万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

Zoology
Zoology
Ben Dolnick
¥76.81
A funny, wise and heartwarming story of a young man’s first forays into love during a long, hot summer in New York City. Henry likes to think of himself as a promising jazz musician. The truth, however, is considerably less glamorous. At eighteen, he’s dropped out of university, lives at home with his bickering parents, and spends most of his time with the family dog. So when his brother offers to put him up in his New York City apartment for the summer, Henry leaps at the chance to start living the life of his dreams… In the Big Apple, Henry lands a job at the Central Park Children’s Zoo. Over weeks spent chopping vegetables and shovelling dung, his world gradually expands to include a motley crew of zoo keepers, doormen and animals of every de*ion. Amongst these, the undisputed star is Newman, the zoo’s stoic Nubian goat, in whom Henry confides his growing love for Margaret, the alluringly wholesome girl next door. As the months unfold in a haze of jazz bars, ill-advised romance and hard truths about family, Henry learns what what it is to love – and to lose – in this hilarious, inventive and touching debut novel.
The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew
The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew
Cristina Odone
¥63.77
Harriet Carew is the endearing heroine of Cristina Odone's popular weekly 'Daily Telegraph' column, 'Posh But Poor'. Based on the character from the column, 'The Dilemmas of Harriet Carew' is the story of her struggle to juggle family life, work and money. Meet Harriet Carew, mother of three and juggler of work, home and family. Harriet only wants to do her best for her husband Guy, her children and herself. But while their friends flourish, and other parents look on pityingly, the Carews are struggling – and sliding down the ladder of fortune and happiness. Guy is a writer with a starry past, a humdrum present and unrealistic optimism about the future. His starchy family still treat Harriet as a newcomer to the family. Alex (12) is lazy, Tom (10) is bullied at school and Maisie (3) just misses her mum. Harriet is torn between wanting to be at home more and the need to work longer hours to help pay the school fees. When Harriet’s ex-boyfriend James turns up, super-successful and single, Harriet must make some tough decisions. Funny, witty, warm and page-turning, this is the novel that every woman will want to read.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
David Wroblewski
¥69.26
A literary debut of stark and striking brilliance – a coming-of-age story, set in the remote wilderness of northern Wisconsin. Born mute and able to communicate only by sign, the brilliant Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents Gar and Trudy. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomised by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong companion. But when his beloved father mysteriously dies, Edgar blames himself, if only because his muteness left him unable to summon help. Grief-stricken and bewildered by his mother's desperate affair with her dead husband's brother, Edgar's world unravels one spring night when, in the falling rain, he sees his father's ghost. After a botched attempt to prove that his uncle orchestrated Gar's death, Edgar flees into the Chequamegon wilderness leading three yearling dogs. Yet his need to face his father's murderer, and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs, turn Edgar ever homeward. When he returns, nothing is as he expects, and Edgar must choose between revenge or preserving his family legacy…
Turn Left at the Daffodils
Turn Left at the Daffodils
Elizabeth Elgin
¥51.50
A stirring Second World War tale of love and loss set in Yorkshire from the author of The Linden Walk and A Scent of Lavender. Set during World War 2, TURN LEFT AT THE DAFFODILS tells two love stories – those of Nan and Carrie. Nan meets Charles, a gauche, young airman at a dance. Despite his stammer and inability to dance, Nan is captivated by her first romance, and takes him under her wing. When Nan learns that Charles is from the landed gentry, she refuses his offer of marriage fearing that their difference in social status will ruin their chances of happiness. But it is the war itself which seems to end any hope for them when Charles is reported missing in action, believed killed, in the skies over Germany. Carrie starts a passionate affair following a chance encounter with Todd Coverdale on a railway platform in Lincoln. When Carrie finds herself alone and pregnant after Todd disappears without explanation, her only option is to leave the ATS and move to Daffy Cottage, the home Todd inherited from his Aunt. Will either woman find happiness after being left alone at a time of war, loneliness and difficult decisions?
Canarino
Canarino
Katherine Bucknell
¥25.02
This remarkable debut novel is a vibrant tale of beauty and passion, stalked by desolation. Katherine Bucknell captures the tragedy of a marriage on the brink with extraordinary delicacy and insight and draws us into a compelling world glittering with wealth and social prestige. David is an investment banker; Elizabeth, his wife, is a woman of peerless beauty and refinement. They have two children; their marriage seems perfect. Why does she want him to retire and move home to America? One summer evening David, alone in their empty mansion, receives a phone call from a long-lost friend. So begins a tale about friendship, marriage and betrayal that is filled with unexpected reversals. Canarino is a portrait of intimate relationships set in a world of privilege and achievement. Its characters possess personal gifts in dazzling abundance, yet their appetites to succeed, to be exceptional, tempt them to risk everything. How can we recognise love and friendship? Which are the bonds that bind people longest? What is the cost for the heart of seeking perfection? Like the drink of the title – boiling water over a twist of lemon peel – the prose has a sharp, delicate clarity. Beneath its polished surface lie psychological depths both uncanny and haunting. Canarino is a novel that lingers in the mind, long after the final page has been turned.
