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A very personal look at Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Cindy Wockner was a journalist reporting the story of two surly drug smugglers. She was there from the beginning and would become a good friend of the two changed men.

At 12.35 a.m. on 29 April 2015, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were led out in front of a firing squad. Strapped to wooden crosses, they looked straight down the barrels of their killers’ rifles. On that day, the Indonesian government did not execute two drug smugglers, they executed a pastor and a painter.

But who were Andrew and Myuran?

In 2005, the lure of drugs, money, fast cars and a better life led them and seven other Australians into a smuggling plot to import heroin from Indonesia to Australia. Unbeknownst to them all, the Australian Federal Police knew of their plan and tipped off the Indonesian authorities. Charged with drug trafficking, Myuran and Andrew were found guilty and sentenced to death. Andrew was 21 years old. Myuran was 24.

At the time, Cindy Wockner was the Indonesia correspondent for News Limited: for a decade she covered their story and she got to know Myuran, Andrew and their families. They let her into their lives and she watched them transform from angry, defiant young inmates into fully rehabilitated, good men.

This is the intimate, and untold, story of Andrew and Myuran. It details their redemption inside Kerobokan prison and their passion for helping others – through Andrew’s growing commitment to his faith and Myu’s burgeoning artistic talent. It reveals the boys they were and the men they became, in a potent cautionary tale and a poignant reminder of what we all lose when we ignore the power of mercy.

‘gripping’ DAILY TELEGRAPH on Cindy Wockner and Madonna King’s BALI 9

Eternal good girl Casey Tanner moved to White Pine for a fresh start. Her mission: to finally have fun. And a fling with a reckless bad boy is the very first item on the to-do list she pretended not to make. After one long, lingering look at a sexy firefighter, Casey has found her man.

Getting women into his bed has never been a problem for Abe Cameron. Letting one into his heart is an entirely different matter. But just one kiss, just one touch, just one smile from beautiful Casey has this lifelong bachelor flirting with the idea of forever. And Casey’s refusal to settle down only makes Abe more determined than ever to win her heart. Now the one woman who can’t be caught is the only one Abe can’t live without . . .

1619 offers a new interpretation of the significance of Jamestown in the long trajectory of American history. Jamestown, the cradle of American democracy, also saw the birth of our nation’s greatest challenge: the corrosive legacy of slavery and racism that have deepened and entrenched stark inequalities in our society.

After running Jamestown under martial law from 1610-1616, the Virginia Company turned toward representative government in an effort to provide settlers with more control over their own affairs and more incentive to invest further in the colony. Governor Edwin Sandys dreamed of creating a real commonwealth, to provide for the interests of settlers and Indians alike. Thus, in late July 1619, the newly-formed General Assembly gathered to introduce “just Laws for the happy guiding and governing of the people.” It was the first legislature in America, and history has cast it as the foundation of American freedom and democracy. From that moment on, propertied white colonists became accustomed to freedoms that would have been unthinkable in England with its layers of customs and hierarchy of courts and regulations, and these expanding political and economic freedoms attracted countless British immigrants and other Europeans to Virginia and the American colonies.

But those very freedoms also permitted the wholesale and largely unchecked exploitation of poor white laborers and non-European peoples. More than nine-tenths of all those arriving in Virginia at this time were brought in some form of servitude or labor contract. In a cruel irony, 1619 also saw the arrival of the first African slaves in Virginia. The establishment of the General Assembly did nothing to ameliorate these disparities, but rather put ever more power in the hands of local grandees. Sandys’s dream of creating a commonwealth in the interests of settlers and Indians proved short-lived. But the twin pillars of democracy-the rule of law and representative government based on the consent of the people-survived and flourished. It was his greatest legacy to America. What was lost was his steadfast conviction that serving the common good served all.

This is a pattern we recognize all too well in modern American society-opportunities are not shared, inequality is rampant, racism is systemic. We would like to think these are problems that can be solved by expanding representative democracy; Jamestown teaches us, instead, that these are problems have long been created and encouraged by American democracy. Casting a skeptical eye on deeply-cherished myths, 1619 will be essential reading for anyone struggling to understand the paradox of American freedom.

A LIFE THAT MATTERS is a fascinating and profoundly moving new book by a surgeon who has devoted his life to helping the world’s most unfortunate children grow up with faces that allow them to know they are part of the human community – assured that they are ordinary in the very best way and fully capable of being loved.

