Hal Treherne is a young and dedicated soldier on the brink of a brilliant career. Impatient to see action, his other deep commitment is to Clara, his beautiful 'red, white and blue girl', who sustains him as he rises through the ranks. When Hal is transferred to the Mediterranean, Clara, now his wife, and their baby daughters join him. But Cyprus is no 'sunshine posting', and the island is in the heat of the Emergency: the British are defending the colony against Cypriots — schoolboys and armed guerrillas alike — battling for enosis, union with Greece. The skirmishes are far from glorious and operations often rough and bloody. Still, in serving his country and leading his men, Hal has a taste of triumph. Clara shares his sense of duty. She must settle down, make no fuss, smile. But action changes Hal, and Clara becomes fearful — of the lethal tit-for-tat beyond the army base, and her increasingly distant husband. The atrocities Hal is drawn into take him further from Clara; a betrayal that is only part of the shocking personal crisis to come. The prizewinning and bestselling author of The Outcast returns with an emotionally powerful portrait of a marriage in extremis and a world-view in question. Sadie Jones has produced a passionate, gut-wrenching and brilliantly researched depiction of a 'small war' with devastating consequences; and in doing so, raises important questions that resonate profoundly today.

A young woman prays at her husband's bedside as he lies in a coma with a bullet in his neck. From outside come the sounds of tanks, gunshots, screaming and, most terrifying of all, silence. Inside, her two frightened daughters call to her from the hallway. As she tries to keep her husband alive, the woman rages against men, war, culture, God. Even as her mind appears to unravel, she becomes intensely clear-sighted. Now is her chance — her first ever — to speak without being censored. Her husband's body reminds her of the legend of the patience stone, a stone that hears all confessions until it explodes, and finally, spurred to new heights of daring, she spills out her most explosive secret.

«Present day Iraq: A country torn apart by war and anarchy. Thieves roam the streets. People are being killed in broad daylight. Security is non-existent. And now, terrorists have seized a Van Gogh painting worth 25 million from one of Saddam's palaces. They are offering it to the highest bidder. The painting's original owner, a Kuwaiti prince, from whom it was seized during Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in the First Gulf War, has asked for the British Government's help in retrieving it. They owe the Prince a favour for backing them during the Iraq War, so they agree to help. But rather than agreeing to pay the terrorists' ransom — which they fear will be pumped into funding terrorist operations across the world — Her Majesty's Government decides to send in a team of hardened ex-Special Forces, led by ex-SAS hero Mick Kilbride and his sidekick «East End» Eddie. Sent undercover in a deniable operation called Desert Claw, their brief is simple: retrieve the painting and eliminate the terrorists at the earliest possible opportunity. The mission sounds simple enough. But as Mick and his team are drawn into a dark and violent world, things are not always as they seem. And in the final climactic scene, a horrible and shocking truth awaits the men.»

In 1878, aspiring entomologist Hans Bengler travels to the Kalahari Desert in hopes of making a name for himself by discovering a previously unknown insect or two. There he encounters a boy named Molo, an orphan whose family has been killed by European colonists. Bengler civilizes the boy by rechristening him Daniel, teaching him to pray to the Christian god, and finally bringing him home to Sweden. The boy is bewildered and awed by the new land, cut off from his culture and the spirits of his family, and Bengler finds that raising a child across a great cultural divide is more difficult than he imagined. A psychological drama of one boy's struggle to find his place in a new land far from home, Daniel is a compelling novel for our modern globalized world.

'Once upon a time there was a father who, because he had grown old, called together his sons and daughters — four, five, six, eight in number — and finally convinced them, after long hesitation, to do as he wished. Now they are sitting around a table and begin to talk...' In this delightful sequel to Peeling the Onion, Gunter Grass writes in the voices of his eight children as they record memories of their childhoods, of growing up, of their father, who was always at work on a new book, always at the margins of their lives. Memories contradictory, critical, loving, accusatory — they piece together an intimate picture of this most public of men. To say nothing of Marie, Grass' assistant, a family friend of many years, perhaps even a lover, whose snapshots taken with an old-fashioned Agfa box camera provide the author with ideas for his work. But her images offer much more. They reveal a truth beyond the ordinary detail of life, depict the future, tell what might have been, grant the wishes in visual form of those photographed. The children speculate on the nature of this magic: was the enchanted camera a source of inspiration for their father? Did it represent the power of art itself? Was it the eye of God? The Box is an inspired and daring work of fiction. In its candour, wit, and earthiness, it is Grass at his very best.

Lydia Chin and Bill Smith have been hired by one of the most respected figures in New York City's Chinatown, for what appears to be a simple task — deliver a family heirloom to the young grandson of the recently deceased business colleague of Grandfather Gao. Before they can deliver the heirloom, the grandson is kidnapped and two separate ransom demands are made. While the family of the kidnapped boy tries to freeze them out, Lydia and Bill must quickly learn their way around a city where the rules are different, the stakes are high, and the cost of failure is too dire to imagine. Note: this title is originally published as Reflecting the Sky in the US.

