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Dr Richard Shepherd, Britain's top forensic pathologist, has spent a lifetime close to the dead. As a medical detective, each autopsy he carries out is its own unique investigation, uncovering the secrets not only of how a person died, but also of how, through every stage of life, the risks to each of us ebb and flow. Through twenty-four of his most intriguing, enlightening and never-before-told cases, Dr Shepherd shares autopsies that span the seven ages of human existence, and have taught him as much about the marvels of life as the inevitability of death. From old to young, from murder to misadventure, and from illness to accidental death, each of these bodies has something to reveal: about human development, about mortality, about its owner's life story, about justice and even about Shepherd himself. From the bestselling author of Unnatural Causes comes a powerful, moving and above all reassuring book about death as it touches our own lives - how to understand it, how best to postpone it, and, when our time comes (as it must), how to embrace it as the last great adventure.

500 years ago: eight martyrs were burnt to death 30 years ago: two teenagers vanished without trace Two months ago: the vicar committed suicide Welcome to Chapel Croft. For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it's supposed to be a fresh start. New job, new home. But, as Jack knows, the past isn't easily forgotten. And in a close-knit community where the residents seem as proud as they are haunted by Chapel Croft's history, Jack must tread carefully. Ancient superstitions as well as a mistrust of outsiders will be hard to overcome. Yet right away Jack has more frightening concerns. Why is Flo plagued by visions of burning girls? Who's sending them sinister, threatening messages? And why did no one mention that the last vicar killed himself? Chapel Croft's secrets lie deep and dark as the tomb. Jack wouldn't touch them if not for Flo - anything to protect Flo. But the past is catching up with Chapel Croft - and with Jack. For old ghosts with scores to settle will never rest . . .

The story of Troy speaks to all of us - the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against that great city, to which they will lay siege for ten whole and very bloody years. It is Zeus, the king of the gods, who triggers war when he asks the Trojan prince Paris to judge the fairest goddess of them all. Aphrodite bribes Paris with the heart of Helen, wife of King Menelaus of the Greeks, and naturally, nature takes its course. It is a terrible, brutal war with casualties on all sides. The Greeks cannot defeat the Trojans - since Achilles, the Greek's boldest warrior, is consumed with jealousy over an ally's choice of lover, the Trojan slave Briseis, and will not fight . . . The stage is set for the oldest and greatest story ever told, where monstrous passions meet the highest ideals and the lowest cunning. In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, love and loss, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today. Troy is a myth in which we seek the truth about ourselves, which Stephen Fry brings breathtakingly to life for our modern age.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock . . . midnight. The old millennium turns into the new. In the same hospital, two very different women give birth to two very similar daughters. Hope leaves with a beautiful baby girl. Anna leaves with empty arms. Seventeen years later, the gods who keep watch over broken-hearted mothers wreak mighty revenge, and the truth starts rolling, terrible and deep, toward them all. The power of mother-love will be tested to its limits. Perhaps beyond . . . Because Of You is Dawn French's stunning new novel, told with her signature humour, warmth and so much love.

In a small town in Sweden it appears to be an ordinary day. But look more closely, and you'll see a mysterious masked figure approaching a bank... Two hours later, chaos has descended. A bungled attempted robbery has developed into a hostage situation - and the offender is refusing to communicate their demands to the police. Within the building, fear quickly turns to irritation for the seven strangers trapped inside. If this is to be their last day on earth, shouldn't it be a bit more dramatic? But as the minutes tick by, they begin to suspect that the criminal mastermind holding them hostage might be more in need of rescuing than they are...

If you loved The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne then pre-order C. J. Tudor's chilling new novel now . . . She sleeps, a pale girl in a white room . . . Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl's face appear in the rear window. She mouths one word: 'Daddy.' It's his five-year-old daughter, Izzy. He never sees her again. Three years later, Gabe spends his days and nights travelling up and down the motorway, searching for the car that took his daughter, refusing to give up hope, even though most people believe that Izzy is dead. Fran and her daughter, Alice, also put in a lot of miles on the motorway. Not searching. But running. Trying to keep one step ahead of the people who want to hurt them. Because Fran knows the truth. She knows what really happened to Gabe's daughter. She knows who is responsible. And she knows what they will do if they ever catch up with her and Alice . . .

Two-time championship-winning and record-breaking racing driver, Jason Plato is a living, breathing example of what you shouldn't do if you want to become a professional racing driver: DO NOT: * Steal a JCB in Monaco and end up in prison there - twice * Kill Bernie Ecclestone (almost) * Choose fags and booze over the gym * Give Prince Charles the finger on the M42 * Make enemies with a 6ft 6" rival who is a black belt in everything Since joining the Williams Touring Car team in 1997 he has had more race wins than Lewis Hamilton and Stirling Moss, competed in more races than Jenson Button and set the largest number of fastest laps ever. But he's also a rule breaker who has had more than his fair share of near-death experiences, drunken escapades and more. And yet he's still racing. There is nothing sensible, predictable or considered about Jason, but this is how he became a racing legend.