We present ourselves to the world foremost with our faces, Dr. Ken Salyer explains, and the people we meet initially look to our faces to ascertain who, in fact, we are. Dr. Salyer is a fiercely intelligent, energetic, insatiably inquiring, and deeply compassionate man whose life has been one of service. As he writes in his introduction to A LIFE THAT MATTERS, he is ‘convinced that possessing a face you aren’t forced to hide is a fundamental human right – as important to a fully lived life as freedom from fear or want.’ And in clinics and operating room around the world, today Dr. Salyer continues a groundbreaking forty-year career whose nexus melds cutting-edge medicine with humanitarian aid offered to profoundly unfortunate children.

A LIFE THAT MATTERS focuses on the moving stories of the children whose lives have been transformed and their moving personal testaments to how precious their ‘normalcy’ now is. It is these children who inspired Dr. Salyer to found the World Craniofacial Foundation and establish clinics across the globe that now offer hope for good lives to hundreds of poor children in still-developing countries who otherwise would be shunned, locked away, or abandoned. In a voice that’s compelling, eloquent, and always impassioned, he issues a call for a new worldwide understanding of the rights of the terribly disfigured, and he encourages readers to be inspired by the lives of these children and to transform our own challenges into triumphs.

“My tendency to make up stories and lie compulsively for the sake of my own amusement takes up a good portion of my day and provides me with a peace of mind not easily attainable in this economic climate.” – Chelsea Handler, from Chapter 10 of Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang

It’s no lie: Chelsea Handler loves to smoke out “dumbassness,” the condition people suffer from that allows them to fall prey to her brand of complete and utter nonsense. Friends, family, co-workers–they’ve all been tricked by Chelsea into believing stories of total foolishness and behaving like total fools. Luckily, they’ve all lived to tell the tales and, for the very first time, write about them.

It’s ten years following Sisters and Lovers, and Beverly, now aged 39, is engaged to a man her family and friends agree is a great catch. Everyone is happy that Beverly will finally settle down, especially since this is her third engagement in the last five years -having backed out about two weeks before the wedding date for one reason or another.

Julian, Beverly’s fiancé, is the epitome of a good black man – gorgeous, loyal, trustworthy, successful, and very much in love with Beverly. Nothing could be better in the couple’s lives than being in love and planning their wedding. That is, until Beverly’s oldest sister’s marriage falls apart, dampening the mood for what should have been the happiest time in her life. Now Beverly is forced to wonder if marriage really works, as she begins to second guess her own nuptials. Will Beverly stick it out? Or will her fears cloud her judgement once again?

Cold. Ruthless. Deadly. The myth of Lady Macbeth looms large. But behind the villainous portrait stands a real woman. This is her story . . .

Scotland, 1020 AD. King Malcolm II lies on his deathbed, and the most powerful families make a violent claim for the Scottish throne . . .

On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, a flushed and nervous Cora MacDuff waits to marry her sweetheart, Macbeth. But her dreams are stolen from her, and the night she was hoping for turns into a brutal slaughter.
In order to reclaim the life she was promised, Cora must learn to use every weapon at her disposal – even those she loves . . .

The beginning of a brand new Historical fiction series by the bestselling author of the Queens of Conquest series, her new trilogy unearths the real women behind Shakespeare’s most infamous queens . . . If you love Elizabeth Chadwick and Anne O’Brien you will adore Joanna Courtney

What readers are saying about Joanna Courtney:

‘I was hooked from the very first page and didn’t want to put it down. Joanna Courtney is a new talent in the world of historical fiction and one that I would highly recommend. I look forward to reading more by this fantastic author’ Bookbabblers

‘A strong sense of atmosphere and place and time. I really got into the story, in fact I was so gripped by it at one point that I missed my bus. It was a really good, exciting, read. I cannot wait to read the next two books.’ Michelle Birkby, author of The House at Baker Street

‘Amazing’ (Miranda Dickinson)

‘Courtney’s novel breathes new life into this complex character,…A thrilling introduction to Courtney’s new trilogy on Shakespearean queens.’ – The Lady

‘A glorious, rich, epic story of love, friendship and sacrifice which will sweep you up and transport you to another time. I absolutely loved this and can’t wait for the next book in the series’ (Rachael Lucas, author of Sealed With A Kiss and Coming Up Roses)

