Set at the time of the Russian Revolution, the end of a centuries old dynasty, the rise of the Bolsheviks sent shockwaves around the world. This is the story of one man who was there. It's real history — about the riches and excesses, the glory of the Russian nobility, Nicholas and Alexandra, their haemophiliac son, Alexei, notorious Rasputin, Lenin and Trotsky who ruled from palaces where the Czars had once danced till dawn. The man was real too, his name was Arthur Ransome. He was a writer, accused of being a spy, perhaps even a double agent, and he left his wife and beloved daughter and fell in love with Russia and a Russian woman, Evgenia. Fictionalising history and blending it with real life, part i is told as a fairy tale. Wise and foolish kings, princesses, enchantresses (characters more suited to fairy tale than reality), wishes and magic, Russia with its vast cold plains and mighty cities, its riches and poverty, all play a part in the downfall of the Czars and rise of the new order. Part ii is about betrayal — Ransome the spy, bleak and threatening. Part iii is a love story, a fairy tale, ending — of Ransome's love for his daughter, Tabitha, and for Evgenia.

Dexter Morgan is busy planning his wedding to Rita to complete his nice-guy disguise. But when a student is found burnt, molested and headless — seemingly sacrificed to an ancient god — and Dex is brought in as forensic analyst to help investigate, he realises he could be dealing with someone a whole lot more sinister than he is. Soon it seems the dark passenger in Dexter's head has gone into hiding. And when something creeps out your friendly neighbourhood serial killer, you know it's serious ... As Halpern and Dexter are stalked by death, it looks like it's getting personal — especially as Dex now has a family to protect. Gradually, Dexter realises his stepchildren might share his extracurricular interest in death. Could he help them target their bloodlust, just as he steers his own? But to do that, Dex must cope with a certain mutilated sergeant from his past, and more importantly ...stay alive ...

Until the early 1990s, when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, travelling behind the iron curtain was never easy. In undertaking his new journey through Eastern Europe, breathing in its rich history, and exquisite sights and talking to its diverse peoples, Michael fills what has been a void in his own experience and that of very many others. NEW EUROPE is very much a voyage of discovery, from the snows of the Julian Alps to the beauty of the Baltic sea, he finds himself in countries he'd barely heard of, many unfamiliar and mysterious, all with tragic histories and much brighter futures. During his 20-country adventure Palin meets Romanian lumberjacks, drives the 8.58 stopping train from Poznan to Wolsztyn, treads the catwalk at a Budapest fashion show, learns about mine-clearing in Bosnia and watches Turkish gents wrestling in olive oil. As with all his bestselling books, in his uniquely entertaining style, Palin opens up a new and undiscovered world to millions of readers.

RED MUTINY tells how the sailors of Imperial Russia's newest and most powerful battleship, POTEMKIN, seized control and flew the red flag of revolution in June 1905. It is a tale of dramatic adventure, naval battles, heroic sacrifices, treachery and intrigue at the court of the last Tsar. A dedicated band of revolutionaries inspire and lead the sailors to overthrow their tyrannical officers, but the POTEMKIN finds itself steaming around the Black Sea with the rest of the fleet in pursuit. Hunted from port to port, the mutineers enter Odessa, sparking a bloody insurrection (made famous by Eisenstein's film) and bringing Imperial Russia to its knees. As Lenin and many others recognised at the time, this was the key event that would make the Russian revolution possible. The political consequences of this mutiny were profound, but the author concentrates on the individuals involved in these dramatic events: it is a brilliantly realised, cinematic treatment that really brings the story to life.

The son of a brewer, Cromwell rose from obscurity to become Earl of Essex, Vice-Regent and High Chamberlain of England, Keep of the Privy Seal and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He manoeuvred his way to the top by intrigue, bribery and sheer force of personality in a court dominated by the malevolent King Henry. Cromwell pursued the interests of the king with single-minded energy and little subtlety. Tasked with engineering the judicial murder of Anne Boleyn when she had worn out her welcome in the royal chamber, he tortured her servants and relations, then organised a 'show trial' of Stalinist efficiency. He orchestrated the 'greatest act of privatisation in English history': the seizure of the monasteries. Their enormous wealth was used to cement the loyalty of the English nobility, and to enrich the crown. Cromwell made himself a fortune too, soliciting colossal bribes and binding the noble families to him with easy loans. He came home from court literally weighed down with gold.

Robert Rankin, the world's Master of Far Fetched Fiction, takes us on a roller coaster ride in his brand-new bestseller, which focuses on the biggest conspiracy theory in the world, ever. Here, in the Da-Da-Di-Da-Da Code, you will find the music of the angels — and the music of the devil. Aliens, flying saucers from hell, the Multiverse, the Illuminati: every wacky, way-out conspiracy theory you've ever heard: they're all here, wrapped into a plot that will leave Dan Brown fans breathless, Michael Shea readers stupified, Raymond Khoury lovers incredulous... Robert Rankin: the original and the best.

