Chris Bean is a well-known Cornish fisherman participating daily in catching, marketing and industry issues for more than four decades. His passions are oil painting, geology and fitness. He has had the good fortune to serve as a fisheries consultant in many countries of the developing world. The fictional work of Dahab draws on his rich and varied experiences while working overseas with grass-roots people combined with the knowledge retained from his original profession as a mine geologist. Friends have described him as a hopeless romantic.

A young girl elopes to Manchester from an unhappy home in the Midlands. Pruella Fielding is transformed by a subterfuge, into a spectacularly mysterious journalist beyond her wildest dreams. But she is in danger from the step family she absconded from, who are intent on getting their hands on her deceased father's fortune in the only way possible - murder. Three men form part of her life. One her editor, the man behind her pseudonym 'Ella Child', her childhood sweetheart and a Yank from Boston. She is torn between remaining the quiet country girl with no pretentions, or the famous writer attracting all the media hype and a notoriety, which she fears will destroy her.

There are many facts and much imagination in this story and it is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. I know, but will you be able to find the difference?

Readers of "The Quilter's Apprentice" and "Round Robin" have been enchanted by "Elm Creek Quilt Camp, " where women gather each year for quilting, friendship, and fun. The third in the Elm Creek Quilts series introduces the "Cross-Country Quilters, " a group of far-flung friends who pledge to complete a "challenge quilt" -- symbolic of each woman's personal goals -- in one year's time.
These five women arrive at Elm Creek Manor hoping to find in their quilt lessons an escape from the problems they left at home. Julia, an aging starlet, has pinned her hopes to a plum role in a historical epic whose director is under the mistaken impression that Julia already knows how to quilt. Megan is a successful engineer who has won prizes for her miniature quilt designs. The one challenge she has yet to master is single motherhood. Donna, a mother of two, must hasten to teach her daughter independence and self-esteem -- lessons she, too, must take to heart. Grace is a renowned curator of antique quilts, whose creative flair is waning for reasons she is unwilling to reveal -- even to her closest friends. Vinnie, the senior member of the group, is a sunny soul with a tragic past. Her overwhelming desire is to bring happiness into the lives of those she loves.
Although the Cross-Country Quilters share a common creative goal, as the year goes by their bonds are tested by the demands of daily life. But despite differences in age, race, and background, the friends' love for quilting and affection for one another unite them in a patchwork of caring and acceptance. The quilt they make reminds them of an everlasting truth -- friends may be separated by great distance, yet the strength of their bond can transcend any obstacle.

An international bestseller and one of The Times' "Top 50 Novels Published in the 21st Century," Claire Keegan's piercing contemporary classic Foster is a heartbreaking story of childhood, loss, and love; now released as a standalone book for the first time ever in the USIt is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household--where everything is so well tended to--and this summer must soon come to an end.Winner of the prestigious Davy Byrnes Award and published in an abridged version in the New Yorker, this internationally bestselling contemporary classic is now available for the first time in the US in a full, standalone edition. A story of astonishing emotional depth, Foster showcases Claire Keegan's great talent and secures her reputation as one of our most important storytellers.

After being evicted from their home, fifteen year-old Lydia and her younger brother find themselves abandoned in a strange town just two days before Christmas. Left in the care of a family they had never known and stranded in the harsh winter of 1963, their future hangs in the balance. After qualifying as a nurse, Lydia marries doctor, Martin Fraser, but the catastrophic events of her wedding day have far-reaching consequences both for Lydia and her daughter, Naomi. Sixteen years later, Lydia's mother returns, anxious to mend the rift with her grown-up children. Can she achieve the reconciliation she craves without her children finding out her dark secret? Will Lydia ever forgive her mother for deserting her? Ashes on Fallen Snow is the final book in the Jeffson family trilogy. Additional material, in the form of an epilogue, offers an insight into the events that triggered the writing of the trilogy, which is based on a true story.

Celebrating Fifty Years of Picador Books I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane? Patrick Bateman has it all: good looks, youth, charm, a job on Wall Street, and reservations at every new restaurant in town. He is also a psychopath. A man addicted to his superficial, perfect life, he pulls us into a dark underworld where the American Dream becomes a nightmare . . . With an introduction by Irvine Welsh, Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho is one of the most controversial and talked-about novels of all time. A multi-million-copy bestseller hailed as a modern classic, it is a violent and outrageous black comedy about the darkest side of human nature. Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.

