As the bombs began to fall, the book club kept their hopes alive...

London, 1938. Bookseller Gertie Bingham is facing difficult times, having just lost her beloved husband, Harry, and with a lingering sadness at never having been able to have a child of her own. Struggling to face running the bookshop she and Harry opened together, Gertie is preparing to sell up and move away when she is asked if she would be willing to take in a young Jewish refugee from Germany. Gertie is unsure and when sullen teenager Hedy Fischer arrives, Gertie fears she has nothing left to give the troubled girl.

But when the German bombers come and the lights go out over London, Gertie and Hedy realise that joining forces will make them stronger, and that books have the power to bring young and old together and unite a community in need in its darkest hour...

The triumphant new novel from the author of the Orange Prize-winning Fugitive Pieces: a soaring and luminous story of chance and change.

1917. On a battlefield near the River Aisne, John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory – a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night, his childhood on a faraway coast – as the snow falls.

1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near another river – alive, but not still whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and endeavours to keep on living. But the past erupts insistently into the present, as ghosts begin to surface in his pictures: ghosts whose messages he cannot understand.

So begins a narrative that spans four generations, moments of connection and consequence igniting and re-igniting as the century unfolds. In luminous moments of desire, comprehension, longing, transcendence, the sparks fly upward, working their transformations decades later.

Held is a novel like no other, by a writer at the height of her powers: affecting and intensely beautiful, full of mystery, wisdom and compassion.

Already excerpted in the New Yorker, Black Cloud Rising is a compelling and important historical novel that takes us back to an extraordinary moment when enslaved men and women were shedding their bonds and embracing freedomBy fall of 1863, Union forces had taken control of Tidewater Virginia, and established a toehold in eastern North Carolina, including along the Outer Banks. Thousands of freed slaves and runaways flooded the Union lines, but Confederate irregulars still roamed the region. In December, the newly formed African Brigade, a unit of these former slaves led by General Edward Augustus Wild--a one-armed, impassioned Abolitionist--set out from Portsmouth to hunt down the rebel guerillas and extinguish the threat. From this little-known historical episode comes Black Cloud Rising, a dramatic, moving account of these soldiers--men who only weeks earlier had been enslaved, but were now Union infantrymen setting out to fight their former owners. At the heart of the narrative is Sergeant Richard Etheridge, the son of a slave and her master, raised with some privileges but constantly reminded of his place. Deeply conflicted about his past, Richard is eager to show himself to be a credit to his race. As the African Brigade conducts raids through the areas occupied by the Confederate Partisan Rangers, he and his comrades recognize that they are fighting for more than territory. Wild's mission is to prove that his troops can be trusted as soldiers in combat. And because many of the men have fled from the very plantations in their path, each raid is also an opportunity to free loved ones left behind. For Richard, this means the possibility of reuniting with Fanny, the woman he hopes to marry one day. With powerful depictions of the bonds formed between fighting men and heartrending scenes of sacrifice and courage, Black Cloud Rising offers a compelling and nuanced portrait of enslaved men and women crossing the threshold to freedom.

'A moving, compelling, deeply human novel about love, hope and resilience in a city under siege. Everyone should read it' Emma Stonex, bestselling author of The Lamplighters Sarajevo, spring 1992. Each night, nationalist gangs erect barricades, splitting the diverse city into ethnic enclaves; each morning, the residents - whether Muslim, Croat or Serb - push the makeshift barriers aside. When violence finally spills over, Zora, an artist and teacher, sends her husband and elderly mother to safety with her daughter in England. Reluctant to believe that hostilities will last more than a handful of weeks, she stays behind while the city falls under siege. As the assault deepens and everything they love is laid to waste, black ashes floating over the rooftops, Zora and her friends are forced to rebuild themselves, over and over. Theirs is a breathtaking story of disintegration, resilience and hope.

The Sunday Times Thriller of the Month 'Stunning . . . one of the most compelling reads of the year' - Daily Express Expertly researched and visionary in scale, international number one bestseller Ken Follett's Never is more than a thriller. It imagines a scenario we all hope never comes true, one which will keep you transfixed until the final page . . . A stolen US army drone. A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert. A secret stash of deadly chemicals. Each is a threat to global stability. Each can be overcome with only the highest levels of diplomacy. But when those in charge disagree and refuse to back down, an international chain reaction kicks off with potentially catastrophic consequences: a world edging closer to war . . . Now three people must work with the utmost skill to stop that from happening: A spy working undercover with jihadis. A brilliant Chinese spymaster. A US president beleaguered by a populist rival for the next election. The only question is - in a game of brinksmanship, can the inevitable ever be stopped? 'Bold in scale and meticulously researched' - Sunday Times 'His best yet' - Stephen King Urgent and fiercely compelling' - The Washington Post More than 175 million copies sold worldwide. Published in over 80 territories and 37 languages. The international no.1 bestselling phenomenon returns.

WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022 A searing satire set amid the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka beset by civil war Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet gay, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the serene Beira lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time where scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts with grudges who cluster round can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to try and contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos that will rock Sri Lanka. Ten years after his prizewinning novel Chinaman established him as one of Sri Lanka's foremost authors, Karunatilaka is back with a rip-roaring epic, full of mordant wit and disturbing truths. 'Fizzes with energy, imagery and ideas against a broad, surreal vision of the Sri Lankan civil wars' The Booker judges 'Recalls the mordant wit and surrealism of Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls or Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita ... Karunatilaka has done artistic justice to a terrible period in his country's history' Guardian 'Outstanding... the most significant work of Sri Lankan fiction in a decade.' New European

**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NOW AN AMAZON PRIME TV SERIES STARRING CHRIS PRATT** 'Take my word for it, James Reece is one rowdy motherf***er. Get ready!' Chris Pratt It has been two decades since 9/11. The enemy has been patient. The enemy has been learning. The enemy has been adapting. The enemy is ready to strike again . . . Former Navy SEAL James Reece must embark on a top-secret CIA mission of retribution twenty years in the making in this riveting and timely thriller that will leave you gasping for breath. If you loved Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Peter James's Roy Grace or Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller, you will love The Devil's Hand and the James Reece series! Praise for Jack Carr: 'A propulsive and compulsive series. Jack Carr's James Reece is the kind of guy you'd want to have in your corner. A suspenseful and exhilarating thrill-ride. Jack Carr is the real deal' Andy McNab 'This is seriously good . . . the suspense is unrelenting, and the tradecraft is so authentic the government will probably ban it - so read it while you can!' Lee Child 'With a particular line in authentic tradecraft, this fabulously unrelenting thrill-ride was a struggle to put down' Mark Dawson 'Gritty, raw and brilliant!' Tom Marcus 'So powerful, so pulse-pounding, so well-written - rarely do you read a debut novel this damn good' Brad Thor 'Carr writes both from the gut and a seemingly infinite reservoir of knowledge in the methods of human combat. Loved it!' Chris Hauty 'A powerful, thoughtful, realistic, at times terrifying thriller that I could not put down. A terrific addition to the genre, Jack Carr and his alter-ego protagonist, James Reece, continue to blow me away' Mark Greaney 'Thrilling' Publishers Weekly

The secretary of state is headed to the region to seal the deal.

And Special Agent Marcus Ryker is leading an advance trip along the Israeli-Lebanon border, ahead of the secretary’s arrival.

But when Ryker and his team are ambushed by Hezbollah forces, a nightmare scenario begins to unfold. The last thing the White House can afford is a new war in the Mideast that could derail the treaty and set the region ablaze. U.S. and Israeli forces are mobilizing to find the hostages and get them home, but Ryker knows the clock is ticking.

When Hezbollah realizes who they’ve captured, no amount of ransom will save them—they’ll be transferred to Beirut and then to Tehran to be executed on live television.

In the fourth installment of Rosenberg’s gripping new series, Marcus Ryker finds himself in the most dangerous situation he has ever faced—captured, brutalized, and dragged deep behind enemy lines.

Should he wait to be rescued? Or try to escape? How? And what if his colleagues are too wounded to run?

This is the CIA’s most valuable operative as you have never seen him before.

**NOW AN AMAZON PRIME TV SERIES STARRING CHRIS PRATT** 'Take my word for it, James Reece is one rowdy motherf***er. Get ready!' Chris Pratt A woman boards a plan in Burkina Faso having just completed a targeted assassination for the state of Israel. Two minutes after takeoff her plane is blown out of the sky. 6000 miles to the east, James Reece watches the names and pictures of the victims cross cable news. One face triggers a distant memory of a Mossad operative attached to the CIA years earlier in Iraq, a woman with ties to the intelligence services of two nations, a woman Reece thought he would never see again... In a global pursuit spanning four continents, James Reece will enlist the help of friends new and old to track down her killer and walk right into a trap set by a master sniper, a sniper who has enlisted help of his own... The 5th in the bestselling James Reece series, from former Navy SEAL Jack Carr. If you loved Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Peter James's Roy Grace or Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller, you will love James Reece! Praise for Jack Carr: 'A propulsive and compulsive series. Jack Carr's James Reece is the kind of guy you'd want to have in your corner. A suspenseful and exhilarating thrill-ride. Jack Carr is the real deal' Andy McNab 'This is seriously good . . . the suspense is unrelenting, and the tradecraft is so authentic the government will probably ban it - so read it while you can!' Lee Child 'With a particular line in authentic tradecraft, this fabulously unrelenting thrill-ride was a struggle to put down' Mark Dawson 'Gritty, raw and brilliant!' Tom Marcus 'So powerful, so pulse-pounding, so well-written - rarely do you read a debut novel this damn good' Brad Thor 'Carr writes both from the gut and a seemingly infinite reservoir of knowledge in the methods of human combat. Loved it!' Chris Hauty 'A powerful, thoughtful, realistic, at times terrifying thriller that I could not put down. A terrific addition to the genre, Jack Carr and his alter-ego protagonist, James Reece, continue to blow me away' Mark Greaney 'Thrilling' Publishers Weekly

