FICTION CATALOGUE JANUARY - JUNE 2019
1 Once Upon a River Diane Setterfield
A spellbinding, multi-layered mystery set in the 19th Century around the Thames, brimming with folklore, suspense, science and romance, by the bestselling author of The Thirteenth Tale, a 'mistress of the craft of storytelling' (Guardian)
A SPELLBINDING, MULTI-LAYERED MYSTERY SET IN THE 19TH CENTURY AROUND THE THAMES, BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THIRTEENTH TALE.
"I was completely spellbound by this book. Utterly brilliant!" (Ruth Hogan, bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things)
On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames, the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child.
Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes and breath and returns to life.
Is it a miracle?
Is it magic?
And who does the little girl belong to?
An exquisitely crafted multi-layered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.
"Diane's masterful storytelling draws you in to a beguiling tale, full of twists and turns like the river at its heart, and just as rich and January 2019 intriguing." (M L Stedman, bestselling author of The Light Between 9780857525659 £12.99 Oceans) Royal Octavo : Hardback “Swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful. Give yourself a treat 432 pages and read it!" (Madeline Miller, Orange Prize-winning author of The Song of Achilles and Circe)
Diane Setterfield’s bestselling novel, The Thirteenth Tale was published in 38 countries, sold more than three million copies, and was made into a television drama scripted by Christopher Hampton, starring Olivia Colmanand Vanessa Redgrave. Her second novel was Bellman & Black, and her new novel is Once Upon a River. Born in rural Berkshire, she now lives near Oxford, by the Thames.
2 The Suspect From the No. 1 bestselling author of Richard & Judy Book Club hit The Child Fiona Barton
Unforgettable journalist, Kate Waters - last seen in Sunday Times bestsellers THE WIDOW and THE CHILD - is back, investigating every parent's worst nightmare: the disappearance of two teenagers on their gap year.
A stylish, beautifully written and perfectly pitched thriller that will have you racing to the denouement.' Cara Hunter, bestselling author of CLOSE TO HOME and IN THE DARK
The new must-read thriller from the author of Sunday Times bestseller, THE WIDOW, and the Richard & Judy No. 1 bestseller, THE CHILD.
'A fast-paced whodunnit with heart, characters I feel I know and a deliciously dark twist. Superb writing, often blackly funny, and a scene that made me cry into my pillow.' Gillian McAllister, Sunday Times bestselling author of EVERYTHING BUT THE TRUTH
'Fiona Barton is perceptive, empathetic and a talented writer' Daily Express
*********
‘The police belonged to another world – the world they saw on the television or in the papers. Not theirs.’
When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing on their gap year in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft and frantic with worry. January 2019 9781787630222 Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to £12.99 the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth – and this Royal Octavo : Hardback time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, who 384 pages she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. This time it’s personal.
And as the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think . . .
Fiona Barton's debut, The Widow, was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been published in thirty-five countries and optioned for television. Her second novel, The Child, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Born in Cambridge, Fiona currently lives in south- west France.
Previously, she was a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at the Mail on Sunday, where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards.
While working as a journalist, Fiona reported on many high-profile criminal cases and she developed a fascination with watching those involved, their body language and verbal tics. Fiona interviewed people at the heart of these crimes, from the guilty to their families, as well as those on the periphery, and found it was those just outside the spotlight who interested her most . . .
3 A Mother’s Dilemma Emma Hornby
A pregnant teenager whose only option is to give up her child falls into a baby farmer's clutches in this gritty and page-turning historical saga, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.
Minnie Maddox, a Manchester baby farmer, is delighted for her neighbour when she finally becomes a mother after more than two decades of trying. But when the child dies of natural causes whilst in her care, and knowing her neighbour will be devastated, Minnie swaps it with one of her charges. Years later, the child - Jewel - discovers the truth and sets out to find her real parents.
Gritty and page-turning historical saga set in Northern England in the late 1800s, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.
Thirty-something mother of three, Emma Hornby lives on a tight-knit working-class estate in Bolton and has read sagas all her life. Before pursuing a career as a novelist, she had a variety of jobs, from care assistant for the elderly, to working in a Blackpool rock factory. She was inspired to write after researching her family history; like the characters in her books, many generations of her family eked out life amidst the squalor and poverty of Lancashire's slums.
January 2019 9780593080559 Demy Octavo £18.99 : Hardback 448 pages
4 Slow Motion Ghosts Jeff Noon
A dark and labyrinthine thriller from a bold new voice in crime fiction
A dark and labyrinthine thriller from a bold new voice in crime fiction
It is 1981. London is bruised by austerity, social unrest and racial tension, and the police are at war. Anger has erupted in the Brixton Riots and is finding expression in protest, anarchy and punk. For Detective Inspector Hobbes, the battle lines are being redrawn within his own ranks as right and wrong are clouded by prejudice.
Into this mess comes a murder. A promising young singer has been maimed and killed and the artistry of the crime is disturbing. On the hunt for the killer, Hobbes begins an investigation that will lead him deep into a subculture hidden beneath the everyday. A cult of personality that hides from the problems of the city and escapes to a world of its own, a world that is at once seductive and devastating. How far will Hobbes have to go to learn the truth? And how many more must die before he does?
Bringing the trademark imagination of his acclaimed early novels, Jeff Noon has delivered a police procedural with a difference - an intricate, twisting crime novel that pulls you in and doesn’t let go.
