Mr. Royston is driving his hansom through the night-time streets of Melbourne when he is hailed by a man supporting a slumped, intoxicated figure, and requesting that the cabman take the unfortunate fellow home - before proceeding to drop his burden and make a rapid exit. Bundling the drunken man onto the seat, the cabman is startled by the reappearance of the good Samaritan, who joins his acquaintance inside - but jumps out before the end of the journey. And when Royston, receiving no response to his inquiries about directions, peers into the cab, he finds that his passenger is now a corpse...

The Mystery of a Hansom Cab

CREÍAS QUE YA NO SE PODÍA IR MÁS LEJOS EN EL THRILLER. TE EQUIVOCABAS. CARME CHAPARRO HA VUELTO A ROMPER LOS LÍMITES. El primer ser humano revienta contra el asfalto a las diez y cuarenta y dos minutos de la noche del domingo dos de junio. Un hombre que camina al otro lado de la plaza levanta instintivamente la vista. Le da tiempo a ver a varias personas —no sabría decir cuántas, le cuenta luego a la policía— en los alféizares de las ventanas de un rascacielos. Y de repente, antes incluso de que pueda asombrarse por lo que está pasando, todas ellas saltan a la vez. Saltan a la vez y estallan contra el suelo casi al mismo tiempo. Y, de nuevo, ese ruido indescriptible. Aunque mucho más intenso. Esa cálida noche de verano en Madrid diez personas se arrojan al vacío desde diez habitaciones de la planta séptima del hotel que preside la Plaza de España. Ninguna de ellas se había registrado en recepción. No llevan nada que les identifique. Hay una joven que apenas habrá cumplido los treinta años, pero también alguien de más de ochenta. Un cadáver lleva encima ropa por valor de más de seis mil euros. Otro viste con prendas que le había entregado una ONG. Sus mundos nunca se han cruzado. No se conocen. No hay huésped o empleado que recuerde haberlas visto en el hotel, ni objeto personal en las habitaciones desde las que han saltado; aunque sobre la mesilla de noche de la número setecientos dieciséis los investigadores encuentran un par de velas encendidas que parecen rezar a una pequeña virgen a la que iluminan con suavidad. Esa es sólo la primera de las sorpresas. Carme Chaparro, autora de la exitosa trilogía de Ana Arén, regresa con su más endiablada y sorprendente novela. Tras una primera página de impacto, el lector se verá inmerso en una historia que no le dará respiro y que le mantendrá en vilo mientras acompaña por el infernal y desasosegante verano madrileño a sus protagonistas, entre los que destaca Santiago Munárriz, el especialista más carismático, para lo bueno y también para lo peor, del Instituto Anatómico Forense. Lo que han dicho los lectores: «Carme Chaparro ha escrito un thriller increíble. Una trama fantástica, retorcida, que desde el inicio, impactante hasta el final te atrapa y te mete en la vida de los protagonistas de una manera magistral. Una historia estremecedora, con toques de humor negro y una narrativa fluida. La riqueza de los diálogos, la complejidad de los personajes y la trama convierten a Carme Chaparro en una escritora que nunca decepciona». «Brutal: me encanta como desnuda el alma de cada personaje. Además nos acerca una faceta muy humana de sus personajes policiales. El ritmo del libro es maravilloso una vez más. Engancha y exige a la vez una lectura muy entregada. Recomendadisimo. Gracias una vez más a la escritora por su talento». « Remueve conciencias y sigue sorprendiendo. Grande».

ESPASA NARRATIVA

Delito

A head teacher's work is never done, especially if, like Jane Cowan, you're a victim of your own success. Having done well with Wrayford Primary, she's now expected to bring neighbouring schools up to scratch as well. And all these responsibilities are compounded by an influx of children, most of whom do not speak English, following their families supplying cheap labour to surrounding farms. Jane can't turn a blind eye to the conditions in which many of these families are living, even more so when some children simply disappear. When everything points to the shadowy dealings of people smugglers in the area, she has her work cut out for her seeing justice done.

Jane Cowan

Head Count

Maya Barton has just embarked on her dream job as a scene of crime officer. When she attends her first death the post-mortem deems it to be non-suspicious and the case is closed. But despite the lack of evidence, she suspects a crime has been committed. When Maya is called to another apparent sudden death her reservations resurface. She is convinced a killer is on the loose; a killer who has evaded suspicion until now, but Maya's series of mistakes alienate those around her. Can Maya catch a killer and escape from her troubled past, or will the skeletons from her closet come back to haunt her? Who can Maya really trust? And who will make it out alive. . .

Maya Barton

Definitely Dead

Fifty-five-year-old Jim Lapsford makes an unusually healthy-looking corpse. Having spent his life taking vitamin pills and herbal remedies, it seems almost ironic that he has succumbed to a heart attack. But ex-nurse and trainee undertaker Drew Slocombe is convinced that there is enough conflicting medical evidence to merit a coroner's inquest though. Whilst Drew may have plenty of suspects, he has no proof. And Jim's cremation is days away…

Dark Undertakings

February 1922. Hollywood is young but already mired in scandal. When a leading movie director is murdered, Irish-American investigator Tom Collins is called in by studio boss Mack Sennett, whose troubled star, Mabel Normand, is rumoured to be involved. But Normand has gone missing. And, as Collins discovers, there's a growing list of suspects. His quest leads him through the brutal heart of Prohibition-era Los Angeles, from speakeasies and dope dens to the studios and salons of Hollywood's fabulously wealthy movie elite, and to a secret so explosive it must be kept silent at any cost …

Long Silence, The

Flirtatious American blonde Miss Hailey Duke should never have accepted a summer weekend invitation to Fontaburn Hall. But when the Honourable Archibald Cooke Wellingham's house party are woken, in the early hours of Sunday morning, it's too late: Miss Duke's blood is on their hands. With the aid of Detective Chief Inspector Reynolds, Sergeant Ayari and loyal friend Dr Toby Cropper, Susie Mahl, on a timely commission drawing six racehorses nearby, seizes the opportunity to play detective for a second time. Her artist's eye for detail make her ideally suited to the task in hand, but is she getting carried away by her previous triumph – even to the extent of endangering her reputation and her relationship with Toby?

Susie Mahl

The Colours of Murder

Sasha Grover-Williams hated her wealthy father's dubious business affairs – and ended up dead on a railway track. But did she jump or was she pushed? That's the burning question for Chief Inspector Beverley Wharton. She and her pathologist lover Dr John Eisenmenger – an expert in forensics – are immediately plunged into a messy world of corruption and violence. Who is the father of the Sasha's foetus that unexpectedly comes to light? How can Beverley be mired in the charge of collusion? What evil will Stephen Grover-Williams not stoop to in order to end the snooping? What will John make of Beverley's bid to blackmail a villain to feather her own nest? Can science triumph over treachery?

Eisenmenger-Flemming

To Mourn a Mischief

The discovery of the partially-clothed body of a teenage girl in the heart of Bristol's red light district indicates a tragic yet familiar scenario. But this marks the start of a baffling murder investigation where nothing is as it first appears. Fourteen-year-old Melanie Cooke told her mother she was visiting a school friend. Who was she really going to meet? Detective Inspector David Vogel is led towards three very different principal protagonists, each of whom grows increasingly chilling. But are they what they seem? And is any one of them capable of murder? A darkly complex secret lies behind Melanie's death – and its ultimate revelation will shock Vogel and his team to the core.

David Vogel

Deadly Dance

Karen Slocombe isn't sure why she visited SuperFare that day – as a committed member of the Food Chain group and a regular stallholder at local farmers' markets, it's a place she would normally avoid. Luckily for Karen, she leaves moments before a bomb explodes. Only a few days later, Karen finds herself in the midst of another horrific crime. When friends from the Food Chain group start warning Karen not to tell the police certain details, her suspicions are instantly aroused. Could the two events be linked?

A Market for Murder

When Max Brennan's estranged father and then his own girlfriend go missing in quick succession, he turns to his old friend Detective Jake Porter for help. As Max is then attacked in his own home, Porter and his partner Nick Styles waste no time in investigating. But when their main suspect turns up dead, alongside a list of other targets, it seems the case is much bigger than it first appeared. With events spiraling, can Porter and Styles catch the killer before another victim is claimed?

Porter & Styles

Nothing Else Remains

Struggling with long-buried family secrets and her own recent heartbreak, artist and pet portraitist Susie Mahl hopes her brief sojourn as an art tutor at a Scottish country house will prove a distraction. But Susie soon realises she has bigger problems than teaching her eclectic mix of students to draw a Highland cow. Beneath the beautiful landscapes of the Scottish Highlands and the grandeur of the Auchen Laggan Tosh estate lie hidden secrets. Can Susie work out what exactly is going on before it's too late? And can anyone be trusted?

A Trick of the Light

Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators...When patriarch Jim dies, it's left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events. Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn't the husband she thought he was. Hannah's best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something far darker than any of them could have imagined. As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything…

Skelfs

A Dark Matter

The arrest of a Finnish contract killer and the subsequent murder of an Edinburgh reporter seem unconnected - until a ghost from the past appears in the investigation. The horrors of past misdeeds in Northern Ireland, contract killers, military secrets and organised-crime feuds collide on the streets of Edinburgh and the Irish Republic, drawing Detective Grace Macallan into brutal score-settling on Dublin's streets and a life-or-death race against time.

