When the owner of Polly's Cake Shop announces her retirement, the Fethering residents start to worry about the loss of this popular amenity. Alarmed by rumours that the café might become a Starbucks, a group clubs together to form an Action Committee. The plan is that Polly's should become a community venture, managed and run by volunteers from the village. Roped in to help, Jude finds the committee meetings fraught with petty power struggles, clashing personalities and monstrous egos. Matters take a turn for the worse when she and Carole come across a badly-decomposed body on Fethering beach – and uncover a link to Polly's.

Fethering

The Killing in the Café

Carole Seddon has never enjoyed holidays much. Nevertheless, she has allowed herself to be persuaded by her friend Jude to accept a fortnight's free accommodation at a luxurious Turkish villa owned by Jude's property developer friend Barney Willingdon. But from the outset the holiday is marred by a series of menacing incidents. As Carole and Jude launch into what they do best – investigating – it becomes clear that Barney Willingdon has made plenty of enemies, with his ruthless business deals and complicated love life. Matters come to a head when Carole's sightseeing trip to nearby Pinara is curtailed by the discovery of a body in one of the ancient Lycian tombs. And what really did happen to Barney's first wife, Zoe?

The Tomb in Turkey

Landing a minor part in the Empire Theatre Eastbourne's Christmas production of Cinderella, Charles Paris soon discovers that his main role is to gently introduce the show's baffled American star, Kenny Polizzi, to the bizarre customs of English pantomime. During their sessions in the local pub, Charles finds himself increasingly caught up in Polizzi's tangled affairs. But Charles is about to be far more involved than he might wish when he stumbles across a body beneath Eastbourne Pier. As the world's press descends, the pantomime rehearsals slip into chaos. It's up to Charles to put his renowned sleuthing skills to the test to find out who really killed his fellow cast member – and why.

Charles Paris

The Cinderella Killer

When his most celebrated case is suddenly reopened, Detective Chief Inspector Jejeune's long-buried secrets threaten to come to light. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Lindy, faces an unseen threat of her own, one which Jejeune may not be able to protect her from. Between fending off inquiries from the internal review and an open murder case to solve, more than ever Jejeune will have to rely on the help of the stalwart Sergeant Danny Maik. But Maik is learning things on his own that have caused him to question his DCI's actions, both past and present. In the current case, and in the former one, the facts seem clear enough. But often the most insidious lies hide behind the most honest-seeming truths.

Birder Murder Mystery

Tiding of Magpies, A

Poirot tells Hastings about the time he was gifted fourteen thousand shares for a mine in Burma. On a trip to London a Chinese businessman, member of the mine owners family, has brought its papers to sell it But when the man and the papers go missing, Poirot is hired to solve the case.

Hercule Poirot

The Lost Mine

Hercule Poirot has exactly 32 and a quarter hours to find the British Prime Minister, who has been kidnapped in order to prevent his participation in an Allied summit; just as the World War I is drawing to an end. The fate of England and the entire world is in the hands of the talented detective, will he be able to unravel this particular mystery in time?

The Kidnapped Prime Minister

Captain Hastings finds out from Gerald Parker about an unusually cheap flat rented to Mr and Mrs Robinson near Knightbridge. Mrs Robinson fears that the low price may be an indication that the house is haunted. Poirot is intrigued and sets out to investigate. A remarkable chain of circumstances led from the apparently trivial incidents which first attracted Poirot's attention to the sinister happenings which completed a most unusual case.

The Adventure of the Cheap Flat

Marcus Hardman, an antiques collector, hires Poirot to investigate the theft of some valuable jewels that disappeared from his safe while he was offering a little tea party. Only his close friends attended the meeting and Hardman doesn´t want to involve the police to avoid a scandal. Will the Belgian detective manage to recover the jewels and discover the thief?

The Double Clue

Middlemarch is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, from 1829 to 1832, it follows distinct, intersecting stories with many characters. Issues include the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism, self-interest, religion, hypocrisy, political reform, and education. Despite comic elements, Middlemarch uses realism to encompass historical events: the 1832 Reform Act, early railways, and the accession of King William IV. It looks at the medicine of the time and reactionary views in a settled community facing unwelcome change. Eliot began writing the two pieces that formed the novel in 1869–1870 and completed it in 1871. Initial reviews were mixed, but it is now seen widely as her best work and one of the great English novels.. Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, the Radical, Middlemarch, and Daniel Deronda.. A true audiobook original treasure!

Middlemarch

A New York Times Bestseller! There may only be one killer, but no one is innocent in this new young adult thriller from Natasha Preston, author of The Cellar, a New York Times Bestseller, and Awake They think they're invincible. They think they can do and say whatever they want. They think there are no consequences. They've left me no choice. It's time for them to pay for their sins. A weekend partying at a remote cabin is just what Mackenzie needs. She can't wait to let loose with her friends. But a crazy night of fun leaves two of them dead-murdered. With no signs of a forced entry or struggle, suspicion turns to the five survivors. Someone isn't telling the truth. And Mackenzie's first mistake? Assuming the killing is over...