Jeff Noon is the author of six acclaimed novels, Vurt, Pollen, January 2019 Automated Alice, Nymphomation, Needle in the Groove and 9780857525611 Falling Out of Cars, as well as two collections of short fictions, Royal Octavo and is also the crime fiction reviewer for The Spectator. He lives £16.99 : Hardback in Brighton. 384 pages
Jeff Noon is the author of six acclaimed novels, Vurt, Pollen, Automated Alice, Nymphomation, Needle in the Groove and Falling Out of Cars, and two collections of short fictions, Pixel Juice and Cobralingus. He lives in Brighton.
5 I Owe You One Sophie Kinsella
Number One bestselling author Sophie Kinsella's irresistible new standalone: a story of love, empowerment and an IOU that changes everything . . .
The irresistible new standalone from Sophie Kinsella is a story of love, empowerment and an IOU that changes everything . . .
Fixie Farr can’t help herself. Straightening a crooked object, removing a barely-there stain, helping out a friend . . . she just has to put things right. It’s how she got her nickname, after all.
So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees, she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank her, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, scribbles her an IOU – but of course Fixie never intends to call in the favour.
That is, until her teenage crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and needs her help – and Fixie turns to Seb. But things don’t go according to plan, and now Fixie owes Seb: big time.
Soon the pair are caught up in a series of IOUs – from small favours to life-changing debts – and Fixie is torn between the past she’s used to and the future she deserves.
Does she have the courage to fix things for herself and fight for the life, and love, she really wants?
***** EVERYBODY LOVES SOPHIE KINSELLA: *****
'A shot of pure joy.' JENNY COLGAN February 2019 'Left me giddy with laughter. I loved it' JOJO MOYES 9780593079928 £20.00 'Life doesn't get much better than a new Sophie Kinsella novel' RED Royal Octavo : Hardback 384 pages
Sophie Kinsella is an international bestselling writer. She is the author of many number one bestsellers, including the hugely popular Shopaholic series.
She has also written seven bestselling novels as Madeleine Wickham and several books for children.
She lives in the UK with her husband and family.
6 Written From the Heart Trisha Ashley
A reissue of one of Trisha's earliest works: a fantastically funny novel about unusual love affairs and building your own happy ending, from the Sunday Times bestselling queen of popular fiction.
-- Previously published in 2008 as 'Happy Endings' --
The witty, weird and wonderful abound in this early romantic comedy by Sunday Times bestselling author Trisha Ashley.
Tina Devino makes more money teaching people to write than writing herself. A middling romance novelist who dreams of penning a bestseller, she’s increasingly forced to compete with younger, blonder debut authors for her publisher and agent’s attention.
Feeling forgotten, Tina realises the only way up is to take her career and destiny in hand and build her own happy ending; which is perfect because, for a romance writer, Tina isn’t the most traditional of women… Although she does see her long term partner lover friend, Sergei, once a week which is ‘quite enough, thank you very much’. But her uncomplicated love life might soon need some unravelling when a mysterious Tube Man, unwelcome ex-husband and a shadowy figure in a butterfly mask waltz into the picture.
Only Tina can work through the drama and claim the life she’s always wanted… but will she succeed? February 2019 9781784160883 Hilariously warm, quirky and feel-good, Trisha Ashley's writing is B format perfect for fans of romantic comedies by Milly Johnson and Jill £8.99 : Paperback Mansell. 400 pages
Trisha Ashley's Sunday Times bestselling novels have twice been shortlisted for the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance, and Every Woman for Herself was nominated by readers as one of the top three romantic novels of the last fifty years.
Trisha lives in North Wales. For more information about her please visit www.trishaashley.com, her Facebook page www.facebook.com/TrishaAshleyBooks or follow her on Twitter @trishaashley.
7 Kellanved's Reach Path to Ascendancy Book 3 Ian C. Esslemont
An enthralling, exciting third chapter - full of adventure and magic - in the new epic fantasy sequence 'Path to Ascendancy' by Ian C. Esslemont that takes readers back to the turbulent and troubled early history of what would become the Malazan Empire.
The incessant war between the bickering city states of Quon Tali rages. So engrossed are the warring lords and princes in their own petty feuds that few notice that an upstart mage from Dal Hon has gained control of the southern seas. But some powers are alarmed And in the meantime, as Purge and Tali indulge in what seems like a their never-ending game of war, a mercenary caught up in the fight between the two states suddenly refuses to play along and causes all sorts of chaos. Simultaneously, a pair of escapees from Castle Gris make their way across this ravaged landscape of flame and butchery. Their intention to seek out the legendary Crimson Guard. And then there's Kellanved who could not care less about any of this petty politicking or strategy or war. Something other and altogether more mysterious has caught his attention and he - together with a reluctant and decidedly sceptical Dancer - traverse continents and journey through the Realms in pursuit . . . But this ancient mystery that has so captivated Kellanved is neither esoteric nor ephemeral. No, it is of an altogether darker and more dangerous hue. It involves the Elder races themselves, and more specifically - certainly more alarmingly - the semi-mythic, and universally dreaded, Army of Dust and Bone. Surely no one in their right mind would be so foolish as to embark on a journey from which none have returned? Well, no one except Kellanved that is . . .
Returning to the turbulent early history of what would become the February 2019 Malazan Empire, here is the third awesome chapter in Ian C. 9780593074756 Esslemont's new epic fantasy sequence. £20.00 Royal Octavo : Hardback Born in Winnipeg in 1962, IAN CAMERON ESSLEMONT has studied and 352 pages worked as an archaeologist, travelled extensively in South East Asia B & W map and lived in Thailand and Japan for several years. He now lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, with his wife and children. He has a creative writing degree and his novels Night of Knives, Return of the Crimson Guard, Stonewielder, Orb Sceptre Throne, Blood and Bone and Assail are all set in the fantasy world of Malaz that he co-created with Steven Erikson. His latest novel, Dancer's Lament, begins an exciting new series that is set in the same extraordinarily imagined world.
