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Macmillan Publishers
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Ort knows the sky is watching. He knows what it means to watch; he spends long hours listening at doors and peering through cracks. Things are terribly wrong. His father is withering away, his sister is consumed by hatred, his grandmother is all inside herself, and his mother, a flower-child of the 1960s, is brave but helpless. Then a strange man appears at the door. That Eye, The Sky is about love, about a boy's vision of the world beyond, and about the blurry distinctions between the natural and supernatural. This is Winton at his most powerful. |
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I wonder if I should keep these diaries under lock and key. Jenny Spede has disturbed them again... What does she make, I wonder, of an old woman, deformed by arthritis, stripping naked for a young man? The pills worry me more. Ten is such a round number to be missing... Mathilda Gillespie's body was found nearly two days after she had taken an overdose and slashed her wrists with a Stanley knife. But what shocked Dr Sarah Blakeney the most was the scold's bridle obscuring the dead woman's face, a metal contraption grotesquely adorned with a garland of nettles and Michaelmas daisies. What happened at Cedar House in the tortured hours before Mathilda's death? The police assume that the coroner will return a verdict of suicide. Only Dr Blakeney, it seems, doubts the verdict. Until it is discovered that Mathilda's diaries have disappeared... An atmosphere of tantalizing, overpowering menace... The tradition of the English whodunnit has passed into the safe hands and dangerous imagination of Minette Walters. |
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Whilst mourning the death of his father, journalist Stewart Dubin decides to research the life of a man he had always respected, always admired, but possibly never quite knew... As a young, idealistic lawyer during the last terrible months of the Second World War, David Dubin was sent to the European Front — ostensibly to bring charges against a brave American hero, Robert Martin, who had suddenly, inexplicably, gone local and stopped following orders. Martin has become a liability and the authorities want him neutralized. But, as Dubin learns more about Martin and the demons possessing him, he finds himself falling in love with Martin's enigmatic ex-mistress — a dangerous woman of incredible courage. And someone who will do anything to protect her comrade-in-arms... Stewart discovers a journal written by his father — and learns of his incredible courage in the face of battle, reads first-hand of the shattering moral consequences for those caught in the chaos of war and, finally, the secret he had died protecting... |
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A gripping and hauntingly atmospheric debut novel from Anne Rice's son In the brooding milieu of New Orleans, four friends are about to recognise the fragile boundaries between loyalty and betrayal. Once inseparable. Meredith, Brandon, Stephen and Greg enter high school only to learn that their friendship cannot withstand the envy and rage of adolescence. Their individual struggles are fuelled by the generations of family feuds and furtive passions hoarded within their opulent Garden District homes and soon, two violent deaths disrupt the core of this closeted society. Five years later, the former friends are drawn back together as new facts about their mutual history are revealed and what was once held to be a tragic accident is discovered to be murder. As the true story emerges, long-kept secrets begin to unravel and the casual cruelties of high school develop into acts of violence that threaten to destroy an entire community. A Density of Souls marks a stunning debut and its series of shocking twists will leave you reeling. Bold, compelling and haunting, this is American gothic in a new and intriguing guise. |
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A witty, sophisticated romantic comedy which explores the universal themes of love, loyalty and family. American Maggie Monroe is a journalist for New York's hard-hitting current affairs show Newsline. Independent and fearless, the more cutting-edge the story, the happier she is. But when her next assignment turns out to be an in-depth documentary on the decline of England's ruling classes, she's furious at being sent to cover a bloody tea party. Meet the Earl and Countess of Bevan, eccentric, maddening and with family secrets to hide. Meet Daniel Bevan — their eldest son. Funny, attractive and hopelessly alcoholic. Meet Daniel's responsible brother Rory — angry, self-mocking and strictly teetotal. When Maggie discovers Rory to be an uninvited chaperone on the first stop of her journey the two look set to clash. Maggie finds herself torn between her journalist ideals and coming to terms with a greater understanding. This unlikely romantic comedy paints an endearing portrait of a family, which like so many others, holds itself together despite its evident frailties. |
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I'll tell you something, something important. Love is a decision. Not a feeling. That's what you young people don't realise. That's why you're always off divorcing each other. No offence, dear. So decrees the formidable Connie Thrum of Scribbly Gum Island. She is the chief decision-maker of a rather unconventional family and her word is law, especially when it comes to the important things in life, like cinnamon toast and profit margins. It's been over seventy years since Connie and her sister Rose visited their neighbours and found the kettle boiling and a baby waking for her feed, but no sign of her parents. The 'Munro Baby Mystery' still hasn't been solved and tourists can visit the abandoned home, exactly as it was found in 1932. But now, Connie has passed away and the island residents ponder her legacy. Sophie Honeywell is looking down the barrel of her fortieth birthday and still hoping for that fairytale ending. Her beautiful new friend Grace, the Munro Baby's granddaughter, can't tell anyone what she hopes for. It would be too shocking. Meanwhile, a frumpy housewife makes a pact with a stranger, an old lady starts making her own decisions and a family secret finally explodes on an extraordinary night of mulled wine, fire-eating and face-painting — the Last Anniversary. |
