Lola Dakota had to call in the police several times to restrain her abusive husband, but he always returned, so when they got wind of his plan to hire a hitman to kill her she agrees to play her part in the sting which would see both men arrested. It proves to be a great success, but several hours later and when her husband is under lock and key, Lola is truly dead and by someone's hand. The police team on the original sting are in disarray, so Alex Cooper and Mike Chapman are swiftly in place to take over. Looking beyond her husband into her professional life, they discover a university department riddled with jealousies, extra-marital affairs, swindled funds and the unexplained disappearance of a student known to be a drug user. The one thing which seems to link all the players with all the misdemeanours is the university's research site on an island off Manhattan where they were investigating the remains of the Victorian isolation hospitals and lunatic asylums and the morgue — the deadhouse. But why Lola's murder is connected to the place is not so easy to prove, nor the identity of her killer.

It's a case of espionage, skulduggery and much unpleasantness. And it's also Gerald's first official governmental assignment. Deep in training, he's totally unaware that Princess Melissande has opened her own witching locum agency a one-stop-shop where magical problems are solved, for a price. Then she's offered a job that puts her on a collision course with Gerald and the future looks disagreeable, to say the least. Witches Incorporated is to investigate staff pilfering in a prestigious magical Research and Development firm. One with ties to the government. Confusion arises when Melissande and Gerald discover that they are both working at the firm undercover, but with separate allegiances. Deciding to team up rather than work apart, Gerald and Melissande find that their number one suspect is Gerald's professional rival. To succeed, they'll have to overcome a fair bit of chaos and the ultimate threat of Gerald's untimely death.

Jo and Gemma are friends who meet for coffee every Saturday to gossip and discuss the state of the world. At one such meeting, Gemma mentions killing her boss and Jo goes along with the joke. But Jo is not amused when she finds a real body on the beach at Selsey soon afterwards — an unidentified nearly-naked woman, who has been drowned. It take DCI Hen Mallin and her team some time to discover who the woman is, and as they are investigating, Jo and Gemma are getting into more trouble — they keep coming across dead bodies... Peter Lovesey's thirtieth novel explores one of his favourite themes — the innocent caught up in sinister events. His previous Hen Mallin book, The Circle, was described by Gerald Kaufman in The Scotsman as 'this gem of a book... the superb Peter Lovesey provides yet another novel of unalloyed delight'.

Baird College's Mendenhall echoes with the footsteps of students heading home for Thanksgiving break and Robin Stone, who won't be going home, swears she can feel the creepy, hundred-year-old residence hall breathe a sigh of relief for its long-awaited solitude. As a massive storm approaches, four other lonely students reveal themselves to Robin: Patrick, a handsome jock; Lisa, a manipulative tease; Cain, a brooding musician; and Martin, a scholarly eccentric. Each has forsaken a long weekend at home for their own secret reasons. The five unlikely companions establish a tentative rapport, but they soon become aware of another presence disturbing the building's ominous silence. Are they the victims of an elaborate prank, or is the energy evidence of something genuine — something intent on using them for its own terrifying ends?

When a woman is burned to death in Grandal Field in Devon, it seems like a case of mistaken identity. Until DI Wesley Peterson learns of a legend involving a French woman who burned to death there in the thirteenth century. And when he discovers that records of a previous excavation on the site have vanished, and that two archaeologists involved in that dig died in tragic circumstances, Wesley starts to investigate the possibility of a link between the legend and recent events. But edging closer to the truth brings unexpected danger to Wesley. For the truth echoes a story of twisted love and obsession from many centuries ago — a truth that almost costs Wesley his life...

