves and to whom she cannot turn during this crisis - he has a partner and child.Is the disappearance accidental or intentional? Have the sisters shockingly misunderstood one of their own? How radically will the missing sister's fate alter their lives? Husbands and lovers, future hopes and the family's past all come under intense scrutiny in the vortex of events.

Best Prank Ever Abby Klein

Wild at heart T J Kline

Sometimes the place you're trying to run from is exactly where your heart needs to be...Bailey Hart has never felt like she measures up to her cousins at Heart Fire Ranch. It doesn't help that her rocker attitude has made her a black sheep in her small town. So when her band gets their big break in Los Angeles, "Wild Hart" can't run fast enough...If only there weren't so many reasons to stay. After a harrowing stint in the Oakland Police Department, sheriff's deputy Chase McKee has returned home a hero, and yet he feels anything but. And when he finds out Bailey might be leaving for good, the feelings he's always harboured for his best friend's cousin just won't stay hidden. He knows she wants to get the heck out of Dodge, but he's hoping to show her where she really belongs - with him. Will this Wild Hart turn her back on love, or will she realize her heart really belongs closer to home?

My struggle. Book 2, A man in love Karl Ove Knausgard

My Struggle: Book 2 is at heart a love story the story of Karl Ove falling in love with his second wife. But the novel also tells other stories: of becoming a father, of the turbulence of family life, of outrageously unsuccessful attempts at a family vacation, of the emotional strain of birthday parties for children, and of the daily frustrations, rhythms, and distractions of city life keeping him from (and filling) his novel. It is a brilliant work that emphatically delivers on the unlikely promise that many hundreds of pages later readers will be left breathlessly demanding more.

My struggle. Book 3, Boyhood island Karl Ove Knausgard

A family of four, mother, father and two boys move to Sirland, to a new house on a new estate. It is the early 1970s, the children are small, the parents young and the future open. But at some point that future happens to them; at some point the future closes. The third book of the My Struggle cycle is set in a world where children and adults live parallel lives, ones that never meet. With insight and honesty, Karl Ove Knausgaard writes of a child's growing self-awareness, of how events of the past impact on the present, and of the desire for other ways of living and other worlds within what we know.

My struggle. Book 4, Dancing in the dark Karl Ove Knausgard

At eighteen years old, Karl Ove moves to a tiny fisherman's village in the far north of the arctic circle to work as a school teacher. No interest in the job itself, his intention is to save up enough money to travel while finding the space and time to start his writing career. Initially everything looks fine. He writes his first few short stories, finds himself accepted by the hospitable locals, and receives flattering attention from several beautiful local girls. But as the darkness of the long arctic nights start to consume the landscape, Karl Ove's life takes a darker turn. His writing repeats itself, his drinking escalates to some disturbing blackouts, his attempts at losing his virginity end in humiliation and shame, and to his distress, he also develops romantic feelings towards one of his students. Along the way, there are flashbacks to his high school years and the roots of his current problems. Ever present is the long shadow cast by his father, whose own sharply increasing alcohol consumption serves as an ominous backdrop to the author's lifestyle.

My struggle. Book 1, A death in the family Karl Ove Knausgard

In this utterly remarkable novel Karl Ove Knausgaard writes with painful honesty about his childhood and teenage years, his infatuation with rock music, his relationship with his loving yet almost invisible mother and his distant and unpredictable father, and his bewilderment and grief on his father's death. When Karl Ove becomes a father himself, he must balance the demands of caring for a young family with his determination to write great literature. In "A Death in the Family" Knausgaard has created a universal story of the struggles, great and small, that we all face in our lives. This title is a profoundly serious, gripping and hugely readable work written as if the author's very life were at stake.

Bloomsbury's outsider : a life of David Garnett Sarah Knights

Award-winning novelist and towering figure of the 20th century British literary landscape, David Garnett was a Bloomsbury insider ultimately pushed to the margins. In this, the first biography of Garnett, (known as Bunny), author Sarah Knights who has had unprecedented access to Garnett's papers goes beyond stereotype and myth to present a clear sighted account of this often contradictory figure. Trained as a scientist, Garnett worked as a novelist and wrote exquisite prose. Lady into Fox was made into a Rambert ballet and Aspects of Love into an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. In the First World War, he was a conscientious objector whereas in the Second he worked for British intelligence. A free love enthusiast, he nevertheless married. He loathed literary criticism but became a leading literary critic. Born into the Victorian period, Garnett's life spanned two World Wars, the Swinging Sixties and beyond. From pre-Revolutionary Russia, by way of Indian Nationalists in London and carefree Neo-Paganism, Garnett's early life was packed with adventure.

Billie's kiss Elizabeth Knox

With an Edwardian twist on The Tempest, and all the surprising, earthy and magical qualities of The Vintner's Luck, Knox's irresistible new novel is set on the remote, divided Scottish island of Kissack and Killing, one half of which looks historically and geographically towards Catholic Ireland, the other towards the Protestant north and Scandinavia. In the spring of 1903 a ship explodes as it docks on the island, drowning many of the passengers and crew in the icy waters of Stolnsay harbour. Young, strawberry-blond-haired Billie Paxton is among the only survivors. Clumsy, illiterate and suddenly alone, Billie will not say why, before the explosion, she jumped from ship to shore, and so falls under the immediate suspicion of her fellow passenger, Murdo Hesketh and his cousin and employer, Lord Hallowhulme, who owns the island - and has controversial plans for improving the lives of its inhabitants. Gloriously inventive and vividly atmospheric, Billie's Kiss conjures up a way of life hurtling towards a brave new world, in an enchanting novel that combines a strange, sexy love story with an Edwardian mystery, bringing together murder and eugenics, progress, prejudice and the loss of innocence.

Dreamhunter Elizabeth Knox

Fast-paced and dazzlingly imaginative, Dreamhunter will draw the reader into an extraordinary fictional world in which dreams are as vividly described as the cream cakes in the tea shop, the sand on the beach or teenage first love. Set in 1906, Dreamhunter describes a world very similar to ours, except for a special place, known simply as the Place, where only a select group of people can go. these people are called Dreamhunters and they harvest dreams which are then transmitted to the general public for the purposes of entertainment, therapy - or terror and political coercion. Fifteen-year-old cousins Laura Hame and Rose tiebold both come from famous dreamhunting families, but only Laura proves to be blessed with the gift and once inside the Place she finds out what happened to her missing dreamhunter father and reveals how the government has used dreams to control an ever-growing population of convicts and political dissenters.

Dreamquake Elizabeth Knox

Following on from the mesmerising Dreamhunter, the story continues dramatically as Grace, 'overdreamt' by Laura, introduces a nightmare, instead of the happy holiday dream programmed, to a packed Opera House audience, with chaotic results. Laura has collected and dreamt the nightmare in response to a letter she thinks is from her dead father, tziga, who has been forced by the government to dream it to keep prisoners frightened and subdued. Laura takes Nown, the sandman she created, with her on a journey to discover what purpose the Depot in the Place is being used for, and finds a far greater secret behind the existence of the Place Itself. Meanwhile Laura has to come to terms with her feelings for Sandy, a young dreamcatcher. She and Rose must accept their changing relationship. 'Knox's haunting, invigorating storytelling will leave readers eager to return to its puzzles - and to reap its rewards.

Mug cakes : ready in 5 minutes in the microwave Lene Knudsen

Delicious cakes that require minimal time and effort. Mix a simple batter in a mug with a fork, using whatever ingredients you have in your cupboard, microwave for a few minutes, and zap! You have a heavenly cake to indulge in all by yourself. Mug Cakes shares basic recipes for simple favourites such as lemon, carrot or chocolate fondant cake, alongside recipes for more adventurous flavour combinations such as raspberry and green tea or blueberry and ricotta. You can even try recipes that push your mug-cake-making skills to the max - try marble mug cake or financier mug cake with red fruits. All you need is five minutes to spare, a microwave, and a serious cake craving!

Forest of Memory Mary Robinette Kowal

Sweet talk me Kieran Kramer

The last person True Maybank expected to run into while picking up her wedding gown was country music superstar Harrison Gamble. Years ago, when they were small-town teens in Biscuit Creek, South Carolina, they shared a forbidden night of passion. Now that she's about to settle down, True's love affair with the handsome crooner is a thing of the past. Or is it? From the moment he says hello, she has to fight swooning like an adoring fan. Today he's rich, famous, and on every woman's hot list. But back in the day, Harrison wasn't good enough for debutante True. Since then she's had her fair share of marital prospects, including the perfect Southern gentleman she's about to settle down with. Is Harrison the only one to realize the mistake True's about to make? Can the society girl and the sexy singer make music together this time around?

Only one you Linda Kranz

Little fish Adri promises to remember his parents' words of wisdom about how to live his life, such as "Find your own way. You don't have to follow the crowd" and "Make wishes on the stars in the nighttime sky."

This is why you're single Laura Lane

Whether you're falling for that man-child for the fifty-seventh time or text messaging your way to stalker status, dating can make you want to find a nice roomy hermitage on Airbnb and live a solitary, monk-like life. Luckily, that frustration ends now. This book breaks away from your typical dating guide by taking a page from Aesop's playbook with modern-day dating fables paired with advice, quizzes, graphs, and illustrations.

The Mountain Story Lori Lansens

My Sister Rosa Justine Larbalestier

Wicked Sexy Liar Christina Lauren

The Lady's Command Stephanie Laurens

Simply Nigella Nigella Lawson

'Part of the balance of life lies in understanding that different days require different ways of eating.' Whatever the occasion, food in the making and the eating should always be pleasurable. Simply Nigella taps into the rhythms of our cooking lives, with recipes that are uncomplicated, relaxed and yet always satisfying. From quick and calm work-day suppers (Miso Salmon, Cauliflower & Cashew Nut Curry) to stress-free ideas when catering for a crowd (Chicken Traybake with Bitter Orange & Fennel), or the instant joy of bowlfood for cosy nights on the sofa (Thai Noodles with Cinnamon and Prawns), here is food guaranteed to make everyone feel good. Whether you need to create some breathing space at the end of a long week (Beef Chilli with Black Beans), indulge in a sweet treat (Lemon Pavlova, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pots) or wake up to a strength-giving breakfast (Toasty Olive-Oil Granola), Nigella's new cookbook is filled with recipes destined to become firm favourites. Simply Nigella is the perfect antidote to our busy lives: a calm and glad celebration of food to soothe and uplift.

A delicate truth John Le Carre

2008. A counter-terrorist operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted on the British crown colony of Gibraltar. Its purpose: to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms-buyer. Its authors: an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, a private defense contractor who is also his bosom friend, and a shady American CIA operative of the evangelical far-right. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's personal private secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it. Cornwall, UK, 2011. A disgraced Special Forces Soldier delivers a message from the dead. Was Operation Wildlife the success it was cracked up to be or a human tragedy that was ruthlessly covered up? Summoned by Sir Christopher ("Kit") Probyn, retired British diplomat, to his decaying Cornish manor house, and closely observed by Kit's beautiful daughter, Emily, Toby must choose between his conscience and duty to his Service. If the only thing necessary to the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing, how can he keep silent?

The night manager John Le Carre

The night manager is Jonathan, orphan son of a soldier hero, too-young veteran of clandestine operations in the bandit country of South Armagh. In flight from a failed marriage and his own past, Jonathan has taken refuge in the luxury hotel trade, but finds no escape from his demons. Driven partly by a desire for atonement and partly by an inherited patriotism, Jonathan allows himself to be recruited as a British secret agent with a mission to expose the murderer of the woman he himself betrayed. The night manager is a story of majestic reach, funny, sad, captivating and constantly thrilling; a tale of wickedness and courage, love and greed, of one man's search for himself in a world going to the devil - and of two women, one murdered and one living, who mysteriously direct his journey.

The owl and the pussy-cat Edward Lear

After a courtship voyage of a year and a day, Owl and Pussy finally buy a ring from Piggy and are blissfully married.

Pride and prejudice and zombies : the graphic novel Tony Lee

It is known as "the strange plague" and its unfortunate victims are referred to only as "unmentionables" or "dreadfuls." All over England, the dead are rising again, and now even the daughters of Britain's best families must devote their lives to mastering the deadly arts. Elizabeth Bennet is a fearsome warrior whose ability with a sword is matched only by her quick wit and even sharper tongue. But she faces her most formidable foe yet in the haughty, conceited, and somehow strangely attractive Mr. Darcy.

The unofficial Harry Potter spellbook : the wand chooses the wizard Duncan Levy

Author and Harry Potter fan Duncan Levy recognizes that "Wingardium Leviosa" may be the most popular spell incantation from the world of Harry Potter, but he'd be the first to remind fans that it isn't the only one. The Unofficial Harry Potter Spellbook is a comprehensive companion for fans looking to delve deeper into the magical world of Harry Potter. Written by fifteen-year-old author Duncan Levy, this extensive collection of spells is not only a fun treat for fans but an extensive look into the magic that fuels the universe of Harry Potter. The book covers everything from hexes, jinxes, and curses to charms and healing spells. Whether you're looking for a quick-read magic guide or a fun addition to your growing collection of Harry Potter memorabilia, The Unofficial Harry Potter Spellbook is perfect for you.

Chugga-chugga choo-choo Kevin Lewis

A rhyming story about a freight train's day, from loading freight in the morning to retiring to the roundhouse after the day's work is done.

The blind side : evolution of a game Michael (Michael M) Lewis

Follows one young man from his impoverished childhood with a crack-addicted mother, through his discovery of the sport of football, to his rise to become one of the most successful, highly-paid players in the NFL.

Stitching Snow R C (Rachel Christine) Lewis

A futuristic retelling of Snow White in which seventeen-year-old Essie, a master at repairing robots and drones on the frozen mining planet Thanda, is pulled into a war by handsome and mysterious Dane after his shuttle crash-lands near her home.

A short history of tractors in Ukrainian Marina Lewycka

When their recently widowed father announces that he plans to remarry, sisters Vera and Nadezhda realize that they must learn to put aside a lifetime of bitter rivalry in order to save him. The new woman in his life is a voluptuous gold digger from Ukraine, fifty years his junior, with fabulous breasts and a proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine, who will stop at nothing in her single-minded pursuit of the luxurious Western lifestyle she dreams of. But separating their addled and annoyingly lecherous dad from his new love will prove to be no easy feat - in terms of sheer cold-eyed ruthlessness, the two sisters swiftly realize they have just entered the major leagues. As Hurricane Valentia turns the old family house upside down, all the old secrets come falling out, including the most deeply buried one, from the war, the one that explains much about why Nadezhda and Vera are so different. In the meantime, oblivious to it all, their father carries on with the great work of his dotage - a grand history of the tractor and its role in human progress, giving due credit to the crucial Ukrainian contribution. The story carries us back to prerevolutionary Ukraine, through wartime Germany, to contemporary England, taking in love and suffering, tanks and tractors, bitchiness, sibling rivalry, and, above all, the joys of growing old disgracefully.

Various Pets Alive and Dead Marina Lewycka

Movie star by Lizzie Pepper Hilary Liftin

When her marriage to a Hollywood mega-star is over, actress Lizzie Pepper, America's Girl Next Door, decides to tell her side of the story and, in doing so, realizes that her romance wasn't what she and everyone else thought.

Easy healthy meals Nadia Lim

Ten easy to prepare and healthy meals for the home cook in a hurry. Former Masterchef winner and dietician Nadia Lim has hand-picked 10 of her easiest, healthiest, tastiest meals to enjoy around the family table. This is a go-to collection of everday meals, all with Nadia's trademark nutritional analysis and famous big-flavour.

The dark forest Cixin Liu

The universe is a forest, patrolled by numberless and nameless predators. In this forest, others are hell, a dire existential threat. Stealth is survival. Any civilisation that reveals its location is prey. Earth has. And the others are on the way. The Trisolarian fleet has left their homeworld and will arrive in four centuries' time. But the sophons, their extra-dimensional emissaries, are already here and have infiltrated human society and and de-railed scientific progress. Only the individual human mind remains immune to the sophons. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a last-ditch defence that grants four individuals almost absolute power to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown.

Is your job making you fat? : how to lose weight and control your waist at work Kenneth L Lloyd

Is Your Job Making You Fat? identifies and analyzes all of the central sources of weight gain associated with work, as well as giving you tools to control this problem and help you lose weight. Putting on weight at work is easier than it's ever been! The sedentary nature of today's jobs, access to unhealthy lunches and office snacks and treats, higher levels of job stress, longer and more demanding work hours, peer pressure, new and unconventional jobs - put it all together and you have the perfect storm for weight gain. Authors Ken Lloyd and Stacey Laura Lloyd offer a fresh approach to this problem - why not apply your businesslike mind and skill set to weight management? After all, at work you have a plan that includes objectives, strategies, priorities, deadlines, and measurable results. Use that same methodology to take charge of your weight today! This book provides you with a clear understanding of the compelling link between the workplace and weight gain, while also equipping you with a vast array of highly effective and innovative strategies to help you manage your weight on the job. It's an excellent resource for employees and employers alike.

Mamasaurus Stephan Lomp

Guardian Alex London

Once a proxy, now the figurehead of the Revolution, Syd is a saviour to some and a target for others. His bodyguard Liam must protect Syd with his life but armed Machinists aren't the only danger in the post-Jubilee world. A horrible disease is infecting people and since Guardians are hit first the government does nothing to help. Syd decides it's up to him to find a cure. . . And what he discovers leaves him stunned.

Proxy Alex London

Knox was born into one of the City's wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want - the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. But Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. When Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox's father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys' resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

Julia London Historical Romance Julia London

The Last Debutante Julia London

The Vicar's Widow Julia London

But you did not come back Marceline Loridan

With a runaway bestseller in France, But You Did Not Come Back is the deeply moving and critically acclaimed memoir of a survivor of the Holocaust. Marceline Loridan-Ivens was just fifteen when she and her father were arrested and sent to concentration camps. He prepared her for the worst, telling her that he would not return. The three kilometres between her father in Auschwitz and herself in Birkenau were an insurmountable distance, and yet he managed to send her a small note via an electrician in the camp a sign of life. In But You Did Not Come Back, Marceline writes a letter to the father she would never know as an adult, to the man whose death enveloped her whole life. Her testimony is a haunting and challenging reminder of one of the worst crimes humanity has ever seen, and an affecting personal story of a woman whose life was shattered and never totally rebuilt.

Champion Marie Lu

June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic - and each other - and now their country is on the brink of a new peaceful existence. June is back in the good graces of the Republic, working within the government's elite circles while Day has been assigned a high level military position. But when a plague outbreak, deadlier than any other, causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic's border cities, the two are thrown back together. June is the only one who knows the key to her country's defence. But saving the lives of thousands will mean asking the one she loves to give up everything he has.

The Young Elites Marie Lu

Adelina Amouteru survived the blood fever, a deadly illness that killed many, but left others with strange markings and supernatural powers. Cast out by her family, Adelina joins the secret society of the Young Elites and discovers her own dangerous abilities.

Trail of the Spellmans : document #5 Lisa Lutz

For the first time in Spellman history, Isabel Spellman, P.I., might be the most normal member of her family. Mum has taken on an outrageous assortment of extracurricular activities - with no apparent motive. Dad has a secret. Izzy's brother and sister are at war - for no apparent reason. And her niece keeps saying "banana" even though she hates bananas. That's not to say that Izzy isn't without her own troubles. Her boyfriend, Henry Stone, keeps wanting "to talk," a prospect Isabel evades by going out with her new drinking buddy, none other than Gertrude Stone, Henry's mother. Things aren't any simpler on the business side of Spellman Investigations. First, Rae is hired to follow a girl, but then fakes the surveillance reports. Then a math professor hires Izzy to watch his immaculate apartment while he unravels like a bad formula. And as the questions pile up, Izzy won't stop hunting for the answers - even when they threaten to shatter both the business and the family.

Art in the blood : a Sherlock Holmes adventure Bonnie MacBird

1888. After a disasterous Ripper investigation, Holmes sinks into a deep depression. Watson can do nothing to help his friend, but an encoded letter from the French singer, Emmeline La Victoire, rekindles the detective's interest. The singer's illegitimate son, Emil, who is 10, has disappeared, and may have been kidnapped. As Holmes and Watson travel to Paris, they discover that Emil's father, the Earl of Pellingham and a famous art collector and humanitarian, may, in fact be behind the theft of the priceless Marseilles Nike as well as the disappearance and murder of young boys working in the Earl's silk factory. Before Holmes and Watson can search for Emil, they must work through obstacles laid down by a French rival detective, Mycroft's obstruction, and series of apparently related murders all events that hinder the detectives' search for the truth.

In the cold dark ground Stuart MacBride

Sergeant Logan McRae is in trouble. His missing-persons investigation has just turned up a body in the woods naked, hands tied behind its back, and a bin bag duct-taped over its head. The Major Investigation Team charges up from Aberdeen, under the beady eye of Logan's ex-boss Detective Chief Inspector Steel. And, as usual, she wants him to do her job for her. But it's not going to be easy: a new Superintendent is on her way up from the Serious Organised Crime Task Force, hell-bent on making Logan's life miserable; Professional Standards are gunning for Steel; and Wee Hamish Mowat, head of Aberdeen's criminal underbelly, is dying leaving rival gangs from all over the UK eying his territory. There's a war brewing and Logan's trapped right in the middle, whether he likes it or not.

Swimming home Mary-Rose MacColl

The lone swimmer, turning over now to switch to a perfectly executed back crawl, wasn't Oxford or Cambridge, wasn't a man. It was a woman, a girl. It was Catherine. Of course it was Catherine. It's 1925 and fifteen-year-old Catherine Quick longs to feel once more the warm waters of her home, to strike out into the ocean off the Torres Strait Islands and swim, as she's done since she was a tiny child. But now, with her recent move to London where she lives with her aunt Louisa, Catherine feels that everything she values has been stripped away. Louisa, a busy, confident London surgeon who fought boldly for equality for women, holds definite views on the behaviour of her young niece. She wants Catherine to pursue an education, just as she did, to ensure her future freedom. Since Catherine arrived, however, Louisa's every step seems to be wrong and she is finding it harder and harder to block painful memories from her past. It takes the influence of enigmatic American banker Manfred Lear Black to convince Louisa to come to New York where Catherine can test her mettle against the first women in the world to swim the English Channel. And where, unexpectedly, Louisa can finally listen to what her own heart tells her. Like Mary-Rose MacColl's bestselling novel, In Falling Snow, Swimming Home tells a story of ordinary women who became extraordinary.

SYLO D J MacHale

They came from the sky parachuting out of military helicopters to invade Tucker Pierce's idyllic hometown on Pemberwick Island, Maine. They call themselves SYLO and they are a secret branch of the U.S. Navy. SYLO's commander, Captain Granger, informs Pemberwick residents that the island has been hit by a lethal virus and must be quarantined. Now Pemberwick is cut off from the outside world. Tucker believes there's more to SYLO's story. He was on the sidelines when the high school running back dropped dead with no warning. He saw the bizarre midnight explosion over the ocean, and the mysterious singing aircraft that travel like shadows through the night sky. He tasted the Ruby and experienced the powers it gave him - for himself. What all this means, SYLO isn't saying. Only Tucker holds the clues that can solve this deadly mystery. Look to the sky because Pemberwick Island is only the first stop.

Stanley the amazing knitting cat Emily MacKenzie

Stanley love to knit. He knocks up pom-poms at breakfast time, whips up bobble hats at bath time. He even knits in his sleep! And what does Stanley do with his wonderful woollies? He gives them to his friends of course - balaclavas for bunnies, neckwarmers for giraffes and much more besides. But when Stanley gets carried away with his dream of winning the Woolly Wonders Competition, he has to decide what's more important - his knitting or his friends?

The fox and the crow : based on a story by Aesop Mairi Mackinnon

Crow wouldn't dream of giving her cheese away to sly Fox. But Crow can't resist Fox's flattery - when Fox asks her to sing to him, Crow loses the cheese but learns a valuable lesson. Aesop's classic fable retold as part of the Usborne Reading Programme.

The fox and the stork : based on a story by Aesop Mairi Mackinnon

Although they are friends, fun-loving Fox can not stop himself from playing an unkind trick on Stork. But Stork knows how to teach Fox a lesson.

The lion and the mouse : based on a story by Aesop Mairi Mackinnon

Aesop's charming fable specially retold for beginner readers. It's tough in the wild, whether you're a tiny mouse or a big, scary lion. But friends can be found in the strangest of places...

The sun and the wind : based on a story by Aesop Mairi Mackinnon

A lively retelling of Aesop's fable about who is stronger - the sun or the wind?

No great mischief Alistair MacLeod

Generations after their forebears went into exile, the MacDonalds still face seemingly unmitigated hardships and cruelties of life. Alexander, orphaned as a child by a horrific tragedy, has nevertheless gained some success in the world. Even his older brother, Calum, a nearly destitute alcoholic living on Toronto's skid row, has been scarred by another tragedy. But, like all his clansman, Alexander is sustained by a family history that seems to run through his veins. And through these lovingly recounted stories-wildly comic or heartbreakingly tragic-we discover the hope against hope upon which every family must sometimes rely.

6 Rainier Drive Debbie Macomber

When Justine and Seth lose their restaurant, The Lighthouse, to arson, they must rebuild their lives and their marriage, while the residents of Cedar Cove go about their daily business dealing with marriages, births, reunions, and scandals.

44 Cranberry Point Debbie Macomber

I love living in Cedar Cove, but things haven't been the same since a man died at our B and B. Turns out his name was Max Russell, and Bob had known him briefly in Vietnam. We still don't have any idea why he came here and; most important of all - who killed him. Because it now appears that he was poisoned. I sure hope somebody figures it out soon! Not that we're providing the only news in Cedar Cove these days. I heard that Jon Bowman and Maryellen Sherman are getting married. And Maryellen's mum, Grace, has more than her share of interested men! The question is: Which one is she going to choose? Olivia? - I guess it's Olivia Griffin now - is back from her honeymoon, and her mother, Charlotte (who's in her mid-seventies at least), seems to have a man in her life, too. I'm not sure Olivia's too pleased.... There's lots of other gossip I could tell you. Come by for a cup of tea and one of my blueberry muffins and we'll talk.

74 Seaside Avenue Debbie Macomber

Terri Polger is living a life she couldn't even have dreamed a few years ago. She's married to Bobby now and has a beautiful house with a view of Puget Sound. But lately, she senses that something's been worrying Bobby. When she asks, he brushes her off and says that he is "protecting his queen" ? and she gets the oddest feeling he is not talking about chess, but about her. Other characters make repeat appearances in this latest instalment of Cedar Cove. Rachel has two men interested in her and rumours are circulating about the fate of Linnette McAffee after she left town when her love life fell apart..

311 Pelican Court Debbie Macomber

Welcome to Cedar Cove - a small town with a big heart! Rosie Cox loves her home town. But people are always interested in other people's business! Everyone knows that she and her husband, Zach, recently got a divorce. Everyone also knows that Judge Olivia Lockhart decreed a pretty unusual custody arrangement. It won't be the kids moving between her place and Zach's. Rosie and Zach will be going back and forth! Everyone's talking about Judge Olivia, too. Will she stay with Jack, the local newspaper owner, or will she get back together with her ex-husband? Enquiring minds need to know. But the biggest gossip has to do with the mysterious man who died at the local bed-and-breakfast. Who is he, and why did he show up in the middle of the night? Roy McAfee, the local private investigator, is making it his business to find out...