The Cabin

A killer at large in a remote Basque Country valley , a detective to rival Sarah Lund, myth versus reality, masterful storytelling – the Spanish bestseller that has taken Europe by storm. Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger The body of a teenage girl has been found on the banks of the River Baztán – the second in a month. Soon rumours are flying in the village of Elizondo. Is this the work of a serial killer, or something even more sinister? Inspector Amaia Salazar leads the investigation, returning to the Basque country where she was born. Shrouded in mist and surrounded by forest, it conceals a terrible secret from Amaia’s childhood that has come back to haunt her. Facing the superstitions of the village, Amaia must fight the demons of her past in order to catch the killer. But what is the dark presence she senses lurking in the shadows?

The Baztan Trilogy

The Invisible Guardian

She is my salvation. The Butcher. My nickname isn’t really a nickname. It’s a calling. An identity that I was born with, and one that’s as much a part of me as my heart or my liver. I’m violent, remorseless, and I delight in causing pain. I’ve never made any apologies for my nature. Never felt the need to…until I saw Bianca. When I glimpsed her, something inside me shifted. Before I even knew what I was doing, I’d kidnapped her and stolen her away. Once I have her, I realize I have no idea what to do with a young, innocent girl. And for the first time in my life, I don’t want to cause pain. I don’t want to hurt her. All I want to do is the one thing I have no idea how to do—I want to love her. MINK's Note: Grab your fluffy friend and a hot coffee for this tale of unexpected love.

Unexpected Love

Discover a new version of Marquis de Sade's most famous and outrageous masterpieces: "Philosophy in the Bedroom" (La philosophie dans le boudoir), "Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue" and "The 120 Days of Sodom". Philosophy in the Bedroom (La philosophie dans le boudoir) was written in 1795 by the Marquis de Sade, while imprisoned in the Bastille. It is a work of extreme pornography, laced with socio-political suversion. The main characters are libertines, who decided to give a young maiden their own brand of sex education. They explain to her that pleasure is the most important goal of all, and then proceed with affirming that she will not be able to feel "true pleasure" without pain. Then they get down to the practical lessons. Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue, is an early work by the Marquis de Sade. It is a novella, written in two weeks while he was imprisoned in the Bastille. Unlike some of his other works, it is not just a catalogue of sadism. It is meant to bring new life to an old genre, which had the reader accustomed to see virtue eventually triumph after trials only meant to bring out its value. Sade would have none of that in Justine: in her quest for virtue, the main character keeps falling into terrible situations, which humiliate her and present her with sexual lessons hidden under the mask of virtue. She seeks refuge and confession in a monastery... All of this is narrated by Justine herself, on her way to the gallocks. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the arrest of the anonymous author of Justine and Juliette, and as a result Sade was incarcerated for the last 13 years of his life. The book's destruction was ordered by the Cour Royale de Paris on May 19, 1815. The 120 Days of Sodom is "the most impure tale that has ever been told since our world began". It was written by the Marquis de Sade, in the space of 37 days, while imprisoned in the Bastille. Fearing confiscation, he had to write it on a continuous roll of paper, made up of small pieces glued together.

Marquis de Sade : the Best Of

Winner of the 1997 Booker Prize. The richly exotic story of the childhood the twins Esthappen and Rahel craft for themselves amongst India’s vats of banana jam and mountains of peppercorns. Here, perhaps, is the greatest Indian novel by a woman. Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’ is an astonishingly rich, fertile novel, teeming with life, colour, heart-stopping language, wry comedy and a hint of magical realism. Set against a background of political turbulence in Kerala, Southern India, ‘The God of Small Things’ tells the story of twins Esthappen and Rahel. Amongst the vats of banana jam and heaps of peppercorns in their grandmother’s factory, they try to craft a childhood for themselves amidst what constitutes their family – their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist and bottom-pincher) and their avowed enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grand-aunt).

The God of Small Things

The wonderful new novel from the much loved author of Girl with a Pearl Earring and Falling Angels. Flames and funerals, circus feats and seduction, neighbours and nakedness: Tracy Chevalier's new novel ‘Burning Bright’ sparkles with drama. London 1792. The Kellaways move from familiar rural Dorset to the tumult of a cramped, unforgiving city. They are leaving behind a terrible loss, a blow that only a completely new life may soften. Against the backdrop of a city jittery over the increasingly bloody French Revolution, a surprising bond forms between Jem, the youngest Kellaway boy, and streetwise Londoner Maggie Butterfield. Their friendship takes a dramatic turn when they become entangled in the life of their neighbour, the printer, poet and radical, William Blake. He is a guiding spirit as Jem and Maggie navigate the unpredictable, exhilarating passage from innocence to experience. Their journey inspires one of Blake's most entrancing works. Georgian London is recreated as vividly in Burning Bright as 17th-century Delft was in Tracy Chevalier's bestselling masterpiece, Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Burning Bright

