The play date started well. The children happy in one room while their mothers relaxed and drank wine in another.

But then the stranger appeared at the window. And then he was inside the house. And then he grabbed the knife...

Alice only means to stop him. She doesn't mean to hit him so hard. She didn't mean to kill him.

The police conclude that she acted in self-defence, but wracked with guilt, Alice sets out to apologise to Linda, the mother of the young man she killed - only to find she is unable to come clean about who she really is. But as Alice learns more about Ezra and why he was at her house, she starts to wonder whether she really has the full picture about what happened that day...

This latest simmering suspense novel from the internationally bestselling Katherine Faulkner is a unputdownable must-read that will have you hooked from the first twist to the last.

The murder, a brutal stabbing, definitely took place on Guy Fawkes' night. It was definitely by the bonfire on the village green. There were definitely a number of witnesses. And yet, was it definitely clear to anybody exactly what they had seen? In the writhing, violent shadows, it seems as if the truth may have gone up in smoke. Julian Symons' phenomenal 1960 novel is a searing drama of wrongful accusation, twisty police procedural and account of grim murder all rolled together. This edition also includes the resonant short story 'The Tigers of Subtopia'.

Tom Kettle, a retired policeman, and widower, is settling into the quiet of his new home in Dalkey, overlooking the sea. His solitude is interrupted when two former colleagues turn up at his door to ask about a traumatic, decades-old case. A case that Tom never quite came to terms with. And his peace is further disturbed when his new neighbour, a mysterious young mother, asks for his help.

A beautiful, haunting novel, in which nothing is quite as it seems, Old God's Time is an unforgettable exploration of family, loss and love.

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it's not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last. What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them? Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh's most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city's police force. But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus - and Clarke's twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit. A reckoning is coming - and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders...