The second Dirk Gently book by Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is a witty detective story perfect for fans of his phenomenally successful The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.When a passenger check-in desk at Terminal Two, Heathrow Airport, shot up through the roof engulfed in a ball of orange flame, the usual people tried to claim responsibility. First the IRA, then the PLO and the Gas Board. Even British Nuclear Fuels rushed out a statement to the effect that the situation was completely under control, that it was a one in a million chance, that there was hardly any radioactive leakage at all and that the site of the explosion would make a nice location for a day out with the kids and a picnic, before finally having to admit that it wasn't actually anything to do with them at all. No rational cause could be found for the explosion - it was simply designated an act of God. But, thinks Dirk Gently, which God? And why? What God would be hanging around Terminal Two of Heathrow Airport trying to catch the 15:37 to Oslo?'A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic' - Douglas Adams, on Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.Continue this surreal series with the unfinished The Salmon of Doubt.
Cold Earth is the seventh book in Ann Cleeves' bestselling Shetland series - a major BBC One drama starring Douglas Henshall.In the dark days of a Shetland winter, torrential rain triggers a landslide that crosses the main Lerwick-Sumburgh road and sweeps down to the sea. At the burial of his old friend Magnus Tait, Jimmy Perez watches the flood of mud and peaty water smash through a croft house in its path. Everyone thinks the croft is uninhabited, but in the wreckage he finds the body of a dark-haired woman wearing a red silk dress. In his mind, she shares his Mediterranean ancestry and soon he becomes obsessed with tracing her identity. Then it emerges that she was already dead before the landslide hit the house. Perez knows he must find out who she was, and how she died.Also available in the Shetland series are Raven Black, White Nights, Red Bones, Blue Lightning, Dead Water and Thin Air.
Thin Air is the sixth book in Ann Cleeves' Shetland series - a major BBC One drama starring Douglas Henshall as detective Jimmy Perez.A group of old university friends leave the bright lights of London and travel to Unst, Shetland's most northerly island, to celebrate the marriage of one of their friends to a Shetlander. But late on the night of the wedding party, one of them, Eleanor, disappears - apparently into thin air. It's mid-summer, a time of light nights and unexpected mists. The following day, Eleanor's friend Polly receives an email. It appears to be a suicide note, saying she'll never be found alive. And then Eleanor's body is discovered, lying in a small loch close to the cliff edge. Detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves are dispatched to Unst to investigate. Before she went missing, Eleanor claimed to have seen the ghost of a local child who drowned in the 1920s. Her interest in the ghost had seemed unhealthy - obsessive, even - to her friends: an indication of a troubled mind. But Jimmy and Willow are convinced that there is more to Eleanor's death than they first thought. Is there a secret that lies behind the myth? One so shocking that someone would kill - many years later - to protect? Ann Cleeves' striking Shetland novel explores the tensions between tradition and modernity that lie deep at the heart of a community, and how events from the past can have devastating effects on the present.Also available in the Shetland series are Raven Black, White Nights, Red Bones, Blue Lightning, Dead Water, Cold Earth and Wild Fire.
Dead Water is the fifth book in Ann Cleeves' Shetland series - a major BBC1 drama starring Douglas Henshall. When the body of journalist Jerry Markham is found in a traditional Shetland boat, outside the house of the local public prosecutor, down at the Marina, young Detective Inspector Willow Reeves is drafted in to head up the investigation. Since the death of his fiancee, Inspector Jimmy Perez has been out of the loop, but his interest in this new case is stirred and he decides to help the inquiry. Markham - originally a Shetlander but who had made a name for himself in London - had left the islands years before. In his wake, he left a scandal involving a young girl, Evie Watt, who is now engaged to a seaman. He had few friends in Shetland, so why was he back? Willow and Jimmy are led to Sullum Voe, the heart of Shetland's North Sea oil and gas industry. It soon emerges from their investigation that Markham was chasing a story in his final days. One that must have been significant enough to warrant his death . . . Also available in the Shetland series are Raven Black, White Nights, Red Bones, Blue Lightning and Thin Air.
Don DeLillo completed The Silence just weeks before the devastating advent of Covid-19. This timely and compelling novel is the story of a different catastrophic event.
Dot the hospital dog is everyone's favourite visitor in this story of bravery and friendship from Julia Donaldson and Sara Ogilvie - the creators of the Number 1 bestselling picture book, The Detective Dog.
A stunning debut, a haunting portrait of grief, race, obsession and the bond between two sisters never truly given the chance to know each other.
The Book of the Fair of the 2019 London Book Fair, with rights sold in over 30 languages, a memoir of fishing for eels, a close yet distant father-son relationship and a riveting journey into the story of the worlds most mysterious fish.
Set in Uganda in 1972, an extraordinarily moving debut that tells the story of one familys escape, when Amin forces them to leave: a story of loss and separation, but also ultimately of hope.
Five girls lied . . . five girls died . . . The Cheerleaders is Kara Thomas' brilliantly dark and twisty thriller that will leave you breathless.
A powerful and moving family story about history, immigration and identity, spanning three generations and some seventy years across the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
A riveting, suspenseful and exuberant novel from the bestselling, Man Booker Prize-winning author of The White Tiger and Selection Day about a young undocumented immigrant who must decide whether to report crucial information about a murder and risk deportation.
A sparkling collection of Christmas stories from our most loved authors, introduced by Ned Halley and featuring illustrations by Alice Ercle Hunt.
Roger Chillingworth arrives in New England after two years' separation from his wife, Hester Prynne, to find her on trial for adultery. She refuses to reveal her lover and is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter 'A' sewn onto her clothes. Resolving to discover the man's identity, Roger sets out to destroy his rival, while Hester desperately tries to protect her illegitimate daughter from a society determined to condemn them both.A smash hit in its day, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the gripping tale of three New England settlers at odds with the seventeenth-century Puritan society in which they live, and remains one of literature's most evocative portraits of a love triangle.This beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library edition of The Scarlet Letter features an afterword by broadcaster Jonty Claypole.
Faithfully supported by his chronicler, Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes pits his wits against 'Napoleon of Crime' Professor Moriarty, assists European royalty threatened by disgrace, helps to solve the mysterious death of a young woman due to be married, and investigates intrigues that have defeated the detectives of Scotland Yard. Packed with excitement and mystery, this collection showcases the legendary sleuth at his very best.This Macmillan Collector's Library edition features an afterword by David Stuart Davies, and accompanying each tale are Sidney Paget's fantastic original illustrations from The Strand magazine.Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.
As well as being one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century and the recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) is the greatest lyric poet that Ireland has produced.Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an illuminating introduction by author and academic Dr Robert Mighall.Yeats' early work includes the beguiling 'When You are Old', 'The Cloths of Heaven' and 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' but, unusually for a poet, Yeats's later works, including 'Parnell's Funeral', surpass even those of his youth. All are present in this volume, which reproduces the 1933 edition of W. B. Yeats's Collected Poems.
In The Spiritual Child, psychologist Lisa Miller presents the next big idea in psychology: the science and the power of spirituality. She explains the clear, scientific link between spirituality and health and shows that children who have a positive, active relationship to spirituality: * are 40% less likely to use and abuse substances * are 60% less likely to be depressed as teenagers * are 80% less likely to have dangerous or unprotected sex * have significantly more positive markers for thriving including an increased sense of meaning and purpose, and high levels of academic success. Combining cutting-edge research with broad anecdotal evidence from her work as a clinical psychologist to illustrate just how invaluable spirituality is to a child's mental and physical health, Miller translates these findings into practical advice for parents, giving them concrete ways to develop and encourage their children's--as well as their own--well-being. In this provocative, conversation-starting book, Dr. Miller presents us with a pioneering new way to think about parenting our modern youth.
The Appetite Solution is weight loss expert Dr Joseph J. Colella's aggressive six-week, three-phase plan to help you jam 'false' hunger signals, diminish cravings and achieve your goal weight - breaking free of the carbohydrate addiction that packed on those difficult-to-shed pounds.Dr Colella examines the reasons why we feel so hungry and dismisses the diet myths that have recently been endorsed. He reveals how the 'sugar free' juice and alkaline diets that supposedly promote weight loss are actually loaded with hidden simple sugars that create cravings and lead to over eating. Instead, Colella proves to readers that the key to permanent weight loss is eating complex sugars and the right amount of protein. He introduces a simple and practical three-stage plan that increases satiety and curbs your carbohydrate intake, resulting in sustained weight loss:Phase One: Up the protein Phase Two: Lower simple sugars and begin moderate resistance exercise Phase Three: Shed the fat The Appetite Solution will launch you on a journey that is forever free from an excessive appetite, creating a healthy metabolism and bringing your weight under control permanently.