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Pacy thriller packed with international action, psychic intrigue and sexual tension. Dr. Jessica Riley nursed her sister back from a six-year withdrawal after the traumatic deaths of their parents and Melissa has spent every day since living life to the full. But when Jessica takes on the treatment of Cassie, beloved daughter of US President Andreas, the lives of both sisters become more and more complicated. Cassie is suffering a nightmare-filled trauma after her family's holiday retreat was violently attacked by masked criminals wishing to bargain with the President and use his daughter as currency. Cassie's life was saved at the last minute, but the bloody affair has gone unpunished and Cassie's saviour, Michael Travis — the only man who seems to hold any clues to the attackers' identities — has secrets of his own and has disappeared himself. As the mannunt for enigmatic diamond smuggler Travis closes in, all the characters are forced to bend the rules and trust those they would normally condemn. Extraordinary bonds develop and at every turn the mysterious pull of an emerald-eyed statue is strangely significant. Lives depend on knowing who can really be trusted and some will doubtless be lost... This intense and lively thriller will keep you turning the pages to discover who is going to be the FINAL TARGET. |
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When I went off to college, I started telling people that my mother died in a car crash. Ellie and Izzy have lived a crazy life, with a mother whom they adored, but who wasn't without problems. From long midnight baths, to dancing in the dark in the rain, to driving the family car straight into the lake, she's been a magic but maniacal figure, someone whose colourful stunts and bold lies have been the source of both pride and shame for the girls. Then, in March 1971, Izzy's mother locked herself in the garage and sat in a Dodge Dart with the engine running. Now, on the eve of her own 41st birthday, Izzy realises that she's about to reach an age her mother never got beyond and she's entering virgin time, the second half of a life her mother never knew. All she wants is a phone call from her father, and a simple 'Happy Birthday' from her sister, Ellie — a call from one sane sister to another. But she knows that isn't going to happen, for they're both flying out for an emotionally charged weekend visit and Izzy can't help feeling that she's still responsible, that there are apologies to be made. Surely now, she's at an age where a grown-up daughter can put things behind her? Spare and sweet, Crazy As Chocolate is an enchanting, involving novel of the acceptance and remembrance of familial madness set against an idyllic and wild childhood. |
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Jack Tagger is a frustrated journalist. His outspoken views have relegated him to the obituary page, with his byline never again to disgrace the front page. But Jack has stumbled across a whale of a story that might just resurrect his career... James Stomarti, infamous frontman of rock band Jimmy and the Slut Puppies, has died in a diving accident and Jack harbours suspicions that the glamorous pop starlet widow may have had a vested interest in her husband's untimely death. It all smells a little too fishy. Aided and abetted by his rather sexy (if unnervingly ambitious) young editor, Emma, Jack sets out to in pursuit of the truth — and a nice juicy story. But of course nothing is ever straightforward and with murderous goons on his tail, brutal internal politics at the paper and a paranoia about death, Jack is struggling to keep his head above water. Was Jimmy Stomarti murdered? Is someone trying to kill off the Slut Puppies one by one? And what significance can a dead lizard named Colonel Tom possibly have? Basket Case is an absolute delight from first page to last and spells out a hilariously hard-won triumph for muckraking journalism. This is one book you'll kill to get your hands on. |
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Reveals the stories of the American soldiers who took and appeared in the digital snapshots from Abu Ghraib prison that shocked the world. This work provides an account of Iraq`s occupation from the inside-out — rendering vivid portraits of guards and prisoners ensnared in an appalling breakdown of command authority and moral order. |
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Harley Savage is a large, rawboned, plain person with a ragged haircut and a white t-shirt coming unstitched along the shoulder. Douglas Cheeseman is a big-eared man who avoids his own reflection, and has bored his wife into leaving him. They are not the usual suspects for a burgeoning romance. |
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It's the night before Christmas and a young girl creeps like a mouse down the stairs, determined to find out for certain whether Santa is real. But she falls asleep within seconds... Soon, Santa and his reindeer land on her roof-top and when he bursts out of her fireplace she is woken up to a room filled with magic. As she watches him fly off into the night, she knows that she will never forget this sight because, at Christmas, the best gift of all is belief. Carol Ann Duffy's twenty-first-century reworking of the Victorian Christmas classic is filled with her characteristic warmth, wit and imagination and, illustrated by the sophisticated, romantic and truly original Rob Ryan, it will be the perfect gift this Christmas. |