‘An absorbing and emotional debut novel’ (Candis magazine)

‘A thrilling and atmospheric read with strong female characters’ (MyWeekly)

‘A beautifully written multi layered tale with a tremendously authentic sense of place and time . . . an epic feel . . . highly recommended’ (LizLovesBooks)

‘The story reaches a heart-rending climax. A must read. I loved it’ (Freda Lightfoot, author of The Amber Keeper)

‘With lovely writing and a terrific sense of narrative drive, Joanna Courtney portrays an era of change through a story about a long forgotten Queen. In The Chosen Queen, Edyth is a heroine who inhabits a convincingly re-created historical world, peopled with personalities whose lives leap from the page. Superb! (Carol McGrath, author of The Daughters of Hastings trilogy)

An outstanding opening to this new series set to rival historical fiction heavyweights like Philippa Gregory and Susanna Dunn (Lisareadsbooks)

“You are going to be transported by what Bernheimer has to say. You’ll make different decisions and figure out how your brain is working and what should be prioritized in your life” Jo Good, BBC London

What makes everyday spaces work, how do they shape us, and what do they say about us?

The spaces we live in – whether public areas, housing, offices, hospitals, or cities – mediate community, creativity, and our very identity, making us who we are. Using insights from environmental psychology, design, and architecture, The Shaping of Us reveals the often imperceptible ways in which our surroundings influence our behaviour.

Wide-ranging and global examples cover the differences between personalities and nationalities, explore grass-roots and mainstream efforts to build environments promoting well-being, and look ahead to what will become of us if we don’t listen closely to what we know is good for us.

You will learn whether you are a natural ‘prospector’ or ‘refuger’ in the office environment, what roundabouts and stoplights say about British and American culture, whether you are guilty of NIMBYism or being drawn to ‘ruin porn’, and how the half-house may be a common sight in the near future.

The environments we inhabit define our identities – from the earliest moments of our evolution to the worlds we build around ourselves.

‘Life and love are very precious when both are in full bloom’

With four lively, attractive women in one house and a dashing young bachelor in the neighbouring one, romance can only be a matter of time. As Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy become young women, they take separate paths in life, following their dreams, finding love, becoming wives and travelling the world. But the tie that binds the sisters brings them together when tragedy strikes, for only with each other can they find the comfort they need.

Also in Virago Classic Children’s Books: Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys

‘Revelatory and accessible’ Sunday Post

‘[Dr Carmichael] has studied nutrition, hormone balancing and aesthetic medicine, and his passion, on which he lectures globally, is healthy ageing. His approach in his fascinating new book, Younger for Longer, is scientific and holistic’ The Times

‘Be good to yourself . . . [Younger for Longer] features wisdom on nutrition, sleep, mood regulation and, most importantly, hormonal health for men and women’ Scotsman

‘I have not stopped learning on my Low-Carb, Healthy Fat journey. Younger for Longer continues that process for me with an incredibly well-referenced text. It’s refreshing to see the balance of nutrition and lifestyle discussed in such an informed and robust manner’ Gary Fettke, orthopaedic surgeon, health activist and author

‘Younger for Longer tells you exactly what you need in order to live an extended, healthy life. It’s very 80/20 and one of the best books I’ve read in ages’ Richard Koch, author of million-seller The 80/20 Principle

‘Fascinating. Packed with the most incredible information about health’ Radio Today, South Africa

‘Offers valuable, honest and solid medical insights into how you can age better. It is, without doubt, one of the best books I have read in my many years as a health activist’
Longevity magazine

Targeted at the general reader, the goal of this book is to show readers how to live a healthy life free from the debilitating effects of ageing, helping them to stay mentally alert and physically active, and making sure they get the most out of all of their years. It reveals practical steps to slow the ageing process and stay healthy – in short, how to stay younger for longer. With research showing that obesity, nutrition and lifestyle illnesses can hamper our body’s response to Covid-19, such advice has become even more crucial in reducing Covid-19 risk factors.

The key is to aim for optimal health. However, foucsing on one factor alone will not get us there. Our sleep, our mood, what we eat, our detoxification system and our hormones are just some of the factors that interact in amazing ways to make us who we are; they are also at the very heart of the ageing process.