The year is 1999. The location is Reading, England. Cleo Howard is almost seventeen years old. Her primary concerns are sex, clothes, music, going to the pub and bosom growth. She's studying for her A Levels and is getting to grips with Sociology. She is regretting Biology. Despite this, it's going to be an exciting year. By the end of it she'll have seen Metallica, Ministry, Marilyn Manson, Venomous Lizzard, Napalm Death and Type O Negative. She'll have had sex in the same room as other people. She will have fought the feminist cause while on a field trip. A new shopping centre will open in her home town but she will prefer Camden. Luckily Cleo will have her boyfriend Barry and her constant companions Ian and Jenni to help her weather the storms of the end of the millennium.

Frankie Flynn is a hunted man. Hunted by a gang of murderous thugs, by the police, the Irish intelligence service, his best friend Joe, and his own ever-loving wife, Peggy. Even Frankie's dog is out to get him.He did nothing to bring any of this on himself. By nature he is a kind, selfless and public-spirited person. He goes out of his way to give advice and support to friends and neighbours, even when the bastards don't deserve it. All he ever asks is to be left in peace to watch football on the telly, and occasionally to stroll down to his local boozer, Magowan's, for a pint. It was Frankie who was the inspiration behind the establishment of the pub golf society. Now his personal reputation and prestige in the community rest on Magowan's beating a rival pub in a major golf challenge. How is he going to make this happen as a fugitive, cut off from all that he holds dear?

The Rangemore Hotel is a tired, Victorian hotel struggling to survive on the North Wales coastline. A coastline owned by the sea, loaned by the seas, and at any time, could be reclaimed by the sea. Equally as unpredictable as the sea are the fortunes of the owners and staff of the The Rangemore Hotel, the backdrop to: The Odd Noble Deed. Four people associated with this once-grand hotel tumble and crash into each other's lives. Passion, treachery and lies leave only two winners - or are they winners? - for to win one must truly value the prize.

Nicholas Winlett is one of the best astronauts in England and he is about to embark on a routine mission to the Moon. But behind his achievements and his charismatic smile, there lies the heart of a slime ball. During the procedure of the mission, Nicholas suffers a mysterious accident inside the shuttle and is rushed to hospital for treatment. But when the doctors cannot revive him, it becomes a terrible tragedy. So why aren't his colleagues or the village community of Abbington showing signs of sadness over his unexplained death? Nicholas's sudden death has intrigued one particular person and that is Nathan Smith. But as he begins to investigate, the mystery deepens when Professor Edward Baker is murdered in his home by an apparent intruder. Nathan is convinced that Professor Baker's murder is connected to Nicholas's mysterious accident. But can he break through the wall of silence to find the answers?

Childhood friends, Liwa Nile and Noel Glass grow up in Port Alfred bound by hope and pure love for each other. But their deep dark desires bring in sinister trails of lust, murder and unclassified sexual escapades to the heart of Melrose Arch.

When Liwa loses her beloved father, hear dear friend Noel comes to the rescue. As they grow their architecture business, it emerges that Noel is no ordinary painter. Her love for darkness quickly turns Liwa's wet bed into a nightmare.

With every break of dawn, a soul falls. More bodies are soon disappearing and their business is thriving.

Tyson Manson seeks sexual pleasure. So when a love affair boils over, he discovers more than expected. As he digs deeper into their past, more worms fill in the missing pieces. Will his findings destroy the bondages of a long-standing friendship?

THEY'RE BAAAAACK.

Their first caper, "The Spellman Files," was a "New York Times" bestseller and earned comparisons to the books of Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich. Now the Spellmans, a highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators, return in a sidesplittingly funny story of suspicion, surveillance, and surprise.

When Izzy Spellman, PI, is arrested for the fourth time in three months, she writes it off as a job hazard. She's been (obsessively) keeping surveillance on a suspicious next door neighbor (suspect's name: John Brown), convinced he's up to no good -- even if her parents (the management at Spellman Investigations) are not.