Detective Grace Macallan

Where Angels Rest

Halloween in Essex, and things are going well for the writers on the Mystery and Suspense course at Ratchette Hall. Things, however, take a turn when early on All Saints' Day the course administrator is discovered murdered. The Essex Witch Museum investigators are quickly drafted in. As Rosie Strange and Sam Stone's investigation progresses they find more questions than answers: who is making the howling noises late into the night? What is the strange glimmering glimpsed in the woods? Why is one of the church crusaders missing a finger? And what of the enigma of the ancient empty tomb? When another writer turns up dead, the pair must use their experience of folklore, mystery and magic to solve the mystery.

Essex Witch Museum

Strange Tombs

Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune hopes an overseas birding trip will hold some clues to solving his fugitive brother's manslaughter case. Meanwhile, his long-time nemesis Laraby has been drafted in as cover to investigate an accountant's murder. With the manslaughter case poised to claim another victim, Jejeune learns that his girlfriend, Lindy, is in grave danger, and she needs Jejeune. Soon, he is faced with a further dilemma. He can speak up on a secret he has discovered to Laraby's case, knowing it will cost his job on the north Norfolk coast he loves. Or he can stay silent, and let a killer escape justice. Turns out that sometimes the wrong choice is the only one there is.

Birder Murder Mystery

Shimmer of Hummingbirds, A

Legendary stage and movie star Sir Nigel Bellingham arrives on Cape Cod to star in a stage production of The Hound of the Baskervilles put on by the West London Theater Festival. When Sir Nigel, some of the cast, and the director visit the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop at 222 Baker Street, Gemma Doyle realizes that Sir Nigel is not at all suited to the role. He's long past his prime and an old drunk to boot. The cast is not happy, but the show must go on. Before the play opens, Jayne's mother arranges a fundraising afternoon tea to be catered by Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. The tea is a huge success, but, when it's time to leave, Sir Nigel has gone missing-only to be found at the bottom of the rocky cliff, dead. When the police focus their attention on Jayne's mother despite numerous other suspects, the game is once again afoot, and it's up to Gemma and Jayne to clear Jayne's mother's name.

A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

The Cat of the Baskervilles

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATION WINNER OF WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2025 A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK ‘A full-fat, Michelin-starred treat’ THE SUNDAY TIMES ‘A cult phenomenon’ iNEWS ‘Took the literary world by storm’ BBC ‘A killer Japanese novel’ THE TIMES 'I have been glued to Butter’ NIGEL SLATER The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story, and translated by Polly Barton. There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine. Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in Tokyo Detention Centre convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, who she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination but Kajii refuses to speak with the press. That is, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew and Kajii can’t resist writing back. Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a masterclass in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii but it seems that she might be the one changing. With each meal she eats, something is awakening in her body. Might she and Kaji have more in common than she once thought? Inspired by the real case of the convicted con woman and serial killer, 'The Konkatsu Killer', Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, gripping exploration of misogyny, obsession and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan. Longlisted for the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger Award 2025 'It isn’t entirely clear whether to read the novel or devour it’ OBSERVER ‘Readers around the world are finding themselves utterly captivated’ DAILY MAIL ‘I really enjoyed it’ MEERA SYAL, on BBC Between the Covers 'Compelling, delightfully weird' PANDORA SYKES 'Unputdownable, breathtakingly original' ERIN KELLY 'You’ll be craving rice, butter and soy sauce in no time’STYLIST ‘Nothing short of ingenious’ iNEWS ‘Ambitious and unsettling’GUARDIAN 'Luscious … I devoured this' IMOGEN CRIMP 'A salty morsel with one hell of a bite’ ALICE SLATER

Butter

Haunted by their past, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral directors' and a private investigation business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that matriarch Dorothy is conducting, she can't help looking into the dead driver's shadowy life. While Dorothy uncovers a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles. Jenny's ex-husband Craig is making plans that could shatter the Skelf women's lives, and the increasingly obsessive Hannah has formed a friendship with an elderly professor that is fast turning deadly.

The Big Chill

Más de 400.000 lectores Oliver, un joven londinense con una peculiar situación familiar y una triste pérdida, hereda una casona colonial, Villa Marina, a pie de playa en el pueblecito costero de Suances, en Cantabria. En las obras de remodelación se descubre en el sótano el cadáver emparedado de un bebé, al que acompaña un objeto que resulta completamente anacrónico. Tras este descubrimiento comienzan a sucederse, de forma vertiginosa, diversos asesinatos en la zona (Suances, Santillana del Mar, Santander, Comillas), que, unidos a los insólitos resultados forenses de los cadáveres, ponen en jaque a la Sección de Investigación de la Guardia Civil y al propio Oliver, que inicia un denso viaje personal y una carrera a contrarreloj para descubrir al asesino.