This book shows how these different strands combine in ways that can be positive or negative, and explains why this interaction depends far more on the lifestyle we choose than on the genes we inherit. In that way it gives the reader a unique and comprehensive understanding of their body and tells them how, with this knowledge, they can optimise their health.

The topics range from nutrition, toxins, men’s health and women’s health to understanding why our skin, brain and liver age – and how to undo the damage and stave off ageing. But the book’s main focus underlying all of this is hormones: the chemicals that tell different parts of our body what to do. Our hormone levels vary throughout our life, but if they are supported correctly, they can keep us youthful and vital into our final years.

Finding health then is not about ‘seven ways to detox’ or ‘the five best vitamins’. The body is far more complex than that and, in an approach aimed specifically at the layperson, Younger for Longer traces the exciting path of how the body works to help the reader create the best person they can be for the rest of their life.

‘Luminous’ SEBASTIAN BARRY

‘Incandescent characters and mellifluous prose’ LISA CAREY

‘Reminiscent of Edith Wharton at her very best’ LIZ NUGENT
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The true story of a woman ahead of her time . . .

In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed “the peasant countess” by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle’s rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down.

Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.
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Praise for BECOMING BELLE

‘Nuala O’Connor has the thrilling ability to step back nimbly and enter the deep dance of time. This is a hidden history laid luminously before us of an exultant Anglo-Irish woman navigating the dark shoals and the bright fields of a life’ SEBASTIAN BARRY, award-winning author of The Secret Scripture and Days Without End

‘Becoming Belle is so mesmerizing you will be distraught when it ends.O’Connor has resurrected a fiery, inexorable woman who rewrites the script on a stage supposedly ruled by men. Sensual, witty, daring, and unapologetically forward.‘ Lisa Carey, author of The Stolen Child

‘Belle’s determination to live her life on her own terms and in defiance of her times makes her a fascinating subject‘ Irish Central

‘Masterful storytelling! I was putty in Nuala O’Connor’s hands. She made the unsinkable Belle Bilton and her down-to-earth sister Flo real to me, and brought 1880’s London to my living room. Encore! Encore!’ Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe

‘A glorious novel in which Belle Bilton and 19th century London are brought roaring to life with exquisite period detail’ Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of A Memory of Violets

‘Thoroughly engrossing and entertaining read’ Liz Nugent

‘Thrillingly dramatic and achingly moving and profoundly resonant into this present era’ Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

‘O’Connor gently unfolds Belle’s tale in a manner that is compelling and disarming. The ambience may be Victorian elegance but the sheer honesty of O’Connor’s writing is sensual, authentic and earthy. A delight!’ Rose Servitova, author of The Longbourn Letters

‘I loved it . . . There’s nothing out there like All The Lonely People – it’s uniquely brilliant, bold and not afraid to shout about what’s wrong with the world, while still showing how subtle changes and hope can save lives. Original, shocking, eye-opening and thoroughly enjoyable’ Simon P Clark, author of Eren

Everyone tells Kat that her online personality – confident, funny, opinionated – isn’t her true self. Kat knows otherwise. The internet is her only way to cope with a bad day, chat with friends who get all her references, make someone laugh. But when she becomes the target of an alt-right trolling campaign, she feels she has no option but to Escape, Delete, Disappear.

With her social media shut down, her website erased, her entire online identity void, Kat feels she has cut away her very core: without her virtual self, who is she?

She brought it on herself. Or so Wesley keeps telling himself as he dismantles Kat’s world. It’s different, seeing one of his victims in real life and not inside a computer screen – but he’s in too far to back out now.

As soon as Kat disappears from the online world, her physical body begins to fade and while everybody else forgets that she exists, Wesley realises he is the only one left who remembers her. Overcome by remorse for what he has done, Wesley resolves to stop her disappearing completely. It might just be the only way to save himself.

All the Lonely People is a timely story about online culture – both good and bad – that explores the experience of loneliness in a connected world, and the power of kindness and empathy over hatred.

*** Don’t miss the obsessively gripping new thriller from Vanessa Savage – The Night They Vanished is out now in ebook and available to pre-order in paperback ***

There’s a stranger in the house . . .
But what if the stranger is your husband?