8 The Secretary Renée Knight
The new novel from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Disclaimer.
'A cool, contemporary, whip-smart thriller.' - Paula Hawkins, author of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN and INTO THE WATER
Look around you. Who holds the most power in the room? Is it the one who speaks loudest, who looks the part, who has the most money, who commands the most respect?
Or perhaps it’s someone like Christine Butcher: a meek, overlooked figure, who silently bears witness as information is shared and secrets are whispered. Someone who quietly, perhaps even unwittingly, gathers together knowledge of the people she’s there to serve – the ones who don’t notice her, the ones who consider themselves to be important.
There’s a fine line between loyalty and obsession. And when someone like Christine Butcher is pushed to her limit, she might just become the most dangerous person in the room . . .
The eagerly anticipated new thriller from the No.1 bestselling author of Disclaimer.
Renée Knight worked as a documentary-maker for the BBC before turning to writing. She is a graduate of the Faber Academy ‘Writing a Novel’ course, and lives in London with her husband and two children. Her widely acclaimed debut novel, February 2019 Disclaimer, was a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller. The Secretary 9780857522849 is her second novel. Royal Octavo £12.99 : Hardback 352 pages
9 Perfect Liars Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies Rebecca Reid
From an exciting new voice in fiction comes PERFECT LIARS - three women walk into a dinner party, but only two will walk out. This is Mean Girls with murder.
'Dark, witty and clever with an ending that made me shiver' Lauren Bravo, The Pool
How far would you go to protect the life you’ve built?
Sixteen years ago, best friends Nancy, Georgia and Lila committed a terrible crime.
They have never spoken about it. But now, in their thirties, one of them wants to talk.
One word and everything could be ruined: their lives, their careers, their relationships. It's up to Georgia to call a crisis dinner.
But the evening does not go as planned.
Three women walk in to the dinner, but only two will leave. Murder isn’t so difficult the second time around…
'Despicable protagonists, despicable victim, I adored every second of it.' Sarah J Naughton, author of Tattle Tale February 2019 'Disturbing and brilliant. A very refreshing psychological 9780552175609 suspense novel and an outstanding debut.' Lauren North, £7.99 : Paperback author of The Perfect Betrayal 368 pages Rebecca is a freelance journalist. She is a columnist for the Telegraph Women’s section, works for Metro Online and has written for Marie Claire, the Guardian, the Saturday Telegraph, the Independent, Stylist, Glamour, the iPaper, the Guardian, Indy100, LOOK and the New Statesmen amongst others.
Rebecca is a regular contributor to Sky News and ITV’s This Morning as well as appearing on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, LBC, BBC News 24 and the BBC World Service to discuss her work.
She graduated from Royal Holloway’s Creative Writing MA in 2015 and Perfect Liars is her debut novel.
10 One False Move Robert Goddard
ONE FALSE MOVE is classic Goddard, a twisting mystery that quickly becomes a heart-stopping thriller...
What value can be put on a human mind?
How Joe Roberts does what he does is a mystery. He has a brain that seems able to outperform a computer. To a games company like Venstrom that promises big profits if his abilities can be properly exploited. So they send Nicole Nevinson to track him down and make him an offer too good to refuse.
But Venstrom aren’t the only people interested in Joe. His current boss, a shady businessman, is already making serious money out of Joe’s talents and isn’t going to let him go without a fight. And then there are other forces, with still darker intentions, who have their own plans for him.
Almost before she knows it, Nicole’s crossed an invisible line into a world where the game being played has rules she doesn’t understand and where no-one can help her win.
But win she must. Because the battle now isn’t just for Joe’s mind, it’s for Nicole’s life.
Robert Goddard was born in Hampshire in 1954. He was educated at Price’s School Fareham, and Peterhouse, Cambridge where he read History. He unsuccessfully pursued various career options, finally spending ten years as a local government officer. Frustrated with a lot of contemporary February 2019 fiction, he set out to write a novel that did what he wanted 9780593076385 more novels to do: tell a tightly constructed and densely Royal Octavo plotted story engrossingly and satisfyingly. The result was Past £18.99 : Hardback Caring and when it became a success he realised that he had, 384 pages in fact, always been a writer.
11 Too Close Natalie Daniels
For fans of Harriet Lane’s HER and Paula Daly’s KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, TOO CLOSE is a twisting tale of friendship and betrayal. How close is too close?
For fans of Harriet Lane’s HER and Paula Daly’s KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, TOO CLOSE is a twisting tale of friendship and betrayal.
How close is too close?
There’s a moment, when you meet someone new, when the connection is so strong that making a friend can feel like falling in love.
That’s how it was for Connie and Ness. They met in the park while their children played and as they talked, they realised they were neighbours. Perhaps it was only natural that they and their families would become entirely inseparable.
But when Ness’s marriage ends in a bitter divorce, she is suddenly at Connie’s house all the time. Connie doesn’t have a moment to herself, no time alone with her husband, not a second to chat to her kids. It’s all too much. Something has to give.
Connie has woken up in a psychiatric hospital. They say she committed a terrible crime but she says she can’t remember a thing. March 2019 Natalie Daniels is the pseudonym for screenwriter, author and 9780552176125 actress Clara Salaman who you may recognise as DS Claire £7.99 : Paperback Stanton from The Bill. She lives in London and in Northern 320 pages Spain.
12 Bryant & May - The Lonely Hour (Bryant & May Book 17) Christopher Fowler
In London a cunning killer goes about his grim work - a killer who always strikes at 'the lonely hour' - 4am. It falls to detectives Arthur Bryant and John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit to find the method in his madness . . .
