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'I was immediately hooked on this story and the pages just flew by. It was over before I realised how deep into the book I was'? Real reader review'Exciting to the last pages'? Real reader reviewDetective Superintendent Jack Hawksworth is seconded by counter-terrorism to investigate a spate of domestic events. First it was needles in strawberries, then tampering with lipstick samplers and baby formula. But when toxic mushrooms hit the supermarket shelves and a death occurs, a wave of panic is set to sweep the country. Breaking news of a possible serial killer only heightens the alarm. There are no leads, no DNA, no witnesses, no CCTV footage. Jack and his team must work on instinct to figure out why someone would want to harm innocent victims, each of them curiously linked to a single blood transfusion. Then a hospital bomb threat erupts, and it’s up to Jack’s team to prevent the inevitable bloodshed. But the clock is ticking, and no one is safe from the possibility of a tragedy on a catastrophic scale.

A dark Southern tale of desperate souls who've wound up on the road of poor choices, a messianic child with untold powers, and those out hunting her for their own reward, all drawn together by Michael Farris Smith's trademark mournful, spirit-gnawing prose. An old woman, riddled with dementia, walks off into the woods in the middle of the night. A light in the wood draws her to a campfire with two strange, dangerous men, who are there plotting a crime of as-yet-indeterminate purpose. The two men have a job to do. They are hunting something precious but have only been told: you’ll know it when you see it. When they arrive at the place, an abandoned church cellar in the burned-out countryside, they find an answer they never could have predicted. Now, the job feels dubious, one that’ll surely bring them to ruin. Yet if they’re to go against orders, no step can be undone, and nothing can be taken back. In spare prose, Lay Your Armour Down reduces the epic to its most elemental. It charts the course of several broken people, all outrunning danger’s dark fingers, and all brought together for one last chance at redemption.

THE INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERHow do house flies help save millions of euros? How do the layout of casinos keep you gamblin? e are not nearly as rational as we’d like to think – every day we overestimate our ability to resist temptation. Effective advertising experts use this to nudge us, making the most of our natural behaviour to get the results they want. In order to process the millions of decisions we make each day, our brains take shortcuts. We are fooled by drugs that don’t contain active ingredients, traffic light buttons that aren’t connected, and the obsolete ‘save’ feature in MS Word – these are all examples of placebos that can be surprisingly reassuring. There are countless things that affect our behaviour: reward and punishment, beauty and attraction, and the human tendency to follow the crowd. THE HOUSE FLY EFFECT reveals how to recognize some of the things that affect our behaviour everyday and how we can use this knowledge to our advantage.

A Love Reading Star Book and Best Book of the Year Pick'Vividly told, with powerfully drawn characters, this tale of obsession and betrayal set in the dark world of Tudor alchemy will cast its spell over historical fiction fans.' HeatIt is 1597 and Kit Skevy and Mariner Elgin have just robbed the wrong grave. They are young criminals in the pocket of a gang Lord named Will Twentyman, the Grave Eorl of Southwark. Mariner is the best cutpurse around, a strange Calvinist girl who dresses like a boy and is partner in crime to Kit Skevy, Southwark's best brawler who carries a secret: he cannot feel pain. When caught out in their unfortunate larceny, Kit is kidnapped by the menacing alchemist Lord Isherwood (a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his hopes for the Red Lion elixir) and his studious son, Lazarus Isherwood, with whom Kit develops a complicated intrigue. When Mariner enlists the help of a competing French alchemist, Lady Elody Blackwater, Mariner and Kit are thrust into the shadowed, political world of Tudor alchemy, testing both their friendship and their lives. It matters not who you are born to... but where you are made!

A Love Reading Star Book and Best Book of the Year Pick'Melding modern mystery with fairy tale truths, this engrossing gothic crime novel is a thrilling, lyrical triumph' Love Reading. From Bonnie Burke-Patel, author of I Died at Fallow Hall, shortlisted for the 2025 Betty Trask Award, CWA Gold Dagger, and the Theakstons Old Peculier McDermid Debut Award. Adam Conlan has made a new life for himself in Morrow-on-Sea. After a wild youth, the goldsmith had settled down, determined to be around for his young son. But now Ophelia Richards appears at his studio door, asking if he will buy her gold. The writer entices and unsettles him; he sees she is adrift in the same cold pain and loneliness as he is. At the same time, faces begin appearing at the studio window, an unwelcome gift arrives in the post, gold goes missing. Then comes death, then comes Detective Inspector William Kent. Woven through with Morrow’s fairy tales, Dead as Gold is a modern gothic crime novel veined with love, violence, family, and desire. Humans still use fairy tales to explore their deepest truths. So who is a wolf, and who is a sparrow?

What do you do if you’re 34 and recovering from being jilted two weeks before your wedding da? hile friends are marrying, having children and moving to the depths of the countryside, Gilly Brown finds herself alone in London with just her little dog Ruskin for company. It’s time to move on, so on a friend’s advice she looks for a lodger, a Monday to Friday one, and finds handsome television producer Jack Baker. Gilly falls for Jack’s charm and is transported into an exciting social whirlwind of parties, dining out and glamour. When Jack is introduced to Gilly’s family and friends, it’s only the attractive and eccentric Guy, the newest recruit in the dog walking group, who isn’t quite so convinced about Jack’s intentions. As Guy watches them grow closer, his suspicions of Jack and his feelings for Gilly deepen. Is Jack so perfect after all… and what exactly does he get up to at the weekends?

