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Little Bird of Heaven
Little Bird of Heaven
Joyce Carol Oates
¥57.09
‘A writer of extraordinary strengths’ Guardian Set in the mythical small city of Sparta, New York, this searing, vividly rendered exploration of the mysterious conjunction of erotic romance and tragic violence in late 20th-century America. When a young wife and mother named Zoe Kruller is found brutally murdered, the Sparta police target two primary suspects: her estranged husband Delray and her longtime lover Eddy Diehl. In turn, the Krullers's son Aaron and Eddy's daughter Krista become obsessed with one another, each believing the other's father is guilty. Told in halves in the very different voices of Krista and Aaron, Little Bird of Heaven is classic Joyce Carol Oates, in which the lyricism of intense sexual love is intertwined with the anguish of loss, and tenderness is barely distinguishable from cruelty. By the novel's end, the fated lovers, meeting again as adults, are at last ready to exorcise the ghosts of the past and come to terms with their legacy of guilt, misplaced love and redemptive yearning. With Little Bird of Heaven, Joyce Carol Oates once again confirms her place as one of the most outstanding writers at work today.
City of Lies
City of Lies
Alafair Burke
¥57.09
A fast-paced thriller from Alafair Burke, where no-one in Manhattan is safe. And no-one is innocent. In New York City nights are dangerous. Days are numbered. When New York University student Megan Gunther is brutally murdered, NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher and partner J.J. Rogan discover that Megan has been on the receiving end of some sinister online threats. Is her death the result of a campus feud that got out of hand or could there be a twisted cyber fanatic at work? And when a link is revealed between Megan and a murdered real-estate agent, Ellie comes to wonder if there was something else behind the student’s death. Ellie learns that the dead woman shared a secret connection to a celebrity mogul whose bodyguard was mysteriously killed a few months earlier. When Megan's roommate disappears, the hunt for the killer is really on… With fans including everyone from Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, and Lee Child to Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Gardner and Kathy Reichs, Alafair Burke gives us another nail-biting thriller to keep us on the edge of our seats.
The Hour Before Dawn
The Hour Before Dawn
Sara MacDonald
¥57.09
A rich, multi-generational saga, set in Singapore and New Zealand. The mysterious disappearance of a young child sets in motion a series of events that will haunt future generations of the family. Singapore in the 1970s. A handsome army officer falls in love with the young daughter of his captain. Although she is determined to become a ballerina, Fleur falls deeply for David and abandons her aspirations to become an army wife and mother. After their first blissfully happy years together, tragedy strikes and Fleur is left widowed with her young twin daughters, Nikki and Saffie. Grief-stricken, she prepares to take her daughters back to England – and then one of them mysteriously vanishes, without a trace. New Zealand, present day. Nikki Montrose, pregnant, is still haunted by the disappearance of her twin sister. Unable to reconcile with her mother, the ghosts of the past haunt her dreams. Fleur’s impending visit forces her to confront her fears. Then when her mother goes missing en route, Nikki must journey to Singapore and attempt a reconciliation. But what they discover back in Port Dickson will send shockwaves through the entire family. Sara MacDonald has written another rich, absorbing family saga which will appeal to all fans of Rosamunde Pilcher and Anita Shreve.
The Bridesmaid Pact
The Bridesmaid Pact
Julia Williams
¥57.09
One for all and all for one… As children, Sarah, Dorrie, Beth and Caz were inseparable and vowed to one day be each others bridesmaids. But life got complicated. Now they have one last chance to fulfil their promise. Dorrie is planning her ultimate Disney wedding to the delicious Darren and is determined to have her friends back together for the Big Day. But Dorrie's fairytale is not all that it seems… Beth is desperate for a baby and is starting to resent her more fertile friends. Is a mistake from her past about to destroy her future? Caz's wild streak has tested her friendships over the years. One by one she has let her friends down, not least when she commits the ultimate betrayal to Susan. Can she change her ways and more to the point, does she really want to? Married to Steve, Sarah is plagued by doubts that she went down the wrong path. Does Sarah have the strength to make a change and will she ever be able to forgive Caz? As Dorrie's big day dawns, all eyes are on whether the ultimate act of friendship will be honoured and obeyed…
Live the Dream
Live the Dream
Josephine Cox
¥57.09
When friendship becomes love, two people must face their greatest fear – being hurt again…The powerful bestseller from the country’s number one storyteller. Luke Hammond: handsome, rich, charismatic, cursed by private tragedy. Amy Atkinson: humble and kind with a good – but wounded – heart. When they meet by chance, a spark of love takes hold of their hearts. But neither are sure that they can dare to love again. And what of Luke's public life, hidden from Amy? The owner of a large factory, he is a pillar of the community, married – though in name only. Amy is torn between her head and her heart, but her sense of honour is paramount – and when she discovers his true identity, she is thrown into even greater turmoil. Then disaster strikes and the future looks troubled indeed ….