In Which Mr May Makes A Mistake And Mr Bryant Goes Into The Dark On a rainy winter night outside a run-down nightclub in the wrong part of London, four strangers meet for the first time at 4:00am. A few weeks later the body of an Indian textile worker is found hanging upside down inside a willow tree on Hampstead Heath. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to investigate. The victim was found surrounded by the paraphernalia of black magic, and so Arthur Bryant and John May set off to question experts in the field. But the case is not what it appears. When another victim seemingly commits suicide, it becomes clear that in the London night is a killer who knows what people fear most. And he always strikes at 4:00am. In order to catch him, the PCU must switch to night shifts, but still the team draws a blank. John May takes a technological approach, Arthur Bryant goes in search of academics and misfits for help, for this is becoming a case that reveals impossibilities at every turn, not least that there's no indication of what the victims might have done to attract the attentions of a murderer that doesn’t seem to exist. But impossibilities are what the Peculiar Crimes Unit does best. As they explore a night city where all the normal rules are upended, they’re drawn deeper into a case that involves murder, arson, kidnap, blackmail, bats and the psychological effects of loneliness on Londoners. It's a trail that takes them from the poorest part of the East End to the wealthiest homes in North London - an investigation that can only end in tragedy… March 2019 Christopher Fowler is the author of more than forty novels (sixteen of 9780857525680 which feature the detectives Bryant and May and the Peculiar Crimes £16.99 Unit) and many short story collections. A multiple award-winner, Demy Octavo : Hardback including the coveted CWA ‘Dagger in the Library’, Chris has also 360 pages written screenplays, video games, graphic novels, audio plays and two acclaimed memoirs, Paperboy and Film Freak. His most recent non- fiction book is The Book of Forgotten Authors. Chris divides his time between London's King’s Cross and Barcelona. You can find out more by visiting his website and following him on Twitter.
13 The Boy in the Headlights (Munch and Krüger Book 3) Samuel Bjork
How can you stop a murderer when you cannot predict their next move? A serial killer is choosing his victims at random, it is a detective's worst nightmare and the ultimate challenge for Munch and Kruger.
The bestselling series, a former Richard and Judy bookclub pick, returns with another chilling case.
‘Gives Jo Nesbo a run for his money’ Sunday Express
Munch and Krüger. An unexpected pairing. A brilliant team.
Winter 1999. An old man is driving home when his headlights catch an animal on the empty road up ahead. He stamps hard on the brakes. But it is not an animal at all. It is a young boy, frightened and alone, with a set of deer antlers strapped firmly to his head.
Fourteen years later, a body is found in a mountain lake. Within weeks, three people have died. Each time, the killer has left a clue, inviting Special Investigations Detectives Munch and Krüger to play a deadly game – a game they cannot possibly win. Against the most dangerous and terrifying kind of serial killer. One who chooses their victims completely at random.
To find the killer they must look deep within their own dark March 2019 pasts, but how can you stop a murderer when you cannot 9780857522542 begin to predict their next move? Royal Octavo £14.99 : Hardback Samuel Bjork is the pen name of Norwegian novelist, 384 pages playwright and singer/songwriter Frode Sander Øien. The Owl Always Hunts At Night is the second in his Munch and Krüger series, I’m Travelling Alone was the first. Both have been bestsellers across Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.
14 A Vintage Summer Cathy Bramley
A Vintage Summer is the new fizzingly fun, feel-good and comical romantic novel from bestselling author Cathy Bramley.
A sparkling summer story that's FULL of surprises!
London has not been kind to Lottie Allbright. Realising it’s time to cut and run, she packs up and moves back home – but finds her family in disarray. In need of a new place to stay, Lottie takes up the offer of a live-in job managing a local vineyard. There’s a lot to learn – she didn’t even know grapes could grow so far north!
Butterworth Wines in the rolling Derbyshire hills has always been run on love and passion but a tragic death has left everyone at a loss. Widowed Betsy is trying to keep the place afloat but is harbouring a debilitating secret. Meanwhile her handsome but interfering grandson, Jensen, is trying to convince her to sell up and move into a home.
Lottie’s determined to save Butterworth Wines, but with all this and an unpredictable English summer to deal with, it’ll be a challenge.
And that’s before she discovers something that will turn her summer – and her world – upside down . . .
Your favourite authors have loved reading Cathy's novels:
‘Delightful!’ Katie Fforde ‘A page-turner of a story’ Milly Johnson 'Delightfully warm with plenty of twists and turns' Trisha Ashley
Cathy Bramley is the Sunday Times bestselling author of romantic comedies including Wickham Hall, The Lemon Tree Café, Hetty's Farmhouse Bakery and A Match Made in Devon. She lives in a March 2019 Nottinghamshire village with her family. 9780552173957 £7.99 Her recent career as a full-time writer of light-hearted, romantic fiction B format : Paperback has come as somewhat of a lovely surprise after spending eighteen 416 pages years running her own marketing agency. However, she has been always an avid reader, never without a book on the go and now thinks she may have found her dream job!
Cathy loves to hear from her readers. You can get in touch via her website or on social media.
15 The Fire Starters Jan Carson
A brilliant, dark, propulsive literary novel from a prize- winning rising star in Irish fiction: two fathers are determined to protect their children in a dangerous world, but what if it's the world that needs protecting?
'Spectacular. Dark, beautiful, at once grittily real and wildly magical. Insanely alluring - a siren -song of a novel.' DONAL RYAN
When Doctor Jonathan Murray is abandoned by his lover – a strange, alluring woman of mysterious origin – to care for their new-born baby, he begins to suspect his daughter is no ordinary, harmless child.