'Full of delightful stories...a wonderful insight into the British obsession with al fresco eating' - Travel GourmetFrom the peaks of the Himalayas to the historic grounds of Hampton Court, there’s always a perfect spot for a picnic!Anne Glenconner invites both old friends and new acquaintances to join her in The Picnic Papers. Featuring contributions from Bryan Adams, Graham Norton, Lorraine, Rupert Everett, Tina Brown, Freya Stark and many more, they explore the curious British obsession with dining alfresco, despite our famously unpredictable weather. Picnics, it turns out, spark strong opinions. HRH Princess Margaret insisted on having hers at a proper table, while the indefatigable John Julius Norwich enjoyed 147 picnics over seven weeks in the Sahara. In stark contrast, writer James Lees-Milne simply loathed them. Brimming with extraordinary tales and a few nostalgic recipes (though this is not a recipe book!) Lady Glenconner’s The Picnic Papers is an invitation to a delightful feast of memories and culinary delights.

‘The twist is perfection. I think it’s just about the cleverest thing I've ever read’ Gillian McAllister'If you think there’s nothing new in crime, this is the book to read. Truly original.' Stuart Turton, bestselling author of The 71 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle‘This joyous adventure is one of Sophie Hannah's very best books’ Alex Michaelides'The dog lover's Liane Moriarty, the British Gillian Flynn' Tony ParsonsYou think it will never happen to you: the ring of the bell, the policeman on the doorstep. What he says traps you in a nightmare that starts with the words, 'I'm afraid…'Sally Lambert is also afraid, and desperate enough to consider the unthinkable. Is it really, definitely, impossible to escape from this horror? Maybe not. There's always something you can do, righ? f course, no one would ever do this particular something – except the Lamberts, who might have to. No one has ever gone this far. Until Sally decides that the Lamberts will…

'The amount of tension and chemistry between Lori and Seb was nearly burning right off the pages...this book has everything sports romance lovers want!' - Ally Wiegand, author of First BaseLove is an endurance sport…Recovering from a bad crash and a broken heart, Australian road cycling star Lori Gallagher gets back into training with the help of a coaching app and an anonymous training partner she knows only by his avatar and his voice. But with her career dependent on regaining her fighting spirit, she ditches her online friend to focus on the road. Then she hears his voice - on her team training camp. Sébastien Franck is stunned to discover his goofy training partner is ‘Top Gun’ Gallagher, the most ruthless rider in the women’s peloton. She’s already ghosted him online and, with his career on its last legs, he’s sure she won’t want anything to do with him. But Seb and Lori’s online chemistry transfers seamlessly into real life and they sleep together - a no-strings opportunity to get it out of their systems before the start of the season. Yet Lori’s year begins with disaster, while Seb finds the best form of his career. As the Tour de France approaches, Seb expects himself to crack and let his team down. Lori is torn between family loyalty to her brother and her feelings for Seb - not to mention the complex dynamics of a sport where teamwork and individual achievement are sometimes at odds. Now, she faces the mental fight of her life: how much is she willing to sacrifice for love - or to win?

Is her mother’s mind slipping, or has her charming new husband spun the perfect con?‘A truly spectacular psychological thriller' Matthew BlakeA dazzling thriller about a young woman whose fabulously wealthy mother might be the victim of an elaborate con or might be losing her mind – and the daughter can’t tell where the truth lies. Julie’s mother Kate is a force of nature – a glamorous woman of seventy, a self-made real estate developer, a grande dame in Florida society, and a power broker in Florida politics. It wasn’t easy for Julie to grow up in the shadow of such a dynamo, but she loves her mother, and she and her husband Eric are thrilled when Kate marries her long-lost high school sweetheart, a salt-of-the-earth man named Charlie. But their storybook romance ends abruptly. On their wedding night, Kate calls the police in hysterics to report that Charlie just confessed to a notorious unsolved crime from decades before. Charlie says she imagined it. Eric says that Kate has dementia. And the FBI says that Charlie couldn’t possibly have committed that crime. Julie doesn’t know what to believe. Is her brilliant mother losing her mind? Or is sweet, lovable Charlie gaslighting Kate to gain control of her fortun? s Julie tries to navigate through this maze of paranoia and mind games, cracks start to develop in her own marriage as it seems that Eric is keeping secrets . . . Set against a backdrop of rampant development and devastating climate change, Shell Games is a psychological thriller that will make your head spin and the pages turn as you wonder exactly who is doing what to whom.

