The first warning is unexpected, calculated. Malcolm, head of the vampire Church of Eternal Life, is no friend to Anita Blake. So when he asks for help, against creatures so feared that no vampire will willingly speak their name, Anita is surprised. But the Harlequin require different rules. The second warning is presented like a gift, with Anita printed on the box. Inside, carefully wrapped in folds of pristine tissue paper, is a plain white mask. The fact that it's white is good news. White means they are only being watched. The power connecting Anita with Jean-Claude, vampire Master of the City and Richard, Ulfric of the werewolves, has been increasing exponentially — and this has attracted very unwelcome attention. Anita Blake has the authority to pass judgment on vampires. The Harlequin have the authority to pass judgment on her. It is forbidden to speak of the Harlequin unless you've been contacted. And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.

The tyrannical rule of the Deacon and his Jerusalem Riders has unleashed upon the world a sea of bigotry and hatred, where Unbelievers and Mutants are massacred in the name of God and Peace. And the long-vanished Jerusalem Man is now considered a saint of the new order. To speak ill of his memory is heresy. But when the church in Pilgrim's Valley is burnt to the ground, its congregation slaughtered, a rider appears and hunts down the killers. And word spreads — The Jerusalem Man is back! Hunted and alone, Jon Shannow must battle the forces of the Deacon — and face a terrible enemy from another universe; a dark god who feeds on the souls of worlds.

This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty resumes Beauty's explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire and seduction. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of 'the village' as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly handsome Captain of the Guard. Once again Anne Rice's classic tale of pleasure and pain dares to explore the most primal and well-hidden desires of the human heart.

To the scions of Shannara have fallen three tasks: Par Ohmsford has recovered the fabled Sword of Shannara. This he has accomplished, but the Federation's Chief Seeker has planted an awful thought in Par's mind — that he himself is Shadowen, the very evil he seeks to destroy. Wren is in the Westland, seeking out the elves. And in the Northland... Walker Boh has been commanded by the shade of Allanon to find the lost city of Paranor and recreate the Order of Druids, disbanded for three hundred years. To achieve this he must find the Black Elfstone, but the gem is in the hands of an ancient being of timeless evil — the Stone King. Beset on all sides by enemies, and from within by his own self-doubt, Walker Boh sets out on his part of the perilous quest. A quest that will end in success — or the complete destruction of all he holds dear.

Bettina Daniels has it all. Pampered, adored and adorable, she has youth, beauty and the most glamorous of lifestyles. Everything her father's love, fame and money can buy. Then, without warning, her father is gone. Bettina is left with a mountain of debts and no one to pick up the pieces. Lost and lonely in a difficult new life, Bettina must learn to take her own chances. But can she resist the promises of strangers... however tempting they might be?

Now that she is finally and happily married to her long-term suitor Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency of Botswana might have expected life to grow more sedate. But the many problems that lead customers to Mma Ramotswe's door seem, if anything, to have multiplied, and no sooner has she settled her traditionally built person into the married state than she finds herself looking into several troublesome matters at once. There is, to begin with, a disturbing case of blackmail and theft from the Government catering college. Then, while on an errand for her husband to the Mokolodi Game Reserve Mma Ramotswe is seconded to investigate an unpleasant atmosphere that may be down to witchcraft, or something worse. There are sinister goings-on at a health clinic to be looked into, not to mention any number of small wrongs to be righted along the path to detective triumph. And all the time Mma Ramotswe has weighty questions of a philosophical nature to consider, such as whether it is right to find happiness in small things, such as a new pair of blue shoes, a slice of cake, or a red sunset over the Kalahari.

Max Skinner is a man at the heart of London's financial universe until his employers embark on a little asset-stripping of their own. Himself. Amid the grey London drizzle, there is one potential ray of sunshine: Max's Uncle Harry has left him his estate in his will — an eighteenth-century chateau and vineyard an hour's drive from Avignon. Out of a job, and encouraged by his friend Charlie about the money in modern wine, he heads for France. What Max discovers is a beautiful house, wonderful weather and a bustling village. The downside is the quality of the wine in his vineyard, but when Max suggests calling in an expert, Roussel, a former employee of his uncle's, is resistant. Help is at hand, however, when a beautiful blonde Californian arrives unexpectedly at the chateau. Peter Mayle's delightful novel will enchant the audiences who bought A Year In Provence and Toujours Provence in their millions.