On the rougher side of town, Sammy Agnew is wrestling with his dark past, and fears the violence in his blood lurks in his son, too – a silent, cold boy who rarely emerges from his room in the attic.
Meanwhile, Belfast is seething with menace under a fierce sun: someone is lighting fires everywhere, and encouraging others to do so too. As the city falls into frenzy, and as the lines between fantasy and truth, right and wrong, begin to blur, Jonathan and Sammy’s worlds collide. Soon, both men will be forced to question everything they thought they knew – about themselves, about their children, and about the lengths they are prepared to go to in the name of love.
Jan Carson is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Her first April 2019 novel, Malcolm Orange Disappears, was published in 2014 to 9780857525741 critical acclaim, followed by a short collection, Children’s Children Demy Octavo (2016), and a flash fiction anthology, Postcard Stories (2017). £14.99 : Hardback Among many other successes, she was shortlisted for the 304 pages Sean O’Faolain short story prize in 2016, and won the Harper’s Bazaar short story competition in 2016. Her much anticipated second novel, The Fire Starters, will be published in the UK and Ireland in April 2019.
16 Star-Crossed Minnie Darke
A delicious romantic comedy about good friends, true love and all the signs of the Zodiac. Why rely on fate when you can rewrite the stars?
Destiny doesn't happen by accident . . .
When Justine Carmichael (Sagittarius, aspiring journalist and sceptic) bumps into her teenage crush Nick Jordan (Aquarius, struggling actor and true believer) it could be by chance. Or it could be written in the stars.
Justine works at the Alexandria Park Star - and Nick, she now learns, relies on the magazine's astrology column to guide him in life.
Looking for a way to get Nick’s attention, Justine has the idea of making a few small alterations to the horoscope for Aquarius before it goes to print.
After all, it’s only the stars. What could possibly go wrong?
Star-crossed is a funny, super-smart and gloriously feel-good novel, perfect for anyone who loves David Nicholls, Marian Keyes and Jojo Moyes.
Minnie Darke lives in Tasmania, Australia. She is a Gemini, a daylight librarian and moonlight cherisher of almost-forgotten dreams of becoming an actor, a Scrabble cutthroat and drinker of Russian Caravan tea, the human companion to one street April 2019 terrier and two British Giant rabbits. 9781787631076 Demy Octavo £12.99 : Hardback 388 pages 0
17 If, Then Kate Hope Day
A powerful, immersive literary debut about ordinary lives set against extraordinary events: If life as you know it were about to end, would you try to change it?
In a sleepy Oregon town at the base of a dormant volcano, four neighbours find their lives upended when they see visions of themselves in an alternate reality, and have to question the choices they’ve made as natural disaster looms.
For fans of Celeste Ng's LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE and TV serial SIX FEET UNDER.
In the shadow of a dormant volcano in Oregon lies a small town much like any other – though mistier perhaps, and greener. Look closely and you’ll see four neighbours plagued by strange visions.
Ginny, a devoted surgeon, is troubled by a vision of a beautiful colleague in her bed; her husband Mark, a wildlife scientist, foresees imminent and devastating natural disaster. Next door lives Samara, a young estate agent, who sees a vision of her late mother looking healthy and vibrant; opposite is Cass, a brilliant scholar struggling with the demands of a small baby, who glimpses an image of herself pregnant all over again, just as she is returning to her game-changing research.
When the volcano begins to rumble, it becomes clear that these visions are not what they first seemed, and that the April 2019 lives of this close-knit community are in grave danger 9780857525826 Demy Octavo KATE HOPE DAY was an associate producer at HBO. She lives £12.99 : Hardback with her husband, children and pets in Oregon, US, where her 272 pages novel is set.
18 Sunfall Jim Al-Khalili
Twenty-five years in the future, and our planet is facing a natural Armageddon that threatens all life on Earth - Professor Jim Al-Khalili combines rip-roaring storytelling and mind-expanding science in his debut thriller.
From renowned theoretical physicist, broadcaster and author Jim Al-Khalili, comes this thrilling debut novel drawing on cutting-edge science and set in a near-future full of dazzling technologies.
2041 and the world as we know it grinds to a halt. Our planet seems to be turning against itself - it would appear that the magnetic field, that protects life on Earth from deadly radiation from space, is failing . . .
Desperate to quell the mass hysteria that would surely follow, world governments have concealed this rapidly emerging Armageddon. But a young Iranian hacktivist stumbles across the truth, and it becomes a race against time to reactivate the earth's core using beams of dark matter.
As a small team of brave and brilliant scientists battle to find a way of transforming theory into practice, they face a fanatical group intent on pursuing their own endgame agenda: for they believe mankind to be a plague upon this earth and will do anything, commit any crime, to ensure that the project fails . . .
And so bring about humanity's end. April 2019 Jim Al-Khalili OBE FRS is a quantum physicist, author and 9780593077429 broadcaster based at the University of Surrey where he holds Royal Octavo a joint chair in physics and the public engagement in science. £16.99 : Hardback He has written ten books, translated into over twenty 320 pages languages. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries and also presents the long-running weekly BBC Radio 4 programme, The Life Scientific. A recipient of the Royal Society Michael Faraday medal, the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal and the inaugural Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, he is also the current president of the British Science Association. He received an OBE in 2007 for ‘services to science’ and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 2018. Sunfall is his first novel. Jim Al-Khalili lives in Hampshire.