The double christening of her sisters' two kids gets Holly Bennett thinking. She would seriously love to have a baby one day, but for the first time in ages being adopted has become a stumbling block for her. Does she want to start a family of her own when she doesn't even know who she really is or where she's come from? With an on-off boyfriend who she's swiftly falling out of lust with, Holly decides to move back to her home town to be near her adoptive family. Who knows, it may be the change she needs to get her life back on track — and the place to be if she wants to begin tracing her roots. But these roots prove trickier to trace than Holly has expected. That is, until she hires her own oh-so-sexy private investigator to take charge...

Alix, arrogant, middle-aged and angry comes home to the derelict port of Liverpool as her mother lies dying. Irritably resigned to living alone for the rest of her life she suddenly finds herself erotically attracted to a stranger. Joseph is an American architect who has come to the city to build a hotel. Refusing to accept that his wife has left him or the trauma of a war he once fought in, the question is whether these survivors of the battles of the Seventies are meant for each other or not. And what happened to a factory in Dresden which long ago made the perfect face cream... 'Perhaps her most accessible novel to date... Grant's prose is blunt, honest, yet often beautiful and bitingly funny. Equally comfortable discussing concepts of justice and grooming routinme, the voices Grant creates are striking and authentic. Her characters are irascible, witty, fierce, and full of the contradictions and blind spots that make them wholly human. This is a compelling and satisfying novel'. Rachel Seiffert, author of The Dark Room.

'There never was a Churchill from John of Marlborough down who had either morals or principles', so said Gladstone. From the First Duke of Marlborough — soldier of genius, restless empire-builder and cuckolder of Charles II — onwards, the Churchills have been politicians, gamblers and profligates, heroes and womanisers. The Churchills is a richly layered portrait of an extraordinary set of men and women — grandly ambitious, regularly impecunious, impulsive, arrogant and brave. And towering above the Churchill clan is the figure of Winston — his failures and his triumphs shown in a new and revealing context — ultimately our 'greatest Briton'.

Worried about how you'll be able to afford all the things you love in the midst of the credit crisis? With almost twice as many people aged 18-24 as stressed by their financial situation as those aged over 55, and a third of 18-30 year olds cutting back on going out due to limited funds, THE LAZY GIRL'S GUIDE TO THE HIGH LIFE ON A BUDGET is an essential survival guide to living it up without losing the plot. It's about making sense of the credit crunch, dealing with your debts and learning to be thrifty, all so you can live your life as glamorously as you want. Full of tips on how to do everything from the frivolous shop smartly and be supermarket savvy to the serious downshift and bounce back from redundancy it's the most prudent buy of the season.

Tomb raider Simon Bonner wants out of the looting game... until a mysterious crystal lens lands on his doorstep. Legend has it that this lens holds the key to the archives of man — a Mexican tomb that explains the root of all knowledge. There's just one problem — he doesn't know how to use it. Museum curator Jillian Talbot's ability to see an object's history is her secret, so when Simon approaches her, she finds it hard to believe that she's the seer of legend — that only she can unlock the mystery behind the crystal lens. Journeying into the jungles of Mexico, with evil crooks hot on their tail and a growing passion between them, every move for Jillian and Simon becomes a terrifying dance with danger.

'I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal having had a violent experience at the age of nine' Jessica Vye's 'violent experience' colours her schooldays and her reaction to the world around her a confining world of Order Marks, wartime restrictions, viyella dresses, nicely-restrained essays and dusty tea shops. For Jessica she has been told that she is 'beyond all possible doubt', a born writer. With her inability to conform, her absolute compulsion to tell the truth and her dedication to accurately noting her experiences, she knows this anyway. But what she doesn't know is that the experiences that sustain and enrich her burgeoning talent will one day lead to a new and entirely unexpected reality.

Inspector Singh is back, but this time on secondment to Bali. A bomb had been let off in the most touristy part of the island and Singh has been sent to help with security and anti-terrorist measures. But very soon the Bali police realise Singh has little to offer them in terms of experience in this field. He's much better suited to doing what he's good at — solving murder. Simple! So when a body is discovered in the wreckage, killed by a bullet before the bomb went off, Singh should be the one to find the answers. But simple murders are never as simple as they seem and this one has far-reaching political consequences...