An unputdownable thriller set in the dark underbelly of Europe, perfect for fans of I AM PILGRIM. Into the darkness they fall… Tarifa, Spain. A man’s body washes up on the beach. No-one seems to care. Patrick Cornwall is a highly acclaimed investigative journalist. His latest project: to uncover the plight of migrants trying to start new lives in Europe, and expose the corruption that runs to the highest levels of society. Patrick’s wife, Ally, is used to Patrick being out of contact. But she’s just discovered she’s pregnant, and she must track him down. Unable to reach him and starting to worry, she flies across the ocean to get answers. Still unable to find him, Ally delves into the secrets Patrick was determined to expose, and is drawn into an ever-deadlier web. Because in the dark underbelly of Europe, where lives are cheap, the perpetrators will stop at nothing to keep their sins hidden, and their victims forgotten…

The Forgotten Dead

Newly estranged from his girlfriend, Lindy Hey, Inspector Domenic Jejeune returns to Southern Ontario, where he receives news that his brother, Damian, has gone missing in Wood Buffalo National Park while conducting research on Whooping Cranes. Domenic immediately heads out to try to find him. Back in the UK, Jejeune's plan to protect Lindy has failed, and she has been kidnapped by his old foe, Ray Hayes. Jejeune's trusty sergeant, Danny Maik, tracks down Lindy, but there is far more to the situation than he anticipated. With Lindy in imminent danger, Maik is forced into a desperate rescue attempt. Will either of them survive? And if so, can they find their way back to each other?

Dance of Cranes, A

On top investment bank Bloomfield Weiss's training programme in New York, Chris and Lenka had become part of a close-knit gang of ambitious trainees. But then one of the gang died during a drunken boat-trip, and the rest were left to cover up the truth. Ten years later a helpless Chris watches Lenka die in a Prague street. With his friend and business partner dead, Chris not only has to fight to keep his company afloat in the face of nervous investors, but must also discover who is behind Lenka's murder. Then others are killed, and it looks like Chris could be next. It seems that their shared past might contain an even more sinister secret than Chris had thought.

Power and Money

The Predator

Action and blood-thirsty suspense from the master of the game. Simon Vaughan knows what it's like to fight a dirty war, he's had first-hand experience in Korea. Now he languishes in a Greek jail. When it comes to firearms and gun-running nobody does it better, but those days are behind him, until the British army propose a deal. His freedom for his help against the IRA in Belfast. He doesn't haven't any choice, if he wants his freedom back he'll have to conquer a new battlegroung…

The Savage Day

After Special Agent Adam Whitfield’s ex-wife is nearly killed when she stops an abduction, the serial killer that Adam’s been hunting turns his focus on Charlotte Murray for getting in his way. Now, as the Night Stalker closes in, Adam has two missions: bring the murderer to justice and save Charlotte—because failure isn’t an option.

FBI: Special Crimes Unit

Night Stalker

Sherlock Holmes, the world's "only unofficial consulting detective", was first introduced to readers in A Study in Scarlet published by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887. It was with the publication of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, however, that the master sleuth grew tremendously in popularity, later to become one of the most beloved literary characters of all time. In this book series, the short stories comprising The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes have been amusingly illustrated using only Lego® brand minifigures and bricks. The illustrations recreate, through custom designed Lego models, the composition of the black and white drawings by Sidney Paget that accompanied the original publication of these adventures appearing in The Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. Paget's iconic illustrations are largely responsible for the popular image of Sherlock Holmes, including his deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, details never mentioned in the writings of Conan Doyle. This uniquely illustrated collection, which features some of the most famous and enjoyable cases investigated by Sherlock Holmes and his devoted friend and biographer Dr. John H. Watson, including A Sandal in Bohemia and The Red-Headed League, is sure to delight Lego enthusiasts, as well as fans of the Great Detective, both old and new. A CASE OF IDENTITY: Miss Mary Sutherland, a woman with a substantial income, visits Sherlock Holmes to request his assistance regarding the mysterious disappearance of her fiancé, Hosmer Angel, from the carriage that was conveying him to their wedding. Holmes effortlessly deduces what has really happened from his residence on Baker Street, but chooses not to inform his client as he fears she will not believe him.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Re-Imagined

A Case of Identity

The electrifying WWII bestseller from the master of the game. On the 30th April 1945, Russian radar reported a light aircraft leaving the vicinity of the Tiergarten in Berlin. But who was on board, and where was the plane going? Berlin was in ruins as the Russians moved relentlessly towards the concrete bunker where the Nazi adminstration had been destroyed. But one man, Reichsleiter Martin Bormann, Adolf Hitler’s secretary and eminence grise had a daring plan to escape. Far away to the south–west , at Schloss Arlberg above the River Inn, five prisoners of war were contemplating their fate. Would they be murdered by their captors or liberated by the Russians? Unbeknown to them Bormann has his own plans. They are about to become part of a mystery that has fascinated the world for over sixty years. What exactly did happen to Bormann and his prisoners?