A bolt of lightning struck Harper Connelly when she was 15, leaving her with a strange spider web of red on her torso and right leg, episodes of weakness, shakes and headaches — and an ability to find dead people. Harper is summoned to Memphis to demonstrate her unique talent, but there are still plenty of sceptics, even as Harper stands atop a grave and announces there are two bodies buried there. The police are convinced there's something fishy going on when the grave is opened to reveal the centuries-dead remains of a man, which they'd expected (that being his grave, after all) and a dead girl, which no one expected — except Harper, of course. And suspicions are raised even further because Harper had failed to find eleven-year-old Tabitha Morgenstern when she was abducted two years before. Harper and Tolliver need to find the real killer to prove Harper's innocence, especially after their nocturnal visit to the cemetery in hopes that Harper can sense something more is followed by the discovery, the following morning, of a third dead body in the grave ...

Harper Connelly was struck by lightning as a teenager, and now she can find the dead. In her third case, Harper and Tolliver, her stepbrother, are hired to find a missing grandson. But the truth is far worse than a single dead child, for numerous teenage boys, all unlikely runaways, have disappeared from Doraville, North Carolina. Harper soon finds the eight bodies, buried in the half-frozen ground, but then, still reeling from coming into contact with her first serial killer, she is attacked and injured. Now she and Tolliver have no choice but to stay in Doraville while she recovers, and as she reluctantly becomes part of the investigation, she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of the town: knowledge that makes her the most likely person to be next to end up in an ice-cold grave.

Naples, 1750. In the dead of the night, three men with swords burst into the palazzo of a marquis. The intruders' leader, the Prince of San Severo, accuses the marquis of being an impostor, and demands to know a secret that he believes the man harbours. In the fight that ensues, the false marquis escapes over the rooftops, leaving behind a burning palazzo and a raging prince who is now obsessed with finding his quarry at any cost. Baghdad, 2003. An American army unit hunting down Saddam's inner circle makes a horrifying discovery: a state-of-the-art, concealed lab where dozens — men, women, children — have died after enduring gruesome experiments. The mysterious scientist they were after, a man believed to be working on a bioweapons program and known only as the hakeem — the doctor — escapes, taking with him the startling truth about his work. A puzzling clue is left behind, crudely carved into the wall of one of the underground prison's cells: a circular symbol of a snake feeding on its own tail. So begins Raymond Khoury's explosive new novel, placing two bold women at the centre of the action as they get caught up in a murderous trail of ancient clues.

For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems. Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour during the trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does — Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret.

Stalin remains one of the creators of our world — like Hitler, the personification of evil. Yet Stalin hid his past and remains mysterious. This enthralling biography that reads like a thriller finally unveils the secret but extraordinary journey of the Georgian cobbler's son who became the Red Tsar. What forms such a merciless psychopath and consummate politician? Was he illegitimate? Did he owe everything to his mother — was she whore or saint? Was he a Tsarist agent or Lenin's chief gangster? Was he to blame for his wife's premature death? If he really missed the 1917 Revolution, how did he emerge so powerful? Born in poverty, exceptional in his studies, this charismatic but dangerous boy was hailed as a romantic poet, trained as a priest, but found his mission as fanatical revolutionary. The secret world of Joseph Conrad-style terrorism was Stalin's natural habitat, where he charmed his future courtiers, made the enemies he later liquidated, and abandoned his many mistresses and children. Montefiore shows how the murderous paranoia and gangsterism of the criminal underworld, combined with pitiless ideology, taught Stalin how to triumph in the Kremlin.

Bitter and merciless war is coming to the frozen north. It's bloody and dangerous and the Union army, split by politics and hamstrung by incompetence, is utterly unprepared for the slaughter that's coming. Lacking experience, training, and in some cases even weapons the army is scarcely equipped to repel Bethod's scouts, let alone the cream of his forces. In the heat-ravaged south the Gurkish are massing to assault the city of Dagoska, defended by Inquisitor Glokta. The city is braced for the inevitable defeat and massacre to come, preparations are made to make the Gurkish pay for every inch of land... but a plot is festering to hand the city to its beseigers without a fight, and the previous Inquisitor of Dagoska vanished without trace. Threatened from within and without the city, Glokta needs answers, and he needs them soon. And to the east a small band of malefactors travel to the edge of the world to reclaim a device from history — a Seed, hidden for generations — with tremendous destructive potential. A device which could put a end to war, to the army of Eaters in the South, to the invasion of Shanka from the North — but only if it can be found, and only if its power can be controlled...

Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself — Shadow worlds, that can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and suspicion; the disappearance of the Patriach Oberon has intensified the internal conflict by leaving the throne apparently up for grabs. In a hospital on the Shadow Earth, a young man is recovering from a freak car accident; amnesia has robbed him of all his memory, even the fact that he is Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber, rightful heir to the throne — and he is in deadly peril... The five books, Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon and The Courts of Chaos, together make up The Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny's finest work of fantasy and an undisputed classic of the genre.

Harriet Swift thinks she has the perfect life — a satisfying career, her own flat and a new boyfriend who respects her need for her own space. But then her only sister is killed in a car crash and Harriet is forced to give up her well ordered life and to help look after her orphaned niece and nephew. Moving back to her childhood home in Maple Drive, and sacrificing so much, doesn't come easy and before long Harriet discovers things about her family she never believed possible. Meanwhile, the shabbiest house in Maple Drive has a new occupant. Will Hart also thinks he has the perfect life. Having swapped his successful career as a lawyer for that of an antiques dealer, he believes in living for the moment and is entirely happy with his lot. Then from nowhere tragedy strikes and he faces the biggest challenge of his life. Harriet and Will have no choice but to piece together a new future for themselves, but can they see it through?

It is 1835, and with the birth of the Industrial Revolution, railway fever sweeps the country. Pyke is uneasy with the luxury his aristocratic marriage has brought him, and when he is unofficially asked to investigate a decapitation, he can not resist the chance to resuscitate the old skills he learned on the streets. But with the industrial world comes a new and faceless enemy: men who have money and power, and who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of both. For Pyke, with his young wife and child and an elevated place in society to protect, the stakes have suddenly become alarmingly high. From the sweat shops of the east end to the palace of the Queen-in-waiting; from the elegant drawing rooms of the newly rich, to the blood-spattered backrooms of London's taverns, Pyke's investigation stirs up a hornets' nest of trouble. As the death toll rises, an alluring woman from his past returns, Pyke must draw on all of his resources if he is to protect his family, and survive.

It's been many years since fourteen-year-old Freya's life was ruled by an obsession with angels — an obsession which destroyed her family. She has a burgeoning social life at school, and feels adjusted in the world. But then the angels return, and Freya discovers that she herself is a guardian angel. What makes matters worse is the arrival of the strange new girl, Stephanie, who craves for herself the angelic power that Freya resists. Learning to harness this difficult new friendship and her otherworldly abilities are complicated tasks, fraught with difficult decisions to make and dangerous situations to negotiate. Every time Freya helps one of her wards, she puts her own life at risk. And then there are her fellow angels — understanding what they want from her is perhaps the hardest task of all.

DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT Lead investigator on a murder case that saw the arrest of the son of a wealthy and powerful man, Harry Bosch now finds himself in the midst of a high stakes trial where his every method is questioned. Meanwhile, criminal profiler Terry McCaleb is called to a murder scene where the killer has left a message that seems to implicate Bosch. The pair, first at odds, must now work together to clear Harry's name… CITY OF BONES When the bones of a young boy are found scattered in the Hollywood Hills, Harry Bosch is drawn into a case that recalls the darkest memories from his own haunted past. Then a love affair begins to blossom for Bosch — until a disastrous mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before, as he faces an unimaginable decision… LOST LIGHT When he left the LAPD, Harry Bosch took a file with him — the case of a film production assistant murdered four years earlier during a $2 million robbery on a movie set. The LAPD think the stolen money was used to finance a terrorist training camp. Thoughts of the original murder victim are lost in the federal zeal, and when it seems the killer will be set free to aid the feds' terrorist hunt, Bosch finds himself in conflict with his old colleagues and the FBI.

DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER: Dexter Morgan can't stand the sight of blood. Which makes his job as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami PD a little tricky. But it means that he's very tidy when it comes to his hobby: murder. After all, even though Dexter only ever kills bad people, he doesn't want to draw attention to it. But now there's another killer out there who's being a whole lot less subtle¿ DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER: Miami's best-dressed serial killer is getting twitchy — he hasn't killed for months. Ever since their paths first crossed, Sergeant Doakes hasn't let Dexter Morgan out of his sight. Then a body turns up, mutilated and barely alive. To trap the torturer, Doakes and Dexter will have to work together, if they can trust each other. It's a devil's pact and one of them will have to be the bait... DEXTER IN THE DARK: When Dexter is brought in to analyse a charred headless corpse, it seems he's dealing with a killer even more sinister than he is, and one with a personal interest in him. And with Dexter now having a wedding to plan and a family to protect, the stakes are high. As he realises his step-children might share his blood-lust, if he's ever to help them target it, Dexter will first have to stay alive himself.