Lost and found in Cedar Cove Debbie Macomber

A heartwarming short story about friendship in unexpected places, set at the Rose Harbor Inn, by best-selling author Debbie Macomber - available exclusively as an eBook. Jo Marie has big plans for her bed-and-breakfast. With the help of handyman Mark Taylor, she intends to plant a beautiful rose garden in time for her upcoming open house. Jo Marie and Mark rarely see eye to eye - especially on matters of home improvement - but she knows he has her best interests at heart. After the two walk the grounds, Jo Marie realises that her beloved rescue dog, Rover, is missing, and at a time when she most needs a friend, Mark abruptly leaves. Confused by Mark's behaviour and worried for Rover's safety, Jo Marie searches for her precious pup all over Cedar Cove. Rover is on an adventure of his own - one that will lead to a delightful surprise for two unlikely people.

The friends we keep Susan Mallery

While Gabby Schaefer reels in the face of crushing news that has thwarted her plans to return to work, Hayley Batchelor pursues high-risk fertility treatments and Nicole Lord fears falling in love after emerging from a divorce from a man who barely touched her heart.

Living on the edge Susan Mallery

With his taut muscles and powerful gaze, bodyguard Tanner Keane was Madison Hilliard's only source of safety. Hired to rescue her, he kept her safe from a corrupt ex-husband who wanted her dead. So after days in close proximity - fear and desire escalating - who would save them from their wildest fantasies? Tanner liked his women easy, and Madison was a fighter. And as her presence brightened his house, he began to want her around all the time. For a man who was tough to the world, Tanner let the tender protector in him guide his actions. Yes, he would save her again. But of course, he was the one who was really in danger....

Dario and the Whale Cheryl Lawton Malone

The troubled man Henning Mankell

When Kurt Wallander is called into the case of the disappearance of a retired naval officer, coincidentally his daughter's future father-in-law, he becomes embroiled in a story of Cold War espionage.

Born to Rule Paddy Manning

The Cassandra sanction Scott Mariani

Ex-SAS major and kidnap recovery specialist Ben Hope is looking for peace in a quiet Spanish town. What he gets instead is the kind of trouble that only a man like him can handle. Raul Fuentes can't accept that his sister, Catalina, took her own life. Ben isn't convinced, but ghosts from his own past compel him to help Raul discover the truth. What connects Catalina's apparent suicide to the suspicious fate of three of her fellow scientists? And why do a gang of professional killers follow Ben and Raul wherever they go? Ben will soon discover the terrible truth: a fraudulent conspiracy to dupe all of humankind. And those responsible will soon find out they've met their match.

The forgotten holocaust Scott Mariani

The breathtaking new adventure starring Ben Hope A lost, aimless and hard-drinking Ben Hope has wandered back to his old haunt in Ireland. The ex-SAS soldier is searching for peace, but trouble soon appears when Kirsten Hall, a young journalist, is brutally murdered right in front of him. Unable to prevent it, Ben is driven by guilt to hunt down the killers. All he has to go on is a handful of clues from Kirsten's research but how can the journals of Lady Stamford, the wife of an English lord during the time of the Irish Great Famine, have put Kirsten in mortal danger? Ben's quest for the truth leads him across the world and finally to Oklahoma, USA, where a deadly secret awaits. What connects the journals, a wealthy American politician and an intrigue surrounding the Irish famine? What Ben uncovers is a shocking historical conspiracy linked to the deaths of some two million people: a veritable holocaust that time has all but forgotten. Those who are still profiting from the lies and corruption of the time, and who are ready to kill anyone to protect their secret, are about to pay.

The martyr's curse Scott Mariani

Could Ben Hope have found peace at last? That's the question he's asking himself after his wanderings through Europe have led him to a remote medieval monastery in the French Alps. A haven of serenity, a place he wants to remain. But wherever Ben goes, trouble is never too far behind. When a team of merciless killers invade his newfound sanctuary and slaughter the innocent monks, Ben's revenge quest quickly draws him into a bewildering mystery of stolen treasure, deception and murder. What is the truth behind the cache of gold bullion apparently hidden for centuries under the monastery? What is the significance of an ancient curse dating back to a cruel heretic burning in medieval times? What are the real ambitions of the enigmatic leader of an organisation of doomsday 'preppers' calling themselves Exercitus Paratorum: the Army of the Prepared? As he works to unravel the clues, Ben is confronted with a terrifying reality that threatens to devastate the world and reshape the whole of our future. The race is on to prevent the ultimate disaster, and there's only one man who can do it.

The nemesis program Scott Mariani

While secretly researching the bizarre discoveries of Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla many years earlier, physicist Claudine Pommier becomes the victim of a remorseless and cruel murderer who breaks into her Parisian apartment. Maverick American biologist Dr Roberta Ryder receives a mysterious letter from her friend Claudine and travels to Paris to see her, only to learn of her shocking death. Before she knows it, Roberta becomes the target of ruthless men with a deadly agenda that only the letter can unmask. She's alone and vulnerable. But she knows someone - the only someone - who can help her. Ben Hope, ex-SAS soldier and Roberta's old flame, now trying to retire to a life of peace with his fiancee Brooke, suddenly finds his life turned upside down by Roberta's sudden arrival in England. She needs his help; he can't turn her down. In a frantic race to Paris and halfway around the world, Ben and Roberta battle to uncover the mystery of Claudine's research, with the killers just half a step behind. In the process they uncover a global conspiracy that will claim the lives of millions of people...unless Ben can stop it.

The bomber Liza Marklund

Journalist Annika Bengtzon is asleep when the call comes in at 3.22 a.m. on a frozen December night. Within minutes, all thoughts of seasonal goodwill are left behind as Annika tries to get the best possible picture for tomorrow's edition of her newspaper. For a bomb has destroyed Stockholm's new Olympic arena just months before the Summer Games, and blown someone to pieces.

Borderline Liza Marklund

A mother is found dead along a snowy pathway after dropping her son off at nursery school. She is the fourth murder victim to be found in a short time displaying the same characteristics. News reporter Annika Bengtzon is trying to start a story on it when she is told that her husband has been kidnapped in Kenya. As the murder spree continues, the police begin to think they have a serial killer on their hands. Meanwhile Annika is faced with impossible demands from her husband's kidnappers. Two mysteries to be solved before the body count rises further.

Exposed Liza Marklund

Young, inexperienced Annika Bengtzon has taken on a work placement at Stockholm's biggest tabloid newspaper in the height of a scorching summer. Manning the tip-off phoneline, notorious for prank calls from time-wasters, Annika isn't sure this is going to aid her career at all.

Last will Liza Marklund

Knowing the truth can be deadly. A frosty December night in Stockholm. A thousand guests attend the prestigious Nobel Prizewinners' dinner. The evening is one of prestige and glamour. Until two shots are fired on the dance floor. Crime reporter Annika Bengtzon is there, covering the event for the Evening Post. As the police realize she caught a glimpse of the suspect, she is far more interested in getting back to the newsroom. But as more brutal murders follow, Annika finds herself in the middle of something far larger than she had anticipated. No longer just a reporter but also a vulnerable key witness, she begins to close up the gaps linking these crimes, just as the suspect starts closing the net on Annika herself...

Lifetime Liza Marklund

David Lindholm is found naked on his bed with bullets through his head and stomach. All the homicidal evidence points in the direction of his wife Julia. Julia, who is suffering from shock and trauma, rambles on about a woman who she claims entered the house, killed her husband, and ran off with her son. When journalist Annika Bengtzon is assigned to the case, she must work against the clock to clear Julia's name and find the missing child, before it's too late.

The long shadow Liza Marklund

A violent robbery has killed an entire family on the Costa Del Sol. Annika Bengtzon is assigned to cover the story for the Evening Post. But when she arrives in Spain she discovers there was a third child a teenage daughter who is unaccounted for. Annika makes it her mission to find the missing girl. But as she delves into the mystery she becomes embroiled in a far darker side of Spanish life than she'd envisioned, as she begins to piece together a terrifying story of violence, abuse and murder.

Paradise Liza Marklund

A hurricane sweeps across southern Sweden, leaving chaos in its wake. Two men lie dead in Stockholm's Free Port, shot in the head at point-blank range. A young woman runs for her life. She finds refuge in Paradise, a foundation dedicated to people whose lives are in danger. Newpaper sub-editor Annika Bengtzon is trying to piece her life together following the violent death of her fiance. Covering the story of Paradise is the opening she needs to get her personal life and her career back on track. But, as she's about to find out, neither Paradise nor the young woman, Aida, are quite what they appear to be. Annika's quest for the truth will force both her and Aida to confront their troubled pasts - and ultimately Annika will be faced with the most difficult decision of her life.

Prime time Liza Marklund

On the shortest night of the year, thirteen people are due to film a prime time TV series but on the morning of Midsummer's Eve, the brightest star in Swedish television is found shot dead in a mobile control room.Newspaper reporter Annika Bengtzon is drawn into the investigation where she soon learns that one of the suspects is her best friend. As events unfold her personal life starts to take a turn for the worse.Meanwhile, there's a murderer on the loose - and a terrifying drama about to take place in the public eye.

Red wolf Liza Marklund

Stockholm journalist Annika Bengtzon turns independent reporter, mostly pursuing terrorism stories. While she's investigating in the northern town of Lulea, a fellow journalist and source dies in a hit-and-run accident, which turns out to be the first in a series of murders. Annika traces these murders to a deadly act of sabotage on a Swedish military base in 1969, and begins to suspect that the man behind the present-day slayings and the army attack - known only by his code name of "Ragnwald" - has returned to kill again.

Vanished Liza Marklund

A hurricane sweeps across southern Sweden, leaving chaos in its wake. Two men lie dead in Stockholm's Free Port, shot in the head at point-blank range. A young woman runs for her life. She finds refuge in Paradise, a foundation dedicated to people whose lives are in danger. Newpaper sub-editor Annika Bengtzon is trying to piece her life together following the violent death of her fiance. Covering the story of Paradise is the opening she needs to get her personal life and her career back on track. But, as she's about to find out, neither Paradise nor the young woman, Aida, are quite what they appear to be. Annika's quest for the truth will force both her and Aida to confront their troubled pasts - and ultimately Annika will be faced with the most difficult decision of her life.

Without a trace Liza Marklund

A family torn apart. Another trying to find a way to be as one. Ingemar Lerberg had it all: successful businessman, politician, husband, father. Until he is found, brutally beaten and left for dead, in his mansion in a fashionable district of Stockholm. His wife, Nora, is missing. With no alternative, his children are taken into care. In one night, a family has been ripped apart. Journalist Annika Bengtzon is assigned to the case. As she delves into the horrifying details of this family's fate, she grapples too with the change in her own. With her new boyfriend she must patch together a family from their respective children and stepchildren, and find a way for them all to live harmoniously. Family matters above all else, but all is never as it seems. Behind the scenes, darkness lies.

You don't have to live like this Benjamin Markovits

Greg Marnier, Marney to his friends, has a story to tell about leaving a job he didn't much like and what happened to him when he moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 2011, where an old friend had a big idea about real estate and the revitalization of a once great American city. It's a story that involves a fistfight between two friends, an act of vigilante justice, a racially charged trial, a love affair with a colleague, a game of three-on-three basketball with the president of the United States and the money-soaked real estate project itself. Cut out of six hundred acres of emaciated Detroit, the development is described by Marney's billionaire buddy from Yale, Robert James, the plan's creator, as the "Groupon model for gentrification." Everyone else calls it "New Jamestown." Marney used to live there before Robert himself asked him to leave. This is the story of what went wrong. A work of supreme control and complicated emotional subterfuge, You don't have to live like this is the breakout novel for one of America's great young fiction writers. A book that uses the framework of our present reality to build it's own world, it blurs the line between fiction and nonfiction in the best way, and asks urgent, unforgettable questions about the future of our once great American cities, the state of American race relations, and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Burning for Revenge John Marsden

Circle of Flight John Marsden

Incurable John Marsden

The Night is for Hunting John Marsden

The Other Side of Dawn John Marsden

While I Live John Marsden

The high mountains of Portugal Yann Martel

The High Mountains of Portugal is a suspenseful, mesmerising story of a great quest for meaning, told in three intersecting narratives that touch the lives of three different people and their families, and taking us on an extraordinary journey through the last century. We begin in the early 1900s, when Tomas discovers an ancient journal and sets out from Lisbon in one of the very first motor cars in Portugal in search of the strange treasure the journal describes. Thirty-five years later, a pathologist devoted to the novels of Agatha Christie, whose wife has possibly been murdered, finds himself drawn into Tomas's quest. Fifty years later, Senator Peter Tovy of Ottawa, grieving the death of his own beloved wife, rescues a chimpanzee from an Oklahoma research facility and takes it to live with him in his ancestral village in northern Portugal, where the strands of all three stories miraculously mesh together.

Karen's Witch Ann M Martin

Karen's Worst Day Ann M Martin

More home comforts : 100 new recipes from the television series James Martin

More Home Comforts introduces 100 new recipes from James Martin, favourites that you will want to cook time and time again. This brand new book features super-fast Instant Comforts, including Pea and Parmesan Soup and Keralan Prawns; Sharing Comforts for when you have a tableful, like Lamb Belly with Barbecue Sauce or Dahl Chicken with Naan Bread; Childhood Comforts such as soothing Fish Pie or Tomato Soup; Posh Comforts for when you're entertaining, with the likes of Carpaccio of Tuna and Perfect Rump Steak; Indulgent Comforts that are naughty but nice (Dark and White Chocolate Cherry Brownies, Churros with Peaches and Custard); and Sweet Comforts, with classic cakes and bakes like Fruit Meringue Gateau and Sticky Toffee Roulade. James guides you through the recipes with their clear, easy-to-follow instructions and beautiful photography. Whether you want a seasonal summer salad or an autumnal roast, here are all the recipes you will need from a master of his trade.

Sea lovers Valerie Martin

An anthology of twelve stories inspired by the author's fictional explorations of the natural world, the artistic sphere, and the potential of transformations.

Six months in Sudan : a young doctor in a war-torn village James Maskalyk

Dr. James Maskalyk returned last year from Sudan where he was the first official blogger for Medecins Sans Frontieres

The golden goose : based on a story by the Brothers Grimm Conrad Mason

This book is developed in consultation with Alison Kelly, who is a senior lecturer in education and an early reading specialist from Roehampton University. When a young man finds a golden goose in the forest he has to keep it away from the greedy townsfolk.

The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley Jeremy Massey

Catherine the Great : portrait of a woman Robert K Massie

Presents a reconstruction of the eighteenth-century empress's life that covers her efforts to engage Russia in the cultural life of Europe, her creation of the Hermitage, and her numerous scandal-free romantic affairs.

Rage against the dying Becky Masterman

In her hey-day, ex FBI agent, Brigid Quinn, not only worked serial killer cases but became their prize. Small and blond, from a distance she looked vulnerable and slight the perfect bait to catch a killer. But as Quinn got older, she realised she needed to find a protege, a younger field agent to take her place. So Quinn trains a twenty-two year old and lets her loose in the field. The plan works. Until the Route 66 killer not only takes the bait, but kills the bait. Years on, Quinn is trying to move past the fact that she has a young woman's death on her conscience. She's now the perfect Stepford Wife until she gets a knock on her door. The girl's body has finally been discovered. Quinn is pulled back into the case and the more she learns about the killer the more she comes to believe, despite the overwhelming forensic evidence to hand, that they have the wrong man.

Burnt barley Peta Mathias

Winner of Best Literary Food Writing (in English) category at the World Cookbook Fair, this is a lively journey discovering Ireland's food, people and music. If Peta hadn't known of her Irish ancestry, her love of potatoes would have betrayed it. Peta always connects with a place through its food, and in visiting the country of her forebears she set herself a difficult task. But it didn't take long for Peta to find the world-class restaurants hidden up windy cobbled streets, to savour the delights of grand country cooking, high-quality primary produce and seafood from sleepy fishing villages. She dances her way between such traditional fare as Guinness, barmbrack and black puddings and refined fusion dishes of roasted tomato and goat cheese charlotte with lentils and basil oil and cured wild salmon topped off with slugs of fine Irish whiskey. In this wonderful account of travelling through Ireland, Peta searches for its gastronomic heartland, introduces her intriguing relatives, discovers her love of music is intricately intertwined with Irish social life and eating habits, and spins tales both traditional and true.

Can we help it if we're fabulous? : and other thoughts on being a woman Peta Mathias

Television presenter, author and bon vivant, Peta Mathias's life has been anything but dull. With ten topics relevant to all women - Fashion, Food, Relationships, Music, Travel, Beauty, Work, Sex, Happiness and, of course, Men - Peta's sagacious, sexy and occasionally scurrilous book will encourage and inspire readers to reinvent, spice up, embrace and celebrate the lives they have.As well as recounting her own life lessons, Peta interviews a range of women - from psychologists to plastic surgeons, sex therapists to hairdressers, doctors to singers - and discovers what a woman needs to make her happy, idependent and successful. Inspirational, razor-witted and funny, Can We Help It if We're Fabulous is Peta Mathias at her wisest - and naughtiest.

Fete accomplie : a New Zealander's culinary romance Peta Mathias

A New Zealander's hilarious culinary romance with France, interspersed with recipes.A New Zealand nurse opening a restaurant in Paris? Surely that would be sheer fantasy? But luck and blind determination led Peta Mathias to fulfil her long-held ambition - rising from dishwasher to French chef - and a life filled with sensuous gastronomic experiences. The wonderful recipes Peta cooked during her extraordinary time in France are intermingled here with her lively account of the exotic French lifestyle and the colourful characters she encountered.Funny, frank and fabulous, this is a delicious memoir of a charmed time in the life of the ever-popular Peta Mathias.

Just in time to be too late : why men are like buses Peta Mathias

In her bestselling guide Can We Help it if We're Fabulous, the irrepressible Peta Mathias shared her thoughts on being a woman. Now, with Just in Time to be Too Late, she turns her attention to what it means to be a man in the 21st century. What makes men cry? Why are bad boys so irresistible? What exactly is the point of sport? To what extent is a man's self worth connected to his job? What do men look for in a relationship? Does a man ever get over his first love? Why do men lie? What does he need to be happy? And, of course, why are men like buses? These are just some of the vexing questions Peta looks for answers to. Though she has been married and has had her fair share both of meaningful relationships and flirtatious dalliances, Peta is the first to admit that she knew very little about the opposite sex when she began work on this book - 'A virgin would know more about men than me because she's probably listened more.' Consequently Just in Time to be Too Late is an account of Peta's own discoveries as she delves deeper into the mysterious world of men - a highly personal and frequently hilarious pilgrimage that will resonate with women everywhere.

The devil's heart Cathy Maxwell

They call her the Unattainable. Lady Margaret Chattan spurned every suitor for her hand, vowing never to marry. The only way to break the curse plaguing her family for two centuries is this ultimate sacrifice. But now her brothers' lives are in danger. Determined to save them, she risks her very soul by traveling into the heart of the Highlands to battle a force that has transcended time. Heath Macnachtan is not superstitious. Laird of the most independent, nonconforming, madly infuriating clan ever to grace Scotland, he believes he has his hands full. And then a woman lauded as one of the most beautiful in England arrives on his doorstep with wild accusations and a mystical quest . . . one that just might help him discover who murdered his own brother. But the real danger for Heath and Margaret is not a supernatural foe, but a very real love that could destroy them both.

A little thing called love Cathy Maxwell

Grandmother, grandmother, who shall it be? Who shall it be who will marry me? Duke, Earl, a powerful marquess? When my heart is given to Fyclan Morris... In New York Times bestselling author Cathy Maxwell's new novella, beautiful Jennifer Tarleton has no lack of noble suitors, but the only man who captures her attention is the one her father will never let her marry: Fyclan Morris. He's a brash adventurer, witty, courageous...and Irish! Even worse, her father blames her for their reversal of fortune... And it's a fortune - or rather, his grandmother the fortune teller - who foretold that Fyclan would meet "the one" a love prophesied in the stars. He vows nothing will stand in the way of making Jennifer his bride, but is the price too high? Or is a thing called love worth every challenge?

Under the influence Joyce Maynard

Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her son, Ollie. Weekend visits with her son are awkward; he's drifting away from her, fast. Helen meets Ava and Swift Havilland, wealthy, connected philanthropists, who have their own charity devoted to rescuing dogs. And she meets Elliott, a kind, quiet accountant who offers loyalty and love with none of her newfound friends' fireworks. As Helen increasingly falls under the Havillands' influence, Ava and Swift hold out the most seductive gift: their influence and help to regain custody of her son. But when Ollie witnesses an accident involving Swift, his grown son, and the daughter of the Havillands' housekeeper, Helen must choose between the truth and the friends who have given her everything.

Lessons in loving Peter McAra

Wanted: Governess. Properly qualified in English, to instruct male pupil in rural location. Sydney, 1902. Desperate for a job, Kate Courtney travels to the faraway New England Ranges to interview for a governess position. She is greeted by wealthy landowner, ruggedly handsome Tom Fortescue, and is shocked to find that her new charge isn't a small boy but the grown man. It was Tom's mother's dying wish that he find a refined, elegant, English bride to marry. But a country man with country manners can never win a lady fair. Tom needs Kate to smooth away his rough edges, make him desirable to the English rose he wants to marry. But the more time Kate and Tom spend together, the closer they become, and Tom has to decide between the dreams of his childhood, and the reality that is right in front of him.

Love or money Peter McAra

A sweet story about sustainability, surfing, and searching for what really matters... When Erin Spenser inherits her grandmother's beautiful cliff-top property in rural Luna Bay, she knows she has to sell it immediately to fund her ailing mother's heart transplant. When she briefs her grandmother's lawyer, Hamish Bourke, the passionate LandCare volunteer explodes: her grandmother, a dedicated fellow volunteer, would turn in her grave. But Erin has responsibilities that can't be denied ? even by an angry, obstructive, strangely attractive lawyer determined to stand in her way. Her grandmother's property is a goldmine for holiday developers and her mother's illness is only getting worse. How can she make Hamish understand that the only way to fix her mother's heart is to break her own?

The vintner's letters Peter McAra

Son of an Irish father and a French mother, Maurice George O'Shea was a famous Australian winemaker. Educated in France, he was also a man of passion, a romantic. In the cultured and elegant Miss Marcia Fuller, an accomplished pianist, he found his enduring sweetheart. Theirs would be a many-faceted and often stormy romance, confronted by religious differences and tested by life's vicissitudes. But their greatest challenge lay in Maurice's other consuming passion - making fine wines. He could not tear himself away from his beloved Hunter Valley vineyard. Marcia, every inch a city girl, was appalled by the primitive living conditions of the struggling vigneron. The Vintner's Letters is based on their true story as recounted by Simone Bryce, their daughter, and on the letters written by Maurice to Marcia during their courtship.

A world apart Peter McAra

April, 1820. As children, they shared a schoolroom, but no education can remove the stain of being peasant-born. So when Eliza Downing begins to blossom into womanhood and the future Viscount de Havilland notices, his family steps in to intervene. Once full of possibilities, Eliza's life spirals into shame and degradation, culminating finally in a false conviction and transport to Botany Bay. Through shipwreck, exile, secrets, and scandals, Eliza holds fast to the belief that Harry will come for her but he doesn't come soon enough, and Eliza must learn to recognize her own value and become the heroine of her own story.

The good lord bird, James McBride

Fleeing his violent master at the side of abolitionist John Brown at the height of the slavery debate in mid-nineteenth-century Kansas Territory, Henry pretends to be a girl to hide his identity throughout the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.

Miracle at St. Anna James McBride

Inspired by a historical incident that took place in the village of St. Anna di Stazzema in Tuscany and by the experiences of the famed Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Division in Italy during World War II, Miracle at St. Anna is a singular evocation of war, cruelty, passion, heroism, and love. It is the story of four American soldiers, the villagers among whom they take refuge, a band of partisans, and an Italian boy, all of whom encounter a miracle - though perhaps the true miracle lies in themselves.

Dead secret Ava McCarthy

Two quick shots. One for him. One for you. After the death of her three-year-old daughter, Jodie has nothing left to live for - or almost nothing. She has one task to fulfil before she takes her own life. And that's to kill the man she holds responsible for her daughter's death - her seemingly perfect husband, Ethan. But Ethan is hiding more than just his true nature. And as more horrifying secrets from his past emerge, Jodie's strength will be pushed to the limit ...

Emerald Springs Fleur McDonald

After finishing university, Amelia Bennett returns to Jervois and promptly falls in love with the wonderful if broke and slightly stubborn Paul Barnes. Now she's determined to lose her old reputation for being scatty and unreliable by proving herself as the treasurer of the local rodeo committee and making the forthcoming rodeo a huge success. Flushed with triumph on the evening of the best rodeo in the town's history, Amelia is driving the record proceeds into town when she becomes the victim of a terrifying crash and grab. Injured and distraught after her ordeal, she's even more devastated when she later finds out that she and Paul are the objects of gossip and suspicion in town. To prove her innocence and that of the man she loves, Amelia must convince a sceptical rural detective that her account of what happened does add up and that he must help her track down the real culprits.

SuperBetter Jane McGonigal

A revolutionary new self-help book by top flight game designer Jane McGonigal. After suffering a brain injury, Jane McGonigal came up with a game to help aid her recovery and battle the ensuing depression she experienced. A quarter of a million people have now played this game to astonishing results: depression gone in 6 weeks in some cases and even terminal cancer patients reporting that playing the game gives them a sense of control over their own health. The book shows readers how to use these techniques to find strength and create positivity: readers can look to their own 'power-ups' which are little things they can do to feel better and tackle the hurdles in their own lives. This book provides simple step-by-step ideas that can be carried out in day-to-day life, helping you transform your life with a new flexible and reenergised mindset. In this book McGonigal uses her own story and those of others to expertly demonstrate how simple changes can result in dramatic life-affirming effects. And what's more, she tells you how you yourself can lead a more "gameful" life.

The weight of blood Laura McHugh

The Dane family's roots tangle deep in the Ozark Mountain town of Henbane, but that doesn't keep sixteen-year-old Lucy Dane from being treated like an outsider. Folks still whisper about her mother, a bewitching young stranger who inspired local myths when she vanished years ago. When one of Lucy's few friends, slow-minded Cheri, is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost girls the mother she never knew and the friend she couldn't protect. Everything changes when Lucy stumbles across Cheri's necklace in an abandoned trailer and finds herself drawn into a search for answers. What Lucy discovers makes it impossible to ignore the suspicion cast on her own kin. More alarming, she suspects Cheri's death could be linked to her mother's disappearance, and the connection between the two puts Lucy at risk of losing everything. In a place where the bonds of blood weigh heavy, Lucy must decide where her allegiances lie.

A murder without motive : the killing of Rebecca Ryle Martin McKenzie-Murray

In 2004, the body of a young Perth woman was found on the grounds of a primary school. Her name was Rebecca Ryle. The killing would mystify investigators, lawyers, and psychologists and profoundly rearrange the life of the victim's family. It would also involve the author's family, because his brother knew the man charged with the murder. For years, the two had circled each other suspiciously, in a world of violence, drugs, and rotten aspirations. A Murder Without Motive is a police procedural, a meditation on suffering, and an exploration of how the different parts of the justice system make sense of the senseless. It is also a unique memoir: a mapping of the suburbs that the author grew up in, and a revelation of the dangerous underbelly of adolescent ennui.

Solace Belinda McKeon

Mark Casey has left home, the rural Irish community where his family has farmed the same land for generations, to study for a doctorate in Dublin, a vibrant, contemporary city full of possibility. To his father, Tom, who needs help baling the hay and ploughing the fields, Mark's pursuit isn't work at all, and indeed Mark finds himself whiling away his time with pubs and parties. His is a life without focus or responsibility, until he meets Joanne Lynch, a trainee solicitor whom he finds irresistible. Joanne too has a past to escape from and for a brief time she and Mark share the chaos and rapture of a new love affair, until the lightning strike of tragedy changes everything. Solace is a work to be admired for its spare, intense lyricism, its range, and its deeply compassionate portrayal of life as it is lived now.

Tender Belinda McKeon

"Are you asleep?" James said, nudging her with his leg. "No," Catherine said, the word all in a drowse. "Don't go to sleep," he said, and she heard him turn a page. Catherine and James are as close as two friends could ever be. They meet in Dublin in the late 1990s, she a college student, he a fledgling artist both recent arrivals from rural communities, coming of age in a city which is teeming or so they are told with new freedoms, new possibilities. Catherine has never met anyone quite like James. Talented, quick-witted, adventurous and charismatic, he helps Catherine to open her eyes, to take on life with more gusto than she has ever before known how to do; she begins to enjoy her new home, to find her voice as a writer and to meet with the people who will shape her new world. But while Catherine's horizons are expanding, James's own life is becoming a prison; as changed as the new Ireland may be, it is still not a place in which he feels able to truly be himself. Catherine, grateful to James and worried for him, desperately wants to help but as time moves on, and as life begins to take the friends in different directions, she discovers that there is a perilously fine line between helping someone and hurting them further. And when crisis hits, Catherine must face difficult truths not just about her closest bond but about herself.

The unfortunates Sophie McManus

The story of a prominent New York family on the cusp of ruin in the face of a matriarch's wavering health, a bumbling son's scandalous opera, and a life of wealth and inheritance belonging to a bygone era.

New Hokkaido James McNaughton

It is 1987, forty-five years after Japan conquered New Zealand, and the brutal shackles of the occupation have loosened a little: English can be spoken by natives in the home, and twenty-year-old Business English teacher Chris Ipswitch has a job at the Wellington Language Academy. But even Chris and his famous older brother-the Night Train, a retired Pan-Asian sumo champion-cannot stay out of the conflict between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Free New Zealand movement. When Chris takes it upon himself to investigate a terrible crime, he is drawn into the heart of the struggle for freedom, guided along the way by the mysterious Hitomi Kurosawa and the ghost of Kiwi rock 'n' roll legend and martyr Johnny Lennon. New Hokkaido is a fascinating counter-factual history and an adventure that thrills and disquiets at every turn.

A fall of marigolds Susan Meissner

September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries ... and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she's made. Will what she learns devastate her or free her? September 2011. On Manhattan's Upper West Side, widow Taryn Michaels has convinced herself that she is living fully, working in a charming specialty fabric store and raising her daughter alone. Then a long-lost photograph appears in a national magazine, and she is forced to relive the terrible day her husband died in the collapse of the World Trade Towers ... the same day a stranger reached out and saved her. Will a chance reconnection and a century-old scarf open Taryn's eyes to the larger forces at work in her life?

Secrets of a charmed life Susan Meissner

She stood at a crossroads, half-aware that her choice would send her down a path from which there could be no turning back. But instead of two choices, she saw only one- because it was all she really wanted to see. Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden - one that will test her convictions and her heart. 1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London's civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy's burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia's profound need for her sister's presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed.

Carry on, warrior Glennon Doyle Melton

A New York Times essayist shares her journey from a self-destructive college student to a devoted family woman and teacher while illuminating the importance of trusting in a higher power and being truthful about life's challenges.

Stars above : a Lunar chronicles collection Marissa Meyer

A collection of stories from the universe of the Lunar Chronicles answer such questions as: How did Cinder first arrive in New Beijing? How did the brooding soldier Wolf transform from young man to killer? When did Princess Winter and the palace guard Jacin realize their destinies?

Winter Marissa Meyer

Princess Winter, admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, teams up with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, to defeat Queen Levana and find their happily ever afters.

The son Philipp Meyer

Kidnapped by the Comanche after his mother and sister are murdered, thirteen-year-old Eli McCullough quickly adapts to Comanche life until the tribe is decimated by armed Americans, leaving Eli alone in a world where he is neither white nor Indian.

The adventures of Miss Petitfour Anne Michaels

Meet the utterly irresistible Miss Petitfour (a name of unknown origin but possibly descended from bakers of tiny delicious cakes). She loves baking and making and dancing with her cats, but most of all she loves to fly. All she has to do is pick up a favourite tablecloth (preferably the one with the paisley print), catch the breeze and she swooshes off on an adventure with her many cats (Minky, Misty, Taffy, Purrsia, Pirate, Mustard, Moutarde, Hemdala, Earring, Grigorovich, Clasby, Captain Captain, Captain Catkin, Captain Clothespin, Your Shyness and Sizzles) dangling paw-to-tail behind her. In five utterly captivating stories of gentle adventure, delicious edibles (with cheese for the cats), occasional peril and heart-zinging warmth, poet and novelist Anne Michaels (author of bestselling, award-winning Fugitive Pieces) makes a charming, purrfect debut as a children's author.

In the castle Anna Milbourne

Step back in time to the excitement of life in a castle, with jousts and banquets and daring deeds. Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton, specially written for children just starting to read alone. This ebook includes audio and reading-related puzzles.

Under the ground Anna Milbourne

Lenny and Lola journey deep into the earth, encountering rabbits snuggled in their burrows, underground trains and dinosaur bones. They keep digging and digging until they pop out on the other side of the world!

Holiday in Stone Creek Linda Lael Miller

Two classic Stone Creek tales from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Linda Lael Miller.

Speedy death Gladys Mitchell

Alistair Bing's guests gather around his dining table in Chaynings, a charming country manor. But one seat, belonging to the legendary explorer Everard Mountjoy, remains empty. When the other guests search the house, a body is discovered in a bath, drowned. The body is that of a woman, but could the corpse in fact be Mountjoy? A peculiar and sinister sequence of events has only just begun.

Solar express L E Modesitt

You can't militarize space. This one rule has led to decades of peaceful development of space programs worldwide. However, increasing resource scarcity and a changing climate on Earth's surface is causing some interested parties to militarize, namely India, the North American Union, and the Sinese Federation. The discovery of a strange artifact by Dr. Alayna Wong precipitates a crisis. What appears to be a hitherto undiscovered comet is soon revealed to be an alien structure on a cometary trajectory toward the sun. Now there is a race between countries to see who can study and control the artifact dubbed the "Solar Express" before it perhaps destroys itself. Leading the way for the North American Union is Alayna's friend, Captain Christopher Tavoian, one of the first shuttle pilots to be trained for combat in space. But, as the alien craft gets closer to its destination, it begins to alter the surface of the sun in strange new ways, ways that could lead Alayna to revolutionary discoveries-provided Chris can prevent war from breaking out as he navigates among the escalating tensions between nations.

The feather room Anis Mojgani

Mojgani further explores storytelling in poetic form while travelling farther down the path of magic realism, endowing his tales with a greater sense of fantasy and brightness. The work recounts loss and heartbreak while discovering lightness and beauty on the other side.

Junkyard ghost revival : a book of poems Anis Mojgani

This book contains poetry from a small team of wildly unique, talented and award-winning authors who have been touring the world for years. They have united for a once in a lifetime tour to perform their work and to charge the hearts of America with gut-splitting, lust wrangling, socially active verse. This is the Junkyard Ghost Revival.

Over the anvil we stretch Anis Mojgani

Over The Anvil We Stretch contains swampy, powerful poems that are as exciting as the pocket knife you got for your birthday, the three legged frog on the lawn and the jar of marbles your mother kept in the kitchen. Mojgani's poems are the sound of the river and the stars burning above.

Songs from under the river : a collection of poetry Anis Mojgani

After six years of touring the country, Anis has combed through out-of-print editions to put together a best-of collection for his third Write Bloody release. Popular poems (Some with over 200,000 "Likes" on YouTube) such as "Direct Orders" "Shake the Dust" "Here Am I" and more, are collected here alongside lost poems, favourite poems and new unpublished works. The book showcases what audiences have come to expect from Anis's uplifting words, playful surrealism, and the journey through imagination. Songs From Under the River allows fans and new readers alike the chance to follow the trajectory of Anis' development, themes, and style of work over his 15 year career.

The latte years : a story of losses, gains and life beyond the after photo Philippa Moore

At twenty-four Philippa Moore is overweight, unhappily married, and still living in her hometown of Hobart, Tasmania. After a wake-up call in a department-store changing room, Phil suddenly realises that she is on the wrong path. With determination she starts to shed the kilos, and makes a confronting discovery: she is in charge of her own life. Starting over again in Melbourne, she launches an award-winning health and fitness blog, Skinny Latte, and finds the courage to leave her marriage. She then sets out on an international odyssey, travelling the length and breadth of North America and throwing herself into every new experience she encounters. An intuitive friend predicts that true love is in her future but, still scarred from her failed relationship, she can scarcely bring herself to believe it. When she arrives in London, though, she finds the life she has always been looking for, coming to realise that excuses for not doing the things you dream of doing are just that: excuses. The Latte Years is the brave story of a life restarted, of the battles still to be won once the 'after' photo has been taken. Told with humour, insight and a great deal of coffee, it shows that we have the power to change anything, and inspires us to live our best, most authentic life.

Bloom Kelly Ana Morey

Constant Spry, newly liberated of her waitressing job, is summoned home by her grandmother, the irrepressible Mrs Angela Spry. Accompanied by Nanny Smack, the ghost who crochets tomorrow's sky, Connie journeys south to Goshen - a crossroads caught between the mountain and the sea. And, slowly but surely, she gathers the myriad threads that are the lives and loves of the four murderous and conveniently forgetful women Spry.

Forgiven Rachel Morgan

Heartache, humour, and first love collide in this sweet romance novella ...Three hundred and six days ago, Julia ran away from home. Abandoning her family, friends, boyfriend, and university plans, she fled with no explanation. She can't hide forever, though, and now it's time to face the mess she left behind. (Contemporary romance that does not contain explicit language or sex.)

The promise seed Cass Moriarty

An elderly man, living alone in the suburbs, thinks back on his life the missed opportunities, the shocking betrayals, the rare moments of joy. When his ten-year-old neighbour hides in his garden one afternoon, they begin an unexpected friendship that offers a reprieve from their individual struggles. The boy, often left on his own by his mother, finds solace in gardening and playing chess with his new friend, who is still battling the demons of his past. As a sinister figure enters the boy's life, he must choose between a burgeoning friendship and blood ties. Can the old man protect the boy he has come to know and redeem the boy he once was.

In my sister's shoes Sinead Moriarty

Kate O'Brien is thirty and has very little to think about except trying to keep her balance as she totters up London's media-land ladder. Fiona O'Brien is Kate's responsible older sister - with a husband, twin boys, a dog and now ... a life-changing problem. It's a problem that means Kate going back to Dublin. Pronto. There she finds herself stepping into Fiona's shoes - and discovering that she's definitely not cut out to be a domestic goddess. On top of that, the ex she thought she'd got over years ago turns up to haunt her. Will either of the O'Brien sisters survive? And even if they do, can either of them slip back into their old shoes ever again?

The way we were Sinead Moriarty

Alice and Ben. A couple like any other. Bound together by love, work, children, familiarity, a shared sense of purpose. Arguing about the usual things too in-laws, whose career is more important, which of them is a soft touch with the children, who hates change and who craves it. But when Ben takes a step into the unknown, and brings devastation on the family, it forces them to look at everything in a whole new way. Because, as far as they know, this is the end of the line for their family. So what will happen if they get a second chance? Can they should they go back to the way.

Hene and the burning harbour : Hene's story, 1845 Paula Morris

Paula Morris's Hene and the Burning Harbour tells the story of Hene, a Maori girl living in 1840s New Zealand. Northland, 1845. When Hene's twin brother falls dangerously ill, her parents fear she will also catch the sickness, so they send her away from her home at the pa to the Paihia mission station. Life with the missionaries is difficult. Hene must wear a hot European dress and learn to sew, which she hates. Meanwhile, across the water in Russell, the world is in turmoil. Hone Heke has cut down the flagpole again and has attacked Korororeka. Hene sees smoke and fire from across the bay: the town is on fire and her best friend from the mission house, Rangi, is trapped there. Hene is the only one who can save her. What was life like so many years ago? Find out through the eyes of a girl who's just like you.

Hibiscus Coast Paula Morris

Emma Paupere has just returned to New Zealand from Shanghai, where her training as a painter has made her a copyist of incredible skill. Now, Siaki, her ambitious and manipulative ex-boyfriend, has recruited her as a forger, shutting Emma away in a borrowed apartment on Prices Warf. In a room housing the owner's prize possession - a lost painting by Gauguin - Emma works day and night copying on the most valuable Goldies in the Auckland Museum. Lost in memories of the two men who shaped her life in Shaghai - her Chinese painting teacher, and the charismatic New Zealander with whom she had a passionate affair - Emma finds herself increasingly exposed to danger. And when talent, hubris and greed collide with disastrous consequences, Emma has no choice but to try to flee up the Hibiscus Coast.

Queen of beauty Paula Morris

Virginia Ngatea Seton leaves New Orleans, where she works as a researcher for a historical novelist, and returns home to Auckland for the wedding of her younger sister. Drawn back into the world of her Pakeha-Maori family, Virginia rediscovers many family stories and legends. She learns how the city of her youth has inextricably changed, as surely as the country of her grandparents is gone forever. At turns haunting, moving and comic, Queen of Beauty spans three generations. Shifting between modern-day New Orleans and Auckland, as well as New Zealand of the 1920s and 1960s, it explores the fragility of truth, the elusiveness of the past and the burden it places on the living.

Rangatira Paula Morris

Based on a true story Auckland, June 1886. Ngati Wai chief Paratene Te Manu spends long sessions, over three long days, having his portrait painted by the Bohemian painter Gottfried Lindauer. Hearing of Lindauer's planned trip to England reminds him of his own journey there, twenty years earlier, with a party of northern rangatira. As he sits for Lindauer, Paratene retreats deeper and deeper into the past, from the triumphs in London and their meetings with royalty to the disintegration of the visit into poverty, mistrust, and humiliation.

Trendy but casual Paula Morris

Jane Shore, flippant and world-weary heroine, lives in New York City, works in PR and is officially Ugly On The Inside. An unpromising encounter with a bitter stranger, who shouts at her, 'Did anyone ever tell you that you're ugly? Ugly on the inside,' sets the scene for the next few months of her life. As if Ugly On The Inside wasn't bad enough, Jane's being sidelined at work by the ambitious fashion-victim Lee Munroe; her West Village apartment's being sold; her cousin Frances is going out with her megalomaniac boss; and she's still single - the gorgeous Guy Weaver being taken already. Is it time for Jane to acknowledge that the Holy Trinity of job, house and man might not pan out quite how she expected? Is it time for her to accept Mr Not-quite-right, a Brooklyn postcode, and that she's reached the less-than-lofty ceiling of her PR career? Trendy but Casual takes the reader on a madcap ride through the PR scene of hip-hoperas and porn entrepreneurs, and the bars and clubs of Manhattan in Jane's search for love and success.

The dust of promises Ahlem Mosteghanemi

Still heartsick over the break-up of his relationship with the alluring, elusive novelist Hayat, the narrator of The Dust of Promises finds himself adrift in Paris, where he has come to receive a photography award. His photograph of a traumatised war-orphan has been declared profoundly affecting by the judges, but he knows that no picture can ever fully capture the desolation and destruction he has witnessed in his Algerian homeland. When he stumbles into an art exhibition on one of the capital's side streets, he is struck by the power of the paintings and feels impelled to learn more about the artist - an Algerian exile whose painful longing for the country he has lost shines out of his work. The artist is none other than Khaled, the man who haunted the pages of Hayat's first novel, just as the narrator was inextricably entangled in her second. As the two men embark on a tentative friendship, a twist of fate brings Hayat herself to France, where the destinies of all of them will once again collide. The final novel in the international bestselling trilogy from 'the literary phenomenon' (Elle) Ahlem Mosteghanemi, The Dust of Promises is a haunting, elegiac story of love, memory and betrayal - and of what it means to come home.

Sweetgirl Travis Mulhauser

As a blizzard bears down, Percy James sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta. For years, Percy has had to take care of herself and Mama - a woman who's been unravelling for as long as her daughter can remember. Fearing Carletta is strung out on meth and that she won't survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter's cabin, deep in the woods of Northern Michigan. A two-bit criminal, as incompetent as he his violent, Shelton has been smoking his own cook and grieving the death of his beloved Labrador, Old Bo. But when Percy arrives, there is no sign of Carletta. Searching the house, she finds Shelton and his girlfriend drugged into oblivion - and a crying baby girl left alone in a freezing room upstairs. From the moment the baby wraps a tiny hand around her finger, Percy knows she must save her - a split-second decision that is the beginning of a dangerous odyssey in which she must battle the elements and evade Shelton and a small band of desperate criminals, hell-bent on getting that baby back. Knowing she and the child cannot make it alone, Percy seeks help from Carletta's ex, Portis Dale, who is the closest thing she's ever had to a father. As the storm breaks and violence erupts, Percy will be forced to confront the haunting nature of her mother's affliction and finds her own fate tied more and more inextricably to the baby she is determined to save. Filled with the sweeping sense of cultural and geographic isolation of its setting - the hills of fictional Cutler County in northern Michigan - and told in Percy's unflinching style, Sweetgirl is an affecting exploration of courage, sacrifice, and the ties that bind - a taut and darkly humorous tour-de-force that is horrifying, tender, and hopeful.

Tales of the fallen beasts Brandon Mull

All across the world, legends are appearing. Great Beasts once the most powerful beings in Erdas are being summoned as spirit animals. Bonded to special kids, they unite the human and animal worlds. But a mysterious stranger is hunting these legends, just as they are reborn, and he's rushing anyone who stands in his way. These are the stories of those stolen legends, and of the young heroes who will stop at nothing to get them back.

The beggar maid : stories of Flo and Rose Alice Munro

This collection of short stories follows the life of Rose. Born in the back streets of a small Canadian town, Rose battled incessantly with Flo, her practical and shrewd stepmother.. But Rose was ambitious - she won a scholarship and left for Toronto where she married Patrick. She was his beggar maid and he was her knight, content to sit and adore her.

Kafka on the shore Haruki Murakami

A tour-de-force of metaphysical reality, Kafka on the Shore is powered by two remarkable characters. At fifteen, Kafka Tamura runs away from home, either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister. And the aging Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction, finds his highly simplified life suddenly upset. Their odyssey, as mysterious to us as it is to them, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish fall from the sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle. Yet this, like everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.

A wild sheep chase Haruki Murakami

It begins simply enough: A twenty-something advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend, and casually appropriates the image for an insurance company's advertisement. What he doesn?t realize is that included in the pastoral scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man in black who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences. Thus begins a surreal and elaborate quest that takes our hero from the urban haunts of Tokyo to the remote and snowy mountains of northern Japan, where he confronts not only the mythological sheep, but the confines of tradition and the demons deep within himself.

Between the duke and the deep blue sea Sophia Nash

Roxanne wants to get revenge on her husband and finds she is attracted to one of England's most disreputable peers, Alexander Barclay, the Duke of Kress, who has been exiled to Cornwall.

A dangerous beauty Sophia Nash

An outcast from London society, Rosamunde Baird, accepting an invitation to spend a season with a dowager duchess and her clandestine ladies club, becomes immersed in intrigue, adventure, and passion despite her best efforts to remain virtuous.

The once and future duchess Sophia Nash

A duchess in time saves a noble line ...In theory, the Duke of Candover is the most eligible peer in the realm. But in truth, he has a deep aversion to the merest hint of marriage, not to mention two botched engagements which have marked his jaded soul. Now, after a debauched bachelor party that causes public outcry, the Prince Regent is demanding that it's Candover's turn to be brought to heel...

By royal command Laura Navarre

Katrin of Courtenay's husband is dead - and she doesn't mourn him. He was cruel and controlling, and she doesn't need a husband to hold her northern keep. But her vengeful uncle, the King of England, has other ideas: intent on marrying her off, he's ordered his Viking-bred warrior to return her to court. On the journey, the Viking captures her interest, and for the first time Katrin understands passion. But her guard is honour-bound to deliver her to the king, and so it is settled - she must wed the mysterious Rafael le Senay, the Baron of Belmaine. A forced marriage to a stranger slowly becomes something more, and Katrin realizes she is in love with Rafael. But with the shadow of her former lover hanging over her, and Rafael's powerful brother making dangerous plans, can Katrin negotiate the delicate balance between survival and happiness?

Cake Pop Crush Suzanne Nelson

Midnight sun Jo Nesbo

Jon is on the run. He has betrayed Oslo's biggest crime lord: The Fisherman. Fleeing to an isolated corner of Norway, to a mountain town so far north that the sun never sets, Jon hopes to find sanctuary amongst a local religious sect. Hiding out in a shepherd's cabin in the wilderness, all that stands between him and his fate are Lea, a bereaved mother and her young son, Knut. But while Lea provides him with a rifle and Knut brings essential supplies, the midnight sun is slowly driving Jon to insanity. And then he discovers that The Fisherman's men are getting close.

The ice queen Nele Neuhaus

The body of 92-year-old Jossi Goldberg, Holocaust survivor and American citizen, is found shot to death execution-style in his house near Frankfurt. A five-digit number is scrawled in blood at the murder scene. The autopsy reveals an old and unsuccessfully covered tattoo on the corpse's arm a blood type marker once used by Hitler's SS. Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver Bodenstein are faced with a riddle. Was the old man not Jewish after all? Who was he, really? Two more, similar murders happen one of a wheelchair-bound old lady in a nursing home, and one of a man with a cellar filled with Nazi paraphernalia and slowly the connections between the victims becomes evident.

To catch a killer Nele Neuhaus

Detective Pia Kirchhoff is about to leave on her long-delayed honeymoon when she hears that a woman has been shot while out walking her dog. Then more long-range shootings swiftly follow, and it becomes clear that a highly trained serial killer is on the loose. The victims seem to have just one thing in common: they were all good people with apparently no enemies. So why are they dead? As fear of the sniper grows among local residents, all leave is cancelled for the Frankfurt police department as they are put on red alert. The pressure is on Kirchhoff and her colleague, Oliver von Bodenstein, to find the killer before he can tick another name off his hit list.

Rascally Rabbits Aline Alexander Newman

Here comes Pickle! Jill Newton

Pickle the dog is clumsy and loud, and she spoils everyone's fun at playtime, so someone will have to prevent a disaster without hurting anyone's feelings.

All the bright places Jennifer Niven

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death. When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.

Cold feet Brenda Novak

The Seattle police suspect Madison Lieberman's father was the serial killer they call the "Sandpoint Strangler." Madison refuses to believe it. Her father is now dead, and all she wants is the chance to create a new life for herself and her six-year-old child. Then she discovers something in the crawl space beneath her parents' house. Something that makes her question her father's innocence. Or the innocence of someone else who's equally close to her...When another woman turns up dead, crime writer Caleb Trovato wonders whether they're dealing with a copycat killer. Or is the real Sandpoint Strangler still alive? Caleb's sure Madison knows more than she's telling, and he's determined to find out what. But he doesn't expect to fall in love - or to lead Madison and her child into danger....

In close Brenda Novak

First, Claire O'Toole's mother, Alana, went missing when her daughters were just teenagers. Then Claire's younger sister was confined to a wheelchair. And more recently, her husband David died in a freak accident after launching his own investigation into Alana's disappearance. It seems odd that so much could happen to one family - especially in Pineview, Montana, where nothing ever happens to anyone. Is Alana dead? Claire's determined to find out. And her former boyfriend, Isaac Morgan, wants to help. Although their relationship didn't end well, he still has feelings for Claire. But it isn't until he starts to suspect that David's death wasn't an accident that he's drawn back into her life. Together, they dig for answers to the questions that have haunted Pineview for fourteen years. But as they soon discover, someone's prepared to kill so those answers won't be found.

In seconds Brenda Novak

Laurel Hodges has changed her identity twice. She's been on the run for the past four years, trying to outdistance the men who blame her for the death of one of their own. She's finally found the peace and stability she needs, for herself and her two children, in the small town of Pineview, Montana. But just when she thinks they're safe, the nightmare starts all over again. The Crew, a ruthless prison gang with ties to Laurel's brother, will never forget and they'll never forgive. And now that they've finally found her again, they'll stop at nothing. It could all end in seconds. Only Sheriff Myles King stands between Laurel and the men who want her dead.

Inside Brenda Novak

Virgil Skinner served fourteen years for a murder he didn't commit. He's finally been exonerated, but he can't escape the gang he joined in order to survive. They'll do anything to keep him from telling what he knows. And if they can't get to Virgil, they'll go after his sister and her kids.The California Department of Corrections needs someone to infiltrate another gang, one that's taking control of the state's most notorious prison. Virgil's the perfect candidate, and he'll agree to do it under an alias in exchange for his sister's protection. Chief Deputy Warden Peyton Adams is opposed to having Virgil in her prison. How will she protect him if things go bad? Besides, she's far too attracted to him. That makes her all the more desperate to keep him safe but it gives him someone else to lose.

Don't worry, it gets worse : one twentysomething's (mostly failed) attempts at adulthood Alida Nugent

Alida Nugent graduated college with a degree in one hand and a drink in the other, eager to trade in parties and all-nighters for "the real world." But post-grad wasn't the glam life she imagined. Soon buried under a pile of bills, laundry, and three-dollar bottles of wine, it quickly became clear that she had no idea what she was doing. But hey, what twentysomething does? In Don't Worry, It Gets Worse, Nugent shares what it takes to make the awkward leap from undergrad to "mature and responsible adult that definitely never eats peanut butter straight from the jar and considers it a meal." From trying to find an apartment on the black hole otherwise known as Craigslist to the creative maneuvering needed to pay off student loans and still enjoy happy hour, Nugent documents the formative moments of being a twentysomething with a little bit of snark and a lot of heart.

Binge Tyler Oakley

For someone who made a career out of over-sharing on the internet, Tyler Oakley has a shocking number of personal mishaps and shenanigans to reveal in his first book: he experienced a legitimate rage blackout in a Cheesecake Factory; he had a fashion stand-off with the White House secret service; he crashed a car in front of his entire high school in his fast food restaurant server's uniform; he projectile vomited while bartering with a grandmother. With millions of fans clamouring for more Tyler Oakley, he delivers his best untold, hilariously side-splitting moments with trademark flair in Binge.

Auggie & me : three Wonder stories R J Palacio

Wonder tells the story of Auggie Pullman: an ordinary boy born with extreme facial abnormalities, whose first year at Beecher Prep school changed the lives and the perspectives of everyone around him. Auggie & Me is a new side to the Wonder story: three new chapters from three different characters Julian the bully ; Auggie's oldest friend Christopher ; and, classmate Charlotte, his new friend at school. Thought-provoking, surprising, infuriating, heartbreaking and heartwarming, Auggie & Me is a must-read for the thousands of readers who loved Wonder.