The Valhalla Exchange

Return to a world of crystal armour, savage wilderness, and corrupt dynasties in book two of The Deathless series from Gemmell award-winning author Peter Newman. THE REBEL For years, Vasin Sapphire has been waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now, as other Deathless families come under constant assault from the monsters that roam the Wild, that time has come. THE RUTHLESS In the floating castle of Rochant Sapphire, loyal subjects await the ceremony to return their ruler to his rightful place. But the child raised to give up his body to Lord Rochant is no ordinary servant. Strange and savage, he will stop at nothing to escape his gilded prison. AND THE RETURNED… Far below, another child yearns to see the human world. Raised by a creature of the Wild, he knows their secrets better than any other. As he enters into the struggle between the Deathless houses, he may be the key to protecting their power or destroying it completely. THE WILD HAS BEGUN TO RISE

The Deathless Trilogy

The Ruthless

Reissue of the timeless Higgins classic… In the depths of a cavernous of concert hall, a gifted psychopath plots and waits, his thoughts on nothing but music and murder. He kills for pleasure, constantly searching, and with a brand new target in his sights, his mind spirals once again into torture and violence. But this time, he has chosen the wrong victim; the teenage daughter of one of the most feared and respected SAS soldiers known; a man with more training and advanced killer instinct than even himself. Now, the hunt is on. As soldier stalks maestro for a brutal vengeance, one attempts to outsmart the other in a deadly game of cunning, skill, and bloody expertise, building to a nerve-shattering climax.

Solo

Judi Westerholme is happy living in secluded Candlebark, growing her own food, bothering no one – until the cops come knocking. Informed that her estranged brother Andy has been murdered, she assumes it's connected to his long-term drug addiction. But when she returns home, Judi is shocked to discover that Andy had been clean for years, and had a wife – now missing – and a two-year-old child, Mia. Andy seems to have been leading an ordinary life. But if he had turned things around for himself, why was he killed in a drug-deal shooting? And where is his wife? Desperate to know what really happened, Judi sets out to uncover the truth, even though it means confronting her own traumatic past. But she's not the only one looking for answers, and soon her life and that of little Mia's are under threat…

Judi Westerholme

Trust Me, I'm Dead

On their first day of training with the Metropolitan Police, new recruits Jamie, Bunny and Tina are asked to join a team of undercover detectives, a secret unit involved in the long-term penetration of criminal gangs. Their target? One of the world's biggest drug dealers: Den Donovan, alias "Tango One". To close in on their quarry, the three must go back into the outside world and become criminals themselves. But someone within the Met is pursuing an alternative agenda. Someone who has deliberately put their lives on the line…

Tango One

Ten years ago, Andrea Hayes was the best master bombmaker in the business. Young, beautiful and deadly, she was the favourite of her Irish republican masters. Then it all went wrong. Five children were killed, when disruption was all that was intended. It all became too much, and she turned away from her trade… Now, a new Andrea Hayes lives a safe suburban life, with her loving husband and young daughter. Safe in the knowledge that her past is another country. But then her daughter is kidnapped and the past has come knocking.

The Bombmaker

The "Chinaman" understood death. Jungle-skilled, silent and lethal, he had killed for the Viet Cong and then for the Americans. He had watched helpless when his two eldest daughters had been raped and killed by Thai pirates. Now all that was behind him. Quiet, hard-working and unassuming, he was building up his South London take-away business. Until the day his wife and youngest daughter were murdered by an IRA bomb. Then he began to ask the authorities who were the men responsible, what was being done – and was turned away, fobbed off, treated as a nuisance. Which was when the Chinaman, denied justice, decided on revenge…and went back to war.

The Chinaman

Jane Ferguson suffers from horrific nightmares which she claims not to be able to explain. And when her traumatised six-year-old daughter finds Jane dead, hanging by the neck in the hallway of the family's seaside home, it is assumed she took her own life. But routine police enquiries reveal evidence indicating that Jane has been murdered, and her businessman husband Felix, commodore of the local yacht club, becomes the chief suspect. Called in to launch a major inquiry, Detective Inspector David Vogel discovers that nothing connected with Jane Ferguson's death is as it seems. Gradually, he uncovers a deeply disturbing story involving a succession of shocking family secrets stretching back over three decades.

David Vogel

Dreams of Fear

Strange things are going on in Black Dog Wood, near the village of Nasely. There are rumours that it's become a popular dogging spot, and there have been alleged sightings of a werewolf-like monster. And then someone discovers a blindfolded skeleton, bizarrely buried standing up…When the secretary of a prestigious girl's boarding school is found murdered, all of the evidence points to the local MP. His only chance to avoid prosecution for a crime that he claims he didn't commit is to hire ex-homicide detective Frank Shunter. Meanwhile, the identity of the blindfolded skeleton may reveal a startling truth about the fate of murder-mystery writer Agnes Crabbe's long lost novel, Wallowing In The Mire…

The Diabolical Club

The Odyssey (/ˈɒdəsi/;[1] Greek: Ὀδύσσεια Odýsseia, pronounced [o.dýs.sej.ja] in Classical Attic) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad being the oldest. Scholars believe it was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia. The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (known as Ulysses in Roman myths) and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War.[3] In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres (Greek: Μνηστῆρες) or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage. It continues to be read in the Homeric Greek and translated into modern languages around the world. Many scholars believe that the original poem was composed in an oral tradition by an aoidos (epic poet/singer), perhaps a rhapsode (professional performer), and was more likely intended to be heard than read.[2] The details of the ancient oral performance, and the story's conversion to a written work inspire continual debate among scholars. The Odyssey was written in a poetic dialect of Greek—a literary amalgam of Aeolic Greek, Ionic Greek, and other Ancient Greek dialects—and comprises 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter.[4][5] Among the most noteworthy elements of the text are its non-linear plot, and the influence on events of choices made by women and serfs, besides the actions of fighting men. In the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage. The Odyssey has a lost sequel, the Telegony, which was not written by Homer. It was usually attributed in antiquity to Cinaethon of Sparta. In one source, the Telegony was said to have been stolen from Musaeus by Eugamon or Eugammon of Cyrene .

The Odyssey

When his undercover assignment ends and Tony Casavetti is called to the Devlin Group headquarters, he finds out in a hurry his assumptions about executive administrator Charlotte Rhames were dead wrong. Far from the matronly figure he’d imagined on the other end of the line, she’s sexy and makes no secret she wouldn’t mind him being under her covers…until an explosion rocks the Devlin Group and they have to risk everything to save them all. Charlotte Rhames has it all—looks, wealth, and the respect of everybody involved with the Devlin Group—and finding out the sexy voice in her earpiece belongs to an even sexier man just makes the prospect of a mandatory company meeting more exciting. Following the attack on the headquarters, she has to dive back into the world of sex, money, and murder she’d left behind in order to help catch a killer. But when Tony’s life is at stake, she has to decide just how far she’s willing to go.

The Devlin Group

On the Edge

The Canterville Ghost is a short story by Oscar Wilde. A modern American family moves into an English stately home - Canterville Chase. It turns out to be a traditionally drafty and very haunted English mansion, complete with the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville - blood-stains, clanking chains and all. In this castle the crusty old ghost has a tough time convincing the family he exists and cannot even succeed in frightening them. This is extremely frustrating of course to him and as the protagonist of the story, the ghost takes matters (and non-matters) into his hands to deal with the upstart and irreverent new tenants. The Canterville Ghost, was the first of Wilde's stories to be published and appeared in two parts in The Court and Society Review, in February and March 1887. E-Book, ePUB, length 11,700 words, average reading time 1 hour. Unabridged full version. Also available as audiobook read by James K. White, running time 1 hour, 9 min.

The Canterville Ghost

Though Northanger Abbey is one of Jane Austen's earliest novels, it was not published until after her death--well after she'd established her reputation with works such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility. Of all her novels, this one is the most explicitly literary in that it is primarily concerned with books and with readers. In it, Austen skewers the novelistic excesses of her day made popular in such 18th-century Gothic potboilers as Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho. Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers all figure into Northanger Abbey, but with a decidedly satirical twist. Consider Austen's introduction of her heroine: we are told on the very first page that "no one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be an heroine." The author goes on to explain that Miss Morland's father is a clergyman with "a considerable independence, besides two good livings--and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters." Furthermore, her mother does not die giving birth to her, and Catherine herself, far from engaging in "the more heroic enjoyments of infancy, nursing a dormouse, feeding a canary-bird, or watering a rose-bush" vastly prefers playing cricket with her brothers to any girlish pastimes. Catherine grows up to be a passably pretty girl and is invited to spend a few weeks in Bath with a family friend. While there she meets Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor, who invite her to visit their family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Austen amuses herself and us as Catherine, a great reader of Gothic romances, allows her imagination to run wild, finding dreadful portents in the most wonderfully prosaic events. But Austen is after something more than mere parody; she uses her rapier wit to mock not only the essential silliness of "horrid" novels, but to expose the even more horrid workings of polite society, for nothing Catherine imagines could possibly rival the hypocrisy she experiences at the hands of her supposed friends. In many respects Northanger Abbey is the most lighthearted of Jane Austen's novels, yet at its core is a serious, unsentimental commentary on love and marriage, 19th-century British style

Northanger Abbey

The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect and subsequently struggling to adjust to this new condition...

Metamorphosis (Illustrated)

"Has all of [King's] trademark tension, violence, and catharsis...Mare Winningham's portrayal of this character will stick with listeners long after the end." —Publishers Weekly In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Em starts running. Soon she runs from her husband, to the airport, down to the Florida Gulf and out to the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key, where her father has offered the use of a conch shack he has kept there for years. Em keeps up her running—barefoot on the beach, sneakers on the road—and sees virtually no one. This is doing her all kinds of good, until one day she makes the mistake of looking into the driveway of a man named Pickering. Pickering also enjoys the privacy of Vermillion Key, but the young women he brings there suffer the consequences. Will Em be next?

The Gingerbread Girl

THE ENDURING MYTH THAT MAKES US HUMAN What makes a hero? Who better to answer that question than Lee Child… ‘It’s Lee Child. Why would you not read it?’ Karin Slaughter ‘I don't know another author so skilled at making me turn the page’ The Times In his first work of nonfiction, the creator of the multimillion-selling Jack Reacher series explores the endurance of heroes from Achilles to Bond, showing us how this age-old myth is a fundamental part of what makes us human. He demonstrates how hero stories continue to shape our world – arguing that we need them now more than ever. From the Stone Age to the Greek Tragedies, from Shakespeare to Robin Hood, we have always had our heroes. The hero is at the centre of formative myths in every culture and persists to this day in world-conquering books, films and TV shows. But why do these characters continue to inspire us, and why are they so central to storytelling? Scalpel-sharp on the roots of storytelling and enlightening on the history and science of myth, The Hero is essential reading for anyone trying to write or understand fiction. Child teaches us how these stories still shape our minds and behaviour in an increasingly confusing modern world, and with his trademark concision and wit, demonstrates that however civilised we get, we’ll always need heroes.

