Unbeknownst to mortals, a power struggle is unfolding in a world of shadows and danger. After centuries of stability, the balance among the Faery Courts has altered, and Irial, ruler of the Dark Court, is battling to hold his rebellious and newly vulnerable fey together. If he fails, bloodshed and brutality will follow. Seventeen-year-old Leslie knows nothing of faeries or their intrigues. When she is attracted to an eerily beautiful tattoo of eyes and wings, all she knows is that she has to have it, convinced it is a tangible symbol of changes she desperately craves for her own life. The tattoo does bring changes — not the kind Leslie has dreamed of, but sinister, compelling changes that are more than symbolic. Those changes will bind Leslie and Irial together, drawing Leslie deeper and deeper into the faery world, unable to resist its allures, and helpless to withstand its perils...

A damaged detective and a brutal serial killer collide in this nail-biting thriller debut. Detective Inspector Damen Brook thinks he's left his past behind him in London. But it seems a serial killer has followed him north... Brook's seeking sanctuary. Years in the MET have left their mark — so much so that he's fled to Derby leaving behind his marriage, his teenage daughter and very nearly his sanity to wind down a once promising career in the peace of the Peak District. But one winter's night, Brook is confronted by a serial killer he hunted many years before — The Reaper — a man who slaughters families in their homes then disappears without a trace. To find this killer Brook must discover what the Reaper is doing in Derby, why he's started killing again and what, if anything, connects the butchered families. As Brook becomes entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse, he is forced to face his own demons by revisiting the previous investigation and confronting a past that destroyed his family and nearly cost him his life! A heart-stopping thriller from a stunning new crime talent, for fans of Stuart MacBride and Thomas Harris.

An invaluable guide to the world of good grammar which breaks down the barriers that prevent many intelligent people from communicating effectively. Picking up a book on grammar takes courage, but the learner can take heart from the fact that many of the great writers, including Charlotte Bronte, were hopeless at grammar at school. Her teachers complained that she 'knew nothing of grammar', and could read only 'tolerably' and write 'indifferently'. Yet although learning and obeying the rules of grammar won't automatically bestow the grace and excellence of a Bronte on your writing, learning how written language works will certainly improve your communication skills, step by practical step. The guide features: — the thirteen gremlins of grammar, from apostrophes to verbs — the point of sentence construction — the writing of good English — witty cartoons by Hunt Emerson.

The plain guide to the clear presentation of written language: punctuation is the 'nuts and bolts' of the English language, and here is the ideal everyday companion. Punctuation has been described as 'a courtesy designed to help readers understand a story without stumbling'. Included in this essential guide are: — 'Ten Golden Rules of Punctuation' by a Victorian schoolmistress — how to deal with capitalization, full stops and commas — mastery of colons, parentheses, dashes, hyphens, questions, exclamations and apostrophes — the ultimate punctuation test — witty cartoons by Hunt Emerson.

The essential guide to writing English, this book will help you to develop your written communication skills and to use language to express yourself clearly and correctly. Can you learn how to improve your writing skills? Can the art of good writing be taught? Despite what you might feel, the answer is yes — you can be taught. Everyone is capable of enhancing their powers of written communication simply by learning and practising the basic principles of clear, concise and coherent writing: planning, preparation, and revision. Using this book, your confidence will grow as you begin to appreciate that the English language is not a fearsome book of rules but an unrivalled communications tool that you can learn to use with the familiar ease of a knife and fork. The basic principle of this incredibly useful book is that 'clarity begins at home': say what you mean and you stand a better chance of getting what you want!

«New ideas on how to design, build, and decorate a kitchen are always of essential value to architects, designers, and homeowners. This new addition to a successful series offers an extensive collection of both modern and traditional kitchen designs from all over the world, plans devised by distinguished international architects and designers who have worked to achieve practical, innovative, and stunning solutions adapted to the specific needs and particular tastes of their clients. An exciting compilation, «150 Best Kitchen Ideas» expresses the diversity of current trends in kitchen design focusing on decor — materials, lighting, colours, and windows — and specifics such as tables, wall units, flooring, appliances, and countertops. It is an inspirational source of ideas for those active in the field of design or interested in updating the focal point of their homes.»

«Corporate Interiors 9» documents the resilience of America's top businesses in the 21st century by showcasing their newest offices, created by some of the nation's leading architects and interior designers.»