The Whaleboat House
The Whaleboat House
Mark Mills
¥61.51
From the No. 1 bestseller and author of Richard & Judy pick The Savage Garden: an award-winning crime novel set in post-war New York for fans of Carlos Ruiz Zafon and Jed Rubenfeld Long Island, 1947 The men of Long Island have fished the wild Atlantic waters over the centuries. For Conrad Labarde, recently returned from the Second World War, the nets hold a sinister catch – the body of Lillian Wallace, a beautiful New York socialite. Is it an accident or murder? Police chief Tom Hollis is convinced the roots of the tragedy lie in the twisted histories of local families. But the enigmatic Labarde insists on pursuing his own investigation. It seems the fisherman may have powerful reasons for wanting answers to the questions surrounding her death. And in this strange place where tradition meets power and riches, the truth is a rare thing indeed…
Dead on Arrival
Dead on Arrival
Mike Lawson
¥100.06
Joe DeMarco is back and the corridors of power have never felt so deadly… First a bomb attack on the Baltimore Harbour tunnel is averted. Then a young American Muslim is shot down in a Cessna plane whilst trying to drive it into The Whitehouse. What follows is chaos as a ruthless senator tries to pass a xenophobic law that will see non-citizen Muslims deported and extensive background checks on all Muslims living in the US carried out immediately. Speaker of the house John Mahoney wants nothing to do with the bill being pushed through. He knows all to well what trouble a law like that could stir up, and what's worse he knows the kid who tried to crash the plane into the White House. Enter Joe DeMarco, a man with a shady past, a lawyer who has never practised law. He's charged with investigating the attacks but there's a twist to the attempted mass destruction, something the FBI didn't even see, and suddenly at every turn DeMarco faces a new and terrifying danger…
Forgive Me
Forgive Me
Amanda Eyre Ward
¥72.01
A stunning and compelling novel of love and ambition. Nadine is a 35-year-old journalist at a crossroads in her life. She longs for Pulitzer-prize winning success but her career seems to be going nowhere until the story of a lifetime comes up. Faced with the choice of following the story and leaving behind her boyfriend, who has just proposed, she leaves America for Capetown. There she meets war photographer George, whose rage at the death of his lover during apartheid seems bottomless. As events unfold, Nadine discovers she is pregnant and is forced to choose whether to return home to a secure married life with her boyfriend or pursue a life of independence and adventure – a life like George's… Set partly in Mandela's South Africa, where individuals must weigh the cost of following their dreams against the high price of truth, ‘Forgive Me’ is the unputdownable story of a woman who has to decide between security and adventure in life and love.
Blood Runs Cold
Blood Runs Cold
Alex Barclay
¥54.25
Kidnap and murder collide in Alex Barclay’s heart-stopping new thriller featuring FBI Agent Ren Bryce. The only way to reach the end is to turn back… When the body of FBI agent Jean Transom is found on the frozen slopes of Quandary Peak, the nearby town of Breckenridge, Colorado, becomes the focus of a major investigation. A quiet, dedicated agent on the surface, it soon becomes clear that there was another side to Jean Transom. And who better to uncover it than Special Agent Ren Bryce, an expert in violent crime and a woman with secrets of her own; secrets that could compromise the entire investigation and put an end to her distinguished career. Her boss, her informant, her colleagues, her ex – Ren needs to know who she can trust … because the last person she can trust is herself.
An Unsuitable Mother
An Unsuitable Mother
Sheelagh Kelly
¥54.25
A memorable saga from one of the best-loved writers of the genre. Sheelagh Kelly gives us the pain and determination of the people of York during the Second World War. Nell is just eighteen when war breaks out, and she’s keen to do her bit - which means leaving her safe office job and starting to train as an auxiliary nurse. This will bring her into contact with women of all ages and from very different parts of society - and it will also bring her face to face with the grim realities of war. But she has a secret to comfort her - a soldier she’s met and fallen in love with, who’s promised to return to marry her. The unthinkable happens: bombs fall on York. And for Nell, this coincides with a dreadful tragedy that she can share with nobody, and which brings life-changing consequences. Shhelagh Kelly writes with deep feeling, evoking all the warmth and hardship of a city under siege - the city in which she was born and which she knows so well. This will thrill her numrous fans and win her many more.