When the (displeased) management refuses to bail Izzy out, it is Morty, Izzy's octogenarian lawyer, who comes to her rescue. But before he can build a defense, he has to know the facts. Over weak coffee and diner sandwiches, Izzy unveils the whole truth and nothing but the truth -- as only she, a thirty-year-old licensed professional, can.

When not compiling Suspicious Behavior Reports on all her family members, staking out her neighbor, or trying to keep her sister, Rae, from stalking her "best friend," Inspector Henry Stone, Izzy has been busy attempting to apprehend the copycat vandal whose attacks on Mrs. Chandler's holiday lawn tableaux perfectly and eerily match a series of crimes from 1991A--92, when Izzy and her best friend, Petra, happened to be at their most rebellious and delinquent. As "Curse of the Spellmans" unfolds, it's clear that Morty may be on retainer, but Izzy is still very much on the case...er, cases -- her own and that of every other Spellman family member.

(Re)meet the Spellmans, a family in which eavesdropping is a mandatory skill, locks are meant to be picked, past missteps are never forgotten, and blackmail is the preferred form of negotiation -- all in the name of unconditional love.

For dreamer Clare, a chance encounter with old family acquaintance Marcus brings up haunting memories of a childhood holiday, as they try to come to terms with the events and magic that have shaped their lives. They meet by chance in a department store, having not seen one another since a long-ago summer in Guernsey that was marred by tragedy. He lost his son, Tom, in inexplicable circumstances; she was Tom's friend and the last person to see him alive. The novel flits backwards and forwards in time, from the present-day affair fuelled by grief and loneliness, to the summer when Tom went missing - a time filled with sunshine and enchantment, moving inexorably towards heartbreak. The Magic Places is a spellbinding tale of the power of stories and imagination.

This book continues and brings to a conclusion the story of Christina, a former nun, who left her convent after 30 years and started a business on the internet with a man she met on a computer dating site. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to a homeless charity.

Lily the Tiller is a nomadic gardener on the permanent lam from a bleak, abusive past. Scouring the lanes of South West England looking for temporary work, she pitches up at Motthoe, a now dilapidated, but once grand, country estate, where Dreamer Harry - Motthoe's reluctant owner via recent inheritance - falls for her with only the slimmest hopes of reciprocation. In Lily's care, a walled garden at Motthoe begins to blossom and the greening magic of this new life touches each of Motthoe's cast of idiosyncratic inhabitants. But, even in the midst of this community blossoming, dark hints and ill-omens suggest Lily's grim history can be run from no longer.

John Fish, the epitome of adventure, is designed to fuel the imagination of the young. And although the sea can be a formidable place at times John shows to the child at heart that fun and laughter, mixed with a little drama, abound where mermaids play.

A beautiful new limited edition paperback of The Song of Achilles, published as part of the Bloomsbury Modern Classics list The god touches his finger to the arrow's fletching. Then he breathes, a puff of air - as if to send dandelions flying, to push toy boats over water. And the arrow flies, straight and silent, in a curving, downward arc towards Achilles' back. Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, the boys develop a tender friendship, a bond which blossoms into something deeper as they grow into young men. But when Helen of Sparta is kidnapped, Achilles is dispatched to distant Troy to fulfil his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

'When it comes to tales about love, Nicholas Sparks is one of the undisputed kings' Heat Sometimes the end is just the beginning . . . From the author of The Notebook and See Me comes a beautiful story of heartbreak, strength and unconditional love that will capture your heart. Russell Green has it all: a loving family, a successful career and a beautiful house. But underneath his seemingly perfect world, cracks are beginning to appear . . . and no one is more surprised than Russ when the life he took for granted is turned upside down. Finding himself single-handedly caring for his young daughter, while trying to launch his own business, the only thing Russ knows is that he must shelter his little girl from the consequences of these changes. As Russ embarks on this daunting and unexpected new chapter of his life, a chance encounter will challenge him to find a happiness beyond anything he could ever have imagined. _____________________________ Praise for Nicholas Sparks: 'Pulls at the heartstrings' Sunday Times 'When it comes to tales about love, Nicholas Sparks is one of the undisputed kings' Heat 'An absorbing page-turner' Daily Mail 'A fiercely romantic and touching tale' Heat on The Longest Ride 'An A-grade romantic read' OK! on Safe Haven 'This one won't leave a dry eye' Daily Mirror on The Lucky One