Meet Burt Hecker, aka Eckbert Attquiet, a 63 year old medieval re-enactor with a momentous nose, who dresses in tunics and drinks too much home-made mead. His treasured wife Kitty has died and their strange and beautiful relationship is now the stuff of history; he has sold all of his possessions and bought a one-way ticket to Europe, bent on rescuing his beloved son Tristan from the 'evil' city of Prague. If only he knew that his son doesn't want to be rescued, or found.

This perfect gem of a novel by the author of the posthumously acclaimed and bestselling Suite Francaise has never previously been published and was discovered only recently in separate archive files. A couple of pages were in the famous suitcase which her daughters saved, and the balance had been deposited with a family friend and editor during the war. A morality tale with doubtful morals, a story of murder, love and betrayal in rural France, Fire in the Blood, planned in 1937, written in 1941, is set in a small village, based on Issy-l'Eveque where Suite Francaise was written, and brilliantly prefigures the village community in her later masterpiece. An old man looks back on a chequered life with secret regrets, concealing a truth he will not reveal until the end. Fire in the Blood is a small and beautiful chamber piece which starts quietly, lyrically, but then races away with revelations and narrative twists in a story about young women forced into marriages with old men, about mothers and daughters, stepmothers and stepdaughters, youthful passions and the regrets of old age, about peasant communities and the way they hide their secrets. Nemirovsky looks at her characters, both young and old, with the same clear-eyed distance and humanity as she displayed in Suite Francaise, unpeeling layer after layer. Atmospheric and haunting as Embers and with the crystalline perfection of Chekhov, Fire in the Blood is a gripping literary find.

In school playgrounds across the country parents huddle in worried packs, desperately putting together their final plans to survive the summer weeks of mayhem — school is officially out! For once, Amanda has a simple, cheap and fail-safe plan to make it through the summer holidays with her three, overexcited offspring. But a last minute addition of fellow-mum Suzanne and her perfect son Orlando quickly shatters Amanda's vision of the quintessential bucket-and-spade summer adventure. In fact, before she even makes it to the picture-perfect Cornish idyll that is home to her one-time playground comrade Skyler, Amanda has to endure tantrums, floods, and an eerie B&B, all with three ratty kids and a carsick dog in tow.When they finally arrive, dishevelled and exhausted, she discovers that not only must she endure Suzanne at close quarters in a cramped cottage, but also that Skyler's business in dire need of a helping hand. In the weeks that ensue, Amanda discovers there is only one way to survive the summer holidays, and that's with a stiff drink, a pair of wellies and a bucket-full of bonhomie! Praise for Sarah Tucker — 'Scandal, backstabbing, illicit affairs... a fab, girlie read!' — New Woman. 'Mums will be able to see the truth behind this fun novel' — In The Know. 'A real laugh-out-loud tale' OK!

This moving and profoundly truthful story is told in the form of diary, kept by Angelika, the sister-in-law and friend of Klara, who, after her release from Auschwitz, wandered through war-ravaged Europe for two months before returning to Paris in August 1945. Gradually, over a period of six weeks, Klara reveals, with cold anger and pitiless lucidity, the full horror of what she experienced in Auschwitz as she struggles to readapt to normal life. Not since Sophie's Choice has a novelist succeeded in conveying — with truth, dignity, power and intelligence — the inhumanity of the death camps and the scars suffered by those who survived them.

Roxanne's world collapses when she comes home one day to discover her husband lying dead on the bathroom floor. Consumed by grief, she runs away from her life, quitting her job and heading for Peaks Island, a tiny speck off the coast of Maine. A former psycologist, she finds herself taking a job as an animal warden and reinventing her past so it doesn't include the tragedy of her husband's death. But despite Roxanne's best efforts to cut herself off from her emotions and people in general, she finds herself drawn to her quirky new neighbours. And then Roxanne meets Lloyd. Lloyd is a large black Labrador retriever who Roxanne finds with a handmade arrow sticking out of his shoulder. It's clear that Lloyd has been woefully mistreated. And so begins a remarkable friendship between a wounded woman and a wounded dog. And as slowly both begin to heal, Roxanne begins to deal with her grief and even discover that happiness can be found in unexpected places.

Dionisio Vivo, a South American lecturer in philosphy, is puzzled by the hideously mutilated corpses that keep turning up outside his front door. To his friend, Ramon, one of the few honest policement in town, the message is all too clear: Dionisio's letters to the press, exposing the drug barons, must stop; and although Dionisio manages to escape the hit-men sent to get him, he soon realises that others are more vulnerable, and his love for them leads him to take a colossal revenge.

