And in that instant I fall in love. Not just with him, though he is the better part of it, but with them both, with the whole scene: the house, the garden, the magazine perfection of it. And I want very badly to be in this picture.As Edie Jones lies in a bed on the fourteenth floor of a Cambridge hospital, her adult daughter Dido tells their story, starting with the day that changed everything.That was the day when Dido - aged exactly six years and twenty-seven days old - met the handsome Tom Trevelyan, his precocious sister, Harry, and their parents, Angela and David.The day Dido fell in love with a family completely different from her own.Because the Trevelyans were exactly the kind of family six year-old Dido dreamed of. Normal. And Dido's mother, Edie, doesn't do normal. In fact, as Dido has learnt the hard way, normal is the one thing Edie can never be . . .

The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful evocation of twenty-first century America gives full rein to Margaret Atwood's devastating irony, wit and astute perception.

A tree and its impact on the inhabitants of a nearby cottage and manor house over the last century or so is the theme of this compelling tale. We enter a world where humans and spirits mingle with sometimes surprising results. The setting is the remote but beautiful wilds of the Yorkshire moors. You will come to understand the harshness of the winters and the tragedy the cottage and manor house has seen through the years; the pain and anguish of the residents is firmly lodged in the walls of thee buildings. What sights they have seen, what memories they hold, what a fertile breeding ground for the host of spirits and souls that burst from the pages of this surprising and original story. We discover a host of beings, and have the opportunity to enter the lives of a multitude of compelling characters as we journey from a time when living was usually simple and unsophisticated into the end of the last century where the focus of all our lives changed dramatically.

Treasure every moment. Life can change in a heartbeat.

What the fans say: 'Wonderful characters and the stories are always great, with twists and turns' Gemma

It’s a beautiful day in Manchester and four friends are meeting for a birthday lunch. But then they witness a shocking accident just metres away which acts as a catalyst for each of them.

For Laura, it’s a wake-up call to heed the ticking of her biological clock. Sensible Jo finds herself throwing caution to the wind in a new relationship. Eve, who has been trying to ignore the worrying lump in her breast, feels helpless and out of control. And happy-go-lucky India is drawn to one of the victims of the accident, causing long-buried secrets to rise to the surface.

This is a novel about the startling and unexpected turns life can take. It’s about luck – good and bad – and about finding bravery and resilience when your world is in turmoil. Above all, it’s about friendship, togetherness and hope.

2003, Singapore. Friendless and fatherless, sixteen-year-old Szu lives in the shadow of her mother Amisa, once a beautiful actress and now a hack medium performing seances with her sister in a rusty house. When Szu meets the privileged, acid-tongued Circe, an unlikely encounter develops into an intense friendship and offers Szu a means of escape from her mother's alarming solitariness.

Seventeen years later, Circe is struggling through a divorce in fraught and ever-changing Singapore when a project comes up at work: a remake of the cult seventies horror film series 'Ponti', the very project that defined Amisa's short-lived film career. Suddenly Circe is knocked off balance: by memories of the two women she once knew, by guilt, and by a past that threatens her conscience.

Told from the perspectives of all three women, Ponti is about friendship and memory, about the things we do when we're on the cusp of adulthood that haunt us years later. Beautifully written by debut author Sharlene Teo, and enormously atmospheric, Ponti marks the launch of an exciting new literary voice in the vein of Zadie Smith.

The Cast is an irresistible celebration of the strength of women, finding the courage to persevere in life's drama of heartbreak and joy, by the world's favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel.

Kait Whittier has built her magazine column into a hugely respected read followed by fans across the country. She loves her work and adores her grown children, treasuring the time they spend together. But after two marriages, she prefers to avoid the complications and uncertainties of a new love. Then, after a chance meeting with television producer Zack Winter, everything changes. Inspired by the true story of her own grandmother, Kait creates the storyline for a TV series. Within weeks, Kait is plunged into a colourful, star-studded world of actors and industry pros who will bring her vision to life, from the reclusive grand dame to LA's hottest bad boy actor. As secrets are shared and revelations come to light, the cast grows closer...

But in the midst of this charmed year, Kait is forced to confront the greatest challenge a mother could ever know and this unforgettable cast becomes more important to her than she ever could have imagined.

Once on the fringes of horror, the "zombie apocalypse," has become one of the most buzzworthy genres in popular culture. Now, in Day by Day Armageddon, J.L. Bourne delivers an intelligent, gripping thriller that will leave both new and die-hard zombie fans breathless--perfect for fans of The Walking Dead. Sporadic news reports indicate chaos and violence spreading through U.S. cities. An unknown evil is sweeping the planet. The dead are rising to claim the Earth as the new dominant species in the food chain.This is the handwritten journal depicting one man's struggle for survival. Trapped in the midst of global disaster, he must make decisions; choices that ultimately mean life, or the eternal curse to walk as one of them. Enter if you will into his world. The world of the undead.