‘Kept us utterly spooked and utterly hooked’ HEAT
‘Claustrophobic and compelling’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
‘Unputdownable’ LAURA MARSHALL
‘A vivid portrait of buried tensions’ DAILY MAIL
‘An intense tale of deceit, treachery and loss’ THE SUN
‘Scary, pacy and compelling’ CLAIRE DOUGLAS
‘Creepy and atmospheric’ AMANDA JENNINGS

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For Sarah and Patrick, life has always been easy. Then they move to Patrick’s childhood home and everything changes.

Fifteen years ago, another family was murdered there. Patrick says they can make it perfect again, but their children are plagued by nightmares and Sarah swears someone is watching the house.

Worse still, the longer they live in their ‘dream’ home, the more different her loving husband becomes . . .

A chilling psychological thriller about dark family dysfunction and the secrets that haunt us, The Woman in the Dark will captivate fans of Shari Lapena, Louise Candlish and THE INNOCENT WIFE by Amy Lloyd.

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What readers are saying about THE WOMAN IN THE DARK:

‘I can honestly say that this book will be next years must read psychological thriller of 2019‘

‘A deeply disturbing psychological thriller which always stays on the right side of horror’

‘What a cracker of a book. Unputdownable and well written‘

‘I loved this book and stayed up half the night to finish it‘

‘A real page-turner . . . I thoroughly enjoyed it’

‘A dark and many layered book. Hooked from the very first page‘

Brilliant . . . a fantastic ending with a twist that I did not see coming

When Steve is killed during enemy action, Beth is devastated. They were due to elope to Gretna Green the following week, and their happiness was complete with the news of Beth’s pregnancy. But now, alone and unmarried and with a baby on the way, Beth must survive by herself in war-torn Glasgow.

When Beth meets handsome Canadian Gene, a friendship begins; for the first time since Steve’s death Beth finds happiness. When Gene asks her to marry him and live with him on his farm in Canada, Beth seizes the opportunity of a better life for her and her child.

But it doesn’t take Beth long to realise that Gene hasn’t told her the whole truth and that the farm doesn’t belong to just him – his sister Loretta lives there, too. And Loretta makes it very clear that Beth isn’t welcome and that she will stop at nothing to get rid of her – even if it comes to murder.

Praise for Emma Blair:

‘An engaging novel and the characters are endearing – a good holiday read’ Historical Novels Review

‘All the tragedy and passion you could hope for . . . Brilliant’ The Bookseller

‘Romantic fiction pure and simple and the best sort – direct, warm and hugely readable. Women’s fiction at an excellent level’ Publishing News

‘Emma Blair explores the complex and difficult nature of human emotions in this passionately written novel’ Edinburgh Evening News

‘Entertaining romantic fiction’ Historical Novels Review

‘[Emma Blair] is well worth recommending’ The Bookseller

‘A very good read indeed’ MATT HAIG

‘Terrific, page-turning, slyly funny’ INDIA KNIGHT

‘As satisfying a novel as I have read in years’ SARAH PERRY

‘One of the most brilliant and entertaining novelists’ ALISON LURIE

Quentin and Lottie Bredin, like many modern couples, can’t afford to divorce. Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can’t afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon. Arrogant and adulterous, Quentin can’t understand why Lottie is so angry; devastated and humiliated, Lottie feels herself to have been intolerably wounded.

Mud, mice and quarrels are one thing – but why is their rent so low? What is the mystery surrounding their unappealing new home? The beauty of the landscape is ravishing, yet it conceals a dark side involving poverty, revenge, abuse and violence which will rise up to threaten them.

Sally Verity, happily married but unhappily childless knows a different side to country life, as both a Health Visitor and a sheep farmer’s wife; and when Lottie’s innocent teenage son Xan gets a zero-hours contract at a local pie factory, he sees yet another. At the end of their year, the lives of all will be changed for ever.

A suspenseful black comedy, this is a rich, compassionate and enthralling novel in its depiction of the English countryside, and the potentially lethal interplay between money and marriage.

A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN, EVENING STANDARD, SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES

‘Loved this book. Funny, quirky, unexpected’ Jojo Moyes
‘Very clever and great fun’ Kate Eberlen
‘Bridget Jones’ diary for the digital age’ Daily Record

Happiness for Humans is a joyful, romantic and very funny story, perfect for readers who loved The Rosie Project and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Do you believe in soulmates?