On a cold day in January President Kerry Kilcannon takes the oath of office and within days makes his first, most important move: appointing a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Kilcannon's choice is a female judge with a brilliant record. And a secret. While the Senate spars over Caroline Masters' nomination, an inflammatory abortion rights case is making its way toward the judge--and will explode into the headlines. Suddenly, the most divisive issue in America turns the President's nomination into all-out war. And from Judge Masters to a conservative, war-hero senator facing a crisis of conscience and a fifteen-year-old girl battling for her future, no one will be safe. Protect and Defend takes us on a riveting journey between what is legal, what is right... and the price of finally knowing the difference.

Beautiful Irishwoman Eliza Lynch became briefly, in the 1860s, the richest woman in the world. The book opens in Paris with Eliza in bed with Francisco Solano Lopez — heir to the untold wealth of Paraguay. The fruit of their congress will be extraordinary, and will send her across the Atlantic on the regal voyage to claim her glorious future in Ascuncion. With the lavish imaginative richness of Marquez and the crazed panoramic sweep of Herzog, The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch is a bold and brilliantly achieved novel about sex, beauty and corruption and the end of the old world.

Crime fiction obsessive Martin Reed is the proverbial butt of everyone's jokes. Working as a glorified accountant at Southern Toilet Supply and still living with his cantankerous mother, he has become resigned to the world in which he lives — the school bullies now pick on him in the workplace, women still spurn him and his arch enemy is now his supervisor. But then he arrives at work one morning to find the police on site. A co-worker has been brutally murdered and her body abandoned in a ditch. And the overwhelming evidence points to Martin — especially when he can't or won't admit that he has an alibi. When a second victim is found in the company bathroom, things really conspire against Martin. The one bright star on his otherwise bleak horizon is the beautiful and sympathetic Detective Anther Albada, but even she's beginning to have her doubts about his innocence. Could Martin be guilty? Or is he just misunderstood?

When it comes to sisterly rivalry, the MacLeod family has a long history and with the social event of the year looming, there are bound to be some fireworks. Natalie wants the perfect wedding. Milly longs to be able to fit into something other than her maternity trousers. Avril secretly dreams of settling down with an unmarried man. And Hazel, the baby of the family, just wishes she was taken more seriously. Forced together for the first time in years, it's not long before they slip into old habits and childhood squabbles. But when tragedy strikes and all plans have to be put aside, it's surprising who's there to lean on. But all the more surprising are the skeletons that are about to come out of the rather crowded MacLeod closet...

Upon an immense stretch of flat ground at the mouth of a river bathed in sunlight rises Hyperpolis. It stands there, surrounded by its four asphalt car-parks, to condemn us — a huge enveloping supermarket. Each of us will see ourselves reflected in the characters who move mindlessly about Hyperpolis, but The Giants is a call to rebellion. This bold and inventive novel is the work of a tremendously talented writer and both an intoxicating and exhilarating read.

War — in the mind of the fragile Bea B., in the infinite icy landscape she journeys through, in Vietnam, in 10,000 years of human history. The war of the title is not merely a war of arms but a generalised state of violence permeating every atom of Le Clezio's creation. Bea B. searches for clues for the origin of the evil. Under her searching gaze the most everyday objects — advertisements, cars, light bulbs — reveal extraordinary dimensions, as the earth trembles on the brink of cataclysmic explosion.

Discover a vivid landscape of imagination where the human body is collaged and refashioned with often disparate industrail elements. Is it a surreal world where the interplay between man and machine is beautiful, shocking, grotesque, captivating, and relevant to our times. Young, award-winning artist Jason Felix began sketching and drawing extensively at age eleven. Inspired to draw and create by watching the movie Alien with his father, Jason Felix's fascination with fantasy, science fiction, monsters, and creatures grew as he took in such classic sci-fi films as Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Star Wars, and Clash of the Titans, Largely self-taught, he published his own comic book at age seventeen (sold through Diamond Distribution), and his portfolio grew exponentially from there. Salvaged collects Felix's work for the first time, and contains many new and never-before-seen images. His style ranges from sci-fi and fantasy to increasingly grotesque, even disturbing images. Rick Berry, world-renowned pioneer in digital art, says, Human beings are becoming fabulous and strange... and it's happening very fast. Felix is there. That's where he's looking and for all the scary bits you can also see the excitement, the sense of stunning transformation, and beauty. I can't seem to take my eyes off the weird wonder of his visionary assumption. Known for his digital photographic manipulations, Felix's works have been showcased internationally and have directly inspired numerous Hollywood projects. He has been involved in visually establishing computer games such as StarCraft and the Prince of Persia series.

No matter which shore they are near or how modern or traditional the decor, America's beach houses share the timeless appeal of bringing together friends and family, memories and desires.

