Quercus Publishing strana 11 z 24

'A delicious sepia wet dream of a book that had me drooling, swiping right and wanting to buy a time machine' - Alan Carr'What a treat!' - Dawn French'This book is brilliant fun - capturing the debonair dandyism and sophisticated enigma of some very ruttable gentleman of the time' - Dita Von Teese (Burlesque Queen)Feast your eyes upon the most gentlemanly brows, chiselled jawlines and tightest abs of the Victorian era. Authored by the hugely popular 'Hot Victorians' Instagram account, this book is a brazen celebration of the finest men from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. From a show-off strongman, a hot felon and a daguerreotype dandy to a Swedish sailor and Harvard's first Black graduate, there is a chap for everyone. Divided into chapters such as Hot Dads, Original Hipsters, Jocks and Sexy Nerds, each entry includes a swoon-worthy picture and a dating profile about the man. Among them, meet our cover star Arthur Shidler, dishy doctor and family man from Illinois, or how about the physician responsible for the identification of the bubonic plague parasite - is it really justified that such an ugly bacteria is named after a man so beautiful!? Each entry also includes a hilarious response to one of the prompts you might find on the dating apps, bringing these gents right into the 21st century. Although they may be dead, for these 70+ perfect gents, chivalry is far from it.

''Kate Webb is your next must-read'' LUCY FOLEY ''A wonderful addition to contemporary crime'' ANN CLEEVESA breathtaking cold case mystery, starring DI Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad. Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid.1999. A group of archaeologists are excavating a Bronze Age burial site in the grounds of Trusloe Hall, a minor stately home in Wiltshire. Excited that their dig is being filmed for a TV documentary, the group are camping onsite and having the time of their lives.In the blink of an eye, one of the party disappears: a young woman called Nazma Kirmani. An extensive police investigation fails to find any trace of her, and the case goes cold for over twenty years.2020. When a chance discovery presents new evidence into Nazma''s disappearance, DI Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad are put on the case. Did Nazma intend to disappear, or was she taken? Did she walk out on her life, or was she murdered? Lockyer must see past the upheavals in his own life to find out the truth for her desperate family.************************************What readers are saying about Hollow Grave''Impossible to put down'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''You must read this book!'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Twists and turns aplenty'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''One of my now favourite authors'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

''Mason has been mainlining Simenon for a while, and it shows'' Mick Herron''The very definition of unputdownable'' David Peace''It''s like the provincial British version of Maigret'' Clare ChambersBournemouth 2008, the height of the financial crash. Don Bayliss, a timid and well-mannered accountant, vanishes after leaving his office before a scheduled meeting. His wife is both perplexed and distraught. His clothes are found discarded at the mouth of Poole Harbour.After seven years of searching with no firm leads, the investigation is closed, and Don is presumed dead.Until, sorting through his possessions, his wife finds a garish business card of one Dwight Fricker and decides it must be of some importance. Now more than eight years after his disappearance Dorset Police call in the Finder and the cold case is reopened.The Finder begins with the last sightings of Don on the day he went missing, hearing how he seemed in a hurry, somewhat distracted? He unearths a string of overlooked clues that lead him to face the unlikely friendships that Don had made, the somewhat overbearing nature of Mrs Bayliss, the secrets that haunted him in his home life and the mistakes that led to him being investigated at work.The Case of the Lonely Accountant is a dark and rich mystery that centres upon one lonely man and reveals the distance between those who are missing and those who are lost.

SOME MURDERS CAN''T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.''Smart, original and utterly masterful'' Janice Hallett''A pleasure from start to finish'' Anthony Horowitz''An exhilarating new crime series with a fabulous genre twist'' Vaseem Khan''A remarkable achievement from a crime fiction phenomenon'' Jane Casey''vivid, suspenseful, fierce and funny - I was all-in from page one'' Louise Candlish''Inventive, surprising, endlessly entertaining'' Gillian McAllister''An audaciously compelling thriller, full of rare charm, zest and warmth'' Nicci French''A captivating, atmospheric mystery filled with wisdom, wit and compassion'' Antonia HodgsonA brand new series from No 1 bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries. If you''re missing Ruth and Nelson, wait till you meet Ali and Cain.Ali Dawson is a police officer working on crimes so old, the joke goes, that they are not only cold but frozen. What most people don''t know is that the team travels back in time to complete their research - a process pioneered by the mysterious Italian physicist, Serafina Pelligrini.So far the team has only ventured a few years back but Ali''s boss has a new assignment for her. He wants her to step back to 1850, the heart of the Victorian Age, to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of Tory MP Isaac Templeton.To prepare for the challenge ahead, Ali researches the Victorian era. She learns that Cain Templeton was part of a sinister group called The Collectors, the rumour being that you had to kill a woman to become a member. Duly prepared, she arrives in London in January 1850, at the peak of the so-called mini ice age, to start her journey in a house used by artists, with a dead woman at her feet.Soon she finds herself in extreme danger. Even worse - she appears to be stuck, unable to make her way back to the present, to her life and to her son, Finn.

'Excellently lean and tense crime novel with a touch of the nouveau roman about it' Ian Rankin'Mason has been mainlining Simenon for a while, and it shows' Mick Herron'The very definition of unputdownable' David Peace'It's like the provincial British version of Maigret' Clare ChambersThe people I work with call me 'Finder'. I'm a specialist, a finder of missing people. July 2015, Sevenoaks. 12-year-old schoolgirl Alice Johnson went missing while doing her paper round, her bag found discarded on the pavement. At 08.00, she was spotted standing in heavy rain at the side of the busy by-pass. At 11.00, she was seen talking to the driver of a black car in Tonbridge. After that, nothing. Alice was never found. Nine years later the body of another schoolgirl, Joleen Price, is pulled from a nearby lake and a local man named Vince Burns detained. Convinced that Burns is guilty in both cases, SIO Dave Armstrong calls in the Finder to investigate the earlier disappearance. Interviewing those who thought they knew her, the Finder gradually reveals a hidden Alice, a girl of surprising contradictions. Seeking answers from her divorced parents - an over-protective mother, a negligent father - the Finder is forced to consider violently opposing narratives. Was the timid 12-year-old a victim of the predator Burns, as he himself hints? Or was she carrying out a plan of her own?The Case of the Lonely Accountant, book two in the Finder Mysteries, is OUT NOW!

''After their riveting debut in Vienna, Fox and Fry are back in compelling fashion to navigate their way through a shadowy world of espionage and murder. Danger and secrecy lurk in every page of this classy novel'' ALEX GERLIS, author of EVERY SPY A TRAITOR''Suspenseful, romantic, atmospheric and clever . . . Thynne''s storytelling is hugely enjoyable escapism'' AMANDA CRAIG, author of THE THREE GRACES''Deeply researched but lightly told, this book had me on the edge of my seat. Absolutely cracking stuff'' CLARE MULLEY, author of AGENT ZOFollowing an acclaimed debut outing, Harry Fox, an MI5 Watcher, now suspended, and his associate Stella Fry are reunited during Britain''s darkest hour in this gripping espionage thriller.April 1940, and Britain is in turmoil. Chamberlain''s government is faltering, and a German invasion may be only weeks away.A body, wearing the uniform of a Luftwaffe captain, is found in the grounds of Trent Park - a stately home and now a prison to house high level German POWs. Trent Park''s true purpose, however, is intelligence, gathered covertly from prisoners by secret listeners.The morning after the discovery of the body, one of the listeners goes missing, along with a gun from the firing range. Horrified that this could blow the highly confidential operation wide open, the missing man must be tracked down.Cue Harry Fox, a former MI5 Watcher, now suspended. He is desperate to assist the war effort but he''s over the conscription age. Then his former boss gets in touch with a job for him, to track down the missing man. But, he stipulates, it must also involve Harry''s former associate, Stella Fry.Stella returns home from work in the blackout to find a crowd outside her flat. She is told that a young woman in the building has had a fatal accident. The dead woman is called Stella Fry. Outraged, Stella suspects that this is the work of her erstwhile friend, Harry Fox. But why on earth would he go to such lengths to contact her?

Isabella Tucci is not looking for love. Leaving London and her cheating ex far behind to open her dream restaurant, she''s promised herself: no men, and no distractions.Chef Etienne runs his own place, right across the square. And he''d be more than happy to show the new girl in town around. After all, he''s never met a woman he couldn''t charm. But he''s never met anyone quite like Isabella.Between long days of renovations and late nights with new friends, Isabella tries to steer clear of her blue-eyed, strong-jawed neighbour. But it''s a small town, and the more she gets to know Etienne, the more Isabella begins to wonder if some rules were made to be broken . . .A perfectly sexy, spicy small-town romance perfect to curl up with on cosy nights.Tropes:✅ Small Town✅ Friends to Lovers✅ Forced Proximity✅ Found Family✅ Spicy