A Weekend with Mr Darcy (Austen Addicts)
A Weekend with Mr Darcy (Austen Addicts)
Victoria Connelly
¥57.09
A romance-filled page-turner for any Austen fanatic who’s ever dreamt of spending a weekend with Mr Darcy… Katherine Roberts is fed up with men. As a lecturer specialising in the works of Jane Austen, she knows that the ideal man only exists within the pages of Pride & Prejudice and that in real life there is no such thing. Determined to go it alone, she finds all the comfort she needs reading her guilty pleasure – regency romances from the pen of Lorna Warwick – with whom she has now struck up an intimate correspondence. Austen fanatic, Robyn Love, is blessed with a name full of romance, but her love life is far from perfect. Stuck in a rut with a bonehead boyfriend, Jace, and a job she can do with her eyes shut – her life has hit a dead end. Robyn would love to escape from it all but wouldn't know where to start. They both decide to attend the annual Jane Austen Conference at sumptuous Purley Hall, overseen by the actress and national treasure, Dame Pamela Harcourt. Robyn is hoping to escape from Jace for the weekend and indulge in her passion for all things Austen. Katherine is hoping that Lorna Warwick will be in attendance and is desperate to meet her new best friend in the flesh. But nothing goes according to plan and Robyn is aghast when Jace insists on accompanying her, whilst Katherine is disappointed to learn that Lorna won't be coming. However, an Austen weekend wouldn't be the same without a little intrigue, and Robyn and Katherine are about to get much more than they bargained for. Because where Jane Austen is concerned, romance is never very far away…
Cocaine Nights
Cocaine Nights
J. G. Ballard,James Lever
¥57.09
‘Snort up “Cocaine Nights”. It’s disorientating, deranging and knocks the work of other avant-garde writers into a hatted cock’ Will Self Five people die in an unexplained house fire in the Spanish resort of Estrella de Mar, an exclusive enclave for the rich, retired British, centred on the thriving Club Nautico. The club manager, Frank Prentice, pleads guilty to charges of murder – yet not even the police believe him. When his Charles arrives to unravel the truth, he gradually discovers that behind the resort’s civilized fa?ade flourishes a secret world of crime, drugs and illicit sex. At once an engrossing mystery and a novel of ideas, ‘Cocaine Nights’ is a stunningly original work, a vision of a society coming to terms with a life of almost unlimited leisure. This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, John Lanchester and Martin Amis) and brand-new cover designs.
The Siege (Guardians of Ga’Hoole, Book 4)
The Siege (Guardians of Ga’Hoole, Book 4)
Kathryn Lasky
¥57.09
Fourth title in a mythic adventure series in which the heroes are owls! In the owl kingdom, a war between good and evil is raging. On one side, Soren and the noble owls of the Great Ga’hoole tree. On the other, Soren’s fearsome brother Kludd, who wears a terrifying metal mask to cover his battle scars. Driven by an all-consuming lust for power, Kludd leads his forces in a brutal attack on the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. Meanwhile, Soren is asked to lead a mission back to the one place he never wanted to see again – St Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. He and his crew will have to enter St Aggie's as spies, then leave without being noticed…or caught. Soren escaped the rocky confines of St Aggie's once. If the Ga’Hoole tree is to be saved he must do it again…
Touch and Go
Touch and Go
M. R. D. Meek
¥57.09
Chance is a fine thing, thought the nurse who had watched wealthy Muriel Probert die in her Fifth Avenue apartment, so she took that chance – along with other fine things – and ran. To Lennox Kemp, Muriel’s ex-husband, the string of gambling casinos in Las Vegas left to him in her will seemed a dubious inheritance, bound to bring out the worst in everyone concerned whether they be prevaricating lawyers or predatory gangsters. But the slow legal process is undercut when a body is found in the East River, and there will soon be another victim as the hunt for the missing nurse turns murderous. Kemp would prefer the nastiness kept on the far side of the Atlantic, but when the final showdown comes it is on his own home ground of Newtown, where the local police force gets a taste of gunplay, Nevada-style.