'In The Poet’s Game, Vidich confirms his place in the pantheon of the new generation of spy novelists. Once again, his elegant, finely developed characters add nuance and depth to a fast-paced story' Financial Times'Vidich details political gamesmanship with an exactitude in the tradition of John le Carré, whose influence he ably honours' Irish Times'We all have dreams and then we wake up.'Alex Matthews thought he had left it all behind. His CIA career, the viper's den of bureaucracy at headquarters and the lies and stress of the cat and mouse game of double agents. But then the Director came asking for a favour. Alex is a different man from when he had run Moscow station, where he recruited a network of 'poet spies' including the one he names BYRON. He has pieced his life back together after a tragic boating accident killed his wife and daughter but the scars remain. But Alex remains, in his mind, a patriot, and so he begrudgingly accepts the Director's request. Something, though, is off about the whole operation from the start. The Russians seem one step ahead and the CIA suspects there is a traitor in the agency. Alex realizes that by getting back into the game he has risked everything he has worked for: his new marriage, his family’s safety, his firm. As the noose tightens around Alex, and the FSB closes in, the operation becomes a hall of mirrors with no exits. To find redemption, Alex must uncover the secrets behind BYRON or lose everything.

'Gutsy, entertaining and thought-provoking...A marvellous book.' Diana EvansWhat’s in a name? Everything we carry, and everything we are. Our names are a shadow we carry around with us. They are part of who we are. Our names are a marker of our self-identity and our sense of self. Our names have the power to shock. They have the power to heal, and they have the power to trigger conversations around race, class, social mobility and belonging. But what is a name? What do our names tell us about ourselves? And why do they matte? amed is a fascinating exploration of names, global naming conventions and identity politics woven into a moving, personal narrative about the finding of family and self. At the intersection of memoir and social and cultural history it is a truly fascinating book about the seemingly ordinary and every day. The author's own narrative about her estrangement from her Nigerian father, the grapples with her Jamaican mother and her journey towards identity is woven through the chapters making it an engaging and intimate investigation of what makes us who we are.

The stakes have never been higher for Geraldine Steel. When Alice Lewis is found murdered, the case becomes personal for DI Steel, as Alice was the niece of her childminder, Lisa. Despite Lisa’s earlier pleas for help, Geraldine hadn’t acted in time to save Alice. Now, driven by guilt and a thirst for justice, Geraldine dives headfirst into the case. But the deeper she digs, the more layers of secrets and lies she uncovers about Alice's life, forcing her to question everything she thought she knew. With an elusive killer watching her every move, Geraldine finds herself caught in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Leigh Russell delivers a masterful tale of suspense, keeping readers on edge until the final shocking twist.

They're all killers, but only one will resort to murder. The stunning new novel from international bestseller Kayte Nunn, for all fans of Lucy Foley and White Lotus. Successful beauty entrepreneur Vivi Savidge is about to celebrate her fortieth birthday at the Palazzo Stellina, a historic former convent in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Vivi's little sister is flying in from Brisbane with her sixteen-year-old twins in tow. Her ex-colleague and his new husband are coming from Boston, and old university friend Caroline is driving from Turin. Every one of them is hiding a shameful secret. Amid a suffocating heatwave, the holiday ignites an explosive cocktail of obsession, jealousy, and greed. Before the week is over, secrets will be exposed and the gathering will turn deadly, leaving one victim, a handful of suspects, and a murderer in their midst. 'A brilliantly twisty thriller in a beautiful setting. I couldn't put this down' Pip Drysdale'Will whisk you away from everyday life and immerse you in the Italian mountainside, which turns out to be as deadly as it is idyllic' B.M. Carroll

From a dancing automaton running amok at a ball, to a prehistoric beast lurking in the depths of a Yorkshire cave, this anthology explores the nature of the ‘old weird’, and unordinary stories which go outside the boundaries of everyday life. The anthology includes not only stories by well-known writers like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Jerome K. Jerome, but also by long-forgotten authors such as D. F. Hannigan and Reginald Bacchus. Focusing on the idea and history of what can be classified as ‘old weird’, compared to the ‘new weird’, Rennison applies experience and knowledge of Victorian literary history to bring these supernatural tales to the surface.

INDEPENDENT BEST TRAVEL BOOK OF 2024Good Housekeeping Travel Book of the MonthA LoveReading Best Book of 2024Smithsonian Magazine Top Ten Best Travel Books 2024‘Travel at its best - life enhancing’ Bear Grylls'Ash is a great storyteller, whose book weaves together adventure, big ideas and inspirational tales from around the world.' Levison Wood'A beautiful, insightful and thought-provoking book with the power to change how you see travel - and life'. Pip StewartWhy We Travel is a smart-thinking travel book, which uses travel as a window into human motivations. It explores what we can gain from venturing out into the world. It threads together reflective memoir, evocative travelogue, research, conversation, advice and big ideas. Some of the travels are epic adventures; others are closer to home; and some are journeys of internal exploration. Each journey is a window into one of 12 motivations for travel: Curiosity, Inspiration, Happiness, Creativity, Serendipity, Hardship, Service, Healing, Wonder, Empathy, Eroticism, and Hope. By unpacking these motivations, and digging into the science of where they come from, this book asks how travel intersects with the rest of our lives, answering key questions such as:Why do we travel? How do we do it better? Can it help us to live more fulfilling live? hy We Travel will give you a fascinating insight into where your motivations come from and inspire you to think about travel from a new and exciting perspective.