On Halloween night, the residents of Black Gale gather for a dinner party. As the only nine people living there, they've become close friends as well as neighbours. They eat, drink and laugh. They play games and take photographs. Except those photographs will be the last record of any of them. By the next morning, the whole village has vanished. With no bodies, no evidence and no clues, the mystery of what happened at Black Gale remains unsolved two and a half years on. But then the families of the missing turn to investigator David Raker - and their obsession becomes his. What secrets were the neighbours keeping from their families - and from each other? Were they really everything they seemed to be? And is Raker looking for nine missing people - or nine dead bodies?

Until ten years ago, geneticist Don Tillman had never had a second date. Then he developed The Wife Project and met Rosie, 'the world's most incompatible woman'. Now, having survived 3,653 days of marriage, Don's life-contentment graph, recently at its highest point, is curving downwards. Don and Rosie's ten-year-old son, Hudson, is having trouble at school: his teachers say he isn't fitting in with the other kids. Rosie is battling Judas at work, and Don is in hot water after the Genetics Lecture Outrage. For Don, learning to be a good parent as well as a good partner will require the help of friends old and new. It will mean letting Hudson make his way in the world, and grappling with difficult truths about his own identity. It will also mean opening a cocktail bar.

The eagerly-anticipated new novel from the worldwide Number One bestselling author behind Emmy-award-winning HBO series Big Little Lies and smash-hit novel The Husband's Secret

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Nuclear Deterrence is an accessible and authoritative introduction to the deterrent tactics employed to prevent war, drawing on the unprecedented power of nuclear weapons. Written by celebrated historian and professor of War Studies Sir Lawrence Freedman, Nuclear Deterrence explores the history behind the world's most lethal weapon. You'll learn the criticism against the development of nuclear weapons, how the shift in global political power from the Cold War to the current arms crisis has shaped defensive strategies, and what implications nuclear weapons bear on the future of warfare. Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Nuclear Deterrence is an accessible and authoritative introduction to the deterrent tactics employed to prevent war, drawing on the unprecedented power of nuclear weapons. Written by celebrated historian and professor of War Studies Sir Lawrence Freedman, Nuclear Deterrence explores the history behind the world's most lethal weapon. You'll learn the criticism against the development of nuclear weapons, how the shift in global political power from the Cold War to the current arms crisis has shaped defensive strategies, and what implications nuclear weapons bear on the future of warfare. Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.

Three generations of Parisian women - grandmother, mother and daughter - have each worked as beauty editors and share their years of experience to equip you with advice on how to feel beautiful and elegant at any age. Here you will discover the secrets that only decades at iconic brands such as French Vogue, Clarins and Dior can provide. In this unique and beautiful book, Clémence enables women of all ages to feel energized, confident and happy. With essential advice on how to make simple changes to your daily beauty habits, from the correct way to wash your hair to the essential items that no make-up bag should be without and how to give your skin a healthy glow in just a few simple steps. Bursting with quotes, anecdotes and expert interviews, Ageless Beauty is sure to become every woman's definitive beauty guide.

The sinister, chilling new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author. I buried you. I mourned you . . . But now you're back. Three days after Christmas, a woman walks into a police station. She has no phone and no ID, just a piece of paper with the name of missing persons investigator David Raker on it. She tells officers that Raker is her husband. She Says She's my Wife. When he turns up at the station, Raker is stunned. The woman looks exactly like his wife. She knows all about their marriage, their history, even private conversations the two of them had. There's just one problem: Raker's wife has been dead for eight years. My Wife Died...didn't She? The woman tells the police that Raker had a breakdown. A respected doctor backs up her account. Items are missing that prove Raker's side of the story - and, worst of all, he soon becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance. She's Either a Liar - Or I Am. Could Raker have imagined their whole marriage? Is he delusional? Is this really the woman he loved and grieved for? Hunted by the police, Raker will have to find out the truth before it costs him everything - his memories, his sanity, his life . . .

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Battle of the Atlantic is an accessible, insightful and authoritative account of WWII's longest battle, the naval campaign to keep supply lines open and enable Britain to continue to fight. Historian, author and broadcaster James Holland draws on the latest research and interviews with participants to bring colour, detail and a fresh perspective to the story of how the siege of Europe was broken. Inside, you'll discover how tactics, organisation and new technologies were brought to bear, about the different challenges faced by both the Allies and the Axis, and, above all, the skill, bravery and endurance of the sailors and pilots engaged in a contest that was of critical importance to the outcome of the war. Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.

Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Blitzkrieg is an accessible, insightful and authoritative account of the fall of Europe through the use of one of the most successful military strategies in modern warfare. Historian, author and broadcaster James Holland draws on the latest research and interviews with participants to bring colour, detail and a fresh perspective to the story. Inside, you'll discover how tactics, organisation and new technologies were brought to bear, about the different challenges faced by both the Axis and the Allies, and, above all, the skill, bravery and endurance of those engaged in a contest that was of critical importance to the outcome of the war. Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture. For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.