19 The Scent of Death (David Hunter 6)
Forensics expert Dr David Hunter returns in the menacing, skin-pricklingly tense new crime thriller from international bestseller Simon Beckett, author of The Chemistry of Death.
It’s been a good summer for forensics expert Dr David Hunter. His relationship is going well and he’s in demand again as a police consultant. Life is good.
Then a call comes from an old associate: a body has been found, and she’d like Hunter to take a look.
The empty shell of St Jude’s Hospital now stands awaiting demolition, its only visitors society’s outcasts, addicts and dealers. A partially mummified corpse has been discovered in the hospital’s cavernous loft, but not even Hunter can say how long it’s been there. All he knows for sure is that it’s the body of a young woman. And that she was pregnant.
But the collapse of the loft floor reveals another of the hospital’s secrets. A sealed-off chamber, still with beds inside. Some of them occupied...
For Hunter, what began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare that threatens everyone around him. And as the investigation springs more surprises, one thing is certain.
St Jude’s hasn’t claimed its last victim . . . April 2019 With its viscerally authentic forensics, menacing atmosphere 9780593063491 and nerve-shredding tension, Simon Beckett’s new crime £18.99 thriller will leave you gasping. 368 pages
Simon Beckett has worked as a freelance journalist for national newspapers and colour supplements. He is the author of five international bestselling crime thrillers featuring his forensic anthropologist hero, Dr David Hunter: The Chemistry of Death, Written in Bone, Whispers of the Dead, The Calling of the Grave and The Restless Dead. His stand-alone novels include Stone Bruises and Where There's Smoke. He lives in Sheffield.
20 The Forest of Wool and Steel Natsu Miyashita
Million-copy bestselling winner of the Japan Booksellers Award, chosen as the title bookshop staff most wanted to hand-sell: A feel-good, uplifting novel for fans of A WHOLE LIFE by Robert Seethaler.
Mega-bestselling winner of the Japan Booksellers Award, selected by bookshop staff as the book they most wanted to hand-sell: A tender and uplifting novel for fans of A WHOLE LIFE by Robert Seethaler.
Over a million copies sold.
What he experienced that day wasn’t life-changing . . . It was life- making.
Tomura is startled by the hypnotic sound of a piano being tuned in his school. It seeps into his soul and transports him to the forests, dark and gleaming, that surround his beloved mountain village. From that moment, he is determined to discover more.
Under the tutelage of three master piano-tuners – one humble, one cheery, one ill-tempered – Tomura embarks on his training, never straying too far from a single, unfathomable question: do I have what it takes?
Set in small-town Japan, this warm and mystical story is for the lucky few who have found their calling – and for the rest of us who are still searching. It shows that the road to finding one’s April 2019 purpose is a winding path, often filled with treacherous doubts 9780857525185 and, for those who persevere, astonishing moments of Demy Octavo revelation. £9.99 : Hardback 224 pages
[Contains 5 exquisite hand-drawn illustrations]
21 Ellie and the Harpmaker Hazel Prior
Sometimes it takes a chance encounter to discover what your life can be . . . Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and The Rosie Project.
Meet Ellie. She’s perfectly happy with her home and her husband and her quiet life. Happy enough, anyway. Which is why she’s so surprised to find herself drawn to an extraordinary stranger who gives her a gift – and a fresh perspective.
Meet Dan. He thinks that all he needs to be content is the time and space to carry on making harps. But the last thing he expects is for Ellie - and her cherry-coloured socks - to whirl into his life, bringing a string of surprises to his ordered existence.
Sometimes it takes a chance encounter to discover what your life can be . . .
This heart-warming, funny and quirky love story - also featuring a pheasant named Phineas - will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
Hazel Prior lives on Exmoor with her husband and a huge ginger cat. As well as writing, she works as a freelance harpist.
May 2019 9781787630918 Royal Octavo £12.99 : Hardback 320 pages
22 Reflections Marcia Willett
Escape to the sea . . . and find yourself again. This delightful new novel from Marcia Willett is ideal for fans of Katie Fforde and Fern Britton.
After her husband dies, Cara no longer wishes to live in their London home. On impulse, she sells it and goes to stay with her brother in Salcombe, Devon, while she plans her next move. There, she begins to look back at her life and reflect on the choices that have led her to this moment.
Cosmo has also escaped – temporarily – from his life in the city, finding the south-west a relaxing and appealing fit, especially when he meets local girl, Amy. But is he being entirely truthful about what he’s left behind?
Just out of uni, Sam has passed the Admiralty Interview Board and is set to follow in his naval father’s footsteps. His future is secure – but he feels cast adrift. With doubts and loosening family connections worrying him, an impartial new friend could be just the thing he needs. Forging a bond across the generations, can he and Cara help each other find the way to a new, happy chapter?
Reflections ebb and flow as the estuary meets the sea . . . and Cara, Cosmo and Sam learn that for everything lost, there is something to be gained.
Praise for Marcia Willett: 'A beautifully woven tale of families and their secrets...' Liz May 2019 Fenwick, bestselling author of The Cornish House 9781787632011 'Riveting, moving and utterly feel-good' Daily Mail £16.99 : Hardback 'Sweeping powers of description transport her readers to 272 pages another time and place' Rosanna Ley
Marcia Willett was born in Somerset and lives in deepest Devon.
A former ballet dancer and teacher, she is the author of many bestselling novels.
23 How To Find Home Mahsuda Snaith
An inspiring and important portrait of a young homeless woman in a modern retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from Observer New Face of Fiction Mahsuda Snaith.
Molly has lived on the streets for ten years. She has great friends but is always hungry and often afraid. So when a new acquaintance sets off on a journey from one side of the country to the other, to a place she’s long wanted to see, Molly decides to go too.