When a family heirloom is stolen — a small silver statue belonging to the only survivor of the Lusitania — Malachi, Gideon and Rebecca Sullivan are determined to recover the treasure. Their quest takes them from their home in Ireland to Helsinki, Prague and New York.

To the doctors the woman in the ambulance was just another casualty, just more beautiful than most, more badly hurt. She was Daphne Fields, a famous author whose stories were drawn from her own struggle; to choose between the two men she loved.

Hollywood, 1945. Shipping heir Ward Thayer and screen star Faye Price are reunited after a chance meeting two years earlier. Unable to forget the connection they shared and helpless to resist it, romance quickly sparks. But for Faye, daring and passionate, the life she's heading for with Ward is a threat to her ambition. How can she decide between Hollywood and motherhood? Is it right to choose fame over family? Faye is on the brink of an impossible choice that will shape her life — and the lives of those she loves — in ways she could scarcely have imagined.

Deanna believed she had everything she'd ever wanted. Diamonds, a beautiful home, a handsome, successful husband who adored her. But Marc-Edouard led a jet-set life as an international lawyer and for three months — summer — Deanna would be alone. Until Ben found her. And together they found happiness on sun-drenched beaches. But they knew their dream had to end. They also knew that they couldn't live without each other. But Deanna and Ben hadn't foreseen the devastating changes that would happen to them by the time they faced... summer's end.

A shocking double-murder scene greets Detective Inspector Philip Brennan when he is called to a flat in Colchester. Two women are viciously cut open and laying spreadeagled, one tied to the bed, one on the floor. The woman on the bed has had her stomach cut into and her unborn child is missing. But this is the third time Phil and his team have seen such an atrocity. Two other pregnant women have been killed in this way and their babies taken from them. No-one can imagine what sort of person would want to commit such evil acts. When psychologist Marina Esposito is brought in, Phil has to put aside his feelings about their shared past and get on with the job. But can they find the killer before another woman is targeted?

What does Jenny Diski know about animals? She's really not sure. She remembers the animal books she read in her childhood; the cartoons she watched; the meals she ate; the strays she found; the animals who have lived and still live with her. She examines human beings, too, and the way in which we have looked at, studied, treated and written about the non-human creatures with whom we share the planet. Subtle, intelligent and brilliantly observed, What I Don't Know About Animals is an engaging look at what it means to be human — and what it means to be animal.

Fifty years from now, our world looks very different. Governments have fallen. Thousands live in fortified strongholds; others roam the landscape as either predator or prey. Standing against the forces that have tipped the balance from good to evil are a very few heroes, men and women imbued with powerful magic and sworn to a high destiny. Logan Tom is one of those heroes. He's on a desperate quest to deliver the street kids he rescued in Seattle to safety. So, too, is Angel Perez, who is leading a second group in the Oregon wilderness where she encounters the long-hidden Elves of Cintra. And Hawk — just learning his magic — has an encounter with the mystical King of the Silver River, who promises safety for both humans and elves — if only they can reach him...

Natalie Lindstrom is one of a select few souls born with violet-coloured eyes — and the ability to channel the dead. But Natalie wants to escape. Escape from the voices that fill her head. Escape from the organisation that has used her as a crime-solving tool — and who now wants to recruit her daughter. So Natalie takes a job as far from crime and punishment as she can get: with an archaeologist in the mountains of Peru. Her job: to find a trove of priceless artifacts — by channelling those who lived and died at an ancient Incan site. But in the towering Andes, Natalie enters a 500-year-old storm of betrayal, murder, greed, and rage — and she cannot silence the voices of the dead. The slaughtered reach out to her. The slaughterers boast of their crimes. Alone, cut off from her family, Natalie faces a chilling realisation: every truth she uncovers is leading her one step closer to a terror beyond imagining.