The map of chaos Felix J Palma

When the person he loves most dies in tragic circumstances, the mysterious protagonist of "The Map of Chaos" does all he can to speak to her one last time. A session with a renowned medium seems to offer the only solution, but the experience unleashes terrible forces that bring the world to the brink of disaster. Salvation can only be found in "The Map of Chaos," an obscure book that he is desperate to uncover. In his search, he is given invaluable help by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, and of course by H. G. Wells, whose Invisible Man seems to have escaped from the pages of his famous novel to sow terror among mankind. They alone can discover the means to save the world and to find the path that will reunite the lovers separated by death.

Lionhearted Diana Palmer

As the holiday season approached, the residents of Jacobsville were whispering about Janie Brewster's hopeless crush on Leo Hart. Up till now, all her efforts to lasso the dynamic cattleman had crumbled quicker than those mouth-watering biscuits the Hart men coveted. However, this time the starry-eyed debutante had come up with the perfect self-improvement campaign to dazzle Leo she'd become a courageous cowgirl! Still, her sudden transformation seemed to rouse Leo's formidable temper more than ever. But was it tender yearning not dark disdain that gleamed in his eyes when they kissed beneath the mistletoe? Could the last Hart bachelor be on the verge of taking Janie as his bride?

Long, tall Texans. Books 1-3 Diana Palmer

Calhoun: Abby Clark is sick of being treated like a child. Sure, handsome Calhoun Ballenger took her in when she was just a girl, but that was long ago. She may be different from the worldly girlfriends Calhoun usually dated, but Abby is determined to win his heart. Can she make the man of her dreams realize she's everything he wants in a woman?

Long, tall Texans. Volume III, Ethan & Connal Diana Palmer

Ethan: Arabella Craig had been eighteen when Ethan Hardeman had opened her eyes to passion...and then married another woman. Four years later, tragedy brought Ethan back into her life. He was just as tall and just as handsome, but he was now divorced and embittered, running his family's cattle empire with an iron hand and a big heart. Except when it came to her. Living day to day with him brought back all the passion...and pain. Ethan was so near, yet he refused to loosen the reins that held back his heart. But Arabella was determined not to let this Long, Tall Texan escape her again... Connal: Penelope Mathews had spent her entire adolescence worshiping the elusive C.C. Tremayne - from afar. Until one night, trying to protect the mysterious loner from landing in a Mexican jail after he had drunk a little too much, Pepi was forced to seek refuge in a wedding chapel - and wound up going one step further by emerging as Mrs. Connal Cade Tremayne! When C.C. realized what had happened, he was outraged - the last thing he needed was a shy virgin on his hands. The marriage was off; he'd see to an annulment immediately. Yet the more time he spent with Pepi, the more he realised he didn't want a divorce...he wanted forever.

Long, tall Texans. Volume IV, Harden & Evan Diana Palmer

Harden: Born into a sprawling ranching family, rugged Harden Tremayne was the toughest, wildest man ever to come out of Texas. And the loneliest. Until he met Miranda Warren, the lovely Chicago widow who aroused feelings too long denied - and a yearning for something that could never be his... Miranda had never felt anything as overwhelming as her passion for the long, lean cowboy. But Harden couldn't give her the one thing she so desperately craved... Then she discovered the tragic secret he harboured deep in his soul. She loved him...But was her love enough to melt his hard, hungry heart and help them make a new life - together? Born into a sprawling ranching family, rugged Harden Tremayne was the toughest, wildest man ever to come out of Texas. And the loneliest. Until he met Miranda Warren, the lovely Chicago widow who aroused feelings too long denied - and a yearning for something that could never be his... Miranda had never felt anything as overwhelming as her passion for the long, lean cowboy. But Harden couldn't give her the one thing she so desperately craved... Then she discovered the tragic secret he harboured deep in his soul. She loved him. Evan: Ever since she could remember, Anna Cochran had been passionately, shamelessly in love with tall, strapping Evan Tremayne. But the stubborn man refused to take innocent Anna seriously. To Evan, Anna would always be in need of protection from rough-and-tumble cowboys like him! Yet he couldn't deny she awoke a fierce, restless yearning in his hardened heart, and Anna soon proved more of a threat to his peace of mind than Evan could ever have predicted. The lovely lady was determined... and Evan was stymied. What should he protect first? A tender rose in bloom... or a Texas bachelor's virtue?

Long, tall Texans. Volume V, Donavan & Emmett Diana Palmer

From the moment the elegantly dressed society woman walked into the bar on the wrong side of town, rugged Texan Donavan Langley knew she was trouble. But the lovely Fay York awoke a tenderness in him that he'd never known... and a desire that couldn't be denied. The electrifying instant Fay gazed into a pair of glittering silver eyes, she lost her heart forever. But how to convince the wary rancher that she was an innocent rose... and ready to blossom for him? The rough-and-tumble cowboy was determined to keep his distance. Until he made her a proposal that she couldn't refuse... Single dad Emmett Deverell thought moving to Jacobsville, Texas, would mean quality time with his children. Then he realized the truth - his kids were uncontrollable! He knew the three little rapscallions needed a woman's influence. But the only female available was Melody Cartman...and Emmett trusted her about as far as he could throw her. Melody's new charges were a force to be reckoned with. But it was their father who proved a handful. That sexy wink of his was enough to send a woman into orbit. She knew Emmett would never forgive her past, which was definitely a problem. Because being part of Emmett's family was a habit Melody didn't want to break.

A man of means Diana Palmer

From the moment powerfully seductive Rey Hart first set eyes on Meredith Johns, he became mesmerized by the lovely young woman. For not only did Meredith stir his jaded soul with her tempting innocence, he discovered she was a top-notch biscuit maker! However, installing the beleaguered Meredith on the Hart ranch as his coveted cook was a cinch compared to breaking the enchanting spell she had cast over this Long, Tall Texan's heart. Now, the hot-tempered cattleman's plan to preserve his bachelorhood was on the verge of backfiring - big time - because one intoxicating kiss would never be enough to satisfy Rey's intense craving for his mysterious housemate. Against all odds, could their tenuous union survive his stubborn pride - and her perilous past?

Secrets of state Matthew Palmer

Sam Trainor's career of overseas work coupled with a penchant for being outspoken has left him on the outside of the competitive Washington establishment. Formerly the top South Asia expert in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Trainor has moved to the private sector. But Sam soon discovers that for all their similarities, the government and their hired contractors have vastly different motives. As he struggles to adjust to a more corporate, profit-driven version of the work that had been his life, he stumbles across an intelligence anomaly the transcript of a phone conversation about the fastest ways to upend the delicate political balance keeping India and Pakistan from all-out war.

The witch of Belladonna Bay Suzanne Palmieri

Bronwyn is forced to return home to Magnolia Creek, Alabama - a place she hasn't been since her mother, Naomi, died fourteen years earlier - and the troubled family she left behind. With her brother Patrick behind bars for the murder of her childhood friend, and her eccentric father, Jackson, at wits end with her eleven year old niece Byrd, Bronwyn finds herself back at her childhood home, the Big House, and surrounded by ancient magnolia trees dripping with Spanish moss. But before she can even take in what she left behind, she's wrapped up in the mysteries surrounding the murder and what the "Strange Ways" running through little Byrd might mean. As Bronwyn unravels the secrets behind the murder, long forgotten memories surface, and the magic living quietly inside of her grows stronger, creating an unbreakable bond between her and Byrd, a bond that will define both of their fates forever.

The Witch of Little Italy Suzanne Palmieri

When young Eleanor Amore finds herself pregnant, she returns home to her estranged family in the Bronx, called by "The Sight" they share now growing strong within her. She has only been back once before when she was ten years old during a wonder-filled summer of sun-drenched beaches, laughter and cartwheels. But everyone remembers that summer except her. Eleanor can't remember anything from before she left the house on her last day there. With her past now coming back to her in flashes, she becomes obsessed with recapturing those memories. Aided by her childhood sweetheart, she learns the secrets still haunting her magical family, secrets buried so deep they no longer know how they began. And, in the process, unlocks a mystery over fifty years old - The Day the Amores Died - and reveals, once and for all, a truth that will either heal or shatter the Amore clan.

The violinist of Venice : a story of Vivaldi Alyssa Palombo

Like most 18th century Venetians, Adriana d'Amato adores music, but her strict merchant father has forbidden her to cultivate her gift for the violin. She refuses to let that stop her from living her dreams and begins sneaking out of her family's palazzo under the cover of night to take violin lessons from virtuoso violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, what begins as secret lessons swiftly evolves into a passionate, consuming love affair. Adriana's father is intent on seeing her married to a wealthy, prominent member of Venice's patrician class and a handsome, charming suitor, whom she knows she could not love. But Vivaldi is a priest, making their relationship forbidden in the eyes of the Church and of society. They both know their affair will end upon Adriana's marriage, but she cannot anticipate the events that will force Vivaldi to choose between her and his music. The repercussions of his choice and of Adriana's own choices will haunt both of their lives in ways they never imagined. Spanning more than 30 years of Adriana's life, Alyssa Palombo's The Violinist of Venice is a story of passion, music, ambition, and finding the strength to both fall in love and to carry on when it ends.

Inheritance, or, The vault of souls Christopher Paolini

Not so very long ago, Eragon - Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider - was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now, the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders. Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances. The Rider and his dragon have come farther than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaesia? And if so, at what cost?

Bears in beds Shirley Parenteau

This title features a family of irresistibly sweet bears in an irresistibly sweet bedtime story. It's time to go to sleep, time for Big Brown Bear to tuck all four little bears into their beds. Then he's ready to climb into his own bed and turn out the light. Five warm beds, holding five sleepy bears, until a sound goes whoosh in the middle of the night, and all the bears wake up in a fright. Will they ever get back into bed? Luckily, Big Brown Bear knows just what to do! A fun, rhyming read-aloud that parents will love and tired little cubs will be happy to snuggle up with. The cuddly pictures and fun-to-read-aloud rhyming text make this pitch-perfect for pre-schoolers. The universally popular bedtime theme makes this book perennially and everlastingly appealing. David Walker's bear characters are colourful, sugar-sweet and absolutely adorable.

Bears on chairs Shirley Parenteau

Four chairs. Four adorable bears. All is well until Big Brown Bear shows up - what a stare! - and wants a seat. Can these clever bears put their heads together (among other things) and make space for one more? With endearing, expressive illustrations and a sustained rhyme in every line, here is a cozy tale that makes it clear there is room for all.

Amelia Bedelia by the yard Herman Parish

Amelia Bedelia's mother loves garage sales so much, she decides to have one herself! But Amelia Bedelia loves her garage and does not want to sell it, so she and her parents decide to call it a yard sale instead. People come from all over the neighbourhood to buy Amelia Bedelia and her parents' old things, and one woman even buys the yard!

Amelia Bedelia on the Job Herman Parish

In order to live : a North Korean girl's journey to freedom Yeonmi Park

'I am most grateful for two things: that I was born in North Korea, and that I escaped from North Korea.' Yeonmi Park was not dreaming of freedom when she escaped from North Korea. She didn't even know what it meant to be free. All she knew was that she was running for her life, that if she and her family stayed behind they would die from starvation, or disease, or even execution. This book is the story of Park's struggle to survive in the darkest, most repressive country on earth; her harrowing escape through China's underworld of smugglers and human traffickers; and then her escape from China across the Gobi desert to Mongolia, with only the stars to guide her way, and from there to South Korea and at last to freedom; and finally her emergence as a leading human rights activist all before her 21st birthday.

The Timberfield Talent Show Danny Parker

Cross justice James Patterson

When his cousin is accused of a heinous crime, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown for the first time in over three decades. As he tries to prove his cousin's innocence in a town where everyone seems to be on the take, Cross unearths a family secret that forces him to question everything he's ever known. Chasing a ghost he believed was long dead, Cross gets pulled into a case that has local cops scratching their heads and needing his help: a grisly string of socialite murders. Now he's hot on the trail of both a brutal killer, and the truth about his own past and the answers he finds might be fatal.

Hope to die James Patterson

Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, forced to play the deadliest game of his career. Cross' family his loving wife Bree, the wise and lively Nana Mama, and his precious children have been ripped away. Terrified and desperate, Cross must give this mad man what he wants if he has any chance of saving the most important people in his life. The stakes have never been higher: What will Cross sacrifice to save the ones he loves? Widely praised by the greatest crime and thriller writers of our time, Cross My Heart set a jaw-dropping story in motion.

The final judgment Richard North Patterson

A young man has been murdered. His girlfriend, twenty-two-year-old Brett Allen, is found at the scene of the crime. She claims she is innocent - even though she's dripping in blood, the murder weapon covered with her fingerprints. Enter attorney Caroline Masters, Brett's estranged aunt. She's been summoned back to her affluent New England hometown to help Brett out of this mess, and revisit the troubled family she left behind. Caroline learned a long time ago that the ties that bind can also be broken. Now that she's back home, she can't help but doubt her family's motives and Brett's innocence. As the trial heats up, Caroline finds herself up against those who would kill to keep dark secrets hidden and the state prosecutor, who happens to be her former lover and will do anything to expose the truth. Now, with her family's fate - and her own reputation - hanging in the balance, Caroline must assume the role of a lifetime as she fights to save her niece. Or destroy them both.

Only we know Karen Perry

I was eight years old, the summer when everything changed. In 1982, on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday beneath the stifling heat of the midday sun, three children start a game that ends in tragedy. Now, thirty years later, Nick, Luke and Katie are estranged, yet still bound together by the dark truth of what happened at the river that day. Except some secrets won't stay buried. And when Luke suddenly vanishes and the threatening messages begin, it seems that the strings of the past are tightening around them all. Because someone else knows what they did and is intent on seeking justice, at any cost.

The honourable assassin Roland Perry

Vic Cavalier has certainly had better weeks. His newspaper editor is hell-bent on showing him the door, his footy team lost its last game, and his drinking habit is winning the war with his better angels. And then there's the man with the bullet in his head and links to a Mexican drug-cartel lying in a Carlton laneway. When his editor wants the story Cavalier finds himself in Bangkok uncomfortably close to the action and under the watchful eye of a local cop with an intriguing background herself. In the steamy violent world of Thai elite power plays and the chaos of a coup Cavalier's motivation becomes clear this same cartel is implicated in the disappearance and possible murder of his daughter. He has no choice but to pursue them whatever it takes.

Night film Marisha Pessl

When Cordova's beautiful daughter is found dead in a warehouse, McGrath can't help but pick up the trail. His pacy narrative voice is interrupted by magazine interviews, text messages, Facebook pages; a Cordova fan forum even pops up on the printed page. The result is multiple narratives that read like real life (or a more exciting version of it).

Cold shot Dani Pettrey

In college, Griffin McCray and his four best friends had their lives planned out. Griffin and Luke Gallagher would join the Baltimore PD. Declan Gray would head to the FBI and Parker Mitchell would go on to graduate school as a crime scene analyst. But then Luke vanished before graduation and their world - and friendships - crumbled. Now Griffin is a park ranger at Gettysburg, having left life as a SWAT-team sniper when a case went bad. The job is mostly quiet?until the day he captures two relic hunters uncovering skeletal remains near Little Round Top. Griffin just wants the case to go away, but charming forensic anthropologist Finley Scott determines that the body is modern - young social justice lawyer missing since spring - and all evidence points to the work of an expert sniper. When FBI agent Declan Gray takes over the case, past and present collide. Griffin soon realizes he'll need to confront some of the darkest days of his life if he - and those he cares about - are going to escape a downward spiral of murder that crosses continents.

The language instinct Steven Pinker

This book illuminates every facet of human language: its biological origin, its uniqueness to humanity, it acquisition by children, its grammatical structure, the production and perception of speech, the pathology of language disorders and the unstoppable evolution of languages and dialects.

Learnability and cognition : the acquisition of argument structure Steven Pinker

A classic book about language acquisition and conceptual structure.

The sense of style : the thinking person's guide to writing in the 21st century Steven Pinker

Bad writing can't be blamed on the Internet, or on 'the kids today'. Good writing has always been hard: a performance requiring pretense, empathy, and a drive for coherence. In this book, the author uses fresh scientific insights to bring us a style and usage guide for the 21st century.

The seven words you can't say on television Steven Pinker

Why do so many swear words involve sex, bodily functions and religion? Why are some words rude and others aren't? Why can launching into expletives be so shocking - and sometimes so amusing? Steven Pinker takes us on a fascinating and funny journey through the world of profanities, taken from his bestselling The Stuff of Thought, to show us why we swear (whatever our language or culture), how taboos change and how we use obscenities in different ways. You'll discover that in Quebecois French the expression 'Tabernacle' is outrageous, that the Middle Ages were littered with four-letter words, that 'scumbag' has a very unsavoury origin and that in a certain Aboriginal language every word is filthy when spoken in front of your mother-in-law. Covering everything from free speech to Tourette's, from pottymouthed celebrities to poetry, this book reveals what swearing tells us about how our minds work. (It's also a bloody good read).

The stuff of thought : language as window into human nature Steven Pinker

Analyses what words actually mean and how we use them, and reveals what this can tell us about ourselves. This work also shows how we use space and motion as metaphors for more abstract ideas, and uncovers the deeper structures of human thought that have been shaped by evolutionary history.

The Medicinal Chef : healthy every day Dale Pinnock

TV's Medicinal Chef and nutrition expert Dale Pinnock returns with a brand new collection of simple, delicious recipes to make it even easier to enjoy eating healthily. Dale has created 80 new, tasty recipes for every lifestyle and every time of day. From grab-and-go breakfasts to tempting snacks, lunchbox treats, quick-fix suppers and special dinners with friends, Healthy Every Day has a practical solution to every possible challenge to eating well. Short texts alongside every recipe explain the incredible nutritional benefits of a wide range of ingredients we all know and love, and easy-to-use symbols show which bodily systems and conditions each recipe can help with. For instance the B-vitamin booster wraps that will supercharge your nerve system or even the Skin-boosting seafood one-pot that will not only taste delicious but will revitalise your skin. It also includes a new A?Z Food Pharmacy section that explains how the powerful nutrients in our food can boost our health. Dale feels passionately that making a long-term change to the way you eat is a far better path to good health than short-lived, difficult-to-follow diets. Simple, tasty, good for you ? now it's never been easier to be healthy every day.

The power of three : the 3 nutritional secrets to a longer, healthier life with 80 simple recipes Dale Pinnock

The Medicinal Chef explains the secret to staying healthy, happy and energized - not just now but for the rest of your life. Forget fussy, faddy diets forever. By following three basic principles - mastering blood sugar, fatty acids and nutrient density - you can boost your wellbeing and make a long-term change to your health. Dale Pinnock, bestselling author and nutritional expert, has devised 80 recipes and guiding principles that will minimize your chance of being affected by some of the diseases that are becoming epidemic, such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer. The recipes are straightforward, easy to follow and are made with easy-to-find ingredients, and taste so good that this will become your go-to book for healthy, satisfying meals for every occasion.

Beautiful : a beautiful girl, an evil man, one inspiring true story of courage Katie Piper

I heard a horrible screaming sound, like an animal being slaughtered ...then I realised it was me.' When Katie Piper was 24, her life was near perfect. Young and beautiful, she was well on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a model. But then she met Daniel Lynch on Facebook and her world quickly turned into a nightmare ...After being held captive and brutally raped by her new boyfriend, Katie was subjected to a vicious acid attack. Within seconds, this bright and bubbly girl could feel her looks and the life she loved melting away. Beautiful is the moving true story of how one young woman had her mind, body and spirit cruelly snatched from her and how she inspired millions with her fight to get them back.

You're wearing that to school? Lynn Plourde

"Oh, yes, yes!" Penelope is so excited about the first day of school that she's doing her happy hippo dance. She can't wait to wear her rainbow sparkle outfit, bring her favourite stuffed toy for show-and-tell, and share a big picnic lunch with all her new friends. "Oh, no, no!" says her best pal Tiny, who started school last year. He has a few tips for Penelope about fitting in without sticking out. Follow along with word-for-word narration as the friends' very different ways of handling peer opinion create hilarious scenes that will erase any anxiety before the first day of school.

The Georgian menagerie : exotic animals in eighteenth-century London Christopher Plumb

In the eighteenth century, it would not have been impossible to encounter an elephant or a kangaroo making its way down the Strand, heading towards the menagerie of Mr. Pidcock at the Exeter Change. Pidcock's was just one of a number of commercial menagerists who plied their trade in London in this period the predecessors to the zoological societies of the Victorian era. As the British Empire expanded and seaborne trade flooded into London's ports, the menagerists gained access to animals from the most far-flung corners of the globe, and these strange creatures became the objects of fascination and wonder. Many aristocratic families sought to create their own private menageries with which to entertain their guests, while for the less well-heeled, touring exhibitions of exotic creatures both alive and dead satisfied their curiosity for the animal world. While many exotic creatures were treasured as a form of spectacle, others fared less well turtles went into soups and civet cats were sought after for ingredients for perfume. In this entertaining and enlightening book, Plumb introduces the many tales of exotic animals in London.

The dress shop of dreams Menna van Praag

Since her parents' mysterious deaths many years ago, scientist Cora Sparks has spent her days in the safety of her university lab or at her grandmother Etta's dress shop. Tucked away on a winding Cambridge street, Etta's charming tiny store appears quite ordinary to passers-by, but the colourfully vibrant racks of beaded silks, delicate laces, and jewel- toned velvets hold bewitching secrets: With just a few stitches from Etta's needle, these gorgeous gowns have the power to free a woman's deepest desires.

The House at the end of Hope Street Menna van Praag

The house at the end of Hope Street is an enchanted, haunted house unlike any other a house that finds young women in their time of need and takes them in. Each has 99 nights to use the wisdom bestowed by the house to turn her life around. Through the years it has offered refuge to a roster of women ranging from George Eliot to Beatrix Potter many of whom have hung around to help newcomers find their way.

Kiss it better Smriti Prasadam-Halls

Every day has its ups and downs. Sometimes you giggle, sometimes you frown. But the thing to remember, the secret, is this. Everything feels better with the help of a kiss. If you've scraped your knee, or fallen out with your best friend, a kiss can make everything better. And kisses aren't just for children, they're for grown-ups too. So the next time you see someone you love feeling down in the dumps, just remember: a kiss is the very best gift of all!

The long Utopia Terry Pratchett

2045-2059. Human society continues to evolve on Datum Earth, its battered and weary origin planet, as the spread of humanity progresses throughout the many Earths beyond. Lobsang, now an elderly and complex AI, suffers a breakdown, and disguised as a human attempts to live a 'normal' life on one of the millions of Long Earth worlds. His old friend, Joshua, now in his fifties, searches for his father and discovers a heretofore unknown family history. And the super-intelligent post-humans known as 'the Next' continue to adapt to life among 'lesser' humans. But an alarming new challenge looms. An alien planet has somehow become 'entangled' with one of the Long Earth worlds and, as Lobsang and Joshua learn, its voracious denizens intend to capture, conquer, and colonize the new universe the Long Earth they have inadvertently discovered.

The long Mars Terry Pratchett

2040-2045: In the years after the cataclysmic Yellowstone eruption there is massive economic dislocation as populations flee Datum Earth to myriad Long Earth worlds. Sally, Joshua, and Lobsang are all involved in this perilous rescue work when, out of the blue, Sally is contacted by her long-vanished father and inventor of the original Stepper device, Willis Linsay. He tells her he is planning a fantastic voyage across the Long Mars and wants her to accompany him. But Sally soon learns that Willis has an ulterior motive for his request. Meanwhile U.S. Navy Commander Maggie Kauffman has embarked on an incredible journey of her own, leading an expedition to the outer limits of the far Long Earth. For Joshua, the crisis he faces is much closer to home. He becomes embroiled in the plight of the Next: the super-bright post-humans who are beginning to emerge from their 'long childhood' in the community called Happy Landings, located deep in the Long Earth. Ignorance and fear have caused 'normal' human society to turn against the Next. A dramatic showdown seems inevitable.

Beside herself Chris Price

'All of my best lines are accidents', Chris Price writes in this book, and proceeds to prove that she has the knack of putting herself in harm's way and the skill to build from there. Beside Herself plays with character, and with language, and with the way the one works on the other. Pronouns and personae shift and dance in this book in the same way that meanings do - 'After the expected, the unexpected.

The flight of the Silvers Daniel Price

Without warning, the world comes to an end. The sky looms frigid white. The electric grid falters. Airplanes everywhere crash to the ground. Within moments, the sky comes down in a crushing sheet of light, and everything and everyone are gone - except for Hannah and Amanda Given. Saved from destruction by three fearsome and powerful beings, the Given sisters suddenly find themselves elsewhere: a strange new Earth where restaurants move through the air like flying saucers and the fabric of time is manipulated by common household appliances. Soon Hannah and Amanda are joined by four other survivors from their world?a mordant cartoonist, a shy teenage girl, a brilliant young Australian, and a troubled ex-prodigy. Hunted by enemies they never knew they had, and afflicted with temporal abilities they never wanted, the sisters and their companions begin a cross-country journey to find the one man who can save them - before time runs out.

The President's book of secrets : the untold story of intelligence briefings to America's presidents, from Kennedy to Obama David Priess

Every day, a member of the CIA presents to the President a report detailing the most sensitive activities and analysis of world events. These can range from the behaviour of America's allies to the maneuvering of its adversaries, from imminent dangers to long-term strategic opportunities, and are often based on the words of highly placed sources or the interceptions of astonishingly nimble technologies. This report - for the President's eyes only - forms the basis of the President's assessment of US intelligence and strength. The story of the President's Daily Brief - the PDB, in the jargon - is a window into the character of each president and his administration, and the degree to which his worldview and policy was shaped by the information from the security services.

Boneshaker Cherie Priest

Inventor Leviticus Blue creates a machine that accidentally decimates Seattle's banking district and uncovers a vein of Blight Gas that turns everyone who breathes it into the living dead. Sixteen years later Briar, Blue's widow, lives in the poor neighbourhood outside the wall that's been built around the uninhabitable city. Life is tough with a ruined reputation, but she and her teenage son Ezekiel are surviving - until Zeke impetuously decides that he must reclaim his father's name from the clutches of history.

Dreadnought Cherie Priest

Mercy Lynch is just a frustrated nurse who wants to see her father before he dies. But she'll have to survive both Union intrigue and Confederate opposition if she wants to make it off the Union-operated, Tacoma-bound "Dreadnought" alive.

Fiddlehead Cherie Priest

Ex-spy 'Belle Boyd' is retired more or less. Retired from spying on the Confederacy anyway. Her short-lived marriage to a Union navy boy cast suspicion on those Southern loyalties, so her mid-forties found her unemployed, widowed and disgraced. Until her life-changing job offer from the staunchly Union Pinkerton Detective Agency. When she's required to assist Abraham Lincoln himself, she has to put any old loyalties firmly aside for a man she spied against twenty years ago. Lincoln's friend Gideon Bardsley, colleague and ex-slave, is targeted for assassination after the young inventor made a breakthrough. Fiddlehead, Bardsley's calculating engine, has proved the world is facing an extraordinary threat. Meaning it's not the time for civil war. Now Bardsley and Fiddlehead are in great danger as forces conspire to keep this potentially unifying secret, the war moving and the money flowing. With spies from both camps gunning for her, can even the notorious Belle Boyd hold the war-hawks at bay?