Áncora & Delfín

Puerto escondido

Dos sucesos terribles sin una conexión lógica sacuden Fjällbacka. Encuentran a un famoso fotógrafo brutalmente asesinado en una sala de exposiciones, y en la casa del supuesto ganador del premio Nobel de Literatura, en una pequeña isla donde el escritor está ultimando su nuevo libro, sucede una sangrienta tragedia. Patrik Hedström y los colegas de la comisaría de Tanumshede no consiguen avanzar en la investigación de los casos, mientras que Erica Falck investiga el asesinato de una mujer transexual en Estocolmo en la década de 1980. Poco a poco, Erica se da cuenta de que los hilos del pasado están conectados con el presente y que los viejos pecados dejan largas sombras. Una novela tan escalofriante como emocionante.

Los crímenes de Fjällbacka

El nido del cuco

Dice Cometierra: "Me acosté en el suelo, sin abrir los ojos. Había aprendido que de esa oscuridad nacían formas. Traté de verlas y de no pensar en nada más, ni siquiera en el dolor que me llegaba desde la panza. Nada, salvo un brillo que miré con toda atención hasta que se transformó en dos ojos negros. Y de a poco, como si la hubiera fabricado la noche, vi la cara de María, los hombros, el pelo que nacía de la oscuridad más profunda que había visto en mi vida". Cuando era chica, Cometierra tragó tierra y supo en una visión que su papá había matado a golpes a su mamá. Esa fue solo la primera de las visiones. Nacer con un don implica una responsabilidad hacia los otros y a Cometierra le tocó uno que hace su vida doblemente difícil, porque vive en un barrio en donde la violencia, el desamparo y la injusticia brotan en cada rincón y porque allí las principales víctimas son las mujeres. En la persecución de la verdad, en el descubrimiento del amor, en el cuidado entre hermanos, Cometierra buscará su propio camino. Dolores Reyes ha escrito una primera novela terrible y luminosa, lírica, dulce y brutal, narrada con una voz que nos conmueve desde la primera página. "Lo más intenso que he leído en mucho tiempo. Reyes es capaz de sugerir la violencia desde una posición lírica, alejada de la manía de mostrar por mostrar. Con diálogos muy sencillos e imágenes a ratos surrealistas, nos hace llorar a fuerza de sugerir la miseria de todo un país y la terrorí ca situación que afrontan sus mujeres." Luna de Miguel

Novela - Narrativa argentina

Cometierra

During a communion service, the teenage son of a vicar attacks his father with an axe. The horrified congregation watch the son escape and rumours arise that the boy was involved in devil worship. Professor Matt Hunter is brought in to advise, yet he quickly suspects the church attack may have a far more complex cause. Meanwhile, a ten-year-old boy called Ever grows up in a small Christian cult. The group believe they are the only true humans left and they're working on a ritual that will bring peace and paradise to the world. Soon, the worlds of Matt and Ever will collide in one awful, terrifying night. . .

Matt Hunter

Severed

In the middle of the night, two young infants start screaming in their bedroom as the temperature drops, the baby mobiles spin wildly and the room is filled with an aura of fear, panic and dread…Jack Nightingale is called to investigate these spooky goings on in the house of occult-metal rock star Jimmy Deadman and his health-crazed supermodel wife Mary Madison. To try and work out what's going on and save the poor children from the haunting, he must delve into the history of the town, the house itself and discover the meaning of two mysterious, occultist lockets gifted to the babies on the day of their baptism.

Jack Nightingale

The House on Gable Street

Iceland, midwinter: the days are fleeting, the nights endless and Sergeant Magnus Jonson has been sent to an isolated fishing village in the West Fjords to investigate the possible homicide of a road construction worker. Ringed by steep mountains, this bleak village is cut off from the rest of Iceland and from the modern world. The locals are adamant that Iceland's legendary huldufólk – hidden people – had a hand in the death. Magnus finds their superstition suspicious... As he digs deeper, Magnus discovers that the victim was not a popular man, leading him to suspect that other, more human, passions are at work…

A Magnus Iceland Mystery

Edge of Nowhere

Criminal lawyer Robbie Munro is back home, living with his dad and his new-found daughter. Life as a criminal lawyer isn't going well, and neither is his love life. While he's preparing to defend the accused in a rape case, it all becomes suddenly more complicated when one of his more dubious clients leaves a mysterious box for him to look after. What's in the box is going to change Robbie's life - forever.