The Watcher
The Watcher
Grace Monroe
¥54.25
When you see him, it's already too late… Four days before Christmas, a young woman's body is found in a ditch in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle, the discovery rendered even more terrifying by the message 'More Will Die' written on her body in blood. Soon, the prophecy is fulfilled, more young women disappear - all redheads - their bodies later found bludgeoned to death, their feet severed. Quickly dubbed 'The Edinburgh Ripper', the murders bring the city to its knees. It might be the season of goodwill but its citizens live in fear of becoming the latest victim. Headstrong young lawyer Brodie McLennan teams up with DI Duncan Bancho in an effort to discover the identity of this warped killer. Soon, their investigations uncover a ring of human traffickers, selling Eastern European women as sex slaves, a depraved group called the ‘Hobbyists’ and a clandestine internet chat room. Unbeknownst to Brodie, the killer's web is spinning ever closer to her and her teenaged half sister Connie, recently back in her life. When Connie is reported missing, Brodie must quickly uncover the Ripper's identity - before her own flesh and blood becomes the latest victim.
The Exodus Quest
The Exodus Quest
Will Adams
¥59.15
Fact collides with fiction in Will Adams second pulse-pounding adventure featuring the enigmatic Daniel Knox – hero of The Alexander Cipher Fact collides with fiction in Will Adams second pulse-pounding adventure featuring the enigmatic Daniel Knox. On the trail of a Dead Sea Scroll, Knox stumbles across an ancient temple being surreptitiously excavated by evangelical Christians outside Alexandria. A chase ends in tragedy with the death of Alexandria's senior archaeologist, and Knox the chief suspect. Meanwhile, Knox's partner Gaille Bonnard is baby-sitting a television crew around the ancient city of Amarna, home of the multiple mysteries of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Kidnapped by rogue soldiers, her time fast running out, she sends Knox a message hidden in a hostage video, pleading with him to come to her rescue. But Knox has problems of his own, under arrest on suspicion of murder, locked in a police cell half a country away. And the only way for him to find and save her is to crack one of the great unsolved mysteries of the ancient world.
The Gift
The Gift
Cecelia Ahern
¥58.47
Step into the magical world of Cecelia Ahern in this heartwarming bestseller. If you could wish for one gift this Christmas, what would it be? Lou Suffern wishes he could be in two places at once. His constant battle with the clock is a sensitive issue with his wife and family. Gabe wishes he was somewhere warm. When Lou invites Gabe, a homeless man who sits outside his office, into the building and into his life, Lou’s world is changed beyond all measure… An enchanting and thoughtful Christmas story that speaks to all of us abut the value of time and what is truly important in life.
It’s Not Me, It’s You
It’s Not Me, It’s You
Mhairi McFarlane
¥23.45
An achingly funny story about how to be your own hero when life pulls the rug out from under your feet. From the author of the bestselling YOU HAD ME AT HELLO Delia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong. When she proposed and discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with someone else – she thought it was her fault. When she realised life would never be the same again – she thought it was her fault. And when he wanted her back like nothing had changed – Delia started to wonder if perhaps she was not to blame… From Newcastle to London and back again, with dodgy jobs, eccentric bosses and annoyingly handsome journalists thrown in, Delia must find out where her old self went – and if she can ever get her back.
The Invisible Guardian (The Baztan Trilogy, Book 1)
The Invisible Guardian (The Baztan Trilogy, Book 1)
Dolores Redondo
¥62.59
A killer at large in a remote Basque Country valley , a detective to rival Clarice Starling, myth versus reality, masterful storytelling – the Spanish bestseller that has taken Europe by storm. The naked body of a teenage girl is found on the banks of the River Baztán. Less than 24 hours after this discovery, a link is made to the murder of another girl the month before. Is this the work of a ritualistic killer or of the Invisible Guardian, the Basajaun, a creature of Basque mythology? 30-year-old Inspector Amaia Salazar heads an investigation which will take her back to Elizondo, the village in the heart of Basque country where she was born, and to which she had hoped never to return. A place of mists, rain and forests. A place of unresolved conflicts, of a dark secret that scarred her childhood and which will come back to torment her. Torn between the rational, procedural part of her job and local myths and superstitions, Amaia Salazar has to fight off the demons of her past in order to confront the reality of a serial killer at loose in a region steeped in the history of the Spanish Inquisition.