But it isn’t easy to leave the past behind. At every stop on their unusual quest, Molly senses something behind her, the footsteps of an old adversary and a memory that cannot be forgotten. And yet she must find the courage to continue if she’s ever going to discover a place that really feels like home.
A vibrant, invigorating, and affecting novel and the inspiring portrait of a young homeless woman from Observer New Face of Fiction Mahsuda Snaith.
Mahsuda Snaith is the winner of the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2014 and Bristol Short Story Prize 2014, and a finalist in the Mslexia Novel Writing Competition 2013. She lives in Leicester where she leads writing workshops and teaches part-time in primary schools. She was an Observer New Face of Fiction in 2017. Mahsuda is a fan of reading (obviously) and crochet (not so obviously).
May 2019 9780857524690 Demy Octavo £12.99 : Trade Paperback 304 pages
24 Mind Games Leona Deakin
A MAJOR LAUNCH OF A NEW INVESTIGATIVE THRILLER SERIES A spectacular new thriller with an ingenious hook that turns the missing person plot on its head... What if the people disappearing are the ones we should fear?
Four strangers are missing.
Left at their last-known locations are birthday cards that read:
YOUR GIFT IS THE GAME. DARE TO PLAY?
The police aren’t worried – it’s just a game. But the families are frantic, and psychologist and private detective Dr Augusta Bloom is persuaded to investigate. As she delves into the lives of the missing people, she finds something that binds them all.
And that something makes them very dangerous indeed.
As more disappearances are reported and new birthday cards uncovered, Dr Bloom races to unravel the mystery and find the puppeteer. But is she playing into their hands?
Leona Deakin started her career as a psychologist with the West Yorkshire Police. She is now an occupational psychologist and lives with her family in Leeds. This is her debut thriller.
May 2019 9781784164089 B format £7.99 : Paperback 384 pages
25 Secret Service Tom Bradby
The world is on the brink of crisis. With the Cold War playing out once more on the global stage, the stakes have never been higher, and governments will do whatever it takes to stay at the top…
From ITV's News Anchor and bestselling author, Tom Bradby, Secret Service is a fresh-from-the-headlines thriller.
To those who don’t really know her, Kate Henderson’s life must seem perfectly ordinary. But she is in fact a senior MI6 officer, who right now is nursing the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb.
Kate’s most recent mission has yielded the startling intelligence that the British Prime Minister has cancer – and that one of the leading candidates to replace him may be a Russian agent of influence.
Up against the clock to uncover the Russian mole, Kate risks everything to get to the truth. But with her reputation to uphold, her family hanging by a thread and a leadership election looming, she is quickly running out of options, and out of time.
Tom Bradby is a novelist, screenwriter and journalist. He has written six previous novels. The Master of Rain was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Steel Dagger for Thriller of the Year, and both The White Russian and The God of Chaos for the CWA Historical Crime Novel of the Year. He adapted his first novel, Shadow Dancer, into a memorable film directed by Oscar winner James Marsh and starring Clive Owen, Gillian Anderson and Andrea Riseborough. His script for the film was nominated for Screenplay of the Year in the Evening Standard Film Awards.
As a broadcaster, he is best known as the current Anchor of ITV’s May 2019 News at Ten, and presenter of all recent overnight election and 9781787632035 £12.99 : Hardback referendum programmes on ITV. In his first year in the job, he was named Network Presenter of the Year by the Royal Television Society. 368 pages He has been with ITN for almost thirty years and was successively Ireland Correspondent, Political Correspondent, Asia Correspondent (during which time he was shot and seriously injured whilst covering a riot in Jakarta), Royal Correspondent, UK Editor and Political Editor – a job he held for a decade – before being made the Anchor of News at Ten in 2015.
26 Unexpected Lessons in Love Lucy Dillon
The inspiring, life-enhancing and evocative new novel from the bestselling author of Where the Light Gets in and A Hundred Pieces of Me and All I Ever Wanted.
***** The inspiring, life-enhancing and evocative new novel from the bestselling author of Where the Light Gets in and A Hundred Pieces of Me and All I Ever Wanted. 'No one tugs at the heartstrings quite like Lucy Dillon' Red magazine
Praise for Lucy Dillon:
'Bittersweet, lovely and ultimately redemptive; the kind of book that makes you want to live your own life better' Jojo Moyes
'This vibrant and uplifting novel has not only entertained me hugely, but made me change the way I look at life.' Katie Fforde
'Satisfying and clever and deeply moving' Sophie Kinsella
Lucy Dillon grew up in Cumbria and read English at Cambridge, then read a lot of magazines as a press assistant in London, then read other people's manuscripts as a junior fiction editor. She now lives in a village outside Hereford with an old red Range Rover and too many books.
Lucy won the Romantic Novelists' Association Contemporary May 2019 Romantic Novel prize in 2015 for A HUNDRED PIECES OF ME, 9781784162108 and the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2010 for LOST UK C/Wealth + EU ex Can DOGS AND LONELY HEARTS. £7.99 : Paperback 464 pages You can find out more at www.lucydillon.co.uk, follow her on Twitter @lucy_dillon, on Instagram @lucydillonbooks or find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/LucyDillonBooks.
27 The Body Lies Jo Baker
A compulsive, suspenseful, bravely observed contemporary novel about a creative writing school tutor whose relationship with a student goes tragically wrong - from the bestselling author of LONGBOURN
A dark, thrilling new novel from the bestselling author of LONGBOURN: a work of riveting suspense that grapples with how to live as a woman in the world - or in the pages of a book - when the stakes are dangerously high.
What if you realised the subject your student is studying is you?