Frank Derrick is eighty-two. And apparently that makes him old. But he just doesn't feel old. Sure, his limbs ache, he can't sleep more than a few hours a night and it takes him a while to get going in the morning. But he's still Frank. A dad, a granddad, a friend to Bill the cat.So when he receives a phone call from Los Angeles with news that his grown-up daughter's life is falling apart, his natural instinct is to drop everything to be with her. Unfortunately for Frank, that means using his life savings and putting himself in danger of losing his home. But then, Frank's never been one for long-term plans. He can sort out where he and Bill the cat will live when he's back. And so Frank gets on a plane for the first time in his life. He was never much good at helping his daughter through crises when she was growing up. He left all that to his wife Sheila, who died nearly ten years ago. Now it's time to step up to his role of father to Beth. Joining forces with his determined granddaughter Laura, they begin The Reunion Project in an attempt to bring some happiness back into Beth's life and to bring the family back together again for one happy family holiday. Filled with moments of great sadness, joy and humour Frank Derrick's Holiday of A Lifetime reminds us all to make the most of every day and to appreciate those closest to us.
Untouched by the ravages of war and the politically volatile atmosphere, the Villa della Pace remains an island of European society in the tiny British Protectorate of Aderra. Its circle religiously maintain their rigid social calendar and allow nothing, save the death of King George VI, to interfere with their pleasures. But the flawless surface of their lives conceals a turmoil of deception and desire . . .Flo has just left school in England and is flying out to spend the summer with her mother Lydia, and step-father Harry, who, as head of the British Administration, must oversee the forthcoming handover to indigenous rule. Lydia is determined that this year Flo will have the summer of her life, just as she herself did years earlier in Nairobi. And believing she can relive her youth through unworldly Flo, Lydia devises a plan for her daughter's social debut - even providing a man. But she little suspects the intensity of emotion behind Flo's quiet facade, nor the irrevocable impact her presence will have on the whole community over those few stifling months . . .A powerful and beautifully written novel by Ann Schlee at her very best.
Frank Derrick is eighty-one. And he's just been run over by a milk float. It was tough enough to fill the hours of the day when he was active. But now he's broken his arm and fractured his foot, it looks set to be a very long few weeks ahead. Frank lives with his cat Bill (which made more sense before Ben died) in the typically British town of Fullwind-on-Sea. He watches DVDs, spends his money frivolously at the local charity shop and desperately tries to avoid cold callers continually knocking on his door. Then a breath of fresh air comes into his life in the form of Kelly Christmas, home help. With her little blue car and appalling parking, her cheerful resilience and ability to laugh at his jokes, Kelly changes Frank's extra ordinary life. She reminds him that there is a world beyond the four walls of his flat and that adventures, however small, come to people of all ages. Frank and Kelly's story is sad and funny, moving, familiar, uplifting. It is a small and perfect look at a life neither remarkable nor disastrous, but completely extraordinary nonetheless. For fans of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Extra Ordinary Life of Frank Derrick, Age 81 by J. B. Morrison is a quirky, life-affirming story that has enormous appeal. And it's guaranteed to make you laugh.
My Days is the only memoir from R.K. Narayan, one of the twentieth century's most important writers in the English language. This edition includes a foreword by John Updike.In the wryly funny style that has made him famous, R.K. Narayan shares his life story, beginning in his grandmother's garden in Madras with a ferocious pet peacock. As a young boy with no interest in school he trains grasshoppers and scouts and then, against the advice of all, especially his commanding headmaster father, the dreaming Narayan begins to write fiction. When one of his pieces is accepted by Punch magazine, what he describes as his 'first prestige publication', his life becomes gradually filled with bumbling British diplomats, strange movie moguls, evasive Indian officials and 'the blind urge' to fall in love. Like his fiction R.K. Narayan's memoirs are acutely perceptive of the human condition, often brilliantly funny and always forgiving.
There was in Sir Francis Chichester a restless spirit never satisfied with his achievements. Throughout his adventurous life this quiet Englishman has sought to challenge odds that other, younger, stronger men declared insuperable. As a pilot, as a yachtsman, as a navigator, even as a man who broke the grip of cancer, Sir Francis was always a pioneer. Where he led, others followed: but when he triumphed, he at once sought a new and greater challenge.This is a book about such a challenge. With the feasibility of long-distance voyages proven beyond doubt - not least by his own remarkable circumnavigation in 1966 - Sir Francis turned at once to the next great barrier facing the single-hander, the 'speed barrier', setting himself the staggering target of sailing 4,000 miles between two fixed points on the earth's surface in 20 days - an average of 200 miles a day whatever the wind, whatever the weather.The Romantic Challenge tells of the planning, the calculations and the sheer hard work that in January 1971 led him and Gipsy Moth V to their 'starting line' for a race which is the single-hander's '4-Minute Mile' and Marathon, combined in one gruelling, non-stop, murderous ocean race.