Aiden does. So when his colleague, Jen, is dumped unceremoniously by her dreadful boyfriend, Aiden decides to take matters – and Jen’s life – into his own hands.

Scouring the internet for a suitable partner for Jen, Aiden finds Tom. He’d be perfect for Jen apart from one minor detail: Tom lives in New York.

Luckily for Jen and Tom, Aiden’s not just an interfering colleague. In fact, Aiden isn’t exactly human – he’s a very complicated artificial intelligence.

As Jen and Tom’s romance grows, Aiden begins to take more and more risks to make sure that they can be together. But what will happen if they realise how they met…and that somebody else is pulling the strings?

‘This is Jane Austen’s Emma for the digital age’ – Keith Stuart, bestselling author of A Boy Made of Blocks

‘So funny, clever and timely. I loved it’ – Martha Kearney

‘This clever novel will appeal to David Nicholls fans. It’s witty and great fun’ – Daily Mail

‘This funny, madcap romp for the digital-age, featuring believably flawed characters (not all human), deserves to be a hit… like David Nicholls’ One Day or Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project, it should appeal to male and female readers.’ – Sunday Times

‘The most charming book I’ve read in ages’ – Image magazine

‘You’ll love this quirky, brilliantly funny love story… If you use Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant, prepare to have your heart warmed – and be a little bit scared!’ – Fabulous magazine

‘This screwball comedy is touching and hilarious’ – Sunday Mirror

‘One of the most uplifting and romantic novels I’ve read in a long time’ – Sarra Manning, Red magazine

‘Funny and clever’ – Good Housekeeping

Humans meets The Rosie Project . . . A real smiler of a book – Nina Pottell, Prima

A short novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author

Curl up and escape with Jenny Colgan
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Wanted: doctor for small island. Must like boats, the seaside and having no hope of keeping a secret…

Lorna lives on the tiny Scottish island of Mure, a peaceful place where everyone helps their neighbour. But the local GP is retiring, and nobody wants his job. Mure is too small and too remote.

Far away, in a crowded camp, Saif is treating a little boy with a badly-cut hand. Saif is a refugee, but he’s also a doctor: exactly what Mure needs.

Saif is welcome in Mure, but can he forget his past? Over one summer, Saif will find a place to call home, and Lorna’s life will change forever.

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Why readers ADORE Jenny Colgan

‘Jenny Colgan has a way of writing that makes me melt inside’
‘Her books are so good I want to start over as soon as I have finished’
‘There’s something so engaging about her characters and plots’
‘Her books are like a big, warm blanket’
‘Her stories are just so fabulous’
‘She brings her settings and characters so vividly to life’
‘The woman is just magic’

‘Vivid, smart, propulsive. A thoroughly immersive thriller’ Lisa Unger

For fans of Serial and Making a Murderer comes this clever, twisty and innovative thriller by New York Times bestselling author Gilly Macmillan, author of the Richard & Judy book club pick The Nanny
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Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Page and Scott Ashby were murdered, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime but, decades later, questions still linger.

For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood friends. Hoping to uncover new evidence, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don’t want the case reopened, especially Charlie’s mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands.

When another body is found in the same location the boys were left decades before, the disturbing discovery launches another murder investigation. Now Detective John Fletcher, the investigator on the original case, must reopen his dusty files and decide if the two murders are linked. With his career in jeopardy, the clock is ticking and lives are in jeopardy . . .
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PRAISE FOR GILLY MACMILLAN:

‘Amazing, gripping, beautifully written’ LIANE MORIARTY

‘Deserves to stay on the bestseller list’ DAILY MAIL

‘Electrifyingly good. An absolute firecracker of a thriller’ SUNDAY MIRROR

‘Deceptively clever. I found myself racing through to find out what happened’ ROSAMUND LUPTON

‘A nail-biting, sleep-depriving, brilliant read’ SASKIA SARGINSON

‘A very clever, tautly-plotted page-turner’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘You won’t rest until you know what happened’ LISA BALLANTYNE

‘Paling’s deftly drawn vignettes are frequently funny, sometimes sad and occasionally troubling . . . Borrow a copy from your local library, if you still have one. Better yet, buy it’ Neil Armstrong, Mail on Sunday

‘Not only was I captivated by Paling’s lovingly wrought series of pen portraits, I was amused, moved and – perhaps most surprising of all – uplifted’ John Preston, Daily Mail

‘There are many detractors who question whether libraries are still relevant in the digital age. Paling’s keenly and kindly observed account of his encounters offers a gentle insight as to why they still are’ Helen Davies, Sunday Times

Chris works as a librarian in a small-town library in the south of England. This is the story of the library, its staff, and the fascinating group of people who use the library on a regular basis.