Summer Holiday
Summer Holiday
Penny Smith
¥57.09
A riotously funny novel from Penny Smith. Miranda Blake is divorced. At 45, things are starting to head south. She’s toying with the idea of Botox. Toying with the idea of facial surgery. And toying with getting a job or possibly a toy boy. The only block to all those things is her stiff, uppity daughter, 23-year-old Lucy. Pompous, is what Miranda calls her. (Sane, is how Lucy sees it.) Her friends are trying to set her up with a collection of bankers and company directors… Similar types to her ex-husband, Nigel (Nigel – just saying his name makes her wince) and every new date ends in disaster. So, one summer's day, Miranda decides to go and help clean out a local canal. She falls for Alex, a dreadlocked eco-warrior. But Lucy does not approve, and sets about sabotaging the relationship. She succeeds… Miranda, heartbroken, goes on holiday to Spain. But there, things only go from bad to worse – she falls in with a bad crowd, and is soon way out of her depth. What is it they know about Alex and his family? How is the wealthy recluse, and island owner, David Miller involved in their dodgy business activities? Aboard a glamorous yacht, hosting an award ceremony with former breakfast TV star Katie Fisher, Miranda might be in more trouble than she ever could have imagined. Will Alex get there in time to save her?
The Norfolk Mystery (The County Guides)
The Norfolk Mystery (The County Guides)
Ian Sansom
¥57.09
Love Miss Marple? Adore Holmes and Watson? Professor Morley’s guide to Norfolk is a story of bygone England; quaint villages, eccentric locals – and murder! It is 1937 and disillusioned Spanish Civil War veteran Stephen Sefton is stony broke. So when he sees a mysterious advertisement for a job where ‘intelligence is essential’, he applies. Thus begins Sefton’s association with Professor Swanton Morley, an omnivorous intellect. Morley’s latest project is a history of traditional England, with a guide to every county. They start in Norfolk, but when the vicar of Blakeney is found hanging from his church’s bellrope, Morley and Sefton find themselves drawn into a rather more fiendish plot. Did the Reverend really take his own life, or was it – murder? Beginning a thrilling new detective series, ‘The Norfolk Mystery’ is the first of The County Guides. A must-read for fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, every county is a crime scene and no-one is above suspicion!
Millennium People
Millennium People
J. G. Ballard,Iain Sinclair
¥57.09
Violent rebellion comes to London’s middle classes in the extraordinary new novel from the author of ‘Cocaine Nights’ and ‘Super-Cannes’. When a bomb explodes at Heathrow, it looks like just another random act of violence to psychologist David Markham. But when he discovers that his ex-wife is among the victims he is compelled to further investigate the mysterious and shocking circumstances surrounding her death. Acting on police suspicions he immerses himself in the strange world of London’s fringe protest movements. A quiet rebellion against middle-class normality is taking place. However as civic responsibility and the trappings of consumer society are jettisoned the movement grows steadily more bellicose and Markham is increasingly lured by the idea of revolution and terror.
Utterly Monkey
Utterly Monkey
Nick Laird
¥57.09
A very funny, energetic, wonderfully engaging novel about where we’re from and where we’d like to get to… Danny Williams is talented, upwardly mobile and has left his Northern Irish small town roots well behind him. In his mid-twenties he lives in a stylish London flat and has a job in a top London law firm. However, one innocuous Wednesday night his old mucker from home, Geordie Wilson, arrives at the door. On the run from a loyalist militia, whose operational funds he has taken, he manages to bring everything that Danny has been fleeing from right to his smart London doorstep. Taking place over an intense and gripping five-day period–set in both London and the fictional Irish town of Ballyglass–Nick Laird has written an hilarious, touching and ultimately redemptive novel about friendship.
SS-GB
SS-GB
Len Deighton
¥57.09
In February 1941 British Command surrendered to the Nazis. Churchill has been executed, the King is in the Tower and the SS are in Whitehall… For nine months Britain has been occupied - a blitzed, depressed and dingy country. However, it’s ‘business as usual’ at Scotland Yard run by the SS when Detective Inspector Archer is assigned to a routine murder case. Life must go on. But when SS Standartenfuhrer Huth arrives from Berlin with orders from the great Himmler himself to supervise the investigation, the resourceful Archer finds himself caught up in a high level, all action, espionage battle. This is a spy story quite different from any other. Only Deighton, with his flair for historical research and his narrative genius, could have written it.