Ganymede Cherie Priest

"The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he's happy to run alcohol and guns wherever the money's good, he's not sure the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side effects. But reforming is easier said than done: the captain's first legal gig will be paid for by sap money, because the Seattle Underground is in dire need of supplies. New Orleans is not Cly's first pick for a shopping run. He loved the Big Easy once, back when he likewise loved a beautiful mixed-race prostitute named Josephine Early, but that was a decade ago. He's still on Jo's mind, he learns when she sends him a telegram about a peculiar piloting job. It's a chance to complete two lucrative jobs at once. He sends his old paramour a note and heads for New Orleans, with no idea of what he's in for - or what she wants him to fly. But he won't be flying. Not exactly. Hidden at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain lurks an astonishing war machine, an immense submersible called the Ganymede. This prototype could end the war, if only anyone had the faintest idea of how to operate it....if only they could sneak it past the Southern forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River....if only it hadn't killed most of the men who'd ever set foot inside it. Now the only question is whether Cly and his crew will end up in the history books, or at the bottom of the ocean."

I am Princess X Cherie Priest

Years after writing stories about a superheroine character she created with a best friend who died in a tragic car accident, sixteen-year-old May is shocked to see stickers, patches, and graffiti images of the superheroine appearing around Seattle.

The inexplicables Cherie Priest

In this fifth installment in the Clockwork Century steampunk adventure series, Rector "Wreck 'em" Sherman, a drug dealer haunted by the ghost of a kid he used to know, sneaks over the wall into the wasteland of Seattle where he makes a shocking discovery that changes everything.

Another love Amanda Prowse

In the early years of their love affair, Romilly was happy. She had worked hard for her stunning, modern house in one of Bristol's most fashionable suburbs. She adored her gorgeous, gap-toothed daughter and her handsome, kind husband. Sure, life was sometimes exhausting - but nothing that a large glass of wine at the end of the day couldn't fix. And then a new neighbour arrived and everything unravelled. A glass of wine became a bottle; one bottle became two. Romilly's family were once everything to her. Now, after years of hiding the drinking, she must finally admit that she has found another love.

A little love Amanda Prowse

Everybody needs a little love in their lives... Pru Plum is the celebrated owner of a famous Mayfair bakery. She wears Chanel and her hair is expensively cut. Few would believe that this elegant woman turned sixty-six last year. But Pru is not the confident, successful businesswoman she appears. She has done shameful things to get to where she is today. And she will do anything to protect the secrets of her past - especially when, for the first time in her life, she has finally fallen in love... From bestselling author Amanda Prowse, this is a story about love, loss and lies - and finding happiness before it's too late.

We danced all night : a social history of Britain between the wars Martin Pugh

Depicts how the British people reacted to the privations of wartime by their determination to indulge in leisure and entertainment of all kinds. This book corrects the view of critics who saw British society as undisciplined, irresponsible, and criminal. It also explains the modern British obsession with housing and home-ownership.

The old woman who lived in a shoe Russell Punter

This is a new title in the fantastic "First Reading" series, aimed at children who are beginning to read. Based on the classic nursery rhyme, this is the story of an old woman's search for a larger home. But just where do you buy a boot big enough for twenty children? This key series was developed in conjunction with reading expert Allison Kelly from the University of Surrey. Every title has clear and compelling text that allows children to build their burgeoning reading skills and is accompanied by charming and highly appealing illustrations.

The scaredy cat Russell Punter

Stanley is a cat who's scared of everything, so a dark house full of strange noises is the last place he wants to be. Can Stanley face his fears and save the day?

Hold on to me Victoria Purman

Can she learn to trust him and love again? Stella wasn't looking for love and especially not from a younger man. When Stella Ryan's successful life in Sydney crumbled, she returned flat broke and broken hearted to the beachside town she'd once called home. Five years on, she's opened a boutique and rebuilt her life in the tourist haven of Port Elliot. Luca Morelli has been working flat out to establish his own building company in the city and doesn't have time to be driving back and forth to the beach to do a small job in a shop that was almost destroyed in a fire. But he soon changes his mind when he meets the glamorous owner. Before long, Stella and Luca find that a working relationship isn't the only thing developing between them. But the closer they get, the ghosts of Stella's past come to haunt her once more. Can she ever believe a man again? And if she can, is the much younger Luca Morelli the man she can trust with her heart?

A case of two cities Xiaolong Qiu

Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau is summoned by an official of the party to take the lead in a corruption investigation - one where the principal figure and his family have long since fled to the United States and beyond the reach of the Chinese government. But he left behind the organization and his partners-in-crime, and Inspector Chen is charged to uncover those responsible and act as necessary to end the corruption ring. In a twisting case that takes him from Shanghai, all the way to the U.S., reuniting him with his previous cohort from the U.S. Marshall's service - Inspector Catherine Rhon.

Chicken Licken Ronne Randall

"Oh no, the sky is falling down!" Chicken Licken fears the sky is falling in, so he runs with his friends to tell the king. But who will they meet along the way?

Work like any other Virginia Reeves

A prideful electrician in 1920s rural Alabama struggles to overcome past sins and find peace after being sent to prison for manslaughter. Roscoe T Martin set his sights on a new type of power spreading at the start of the twentieth century: electricity. It became his training, his life's work. But when his wife, Marie, inherits her father's failing farm, Roscoe has to give up his livelihood, with great cost to his sense of self, his marriage, and his family. Realizing he might lose them all if he doesn't do something, he begins to use his skills as an electrician to siphon energy from the state, ushering in a period of bounty and happiness. Even the love of Marie and their child seem back within Roscoe's grasp. Then a young man working for the state power company stumbles on Roscoe's illegal lines and is electrocuted, and everything changes: Roscoe is arrested; the farm once more starts to deteriorate; and Marie abandons her husband, leaving him to face his twenty-year sentence alone. Now an unmoored Roscoe must carve out a place at Kilby Prison. Climbing the ranks of the incarcerated from dairy hand to librarian to "dog boy," an inmate who helps the guards track down escapees, he is ultimately forced to ask himself once more if his work is just that, or if the price of his crimes for him and his family is greater than he ever let himself believe.

My kitchen year : 136 recipes that saved my life Ruth Reichl

My Kitchen Year follows the change of seasons as Ruth Reichl heals through the simple pleasures of cooking after the abrupt closing of Gourmet magazine. Each dish Reichl prepares for herself and for her family and friends represents a life's passion for food: a blistering ma po tofu that shakes Reichl out of the blues; a decadent grilled cheese sandwich that accompanies a rare sighting in the woods around her home; a rhubarb sundae that signals the arrival of spring. Part cookbook, part personal narrative, part paean to the household gods, My Kitchen Year reveals Reichl's most treasured recipes, to be shared over and over again with those we love.

Stalking the dragon : a fable of tonight Michael D Resnick

It's Valentine's Day, and private detective John Justin Mallory is planning on closing up the office early and taking his partner, Col. Winnifred Carruthers, out to dinner since he is sure no one else will do so. But before he can turn off the lights and lock the door, he is visited by a panic-stricken Buffalo Bill Brody. It seems that the Eastminster pet show is being held the next day, and his dragon Fluffy, the heavy favorite, has been kidnapped. Mallory's nocturnal hunt for the tiny dragon takes him to some of the stranger sections of this Manhattan, and as he follows the leads and hunts for clues, he comes up against one dead end after another. Along the way he meets a few old friends and enemies, a host of strange new inhabitants of this otherworldly Manhattan, and the most unique cell phone in all of fantastic literature. Aided by Felina (the office cat-person), a Samurai goblin, and a zombie named Dead End Dugan, Mallory and his unlikely crew have only one night to find a tiny dragon that is hidden somewhere in a city of seven million.

Stalking the vampire : a fable of tonight Michael D Resnick

It's Halloween, and John Justin Mallory's partner, Winnifred Carruthers, has been so busy preparing for the biggest holiday of the year (in this Manhattan, anyway) that she seems short of energy and pale. Mallory is worried that she's been working too hard. Then he notices the two puncture marks on her neck.

The hourglass factory Lucy Ribchester

The suffragette movement is reaching fever pitch but for broke Fleet Street tomboy Frankie George, just getting by in the cut-throat world of newspapers is hard enough. Sent to interview trapeze artist Ebony Diamond, Frankie finds herself fascinated by the tightly laced acrobat and follows her across London to a Mayfair corset shop that hides more than one dark secret.

The blood red city Justin Richards

The alien Vril are waking, and the Never War is heating up. Colonel Brinkman and his team at Station Z desperately need answers they have to discover exactly what they are facing and how the attack will come. But the information doesn't come easily. With a major Vril offensive imminent, the Nazis step up their own project to exploit Vril weapons and technology. Leo Davenport finds himself fighting with the Greek resistance as he struggles to solve an ancient mystery. Major Guy Pentecross must travel to the ruined deathtrap of the most dangerous city in the world to track down the one man who can help. From a spaceship crash in Bavaria in 1934 to the rat-infested devastation of Stalingrad, from the ancient ruins of occupied Greece to the bombed-out streets of London, the second book of the Never War series continues a secret history of the Second World War in which humanity itself is fighting for survival. This is The Thirty-Nine Steps crossed with Indiana Jones and Quatermass. Justin Richards has an extremely credible grasp of the period's history and has transformed it into a groundbreaking alternate reality thriller.

The Mayfair mystery Frank (Frank Collins) Richardson

The body of a wealthy man is discovered by his valet. The valet hurried to a friend of the dead man to tell him of the tragedy. They return to find the body gone! The motive of the murder becomes a deeper mystery still, and no clue seems to lead anywhere. Little by little, however, evidence is built up round a theory, and clever detective work triumphs in the end.

What she left T R Richmond

Who is Alice Salmon? Student. Journalist. Daughter. Lover of late nights, hater of deadlines. That girl who drowned last year. Gone doesn't mean forgotten. Everyone's life leaves a trace behind. But it's never the whole story.

Departure A G Riddle

En route from London to New York, Flight 305 suddenly loses power and crash-lands in the English countryside, plunging a group of strangers into a mysterious adventure that will have repercussions for all of humankind. Struggling to stay alive, the survivors soon realize that the world they've crashed in is very different from the one they left. But where are they? Why are they here? And how will they get back home? Five passengers seem to hold clues about what's really going on: writer Harper Lane, venture capitalist Nick Stone, German genetic researcher Sabrina Shroeder, computer scientist Yul Tan, and Grayson Shaw, the son of a billionaire philanthropist. As more facts about the crash emerge, it becomes clear that some in this group know more than they're letting on - answers that will lead Harper and Nick to uncover a far-reaching conspiracy involving their own lives. As they begin to piece together the truth, they discover they have the power to change the future and the past - to save our world ... or end it.

The evolution of everything : how ideas emerge Matt Ridley

We are taught that the world is a top-down place. Acclaimed author Matt Ridley shows just how wrong this is in his compelling new book. We are taught that the world is a top-down place. Generals win battles; politicians run countries; scientists discover truths; artists create genres; inventors make breakthroughs; teachers shape minds; philosophers change minds; priests teach morality; businessmen lead businesses; environmentalists save the planet. Not just individuals, but institutions too: Goldman Sachs, the Communist Party, the Catholic Church, al Qaeda these are said to shape the world. This is more often wrong than right. 'The Evolution of Everything' is about bottom-up order and its enemy, the top-down twitch, the endless fascination human beings have for design rather than evolution, for direction rather than emergence. Top-downery is the source of most of our worst problems in the past why Hitler won an election, why the sub-prime bubble happened, why Africa lingered in poverty when Asia did not, why the euro is a disaster and will be the scourge of this century too. And although we neglect, defy and ignore them, bottom-up trends still shape the world. The growth of technology, the sanitation-driven health revolution, the quadrupling of farm yields so that more land could be released for nature these were largely emergent phenomena. So were the internet, the mobile-phone revolution and the rise of Asia. In this wide-ranging, highly opinionated non-fiction narrative, Ridley draws on anecdotes from science, economics, history, politics and philosophy and examples drawn from the scientific literature, from historical narratives and from personal anecdotes.

Nature via nurture : genes, experience and what makes us human Matt Ridley

Published fifty years after the discovery of the double helix of DNA, Nature via Nurture chronicles a new revolution in our understanding of genes. Ridley recounts the hundred years war between the partisans of nature and nurture to explain how this paradoxical creature, the human being, can be simultaneously free-willed and motivated by instinct and culture. Nature via Nurture is an enthralling, up-to-the-minute account of how genes build brains to absorb experience.

The rational optimist : how prosperity evolves Matt Ridley

The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Genome" and "The Red Queen" offers a provocative case for an economics of hope, arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change - cultural evolution - will inevitably increase human prosperity.

The girl on the cliff Lucinda Riley

Why has a secret from 1914 caused a century of heartache? Troubled by recent loss, Grania Ryan has returned to Ireland and the arms of her loving family. And it is here, on a cliff edge, that she first meets a young girl, Aurora, who will profoundly change her life. Mysteriously drawn to Aurora, Grania discovers that the histories of their families are strangely and deeply entwined ... From a bittersweet romance in wartime London to a troubled relationship in contemporary New York, from devotion to a foundling child to forgotten memories of a lost brother, the Ryans and the Lisles, past and present, have been entangled for a century. Ultimately, it will be Aurora whose intuition and remarkable spirit help break the spell and unlock the chains of the past. Haunting, uplifting and deeply moving, Aurora's story tells of the triumph of hope over loss.

Steam Train, Dream Train Colors Sherri Duskey Rinker

Steam Train, Dream Train Counting Sherri Duskey Rinker

Magnus Chase and the gods of Asgard. 1, The sword of summer Rick Riordan

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. One day, he is tracked down by a man he's never met a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants, and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Percy Jackson and the Greek gods Rick Riordan

A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week. So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic and sarcastic asides to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back.

Percy Jackson and the Greek heroes Rick Riordan

If you like poisonings, betrayals, mutilations, murders and flesh-eating farmyard animals, keep reading. In this gripping follow-up to Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods, demigod Percy Jackson tells the stories of twelve of the original Greek heroes in all their gory, bloodthirsty glory. Want to know who cut off Medusa's head? Which hero was raised by a she-bear? Who tamed Pegasus, the winged horse? Percy has all the answers.

Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes Rick Riordan

The Red Pyramid: The Graphic Novel Rick Riordan

Beastly bones William Ritter

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer R.F. Jackaby are called upon to investigate the supernatural. First, a vicious species of shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens, and a day later, their owner is found murdered with a single mysterious puncture wound. Then in nearby Gad's Valley, now home to the exiled New Fiddleham police detective Charlie Cane, dinosaur bones from a recent dig mysteriously go missing, and an unidentifiable beast starts attacking animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Charlie calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

Jackaby William Ritter

Newly arrived in 1892 New England, Abigail Rook becomes assistant to R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with the ability to see supernatural beings, and she helps him delve into a case of serial murder which, Jackaby is convinced, is due to a nonhuman creature.

The testament of Gideon Mack James Robertson

The name 'Gideon Mack' will already be familiar to readers of the Scottish press. Mystery has surrounded the Church of Scotland minister since 2003 - after falling into the Keldo Water at the notorious Black Jaws ravine to his presumed death, he resurfaced three days later claiming to have been rescued underground by none other than the Devil. There was a further flurry of media interest when Mack was suspended as a minister and subsequently disappeared. The discovery, many months later, of his body on the slopes of remote Ben Alder only fuelled speculation about the strange circumstances of his final days. In fact, the stories surrounding Mack's breakdown and death have thrown up more questions than they have answers. What really happened to Mack in the three days he was missing? What caused the erratic behaviour that led to his suspension, and was there any truth in the assertion that he was, and always had been, an atheist? What of the mysterious stone he claimed to have seen in Keldo Woods? And why did he choose to leave the world a detailed chronicle of his experiences? Answers - and not a few further questions -are to be found in The Testament of Gideon Mack, the manuscript discovered in 2004 in the Scottish Highlands, printed here for the first time. Mack's own version of events, it is a blend of memoir, legend, fantasy, history and - perhaps - madness. It offers an account of one man's fall from grace. As to where he fell...well, you must read the book and decide for yourself.

Moonlight over Paris Jennifer Robson

Spring, 1924. Recovering from a broken wartime engagement and a serious illness that left her near death, Lady Helena Montagu-Douglas-Parr vows that for once she will live life on her own terms. Breaking free from the stifling social constraints of the aristocratic society in which she was raised, she travels to France to stay with her free-spirited aunt. For one year, she will simply be Miss Parr. She will explore the picturesque streets of Paris, meet people who know nothing of her past, and pursue her dream of becoming an artist. She soon meets Sam Howard, an irascible and infuriatingly honest correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.

Two moons Emily Rodda

Britta is now aboard the Star of Deltora with her three rivals for the Trader Rosalyn Apprenticeship. Nothing can prepare her for the terror that awaits her in the perilous, forbidden swamplands of Two Moons.

The first hostage Joel C Rosenberg

"The president of the United States . . . is missing." With these words, New York Times journalist J. B. Collins, reporting from the scene of a devastating attack by ISIS terrorists in Amman, Jordan, puts the entire world on high alert. The leaders of Israel and Palestine are critically injured, Jordan's king is fighting for his life, and the U.S. president is missing and presumed captured. As the U.S. government faces a constitutional crisis and Jordan battles for its very existence, Collins must do his best to keep the world informed while working to convince the FBI that his stories are not responsible for the terror attack on the Jordanian capital. And ISIS still has chemical weapons . . . Struggling to clear his name, Collins and the Secret Service try frantically to locate and rescue the leader of the free world before ISIS's threats become a catastrophic reality.

My fight/your fight Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey, the Olympic medalist in judo, reigning UFC women's bantamweight champion, and new Hollywood action hero, charts her difficult path to glory. Rousey's account of the toughest fights of her life in and outside the Octagon reveals the painful loss of her father when she was eight years old, the intensity of her judo training, her battles with love, her meteoric rise to fame, the secret behind her undefeated UFC record, and what it takes to become the toughest woman on Earth. Rousey shares hard-won lessons on how to be the best at what you do, including how to find fulfillment in the sacrifices, how to turn limitations into opportunities, and how to be the best on your worst day.

Holiday heartbreak Rachel Renee Russell

It's the biggest dance of the year and Nikki Maxwell is hoping her crush, Brandon, wants to be her date. But time is running out. What if he doesn't want to go with her? Or worse what if he ends up going with Mackenzie?!!

Puppy love Rachel Renee Russell

Nikki's diary is up to the month of May, and springtime is sure to bring more adorkable fun for Nikki and her friends Chloe, Zoey and Brandon!

Stone cold cowboy Jennifer Ryan

Sadie Higgins has a bad habit of bailing her brother out of trouble. But when he rustles a herd of cattle from the tough, honourable Kendrick brothers, it's Sadie who's in for it. Because the cowboy tracking them down is big, silent, and forbidding as hell. Rory Kendrick is on the hunt to find out who's been stealing from him. When he stumbles upon Sadie in the woods, he barely recognizes the quiet, vulnerable beauty who has always taken his breath away. His mission shifts in an instant: He will do anything it takes to keep her safe, and make her his.

Cast In honor Michelle Sagara

In the aftermath of a vicious battle between darkness and light, the city of Elantra has emerged victorious. But Shadows continue to haunt every corner of its streets Elantra stands strong, but countless numbers of Hawks, the city's staunchest protectors, were lost in the brutal attack. Humans, Barrani, Aerians, Leontinesnone of the races emerged unscathed from the defence of the city. Homes were lost, families were scattered and the outcast Barrani Lord Nightshade is missing from his castle in the fiefs.

The two deaths of Daniel Hayes Marcus Sakey

Waking up half-drowned on an abandoned beach with no memory of who he is, a man stumbles on a BMW and assumes the identity of the person whose papers and clothes he locates inside, soon finding himself targeted for the man's alleged activities.

American blood Ben Sanders

After a botched undercover operation, ex-NYPD officer Marshall Grade is living in witness protection in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Marshall's instructions are to keep a low profile: the mob wants him dead, and a contract killer known as the Dallas Man has been hired to track him down. Racked with guilt over wrongs committed during his undercover work, and seeking atonement, Marshall investigates the disappearance of a local woman named Alyce Ray. Members of a drug ring seem to hold clues to Ray's whereabouts, but hunting traffickers is no quiet task. Word of Marshall's efforts spreads, and soon the worst elements of his former life, including the Dallas Man, are coming for him.

American blood Ben Sanders

After a botched undercover operation, ex-NYPD officer Marshall Grade is living in witness protection in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Marshall's instructions are to keep a low profile: the mob wants him dead, and a contract killer known as the Dallas Man has been hired to track him down. Racked with guilt over wrongs committed during his undercover work, and seeking atonement, Marshall investigates the disappearance of a local woman named Alyce Ray. Members of a drug ring seem to hold clues to Ray's whereabouts, but hunting traffickers is no quiet task. Word of Marshall's efforts spreads, and soon the worst elements of his former life, including the Dallas Man, are coming for him.

The fallen Ben Sanders

When local cop Sean Devereaux, who enjoys skating close to the edge, does a favour for his attractive neighbour, he unwittingly exposes a web of deceit and corruption. As he investigates the murder of a 16-year-old Epsom 'princess' in his day job, his after-hours efforts have him stumbling into the aftermath of a scam involving senior colleagues, and he is soon enmeshed in an escalating cycle of kidnapping, murder and violent mayhem. With his unconventional ex-colleague-turned-security-specialist John Hale, Devereaux slowly begins to unravel the truth as the body count climbs and the stakes become personal. As an outwardly terse, street-savvy operator, Sean Devereaux emerges as an engaging and irreverent hero, becoming the catalyst for an absorbing, strangely uneasy murder mystery, set in unnervingly familiar surroundings.

Building an innovative learning organization : a framework to build a smarter workforce, adapt to change, and drive growth Russell Sarder

What makes organizations successful? Today, most successful companies are learning organizations. Building an Innovative Learning Organization shows you how to join their ranks and bring your organization up to the head of the class. This book is a practical, actionable guide on how to boost performance, successfully manage change, and innovate more quickly. Learning organizations are composed of engaged, motivated employees who continually seek improvement, which leads to organizational agility and the ability to innovate ahead of the curve. When you encourage learning at every level, from the intern to the C suite, you gain a more highly skilled workforce with a greater ability to act in any situation.

Unnatural death Dorothy L (Dorothy Leigh) Sayers

At the end of Agatha Dawson's post-mortem Dr Carr announces that the case is closed and that there was no sign of foul play, yet Lord Peter Wimsey is unconvinced. He becomes less convinced after Dawson's maid is also murdered.

Raiders of the Nile : a novel of the ancient world Steven Saylor

In 88 B.C. it seems as if all the world is at war. From Rome to Greece and to Egypt itself, most of civilization is on the verge of war. The young Gordianus a born-and-raised Roman citizen is living in Alexandria, making ends meet by plying his trade of solving puzzles and finding things out for pay. He whiles away his time with his slave Bethesda, waiting for the world to regain its sanity. But on the day Gordianus turns twenty-two, Bethesda is kidnapped by brigands who mistake her for a rich man's mistress. If Gordianus is to find and save Bethesda, who has come to mean more to him than even he suspected, he must find the kidnappers before they realize their mistake and cut their losses. Using all the skills he learned from his father, Gordianus must track them down and convince them that he can offer something of enough value in exchange for Bethesda's release. As the streets of Alexandria slowly descend into chaos, and the citizenry begin to riot with rumors of an impending invasion by Ptolmey's brother, Gordianus finds himself in the midst of a very bold and dangerous plot the raiding and pillaging of the golden sarcophagus of Alexander the Great himself.

Wrath of the furies : a novel of the ancient world Steven Saylor

The young Gordianus has been waiting out the chaos in Alexandria, with Bethesda, when he gets a cryptic message from his former tutor and friend, Antipater. Now in Ephesus, as part of Mithridates' entourage, Antipater seems to think that his life is in imminent danger. To rescue him, Gordianus concocts a daring, even foolhardy, scheme to go behind enemy lines and bring Antipater to safety. But there are powerful, and deadly forces, at work here, which have their own plans for Gordianus. Not entirely sure whether he's a player or a pawn, Gordianus must unravel the mystery behind the message if he's to save himself and the people he holds most dear.

The Collini case Ferdinand von Schirach

A murder. A murderer. No motif. For thirty-four years Fabrizio Collini has worked diligently for Mercedes Benz. He is a quiet and respectable person until the day he visits one of Berlin's most luxurious hotels and kills an innocent man. Young attorney Caspar Leinen takes the case. Getting Collini a not-guilty verdict would make his name. But too late he discovers that Collini's victim an industrialist of some renown is known to him. Now Leinen is caught in a professional and prsonal dilemma. Collini admits the murder but won't say why he did it, forcing Leinen to defend a man who won't put up a defence. And worse, a close friend and relation of the victim insists that he give up the case. His reputation, his career and this friendship are all at risk. Then he makes a discovery that goes way beyond his own petty concerns and exposes a terrible and deadly truth at the heart of German justice.

Oliver and his alligator Paul Schmid

Nervous about the first day of school, Oliver brings an alligator to school for protection.

Oliver and his egg Paul Schmid

When Oliver finds an egg, he imagines the amazing adventures they will have together.

Why we work Barry Schwartz

An analysis of the purpose of work in people's lives demonstrates how work operates in American culture and how everyday people can find happiness in the workplace, explaining the importance of career goals.

The only street in Paris : life on the Rue des Martyrs Elaine Sciolino

Splat the cat and the quick chicks Rob Scotton

When Splat takes home his class project of fertilized chicken eggs, the eggs hatch and chicks wind up all over the place, forcing Splat to round them all up.

The bride wore starlight Lizbeth Selvig

Once comfortable on stage in front of thousands, Joely Crockett is now mortified at the thought of walking - or rolling - down the aisle at her sisters' wedding. Scarred and wheelchair-bound, the former beauty queen has lost more than the ability to walk - she's lost her fire. But when one handsome, arrogant guest accuses her of milking her injuries and ignites her ire, Joely finally starts to feel truly alive again, and soon it's impossible for her to resist her heart's desire. Alec Morrissey knows a little something about loss. A famous rodeo cowboy before he was injured in Iraq, he's managed to create something of a normal life, even if it's not the one he always imagined. Encountering stunning but damaged Joely, he sees a kindred spirit who can learn from his mistakes. As these two healing souls begin to fall in love under the Wyoming stars, they must discover if they are willing to give in to the tragedies of life or fight for a future together.

The invention of Hugo Cabret Brian Selznick

When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toyseller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized. The book's primary inspiration is the true story of turn-of-the-century French pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies, his surviving films, and his collection of mechanical, wind-up figures called Automata.

Wonderstruck Brian Selznick

Ben's story takes place in 1977. Rose's story takes place in 1927. Ever since his mother died, Ben feels lost. At home with her father, Rose feels alone. When Ben finds a mysterious clue hidden in his mother's room, and when a tempting opportunity presents itself to Rose, both children risk everything to find what's missing.

Writing my wrongs : life, death, and redemption in an American prison Shaka Senghor

In 1991, Shaka Senghor was sent to prison for second-degree murder. Today, he is a lecturer at universities, a leading voice on criminal justice reform, and an inspiration to thousands. In life, it's not how you start that matters. It's how you finish. Shaka Senghor was raised in a middle class neighbourhood on Detroit's east side during the height of the 1980s crack epidemic. An honour roll student and a natural leader, he dreamed of becoming a doctor - but at age 11, his parents' marriage began to unravel, and the beatings from his mother worsened, sending him on a downward spiral that saw him run away from home, turn to drug dealing to survive, and end up in prison for murder at the age of 19, fuming with anger and despair. Writing My Wrongs is the story of what came next.