We’ll meet characters like the street-sleepers Brewer, Wolf and Spencer, who are always the first through the doors. The Mad Hatter, an elderly man who scurries around manically, searching for books. Sons of Anarchy Alan, a young Down’s Syndrome man addicted to the American TV drama series. Startled Stewart, a gay man with a spray-on tan who pops in most days for a nice chat, sharking for good-looking foreign language students. And Trish, who is relentlessly cheerful and always dressed in pink – she has never married, but the marital status of everybody she meets is of huge interest to her.

Some of the characters’ stories are tragic, some are amusing, some are genuinely surreal, but together they will paint a bigger picture of the world we live in today, and of a library’s hugely important place within it. Yes, of course, people come in to borrow books, but the library is also the equivalent of the village pump. It’s one of the few places left where anyone, regardless of age or income or background, can wander in and find somebody to listen to their concerns, to share the time of day.

Reading Allowed will provide us with a fascinating portrait of a place that we all value and cherish, but which few of us truly know very much about …

One cover. 360 different colours. Which one will you get?

‘A powerful and disturbing new take on an original classic’ Tim Bowler, author of Carnegie Medal-winner River Boy

‘I loved this book . . . Pacy, gripping, intriguing [and] poignant’ Alice Oseman, author of Solitaire and Radio Silence


Young people on the Midwich Estate don’t have much hope for their futures. Keisha has lived there her whole life, and has been working hard to escape it; others have just accepted their lot.

But change is coming . . .

One night, everyone inside Midwich Tower falls mysteriously unconscious in one inexplicable ‘Nightout’. No one can explain what happened during those lost hours, but soon afterwards Keisha and three other girls find they’re pregnant – and the babies are growing at an alarming rate.

As the news spreads around the tower, its residents turns against them and the situation spirals toward violence. Keisha’s life unravels as she realises that the pregnancy may not have just ruined her hopes for the future: she might be mother to the end of the world.

The Fallen Children is a story of violation, of judgment and of young people who must fight to defy what is expected of them.

The Fallen Children has one cover design but 360 different colourways. Each one is numbered from 1 to 360 on the spine. The colour you receive will be completely random.

‘THE FALLEN CHILDREN is ATTACK THE BLOCK meets VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and feels like the London I know. It’s very cool’ – Juno Dawson

‘An ingenious twist on a classic. Surprisingly tender and moving, completely convincing and gripping’ – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

‘Read THE FALLEN CHILDREN if you’d like less middle-class kidlit, allegorical commentary on society and teens, and dead good books’ – Non Pratt

‘Finely judged writing like this comes from a place of instinct, and it marks Melrose out as someone to watch . . . Midwinter is a great success’ Melissa Harrison, Guardian

Father and Son, Landyn and Vale Midwinter, are Suffolk farmers, living together on land their family has worked for generations. But they are haunted there by a past they have long refused to confront: the death of Cecelia, beloved wife and mother, when Vale was just a child. Both men have carried her loss, unspoken.

Until now.

With the onset of a mauling winter, something between them snaps.

While Vale makes increasingly desperate decisions, Landyn retreats, finding solace in the land, his animals – and a vixen who haunts the farm and seems to bring with her both comfort and protection.

Tender and lyrical, alive to language and nature, Midwinter is a novel about guilt, blame, lost opportunities and, ultimately, it is a story about love and the lengths we will go to find our way home.

‘Melrose elegantly weaves narratives detailing the men’s internal tumult with lush descriptions of their natural surroundings . . . A moving story about the cruelty of chance, modern masculinity and the transformative power of the bonds between men’ Financial Times

‘I have rarely read a narrative voice as distinctive as Landyn’s, and the loving depiction of regional English working-class masculinity is unusual and timely . . . This is certainly not a light-hearted book, but it offers the true consolation of some very good writing’ Sarah Moss, TLS

‘A penetrating study of grief and guilt’ Daily Mail

THE RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB AND NUMBER ONE AMAZON BESTSELLER

‘The publishing sensation of the year: a compelling, uplifting and heart-rending debut novel’
Mail on Sunday

A Boy Made of Blocks is a funny, heartwarming story of family and love inspired by the author’s own experiences with his son, the perfect latest obsession for fans of The Rosie Project, David Nicholls and Jojo Moyes.