These dazzling short works are crafted with all the weight and resonance of the novels for which E. L. Doctorow is famous. You will find yourself set down in a mysterious redbrick house in rural Illinois ('A House on the Plains'), working things out with a baby-kidnapping couple in California ('Baby Wilson'), living on a religious-cult commune in Kansas ('Walter John Harmon'), sharing the heartrending cross-country journey of a young woman navigating her way through three bad marriages ('Jolene: A Life'), and witnessing an FBI special agent at a personal crossroads while he investigates a grave breach of White House Security ('Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden'). Comprised in a variety of moods and voices, these remarkable portrayals of the American spiritual landscape show a modern master at the height of his powers.

‘Sometimes when he didn’t know he was being watched Meggie would look at him and try desperately to imprint his face upon her brain’s core... And he would turn to find her watching him, a look in his eyes of haunted grief, a doomed look. She understood the implicit message, or thought she did; he must go, back to the Church and his duties. Never again with the same spirit, perhaps, but more able to serve. For only those who have slipped and fallen know the vicissitudes of the way...’

The third novel in Alexander McCall Smith's irresistibly charming series about the residents of 44 Scotland Street.

The first instalment of a fast-paced fantasy duology, brimming with action and adventure.

«Christopher Moore is a very sick man, in the very best sense of the word» Carl Hiaasen.»

«From the internationally bestselling author of «The Birth Of Venus», comes a breathtaking historical novel about love, beauty, the politics of sex and the power of loyalty set in Venice, one of the world`s most spectacular cities, featuring a fabulous cou.»

Are the characteristics of an adult killer or his victim visible in the playground or at the school disco? Or are the roots of a motive for murder seeded there? With characteristic brio and humour, Christopher Brookmyre investigates.

I stuck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape. ‘Shoot’, I muttered when the paper sliced my finger. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut. It all happened very quickly then. ‘No!’ Edward roared… Dazed and disorientated, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm — and into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires. For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of an evil vampire but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realise their troubles may just be beginning…

When 17 year old Isabella Swan moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father she expects that her new life will be as dull as the town. But in spite of her awkward manner and low expectations, she finds that her new classmates are drawn to this pale, dark-haired new girl in town. But not, it seems, the Cullen family. These five adopted brothers and sisters obviously prefer their own company and will make no exception for Bella. Bella is convinced that Edward Cullen in particular hates her, but she feels a strange attraction to him, although his hostility makes her feel almost physically ill. He seems determined to push her away — until, that is, he saves her life from an out of control car. Bella will soon discover that there is a very good reason for Edward’s coldness. He, and his family, are vampires — and he knows how dangerous it is for others to get too close.

Beauty has learned her lessons well. There are no pleasures that she hasn't given, no delights she hasn’t known — but there can be no freedom for her. It means she must deny her body the joy it expects, the excitement it so desperately craves. Now as our story nears its end, Beauty meets the Prince of her dreams — the one man whose touch can release the torrential passions locked within her. And, as with the best of fairy tales, they are destined to live ecstatically ever after. Beauty's Release: her climactic adventure.

«Elizabeth Glendinning QC has lost faith in the legal system. In an attempt to restore it, she has secretly devised a scheme to bring back to court a guilty man — Graham Riley — whom she had successfully defended some ten years before. As part of an elaborate contingency plan, Elizabeth leaves the unsuspecting Father Anselm with a key to a safety deposit box, to be opened in the event of her death. Three weeks later she is found dead in the East End of London and, once the box has been opened, a chain of events is triggered as if from beyond the grave, leading Anselm to fulfil what Elizabeth has begun. A powerful portrait of the dark heart of London and a tense thriller, «The Gardens of the Dead» confirms William Brodrick’s growing critical reputation.»

Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller. This is the story of four Londoners — three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy. Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching... Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret ... Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover... Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances... Tender, tragic and beautifully poignant, set against the backdrop of feats of heroism both epic and ordinary, here is a novel of relationships that offers up subtle surprises and twists. The Night Watch is thrilling. A towering achievement.