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A stunning and evocative new dual-time standalone epic novel from the bestselling author of Echoes of the Runes. Brimming with romance, adventure and vivid historical detail, Christina Courtenay does for the Vikings what Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and Clanlans does for Scottish history. A love forged in fire lives on through the ages . . . Skye Logan has been struggling to run her remote farm on Scotland's west coast alone ever since her marriage fell apart. When a handsome stranger turns up looking for work, it seems that her wish for help has been granted. Rafe Carlisle is searching for peace and somewhere he can forget about the last few years. But echoes of the distant past won't leave Skye and Rafe alone, and they begin to experience vivid dreams which appear to be linked to the Viking jewellery they each wear. It seems that the ghosts of the past have secrets . . . and they have something that they want Skye and Rafe to know.

No one feels safe when there's a murderer in their midst.... Ann Granger returns to her fan favourite series with the gripping 16th Mitchell and Markby novel, featuring her trademark strong and appealing characters, gentle wit and engrossing intrigue. Superintendent Alan Markby and his wife, Meredith, have retired for the night when they are disturbed by a visitor. It's not the first time someone has called at the Old Vicarage in search of a priest, but in this case, having just found a dead body in the churchyard, Callum Henderson needs the police. Accompanying Callum to the graveyard, Alan declares that this has all the hallmarks of a murder scene. News of the incident travels fast in the market town of Bamford, but no one seems willing to admit to knowing the dead man or how he ended up in the cemetery. As Alan and his team search for clues, Meredith becomes convinced that something must have been overlooked. Meanwhile, despite Alan's warnings, Callum appears to be in cahoots with the team's latest recr

Sister Fidelma returns in Death of a Heretic, the 33rd Celtic mystery by Peter Tremayne, acclaimed author of The House of Death, The Shapeshifter's Lair and Blood in Eden. If you love Ellis Peters, you'll be gripped by Death of a Heretic and the Sister Fidelma series. Ireland AD 672. The abbey of Muman at Imleach Iubhair is being renovated when its guests' hostel burns to the ground. There is one fatality: Bishop Brodulf of Luxovium, a distinguished visitor and cousin to the king of Franks. Sister Fidelma is asked by Abbot Cuán to investigate the unfortunate incident and soon finds that the bishop had been stabbed to death before the fire had even started. Thrown into a world of treachery and jealousy, where religious beliefs are vehemently disputed, Fidelma and her companions, Eadulf and Enda, face a barrier of deceit. The abbey, a leading ecclesiastical teaching institution as well as a conhospitae, housing both men and women, is divided into factions. Can Abbot Cuán trust Prioress Suanach, who is in char

A stunning and evocative new dual-time standalone epic novel from the bestselling author of Echoes of the Runes. Brimming with romance, adventure and vivid historical detail, Christina Courtenay does for the Vikings what Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and Clanlans does for Scottish history. A love forged in fire lives on through the ages . . . Skye Logan has been struggling to run her remote farm on Scotland's west coast alone ever since her marriage fell apart. When a handsome stranger turns up looking for work, it seems that her wish for help has been granted. Rafe Carlisle is searching for peace and somewhere he can forget about the last few years. But echoes of the distant past won't leave Skye and Rafe alone, and they begin to experience vivid dreams which appear to be linked to the Viking jewellery they each wear. It seems that the ghosts of the past have secrets . . . and they have something that they want Skye and Rafe to know.