A father who rediscovers love

Alex loves his wife Jody, but has forgotten how to show it. He loves his son Sam, but doesn’t understand him. He needs a reason to grab his future with both hands.

A son who shows him how to live

Meet eight-year-old Sam: beautiful, surprising – and different. To him the world is a frightening mystery. But as his imagination comes to life, his family will be changed . . . for good.

‘One of those wonderful books that makes you laugh and cry at the same time’
Good Housekeeping

‘Funny, expertly plotted and written with enormous heart. Readers who enjoyed The Rosie Project will love A Boy Made of Blocks – I did’
Graeme Simsion

‘Very funny, incredibly poignant and full of insight. Awesome.’
Jenny Colgan

‘Heartwarming’
The Unmumsy Mum

‘A wonderful, warm, insightful novel about family, friendship and love’
Daily Mail

‘A great plot, with a rare sense of honesty’
Guardian

‘A truly beautiful story’
Heat

‘A heartwarming and wise story’
Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love

‘Highly amusing … Eloquently snarky prose’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Inventively entertaining …make you both laugh out loud and stop and think’ – SFX

When the Supreme Being and his son decide that being supreme isn’t for them any more, it’s inevitable that things get a bit of a shake-up.

It soon becomes apparent that our new owners, the Venturi brothers, have a very different perspective on all sorts of things. Take Good and Evil, for example. For them, it’s an outdated concept that never worked particularly well in the first place.

Unfortunately, the sudden disappearance of right and wrong, while welcomed by some, raises certain concerns amongst those still attached to the previous team’s management style.

In particular, there’s one of the old gods who didn’t move out with the others. A reclusive chap, he lives somewhere up north, and only a handful even believe in him.

But he’s watching. And he really does need to know if you’ve been naughty or nice.

What would happen if good and evil were replaced with a more dynamic system based on sound economic principles? Find out in Tom Holt’s wickedly funny new comic novel!

Books by Tom Holt:

Walled Orchard Series
Goatsong
The Walled Orchard

J.W. Wells & Co. Series
The Portable Door
In Your Dreams
Earth, Air, Fire and Custard
You Don’t Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But It Helps
The Better Mousetrap
May Contain Traces of Magic
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages

YouSpace Series
Doughnut
When It’s A Jar
The Outsorcerer’s Apprentice
The Good, the Bad and the Smug

Novels
Expecting Someone Taller
Who’s Afraid of Beowulf
Flying Dutch
Ye Gods!
Overtime
Here Comes the Sun
Grailblazers
Faust Among Equals
Odds and Gods
Djinn Rummy
My Hero
Paint your Dragon
Open Sesame
Wish you Were Here
Alexander at World’s End
Only Human
Snow White and the Seven Samurai
Olympiad
Valhalla
Nothing But Blue Skies
Falling Sideways
Little People
Song for Nero
Meadowland
Barking
Blonde Bombshell
The Management Style of the Supreme Beings
An Orc on the Wild Side

Shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction
‘Extraordinarily affecting’ Alex Preston, Observer

‘This is a novel whose engine is flesh and blood, not cold ideas . . . Grant brings the 1950s – that odd, downbeat, fertile decade between war and sexual liberation – into sharp, bright, heartbreaking focus’ – Christobel Kent Guardian


All over Britain life is beginning again now the war is over but for Lenny and Miriam, East End London teenage twins who have been living on the edge of the law, life is suspended – they’ve contacted tuberculosis. It’s away to the sanatorium – newly opened by the NHS – in deepest Kent for them where they will meet a very different world: among other patients, an aristocract, a young university grad, a mysterious German woman and an American merchant seaman with big ideas about love and rebellion. They are not the only ones whose lives will be changed forever.


‘Grant is so good at conjuring up atmosphere and writes with earthy vivacity’- Anthony Gardner Mail on Sunday


‘Read this fine, persuasive, moving novel and contemplate’ John Sutherland, The Times