Best Defence 7

Present Tense

With Peaceful Repose Cemetery, Drew Slocombe is determined to revolutionise the entire death industry. Unfortunately, Drew's gravedigger has just discovered that their cemetery has one too many corpses when the body of an elderly woman is found. The police seem to think that the body is that of a vagrant, but for Drew things don't add up. The mystery deepens when Genevieve Slater turns up at Drew's door. As a man looking to escape both money worries and marriage problems, Genevieve proves impossible to resist.

Grave Concerns

Christmas: a time for family and festivity. Unless you're in Adder's Fork, home of the Essex Witch Museum, where it's a time for ghostly spirits and demonic visits. In these twelve short stories, menacing ghosts and supernatural terrors haunt Rosie Strange and Sam Stone, as well as characters past and present from beyond the Essex Witch Museum. Featuring stories from The Strange Casebook as well as original short stories.

The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas

Eleven-year-old Tippy Chan lives in a small town in a quiet part of the world - where her Uncle Pike escaped from the first chance he got as a teenager. Now Pike is back with his new boyfriend Devon to look after Tippy while her mum's on a cruise. Tippy's in love with her uncle's old Nancy Drew books and is desperate to solve a real mystery. When her teacher's body is found beside Riverstone's only traffic light, Tippy's moment has arrived. She and her minders form the Nancys, a secret amateur detective club - though their adventure quickly morphs into something more dangerous. Regardless of their own safety, and despite the constant distraction of questionable fashion choices in the town that style forgot, the Nancys know only they can stop the killer from striking again.

Nancy

The Nancys

Torna John Verdon, l'autor del best-seller mundial de Sé el que estàs pensant, amb un nou cas en què l'exdetectiu Dave Gurney arriscarà fins i tot la pròpia vida per posar fi a les macabres ambicions d'un perillós assassí com cap al qual s'hagi enfrontat mai. L'Angus Russell, un poderós home milionari, apareix mort a la seva mansió de Harrow Hill amb un tall a la gola. Les empremtes dactilars i l'ADN trobats a l'escena del crim assenyalen com a culpable en Billy Tate, un extravagant habitant del poble relacionat amb temes de bruixeria i amb una coneguda rancúnia contra la víctima. Però hi ha un problema. Després de caure d'una teulada, en Tate va ser declarat mort la vigília de l'assassinat d'en Russell. Quan la policia revisa el dipòsit on es troba el cos d'en Tate dins d'un taüt precintat, descobreix que, a més que el cadàver ha desaparegut, el taüt no estava trencat per dintre, sinó per la part exterior. De seguida es desferma un circ mediàtic, amb titulars que proclamen: home mort caminant, l'assassí de l'infern, l'assassinat de zombis. El poble sencer entra en pànic: comencen a córrer tota mena de teories de conspiració, comença una literal cacera de bruixes i, per tirar més llenya al foc, un apocalíptic predicador amant de les armes encoratja els seus seguidors a una batalla contra Satanàs. Mentre en Dave Gurney s'endinsa en la realitat de Harrow Hill, les víctimes mortals augmenten ràpidament. En Gurney descobreix una xarxa de relacions malaltisses, ressentiments aferrissats i amargues lluites de poder. Cada capa d'enganys que descobreix el porta a una altra. Però finalment en Gurney descobrirà l'estranya veritat al cor dels assassinats, una veritat tan esfereïdora com els titulars amb què es va trobar a l'inici de la investigació. John Verdon va treballar en diverses agències publicitàries a Manhattan com a director creatiu fins que, com el seu protagonista, es va traslladar a viure al nord de l'estat de Nova York en un entorn rural. Sé lo que estás pensando (Roca 2010), la seva primera novel·la, va ser un èxit mundial. El 2011 va publicar No abras los ojos, que també va ser un èxit de crítica i vendes, a la qual va seguir Deja en paz al diablo, No confíes en Peter Pan, Controlaré tus sueños y Arderás en la tormenta. La sèrie, protagonitzada pel carismàtic detectiu retirat David Gurney, és ja un referent del gènere negre i criminal. Amb El ángel negro / L'àngel negre (Roca 2020), Verdon repta novament al lector amb un nou desafiament, una trama plena de girs i un final sorprenent.