When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote countryside, it’s meant to be a fresh start, away from the big city and the scene of a violent assault she’s desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of a new life and single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative writing group.
When a troubled student starts sending in chapters from his novel that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognises herself as a main character in his book - and he has written her a horrible fate.
Will she be able to stop life imitating art before it's too late?
At once a breathless cat-and-mouse game and a layered June 2019 exploration of violence against women in art, The Body Lies is 9780857526434 an essential book for our times. Demy Octavo £12.99 : Hardback JO BAKER is the author of the acclaimed and bestselling 236 pages LONGBOURN and A COUNTRY ROAD, A TREE. She lives in Lancaster with her husband and their two children. Her new novel, a rivetting novel of psychological suspense, looks at the fetishization of violence against women.
28 The Night You Left Emma Curtis
The twisty new thriller from the acclaimed author of One Little Mistake and When I Find You.
IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT TO UNRAVEL A PERFECT LIFE . . .
When Grace’s fiancé vanishes without a trace the night after proposing, her life is turned upside down. But has Nick walked out on her, or is he in danger?
As Grace desperately searches for answers, it soon becomes clear that Nick wasn’t the uncomplicated man she thought she knew. And when she uncovers a hidden tragedy from his childhood, she realises an awful truth: that you can run from your past – but your secrets will always catch up with you.
Praise for Emma Curtis:
‘Gripping, tense and twisty.’ Claire Douglas
‘A tense and utterly engrossing story.’ Tammy Cohen
‘Absorbing. Mesmerizing. Thought-provoking.’ Amanda Robson
Emma Curtis was born in Brighton and now lives in London with her husband. After raising two children and working various jobs, her fascination with the darker side of domestic life inspired her to write her acclaimed debut novel, One Little Mistake. When I Find You is her second thriller. Find her on Twitter: @emmacurtisbooks June 2019 9781784164010 UK C/Wealth + EU ex Can £7.99 : Paperback 384 pages
29 Big Sky
A BRILLIANT NEW LITERARY CRIME NOVEL FROM NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER KATE ATKINSON: JACKSON BRODIE MAKES A HIGLY ANTICIPATED RETURN
Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an ageing Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It’s picturesque, but there’s something darker lurking behind the scenes.
Jackson’s current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for his suspicious wife, is fairly standard-issue, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him into a sinister network—and back across the path of his old friend Reggie. Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking novel by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today.
Kate Atkinson won the Costa (formerly the Whitbread) Book of the Year prize with her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum. Her bestselling novels include the four featuring former detective Jackson Brodie which became the BBC television series Case Histories, starring Jason Isaacs. Her 2013 novel Life After Life spent a record number of weeks on top of the bestsellers lists on both sides of the Atlantic, and won the South Bank Sky Arts Literature Prize and the Costa Novel Award, a prize Kate Atkinson won again in 2015 for A God in Ruins. Her new novel is Transcription.
June 2019 9780857526106 £20.00 352 pages
30 Death and other Happy Endings Melanie Cantor
A smart, funny,uplifting debut which asks big questions. If your life was going to end tomorrow, what would you do today?
Jennifer Cole has just been told that she has a terminal blood disease. She has three months to live -- ninety days to say goodbye to friends and family and put her affairs in order. Trying to focus on the positives (at least she’ll never lose her teeth) Jennifer realises she has one overriding regret: the words she’s left unsaid. Rather than pursuing a frantic bucket list, she chooses to stay put, and write letters to three significant people in her life: her overbearing, selfish sister, her jelly-spined, cheating ex- husband, and her charming, unreliable ex-boyfriend finally telling them the things she’s always wanted to say but never dared. At first, Jennifer feels cleansed by her catharsis. Liberated, even. But once you start telling the truth, it's hard to stop. And, as she soon discovers, the truth isn't always as straightforward as it seems, and death has a way of surprising you ...
Melanie Cantor was a celebrity agent and publicist for over thirty years. Her clients included Ulrika Jonsson, Melinda Messenger and Melanie Sykes. In 2004, she hosted a makeover show on Channel 4 called Making Space and in 2017 having just turned 60 she was scouted on Kings Cross station, subsequently appearing as a 'real model' in the most recent Dove campaign. She turned her hand to writing in 2008. Death June 2019 and other Happy Endings is her first published novel. 9781787631380 Royal Octavo £12.99 : Hardback 352 pages
31 The Perfect Betrayal Lauren North
The debut psychological suspense drama from an exciting new voice in thriller fiction, THE PERFECT BETRAYAL is a dark, emotionally engaging novel that asks: who can you trust in your darkest moment?
'I thought she was our friend. I thought she was trying to help us.'
After the sudden death of her husband, Tess is drowning in grief. All she has left is her son, Jamie, and she'll do anything to protect him - but she's struggling to cope.
When grief counsellor Shelley knocks on their door, everything changes. Shelley is beautiful, confident and takes control when Tess can't bear to face the outside world.
But when questions arise over her husband's death and strange things start to happen, Tess begins to suspect that Shelley may have an ulterior motive. Tess knows she must do everything she can to keep Jamie safe - but who can she trust?
Lauren North writes psychological suspense novels that delve into the darker side of relationships and families. She has a lifelong passion for writing, reading, and all things books. Lauren’s love of psychological suspense has grown since childhood and her dark imagination of always wondering what’s the worst thing that could happen in every situation. June 2019 Lauren studied psychology before moving to London where 9780552176088 she lived and worked for many years. She now lives with her £7.99 : Paperback family in the Suffolk countryside. Readers can follow Lauren on 368 pages Twitter @Lauren_C_North and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor
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