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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Adventure / thriller > Historical adventure
The year is 1807, and Richard Sharpe is back in England, where
his career seems to have come to a dead end, despite his heroics in
Britain's recent victory at Trafalgar. Loveless, destitute, and
relegated to the menial tasks of quartermaster, Sharpe roams the
streets of London, pondering a bleak future away from the army.
Then, out of the blue, an old friend invites him to undertake a
secret mission--the delivery of a bribe--to the Danish capital,
Copenhagen. Denmark is officially neutral, but Napoleon is
threatening an invasion in order to capture the powerful Danish
fleet, which would replace the ships France lost in its disastrous
defeat at Trafalgar. The British, fearing such enhancement of
French power, threaten their own preemptive invasion, and Sharpe,
whose errand seemed so simple, is trapped in a web of treachery
that will end only when the city, which thought itself safe, is
subjected to a brutal and merciless bombardment.
The Bestselling Richard & Judy Summer Book Club Pick 2021 The
Bestselling Radio 2 Book Club Selection 'Tight, clever and riddled
with wit. Like discovering Adrian Mole or Bridget Jones for the
first time.' Joanna Nadin, author of The Queen of Bloody Everything
'A sweet, fizzy sherbet dib-dab of a book - deliciously nostalgic,
hugely funny and ultimately heartwarming. The perfect book for our
times.' Veronica Henry 'Such a joyful and uplifting read. Just the
sort of thing that people will want to be reading right now.' Anita
Rani, Radio 2 Book Club It is the summer of 1962 and
sixteen-year-old Evie Epworth stands on the cusp of womanhood. But
what kind of a woman will she be? Up until now, Evie's life has
been nothing special: a patchwork of school, Guides, cows, lost
mothers, lacrosse and village fetes. But, inspired by her idols
(Charlotte Bronte, Shirley MacLaine, the Queen), she dreams of a
world far away from rural East Yorkshire, a world of glamour lived
under the bright lights of London (or Leeds). Standing in the way
of these dreams, though, is Christine, Evie's soon-to-be
stepmother, a manipulative and money-grubbing schemer who is lining
Evie up for a life of shampoo-and-set drudgery at the stinky local
salon. Luckily Evie is not alone. With the help of a few friends,
and the wise counsel of the two Adam Faith posters on her bedroom
wall ('brooding Adam' and 'sophisticated Adam'), Evie comes up with
a plan to rescue her future from Christine's pink and over-perfumed
clutches. She will need a little luck, a dash of charm and a big
dollop of Yorkshire magic if she is to succeed, but in the process
she may just discover who exactly it is she is meant to be. Moving,
inventive and achingly funny, with an all-star cast of
bold-as-brass characters, The Miseducation of Evie Epworth is a
perfectly pitched modern fairytale about love, friendship and
following your dreams while having a lot of fun along the way.
'Full of fabulous characters, sprinkled with joy and drenched in
wit.' Milly Johnson 'Funny and original with a cast of eccentric
characters, this debut novel is a tour de force. Not to be missed.'
Sunday Express 'A rich triumph of comic writing.' Waterstones.com
'One of the funniest, wittiest and most joyful books you will read
this year.' Lancaster Guardian
'An exciting, vividly-imagined reconstruction of an extraordinary
moment in the history of the American West' Ian McGuire,
bestselling author of THE NORTH WATER and INCREDIBLE BODIES 'A
highly compelling page turner; you won't be able to put it down'
Philipp Meyer, author of THE SON and AMERICAN RUST The thrilling,
long-awaited return of the #1 New York Times bestselling author of
The Revenant In 1866, with the country barely recovered from the
Civil War, new war breaks out on the western frontier - a clash of
cultures between a young, ambitious nation and the Native tribes
who have lived on the land for centuries. Colonel Henry Carrington
arrives in Wyoming's Powder River Valley to lead the US Army in
defending the opening of a new road for gold miners and settlers.
Carrington intends to build a fort in the middle of critical
hunting grounds, the home of the Lakota. Red Cloud, one of the
Lakota's most respected chiefs, and Crazy Horse, a young but
visionary warrior, understand full well the implications of this
invasion. For the Lakota, the stakes are their home, their culture,
their lives. Throughout this taut saga - based on real people and
events - Michael Punke brings the same immersive, vivid
storytelling and historical insight that made his breakthrough
debut so memorable. As Ridgeline builds to its epic conclusion, it
grapples with essential questions of conquest and justice that
still echo today.
The perfect murder mystery for fans of Richard Osman and Robert
Thorogood. 'Spotswood understands that [...] spending time with
unforgettable characters is paramount.' - New York Times 'A loving,
intricately plotted tribute to the great days of American noir.' -
Daily Mail New York, 1946: The last time Will Parker let a case get
personal, she walked away with a broken face, a bruised ego, and
the solemn promise never again to let her heart get in the way of
her job. But she called Hart and Halloway's Travelling Circus and
Sideshow home for five years, and Ruby Donner, the circus's
tattooed ingenue, was her friend. To make matters worse the prime
suspect is Valentin Kalishenko, the man who taught Will everything
she knows about putting a knife where it needs to go. To uncover
the real killer and keep Kalishenko from a date with the electric
chair, Will and Ms. Pentecost join the circus in sleepy Stoppard,
Virginia, where the locals like their cocktails mild, the past
buried, and big-city detectives not at all. The two swiftly find
themselves lost in a funhouse of lies as Will begins to realize
that her former circus compatriots aren't playing it straight, and
that her murdered friend might have been hiding a lot of secrets
beneath all that ink. Dodging fistfights, firebombs, and flying
lead, Will puts a lot more than her heart on the line in the search
of the truth. Can she find it before someone stops her ticker for
good? Praise for Stephen Spotswood: 'Razor-sharp, tons of flair. A
really good noir novel.' Tana French 'Spotswood's stellar debut
puts a modern spin on classic hard-boiled fiction. . . The deep and
sensitive characterization of the two protagonists, coupled with
rich description and tonally spot-on humour, make this a novel to
remember. Spotswood is definitely a writer to watch.' Publishers
Weekly 'This novel not only offers fun, offbeat characters and an
exceptional flavour of the time, it's utterly charming too.'
Woman's Weekly 'This hugely enjoyable debut is a deft melange of
Agatha Christie-style locked-room murder mystery and 1940s
Chandler-esque pulp crime fiction with a feisty narrator' Irish
Independent Review 'Persuasive in its attention to period detail
and dialogue, with well-constructed set piece scenes deftly staged,
this is a highly accomplished, auspicious first entry in what we
must hope will be a long-running series' The Irish Times
"A brilliant, deeply unsettling work." Books + Publishing. Jeff is
dying. Haunted by memories and grappling with shame, he runs away
to a remote part of Scotland with a piece of beta tech that allows
him to enter the mind of someone in the past. Instructed to only
use it three times, Jeff - self- indulgent, isolated and
deteriorating - ignores this advice. In the late 1860s, Leonora
lives in the Scottish Highlands, surrounded by nature.
Contemplating the social conventions that bind her, her contented
life and a secret romantic friendship with the local laird are
interrupted when her father sends her to stay with her aunt in
Edinburgh. But Leonora's ability to embrace her new life is
shadowed by a dark presence that begins to lurk behind her eyes,
and strange visions. A Superior Spectre is a novel about curiosity,
entitlement and manipulation. It reminds us that the scariest
ghosts aren't the ones that go bump in the night, but those that
are born and create a place for themselves in the human soul.
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Far Away Bird
(Hardcover)
Douglas A Burton; Illustrated by George Frei
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R676
Discovery Miles 6 760
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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