In a brilliant mix of magic, history, and romance, M. K. Hobson moves her feisty young Witch, Emily Edwards, from the Old West of 1876 to turn-of-the-nineteenth-century New York City, whose polished surfaces conceal as much danger as anything west of the Rockies. Like it or not, Emily has fallen in love with Dreadnought Stanton, a New York Warlock as irresistible as he is insufferable. Newly engaged, she now must brave Dreadnought's family and the magical elite of the nation's wealthiest city. Not everyone is pleased with the impending nuptials, especially Emily's future mother-in-law, a sociopathic socialite. But there are greater challenges still: confining couture, sinister Russian scientists, and a deathless Aztec goddess who dreams of plunging the world into apocalypse. With all they must confront, do Emily and Dreadnought have any hope of a happily-ever-after?

An Intimate Look at L.A.’s Hottest Trendsetters and the Inspiring Spaces They Live InRooted in innovation, aspiration, and tradition, daring in its scale and often in its luxury, Los Angeles style is unique. Nothing expresses these values more strikingly or more beautifully than the homes of L.A.’s hippest and most influential set: the designers, artists, stylists, and entrepreneurs whose tastes lead the way for American style.“Just like the people who live here, Hollywood homes reflect a creativity and sensibility that is rarely seen elsewhere... With Hip Hollywood Homes, Sue Hostetler has given us a chance to peek inside some of the most uniquely designed residences in Los Angeles.” Courteney Cox Arquette“What does the word ‘hip’ mean, anyway? The reason I choose to live in Los Angeles is that I’m inspired by the architecture here by the freedom of so many choices Angelenos have in how they want to live, both visually and emotionally. Style is so personal here. To me, everything about Los Angeles is about freedom and that's hip!” Sharon Stone“Hollywood used to be all about cheese and glitz and schlock. What happened? Every house in this book is so hip and groovy you just want to move right in.” Simon Doonan, Creative Director, Barneys New York.

Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She's made a mistake so huge, it'll wreck any chance of a partnership. Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she's mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they've hired a lawyer — and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can't sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope — and finds love — is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does... will she want it back?

«President Bill Clinton gives us his views on the challenges facing the United States today and why government matters — presenting his ideas on restoring economic growth, job creation, financial responsibility, resolving the mortgage crisis, and pursuing a strategy to get us «back in the future business.» He explains how we got into the current economic crisis, and offers specific recommendations on how we can put people back to work, increase bank lending and corporate investment, double our exports, restore our manufacturing base, and create new businesses. He supports President Obama's emphasis on green technology, saying that changing the way we produce and consume energy is the strategy most likely to spark a fast-growing economy while enhancing our national security. Clinton also stresses that we need a strong private sector and a smart government working together to restore prosperity and progress, demonstrating that whenever we've given in to the temptation to blame government for all our problems, we've lost our ability to produce sustained economic growth and shared prosperity. Clinton writes, «There is simply no evidence that we can succeed in the twenty-first century with an antigovernment strategy,»based on» a philosophy grounded in 'you're on your own' rather than 'we're all in this together.' «He believes that conflict between government and the private sector has proved to be good politics but has produced bad policies, giving us a weak economy with not enough jobs, growing income inequality and poverty, and a decline in our competitive position. In the real world, cooperation works much better than conflict, and «Americans need victories in real life.»

«I was someone hungry for stories; more specifically, I was someone who craved after facts. I was, you see, a person with no history. Lacking this, I developed a curiosity about other's people's stories...» Clara Perez is a reporter on a small South seas island. An orphan raised by nuns, she is a young woman with origins shrouded in mystery. Full of idealistic ambition, she grows tired of the trivial assignments she's given at the daily paper, yearning to write articles of substance. So when the tiny street of Calle de Leon bursts into flames after a student demonstration — and a soldier kills an unarmed man — Clara seizes the chance to cover the explosive story. Yet after Clara rushes to the burning street to investigate the tragedy, she discovers another, more personal one involving some remarkable truths about her unknown past — ghosts, she realizes, which have been silently pursuing her all her life. And as family secrets begin to unfold, Clara's missing history slowly spreads itself out on the tumultuous backdrop of a country wracked by revolution... An evocative and multilayered tale, at once political and personal, Eating Fire and Drinking Water is an extraordinary work, a powerful and pulsing novel of politics and commitment, loyalty and love, and the poignant search for truth.»

