The Conrad Press strana 3 z 4

'The Hands of thePianist' tells the thrilling story of Charles Vincent, a talented pianist fromthe French countryside, who is inveigled into the English Secret Intelligence Service. It is 1939 and, as war threatens to engulf Paris, he becomes involvedin the Resistance in France. Escapingthe Nazis' tightening net, he travels across the Pyrenees arriving inspy-ridden Lisbon. Returning to London by destroyer, he is entrusted with amission to Leningrad to assist the Russians. There he discovers whom he can andcannot trust, before catastrophe threatens his classical musical debut atLondon's Albert Hall.

‘The Ghost Dance Fault’ is an exhilaratingread. Gill Ritchin and Mick Jovan must deal with criminals and the law toescape with their lives.  Whenthey blunder into a grisly murder in an alley on a rain-soaked night, Gill andMick are drawn headlong into a vicious conflict with VITRIF, the secretivestorage facility who use The Ghost Dance Fault, with its deep and stable caves,for the storage of nuclear waste. Behind this official façade, there is a planto control the future of humanity. Gill and Mick are thrust into the viciousunderbelly of crime where theypush the boundaries of investigative journalism to the limit.

‘TwoPieces of Putty’ is a gripping thriller exploring themes of trust andvengeance with an unlikely woman hero who treads a blurred line between rightand wrong. Thenovel opens with the discovery by Kate Walker that the burglary which led tothe death of her husband was not a random event. Kate is an engaging lecturerat a prestigious university who must use her intelligence and linguisticability to secure her own survival. She is able to depend on the skills and thefriends that she acquired during her early life in a working-class Scottishenvironment to support her in her struggle against dangerous enemies.

‘St Kilda Dreaming’ is an exciting and highly atmospheric novelchronicling the resettlement of an abandoned island community. The settlerssoon discover their best intentions lead mostly to personal hell. The Williams family arrive at St Kilda to build abetter life. Their enthusiasm is tested to the limit as spirits of the island’stroubled past trigger family breakdown, madness, and murder. The settlersrealise, too late, that water drunk from the village well is changing theirdream into a living nightmare. The surviving family members evacuate leavingonly the devious and incestuously pregnant Agatha to repopulate the island.

‘The Thyme Bank’ is a poignant love story set inthe nineteen-eighties. Frances, a young artist, and Simon, an older universitylecturer, meet in bizarre circumstances and there is instant mutual attraction. Weeks later, due to Simon’s determination, they meet again and are soonmarried. Can their very different personalities and interests keep them unite? ran is a countryside lover while Simon is a townsman who sees Fran’s belovedExmoor as just a holiday retreat, not the place where they should live all thetime. Living apart for a few days each week causes problems, but the arrival ofa son strengthens their relationship until Simon’s needs become apparent toFran and, possibly, to others. Complicating their relationship further areSimon’s recuring health problems about which he is in strong denial. Althoughhe is highly regarded in his place at Exeter University, he decides to have afresh start and become a journalist, based in London. This is hard on Fran butshe hopes the more relaxing job will improve Simon’s health but, sadly, it hasno effect. What can be the cause of Simon’s health problems? Can it be thatevents of his past life are catching up?

Description‘Robbie and Alice – Tudor Reformation’ is a highly entertaining and greatlyengaging novel, suitable for readers aged 12 to 112. Within it, Tudor Englandcomes vividly to life: the challenges of those who are young in particular.  Christmas1521. Robbie (15) and Alice (13) face terrible danger because of theirfriendship with a priest who promotes controversial opinions. A warning letter,sent to Alice by Beatrice (10 years old), sparks pursuit. Henry VIII’schancellor, Thomas Wolsey, seeks the arrest and death of the priest. A chase toEurope ensues: an underworld of reformist idealists is encountered: thecertainties of a thousand years are challenged.

‘Deeply felt and expertly researched, “Beyond the Black Gate” is animmersive, heart-racing story of love and survival in a fracturing, vividlyrealised, end of empire world.’   HowardCunnell, author of The Painter'sFriend Inthe year 409 the Roman Empire is collapsing. A young woman called Nehtan hidesher enslaved status when she is rescued in Gaul by a resentful Patrician. Thrown together on a dangerous odyssey through a land devastated by invadingbarbarians, the two start to fall in love, despite the vast gulf between them. However, a brutalised member of the cavalry escort has recognised the fugitiveslave and will do anything to possess her in body and soul.  ‘Beyond the Black Gate’ is a compelling story of journeys fromtrauma towards spiritual healing, set during a time of disintegrating identityand authority, with echoes of contemporary social crisis and migrantsuffering.   ‘Uniqueand intriguing ... with a terrific richness of description. It’s quite shockingin places and Nehtan makes for a strong and memorable protagonist.’ Gabriel Gbademosi, author of ‘Vauxhall’  ‘Mark Hudson’s book conjures up with uncanny intensity thecollapsing world of the Roman Empire to fashion a story that is by turns deeplystrange, gripping and moving.’   RogerCrowley, author of ‘Empires ofthe Sea’ ‘Thecharacters leap from the page. Mark Hudson pulls off the difficult trick ofmaking his dramatis personae both true to their historical context andappealing for the modern reader. I was enthralled by them, and the dramatic arcof the story, from start to finish.’  Simon Acland, author of ‘The Waste Land’ ‘Iwas gripped… A fascinating and vivid depiction of the Empire crumbling underinternal and external stress, when Christianity offers the only rock for thepoor to cling to.’   Peter Popham, authorof ‘India Be Damned’

'Murder of anHonourable Man' is a fast-paced, exhilarating thriller full of dramatic actionas well as treacherous intrigue. Brendan Slack iscallously murdered in Arundel Castle. Scotland Yard detective John Whiles,together with Sussex police, are unable to establish a motive. Rich individualssurreptitiously monitor the investigation. They have stolen artwork worthmillions. Murders are committed to preserve their anonymity. No one is safe. False trails are laid. Whiles gradually unravels the lies and deceit as hecloses in on the culprits. Suspects flee the country but none are a match for adevious detective with acquaintances in high places.

