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Books > Fiction > Special features > Classic fiction
One missing girl. Five bodies. Time is running out. When
nineteen-year-old university student Emma goes missing, Detective
Inspector Gareth Gravel is called in. But what is a simple missing
person case soon turns into something much darker as Gravel's
inquiries lead him to the graves of five young women - each of whom
looks just like Emma. With a serial killer on the loose and his
latest victim already in his control, can the police find Emma in
time? Or will Emma have to save herself? The Carmarthen Murders is
the first book in the dark, edge-of-your-seat Carmarthen Crime
thriller series set in the stunning West Wales countryside.
*Previously published as Portraits of the Dead*
Ravaged by years of war and civil conflict, Britain has changed its
name to Airstrip One and become part of Oceania - one of the three
totalitarian blocks dominating the world - ruled by a mysterious
leader called Big Brother who keeps the population in thrall
through strict surveillance and brutal police repression. In a
society where the individual is suppressed and turned into an
"unperson" for not conforming, and where not only personal thought,
but also historical record and language itself are constantly being
manipulated by the ruling regime, Ministry of Truth worker Winston
Smith tries to make sense of the rebellious thoughts and passions
that are stirring inside him, and finds himself impotent against
the inexorable machine that surrounds him and threatens to crush
him at any time. Arguably the greatest dystopian novel of all time
and the most influential post-war work of fiction - which enriched
the English language with words such as "Newspeak", "doublethink"
and "thoughtcrime" - Nineteen Eighty-Four is a riveting read and a
groundbreaking exploration of mass surveillance, censorship and
mind control, which has a deep resonance with the world we live in.
Crimson Snow brings together a dozen vintage crime stories set in
winter. Welcome to a world of Father Christmases behaving oddly, a
famous fictional detective in a Yuletide drama, mysterious tracks
in the snow----, and some very unpleasant carol singers. The
mysterious events chronicled by a distinguished array of
contributors in this volume frequently take place at Christmas.
There's no denying that the supposed season of goodwill is a time
of year that lends itself to detective fiction. On a cold night,
it's tempting to curl up by the fireside with a good mystery. And
more than that, claustrophobic house parties, when people may be
cooped up with long-estranged relatives, can provide plenty of
motives for murder.Including forgotten stories by great writers
such as Margery Allingham, as well as classic tales by less
familiar crime novelists, each story in this selection is
introduced by the great expert on classic crime, Martin Edwards.
The resulting volume is an entertaining and atmospheric compendium
of wintry delights.
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