Hope rises to a challenge as pilots take to the skies.... It is 1940, and the Battle of Britain takes to the air as Hope Stapleford embarks on her third thrilling adventure.... It is 1940, and, as the Battle of Britain takes to the air, Hope Stapleford is recruited to join the Special Operations Executive. On her way to Scotland, she is pulled from a train and driven to spymaster Fitzroy's stately home. She is his intelligence operative, and he wants to send her to a Scottish airfield where Harvey is already stationed undercover as a mechanic. At the airbase, Hope and Harvey find a community in turmoil. Pilots talk of strange sightings in the air, and local mechanics report mysterious scratches appearing on the wings and fuselage of the aircraft. Is this a case of homegrown sabotage or something more sinister? And why has Cole, an old colleague of Fitzroy's, suddenly appeared? Glowing orbs, grieving mothers and the legacy of dead German pilots are only some of the challenges Hope must face to complete her

She played for love. She fought for freedom. Inspired by incredible true events, The Lost Song of Paris is a heart-wrenching story of lost love, danger and espionage and one remarkable woman's bravery in World War Two, from the best-selling author of The Missing Pieces of Nancy Moon and The Schoolteacher of Saint-Michel. This unforgettable novel is perfect for fans of My Name Is Eva, The Shut Away Sisters and The Secret Messenger. 'For a moment she closed her eyes and imagined she was perched on the diving board at the Piscine Molitor, the sun beating down on her bare shoulders and the sound of Parisians at play beneath her. All she had to do was jump.' 1941. Darkness descends over London as the sirens begin to howl and the bombs rain down. Devastation seeps from every crack of the city. In the midst of all the chaos is a woman gripping a window ledge on the first floor of a Baker Street hotel. She is perched, ready to jump. And as flames rise around her, she is forced to take her chances. 1997. Amy Nov

The woman in the portrait is perfect. So why does she feel so terrified, so alone? Florence, the 1560s. Lucrezia, third daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, is free to wander the palazzo at will, wondering at its treasures and observing its clandestine workings. But when her older sister dies on the eve of marriage to Alfonso d'Este, ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage and her father to accept on her behalf. Having barely left girlhood, Lucrezia must now make her way in a troubled court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appears to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble? As Lucrezia sits in uncomfortable finery for the painting that is to preserv

With words come power. But do you speak out or shut up? Everywhere Sara Javed goes—online or outside—everyone is shouting about something. Couldn't they all just shut up? One day she takes her own advice. At first people don't understand her silence and are politely confused at best. But the last thing Sara could anticipate is becoming the figurehead of a global movement that splits society in two. The Silent Movement sparks outrage in its opposers. Global structures start to shift. And the lives of those closest to Sara—as well as strangers inspired by her act—begin to unravel. It's time for the world to reconsider what it means to have a voice. A sharply observed novel, charged with compassion and dark wit, that will spark important conversations about how we live, relate and communicate now.

Discover the gripping second installment in Johanna Mo's internationally bestselling The Island Murders series: perfect for fans of Ragnar Jonasson and Ann Cleeves. When Jenny Ahlström returns from a weekend away to find her husband, Thomas, and their toddler, Hugo, missing, Detective Hanna Duncker fears the worst. If the young boy is still alive out there, he may not be for much longer. Though the small island is teeming with volunteer search parties, not every local has Hugo's safety in mind. And an estranged adult daughter is only one of the troubling secrets Thomas has been hiding from his wife. In the shadow of Hugo's case, an unsettling truth about the murder committed by Hanna's own father begins to take shape—something not only dark but potentially dangerous.

A beautifully observed, wry novel of the dislocation of family life and a marriage, and of loss and love, set on the western coast of Scotland. Once it was a family home. Now they are all at sea.... When Anna and David receive a phone call late one evening, their lives are upturned. Within minutes, they are travelling to the west coast of Scotland, preparing to care for two young sisters, tragically and suddenly orphaned. It's a beautiful place, the heather is in bloom, the birds wheel above the waves, the deer graze peacefully in the distance. But the large granite house is no longer a home for the girls, and Anna knows she can never take the place of their mother. Then David invites his friend to stay, to 'ease them through', and Anna finds herself increasingly isolated, with everything she—and the girls—once knew of life discarded and overruled by a man of whom she is deeply suspicious.