L'àngel negre

Una trama irresistible, uns personatges fascinants: Camilla Läckberg deixa ben clar que és la gran dama de la novel·la sueca de misteri. Lagent Patrik Hedström es disposa a gaudir del seu permís de paternitat per cuidar la Maja, que acaba de fer un any. Mentrestant, lErica Falck comença a escriure un nou llibre, tot i que no es pot treure del cap el misteriós bagul que va trobar a les golfes. A dins, els diaris de joventut de la seva mare i una medalla amb una esvàstica embolicada en un jersei de nadó tacat de sang. Què té a veure tot això amb la mort violenta dun vell historiador de Fjällbacka, Erik Frankel, expert en nazisme i amenaçat per grups dextrema dreta? En Patrik no es podrà quedar a casa... Un assassinat? Aleshores, no tan sols thas endut la Maja al lloc on ha aparegut un cadàver, sinó que, a més a més, era un assassinat.

Empremtes que mai s'esborren

Una trama magnètica i intel·ligent amb la qual Fred Vargas demostra, un cop més, per què se la considera una de les millors autores de novel·la policíaca del panorama internacional. Poc després que el comissari Adamsberg hagi tornat a París, havent tancat un cas a la Bretanya, la policia de Rennes li demana ajuda per resoldre un crim que sembla que té relació amb una fosca llegenda local: el fantasma d’un comte anomenat «el Coix», la pota de fusta del qual continua ressonant pels passadissos del castell de Combourg. L’Adamsberg es desplaça amb el seu equip a la zona, on s’ha trobat el cadàver d’un veí després que el sinistre caminar del Coix se sentís de nit pels carrers de Louviec.

Sobre la llosa

Després de la pandèmia de la COVID-19, el terrorisme islàmic observa a distància l'auto-aniquilació econòmica i social de la decadent i odiada societat occidental. Enmig del desastre, una petita nació sense estat reneix de les seves cendres, es reinventa i aprofita la crisi per canviar el model de país. L'èxit la situa al capdavant dels països més pròspers d'Europa, però al mateix temps la converteix en objectiu prioritari del gihadisme. Aquesta situació compromesa obliga la presidenta de la Generalitat a fer nous plantejaments que provocaran la sobtada i imprevisible dimissió de la sotsinspectora Mimí Vidal del cos de Mossos d'Esquadra, el 19 de novembre de 2021. «Ningú no va entendre perquè la Mimí havia plegat dels Mossos d'un dia per l'altre i s'havia tancat a casa. Els seus, però, ho van respectar. L'Enric va voler creure, encara que ella no n'hi digués res, que era per complir millor el desig que tots dos compartien de ser pares, desig que una feina tan arriscada li impedia d'assumir amb responsabilitat. La Sandra va dir-se que si la seva amiga de l'ànima no li volia aclarir, ella no li reclamaria cap explicació, que per això era la millor pels segles dels segles. La Rosa... la Rosa va començar a patir des del primer moment de saber-ho; la seva filla no podia haver deixat la que era la feina de la seva vida sense més ni més. La Mimí, a casa, llegia, amagava els llibres que llegia i es connectava a la xarxa». Encertar els motius ocults pels quals una persona decideix seguir els dictats més foscos de l'ànima humana i prendre el camí de la destrucció de la societat on viu no és a l'abast de ningú, ni dels més experts, ni dels més intuïtius, ni dels més empàtics. Per això la Mimí, amb la seva peculiar autoestima oscil·lant, pensa sovint que aquesta vegada la seva missió és impossible. Aquesta novel·la continua la saga sobre la Mimí Vidal, que es va iniciar amb Les cadenes subtils l'any 2016 i va seguir amb El silenci de Vallbona l'any 2017.

La llum de l'impostor

Jude has never been averse to a bit of a flutter; her friend Carole, on the other hand, thinks that the local betting shop is a den of iniquity. But when Jude stumbles upon the body of a Polish immigrant, Tadeusz Jankowski, the race is on to find his killer. The odds aren't looking good. No one seems to know anything about the mysterious Tadeusz – even his sister can't shed any light on what he was doing in Fethering. As they question the local residents, Carole finds an unexpected friend in an inveterate gambler and Jude finds herself in potential trouble with a lecherous and charming drama professor.

Fethering

Blood at the Bookies

SOCO Maya Barton is called to a canal where a heavily decomposed male body has been discovered. A bank card belonging to Trevor Dawlish is found in the cadaver's pocket, and the name matches that of a missing person. All seems straightforward - until Trevor's wife phones the police to say that Trevor has returned home, leaving Maya and the team wondering who the unknown male is. When it's revealed that the male was dead before he entered the water, Maya finds herself with a murder on her hands. But when another body is discovered, the case becomes further complicated. The hope is that facial reconstruction of the first victim will help solve the mystery - but it may lead Maya and her team down an even darker path.