1606 : William Shakespeare and the year of Lear James Shapiro

James Shapiro won the Samuel Johnson Prize for his best-seller 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. Now, to mark the forthcoming 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, comes a compelling look at a no less extraordinary year in his life: 1606. 1606 is an intimate portrait of one of Shakespeare's most inspired moments: the year of King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. 1606, while a very good year for Shakespeare, was a fraught one for England. Plague returns. There is surprising resistance to the new king's desire to turn England and Scotland into a united Britain. And fear and uncertainty sweep the land and expose deep divisions in the aftermath of a failed terrorist attack that came to be known as the Gunpowder Plot. James Shapiro deftly demonstrates how these extraordinary plays responded to the tumultuous events of this year, events that in unexpected ways touched upon Shakespeare's own life. By immersing us in Shakespeare's England, 1606 profoundly changes and enriches our experience of his plays, works that continue to speak to us with such immediacy.

Fifth victim Zoe Sharp

The only thing more terrifying than fighting for your life is fighting for someone else's... Bodyguard and ex-Special Forces soldier Charlie Fox would do anything to take her mind off her partner; shot, left for dead and now lying in a coma. So concentrating on a new assignment seemed like the perfect way to escape the pain, and her own empty apartment. The job looked simple: to protect the naive daughter of an investment banker from a ruthless gang of kidnappers. But when her instincts lead Charlie to suspect an inside job, she finds out that not everyone who mingles with the jet-set is what they seem - and the idle rich can be as ruthless as any criminal...

Fourth Day Zoe Sharp

The cult calling itself Fourth Day is well-funded and fiercely guards its privacy. Five years ago Thomas Witney went in to try and get evidence that the cult's charismatic leader, Randall Bane, was responsible for the death of Witney's son. Witney never came out. Now, ex-Special Forces soldier turned bodyguard, Charlie Fox, agrees to go undercover into Fourth Day's California stronghold. A fast covert op - no real danger for someone with her mindset and training. But Charlie is not prepared for the lure of Randall Bane, or how easily he will pinpoint her weaknesses...

Hard knocks Zoe Sharp

Who doesn't love a good British boarding-school story? Well, Charlie Fox for starters, especially now that she's been dropped in the middle of one. Einsbaden Manor, snuggled deep in the German countryside, isn't exactly Hogwarts: It specializes in training bodyguards, and it's in Germany because the British government takes a dim view of some of the techniques it teaches. With her military background and her intimate knowledge of how to take a punch, Charlie hardly needs the lessons, but she does need to find out why an old friend ended his studies at Einsbaden - and his life - with a hail of bullets in his back. And of course, there's a second question: Will Charlie figure out how to graduate without following her mate's example?

Second shot Zoe Sharp

The latest assignment for ex-Special Forces soldier turned bodyguard Charlie Fox has her protecting Simone and her daughter Ella from the unwanted attentions of an ex-boyfriend. But from the outset Simone refused to comply with Charlie's security measures, putting both mother and child in grave danger. After a bloody shoot-out in a frozen forest, Charlie is left fighting for her life. As she battles to recover from her injuries, she's still fiercely protective of Ella, even though her actions will catapult them both back into the firing line. And this time, Charlie's in no fit state to protect anyone, least of all herself...

Third strike Zoe Sharp

Bodyguard and ex-Special Forces soldier Charlie Fox is slowly recovering from gunshot wounds but is desperate to prove herself to her new boss. Little does she know there's a personal matter on the horizon that's going to take up all of her attention - her father is in trouble and needs her help. It seems he has upset the wrong crowd and they're using increasingly violent methods to systematically destroy the man's immaculate reputation. It's up to Charlie to find out why and stop the situation from getting seriously out of hand?

Polar bear boy Gillian Shields

Polar bears aren't scared of anything, says Dad. And neither are polar bear boys. But is Jamie a polar bear boy? There is only one way to find out, so together Dad and Jamie weave a magical nighttime tale before bed, sending Jamie's imagination soaring and banishing his fears. An enchanting bedtime story about the power of the imagination to offer comfort and strength.

The defector Daniel Silva

Gabriel Allon learns of the disappearance of a suspected double agent who recently saved his life, a situation for which British intelligence blames Allon, due to his enabling the man's alleged activities.

Six square metres : reflections from a small garden Margaret Simons

Life lessons from the ground up. Sometimes you reap what you sow. Sometimes you reap what other people sowed. Sometimes you haven't got a clue what you are sowing, and sometimes you just get lucky, or unlucky. All these things are true of life, as of gardening. In this thoughtful and beautifully observed book, journalist and gardening enthusiast Margaret Simons takes readers on a journey through the seasons, and through the tiny patch of inner-urban earth that is home to her garden. Over a course of a year, within the garden and without, there are births to celebrate and deaths to mourn; there are periods of great happiness and light, and times of quiet reflection. There is, in other words, all the chaos, joy, sorrow, and splendour of being alive.

The three wishes Lesley Sims

Nat and Ned are poor and often hungry, until Ned rescues a wish-granting fairy. But are all their troubles over for good?

The wish fish Lesley Sims

Oil Vaclav Smil

Packed with fascinating facts and insight, this book will fuel dinner party debate, and provide readers with the science and politics behind the world's most controversial resource. Without oil, there would be no globalisation, no plastic, little transport, and a global political landscape that few would recognise. It is the lifeblood of the modern world, and humanity's dependence upon it looks set to continue for decades to come. In this captivating book, the author of the acclaimed Energy: A Beginner's Guide, Vaclav Smil, explains all matters related to the 'black stuff', from its discovery in the earth, right through to the political maelstrom that surrounds it today.

Should we eat meat : evolution and consequences of modern carnivory Vaclav Smil

This book is a wide-ranging and interdisciplinary examination and critique of meat consumption by humans, throughout their evolution and around the world. Setting the scene with a chapter on meat's role in human evolution and its growing influence during the development of agricultural practices, the book goes on to examine modern production systems, their efficiencies, outputs, and impacts. The major global trends of meat consumption are described in order to find out what part its consumption plays in changing modern diets in countries around the world. The heart of the book addresses the consequences of the "massive carnivory" of western diets, looking at the inefficiencies of production and at the huge impacts on land, water, and the atmosphere. Health impacts are also covered, both positive and negative. In conclusion, the author looks forward at his vision of "rational meat eating", where environmental and health impacts are reduced, animals are treated more humanely, and alternative sources of protein make a higher contribution.

M Train Patti Smith

Every morning, Patti Smith walks to her local coffee shop on Bedford Street in New York's Greenwich Village and orders the same thing: brown toast with olive oil and a large cup of black coffee. Struggling to write a poem in homage to the author Roberto Bola.

Agent 6 Tom Rob Smith

Former Soviet Secret Service agent Leo Demidov has built himself a new life as a civilian with his wife Raisa, and their two teenage daughters, Elena and Zoya. The Soviet Union is a country trying to reassert itself after the murderous excesses of Stalin and the chaos of the following years, and as the Cold War continues powers inside Russia seek to topple their great enemy, the United States of America. Communist allies within the United States will prove vital players in this game of intrigue and revolution. Raisa and their two daughters travel to the United States on a diplomatic mission, but a horrifying tragedy destroys everything Leo and Raisa have built. Leo must get to the States somehow and find out what happened. Exiled from the Soviet Union and separated from his family, Leo's quest takes him through the stark wilderness of Afghanistan, reawakening all his old instincts and forcing him to confront his demons. But whatever it costs, wherever he must go, he will find Agent 6.

Child 44 Tom Rob Smith

Snow on the Lindis : my life at Morven Hills Station Madge Snow

A station matriarch recounts a life lived on the famous Morven Hills Station. Snow on the Lindis is Madge Snow's story of living at Morven Hills Station on the Lindis Pass. Morven Hills is one of New Zealand's most well-known high-country stations - once an enormous 400,000 acres. The great stone woolshed is one of New Zealand's instantly recognisable farm buildings and is one of the largest shearing sheds in the country at a whopping 34 stands. Madge Snow grew up on Malvern Downs, a station once part of the great Morven block, and she later married Richard Snow and took over the management of modern-day Morven Hills Station. This is Madge's charming story of domestic station life, how the times have changed, and of fond memories that will never fade.

Wayfinding leadership : ground-breaking wisdom for developing leaders Chellie Spiller

This book presents a new way of leading by looking to traditional waka navigators or wayfinders for the skills and behaviours needed in modern leaders. It takes readers on a journey into wayfinding and leading, discussing principles of wayfinding philosophy, giving examples of how these have been applied in businesses and communities, and providing action points for readers to practise and reflect on the skills they are learning.

Thankful Eileen Spinelli

Combines rhymes and illustrations to convey the importance of being thankful for everyday blessings.

Lenny & Lucy Philip Christian Stead

A picture book about moving to a new house and making new friends.

Still missing Chevy Stevens

Captured by a psychopath posing as an interested house buyer, realtor Annie spends a brutally traumatic year in captivity in a remote mountain cabin and recounts her experiences and dramatic escape to her therapist while agonizing over the ongoing police search for her captor.

The lies about truth Courtney C Stevens

A teen struggles to overcome both the physical and emotional scars that resulted from an accident that killed her best friend.

Brown-eyed girl Mariah Stewart

As co-owner and features editor of a popular magazine, Leah McDevitt loves exploring exotic locales while she tracks fashion and social trends across the globe. Yet despite her devotion to her fast-paced career, Leah is haunted by the memory of her cherished younger sister Melissa, who years ago disappeared without a trace. So when convicted serial killer Raymond Lambert contacts her, Leah is more than willing to pay him the long-standing reward for information leading to the recovery of Melissa's body. But before Lambert can turn over all his information, he himself is killed. Devastated but determined to finally uncover the truth, Leah heads to the Maine woods to seek out Ethan Sanger, the author of a book about Lambert. A private investigator, Ethan had written the killer's story in exchange for yet another of Lambert's terrible secrets. Working together to discover the truth about Melissa's disappearance, Leah and Ethan come to realize that even amid the ashes of tragedy, love can bloom. But someone harboring secrets of his own is about to enter their lives...someone who knows more about Leah than he should...someone who won't be satisfied until his own deadly game is played out.

An Enright family collection Mariah Stewart

Devlin's Light: India Devlin has always appreciated her family's legacy: the lighthouse and the Delaware beachfront property named after it. As an adult, India is far more dedicated to her job as a criminal prosecutor in a nearby big city than she is to her hometown ties. When her brother Ry is murdered without explanation at the lighthouse, India is compelled to return home seeking answers. In Devlin's Light she finds far more than the answers to the mystery concerning her brother's death; she finds an exciting and passionate new lover, Nick Enright; her brother's' newly orphaned daughter; and her own aging aunt. India is torn between family ties, responsibility, and desire. Instead of finding resolution, she finds herself confronted with new choices, and is surprised to find that by returning to her small-town roots she enlarges her world.

The President's daughter Mariah Stewart

Dina McDermott is on top of the world. Attractive and independent at thirty, she runs her own business, funded by a generous inheritance. But an explosive chain of events will soon be set into motion and her perfect life will spin out of control. A journalist with a fearless instinct, Simon Keller believes he's struck gold when he unearths an unsettling story about former president Graham Hayward, one that started with a secret affair and ended in tragedy. The trail leads Simon to Dina McDermott's front door and threatens to expose a parentage that would rock the political world. Shaken to her core by a shattering truth, Dina is suddenly thrust into the crosshairs of a cold-blooded killer and on the run of her life.

Voices carry Mariah Stewart

FBI agent Genna Snow's successful career cannot fully erase the heartache of a shattered childhood. After breaking the silence surrounding the abusive acts of a summer camp counsellor, young Genna was abandoned by her family even as justice was being served in the courtroom. Years later, Genna was forced to relive the pain of abandonment when the man she loved, special agent John Mancini walked out of her life without explanation.

Man at the helm Nina Stibbe

Nine-year-old Lizzie Vogel, her sister and little brother and their now divorcee mother are packed off to a small, slightly hostile village in the English countryside. Their mother is all alone, only thirty-one years of age, with three young children and a Labrador. It is no wonder, when you put it like that, that she becomes a menace and a drunk.

Get the scoop, Geronimo Geronimo Stilton

Geronimo Stiltonoot and The Stone Gazette are in the running for the Stone Age Ratitzer: the award for the best prehistoric journalism! But their main competition is Sally Rockmousen, the ruthless host of Gossip Radio - and she'll stop at nothing to win. Can Geronimo sniff out a scoop in time to defeat her?

Mouse house hunter Geronimo Stilton

When you're with me, Geronimo Stilton, it's always a fabu-mouse adventure! Sally Ratmousen broke some shocking news: The Rodent's Gazette was out of money and in danger of closing. Then Grandfather William broke even worse news to me: I needed to sell my comfy, cozy house in order to save our paper! How terrible! But could I sell it - and find a new home - in time to help?

Mouse overboard Geronimo Stilton

My family and I, Geronimo Stilton, were invited to Lisbon, Portugal, to retrace the journey of the great explorer Vasco da Gama. He was the first European to reach India by sea - and was apparently an ancestor of the Stiltons! But once we got on the boat, I learned that someone was trying to sabotage the voyage. Could I figure out who?

My autosaurus will win! Geronimo Stilton

It's the start of an exciting cavemice contest: a race to Boulder Bay and back! It's a dangerous route, but it will supply the village cheese maker with rare hot lava peppers, and there's a big cash prize. Trap teams up with Geronimo - who has a lazy, slow, city autosaurus (the cavemice mode of transportation). Can they reach the finish line without going extinct on the way?

The race against time Geronimo Stilton

I, Geronimo Stilton, was so excited to travel on my third journey through time! Professor Paws von Volt had invented a portal to take my family and me to the past. On this trip, we visited the Ice Age, ancient Greece, and the Renaissance. I encountered wooly mammoths and enormouse bears, wrote and starred in a play, and even helped put a bad guy in prison! But then the portal started malfunctioning - could we get back to the present day, or would we get lost in time? It was an amazing adventure!

A suitcase full of ghosts Geronimo Stilton

Breakout star Creepella von Cacklefur is back in another fur-raising adventure! Creepella is about to interview the famouse Hector Spector, who has come to Mysterious Valley with his Galloping Ghost Circus. But before she can, she has a mystery on her paws ?- someone is playing tricks and making messes all over Cacklefur Castle! Can she put a stop to these ghastly gags?

The underwater planet Geronimo Stilton

While at the beach, Geronimo Stiltonix stumbles upon a mysterious treasure map! The spacemice follow it and end up on Aquarix, a planet that's entirely underwater. During their exploration, they face fur-eating seaweed, ferocious piranha aliens, and ... pirate spacecats! Squeak! Can the spacemice keep the spacecats from stealing the treasure?

Thea Stilton and the lost letters Thea Stilton

The Thea sisters are in Russia for a figure skating championship. When their new friend is falsely accused of theft and barred from competing for the gold medal, the five mice resolve to clear her name. Along the way, they discover ancient love letters that could be the key to finding the real culprit. But can they solve the mystery in time?

Thea Stilton and the tropical treasure Thea Stilton

While on vacation in the Bahamas, the Thea sisters stumble across an old pirate map and endeavour to find the treasure, unaware that someone else is also seeking the prize.

The memory of light Francisco X Stork

When Victoria Cruz wakes up in the psychiatric ward of a Texas hospital after her failed suicide attempt, she still has no desire to live, but as the weeks pass, and she meets Dr. Desai and three of the other patients, she begins to reflect on the reasons why she feels like a loser compared with the rest of her family, and to see a path ahead where she can make a life of her own.

Brer Rabbit down the well Louie Stowell

Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout

In a voice more powerful and compassionate than ever before, "New York Times" bestselling author Elizabeth Strout binds together thirteen rich, luminous narratives into a book with the heft of a novel, through the presence of one larger-than-life, unforgettable character: Olive Kitteridge. At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer's eyes, it's in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama-desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love.

Hiking through : one man's journey to peace and freedom on the Appalachian Trail Paul Stutzman

After Paul Stutzman lost his wife to breast cancer, he sensed a tug on his heart - the call to a challenge, the call to pursue a dream. Paul left his stable career, traveled to Georgia, and took his first steps on the Appalachian Trail. What he learned during the next four and a half months changed his life - and will change readers' lives as well. In Hiking Through, readers will join Paul on his remarkable 2,176-mile hike through fourteen states in search of peace and a renewed sense of purpose, meeting fascinating and funny people along the way. They'll discover that every choice we make along the path has consequences for the journey and will come away with a new understanding of God's grace and guidance. Nature-lovers, armchair adventurers, and those grieving a loss may not be able to hike the AT themselves, but they can go on this spiritual pilgrimage with a truly humble and sympathetic guide.

Jambusters : the story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War Julie Summers

The Second World War was the WI's finest hour. The whole of its previous history two decades of educating, entertaining and supporting women and campaigning on women's issues culminated in the enormous collective responsibility felt by the members to 'do their bit' for Britain. With all the vigour, energy and enthusiasm at their disposal, a third of a million country women set out to make their lives and the lives of those around them more bearable in what they described as 'a period of insanity'. Jambusters tells the story of the minute and idiosyncratic details of everyday life during the Second World War for the 5,546 Women's Institutes and how they helped to improve the lot of millions of their fellow Britons. Big pictures and bravery are fashionable and exciting but it was the behind-the-scenes, nitty-gritty approach to the daily problems presented by the war that were at the heart of what the WI did to make a difference. Making jam, making do and mending, gathering rosehips, keeping pigs and rabbits, housing evacuees, setting up canteens for the troops, knitting, singing and campaigning for a better Britain after the war: all these activities played a crucial role in war time.

Perfume : the story of a murderer Patrick Suskind

Survivor, genius, perfumer, killer: this is Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. He is abandoned on the filthy streets of Paris as a child, but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: a sense of smell more powerful than any other human's. Soon, he is creating the most sublime fragrances in all the city. Yet there is one odour he cannot capture. It is exquisite, magical: the scent of a young virgin. And to get it he must kill. And kill. And kill.

Christmas on Primrose Hill Karen (Writer) Swan

Christmas is for giving. Christy Montgomery thinks flashing a bra strap is showing her wild side. So when footage of a mishap at work goes viral and Christy wakes to find she's become an online sensation overnight, she's not prepared for the attention that follows. Christy can't set her phone to airplane mode, yet all of a sudden she has her very own hashtag and a celebrity 'following' her on Twitter the gorgeous frontman Jamie Westlake. To keep her trending and the charitable donations pouring in Christy and her friends devise a twelve-day 'Christmas Countdown' programme of charity challenges that attracts a growing global audience. Christy is hot property and Jamie's interest is piqued but can this online crush lead to sparks when the pair eventually meet?

THe Lost Garden Katharine Swartz

THe house of hidden mothers Meera Syal

Shyama is in love like she has never been before. Pale and English, Toby, a farmer's son, treats her with the love and respect her former Asian husband never did. Shyama loves so keenly that she badly wants them to have a baby. But at 44 years old, she cannot conceive. She elects to use a surrogate. When Shyama meets the young girl from rural India who will be the surrogate mother, they form a deep friendship. Mala is wise and kind, and ambitious to escape her background. It is only as the child is born that devastating decisions will be made. Decisions that will leave one of them broken.

My French affair : how a Kiwi woman found her joie de vivre in the south of France Amanda Taylor-Ace

A lively, inspiring account of a New Zealand woman's decision to create a new life in the south of France. Amanda Taylor-Ace's philosophy is 'joie de vivre unlimited' - living life with unlimited joy. So when her 14-year-old son fell in with a bad crowd and her life in Auckland needed a shake-up, she packed their bags and took him to France for a year. My French Affair is the story of how and why she decided to stay. Not content with simply living in France, she decided to renovate two eighteenth-century houses and convert them into guest accommodation.In My French Affair, Amanda describes the trials and tribulations of working with French tradesmen (both good and bad), getting to know the localvillagers, hosting guests from around the world, teaching guests to cook in Maison de Ma tresse'skitchen, and her joy in new and old friendships and the daily delights of life in France. With over 30 mouth-watering French recipes to try, My French Affair is a treat for the tastebuds as well as for the soul.

A soldier's promise Karen Templeton

Veteran Levi Talbot promised to look after Valerie Lopez, his best friend's widow, and her children, but never expected to have feelings for her beyond simple friendship.

The old Patagonian express : by train through the Americas Paul Theroux

The Old Patagonian Express tells of Paul Theroux's train journey down the length of North and South America. Beginning on Boston's subway, he depicts a voyage from ice-bound Massachusetts to the arid plateau of Argentina's most southerly tip, via pretty Central American towns and the ancient Incan city of Macchu Pichu. Shivering and sweating by turns as the temperature and altitude rise and plummet, he describes the people he encountered - thrown in with the tedious, and unavoidable, Mr Thornberry in Limon and reading to the legendary blind writer, Jorge Luis Borges, in Buenos Aires. Witty, sharply observed and beautifully written, this is a richly evocative account of travelling to 'the end of the line'.

Blood, wine & chocolate Julie Thomas

Loyalty, betrayal, murder and merlot. Hidden away in a witness protection programme on an idyllic island vineyard in New Zealand, Vinnie Whitney-Ross could be forgiven for thinking he has escaped the clutches of the childhood friend a ruthless London mobster he helped convict for a gruesome double murder. But old grudges die hard, cops are bent, and the finest wines and chocolates find new and unexpected uses when Vinnie's present runs headlong into his secret past. From the mean streets of the East End to the sparkling waters of Auckland, this tale of switched identities, vengeful obsession and lethal ingenuity is as addictive as chocolate, with more twists than a corkscrew.

Rachel's legacy Julie Thomas

The much anticipated sequel to The Keeper of Secrets, following the fortunes of the Horowitz family from pre-war Berlin to the present. When Dr Kobi Voight is given a set of old letters by his mother he has no inkling that they will lead him around the world and deep into the tragic past of his family. Within the letters - written in Hebrew and filled with delicate illustrations - lie the reflections of a young Jewish woman, forced to give up her baby daughter while fighting with the Resistance in Berlin. Who is the author, known only as 'Ruby', and what became of her child? And how does a priceless work of art, stolen by the Nazis, form part of the unfolding mystery? As he explores Berlin and visits its war memorials and museums, an astonished Kobi begins to realise he is part of the story, too. From the Holocaust to the present day, across continents and oceans, Kobi's journey will ultimately lead him to the truth about his family's past - and his own identity.

Rachel's legacy Julie Thomas

When Dr Kobi Voight is given a set of old letters by his mother he has no inkling that they will lead him around the world and deep into the tragic past of his family. Within the letters - written in Hebrew and filled with delicate illustrations - lie the reflections of a young Jewish woman, forced to give up her baby daughter while fighting with the Resistance in Berlin. Who is the author, known only as 'Ruby', and what became of her child? And how does a priceless work of art, stolen by the Nazis, form part of the unfolding mystery? As he explores Berlin and visits its war memorials and museums, an astonished Kobi begins to realise he is part of the story, too. From the Holocaust to the present day, across continents and oceans, Kobi's journey will ultimately lead him to the truth about his family's past - and his own identity.

The Burnouts Lex Thomas

In this final installment of the Quarantine trilogy, David and Will are alive, but on the outside of McKinley High, while Lucy is the last of the trinity left inside to deal with Hilary, who will exact revenge before taking over McKinley High.

The loners Lex Thomas

When a virus deadly to adults infects their high school, brothers David and Will and the other students soon break into gangs that fight each other for survival and the hope of escaping their quarantine.

The saints Lex Thomas

The world inside an infected Colorado high school quarantined by the government takes a startling turn for the worse when a new gang enters the school and starts gaining power.

Murder in Chelsea :a gaslight mystery Victoria (Victoria E) Thompson

Sarah Brandt is shattered when she learns that a woman has inquired at the Daughters of Hope Mission for Catherine, the abandoned child she has taken as her daughter. The woman claims she was Catherine's nursemaid, and is now acting on behalf of the girl's mother to reunite them. Unwilling to simply hand Catherine over to a complete stranger, Sarah asks Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to investigate. But when he goes to interview the woman at her tenement in Chelsea, he finds she has been murdered. Though her death leaves Sarah's claim to Catherine unchallenged, her sense of justice compels her to work with Malloy to find the killer. Their search takes them from the marble mansions of the Upper West Side to the dilapidated dwellings of lower Manhattan and into the deepest and darkest secrets of Catherine's past. And while Malloy helps Sarah determine the fate of the child she loves, he faces a challenge of his own - and his decision could change both their lives forever...

Murder in Murray Hill : a gasligjht mystery Victoria (Victoria E) Thompson

When facing injustice, the residents of nineteenth-century New York City's tenements turn to midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to protect their rights. Frank Malloy has never known any life other than that of a cop, but his newfound inheritance threatens his position within his department. While trying to keep both his relationship with Sarah and his fortune under wraps, he's assigned to a new case - finding a missing young woman for her worried father, Henry Livingston. It seems the girl had been responding to "lonely hearts" ads in the paper for months before she disappeared. Her father thinks that she's eloped with a deceptive stranger, but Malloy fears the worst, knowing that the grifters who place such ads often do much more than simply abscond with their victims. But as Sarah and Malloy delve deeper into a twisted plot targeting the city's single women, it's their partnership - both professional and private - that winds up in the greatest peril.

Murder on Amsterdam Avenue : a gaslight mystery Victoria (Victoria E) Thompson

In the midst of Sarah and Frank's wedding preparations, Sarah accompanies her mother on a condolence call to the Upper West Side, where Charles Fairfax, the son of family friends, has died unexpectedly after suffering from a mysterious disease. It is a tragic and all-too-common story or so it seems. Charles's father asks to speak with Sarah privately. He believes his son was poisoned and would like Sarah and Frank to look into the matter with the utmost discretion. Putting their own personal affairs on hold, Sarah and Frank soon learn that not everyone wants to know more about Charles's death, particularly if he was murdered. As they unravel secrets that reach back to the War Between the States, they also discover that they are in the company of a very present danger.

Rebel Amy Tintera

Wren and Callum finally reach the Reboot Reservation, a safe haven from HARC, which controls the cities. But it isn't the paradise they'd hoped for. As they learn more about Micah, the bloodthirsty Reboot who runs it, they discover that he's been creating an army with one goal in mind: to kill the humans in the cities ... ALL of them. Wren's first instinct is to head out for new territory, but Callum can't stand by and let his human family and everyone else be hunted down. With HARC on one side and Micah on the other, saving the innocent and forging a lasting peace between humans and Reboots is a nearly impossible task. But Wren and Callum have never let that stop them before.

No shred of evidence Charles Todd

On the north coast of Cornwall, an apparent act of mercy is repaid by an arrest for murder. Four young women have been accused of the crime. A shocked father calls in a favor at the Home Office. Scotland Yard is asked to review the case. However, Inspector Ian Rutledge is not the first Inspector to reach the village. Following in the shoes of a dead man, he is told the case is all but closed. Even as it takes an unexpected personal turn, Rutledge will require all his skill to deal with the incensed families of the accused, the grieving parents of the victim, and local police eager to see these four women sent to the infamous Bodmin Gaol. Then why hasn't the killing stopped? With no shred of evidence to clear the accused, Rutledge must plunge deep into the darkest secrets of a wild, beautiful and dangerous place if he is to find a killer who may-or may not-hold the key to their fate.