The Hero

**NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES** We Need to Talk About Kevin meets The Secret History. The air is hazy and grey with gunpowder smoke. Everyone has been shot but me. I haven't got so much as a bruise.... Is Maja a normal eighteen-year-old, the poster girl-next-door, popular and excelling at her schoolwork, caught in the middle of a terrible tragedy? Or is she guilty of the tragedy itself? Either way, everyone knows her name. She has spent nine excruciating months in jail, awaiting trial for a mass murder that killed her boyfriend and her best friend, and now the time has come for her to enter the courtroom... WHAT WILL YOU BELIEVE? This is the 'compelling and brutally candid' (Daily Mail) story of a girl whose guilt was decided long before her trial - as searing as it is timely and moving. ***What people are saying about QUICKSAND*** Sensitive, moving and absorbing’ Marcel Berlins, The Times ‘This is the evolution of Scandinavian crime, in more ways than one’ Fredrik Backman 'Compelling and brutally candid, especially about modern adolescence, this is not a comfortable book, but the story is so superbly told that it lingers in the mind long after the jury’s verdict' Daily Mail 'A suspenseful and addictive experience… [Giolito] expertly delves into the fickle psyche of the media and how they can change a story’s narrative with one headline and she shames the press’s tendency to report wild conjecture over facts… Though Giolito’s perspective is Swedish, it absolutely translates to a greater global crisis' Real Crime 'Giolito gives us the unsettling monologue of a teenage girl as she works her way through her role in murder. It is a splendid work of fiction' Kirkus Reviews 'Gioloto’s novel is haunting and immersive' Publishers Weekly 'Mystery and intrigue in its purest form. Great book, recommended to all' Marg J., bookseller 'A fascinating, often uncomfortable, but thoroughly engrossing read' Sarah B. ‘Sweden's latest blockbuster thriller lives up to the hype' Washington Post 'Maja [is] a heroine you will not forget, victim of a toxic love story with a background so familiar to us nowadays... a super thriller – a real page-turner’ Mariagrazia M. 'I have never read a book by a Swedish author so when Quicksand became available I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to try. I certainly wasn't disappointed' Diane Hogg, NetGalley Reviewer 5*

Quicksand

Although she hadn't known Leonard Mallett very well, Carole Seddon feels duty bound to attend her fellow committee member's funeral. As she suspected, the sermon is very predictable – not unlike Leonard himself. What she couldn't have predicted was that the deceased's daughter would use the occasion to publicly accuse her stepmother of murder. Did Heather Mallett really kill her husband? Deciding to get to the heart of the matter, Carole's neighbour Jude joins the new community choir – and discovers that amidst the clashing egos and petty resentments lurk some decidedly false notes. At least one chorister would appear to be hiding a deadly secret – and it's up to Carole and Jude to unearth the truth.

The Killer in the Choir

2015 Audie Award Finalist for Short Stories/Collections A New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller! Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci and including stories by Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, and more, this one-of-a-kind anthology pulls together the most beloved characters from the best and most popular thriller series today. Worlds collide! In an unprecedented collaboration, twenty-three of the world’s bestselling and critically acclaimed thriller writers have paired their series characters—such as Harry Bosch, Jack Reacher, and Lincoln Rhyme—in an eleven-story anthology curated by the International Thriller Writers (ITW). All of the contributors to FaceOff are ITW members and the stories feature these dynamic duos: · Patrick Kenzie vs. Harry Bosch in “Red Eye,” by Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly · John Rebus vs. Roy Grace in “In the Nick of Time,” by Ian Rankin and Peter James · Slappy the Ventriloquist Dummy vs. Aloysius Pendergast in “Gaslighted,” by R.L. Stine, Douglas Preston, and Lincoln Child · Malachai Samuels vs. D.D. Warren in “The Laughing Buddha,” by M.J. Rose and Lisa Gardner · Paul Madriani vs. Alexandra Cooper in “Surfing the Panther,” by Steve Martini and Linda Fairstein · Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport in “Rhymes With Prey,” by Jeffery Deaver and John Sandford · Michael Quinn vs. Repairman Jack in “Infernal Night,” by Heather Graham and F. Paul Wilson · Sean Reilly vs. Glen Garber in “Pit Stop,” by Raymond Khoury and Linwood Barclay · Wyatt Hunt vs. Joe Trona in “Silent Hunt,” by John Lescroart and T. Jefferson Parker · Cotton Malone vs. Gray Pierce in “The Devil’s Bones,” by Steve Berry and James Rollins · Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller in “Good and Valuable Consideration,” by Lee Child and Joseph Finder So sit back and prepare for a rollicking ride as your favorite characters go head-to-head with some worthy opponents in FaceOff—it’s a thrill-a-minute read.