Shattered Bones

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with liquid gold, to highlight and celebrate an object's past. In this powerful and personal novella, Senka Marić uses the concept of kintsugi to interrogate ideas of illness, survival and recovery. Two months after her husband packs his bags and leaves the family home, the narrator finds a lump in her armpit. It's a discovery she's been dreading ever since her mother's breast cancer diagnosis sixteen years earlier, and one that will change her body forever. Through diagnosis, chemotherapy, and surgery, the narrator returns to those moments of her girlhood when she learnt to be ashamed of her sexuality and estranged from her body – the same body that now threatens to fall apart during her illness. Laced with a drive for life, sensuality and pleasure, Body Kintsugi is an intimate and optimistic book about a woman's relationship with her body as it breaks and is put back together.

Body Kintsugi

She doesn't trust the police. She used to be one of them. Hardened by ten years on the murder squad, DNA analyst Doctor Sian Love has seen it all. So when she finds human remains in the basement of her new home, she knows the drill. Except this time it's different. This time, it's personal. . .

Dr Sian Love

Dead Flowers

The Mark of Cain by Carolyn Wells is a riveting detective novel that plunges readers into a world of crime and conspiracy. When a renowned scientist is found dead, marked by a cryptic symbol, detective Fleming Stone is called to solve the chilling case. As Stone delves deeper, he uncovers a complex web of motives and secrets, each thread pointing to a different suspect. With every clue leading to more questions, Stone must navigate through deception and danger to reveal the true culprit. Will he crack the case before the killer strikes again, or will the sinister mark of Cain remain an unsolved mystery? Get ready for a suspenseful journey full of unexpected twists and turns.

The Mark of Cain

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 endless Texas landscape hides all manner of sins… Special Agent Tucker Snow knows there's big money roaming the fields under the wide Texas sky—and the cattle rustlers committing large-scale thefts on remote ranches know it, too. But when a prominent local rancher dies unexpectedly and his property is quietly sold to an unknown buyer, Tucker suspects there's something more sinister going on in his jurisdiction than the usual steal-and-resell racket. Still raw after the tragic death of his wife and young daughter, the lawman can't bear the thought of more innocent lives destroyed by people whose greed poisons everything around them. Working alongside his brother, Harley, Tucker uncovers a dark ring of organized crime that goes well beyond cattle rustling—a breed of deception and greed that has turned into a silent killer and will take down anyone who crosses its path. The question is whether Tuck and Harley will be able to shut it down before it finds the people they love the most… New York Times bestselling author Reavis Wortham brings readers deep into the heart of Texas in the latest book in his acclaimed thriller series.

Tucker Snow Thrillers

Broken Truth

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. It is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. The work is commonly associated with the rare mental condition often spuriously called "split personality", referred to in psychiatry as dissociative identity disorder, where within the same body there exists more than one distinct personality. In this case, there are two personalities within Dr Jekyll, one apparently good and the other evil; completely opposite levels of morality. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was an immediate success and is one of Stevenson's best-selling works. Stage adaptations began in Boston and London and soon moved all across England and then towards his home Scotland within a year of its publication and it has gone on to inspire scores of major film and stage performances. There are dozens of stage and film adaptations of the novella, over 123 film versions alone, not including stage and radio versions. Total Running Time (TRT): 3 hours, 6 min. Reading by David Barnes. Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks among the 26 most translated authors in the world, ahead of fellow nineteenth-century writers Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe. His works have been admired by many other writers, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Marcel Schwob, Vladimir Nabokov, J. M. Barrie, and G. K. Chesterton, who said of him that he "seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins."

The Strange case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

When macabre murder scenes depict occult legends across the city's landmarks, only ex-con FBI Agent Morgan Cross can decipher the signs etched by a diabolical killer—and stop him before it’s too late. “A masterpiece of thriller and mystery.” —Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ FORLORN is book #10 in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 7,000 five star ratings and reviews. Superstar FBI Agent Morgan Cross was at the height of her career when she was framed, wrongly imprisoned, and sent to do 10 hard years in prison. Finally exonerated and set free, Morgan emerges from jail as a changed person—hardened, ruthless, closed off to the world, and unsure how to start again. When the FBI comes knocking, desperately needing Morgan to return and hunt down a killer who seems to be obsessed with drowning, Morgan is torn. Morgan is not the same person, no longer willing to play by the rules, and will stop at nothing this time. In a non-stop thriller, it will be a deadly cat and mouse chase between a diabolical killer and an ex-con FBI agent who has nothing left to lose—with a new victim’s fate riding on it all. A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the Morgan Cross series is a riveting mystery, packed with non-stop action, suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. Fans of Rachel Caine, Teresa Driscoll and Robert Dugoni are sure to fall in love. Future books in the series will be available soon! “An edge of your seat thriller in a new series that keeps you turning pages! ...So many twists, turns and red herrings… I can't wait to see what happens next.” —Reader review (Her Last Wish) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A strong, complex story about two FBI agents trying to stop a serial killer. If you want an author to capture your attention and have you guessing, yet trying to put the pieces together, Pierce is your author!” —Reader review (Her Last Wish) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A typical Blake Pierce twisting, turning, roller coaster ride suspense thriller. Will have you turning the pages to the last sentence of the last chapter!!!” —Reader review (City of Prey) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Right from the start we have an unusual protagonist that I haven't seen done in this genre before. The action is nonstop… A very atmospheric novel that will keep you turning pages well into the wee hours.” —Reader review (City of Prey) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Everything that I look for in a book… a great plot, interesting characters, and grabs your interest right away. The book moves along at a breakneck pace and stays that way until the end. Now on go I to book two!” —Reader review (Girl, Alone) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Exciting, heart pounding, edge of your seat book… a must read for mystery and suspense readers!” —Reader review (Girl, Alone) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Morgan Cross FBI Suspense Thriller