The story of Kullervo J R R (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien

The world first publication of a previously unknown work of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the powerful story of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and who swears revenge on the magician who killed his father. Kullervo son of Kalervo is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien's characters. 'Hapless Kullervo', as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny. Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruellest of fates. Tolkien himself said that The Story of Kullervo was 'the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own', and was 'a major matter in the legends of the First Age'. Tolkien's Kullervo is the clear ancestor of Turin Turambar, tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. In addition to it being a powerful story in its own right, The Story of Kullervo published here for the first time with the author's drafts, notes and lecture-essays on its source-work, The Kalevala is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien's invented world.

Food whore : a novel of dining and deceit Jessica Tom

Food whore (n.): a person who will do anything for food. Fresh out of college, Tia Monroe has every intention of taking the New York City restaurant scene by storm. But after a coveted internship goes up in smoke, Tia's suddenly just another food lover in the big city. Everything changes when Michael Saltz, a legendary New York Times restaurant critic, lets Tia in on a career-ending secret: he's lost his sense of taste. Now he wants Tia to serve as his palate, ghostwriting his reviews. In return he promises her lavish meals, a boundless supply of designer clothing, and the opportunity of a lifetime. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Tia agrees. Within weeks, Tia's world transforms into one of glamour and luxury: four-star dinners, sexy celebrity chefs, and an unlimited expense account at Bergdorf Goodman. Tia loves every minute of it until she sees her words in print and Michael Saltz taking all the credit. As the veneer of extravagance wears thin and her secret identity begins to crumble, Tia is faced with what it means to truly succeed. In a city where "making it" is the ultimate goal, she will have to decide: how far is she willing to go for the life she craves?

The sun in her eyes Paige Toon

Amber was three when a car crash stole her mother's life. She doesn't remember the accident, but a stranger at the scene has been unable to forget. Now, almost thirty years later, she's trying to track Amber down. Amber, meanwhile, is married to Ned and living on the other side of the world in London. When her father has a stroke, she flies straight home to Australia to be with him. Away from her husband, Amber finds comfort in her oldest friends, but her feelings for Ethan, the gorgeous, green-eyed man she once fell for, have never been platonic. As Ethan and Amber grow closer, married life in London feels far away. Then Amber receives a letter that changes everything. 'Before your mother died, she asked me to tell you something'.

The story of Lucy Gault William Trevor

Captain Gault has decided that his family must leave Lahardane. They are after all Protestants living in the big house in rural Cork, and the country is in turmoil. It is 1921. But eight-year-old Lucy can't bear to leave the seashore, the old house, the woods - so she hatches a plan.

All the stars in the heavens Adriana Trigiani

The movie business is booming in 1935 when twenty-one-year-old Loretta Young meets thirty-four-year-old Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he's already married, Gable falls for the stunning and vivacious young actress instantly. Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, Sister Alda Ducci has been forced to leave her convent and begin a new journey that leads her to Loretta. Becoming Miss Young's secretary, the innocent and pious young Alda must navigate the wild terrain of Hollywood with fierce determination and a moral code that derives from her Italian roots. Over the course of decades, she and Loretta encounter scandal and adventure, choose love and passion, and forge an enduring bond of love and loyalty that will be put to the test when they eventually face the greatest obstacle of their lives.

The shoemaker's wife Adriana Trigiani

Like threads of delicate gold, the lives of two young Italian lovers, Enza Ravanelli, a practical girl born into poverty, and Ciro Amadei, a dreamer raised in a convent orphanage, are woven together in this lush, epic novel set against the landscape of world events in the first half of the twentieth century. Like the times they were born into, Enza and Ciro's story is filled with surprising twists and turns. Together, they embrace the promise of a new and better life as they attempt to survive by the labour of their own hands. But when Ciro is diagnosed with a deadly cancer from the bombs he endured in World War I, he returns home alone to Italy to say goodbye, and solve a final mystery about his family. All seems lost, but the new generation of the Amadei family rises, led by a feisty widow who loves her family and new country beyond all telling. A devoted and new patriot, Enza offers her only son to serve in World War II, and a surprising ending leads to a new era for the Amadei family.

He will be my ruin K A (Kathleen A) Tucker

On the surface, Celine Gonzalez had everything a twenty-eight-year-old woman could want: a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's Lower East Side, a job that (mostly) paid the bills, and an acceptance letter to the prestigious Hollingsworth Institute of Art, where she would finally live out her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser for a major auction house. All she had worked so hard to achieve was finally within her reach. So why would she kill herself? Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what's left of her best friend's belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a lethal cocktail of pills and vodka, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers a scandalous photograph in a locked box hidden in Celine's apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie. The man Celine believed would change her life. Until he became her ruin. On the hunt for evidence that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine's private life - and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer. A killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered.

Playing the part Jen Turano

Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but must abandon her starring role when a fan's interst turns threatening. Lucetta's widowed friend, Abigail Hart, seized the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta's life and promptly whisks her away to safety at her eligible grandson's estate. At first glance, Bram Haverstein appears to be a gentleman of means - albeit an eccentric one - but a mysterious career and a secret fascination with a certain actress mean there's much more to him than society knows. While Lucetta has no interest in Abigail's matchmaking machinations, she can't ignore the strange things going on in Bram's house and the secrets he hides. As the hijinks and hilarity that Bram, Lucetta, and their friends are swept into take a more dangerous turn, can they accept who they are behind the parts they play in time to save the day?

The treacherous net Helene Tursten

It's May and the snow has hardly melted in Goteborg, Sweden, but things are heating up quickly for Detective Inspector Irene Huss in the Violent Crimes Unit. The body of a teenage girl is found in the woods, naked and horrifically scarred. Then there's the mummified body that is discovered bricked up in a chimney on a demolition site, not to mention the city's ongoing problem with gang violence. With the sudden influx of cases and one detective out on maternity leave, everyone is stretched thin and on the edge. To make matters worse, Irene feels more than a little intimidated and put off by the new superintendent, Efva Thylqvist, who uses her sex appeal and smooth talking to skirt issues and bend the predominately male staff to her will. Then a second young girl is found, wearing what appears to be the other half of the sexy lingerie set recovered near the first body. Fearing the two cases are linked and that the killer may strike again, Irene and her colleagues embark on a desperate hunt that takes them deep into a shadowy world of anonymous online predators and insecure teenage girls on a deadly quest for affirmation

The accidental tourist Anne Tyler

The meeting of Macon Leary, a travel-hater who makes his living writing travel guides called "The Accidental Tourist In...," and frizzy-haired, nonstop talker Muriel sets off an unexpected chain of events.

The beginner's goodbye Anne Tyler

When Dorothy came back from the dead, Aaron noticed that some people simply ignored the fact; some seemed to have forgotten she'd died in the first place; and, others just walked straight on by. The accident that killed Dorothy involving an oak tree, a sun porch and some elusive biscuits leaves Aaron bereft and the house a wreck. As those around him fuss and flap and bring him casserole after casserole, Aaron ploughs on. He busies himself with work at the family firm, a publisher with a successful line in 'Beginner's Guides' to every stage and aspect of life. But then Dorothy starts to materialize in the oddest places. At first, she only comes for a short while, leaving Aaron longing for more. Gradually she stays for longer, and as they talk they also bicker. The cracks that start to reappear in their perfectly normal marriage are as well worn and familiar to Aaron as Dorothy herself. As Aaron starts to emerge from his grief, they are also a reassuringly poignant reminder that life may move on, but some things will forever remain the same.

Breathing lessons Anne Tyler

Maggie and Ira Moran have been married for twenty-eight years and it shows: in their quarrels, in their routines, in their ability to tolerate with affection each other's eccentricities. Maggie, a kooky, lovable meddler and an irrepressible optimist, wants nothing more than to fix her son's broken marriage. Ira is infuriatingly practical, a man "who should have married Ann Landers." And what begins as a day trip to a funeral becomes an adventure in the unexpected. As Maggie and Ira navigate the riotous twists and turns, they intersect with an assorted cast of eccentrics and rediscover the magic of the road called life and the joy of having somebody next to you to share the ride . . . bumps and all.

The clock winder Anne Tyler

Having sacked her handyman, newly-widowed Mrs Emerson finds a replacement in Elizabeth, a lanky, awkward girl. The Emersons have a reputation for craziness, there are seven adult children, and Elizabeth finds herself drawn into their disorderly lives against her will. But in the end it is hard to tell whether she is a victim of the needy Emersons, or the de facto ruler of the family.

Digging to America Anne Tyler

Two families, who would otherwise never have come together, meet by chance at the Baltimore airport, the Donaldsons, a very American couple, and the Yazdans, Maryam's fully assimilated son and his attractive Iranian American wife. Each couple is awaiting the arrival of an adopted infant daughter from Korea. After the babies from distant Asia are delivered, Bitsy Donaldson impulsively invites the Yazdans to celebrate with an "arrival party", an event that is repeated every year as the two families become more deeply intertwined. Even independent-minded Maryam is drawn in. But only up to a point. When she finds herself being courted by one of the Donaldson clan, a good-hearted man of her vintage, recently widowed and still recovering from his wife's death, suddenly all the values she cherishes, her traditions, her privacy, her otherness are threatened. Somehow this big American takes up so much space that the orderly boundaries of her life feel invaded.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Anne Tyler

Through every family run memories which bind it together, despite everything. The Tulls of Baltimore were no exception. Now as Pearl lies dying, stiffly encased in her pride and solitude, the past is unlocked and with it its secrets.

If morning ever comes Anne Tyler

Ben Joe Hawkes is a worrier. Raised by his mother, grandmother, and a flock of busy sisters, he's always felt the outsider. When he learns that one of his sisters has left her husband, he heads for home and back into the confusion of childhood memories and unforseen love.

Searching for Caleb Anne Tyler

Duncan Peck has a fascination for randomness and is always taking his family on the move. His wife, Justine, is a fortune teller who can't remember the past. Her grandfather, Daniel, longs to find the brother who walked out of his life in 1912, with nothing more than a fiddle in his hand. All three are taking journeys that lead back to the family's deepest roots...to a place where rebellion and acceptance have the haunting power to merge into one.

Here comes the Easter Cat Deborah Underwood

When Cat tries to replace the Easter Bunny, he soon learns that the job is much harder than he expected - and does not allow time for naps.

The night stages Jane Urquhart

A female pilot recalls her affair with a man obsessed with the disappearance of his brother After a tragic accident leaves Tamara alone on the most westerly tip of Ireland, she begins an affair with a charismatic meteorologist named Niall. It's the 1950s, and Tamara has settled into civilian life after working as an auxiliary pilot in World War II. At first her romance is filled with passionate secrecy, but when Niall's younger brother, Kieran, disappears after a bicycle race, Niall, unable to shake the idea that he may be to blame, slowly falls into despondency. Distraught and abandoned after their decade-long relationship, Tamara decides she has no option but to leave. Jane Urquhart's mesmerizing novel opens as Tamara makes her way from Ireland to New York. During a layover in Gander, Newfoundland, a fog moves in, grounding her plane and stranding her in front of the airport's mural. As she gazes at the nutcracker-like children, missile-shaped birds, and fruit blossoms, she revisits the circumstances that brought her to Ireland and the family entanglement that has forced her into exile. Slowly she interweaves her life story with Kieran's as she searches for the truth about Niall. With The Night Stages, this celebrated bestselling author has written a magnificent, elegiac novel of intersecting memories that explores the meaning of separation and reunion, the sorrows of fractured families, and the profound effect of Ireland's harshly beautiful landscape on lives lived in solitude.

The weeping woman Zoe Valdes

Winner of the prestigious Azorin Prize for Fiction, the best-selling novel about love, sacrifice, and Picasso's mistress, Dora Maar. A writer resembling Zoe Valdes - a Cuban exile living in Paris with her husband and young daughter - is preparing a novel on the life of Dora Maar, one of the most promising artists in the Surrealist movement until she met Pablo Picasso. The middle-aged Picasso was already the god of the art world's avant-garde. Dora became his lover, muse, and ultimately, his victim. She became The Weeping Woman captured in his famous portrait, the mistress he betrayed with other mistress-muses, and their affair ended with her commitment to an asylum at the hands of Picasso's friends. The writer's research centers on a mysterious trip to Venice that Dora took fifteen years later, in the company of two young gay men who were admirers of Picasso, including the biographer James Lord. After this episode, Dora cut off contact with the world and secluded herself in her Paris apartment until her death. "After Picasso, God," she would say. What happened in Venice? The more the writer investigates, the more she finds herself implicated in a story of passion taken to the extremes. In The Weeping Woman, prize-winning novelist Zoe Valdes narrates the journey of a woman who would do anything and everything for love.

In the neighbourhood of fame Bridget Van der Zijpp

Rock musician Jed Jordan's former fame means the events in his life have become public property. Years after 'Captain of the Rules' made him world famous in New Zealand, Jed is living quietly in an Auckland suburb with his family, growing peppers and recording in his home studio, when some disturbing new attention threatens to tear his world apart. Also profoundly affected are three women whose lives are closely caught up in Jed's - his wife; a childhood friend who has returned from Australia for her father's funeral; and the fifteen-year-old Jed chats to in the local dog park. Vivid and engaging, In the Neighbourhood of Fame shines a light on modern relationship struggles within and between families, and on the unpredictable power of celebrity and social media.

The call of the outback : the remarkable story of Ernestine Hill, nomad, adventurer and trailblazer Marianne van Velzen

Long before Robin Davidson wrote Tracks, the extraordinary Ernestine Hill was dubbed 'The Wild Woman of the Outback' for her intrepid travels through the remotest reaches of Australia. After the birth of her illegitimate son, Ernestine Hill abandoned her comfortable urban life as a journalist for a nomadic one, writing about this country's vast interior and introducing the outback to the popular imagination of Australians. Throughout the 1930s Ernestine's hugely popular outback stories appeared in newspapers around the country and in journals like Walkabout. She still remains famous for her bestselling books The Great Australian Loneliness, The Territory, Flying Doctor Calling and My Love Must Wait. Call of the Outback provides a vivid portrait of Ernestine, from the early brilliance she showed as a child in Brisbane to her later life. In particular it evokes Ernestine's larger-than-life personality, the extraordinary characters she met and the exotic landscapes she explored.

Floating city : hustlers, strivers, dealers, call girls and other lives in illicit New York Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh

After his insider's study of Chicago crack gangs electrified the academy, Columbia University sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh spent a decade immersed in New York's underbelly, observing the call girls, drug dealers, prostitutes and other strivers that make up this booming underground economy. Amidst the trust-funder cocktail parties, midtown strip clubs, and immigrant-run sex shops, he discovers a surprisingly fluid and dynamic social world - one that can be found in global cities everywhere - as traditional boundaries between class, race and neighbourhood dissolve. In Floating City, Venkatesh explores New York from high to low, tracing the invisible threads that bind a handful of ambitious urban hustlers, from a Harvard-educated socialite running a high-end escort service to a Harlem crack dealer adapting to changing demands by selling cocaine to hedge fund managers and downtown artists. In the process, and as he questions his own reasons for going deeper into this subterranean world, Venkatesh finds something truly unexpected - community. Floating City is Venkatesh's journey through the 'vast invisible continent' of New York's underground economy - a thriving yet largely unseen world that exists in parallel to our own, at the heart of every city.

Gang leader for a day : a rogue sociologist crosses the line Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh

A story about life on the wrong side of the tracks. This book presents the story of one man's commitment to cross the line, to understand how the people he is studying live day to day.

The prison book club Ann Walmsley

When Ann Walmsley was asked to take part in a book club in a men's prison, she was initially anxious: after a violent mugging a few years before, could she really cope being surrounded by violent criminals? Luckily, curiosity got the better of her, and she signed up for eighteen months of meetings with heavily tattooed inmates, talking about books ranging from The Grapes of Wrath to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. But this wasn't your typical book club - there was no wine and cheese, plush furniture or superficial chat about recent holidays. Classic works of fiction and non-fiction became springboards for frank discussions about loss, anger, redemption and loneliness, and for the men a prized oasis in which to regain a sense of humanity. In this heart-warming example of the rehabilitative power of reading, follow Graham the biker, Frank the gunman, Ben and Dread the drug dealers, and the robber duo Gaston and Peter as they share ideas and reveal their life stories.

The sound of gravel : a memoir Ruth Wariner

The true story of one girl's coming-of-age in a polygamist family. Ruth Wariner was the thirty-ninth of her father's forty-two children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turn a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can only ascend to Heaven by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible. After Ruth's father the founding prophet of the colony is brutally murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarries, becoming the second wife of another faithful congregant. In need of government assistance and supplemental income, Ruth and her siblings are carted back and forth between Mexico and the United States, where Ruth's mother collects welfare and her stepfather works a variety of odd jobs. Ruth comes to love the time she spends in the States, realizing that perhaps the community into which she was born is not the right one for her. As she begins to doubt her family's beliefs and question her mother's choices, she struggles to balance her fierce love for her siblings with her determination to forge a better life for herself. Recounted from the innocent and hopeful perspective of a child, this is the memoir of one girl's fight for peace and love.

Baby, it's cold outside Susan May Warren

It's been years since Edith Miller hosted the annual Snowflake, MN, Christmas Extravaganza. After her son was killed in the war, some five years ago, her Christmas spirit died along with him. So she is more than happy to loan all her Christmas decorations to Stella Hanson, the new teacher in town. After all, what does she have to celebrate? But when the blizzard of the decade traps Stella - and four other wanderers - in Edith's home, Edith finds that by opening her door, she just might open her heart to a new reason celebrate Christmas.

Double trouble Susan May Warren

PJ Sugar has finally found something she's good at. Now she's trying not to mess it up. Her first official case as a private investigator ... well, technically a PI's assistant ... is house-sitting for a witness in protective custody. No danger involved, assures her boss Jeremy Kane. However, after a break-in by a late-night prowler it becomes clear that this witness is hiding something and it may cost PJ her life.

Duchess Susan May Warren

The Golden Age of Hollywood is in the business of creating stars. Rosie Worth, now starlet Roxy Price, has found everything she's wanted in the glamour of the silver screen. With adoring fans and a studio-mogul husband, she's finally silenced the heartache of the past. Her future shines bright?until the fated Black Friday when it all comes crashing down. When Roxy loses everything, she finds herself disgraced and penniless. Her only hope is to join forces with Belgian duke Rolfe Van Horne, a longtime film investor. But Rolfe is not who he seems, and he has other plans for Roxy and her movies - plans to support a growing unrest in Europe, plans that could break her heart and endanger her life. When her country needs her, will Roxy have the courage to surrender her glittering world and her one true love?

Escape to morning Susan May Warren

Homeland Security Agent Will Masterson crosses paths with Search and Rescue worker Dannette Lundeen. Will is working undercover to find and neutralize a terrorist organization threatening U.S. security. Dannette is searching for a missing girl, who turns out to be the key to the terrorists. As Will and Dannette put their lives on the line, they find their hearts drawn to one another. Only as they trust God and each other can they find a way to escape to morning.

Expect the sunrise Susan May Warren

Alaskan bush pilot Andee MacLeod has spent her life searching for the one thing that can stop her running - a family. Now Andee has one last flight to make before she heads down to the Lower 48 for the winter. But she has no idea one of her passengers is a terrorist. And another passenger is FBI agent Stirling Mac McRae. Mac and Andee are about to discover what it means to put their hope in eternity and God's plans, even in the darkest moments.

Flee the night Susan May Warren

Ex-CIA operative Lacey Montgomery is a liar, a murderer, and a fugitive - or is she? Former Green Beret Jim Micah must either prove her innocence or bring her to justice. Too bad his heart won't stay out of the way. With a little girl's life and national secrets hanging in the balance, Jim and Lacey must trust God to help them flee the secrets of the night.

Happily ever after Susan May Warren

God has answered Mona Reynolds's prayers and given her the opportunity of a lifetime: she is about to open her own bookstore-coffee shop, the Footstep of Heaven. Now Mona has no time for love and no hope that a man can ever be the hero of her dreams. But when she hires mysterious drifter Joe Michaels to be her handyman, she discovers that it isn't only in fairy tales that people live happily ever after.

Heiress Susan May Warren

The beautiful heiress daughters of newspaper magnate August Price have been given everything their hearts desire. But what if they want only to be loved - without an enormous price tag attached? When one daughter pursues a desirable marriage, she secures for herself a comfortable and glamorous life. But among the duties of privilege, will she also find the happily-ever-after she seeks? Her sister rejects the trappings of wealth, choosing instead to build a new life on the still-untamed frontier. Will she find happiness in independence or discover that she's left her heart behind in New York's glittering society? Set in the opulent world of the Gilded Age, each woman discovers that being an heiress just might cost her everything - including the chance for true love.

In sheep's clothing Susan May Warren

On the run from the murderer of her best friends, missionary Gracie Benson is all alone in Siberia. What she doesn't know is that she has in her possession a medical secret that will save millions of lives - or cost hers. Trying to keep her alive is an FSB agent, a man pursued by his own demons, including a killer who destroyed his father's life. He and Gracie find themselves in a decades-old mystery of betrayal and Cold War secrets. Only with the help of their friends - a group of Americans and Russians committed to freedom - can they outwit the old guard...and save Gracie's secret, as well as her life.

Letters from the enemy Susan May Warren

The world is at war. And there's a similar tension in the heart of Lilly Clark. With the war in Europe raging, Lilly lives for letters from her beloved Reggie. But then a stranger enters her life and changes everything. Heinrick Zook has become the focus of controversy in Lilly's small South Dakota town. His ancestry stirs up hateful prejudices as American boys are losing their lives fighting the Germans. But even with this barrier between them, Lilly feels compelled to befriend this gentle German. Can their love overcome the prejudice and conflict that has set the world at war? Or will letters from the enemy forever condemn Lilly in the eyes of those she loves?

Licensed for trouble Susan May Warren

PJ Sugar receives shocking news that she's inherited the Kellogg family mansion. Though she has no idea why, the timing is perfect.PJ has clearly worn out her welcome at her sister's house. Unfortunately, the mansion is in shambles, and PJ is short on cash. Rescue comes in the form of Max Smith, a mysterious handyman willing to trade his services for PJ's investigative skills. But PJ already has a full docket with cramming for her PI license and nurturing a growing romance with her boss, Jeremy Kane. Can she take on Max's case without dropping the ball?

Mission: Out of control Susan May Warren

Brody "Wick" Wickham is a former Green Beret turned security agent with a 100 percent mission success rate. No way is his new assignment changing that. Even if it's protecting a diva American rock star while she's on tour in Europe. Except Veronica "Vonya" Wagner isn't just a beautiful celebrity used to having her way - she's the daughter of a U.S. Senator. And she's hiding a dangerous secret. When Wick discovers what's at stake, how far over the line will he go to keep them both alive?

My foolish heart Susan May Warren

Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven, Isadora Presley spends her nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love, unaware that she's never really done either. Issy's ratings soar when it seems she's falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she doesn't realize lives right next door. Caleb Knight served a tour of duty in Iraq and paid a steep price. The last thing he wants is pity, so he hides his disability and moves to Deep Haven to land his dream job as the high school football coach. When his beautiful neighbour catches his eye, in a moment of desperation he seeks advice from My Foolish Heart, the show that airs before his favourite sports broadcast. Before he knows it, Caleb finds himself drawn to the host - and more confused than ever. Is his perfect love the woman on the radio . . . or the one next door?

Nightingale Susan May Warren

Wolfgang Jager has found himself on the wrong side of a world war. Esther Lange is trapped inside a war of her own. Can loving their enemies set them both free? Wolfgang Jager grew up in Mason City, Iowa. So, what's he doing fighting for the Germans? If only his parents hadn't moved back to their native Germany when they believed Hitler to be a hero. It's almost a relief when he is captured by the Americans and sent to a Wisconsin POW camp. When the darkness turns to nightmare and Wolfgang is accused of murder, can he stand firm in his faith - and snatch the woman he loves out of the mouths of lions?

Nothing but trouble Susan May Warren

It's not fair to say that trouble happens every time PJ Sugar is around, but it feels that way when she returns to her home town, looking for a fresh start. Within a week, her former teacher is murdered and her best friend's husband is arrested as the number-one suspect. Although the police detective investigating the murder - who also happens to be PJ's former flame - is convinced it's an open-and-shut case, PJ's not so sure. She begins digging for clues in an effort to clear her friend's husband and ends up reigniting old passions, uncovering an international conspiracy, and solving a murder along the way. She also discovers that maybe God can use a woman who never seems to get it right.

The perfect match Susan May Warren

Ellie Karlson is new to Deep Haven. As the town's interim fire chief, she is determined to lead the local macho fire crew in spite of their misconceptions about her. But when someone begins setting deadly fires, Ellie faces the biggest challenge of her life. Especially when sparks fly with one of the volunteers on her crew: Pastor Dan Matthews. As Ellie battles to do her job and win the respect of her crew, she finds that there is one fire she can't fight - the one Dan has set in her heart.

Sands of time Susan May Warren

An inexplicable ailment was striking down the children of Russia; in less than forty-eight hours, American medical missionary Sarai Curtiss had watched two young patients slip away, and she feared she might have an epidemic on her hands. Yet how could she help anyone in the middle of a violent coup? The new leadership had demanded all foreigners leave the state - on pain of death. Unwilling to leave her clinic, but unable to combat her enemies alone, Sarai had to join forces with an unlikely ally - Roman Novik, the rebel Cobra Captain who broke her heart. Faced with a corrupt government, a brutal military and the truth of their own deepest feelings, it would be a race against time to save the lives on the line - and an entire country at risk.

Sons of Thunder Susan May Warren

Sophie Frangos is torn between the love of two men and the promise that binds them all together. Markos Stavros loves Sophie from afar while battling his thirst for vengeance and his hunger for honour. Dino, his quiet and intelligent brother, simply wants to forget the horror that drove them from their Greek island home to start a new life in America. One of these "Sons of Thunder" offers a future she longs for, the other - the past she lost. From the sultry Chicago jazz clubs of the roaring twenties to World War II battlefields of Europe to a final showdown in a Greek island village, they'll discover betrayal, sacrifice, and finally redemption. Most of all, when Sophie is forced to make her choice, she'll learn that God honours the promises made by the Sons of Thunder.

Tying the knot Susan May Warren

EMT Anne Lundstrom is running from her past. But it's about to catch up. She thought she'd escaped it when she moved out of the city and into the quiet town of Deep Haven. She certainly never expected to get roped into helping Noah Standing Bear run his summer camp for inner-city kids. Yet Noah has a charisma she can't ignore, and romance is in the air. But when the very danger she was trying to escape threatens her peaceful haven - and her life - Anne must find the courage to face her fears and embrace the one man who can help her understand her past.

Waiting for dawn Susan May Warren

In this prequel to Flee the Night, the first book in Susan May Warren's critically acclaimed Team Hope series, Lacey Galloway leads a rather predictable life as a contractor for the Department of Defense. But news that Sergeant First Class Jim Micah is missing in action leads her on a dangerous trek overseas to rescue the man who secretly captured her heart. Although her DOD connections quickly cut through the red tape, she also enlists the help of her ex-boyfriend and Micah's best friend, Lieutenant John Montgomery. As they hatch a covert plan to find and rescue Micah, Lacey's feelings are once again torn between the two men.