From time immemorial, few narrative genres have had the power to so stir the emotions or captivate the imagination as the true account of a lone adventurer's triumph over the titanic forces of nature. Among the handful of such tales to emerge in the twentieth century, one of the most enduring surely must be Sir Francis Chichester's account of his solitary, nine-month journey around the world in his 53-foot ketch Gipsy Moth IV. The story of how the sixty-five-year-old navigator singlehandedly circumnavigated the globe, the whole way battling hostile seas as well as his boat's numerous design flaws, is a tale of superhuman tenacity and endurance to be read and reread by sailors and armchair adventurers alike. First published in 1967, just months after the completion of Chichester's historic journey, Gipsy Moth Circles the World was an instant international best-seller. It inspired the first solo around-the-world race and remains a timeless testament to the spirit of adventure. Francis Chichester's 1967 singlehanded circumnavigation set a blazing record for speed. He completed the voyage with just one stop and 226 days at sea. It was an amazing performance; that he was sixty-five years old made it the more so. Chichester then sat down to write one of the great narratives of modern voyaging.
In June 1962 Francis Chichester set out from Plymouth once again to cross the Atlantic single-handed in his 13-ton yacht, Gipsy Moth III, in an attempt to beat the 40-day record he set up himself in 1960. He succeeded, and knocked nearly a week off his previous time. Chichester also made history on his voyage by keeping in daily contact with Britain by means of a small battery-operated radio-telephone which enabled The Guardian, the sponsors of the voyage, to publish daily extracts from his log. Edited by The Guardian's Yachting Editor, J. R. L. Anderson, this book, Chichester's own day-by-day narrative of that adventurous journey, threatened by gales, icebergs and fog, is the drama of one man fighting his way alone across the North Atlantic. It is one of the great stories of the sea. 'a magnificent achievement' Guardian 'hard to put down' Times Literary Supplement 'good-natured, informal and totally unpretentious book' Observer
A brave man in a small boat alone on a big sea . . .Sir Francis Chichester was a courageous explorer and gifted navigator. Six years before his epic solo voyage around the world in Gipsy Moth IV, so vividly captured in Gipsy Moth Circles the World, and at the age of 59, Chichester took part in the 1960 Singlehanded Transatlantic Race in Gipsy Moth III. During the forty days the voyage took, Chichester kept a diary in which he shared his fears and moments of exhilaration. The result is both a practical tale about Gipsy Moth III's sailing victory and a day-by-day sharing of adventure by her skipper.
Orde Charles Wingate. Winston Churchill thought him a military genius; others considered him greatly over-rated; a few even thought him mad. His overriding passion was for Zionism, a cause which he embraced when posted to British-ruled Palestine in 1936. There he raised the Special Night Squads, an irregular force which decimated Arab rebel bands and taught a future generation of Israeli generals (including Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin) how to fight. In 1941, Wingate led another guerrilla-style force into Italian-occupied Ethiopia and was instrumental in restoring Emperor Haile Selassie to his throne. But his most famous campaign was conducted behind enemy lines in Burma, where his Chindits shattered the myth of Japanese invincibility in jungle fighting. A brilliant maverick, Wingate was a difficult if not impossible subordinate. He was also - as this riveting new study reveals - an inspiring leader.
A rookie female agent named Katherine Bronsky is called in by the FBI as hostage negotiator for a hijacked inter-city flight. The demand is for a child murderer to be brought to justice within eight hours. Bronsky herself becomes a hostage and has to solve the murder-mystery in time.
HE WAS THE KEEPER - Arno Holmstrand is about to die, his life cut short by an organization intent on laying claim to the secrets he has spent a lifetime guarding: the location of the lost Library of Alexandria, and the vast knowledge it has hidden for centuries. SHE WILL INHERIT HIS LEGACY - Emily Wess is about to have her life change beyond all recognition. One minute she is a professor of history, the next she is on a journey to the far corners of the world, deciphering strange clues left by her mentor, Arno Holmstrand. She is being tested, but for what? THEY WILL KILL FOR CONTROL - They are the Council and crave power and position. Their corruption spreads from the highest levels of government to the assassins they employ to commit their crimes. They will kill for the ancient knowledge contained in the Library. And Emily Wess has exactly what they want.
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