Nick Knight is among the world's most influential fashion photographers. His clients are among the top in fashion and design and include Alexander McQueen, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Levi Strauss, Yohji Yamamoto and Yves Saint Laurent. He has also shot album covers for Bjork, David Bowie, Kylie and Massive Attack, and his work has been exhibited at international institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and Saatchi Gallery. The book is a collection of Knight's most beautiful and important images as well as previously unpublished photographs. Contents cover the different aspects of Knight's work to explain and visually reveal his point of view on a range of topics that he believes are crucial to understanding the motivation behind what he does. The book contains an introductory essay by Charlotte Cotton, the head of the Photography department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, as well as a variety of images exploring new photographic technology: his video work and the body of imagery he has developed for showstudio.com. All in all, this is a gorgeous, comprehensive volume by one of the world's most innovative, highly respected fashion photographers.

When the heroine gets in the way of someone trying to kill the hero, he must make her a vampire to save her life. Then he must teach her to love the night and him!

Unwittingly invited to a marriage of vampires, an Englishwoman finds herself falling for the tallest, darkest, and hungriest of the lot in New York City. This edition features a brand-new cover and a letter from the author detailing her inspiration for writing the book.

A brilliant novel from the author of 'Notes from an Exhibition' — that follows three genrations of an unusual family as they confront the harsher facts of modern life. A young composer, Edward Pepper, is exiled from his native Germany by the war, struck down with TB, and left to languish in an isolation hospital. But then he falls in love with his doctor, Sally Banks, and his world is transformed. They set up home in a bizarre dodecahedral folly, The Roundel, left to Sally by her eccentric mentor. But despite building a successful career and finding security with Sally, Edward is haunted by memories of his Jewish family, who he was forced to leave behind in Germany. When he receives news that his sister has been found alive, it sets in motion a train of tragic events that will test him and his new family. Years later, Edward watches from the sanctuary of The Roundel as his grandchildren encounter their own difficulties. Jamie and Alison both fall prey to the charms of Sam, an enigmatic builder, and as they struggling to keep their family intact, they are forced to come to terms with some of the tougher facts of life.

This warm and lyrical semi-autobiographical first novel by singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen charts the coming of age of Lawrence Breavman, the only son of a Jewish Montreal family. 'Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the world is made flesh.' Lawrence Breavman seeks two things: love and beauty. Beginning with the innocent games of delicious misadventure with first love Lisa and the absorbing wanders through Montreal with best friend Krantz, Breavman's tale is a distant echo of 'Catcher in the Rye' and 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' — injected with 1960s aesthetics and Cohen's unique poetry. As Breavman grows into a young man, the emerging writer continues his quest for beauty and love, finding himself in the arms of Shell and a burgeoning realisation of his own talent for appreciating majesty in the grotesque. Semi-autobiographical, the angst and beauty of Cohen's voice deftly channel the painful confusion of the journey into adulthood, and the friendships, wars and lovers that are our guides.

A moving and intensely felt examination of the lengths to which we will go to seek protection and security in others. Returning to haunted Cornish landscapes familiar from other Gale novels, it is the story of individuals in search of a family. Dido, the nine-year-old heroine and emotional centre of Patrick Gale's latest painful comedy, knows that the adults who surround her, the adults who should know better, depend on her for happiness. So who is she to turn to when her short life turns upside down and tragic family history threatens to repeat itself. Eliza, the clever, depressive aunt who has brought Dido up, and whose brilliant academic career has foundered due to the demands of unlooked-for motherhood, tries and fails to give Dido the happy normal childhood she never had herself. Her ex-husband Giles needs Dido back in his life, feeling it has lost all meaning, all substance, without her. Then there is Pearce, the new love interest in Eliza'a life, desperate to give Eliza and Dido the security and protection they need. But will Eliza let him? Does she love him or is she using him to restart a stalled career? Only Dido, unheard of in the clamour of others' needs, has the power to make or break the happiness of these children in adult clothing.

A stunning novel of celebrity and the price of fame from a Pulitzer-shortlisted playwright. So you want to know how to become famous? STEP 1: Get your photo taken for the New Yorker, along with your incredibly beautiful red-haired sisters. STEP 2: Watch as your face is plastered all over Times Square and New York goes crazy over you. (Why? Don't ask me.) STEP 3: Learn to fight off the paparazzi who are camped outside your school. Older brothers, especially seemingly invisible ones, are useful here. STEP 4: Pretend to be interested in letchy old filmstars at glitzy parties and don't let them realise you would rather be doing your homework. But, take a tip from me, Amelia, so-called IT Girl, fame is NOT all it's cracked up to be. All those glamorous parties are really just full of neurotic women studiously avoiding the canapes. Being followed by hoards of men with cameras can seriously threaten your social life. And no-one listens when you tell them that you never wanted all this in the first place. One bit of advice I would give you, and it's an important one so please listen: whatever you do don't do what I did and BITE the most famous filmstar in the world. It won't look good, believe me, and it'll get you into all kinds of trouble.