At the duke's pleasure Tracy Anne Warren

Edward Byron, Duke of Clybourne, has everything a man in Society needs ... except a wife. Duty requires he wed, so he decides that a long-standing arranged marriage will do nicely. He knows his bride is beautiful, biddable, and bright enough to run his household and nursery. He expects his betrothed, Lady Claire Mardsden, will be thrilled with his decision - unfortunately she's not! Claire has longed for Edward since she was sixteen, but how can he expect her to agree to his proposal when he barely knows her and doesn't love her? Nothing will convince her to accept a loveless marriage. And so she begins a battle of outrageous resistance, forcing Edward to learn that he must lose his heart in order to win his bride.

Seduced by his touch Tracy Anne Warren

He had to marry her. Everyone in London agrees the Byrons are just "as mad, bad, and dangerous to know" as their poetic non-relation. But Lord Jack Byron is facing a predicament that is scandalous ... even for him! Marry a young woman because he lost a bet? Unreformed rake Lord Jack Byron would do anything to get out of it. But the rich merchant who holds his debt insists Jack lead his on-the-shelf daughter to the altar ... and make her believe it's a love match. With no options, Jack agrees, thinking he'll be shackled to a closed-in spinster. But Grace Danvers is no spinster.

Skin deep : all she wanted was a mummy, but was she too ugly to be loved? Casey Watson

Rejected by her mother and excluded by her school, Flip is a little girl desperate to be loved. 'Am I ugly, Mummy?' are the first words that little Phillipa says to Mike and Casey as she stomps into their lives on a hot August afternoon. She has a Barbie doll in one hand and a pink vanity case in the other and the bemused Watsons can only stare in amazement at this tiny eight year old girl who is being guided into the room by her social worker. Phillipa, known as Flip has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and life with her single mother has come to an abrupt end after a fire burned the house down. When Casey meets Flip, the child seems remarkably unfazed by what has happened and the thing that seems to worry her is that Casey might find her ugly. Casey has come across children with FAS in her previous job in a high school behaviour unit, but is now realising that fostering Flip is going to be full of challenges which will test her and Mike's skills to the limit.

Broken sky Lee Weatherly

Amity is a teen pilot, battling in one-on-one combat to maintain peace in a world where war has been replaced by dogfights. But when Amity discovers the organisation she works for is corrupt, she begins to question everything. In this society of double agents, suspicion and betrayal, nobody is quite what they seem...including Amity's first love.

The Dead Tracks Tim Weaver

Seventeen-year-old Megan Carver was an unlikely runaway. A straight-A student from a happy home, she studied hard and rarely got into trouble. Six months on, she's never been found. Missing persons investigator David Raker knows what it's like to grieve. He knows the shadowy world of the lost too. So, when he's hired by Megan's parents to find out what happened, he recognizes their pain - but knows that the darkest secrets can be buried deep. And Megan's secrets could cost him his life. Because as Raker investigates her disappearance, he realizes everything is a lie. People close to her are dead. Others are too terrified to talk. And soon the conspiracy of silence leads Raker towards a forest on the edge of the city. A place with a horrifying history - which was once the hunting ground for a brutal, twisted serial killer. A place known as the Dead Tracks. . .

Vanished Tim Weaver

An hour after leaving work, Sam Wren gets onto a tube train - and never gets off again. No eyewitnesses. No trace of him on security cameras. Six months later, he's still missing. Desperate for answers, Sam's wife Julia hires missing persons investigator David Raker to track him down. But in missing persons, the only certainty is that everyone has something to hide - and in this case, the secrets go deeper than anyone could have imagined.

The grass catcher : a digression about home Ian Wedde

From early childhood in postwar Blenheim to the remote regions of Bangladesh, from an English boarding school to 1960s Auckland, and from Jordan during the civil war of 1969-70 to family homes full of children, this dazzling book traces the many shifts in Ian Wedde's life. Haunted by the ghosts of his restless German and Scottish great grandparents, and of his wandering parents, Wedde is always looking over his shoulder as he writes. His companion throughout is his twin brother Dave, who shared their first home - their mother Linda's womb - and who, as the book ends, hosts a lunch where the brothers raise their glasses to the transit lounges of their lives. Affectionate, funny, sad, analytical, but above all honest, The Grass Catcher is at once a moving personal memoir and an engaging and reflective essay on the nature of memory.

Trifecta Ian Wedde

Trifecta looks at the odds in the lives of the three children of Martin and Agnes Klepka. Martin was one of the refugees of Nazism who famously brought Modernist architecture and 'real coffee' to New Zealand. Many years after his early death from a heart attack, Klepka's children are struggling in their different ways with the difficult legacy of their charismatic, overbearing father. Sandy, who was disliked by his father, is a cultural historian in the twilight of his career, disgraced, divorced and reduced to a .2 position at Auckland University. Veronica, who bored her father, is struggling with a failing art deco Napier tour company and an alcoholic husband. And Mick, Martin Klepka's favorite, a gambling, methamphetamine and sex addict, is still living alone in the Red House, his father's plagiarized masterpiece.

Good in bed Jennifer Weiner

Cannie Shapiro never wanted to be famous. The smart, sharp, plus-sized reporter was perfectly happy writing about other people's lives for her local newspaper. And for the past twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her job, her friends, her dog and her life. She loves her apartment and her commodious, quilt-lined bed. She has made a tenuous peace with her body and she even felt okay about ending her relationship with her boyfriend Bruce. But now this... 'Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world,' Bruce has written in a national woman's magazine. And Cannie - who never knew that Bruce saw her as a larger woman, or thought that loving her was an act of courage - is plunged into misery, and the most amazing year of her life.

In her shoes Jennifer Weiner

Twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Feller, who goes from job to job on the fringes of show business, and her older sister Rose, a lawyer, have had no contact with their grandmother, Ella, since their mother's death years ago, but all three need to find each other to reach happiness.

Innocent traitor Alison Weir

Lady Jane Grey was born into times of extreme danger. Child of a scheming father and a ruthless mother, for whom she was merely a pawn in a dynastic power game with the highest stakes, she lived a life in thrall to political machinations and lethal religious fervour. Jane's astonishing and essentially tragic story was played out during one of the most momentous periods of English history. As a great-niece of Henry VIII, and the cousin of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, she grew up to realize that she could never throw off the chains of her destiny. Her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carry the reader through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics, to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion.

Lancaster and York Alison Weir

The war between the houses of Lancaster and York for the throne of England was characterised by treachery, deceit and at St Albans, Blore Hill and Towton, some of the bloodiest and most dramatic battles on England's soil. Between 1455 and 1487 the royal coffers were bankrupted and the conflict resulted in the downfall of the houses of Lancaster and York and the emergence of the illustrious Tudor dynasty. Alison Weir's lucid and gripping account focuses on the human side of history, on the people and personalities involved in the conflict. At the centre of the book stands Henry VI, the pious king whose mental instability led to political chaos, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and Henry's rival, and most important of all, Margaret of Anjou, Henry's wife, who took up her arms in her husband's cause and battled for many years ina violent man's world.

A cat called Alfie Rachel Wells

Once a doorstep cat, always a doorstep cat. Edgar Road used to be your typical London street; a road full of people who barely said a word to one another. Then Alfie came along, a big grey ball of fur who changed the lives of every family he met, and brought a community together. But now a new family have moved into Edgar Road and they, more than anyone else, need Alfie's help. Can he bring light to their darkest times? Or is it already too late to stop them from falling apart?

Birthday Rosemary Wells

It's Max's birthday, and all the presents are for him! What will he receive?

Counting peas Rosemary Wells

A big sneeze scatters Max's peas in every direction.

Love Rosemary Wells

Everyone loves Max, but who does Max love the best?

Max & Ruby's treasure hunt Rosemary Wells

When their tea party is rained out, Max and Ruby and their friends Louise and Lily go indoors, where Grandma has arranged a treasure hunt.

Red boots Rosemary Wells

Baby bunny Max chooses an outfit for playing in the snow.

Ten kisses for Sophie! Rosemary Wells

There's going to be a party! Sophie and her mother are making a very special treat: chocolate kisses with pistachio cream filling. Yum! There will be nine guests plus Sophie, and they've made ten kisses. Just enough. But then the telephone rings and everything changes. . . Irrepressible Sophie will charm readers once again in a story that goes straight to the heart of toddler concerns.

The forgotten room Karen (Karen S) White

1945: When the critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought to a private hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side, young Dr. Kate Schuyler is drawn into a complex mystery that connects three generations of women in her family to a single extraordinary room in a Gilded Age mansion. Who is the woman in Captain Ravenel's portrait miniature who looks so much like Kate? And why is she wearing the ruby pendant handed down to Kate by her mother? In their pursuit of answers, they find themselves drawn into the turbulent stories of Gilded Age Olive Van Alen, driven from riches to rags, who hired out as a servant in the very house her father designed, and Jazz Age Lucy Young, who came from Brooklyn to Manhattan in pursuit of the father she had never known. But are Kate and Cooper ready for the secrets that will be revealed in the Forgotten Room?

The sound of glass Karen (Karen S) White

It has been two years since the death of Merritt Heyward's husband, Cal, when she receives unexpected news - Cal's family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by Cal's reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt. Charting the course of an uncertain life - and feeling guilt from her husband's tragic death - Merritt travels from her home in Maine to Beaufort, where the secrets of Cal's unspoken-of past reside among the pluff mud and jasmine of the ancestral Heyward home on the Bluff. This unknown legacy, now Merritt's, will change and define her as she navigates her new life - a new life complicated by the arrival of her too-young stepmother and ten-year-old half-brother. Soon, in this house of strangers, Merritt is forced into unravelling the Heyward family past as she faces her own fears and finds the healing she needs in the salt air of the Low Country.

By the shores of Silver Lake Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls and her family move from the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railway until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new home. Laura takes her first train ride as she, her sisters, and Ma come out to live with Pa on the shores of Silver Lake. After a lonely winter in the surveyors' house, Pa puts up the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the beautiful shores of Silver Lake. The Ingalls's covered-wagon travels are finally over.

Farmer boy Laura Ingalls Wilder

While Laura Ingalls grows up on the prairie, Almanzo Wilder is living on a big farm in New York State. Here Almanzo and his brother and sisters help with the summer planting and autumn harvest. In winter there is wood to be chopped and great slabs of ice to be cut from the river and stored. Time for fun comes when the jolly tin peddler visits, or best of all, when the fair comes to town. Almanzo wishes for just one thing - his very own colt - and he must prove that he is ready for such a big responsibility. Farmer Boy is Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved story of how her husband, Almanzo, grew up as a farmer boy far from the little house where Laura lived.

The first four years Laura Ingalls Wilder

During their first four years of marriage, Laura and Almanzo Wilder have a child and fight a losing battle in their attempts to succeed at farming on the South Dakota prairie.

Little house in the big woods Laura Ingalls Wilder

A year in the life of two young girls growing up on the Wisconsin frontier, as they help their mother with the daily chores, enjoy their father's stories and singing, and share special occasions when they get together with relatives or neighbours.

Little house on the prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder

A family travels from the big woods of Wisconsin to a new home on the prairie, where they build a house, meet neighbouring Indians, build a well and fight a prairie fire.

Little town on the prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder

Pa's homestead thrives, Laura gets her first job in town, blackbirds eat the corn and oats crops, Mary goes to college, and Laura gets into trouble at school, but becomes a certified school teacher.

The long winter Laura Ingalls Wilder

After an October blizzard, Laura's family moves from the claim shanty into town for the winter, a winter that an Indian has predicted will be seven months of bad weather.

On the banks of Plum Creek Laura Ingalls Wilder

Ma, Pa, Laura, Mary, and Carrie settle on the prairie land of Minnesota where runaway cattle, wolves, torrential creeks, a grasshopper plague, and a long blizzard offset the joys of a new house, school friends, church socials, and the comfort of a town only three miles away.

These happy golden years Laura Ingalls Wilder

Fifteen-year-old Laura lives apart from her family for the first time, teaching school in a claim shanty twelve miles from home. She is very homesick, but she knows that her earnings can help pay for her sister Mary's tuition at the college for the blind. Only one thing gets her through the lonely weeks - every weekend, Almanzo Wilder arrives at the school to take Laura home for a visit. Friendship soon turns to love for Laura and Almanzo.

Our town : a play in three acts Thornton Wilder

Our Town was first produced and published in 1938 to wide acclaim. This Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of life in the town of Grover's Corners, an allegorical representation of all life, has become a classic. It is Thornton Wilder's most renowned and most frequently performed play. In addition, Tappan Wilder has written an eye-opening new Afterword, which includes Thornton Wilder's unpublished notes and other illuminating photographs and documentary material.

Southeast Asia on a shoestring China Williams

Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to skip, what hidden discoveries await you, and how to optimise your budget for an extended continental trip. Experience the magic of the temples of Angkor at dawn, experience Asia's colonial past in the steamy port island of Penang, or hang ten on classic Bali surf breaks; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Southeast Asia and begin your journey now.

Thailand China Williams

Lonely Planet Thailand is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Sample the nightlife of Bangkok, explore the World Heritage temple ruins at Ayuthaya, or indulge in a beachfront Thai massage on a coral-fringed island; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Thailand and begin your journey now.

The visiting privilege : new and collected stories Joy Williams

The legendary writer s first collection in more than ten years and, finally, the definitive one. A literary event of the highest order. Joy Williams has been celebrated as a master of the short story for four decades, her renown passing as a given from one generation to the next even in the shifting landscape of contemporary writing. And at long last the incredible scope of her singular achievement is put on display: thirty-three stories drawn from three much-lauded collections, and another thirteen appearing here for the first time in book form. Forty-six stories in all, far and away the most comprehensive volume in her long career, showcasing her crisp, elegant prose, her dark wit, and her uncanny ability to illuminate our world through characters and situations that feel at once peculiar and foreign and disturbingly familiar. Virtually all American writers have their favorite Joy Williams stories, as do many readers of all ages, and each one of them is available here.

Evil empire : the Irish mob and the execution of journalist Veronica Guerin Paul Williams

On June 26, 1996, an international outcry was heard over the assassination of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin, gunned down by Ireland's most vicious gang. It was the first European case of what the police called "narco-terrorism," where drug syndicates use terror tactics against individuals and states to protect their interests. The hit would change European police tactics forever and make the law enforcement community realize that this problem was no longer confined to the third world. Ruthless godfather John Gilligan controlled a colossal drug empire and a mob of Dublin gangland's most dangerous criminals. Violence and the threat of murder kept terrified witnesses silent and other gangsters in fear. Gilligan thought himself above the law - and never managed to figure out that there was a line between what gangsters can and cannot do. Evil Empire tells the chilling inside story of Gilligan's rise to power, his savage gang, and the truth about the terrifying murder that shocked the world. Also shown is the behind-the-scenes drama of the dedicated police squad that waged an unprecedented four-year war to smash "Factory" John's Evil Empire.

Silly Cecil and clever Cubs Jeanne Willis

Sir Cecil is a pompous pedigree cat who can't believe it when scruffy Mr Cubs turns up uninvited at Futtock Mansion and refuses to leave. But then Mr Cubs agrees to help Sir Cecil fulfil a lifelong dream, with hilariously disastrous results.

Sing a song of bottoms! Jeanne Willis

In a fabulous rhyming text, meet bears with baggy bottoms, pigs with perky pinky ones and peacocks who love to put theirs on display. Perfect for reading aloud and guaranteed to cause fits of giggles, one thing's for sure - whoever is the winner, bottoms are tops!

The dotty dalmatian Anna Wilson

Business is booming at the Pooch Parlour, so Mrs Fudge hires a cool new assistant who is an instant favourite with all the dogs. Pippa Peppercorn isn't so sure, however - there's something strange about the new girl. Meanwhile, a string of unsolved burglaries and a mysterious spotty dog are causing havoc around town.

The great kitten cake off Anna Wilson

Ellie Haines despairs of her family. Her younger brother is so desperate to be on TV he's tried everything from sending films of his hamster to SpringwatchLive to auditioning Mum for Looking Good Naked (urgh!). Mum appears to be going through some kind of midlife crisis and Dad's bad 'yolks' have reached alarming new 'egg-stremes'. The only bright spots in Ellie's life are her naughty kitten, Kitkat, and her best mate, Mads. But when Mads and Ellie apply for The Junior Cake Off, their friendship soon starts to crumble. It doesn't help that the gorgeous Ted Watson has caught Mads's eye, too . . . Can Ellie win back her best mate, or will their friendship go up in smoke?

I'm a chicken, get me out of here Anna Wilson

Titch the chicken is trapped. She arrived at Wilf's house by mistake when one of Mum's Internet orders went wrong (again). Now she is desperate to GET OUT OF THERE! There's a dopey dog to deal with and a very snooty cat - and, worse, Wilf has made her share a room with Brian, an EXTREMELY fussy guinea pig. Titch is no birdbrain and plots to escape. But when the other pets are put in danger, Titch realises she has to stay and help her new friends ...

Kitten cupid Anna Wilson

Bertie Fletcher is determined to find out who or what has been bothering her kitten. Jaffa's clearly spooked by something - she's even tried to hide herself in the fridge! With the help of some video equipment Bertie mounts a surveillance operation and finds out that a big bad tom cat has been hurtling uninvited through the catflap. But it turns out that Bob the bruiser isn't quite as scary as he seems - and he soon finds himself the welcome recipient of attention from a mystery source . . . Will it be love at first sight?

Kitten Kaboodle Anna Wilson

Ten-year-old Bertie Fletcher has only ever wanted one thing - a pet - but her grumpy dad won't allow her so much as a goldfish. So, to score herself plenty of animal time, she sets up a secret pet-sitting service.

Kitten smitten Anna Wilson

Bertie Fletcher is happier than a cat who's got the custard when she gets Jaffa, her very own beautiful marmalade kitten. Even Dad seems to have come to terms with the whole pet-owning thing. But then the Meerley family arrive on the scene.

Monkey madness : the only way is Africa! Anna Wilson

Felix cannot believe his luck when Dad announces he is going on a business trip to Africa and is going to take the family too. Flo, Felix's best friend in the whole world is furious that Felix is going to see so many amazing animals without her. In order for Felix to prove his friendship, she sets him a horribly difficult task: to bring her back a baby monkey! After all, when surrounded by amazing animals the middle of the wilderness, what could possibly go wrong?

Pup idol Anna Wilson

I hope everyone out there will know by now about how I, Summer Holly Love, finally persuaded my mum to let me have a wonderful golden Labrador puppy of my own named Honey. (If you are not aware of this, you can read all about it in 'Puppy Love', a fascinating and frankly gripping account of The Said Event.) Anyway, Honey went through a bit of a Difficult Phase recently, developing a taste for shoes (mainly flip-flops) and terrorising dinner guests. So, to help her through her Awkward Adolescence, I dutifully (and brilliantly) trained her at Obedience Class and in the garden. And, hurrah! Honey's amazing talents shone through just in time for our School Talent Content, where we performed our "Pup Idol" star act - and became Famous Celebrities in Our Own Right!

Puppy love Anna Wilson

In my life I have wished a million thousand times for a puppy, so was officially over the moon when I finally obtained Parental Consent to get Honey - the most absolutely softest and velvetest Golden Labrador you have ever imagined. Since she moved in we have had some extremely funny adventures while dealing with my weird sister April's frankly unfortunate love crush on Honey's vet. It has all been rather manic but luckily I am an expert in De-Fusing the Tension and Staying Ahead of the Game when it comes to this sort of situation, as you will see.

Puppy party Anna Wilson

Mum has given Summer two weeks to plan a surprise party for her glamorous older sister April. Summer realises that it is also her dog Honey's birthday that week and therefore decides to plan a joint party. She decides not to mention the whole 'puppy' part of the Plan to anyone except her most bestest friend Molly Cook. Cut to party day and Utter Mayhem is slowly unfolding.

The puppy plan Anna Wilson

In my life I have wished a million thousand times for a puppy, so I was officially over the moon when I finally obtained Parental Consent to get Honey - the most absolutely softest and velvetest golden Labrador you have ever imagined. Since she moved in we have had some extremely funny adventures while dealing with my weird sister April's frankly unfortunate love crush on Honey's vet. It has all been rather manic, but luckily I am an expert in Defusing the Tension and Staying Ahead of the Game when it comes to this sort of situation, as you will see.

The smug pug Anna Wilson

There's a new kid in Crumbly-under-Edge. Smug the pug is clever, funny and full of surprises. And his owner, Tallulah Foghorn, is just as fantastic. Pippa Peppercorn has fallen head over heels for the devastating duo. Dash the dachshund, on the other paw, is not sure. He thinks Smug lives up to his name, and Tallulah is nuttier than one of Mrs Fudge's fruitcakes.

Half-Earth : our planet's fight for life Edward O Wilson

In order to stave off the mass extinction of species, including our own, we must move swiftly to preserve the biodiversity of our planet, says Edward O. Wilson in his most impassioned book to date. Half-Earth argues that the situation facing us is too large to be solved piecemeal and proposes a solution commensurate with the magnitude of the problem: dedicate fully half the surface of the Earth to nature.

My mother's secret : based on a true holocaust story J L Witterick

My mother's secret is a profound, captivating, and ultimately uplifting tale intertwining the lives of two Jewish families in hiding from the Nazis, a fleeing German soldier, and the clever and "righteous" mother and daughter who teamed up to save them. Franciszka and her daughter, Helena, are unlikely heroines. They are simple people who mind their own business and don't stand out from the crowd. Until 1939, when crisis strikes. The Nazis have invaded Poland and they are starting to persecute the Jews. Providing shelter to a Jew has become a death sentence. And yet, Franciszka and Helena decide to do just that. In their tiny, two-bedroom home in Sokal, Poland, they cleverly hide one Jewish family of two brothers and their wives in their pigsty out back, another in a makeshift cellar under the kitchen floorboards, and a defecting German soldier in the attic each group completely unbeknownst to the others. For everyone to survive, Franciszka will have to outsmart her neighbours and the German commanders standing guard right outside her yard.

The right stuff Tom Wolfe

Wolfe traces Alan Shepard's suborbital flight and Gus Grissom's embarrassing panic on the high seas (making the controversial claim that Grissom flooded his Liberty capsule by blowing the escape hatch too soon). The author also produces an admiring portrait of John Glenn's apple-pie heroism and selfless dedication. By the time Wolfe concludes with a return to Yeager and his late-career exploits, the narrative's epic proportions and literary merits are secure.

The Natural Way of Things Charlotte Wood

Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in a broken-down property in the middle of a desert. Strangers to each other, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be there with eight other girls, forced to wear strange uniforms, their heads shaved, guarded by two inept yet vicious armed jailers and a 'nurse'. The girls all have something in common, but what is it? What crime has brought them here from the city? Who is the mysterious security company responsible for this desolate place with its brutal rules, its total isolation from the contemporary world? Doing hard labour under a sweltering sun, the prisoners soon learn what links them: in each girl's past is a sexual scandal with a powerful man. They pray for rescue but when the food starts running out it becomes clear that the jailers have also become the jailed. The girls can only rescue themselves.

Calling on dragons Patricia C Wrede

Queen Cimorene turns to her friends Morwen, Telemain, and Kazul for help when troublesome wizards make their way back into the Enchanted Forest and begin to soak up its magic.

Dealing with dragons Patricia C Wrede

Princess Cimorene wants more out of life than to be the wife of a boring, proper prince. Tired of her sedate existence, she takes up fencing, cooking, Latin, even magic. But each endeavour is ended with the admonition that "princesses just don't do that." Faced with marriage, she decides it's time to find some adventures of her own and runs away, ending up as the dragon Kazul's "princess," and finding adventure, danger, and challenges galore.

Talking to dragons Patricia C Wrede

Queen Cimorene sends her sixteen-year-old son, Daystar, into the Enchanted Forest with the only weapon that can combat an evil wizard's magic in an effort to restor the balance of power in the kingdom.

Man of secrets : the private life of Donald McLean Matthew Wright

Donald McLean. The hard-tempered Scot whose policies shaped New Zealand's colonial-age race relations, and gave rise to grievances that echo into the twenty-first century. The government official who used his position to get land for his personal ventures - and provoked war between Maori along the way. The man who, rumour insists, used his power as our Minister of Defence to order the shooting of his own illegitimate son - the right-hand man of religious leader Te Kooti. McLean's role as the powerhouse behind some of the most heated land controversies of settler-era New Zealand is well known. But the man behind those deeds has remained largely hidden. Man of Secrets, an absorbing new biography by Matthew Wright, goes behind the public persona, revealing the private Donald McLean. A man dogged by his upbringing, wrestling with his insecurities - a devout and fearful man who felt himself inadequate before God and who never recovered from the loss of his young wife.

The story of Edgar Sawtelle David Wroblewski

A tale reminiscent of "Hamlet" that also celebrates the alliance between humans and dogs follows speech-disabled Wisconsin youth Edgar, who bonds with three yearling canines and struggles to prove that his sinister uncle is responsible for his father's death.

Job u : find your path to a successful career in a tough job market Nicholas Wyman

Some of the best jobs don't require a university degree. Companies often struggle to find employees with the right skills. Even though unemployment is high and you may be struggling to get an interview, the good news is that there are still opportunities for a rewarding and well-paid career. These opportunities can't be found inside a traditional classroom, but rather in the educational options that provide the technical, vocational and soft skills that companies actually need. These include professional certifications, associate degrees, apprenticeships, and occupational learning. In Job U Australian workforce skills expert Nicholas Wyman shows how to find these non-traditional pathways and get your dream job. Along the way you'll meet people of all ages who have done just that: from an emergency air paramedic, to a lead racing car mechanic, to a celebrity chef. If you are considering tertiary education, or if you are looking for a new career, Job U is your ticket to a secure and prosperous future.

Penguin's big adventure Salina Yoon

Penguin embarks on his next journey becoming the first penguin to explore the North Pole! Along the way, he says hello to all of his old friends. But when he finally reaches his destination, he realizes he's all alone in a strange, foreign place. How will Penguin overcome his fears of the unknown and enjoy this new adventure?

Nantucket : where the rich and beautiful come to play Harrison Young

Andrew and Cathy are famous for their luxurious Nantucket parties. Billionaires only on the guest list, with their gorgeous, ungovernable wives by their side. When two mysterious business men - one an American engineer, the other an Indian prince - are invited to the island, a series of intriguing and scandalous events ensue, changing the lives of the guests forever. It only takes forty-eight hours in Nantucket for everyone to reveal their secrets, succumb to new ideas, propositions and partners. What happens in Nantucket stays in Nantucket. Or does it?

Digging for dinos Jessica (Jessica E) Young

Haggis, the Scottie, and Tank, the Great Dane, two dogs with active imaginations, set out to search their neighbourhood for dinosaurs to play with. They build a nest for dino eggs and play baseball with a triceratops. But then the ground starts shaking. Is a T-rex chasing Haggis and Tank? Or could something else be headed their way?

The wallcreeper Nell Zink

Nell Zink's debut novel follows a downwardly mobile secretary from Philadelphia who marries an ambitious soon-to-be-expat pharmaceutical researcher in hopes that she will never work again. They end up in Germany, where it turns out that her new husband is tougher, sneakier, more sincere, more contradictory, and smarter than she is; she'd naturally thought it was impossible. Life becomes complicated with affairs, birding, and eco-terrorism. Bad things happen, yet they stagger through, clinging to each other from a safe distance. Eventually our heroine commences building a life of her own, in imitation of her husband, one soggy brick at a time.