1st-century Britannia is the setting for an epic and action-packed novel of tribal uprisings, battles to the death and unmatched courage in the Roman army ranks. From Simon Scarrow, author of the bestsellers The Honour of Rome, Centurion and The Gladiator. The 22nd Eagles of the Empire novel. AD 60. Britannia is in turmoil. The rebel leader Boudica has tasted victory, against a force of tough veterans in Camulodunum. Alerted to the rapidly spreading uprising, Governor Suetonius leads his army towards endangered Londinium with a mounted escort, led by Prefect Cato. Soon it's terrifyingly clear that Britannia is slipping into chaos and panic, with ever more tribal warriors swelling Boudica's ranks. And Cato and Suetonius are grimly aware that little preparation has been made to withstand a full-scale rebellion. In Londinium there is devastating news. Centurion Macro is amongst those unaccounted for after the massacre at Camulodunum. Has Cato's comrade and friend made his last stand? Facing disaster, Cato prepares his next move. Dare he hope that Macro - battle-scarred and fearless - has escaped the bloodthirsty rebels? For there is only one man Cato trusts by his side as he faces the military campaign of his life. And the future of the Empire in Britannia hangs in the balance.

Part IV - Kat Severn turned her back on her privileged and moneyed upbringing, instead pursuing a career in the Military of the early 22nd Century Federation of America, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. She has been given her first independent command a " In the remote waters of the Southern Atlantic. For a Fleet Officer with a reputation for not following the rules, ita s a posting that rapidly becomes more of an exile than a stepping-stone towards her next promotion. But where Kat goes, trouble seems to follow a " and she isna t there long before discovering mercenaries are sabotaging the navigation beacons that mark the safe-transit-routes for shipping. Whilst establishing the extend of the damage she unintentionally finds a previously unknown, but Long-abandoned Chinese military base on a remote and desolate island. A base that contains devastating technology. Technology that Kat must ensure never falls into the wrong hands.

The sensational historical fiction debut from Sunday Times bestseller Dan Jones. A BBC History 2022 Book of the Year! July 1346. The Hundred Years' War has begun, and King Edward and his lords are on the march through France. But this war belongs to the men on the ground. Swept up in the bloody chaos, a tight-knit company from Essex must stay alive long enough to see their home again. With sword, axe and longbow, the Essex Dogs will fight, from the landing beaches of Normandy to the bloodsoaked field of Crecy. There's Pismire, small enough to infiltrate enemy camps. Scotsman, strong enough to tear down a wall. Millstone, a stonemason who'll do anything to protect his men. Father, a priest turned devilish by the horrors of war. Romford, a talented young archer on the run from his past. And Loveday FitzTalbot, their battle-scarred captain, who just wants to get his boys home safe. Some men fight for glory. Others fight for coin. The Essex Dogs? They fight for each other. Praise for Essex Dogs: 'Superb... Humour, archery, violence - and a fundamental decency underpinning all the rest.' Conn Iggulden 'A new champion has entered the front line of historical fiction to stand shoulder to shoulder with Bernard Cornwell.' Jane Johnson 'Battle-bloody, brutal and perfectly pitched.' Daily Mail 'Vital, earthy, and heart-stopping... So deft and funny that you'd never guess this is Dan Jones' debut work of fiction.' Suzannah Lipscomb '[Dan Jones'] mastery of his subject matter is obvious. The soldiers' lives are rather brilliantly recreated - the kit, the fighting, the boredom and discomfort.' The Times 'Few books manage to be as compelling on every level as Essex Dogs: it's adventure, history, and heart.' Dana Schwartz 'A busy, urgent little masterpiece.' Graham Hurley 'Fascinating. Brutal. Real... Impossible to put down.' Simon Turney 'Horribly compelling... Only Dan Jones can carry you through blood, piss and vomit and leave you wanting more.' Daisy Dunn 'With a cast of unforgettable characters, written with irrepressible verve and historical accuracy, Dan Jones delivers a compelling novel that thrums with swordswinging energy.' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'The battles that shaped Europe from the point of view of the soldiers... Searing.' Kate Williams 'War. Looting. Junkies. Pintle-tugging. The English abroad. Dan Jones takes you to the year of Our Lord 1346.' Tibor Fischer