The first memoir by Deacon Blue singer and music icon Ricky Ross. In 1986, Ricky Ross started a full-time career in music, which has lasted for over 35 years. His earlier working life was spent in youth work and teaching in his home city of Dundee, and his adopted home of Glasgow. It was in these two cities where he spent his formative years learning how to write and play songs. Having always written about the people and places who've made an impact on his life, it's no surprise that this is how he has approached Walking Back Home, his first-ever memoir, which takes the listener on a journey from Ricky's childhood to the roller coaster of leading his band Deacon Blue to top of the charts and the band's eventual break-up and his solo career. "I started to write about the years I spent putting the band together, on the first time we ever played in America, and about some of the musical characters I've met along the way. I gave some thought to growing up in suburban Dundee in a family with no record player

Chloe is beautiful and fiercely bright, but her thirst for booze and attention is insatiable. Sara resents being tied down to anything, but part of her craves stability. Elliot is secretly grieving the death of his famous lover and feels like he's invisible. The lives and problems of psychotherapist Charlotte Fox Weber's clients vary, but all are united by a common question: what do I really want? In What We Want, Charlotte Fox Weber takes us on a journey through 12 universal wants and desires, bringing us behind the closed doors of her practice. It is at once a fly-on-the-wall look at what binds us all, an expression of the profound importance of understanding and articulating our desires, and a practical toolkit for living well.

From the award-winning author of My Name Is Leon, The Trick to Time and Supporting Cast comes a childhood memoir set to become a classic: stinging, warm-hearted and true. Kit de Waal grew up in a household of opposites and extremes. Her haphazard mother rarely cooked, forbade Christmas and birthdays, worked as a cleaner, nurse and childminder sometimes all at once and believed the world would end in 1975. Meanwhile, her father stuffed barrels full of goodies for his relatives in the Caribbean, cooked elaborate meals on a whim and splurged money they didn't have on cars, suits and shoes fit for a prince. Both of her parents were waiting for paradise. It never came. Caught between three worlds—Irish, Caribbean and British in 1960s Birmingham—Kit and her brothers and sisters knew all the words to the best songs, caught sticklebacks in jam jars and braved hunger and hellfire until they could all escape. Without Warning and Only Sometimes is a story of an extraordinary childhood and how a girl who grew up in ho

Tom Phillips (Humans; Truth) and Jonn Elledge (The Compendium of Not Quite Everything) team up to debunk the greatest conspiracy theories humans have ever espoused—to teach us how not to fall for them. From the Satanic Panic to the anti-vaxx movement, it's always been human nature to believe we're being lied to by the powers that be (and sometimes, to be fair, we absolutely are). But while it can be fun to indulge in a bit of Deep State banter on the family Whatsapp group, recent times have shown us that some of these theories have taken on a life of their own—and in our dogged quest for the truth, it appears we might actually be doing it some damage. In Conspiracy, Tom Phillips and Jonn Elledge take us on a fascinating, insightful and often hilarious journey through conspiracy theories old and new, to try and answer an important question: how can we learn to log off the QAnon message boards, and start trusting hard evidence again?

In one new volume, an irresistible collection of stories from two previous works, Smile and Changing Babies, with additional stories, previously unpublished in audio. From swimming on Hampstead Heath to illicit trysts in hayfields, or counting stock in corner shops and stifling parenting classes to pedicures in Florence, this collection of short stories includes some previously unpublished in audio, and covers the gamut of human nature—our foibles, our loves, our desires, hopes, ambitions and failures. Rich in observation and speckled with a delicious dark humour, Fool for Love confirms Deborah Moggach's place as one of our finest observers of human life.