FaceOff

A “propulsive thriller about secret organizations, hidden agendas, and the lengths one woman will go to reclaim her life” (Laura Dave, author of Reese’s Book Club Pick The Last Thing He Told Me) from USA TODAY bestselling author Catherine McKenzie. At thirty-nine, Nicole Mueller’s life is on the rocks in “this brilliant, tangled web of lies, cover ups and deception” (Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author). Her once brilliant law career is falling apart. She and her husband, Dan, are about to be forced out of the apartment they love. After a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from an exclusive women’s networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. So, despite Dan’s jokes that the group might be a cult, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado. Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride. A CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world. Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. The favors she must provide in return seem benign. But then she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night where she’s pressed into helping her cover up a crime. And suddenly, Dan’s concerns that something more sinister is at play seem all too relevant. Is Panthera Leo full of predators? And is Nicole the prey?

Please Join Us

There are two classes of people in the Town: L and L2. The ones with citizenship are referred to as Ls, or Citizens. They are above a certain level of financial status with knowledge or skills that the Town requires. The L2s are people without citizenship but have a clean criminal record. After interview and physical examination, they can stay and work for two years in this safest and richest corporate nation on earth. Then there are those below even the L2s, illegal aliens called the saha. They are the immigrants, the disabled, the misfits, victims of violence and poverty who dwell in the decrepit Saha Mansion and are named accordingly. So what happens when a respected young pediatrician is found dead in a parking lot, with evidence of drug overdose and sexual assault, and the prime suspect is her saha boyfriend? A major police crackdown ensues, with the boyfriend quickly arrested and executed, but is he really behind the murder? His sister, Jinkyung, vows to find out the truth, only to discover the disappearance of a saha girl who has been the test subject of the Town Medical Lab. What lies behind the impenetrable walls of the Town, and who are the mysterious seven Premiers who rule it? Eight years in the making, SAHA MANSION is a powerful tale of dystopia and a battle cry for the dispossessed. Cho gives voice to the marginalized and often unseen minority: They are all Kim Jiyoung, every single one of them.

Saha

In this “fast-paced, juicy read full of flirtation, danger, and lies” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author), a single mom goes undercover to investigate a host of disturbing secrets held by the leaders of a local suburban parent-school association, including embezzlement, bribery, adultery, and murder—by the bestselling author of Wish You Were Gone. Paige Lancaster, single mom and prodigal daughter, has returned to the East Coast from her prestigious, well-paid job in Los Angeles, writing for the smartest detective series on television. Something terrible happened to her back in Hollywood. Okay, two terrible things, one featuring a misplaced tire iron—and now she’s broke, homeless, and living with her widowed mother and eight-year-old daughter, Izzy, in her Connecticut hometown. Paige needs to buckle down and find a new writing gig but first, she meets the movers and shakers of Izzy’s school’s Parent Booster Association, run by the intimidatingly gorgeous Ainsley Anderson, who just happens to be married to Paige’s old high school flame, John. Then she shows up at the annual Parents and Pinot fundraiser, held at Ainsley and John’s dazzling mansion, where she’s caught in a compromising position with John, accidentally destroys the guest bathroom, overhears an incriminating conversation, and discovers that her purse has gone missing. And later that night, Ainsley turns up dead at the bottom of her own driveway. Did she fall? Or was she pushed? Paige may have only written about detectives, but she is convinced she can handle a little undercover sleuthing. After all, it’ll give her an excuse to spend more time with John. Still, she can’t help but wonder: could he be capable of murder? Or could one of the PBA members have planned a dastardly crime to reach the top? But the most important question of all: will Paige ever get her life back on track?

Regrets Only

In this “whip-smart, horror-tinged whodunnit in the style of early Stephen King” (Julia Bartz, New York Times bestselling author), a young father must clear his name and protect his queer son when his wealthy new wife’s televangelist grandfather is found murdered. For years, single father Toby Tucker has done his best to keep his sensitive young son, Luca, safe from the bigotry of the world. But when Toby marries Alyssa Wright—the granddaughter of a famed televangelist known for his grandiose Old Testament preaching—he can’t imagine the world of religion, wealth, and hate that he and Luca are about to enter. A trip to the Wright family’s compound in sun-scorched Texas soon turns hellish when Toby realizes that Alyssa and the rest of her brood have dangerous plans for him and his son. The situation only grows worse when a freak storm cuts off the roads and the family patriarch is found murdered, stabbed in the chest on the roof of their sprawling mansion. Suspicion immediately turns to Toby, but when his son starts describing a spectral figure in a black suit lurking around the house with unfinished business in mind, Toby realizes this family has more than murderer to conceal—and to fear. As the Wrights close in on Luca, no one is prepared for the lengths Toby will go in the fight to clear his name and protect his son in this “grand gothic story as enthralling as it is terrifying” (S.A. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author).