A father and his son;an apparent simple clash of wills but this conflict in 'The Prime Minister’s Son' is between the Prime Minister John McVey and his son Marcus. The father isautocratic and bullying in politics as he is towards his son but Marcus will goto any lengths to spite his father. With the economy failing, the Prime Ministerstruggles to hold onto power but forming against him is a new kind of politicalmovement; an ideal to replace the old party system with free thinking,independent Members who answer to no one but their conscience. The PM’s sonjoins the fray at the Movement’s conference by making a damning speech againsthis father. The PM employs the Special Forces to thwart his son but theyuncover more than he expected and the story spirals down with drugs, moneylaundering and finally murder

‘All or Nothing’ is agripping and emotionally highly engaging novel. Marion meets Christopherthrough Robin, who becomes jealous of their close relationship. EventuallyRobin comes between them and what might have led to marriage becomes a brokenfriendship which follows Christopher through his life. Christopher meetsSandra but his developing friendship with her comes to nothing because of hisclose relationship with his young friend Alan. EventuallyChristopher takes over his parents’ farm on their death in a car crash. Hefinds life lonely and complicated, his friendships superficial and his closeassociation with Alan prevents him from pursuing marriage. Christopher decidesto go to Australia to escape from his memories and past associations. How canhe return to normal social relationships?

‘BothSides Now’ is a riveting Cold War thriller that explores issues of personal agency,trust and ambition as it builds relentlessly to its nail-biting climax.  EastBerlin, 1975. Ulla Wolfram’s family apply to visit an ailing relative in theWest. The authorities reject the request, block Ulla’s university career and force her into a dead-endjob. Angry and unwilling to accept her fate, she wrangles with ideas of escape. Across the Wall, an ambitious British student is looking to conductunprecedented academic research on the eastern side of the divided city. WhenJack Gilmore’s plans come to the attention of the ever-watchful Stasi, Ullasoon discovers that her troubles have only just begun.

Dynamicand captivating, ‘Anonymous Letters’ is a visually striking and enigmatic talethat is irresistibly impossible to put down. Whenthe first anonymous letter arrives in the letterbox next to Kai Johnson’sdoorstep, a world-class rockstar, it isn’t long before Kai, Rachel, Zofia, andZac embark on a mission to unlock the secrets of a cultist gang possessing legendarysuperpowers. Along with solving a riddle to gain hold of five amulets, can theE.H.I. evolve powers of their own to brainwash Dark Shadow – their archenemy –before it is too late?

'LoveLetters' is the true story of a passionate love affair spanningthe Second World War. It is the social history of a British enemy alien and hisItalian girlfriend. This is a tale of subterfuge and deception as thecousins strive to keep their relationship secret from all the family, andespecially the much feared, draconian Zio Peppino. Two voices narrate thecourse of their daily lives and loves, with a darkening political scene loomingin the background. Giorgio lives in England, while still retaining his Italiancitizenship, and Mariolina falls passionately in love with her exotic cousin. Their plans are shattered on the day Italy joins the war, and instead of becomingunited, the hapless couple are driven further and further apart. 'Our love willwin the war', declares Mariolina stoically, but what will it have to endure?

Unique,wondrous and powerful, ‘I’m Still Here’ is packed full of raw emotion asit tests the limits of how far we’ll go to feel alive again.  AngelDiego is despairing of the way the afterlife is being run. Guardian angels areinfluencing humans too much, but with the power of the Idle realm he plans toput a stop to it. Davidmeanwhile, new to the angel life, will do anything to help those suffering withhis angel friend, Grace. However, when his actions cause him to fall into theheart of a conspiracy he finds himself on an epic journey through the realms ofthe afterlife, his past and into his very soul.

‘The St Martin’s Mystery’ isan exciting and highly imaginative story. The characters find themselves inunexpected territory when a case of fraud and murder is subverted by the spiritworld in 1930s London.   Former mining engineer Robert Erskine is hired bySt Martin’s Bank to investigate the disappearance of several senior staff. Erskine tracks down Amanda, a former girlfriend and fellow engineer, who isvisiting London from South Africa. Erskine and Amanda set out to solve thecase, but there are otherworldly forces at work which they must face tosucceed. Damaged by life experiences and challenged by the human and inhuman,Erskine and Amanda uncover a fraud which has gone beyond simple theft andclaimed the lives of both the innocent and criminal.

'Wait five minutes and see what happens' is a no-holds-barredautobiography. It is, in part, shocking, sometimes exciting and often moving. Thestory begins with a young girl falling for the bad boy and how she survivedyears of mental and physical abuse. It speaks of the heartache of giving up achild for adoption and of being reunited with that child only to find that shetoo was a victim of abuse. It is also a story of reinvention and hope. Thatyoung girl went on to have a life full of fun, adventure and fulfilment.