DEEP DECEPTION. TWISTED FATE.''Move over morse'' Val McDermid ''A superb series'' Sunday TimesThames Valley has a new Superintendent - DCS Wainwright - young, charismatic and ruthless, charged with pushing through big reforms. Her in-tray is full of problems - and at the top of the pile is the problem of Wilkins and Wilkins.Trailer park boy DI Ryan Wilkins, interesting looking in baggy trackies and over-large lime-green puffa. In his personnel file is a handwritten note scribbled by the outgoing Super: ''Do not, repeat not, give him responsibility.'' And posh boy DI Ray Wilkins, improbably handsome in navy blazer and tan chinos: ''Thinks too highly of himself. More experience needed at the wet end.'' Their previous investigations - though somehow successful - were models of disorder and dysfunction. The new Super needs to take action.There''s been a shocking murder in the heart of Oxford, the stabbing of a security guard during an attempted armed robbery. Meanwhile, an elderly professor of linguistics goes missing from his home in cosy Iffley Village.The high-profile murder investigation can be safely handled by reliable detective DI Hare. The entry-level enquiry into the wandering academic can be given to the problem duo, with instructions to keep it simple. But when the body of the professor is found, still dressed in his pyjamas and dripping wet, spreadeagled on a hotel lawn miles from home, things get a little unexpected for the Wilkinses. Will Ray keep on top of the brief? Will Ryan keep it together?PRAISE FOR SIMON MASON ''Terrific'' Mick Herron''This moody, atmospheric novel is full of surprises'' Sunday Times (Crime Book of the Month)''[W]ell plotted and very funny'' Sun''This has a TV series written all over it'' Daily Mail

''Fresh, fearless, faithful and original. One of the great crime series of our time could not be in safer, more capable hands'' Chris WhitakerDiscover Lisbeth Salander - one of the most memorable female characters in all crime fiction.Spring returns to Sweden''s far north, but darkness lies at the heart of the small town of Gasskas. Natural resources in the region are being shamelessly exploited by shadowy multinationals, opposed only by Lisbeth Salander''s niece Svala and a group of environmental activists. What begins as a protest spins out of control when a young journalist is found murdered.Journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who has taken a new job at the Gasskas newspaper, starts the investigation and unravels a story that has the makings of an explosive scandal.At the same time, Lisbeth Salander is desperate to track down her old hacker friend, Plague, who has disappeared. When it becomes clear that both she and Svala are on a secret underworld hit list, Lisbeth decides to go to war with old and new enemies alike . . .With The Girl with Ice in her Veins, Karin Smirnoff has created a stunning sequel that breathes new life into this all-time thriller classic.***PREORDER NOW***

''A magisterial rethinking of why we collect. I loved this book'' Edmund de Waal''Magnificent . . . so compulsive and entertaining'' Stephen Fry''Give it to the collector in your life, and watch sparks fly!'' Cathy Gere''A delight to read and ponder'' Jackson Lears''A tour de force of scholarship and storytelling'' Daniel WeissA captivating history of obsessive collectors: from ancient looters and idolaters to fin de siecle decadents, Freudian psychos, and hoarders.Collectors are often praised for their taste in art or contributions to science, but there can be a darker side: their passion is sometimes driven by dangerous obsession. Roman emperors who lusted after statues; Chinese scholars obsessed with rocks and flowers; fin de siecle dandies surrounded by bibelots. History is full of stories about those who love things more than people, presenting a danger either to themselves or others. In this sweeping history from antiquity to today, James Delbourgo tells the extraordinary story of the mad collector as a cultural figure from the tyrant and idolater to the sexually repressed "psycho" of the Freudian imagination and the modern-day hoarder. His conclusion is surprising: Because they are driven by passion rather than profit, obsessive collectors also have been cultural heroes, seen as authentic and true to themselves. Some may be mad, but theirs is a noble madness.

'Sensual, poetic, and full of delicious, excruciating yearning' Ali HazelwoodClementine Clark isn't looking for love. She's a talented singer, but she's set her dreams of stardom - and romance - aside to care for her ailing mother. And then her best friend calls her with a life-changing opportunity: join Irish megastar Halloran on his first US tour as a backing vocalist. Clementine wants to reject the offer, but the pay would change her and her mom's life. Overnight, Clementine goes from serving enchiladas at the Happy Tortilla to belting high notes before a cheering crowd. But the whiplash of trading small-town Texas for sold-out stadiums is nothing compared to the rush of performing with the enigmatic Thomas Patrick Halloran. Poet, introvert, and lyrical genius, Halloran quickly gets under Clementine's skin. The two couldn't see the world more differently. And yet, over the course of the next eight weeks on tour, the romantic rockstar might just strike an unforgettable chord in Clementine. But will it be enough for an encore?A steamy romance of second chances, perfect for fans of Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, What Is Love by Jen Comfort and The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jiminez.