With the breakneck pacing and intricate plotting of his most recent novel, The Rosary Girls, Richard Montanari established himself as one of the most exciting suspense writers working today. Now he proves himself a virtuoso with The Skin Gods, an explosive new thriller featuring Philadelphia homicide detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. It is the steaming heart of summer in the City of Brotherly Love. Back on the force after taking a bullet during the arrest of a sadistic murderer, Detective Kevin Byrne warily returns to police headquarters. He cannot shake the memory of the Rosary Killer’s innocent victims — or his growing sense that the evil has not been vanquished. And when he and his partner, Detective Jessica Balzano, are called in on a bizarre case, Byrne’s gravest suspicions are confirmed. A madman, dubbed The Actor by the homicide unit, is meticulously re-creating Hollywood’s most famous–and most gruesome — death scenes. The first murder is caught on film, spliced into a rented VHS edition of the Hitchcock black-and-white masterpiece Psycho. But in place of Janet Leigh is a real-life woman, and this time, the blood is red and the knife is real. Soon, more thrilling classics are turned into terrifying snuff films and placed on video store shelves for an unsuspecting public to find. The key to this horrific puzzle could lie with any of The Skin Gods’ supporting cast: the A-list Hollywood director, the ruthless executive assistant, the convicted mass murderer — or perhaps someone else who has made a sinister art of gruesome violence. Hot on the psychopath’s trail, Balzano and Byrne descend into the mouth of madness and beyond, deep into the depraved underworld of S&M clubs and the porn industry, where the worship of flesh leads to malevolent evil. Before the final credits roll, the investigators will discover that none of The Actor’s victims are as innocent as they appear to be, and that the clue the police need to prevent future murders might be found in Detective Byrne’s own dark past.

In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Reves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire. Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the reveurs — the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter's daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love... A fabulous, fin-de-siecle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real.

The hit BBC series Sherlock offers a fresh, contemporary take on the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and has helped introduce a whole new generation of fans to the legendary detective. In this TV tie-in edition of the classic novel, first published in The Strand in 1901, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are called to the haunting and beautiful moors of Dartmoor and the home of the Baskerville family, who seem to have fallen victim to a family curse. A terrifying spectre in the shape of a great hound was once said to have hunted an ancestor across the moors and the recent, mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville suggests that the hound has returned. But is this really a supernatural curse or is a much more dastardly and earthly plot a foot? Sherlock and Dr Watson must solve the riddle of the hound before another murder is committed.

The hit BBC series Sherlock offers a fresh, contemporary take on the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and has helped introduce a whole new generation of fans to the legendary detective. This TV tie-in edition to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's second collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories, which was first published in 1894, includes the infamous The Final Problem . It is one of Conan Doyle's favourite Sherlock tales and the detective's deadliest challenge. This is the ultimate thriller, in which Sherlock meets his intellectual match: the criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. As Moriarty pushes Sherlock to his intellectual limits, this game of cat and mouse will test not only their wits but their mortality.

Offers an account of the legal case against a fictional woman condemned to death for secretly burying her dead, illegitimate newborn in Cromwell's England.

There was a bloodied knife on Allbran's bed. Lady Gateway Barker knew what she had to do; what all the royals in Summerseve did when somebody tried to kill a member of their family: gather up a bunch of people and horses, and go from one place to another.

Injected with new material and special design elements, Invisible Monsters Remix fulfills Chuck Palahniuk's original vision for his 1999 novel, turning a daring satire on beauty and the fashion industry into an even more wildly unique reading experience. Laced in are new chapters of memoir and further scenes with the book's characters. Readers will jump between chapters, reread the book to understand the melding of fact and fiction, and decipher the book's playful page design. She's a catwalk model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden motor 'accident' leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she goes from being the beautiful centre of attention to being an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from being a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing your past and making up something better, and that salvation hides in the last place you'll ever want to look.

Neal Stephenson follows his highly-praised historical novels, Quicksilver and The Confusion, with the extraordinary third and final volume of the Baroque Cycle. The year is 1714. Daniel Waterhouse has returned to England, where he joins forces with his friend Isaac Newton to hunt down a shadowy group attempting to blow up Natural Philosophers with 'Infernal Devices' — time bombs. As Daniel and Newton conspire, an increasingly vicious struggle is waged for England's Crown: who will take control when the ailing queen dies? Tories and Whigs clash as one faction jockeys to replace Queen Anne with 'The Pretender' James Stuart, and the other promotes the Hanoverian dynasty of Princess Caroline. Meanwhile, a long-simmering dispute between Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz comes to a head, with potentially cataclysmic consequences... Wildly inventive, brilliantly conceived, The System of the World is the final volume in Neal Stephenson's hugely ambitious and compelling saga. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters in a time of genius, discovery and change, The Baroque Cycle is a magnificent and unique achievement.

On 2 April 2008, Ed Stafford began his attempt to become the first man ever to walk the entire length of the Amazon river. He has crossed the whole of South America from the Pacific coast of Peru to the mouth of the Amazon River on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. He finished in August 2010. The dangers have been great — from piranhas, crocodiles and killer bees to injuries and tropical rain storms, Ed's journey has demanded extreme physical and mental strength. It is also an adventure with a purpose as Ed is using the trip to help raise people's awareness of current environmental issues. He has had unprecedented access to local communities indigenous communities and witnessed first-hand the effects of deforestation. Ultimately though, it is an account of a world-first expedition and is designed to draw attention to the complexities of the Amazon rainforest. Walking the Amazon will take readers on the most daring journey along the world's greatest river and through the most bio-diverse habitat on earth.