The summer season theatre scene in Great Yarmouth and Brokencliff on Sea continues in this fourth novel by Tony Gareth Smith. Meet the stars that made the seaside come alive in the summer and the landladies that provided accommodation. The year is 1972 a c A galvanised bucket was found at the scene of the crime a " just who did survive the Golden Sands fire? a c Will the landladies of GAGGA be persuaded to use wholesaler a Murdell and Pococka ? a c Cupid has been busy firing arrows, but just who was in the firing line? a c Meet interior designer Sandie Cross as she does her best to dress up the outdated dA (c)cor of The Beach Croft Hotel a c Can the Sparrows Nest, Lowestoft be sure of a star line up for their summer season? a c Freda finds another perfume that should carry a health warning! a c Will the plays at The Little Playhouse help resurrect repertory at Brokencliff on Sea? a c Lady Samantha of Owlerton Hall plans some much needed restoration work on the crumbling building, with or without the support of Sir Harold a c Lilly Brockett plays a dangerous game a c Reverend George makes a life changing decision All of this and more can be found within the pages of a Backstagea , a trip back in time to gentler times when mobile meant being able to walk about. Also by the same author: Twice Nightly, To Catch a Falling Star and Curtains. All available on line from The Great British Bookshop (https://thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk), Amazon, Waterstones and all good on-line book retailers. Visit Tonya s website: www.twicenightly.net

Families - you can't live with them, you can't live without them. Rory Mullan hasn't seen his older brother Declan in ten years. He hasn't spoken to him in four. Which suits Rory just fine. Kind of. Well, most of the time anyway. After all, he has enough on his plate: a marriage in tatters, two grown up semi-estranged children and a rather dubious relationship with alcohol. So Declan's announcement that he is coming to visit Rory's London bachelor apartment fills him with misgivings. Deep misgivings. Which Declan will turn up? Declan the charmer? Declan the loveable if somewhat irresponsible rogue? Or Declan the right royal pain in the arse? What does the visit mean? A final shot at redemption? A reminder of dark days of Ireland's troubles? A chance to make sense of a broken past? Not Quite A Stranger explores with refreshing candour the pain and evasions that can lie at the heart of family and the disturbing working out of grief.

The Humptons is an entertaining tale of the inhabitants of two rival villages. It follows the lives of a number of the village members including the rumbustious titled owners of an ancient estate, a butler and his eastern mail order bride, several upright ladies and some not so upright, a professor, an artist and even a retired Brigadier. The book makes for perfect light reading and has a fun, entertaining atmosphere to it. The Humptons takes a fond look at life in a village community, touching on the many happenings and relationships that take place in a rural setting. However, it is not all sweetness and happiness, darker events play their part too in a disappearing way of life.

It was never the case of good people doing nothing; rather if they are prepared to cross the line and kill. After a chance meeting with two investigative journalists, Sam discovers that a man he hasn't seen for over twenty years and those he loves. Confronted with that realisation, he is led on a quest where he will be forced to take the long reach back and place his trust in someone who once betrayal him. But can he forgive that betrayal for the sake of a young child held by captors for whom violence holds no boundaries? And when Penny finds herself face to face with a date in history when the world was at war - a date that has become Sam's moral compass - little does she know that for one man, knowledge that of that moral compass, and that it is Sam's Achilles heel, will bring the two men together for one final showdown. The question is: who will walk away the victor and who will not?

You find strength when you’re at your weakest . . .

When Sydney’s husband dies, she is dealt another devastating blow. He never changed his will and she is forced to leave the beautiful home they shared. On a flight from Paris to New York, an emergency landing forces her into the arms of Paul Zeller. The pair bond over a shared love of fashion, and before long they go into business together. But Sydney’s daughters are less than impressed by their mother’s mysterious new acquaintance . . .

Offered a job at Paul’s high-street clothing chain, Sydney thinks her luck has turned. But when a scandal hits the company, it’s Sydney in the firing line. Humiliated, publicly shamed, destitute – Sydney hits rock bottom. There are only two choices: giving up or starting over. With the unwavering support of her daughters and the assistance of an unlikely business partner, Sydney discovers that her greatest adventure might still be to come . . .

Fall From Grace is an inspirational story about turning to family in times of trouble, by the world’s favourite storyteller, Danielle Steel.

Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies
With a new introduction by Tayeb Salih

‘An Arabian Nights in reverse … Powerfully and poetically written’ 
Observer

When a young man returns to his village in the Sudan after many years studying in Europe, he finds that among the familiar faces there is now a stranger – the enigmatic Mustafa Sa’eed. As the two become friends, Mustafa tells the younger man the disturbing story of his own life in London after the First World War. Lionized by society and desired by women as an exotic novelty, Mustafa was driven to take brutal revenge on the decadent West and was, in turn, destroyed by it. Now the terrible legacy of his actions has come to haunt the small village at the bend of the Nile.

The story of a man undone by a culture that in part created him, Season of Migration to the North is a powerful and evocative examination of colonization in two vastly different worlds.

The Darkest Day is the first novel in the five part Inspector Barbarotti series from renowned Swedish crime author Hakan Nesser. It's December in the quiet Swedish town of Kymlinge, and the Hermansson family are gathering to celebrate father Karl-Erik and eldest daughter Ebba's joint landmark birthdays. But beneath the guise of happy festivities, tensions are running high, and it's not long before the night takes a dark and unexpected turn . . . Before the weekend is over, two members of the Hermansson family are missing, and it's up to Inspector Barbarotti - a detective who spends as much of his time debating the existence of God as he does solving cases - to determine exactly what has happened. And he soon discovers he'll have to unravel a whole tangle of sinister family secrets in the process . . .

A rollicking, big-hearted story of long-lost love, friendship, and a life well-lived, set at a Florida retirement resort for queer women, on the last day of resident Hannah Cardin’s life.

It’s 2067 and Florida is partially underwater, but even that can’t bring down the residents of Palm Meridian Retirement Resort, a utopian home for queer women who want to revel in their twilight years. Inside, Hula-Hoopers shimmy across the grass, fiercely competitive book clubs nearly come to blows, and the roller-ski team races up and down the winding paths. Everywhere you look, these women are living large.

Hannah Cardin has spent ten happy years under these tropical, technicolor skies, but after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, she has decided that tomorrow morning she will close her eyes for the very last time. Tonight, however, Hannah and her raucous band of friends are throwing one hell of an end-of-life party. And with less than twenty-four hours left, Hannah is holding out for one final, impossible thing…

Amongst the guest list is Sophie, the love of Hannah’s life. They haven’t spoken since their devastating breakup over forty years ago, but today, Hannah is hoping for the chance to give her greatest love one last try.

As Hannah anxiously awaits Sophie’s arrival, her mind casts back over the highs and lows of her kaleidoscopic life. But when a shocking secret from the past is revealed, Hannah must reconsider if she can say goodbye after all.

Spanning the course of a single day and seventy-odd years, and bursting with irresistible hope, humor, and wisdom, this one-of-a-kind novel celebrates the unexpected moments that make us feel the most alive.

Have you seen the egg containing the last dinosaur? The last of any species contains great magical power. If this falls into the wrong hands, the results could turn the world upside down. It is ice age on Planet Earth, except on the island of Baratonea. There, the Grunts, Wermits and Fuzzards are enjoying life as usual, watched over by Lady Naomi in her blue pyramid. Things are about to change. The Old One needs their help against a deadly enemy. The Last Dinosaur is the first in a new series of beautifully illustrated children's adventure stories about the magical world of the Grunts and Wermits. Join the brave and fun-loving characters as they sail away to do battle with the evil Tartarus...

This unusual collection of stories ranges from the mysterious to the thought-provoking and the downright comic. As a retired social worker the author, whose schooling finished at the end of the Second World War, has brought to bear a lifetime of experience of the quirky side of human nature.

"Admissions. "Admission." Aren't there two sides to the word? And two opposing sides...It's what we let in, but it's also what we let out."

For years, 38-year-old Portia Nathan has avoided the past, hiding behind her busy (and sometimes punishing) career as a PrincetonUniversity admissions officer and her dependable domestic life. Her reluctance to confront the truth is suddenly overwhelmed by the resurfacing of a life-altering decision, and Portia is faced with an extraordinary test. Just as thousands of the nation's brightest students await her decision regarding their academic admission, so too must Portia decide whether to make her own ultimate admission.

"Admission" is at once a fascinating look at the complex college admissions process and an emotional examination of what happens when the secrets of the past return and shake a woman's life to its core.

Cats. Our oldest companions. They have befriended us, consoled us and given us many memories. No cat lover can doubt there is nothing quite as satisfying as the loyalty of a feline friend. But sometimes, it can go a little too far. Something that Dr Richard Cooper, recently widowed, is about to find out. The hard way. On a reminiscent fly fishing trip, Mr Gregory Rose is hunting the rainbow trout. But out on the loneliness of the lake, he discovers, to his dismay, that there is more than just fish that lurk in the depths. Sometimes ita s our own past that we cana t help but bring up to the surface.