From the author of A Home of Her Own comes a gripping historical saga full of love, loss and hope, perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Anna Jacobs and Ellie Dean.1909, NorthumberlandWhen Shona Hardy''s husband is lost at sea, she finds herself alone in a village which has always seen her as an outsider.A world away, Harry Darling has achieved wealth and respectability, but he has never forgotten the poverty and hardship that he grew up in or the girl who saved his life.When tragedy strikes again and Shona''s father passes away on Harry''s doorstep, Harry finally has a chance to pay Shona back for her kindness. But as their pasts and presents collide, will their lives be altered for ever?''Elizabeth writes such strong female characters, who never fail to succeed in the face of adversity'' - Trisha Ashley''Elizabeth reminds us that there is always hope in the face of darkness'' - Katie Fforde

''If I had to choose between betraying my friend and betraying my country, I hope I should have the courage to betray my country.'' E. M. FORSTERPeople have betrayed their country, or their friends, for all kinds of different reasons - conscience, conviction, love, as well as pride, vengeance and greed. The stories in Traitors range from the faith-inspired terrorism of Guy Fawkes to the non-violent White Rose gang of students who defied Hitler; from patriotic rebels such as Roger Casement to ambivalent ideologues such as Lord Haw-Haw and the Cambridge spy Kim Philby; and from femmes fatales such as Mata Hari to unwitting victims such as Lady Jane Grey. Those found guilty of treason have usually faced the same penalty: death. But as these thoroughly researched and grippingly told tales of treachery show, one man''s traitor may sometimes be another man''s hero . . .

"A rising star of crime fiction" Sunday Times"Outback noir has a new star" The TimesLocated off the coast of South Australia, Kangaroo Island lies surrounded by violent seas harbouring deadly great white sharks and forgotten shipwrecks.Over the centuries the Islanders have cultivated a sense of self-sufficiency, independence and resilience. But times are changing: multimillionaires from the mainland are building immense clifftop mansions and filling the skies with private planes and helicopters. A quiet paradise is being transformed into a bolthole for the rich and privileged. And the locals aren''t happy.Richard Marlowe, a wealthy "blow-in" to the island, goes missing, last seen wading into the ocean for a dawn swim. A shark attack is blamed, but things don''t add up. Reuniting for a new investigation, Detective Sergeant Manolis and Senior Constable Sparrow arrive on the island, but their presence isn''t welcomed, either. Faced with hostility from both Islanders and newcomers, their attempts to locate the missing man are derailed by a civil war over limited resources, a fragile environment, and fractured community dynamics.REVIEWS FOR THE STONING"Political crime fiction of a high order" Sunday Times"Deliciously dark outback noir" Guardian

**A Times 19 Best Books of 2024****A Financial Times Best Summer Book of 2024**** A Times 10 Best Crime and Mystery Books of 2024 so far**"A police procedural unlike anything else in contemporary crime fiction" Sunday Times"The greatest exponent of the policier at work today" Mark Sanderson, The TimesAdam Sirkis needs to flee Syria. A captain in Assad''s military police, he''s about to be exposed as a covert member of the Free Syrian Army, and he knows exactly what fate awaits him.His first move is to send his wife and daughter to Libya, where they can find a boat heading for Europe. Adam himself winds up in France in the Calais Jungle, the infamous camp for migrants seeking passage to the fabled Youké.Bastien Miller, a police lieutenant freshly transferred to the Calais police force, arrives at about the same time. His wife is drowning in grief for her late father and their teenage daughter may never forgive them for the move.When Adam risks his life to protect a young migrant, the two officers make a deal - information on Adam''s family in exchange for intel from the Jungle. Then a body is found in the camp, and the deal becomes an alliance, uniting them in a common cause to do one good deed in a world where vice is a virtue.Reader Reviews***** "This is an exceptional book, the best one I''ve read in 2024 so far and I''ve read a lot of excellent books this year by some very big name authors"Translated from the French by Nick Caistor

Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.''Moreno-Garcia is a deft enchantress - this is a ghost story in high Gothic style'' - M.L. Rio, author of If We Were Villains ''Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches'': that was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva - stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that''s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay''s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay''s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved. Readers love The Bewitching . . . ''An absolute masterpiece'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Hauntingly addictive'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Feels like being put under a spell'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Evocative and chilling'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Gothic fiction at its finest'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Had me enthralled from the first page until the last'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''Blew my expectations out of the water . . . This may be the best gothic horror book of 2025'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