A gripping tale of betrayal, murder, and redemption. Detective Alisha Barba hadn't heard from her long lost friend Cate in years, but when she receives a frantic letter pleading for help, she knows she must see her. They want to take my baby. You have to stop them, Cate whispers to Alisha when they finally meet. Then, only hours later, Cate and her husband are fatally run down by a car. At the crime scene, Alisha discovers the first in a series of complex and mysterious deceptions that will send her on a perilous search for the truth, from the dangerous streets of London's East End to the decadent glow of Amsterdam's red-light district.

Peter Tyler appears to have it all — a loving wife, a powerful job on Wall Street, a sprawling house in the suburbs. But in a moment of weakness, Peter indulges in a one-night stand with a beautiful trader. A few weeks later, his house is broken into and his wife brutally murdered. When the police discover Peter's infidelity, he immediately goes from grieving husband to prime suspect. Suddenly, it's up to Peter to prove his own innocence and find his wife's killer. Written with ferocity and at a lightning pace, Restitution marks the debut of an intelligent and exciting new novelist.

Oklahoma defense attorney Ben Kincaid has found himself smack in the middle of more than a few controversies and deadly predicaments-and the unexpected leap from his modest Tulsa law offices to Washington, D.C.'s Senate chamber hasn't taken the edge off Ben's knack for stepping into the line of fire. Now the idealistic junior senator is plunged into the thick of lethal intrigue when a shocking campaign of terror against key government officials rocks the nation's capital. The nightmare begins with the abduction and murder of the director of Homeland Security; escalates with the killing of the Senate minority leader, who is felled in his office by an envelope laced with weaponized poison; and comes to a shattering climax at the site of the Oklahoma City Memorial, where a fusillade of sniper fire meant for the president claims unintended victims. In all, twelve people perish in the melee, while Ben himself narrowly escapes a car-bomb blast that leaves his best friend, Tulsa cop Mike Morelli, comatose. But the smoke has barely cleared when the stunned nation is sent reeling yet again by the president's impassioned call to amend the U.S. Constitution with an antiterrorism law that would drastically curtail civil liberties. It's a hot-button issue guaranteed to bitterly divide the Beltway and the country. The chief executive has handpicked Ben to help harvest the support that will make the amendment a reality. Shaken by the carnage, Ben embraces the president's radical cause, and alongside unlikely new political allies he takes the battle for the controversial bill to the Senate floor. But he can't ignore his growing suspicion that what's haunting Capitol Hill isn't the specter of foreign terrorism but something much closer to home. Now, with his ever-resourceful chief of staff-his wife, Christina-and along with his support team backing his play, Ben sets squares off against what could be the most dangerous Goliath he's ever challenged. Capitol Conspiracy is a bravura William Bernhardt performance-bursting into action on the very first page, and crackling with breathless suspense, sharp wit, crafty twists, and timely thrills clear through to the last.

Politics has always been a dirty game. Now justice is, too. In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town's water supply, causing the worst cancer cluster in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it. Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided? The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice.

If you’ve ever dreamed of starting your own business, or if you’ve ever wondered about how to build up the business you already run, but worry because you don’t have an MBA or a couple of years of college business courses, this book is for you. Based on extensive interviews with more than eighty women entrepreneurs from around the country, There’s a Business in Every Woman offers inspiring success stories (and instructive missteps) in a wide range of businesses–from catering, landscaping, personal training, and wedding and events planning to interior and clothing design, staffing, manufacturing, and product design. What the trailblazing women in this book have in common is a good idea and the courage to turn a dream into a money-making reality through hard work, passion, and drive. Take, for instance, the woman who started an IT consulting company in her basement and now has more than a thousand employees in three states; two jogging buddies who commiserated about their uncomfortable bras and went on to design and produce a jog bra, creating a company that Playtex ultimately bought for millions; the mom whose hand-made birthday-party invitations made such a splash that she launched her own custom party invitation company, which she expanded to include holiday cards, gift tags, bags, and more; the sixty-five-year-old corporate wife and mother who applied her domestic talents to opening a profitable B&B; the twenty-three-year-old who bought a fledging real estate franchise and now earns a healthy six figures annually. These success stories highlight the practical: focusing on what you’re good at; setting up your business properly–even if you are starting out from your basement or garage; getting financial backing when you need it; marketing your products with sizzle; networking like the “good old boys”; understanding how and when to diversify your products or services; managing your growth; and, most important, knowing what your company is worth and when it might be lucrative to cash out. An accessible crash course in starting and running your own business, There’s a Business in Every Woman will teach you everything you need to know to turn your pipedream into serious profits.