Memories of love, loss and cabaret through the London AIDS crisis, by It's a Sin's Jill Nalder. When Jill Nalder arrived at drama school in London in the early 1980s, she was ready for her life to begin. With her band of best friends—of which many were talented young gay men with big dreams of their own—she grabbed London by the horns: partying with drag queens at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, hosting cabarets at her glamorous flat, flitting across town to any jobs could get. But soon rumours were spreading from America about a frightening illness being dubbed the 'gay flu', and Jill and her friends—spirited Juan Pablo, Jae with his beautiful voice, upbeat Dursley and many others—found that their formerly carefree existence now under threat. In this moving memoir, It's a Sin's Jill Nalder tells the true story of her life during the AIDS crisis, and that of friends and colleagues, doctors and nurses, activists and fundraisers. She recounts juggling a busy West End career while campaigning for AIDS awareness an

Paul Doherty's twenty-third medieval mystery featuring Sir Hugh Corbett is a gripping and gruesome tale of murder and mayhem sure to appeal to fans of C. J. Sansom and Bernard Cornwell. Spring, 1312. Edward II of England is absorbed with his favourite, Peter Gaveston, while his young wife, Isabella, is about to give birth. Isabella's father, the ruthless Philip of France, dreams of a grandson wearing the Crown of the Confessor and starts to meddle—even if that means murder.... Amaury de Craon, Philip's Master of Secrets, is despatched to carry out his deadly deeds and Edward II summons Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, to intercept. Both master spies lodge at the Benedictine abbey of St Michael's in the forest of Ashdown. Supposedly a house of prayer, the abbey holds sinister secrets and treasures which include the world's most exquisite diamond, The Glory of Heaven. However, shortly after their arrival, the diamond is stolen and its guardian murdered. Other macabre incidents follow, Satan is see

Read by: George Greenland, George Weightman, Helen Keeley, Joe Eyre, Nicolette Chin, Samara MacLaren and Sid Sagar. There's a darkness inside all of us, and The Bay has a way of bringing it out. Everyone here has their secrets, but we don't go looking for them. Because sometimes it's better not to know. The waves are to die for at The Bay. It's a paradise they would kill to keep. The Beach meets Point Break in the thriller of the summer by Allie Reynolds. Kenna arrives in Sydney to surprise her best friend, shocked to hear she's going to marry a guy she's only just met. But Mikki and her fiancé, Jack, are about to head away on a trip, so Kenna finds herself tagging along for the ride. Sorrow Bay is beautiful, wild and dangerous. A remote surfing spot with waves to die for, cut off from the rest of the world. Here Kenna meets the mysterious group of people who will do anything to keep their paradise a secret. Sky, Ryan, Clemente and Victor have come to ride the waves and disappear from life. How will they

War brings them together. Liberation will tear them apart. A powerful portrait of war. a heartbreaking story of love. The extraordinary new novel from the author of While Paris Slept. Paris 1944. Elise Chevalier knows what it is to love...and to hate. Her fiancé, a young French soldier, was killed by the German army at the Maginot Line. Living amongst the enemy Elise must keep her rage buried deep within. Sebastian Kleinhaus no longer recognises himself. After four years spent fighting a war he doesn't believe in, wearing a uniform he despises, he longs for a way out. For something, someone, to be his salvation. Brittany 1963. Reaching for the suitcase under her mother's bed, eighteen-year-old Josephine Chevalier uncovers a secret that shakes her to the core. Determined to find the truth, she travels to Paris where she discovers the story of a dangerous love that grew as a city fought for its freedom. Of the last stolen hours before the first light of liberation. And of a betrayal so deep that it would ir

The latest unflinching and heart-racing thriller from S. J. Butler, the author of Between the Lines. Perfect for fans of M. W. Craven and Robert Bryndza. When a dead body is discovered in a house near the university, Detective Chief Inspector Jack Hogan and his team are left baffled by the viciousness of the assault. And with very little to go on, the questions quickly mount up. But, when another victim turns up with the same distinguishing mark etched on their skin—one that links the victims to an anarchist group—it becomes clear that a depraved and calculating serial killer is at large. With the murderer always one step ahead, time is of the essence and DCI Hogan must act fast before another life is taken.