Through The Tunnel
Through The Tunnel
Doris Lessing
¥9.71
From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Doris Lessing, a short story about a young boy’s coming of age. While on holiday with his mother, a young boy sees a group of older children jumping from a rock into deep sea. He feels compelled to challenge himself to match them, and in doing so will take his first steps away from childhood. An amazingly vivid short story, Through the Tunnel explores the difficulties of childhood and ageing, resonating with many of Doris Lessing’s acclaimed novels. This story also appears in the collection To Room Nineteen.
The Road to Reckoning
The Road to Reckoning
Robert Lautner
¥61.51
A novel that hits right to the heart of fans of Cold Mountain and True Grit. Set in 1837, this is the completely compelling story of 12-year-old orphan Thomas Walker and his treacherous journey home through the wide open lands of America. ‘I, to this day, hold to only one truth: if a man chooses to carry a gun he will get shot. My father agreed to carry twelve.’ Young Tom Walker cannot believe his luck when his father allows him to accompany him on the road, selling Samuel Colt’s newly-invented revolver. They will leave behind the depression and disease that is gripping 1830’s New York to travel the country together. Still only twelve years old, Tom is convinced that he is now a man. Fate, it seems, thinks so too … On the road west the towns get smaller, the forests wilder, and the path more unforgiving. A devastating encounter cuts their journey tragically short, and leaves Tom all alone in the wilderness. Struggling to see a way home, he finds his only hope: ageing ranger Henry Stands, who is heading back east. Tom’s resolve to survive initiates an unlikely partnership that will be tested by the dangers of the road ahead, where outlaws prowl.
The Owl Service
The Owl Service
Alan Garner
¥34.14
Winner of both the Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal, this is an all-time classic, combining mystery, adventure, history and a complex set of human relationships. Featuring a new introduction by Philip Pullman. It all begins with the scratching in the ceiling. From the moment Alison discovers the dinner service in the attic, with its curious pattern of floral owls, a chain of events is set in progress that is to effect everybody’s lives. Relentlessly, Alison, her step-brother Roger and Welsh boy Gwyn are drawn into the replay of a tragic Welsh legend – a modern drama played out against a background of ancient jealousies. As the tension mounts, it becomes apparent that only by accepting and facing the situation can it be resolved.
The Lad Of The Gad
The Lad Of The Gad
Alan Garner
¥63.77
In "The Lad of the Gad", Alan Garner has reworked five stories from the Gaelic layers of British folktale. Folk and fairy tales have not always been relegated to children, and older readers will appreciate Garner's ability to give these stories a new vitality for our time. "Mr Garner's renderings are alive, vigorous and occasionally poetic, singing of sea and islands and the wide wild spaces of north and west! He has brought us five fine tales and had told them so that they fall well on the ear, hold the attention and stir the imagination." - "The Literary Review".
S is for Space
S is for Space
Ray Bradbury
¥72.99
One of Ray Bradbury’s classic short story collections, available in ebook for the first time. S IS FOR SPACE is a spine-tingling short story collection from one of the genre’s master storytellers. Science fiction, fantasy, small town life, and small town people are the materials from which Ray Bradbury weaves his unique and magical stories of the natural and supernatural, the past, the present , and the future. This book contains sixteen of Bradbury's most popular science fiction stories.
From the Deep of the Dark
From the Deep of the Dark
Stephen Hunt
¥59.15
The sixth marvellous tale of high adventure and derring-do from the master of steampunk literature, set in the world of The Court of the Air A daring underwater chase ends in a battle for the Kingdom itself… The streets of Middlesteel are under attack by an unseen enemy, leaving bloodless corpses in its trail. The newssheets scream vampire, but the truth is even more deadly than anyone knows. Charlotte Shades, Mistress of Mesmerism, is a thief – and a darned good one at that. When two mysterious men ask her to steal King Jude’s Sceptre from the Parliament vaults, the challenge (and reward) is too great to pass up. After all, Charlotte’s natural charm and the magic of the gem she wears – the mysterious Eye of Fate – have never failed her before. Only consulting detective Jethro Daunt and his steamman companion Boxiron know there’s more to these two men than meets the eye. Yet even as they rescue Charlotte from a fate worse than death, they are thrown into a plot thicker than even they realize. They escape beneath the waves in an ancient submarine led by Commodore Jethro Black, where they encounter stiff resistance from the strange people who inhabit the vast underwater kingdoms. But man, woman, seanore and gillneck alike must band together if they are to defeat a danger that might not even be from this world…