No Road Home

Wellness, motherhood, and technology converge in a near future California, as three women’s seemingly innocuous decisions have further-reaching consequences than any of them could imagine in this timely, clever, and white-knuckled thriller that “is dystopia at its best” (Booklist). In 2060, the WellPod is the latest launch from the largest tech company the world has ever seen—a fleet of floating personal paradises scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean, focused entirely on health, solitude, and relaxation. Created by an enigmatic founder who will stop at nothing to ensure her company’s success, it is the long-awaited pinnacle of wellness technology. For newly pregnant Maggie, the six-week program is the perfect chance to get away…especially since the baby isn’t her partner’s. Noa Behar isn’t a perfect fiancée. She’s too distracted, too focused on her work in helping program the WellPod to give Maggie the attention she deserves. But when she discovers something rotten beneath WellPod’s shiny exterior—a history of faulty tech and dangerous cover-ups—she knows one thing: she’ll do whatever it takes to keep Maggie safe. The problem? The malfunctioning WellPods are already at sea. And there’s a storm coming… A fast-paced and compelling thriller, You’re Safe Here “serves up twists on twists on twists, building to an ending that no amount of AI-powered computing could ever hope to predict” (Nick Fuller Googins, author of The Great Transition).

You're Safe Here

The penultimate volume in the Dark Tower series, The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah, a #1 New York Times bestseller, is a pivotal installment in the epic saga. Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, the Dark Tower series is unlike anything you have ever read. Here is the penultimate installment.

The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower VI

The gripping psychological thriller from the Top 10 Sunday Times bestselling author of After Anna, Seven Days and The Choice.Imitation is the most terrifying form of flattery…Which Sarah Havenant is you? When an old friend gets in touch, Sarah Havenant discovers that there are two Facebook profiles in her name. One is hers. The other, she has never seen. But everything in it is accurate. Photos of her friends, her husband, her kids. Photos from the day before. Photos of her new kitchen. Photos taken inside her house. And this is just the beginning. Because whoever has set up the second profile has been waiting for Sarah to find it. And now that she has, her life will no longer be her own… What readers are saying about Copycat‘Tense and compelling, it’ll have you hooked throughout!’ ‘I was gripped right from the very beginning' ‘You will not be able to put this book down!!' ‘Among the best three thrillers I have ever read’ ‘A very special thriller, one that I will not forget in a long time’ ‘A rollercoaster of a ride’ ‘Creepy and satisfying in every way' ‘I am so impressed with this author’s storytelling' ‘A marvellous read, definitely to be devoured with the light on' ‘A brilliantly written story that will have you hooked and keep you up reading late into the night'

Copycat

‘Recommended. I read it one breathless sitting’ Ian RankinA gripping new standalone spy thriller, recalling the classic film Casablanca, from the winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller of the Year and ‘the master of the modern spy thriller’ (Mail on Sunday). A SIMPLE TASK Successful novelist Kit Carradine has grown restless. So when British Intelligence invites him to enter the secret world of espionage, he willingly takes a leap into the unknown. A GLOBAL THREAT Kit finds himself in Morocco on the trail of Lara Bartok – a leading figure in Resurrection, a revolutionary movement whose brutal attacks on right-wing politicians have spread violence throughout the West. A DANGEROUS TARGET Drawn to Lara, but caught between competing intelligence services who want her dead, Kit faces an awful choice: abandon her to her fate or risk everything trying to save her. ‘An instant classic of the genre’ Mick Herron‘The Man Between is up there with the best – full of thrills, wit and fine writing’ Peter Robinson

The Man Between

A gripping mystery with a classic feel: And Then There Were None meets The Silent Companions. Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives. At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons who were lost in the conflict. But as his guests begin to arrive, it gradually becomes clear that each has something they would rather keep hidden. Then, when a storm descends on the island, the guests will find themselves trapped. Soon one of their number will die. For Blackwater Abbey is haunted in more ways than one . . . An unrelentingly gripping mystery packed with twists and turns, A House of Ghosts is the perfect chilling read this winter. 'Almost unbearably creepy and beautifully written' Liz Nugent, bestseller author of LYING IN WAIT 'A splendid tale of wartime skullduggery, featuring both kinds of spooks - perfect fireside reading' Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger Award Winning author of DEAD LIONS 'Hugely enjoyable, A House of Ghosts has the bones of a taut thriller wrapped up in the gorgeous romance of its ghostly island setting' Jane Casey 'Perfect for a dark and stormy evening: a truly creepy and ingenious ghost story and murder mystery with an irresistible setting' Ragnar Jonasson

A House of Ghosts

A rich and breath-taking fantasy classic full of whirlwind adventure, magic and dragons – Dragonsbane is the first book in Barbara Hambly’s landmark epic quartet, The Winterlands. When the Black Dragon seizes the capital of Bel, the young noble, Gareth, must journey into the decaying Northlands to find John Aversin, Dragonsbane – the only living man ever to slay a dragon. Upon arrival, Gareth also meets Jenny Waynest the half-taught sorceress and mother of Aversin's sons. A bargain is struck: witch and dragonkiller agree to rid the city of its monster in return for the king’s aid in their wintry home which is beset by bandits. But when they reach court, nothing is as they expected. For Gareth is no mere noble, and the king is in the thrall of a deeply evil power that seeks total control over the land. The kingdom crumbles. Perhaps the dragon that Jenny and John have been brought to slay is the least of their enemies…

Winterlands

Dragonsbane

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