For Silence (A Morgan Cross FBI Suspense Thriller—Book Eleven)

Missouri, 1846: In the frontier town of Independence the sound of a gunshot shatters the night. As the pistol drops from her hand and clatters to the ground, Grace knows she has no choice but to leave. Now. In this inspiring and deeply moving story of love, courage and endurance, a young woman on the run from the law sets off on a desperate journey of survival on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Terrified she’s wanted for the murder of her landlord, Grace is certain that, even though she acted in self-defence, no one will believe her. Quickly packing the few belongings she and her little brother Tom possess, they race to join the line of dusty wagons preparing to leave for Oregon. As they set off, over the perilous Great Plains, knowing the wild rivers and the Rocky Mountains they must cross, Grace vows to do whatever it takes to protect Tom and get them both to safety. She will prove herself capable of surviving the hardest journey of her life. This unputdownable and heart-wrenching historical novel shows the true strength and resilience of a woman’s heart, even when she has everything to lose and the odds are stacked against her. Fans of Kristin Hannah, Amy Harmon and Olivia Hawker will lose themselves in To the Wild Horizon. Readers are captivated by Imogen Martin’s historical novels: “Absolutely LOVED this book. I was reading it far too late into the night to find out what happened next.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wonderful… I genuinely struggled to put this book down, in the end giving up completely and staying exactly where I was until I’d finished it.” Eva Glyn, author of The Olive Grove, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Captivating… will leave an indelible mark on your heart." Rachel Wesson, author of Darkness Falls “Stayed awake half the night to finish this book – I couldn’t put it down!” Sue MacDonagh, author of The Sea Sisters Swimming Club, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I adored this book.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Enthralled from the very first page. I’ll be recommending this book to everyone.” Luisa A. Jones, author of The Gilded Cage, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A great read… I just couldn’t put it down.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wonderful. I loved every minute.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

To the Wild Horizon

From the twice CWA Dagger shortlisted author of The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas comes a collection of stories to transport you to the macabre world of inexplicable phenomena. As the dark winter nights get longer, prepare to lose yourself in the world of the strange. With a tale for each day of Christmas and a rather unlucky 13th, Christmas is not the only spirit in these pages. 'Tis the season for sacrificial feasts, cultish communities and a train with a rather final destination. So wrap up warm and let yourself get lost in the world of the strange, the scary and the supernatural…

The Twelve Even Stranger Days of Christmas

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

The Secret of Chimneys Agatha Christie - The Secret of Chimneys is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in June 1925 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It introduces the characters of Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent. Agatha Christies The Secret of Chimneys, starring her occasional sleuths Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen Bundle Brent, is a murder mystery-treasure hunt crossover, considered to be one of her best early novels. The plot should be delightful to traditionalists: there are a bunch of people staying at a mansion when one of the guests is murdered! (Apparently, theres a chance it might also be a bit racist, so just a heads up on that front.) It also features the fun-sounding fake-country name Herzoslovakia, which I think is one of the better sounding fake country names in fiction.

The Secret of Chimneys

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

In the village of Spire, murder is afoot. Wealthy landowner Alexander, Earl of Greengrass is caught with his trousers down in the village graveyard before meeting a gruesome end. Luckily Susie Mahl happens to be on hand. With her artist's eye for detail and her curious nature she is soon on the scent of the murderer…

A Brush With Death

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.

Tiding of Magpies, A

When the body of a herdsman is discovered in a farm building, Detective Sergeant Den Cooper is more than happy to cast local farmer Gordon Hillcock in the role of chief suspect. After all, it is a well-known fact that there was no love lost between Gordon and the victim. And besides, Den has a little grudge of his own – Gordon is currently dating his ex-fiancée Lilah. However, Den did not plan on Lilah's determination to protect her new lover…

A Death to Record

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