Fallen Skies
Fallen Skies
Philippa Gregory
¥57.09
Terrific novel set in the Roaring Twenties, reissued to accompany Philippa Gregory’s bestselling novel, The Other Boleyn Girl Lily Valance wants to forget the war. She's determined to enjoy the world of the 1920s, with its music, singing, laughter and pleasure. When she meets Captain Stephen Winters, a decorated hero back from the Front, she's drawn to his wealth and status. In Lily he sees his salvation – from the past, from the nightmare, from the guilt at surviving the Flanders plains where so many were lost. But it's a dream that cannot last. Lily has no intention of leaving her singing career. The hidden tensions of the respectable facade of the Winters household come to a head. Stephen's nightmares merge ever closer with reality and the truth of what took place in the mud and darkness brings him and all who loves him to a terrible reckoning…
The Raphael Affair
The Raphael Affair
Iain Pears
¥57.09
First in the Italian art-history crime series featuring English dealer and sleuth Jonathan Argyll, from the author of the best-selling masterpiece 'An Instance of the Fingerpost'. Flavia di Stefano is the kind of Italian beauty that art dealer Jonathon Argyll doesn't normally get to meet in his line of work. But, it turns out, all he had to do was get caught breaking into one of Rome's churches – for Flavia is the Art Theft officer tasked with interviewing Jonathon. A strange way to meet, perhaps, but then Jonathon has an even stranger tale to tell. His claim that the church contains a lost classic, hidden under another painting, is treated with cautious scepticism. But when the picture first vanishes, then turns up in the hands of a British art dealer claiming it's a newly discovered Raphael, it's clear there's more to it than meets the eye. When vandalism is followed by murder, it's up to Jonathan and Flavia to discover just how much more – a quest for the true nature of a painting with a lethal history…
A Small Death in Lisbon
A Small Death in Lisbon
Robert Wilson
¥57.09
This stunning, atmospheric thriller set in war-torn Europe won the CWA Gold Dagger and has now been reissued with the Javier Falcon series. A Portuguese bank is founded on the back of Nazi wartime deals. Over half a century later a young girl is murdered in Lisbon. 1941. Klaus Felsen, SS, arrives in Lisbon and the strangest party in history where Nazis and Allies, refugees and entrepreneurs dance to the strains of opportunism and despair. Felsen’s war takes him to the bleak mountains of the north where a brutal battle is being fought for an element vital to Hitler’s blitzkrieg. Late 1990s, Lisbon. Inspector Ze Coelho is investigating the murder of a young girl with a disturbing sexual past. As Ze digs deeper he overturns the dark soil of history and unearths old bones. The 1974 revolution has left injustices of the old fascist regime unresolved. But there’s an older, greater injustice for which this small death in Lisbon is horrific compensation, and in his final push for the truth, Ze must face the most chilling opposition.
Angels at Christmas: Those Christmas Angels / Where Angels Go
Angels at Christmas: Those Christmas Angels / Where Angels Go
Debbie Macomber
¥57.09
Perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy' - Candis If you had one wish this Christmas… Those Christmas Angels Anne Fletcher sends a heartfelt plea in the hope that someone is looking down on her this Christmas. One wish – for her son to be happy. She doesn’t expect to have her prayer answered by three mischievous angels! They’re about to do a little matchmaking on Anne’s behalf and make her Christmas wish come true. Where Angels Go The angels are on hand again for lovely Beth Fischer who, since her divorce, is looking for romance once more. At eighty-six, Harry has prayed for peace of mind and little Carter Jackson has just one Christmas wish. Angels Shirley, Goodness and Mercy will make miracles happen this Christmas… Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber.
Instances of the Number 3
Instances of the Number 3
Salley Vickers
¥57.09
The fantastic new edition of the bestselling second novel from the author of ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’. Bridget Hansome and Frances Slater have only one thing in common. And that's Peter Hansome, who has died suddenly. Without their husband or lover, the women find that before they can rebuild their lives they must look to themselves and unravel mysteries that they had never before even suspected. So begins an unlikely alliance between wife and mistress and a voyage of discovery that is as comic as it is profound. ‘Instances of the Number 3’ is a funny, beguiling exploration of love, bereavement, Shakespeare, illusion and the impossibility of escaping your past. Following on from ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’, this brilliant novel confirms Salley Vickers as a writer who transcends generations.
Three Wise Men
Three Wise Men
Martina Devlin
¥57.09
A warm, witty and wise novel about love, friendship and being in your thirties. Gloria, Eimear and Kate have been friends since they were a trio of six-year-olds cast as the Three Wise Men in the nativity play. Twenty-five years on, they’ve left Omagh for Dublin and grown up to be Three Unwise Women, all too prone to misuse the gifts they’ve been given. Eimear’s beauty captivates men but robs her of independence. Kate’s dazzling wit blinds her to the consequences of betraying a friend. And Gloria’s urge to nurture, thwarted by infertility, threatens to destroy everything she holds dear. Aided and abetted in their misdeeds by the irresistible Jack, philandering poet and seducer extraordinaire, the troika find themselves putting their friendship to a test from which it may never recover. To this black comedy Martina Devlin brings a delightful lightness of touch, a turn of phrase to treasure, and three characters to take to your heart.
The Drowning of Arthur Braxton
The Drowning of Arthur Braxton
Caroline Smailes
¥57.09
The bestselling modern fairytale, with a new introduction from Luke Cutforth ‘I loved it … so good!’ CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER Arthur Braxton has had enough. His mum has left, his dad is broken and he’s the laughing stock of his high school. But things are about to change. When Arthur runs away and shelters in an old abandoned bathhouse, he sees a naked woman swimming in the pool. From this point on, his sad little life will never be the same.