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This is the first major biography of V.S. Naipaul, Nobel Prize winner and one of the most compelling literary figures of the last fifty years. With great feeling for his formidable body of work, and exclusive access to his private papers and personal recollections, Patrick French has produced a lucid and astonishing account of this enigmatic genius: one which looks sensitively and unflinchingly at his relationships, his development as a writer and as a man, his outspokenness, his peerless creativity, and, his extraordinary and enduring position both outside and at the very centre of literary culture. Its clarity, honesty, even-handedness, its panoramic range and close emotional focus, above all its virtually unprecedented access to the dark secret life at its heart, make it one of the most gripping biographies Ive ever read — Hilary Spurling, Observer. |
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A landmark publication in the world of Fantasy writing In a world where creatures of legend haunt the lands of men, and to be caught outside after dark means almost certain death, the inhabitants of Isse Tower are amazed when a mute, starving foundling is discovered outside their gates. With no recollection of her name or past, the girl soon realizes that her only hope of happiness lies in distant Caermalor, where a wise woman might be able to restore her memories. To get there, Imrhien must survive a wilderness of endless danger. Lost and pursued by unhuman wights, Imrhien is saved by Thorn, a mysterious, handsome ranger who becomes her protector-and the object of her hopeless love. But unknown to them, a dark force summons the Unseelie, and malignant hordes amass in the night. |
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Mark Brian, a young Anglican priest who has not long to live, is sent to the Indian village of Kingcome in the wilds of British Columbia. While sharing the hunting and fishing, the festivals and funerals, the joys and sorrows of a once-proud tribe, Mark learns enough of life to be ready to die. On a cold winter evening when he hears the owl call his name, Mark understands what is to come... An outstanding and much-acclaimed first novel. The author's perception, wisdom and insight give her unique story the quality of a legend or fable. A rare clarity and simplicity. It is a long time since I was so moved by a story, touching in its dignity and wise in its folklore. |
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Another sexy, laugh-out-loud novel from the bestselling author of Welcome to Temptation Nell Dysart is living a too small life in a too small apartment. Her marriage is finished, her career is in limbo, and she feels she has the sex appeal of a skeletal giraffe. But things might be about to change, for Nell has landed a job at a down-and-out detective agency with huge potential for redecoration and a boss who looks easy to manage. A quick spot of dachshund napping, blackmail and embezzlement later and Nell can scarcely believe her life was ever dull. But when somebody starts killing people and unprofessional sex becomes a sticky situation, she starts to wonder just how many more thrills one woman's life can withstand... |
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Dylan is the only boy living in the tiny Welsh town of Manod. His parents run the Snowdonia Oasis Auto Marvel garage — and when he's not trying to persuade his sisters to play football, Dylan is in charge of the petrol log. And that means he gets to keep track of everyone coming in and out of Manod — what car they drive, what they're called, even their favourite flavour of crisps. But when a mysterious convoy of lorries trundles up the misty mountainside towards an old, disused mine, even Dylan is confounded. Who are these people — and what have they got to hide? This story is inspired by a press cutting describing how, during WWII, the treasured contents of London's National Gallery were stored in Welsh slate mines. Once a month, a morale-boosting masterpiece would be unveiled in the village and then returned to London for viewing. This is a funny and touching exploration of how Art — its beauty and its value — touches the life of one little boy and his big family in a very small town. |
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From Miami to Beverly Hills, from Mexico City to Acapulco to Las Vegas, dynamically sexy Lucky Santangelo and sweet-as-sin daughter, Max, are turning up the heat. So is Anthony Bonar, the son of Lucky's one-time godfather and lethal enemy, Enzio Bonatti. Lucky is preparing for the opening of her multibillion-dollar hotel complex in Las Vegas, The Keys, but Bonar-a vicious killer-is out to stop her any way he can. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Max has run off to Big Bear with a man she's met on the Internet. But he turns out to be a vengeful predator with a long-standing grudge against Lucky... So begins a non-stop thrill ride as Lucky builds her dream resort-and Max follows her dreams, and proves she's more than just a little Lucky. She's a kick-ass survivor. |
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WANTED: One young woman to take care of a four-year-old boy. Must be bordering on masochistic. Must relish sixteen-hour shifts with a nap-deprived pre-schooler. Must love getting thrown up on, literally and figuratively, by everyone in his family Mostly, must love being treated like fungus found growing out of employers Hermès bag. Those who take it personally need not apply. |
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