When a rich man you never knew dies and his opulent apartment is left to you, you'd think it was the answer to your dreams. But perhaps it is the start of a living nightmare... At stake: a magnificent though dilapidated apartment in the Dakota Buildings (where John Lennon lived and died). The dilemma: concede honourably to the rightful heirs or take what could be yours by an oversight in a will? Tina Finn was standing on the edge of her mother's grave when she heard about her possible inheritance. Her much-married mother had not included her earlier children in her new, reclusive and, most importantly, very rich husband's life. He died just shortly before her and, as he left no will, his wife was his heir for the week she survived him. Then the fortune, including the apartment, passed down to Tina. The family thought that possession was worth three points of the law and instructed Tina to move in right away. But when she did, she discovered many things about the place, including occupants who were also the rightful inheritors, people who seemed to have squatting rights, those who were growing strange plants in the place and running a variety of businesses from it. Inheritance turns out to be a messy business, but one almost impossible to avoid.

The new novel from Patrick Gale, author of Richard & Judy-bestseller Notes from an Exhibition. When forty-something Laura Lewis is obliged to abandon a life of stylish independence in Paris to care for her elderly mother in Winchester, it seems all romantic opportunities have gone up in smoke. Then she runs into Ben, the great love of her student days — and, as she only now dares admit, the emotional touchstone against which she has judged every man since. She's cautious — and he's married — but they can't deny that feelings still exist between them. Are they brave enough to take the second chance at the lasting happiness that fate has offered them? Or will they be defeated by the need to do what seems to be the right thing? Taking its structure from the events of a single summer's day, The Whole Day Through is a bittersweet love story, shot through with an understanding of mortality, memory and the difficulty of being good. In it, Patrick Gale writes with scrupulous candour about the tests of love: the regrets and the triumphs, and the melancholy of failing. The Whole Day Through is vintage Gale, displaying the same combination of wit, tenderness and acute psychological observation as his Richard & Judy bestseller Notes From an Exhibition.

A powerful and moving novel in which Patrick Gale casts a compassionate yet satirically sharp eye over the pains and abuses inflicted by families, friends and lovers. Judith and Deborah are sisters driven apart by traumatic events in their childhood, but thrown back together again when Deborah's diplomat husband is accidentally assassinated. Judith's lover, Joanna, the instigator of this awkward reunion, finds that as the sisters' murky past is raked up, so too is her own, and the three women become embroiled in a tangle of passion and recrimination.

Darren goes to a freak show with his friend, Steve. It's the gothic Cirque du Freak where weird, half human/half animals appear and interact with the audience. Darren falls in love with a tarantula and determines to steal the spider so that he can train it to perform amazing deeds.

Drawn by family. Driven by fear. Haunted by fate. Would knowing the future be a gift or a burden? Or even a curse!? The Whitney women of Salem, Massachusetts are renowned for reading the future in the patterns of lace. But the future doesn't always bring good news — as Towner Whitney knows all too well. When she was just fifteen her gift sent her whole world crashing to pieces. She predicted — and then witnessed — something so horrific that she vowed never to read lace again, and fled her home and family for good. Salem is a place of ghosts for Towner, and she swore she would never return. Yet family is a powerful tie. So it is that fifteen years later, Towner finds herself back in Salem. Her beloved Great Aunt Eva has suddenly disappeared — and when you've lived a life like Eva's, that could mean real trouble. But Salem is wreathed in sickly shadows and whispered half-memories. It's fast becoming clear that the ghosts of Towner's fractured past have not been brought fully into the light. And with them comes the threat of terrifying new disaster. A literary page-turner with depth, narrative power and a story that novels like 'The Thirteenth Tale' can only dream of, 'The Lace Reader' is a bewitching and tightly plotted read.

Winner of the Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year! 'Reginald Hill is on stunning form the climax is devastating' Marcel Berlins, The Times When Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel witnesses a bizarre murder across the street from his own back garden, he is quite sure who the culprit is. After all, he's got to believe what he sees with his own eyes. But what exactly does he see? And is he mistaken? Peter Pascoe thinks so. Dalziel senses the doubters around him, which only strengthens his resolve. To make matters worse, he's being pestered by an anonymous letter-writer, threatening suicide. Worse still, Pascoe seems intent on reminding him of the fact. Meanwhile, the effervescent Eileen Chung is directing the Mystery Plays. And who does she have in mind for God? Daziel, of course. He shouldn't have too much difficulty acting the part!