You never forget the day you meet a serial killer.

Dan was just a teenager when he had a chance encounter with the elusive killer known only as “the man made of smoke”. Nobody could blame him for being too scared to intervene, for being too scared to save the latest victim, for letting the killer vanish again.

Nobody except Dan himself.

Years later, Dan has a successful career as a criminal psychiatrist, unpicking the very darkest of human behaviour. Because, despite what he saw that day, Dan knows there's no such thing as a monster.

But now his father, John, has gone missing. And, when Dan returns to the small island where he grew up, he finds out that not long before his disappearance, John had stumbled across a body.

As Dan begins to dig, he finds unsettling links, stretching all the way back to the man made of smoke.

Which means this might just be a chance to not only save his dad, but to finally find redemption.
But what if he's been wrong about that day for all these years.

What if he was right to be scared?

From the no.1 New York Times bestselling author of the genre-breaking international TikTok sensation Butcher & Blackbird and Leather & Lark comes the final book in the Ruinous Love Trilogy - a friends-with-benefits dark romantic comedy.

Murder.

Mayhem.

And spice.

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiance and his derailed surgical career. It's a simpler life: head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the real circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she's not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with an injured leg, Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up.

Late one night on a Yorkshire farm, a man is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar.

A plucky young journalist sets out to uncover the truth surrounding the attack, connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, an iconoclastic columnist, and a radical anarchist movement. She solves the mystery, but her viral longread expose raises more questions than it answers.

Universality is a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power. Through a voyeuristic lens, it focuses on words: what we say, how we say it, and what we really mean. The follow-up novel to Natasha Brown's Assembly is a compellingly nasty celebration of the spectacular force of language. It dares you to look away.

Whether it’s anxiety about the dentist, boiling rage when we’re stuck in traffic or devastation after a painful break-up, our lives are filled with situations that send us spiralling. But as difficult as our emotions can be, they are also a superpower. When they’re activated in the right ways and at the right time, they function like an immune system, alerting us to our surroundings, telling us how to react to a situation and helping us make the right choices.

But how do we make our emotions work for us rather than against us? Acclaimed psychologist Dr Ethan Kross has devoted his scientific career to answering this question. In Shift, he dispels common myths – for instance, that avoidance is toxic or that we should always strive to live in the moment – and provides a new framework for shifting our emotions so they don’t take over our lives.

Shift weaves groundbreaking research with riveting stories of people struggling and succeeding to manage their emotions – from a mother whose fear prompted her to make a spur-of-the-moment decision that would save her daughter’s life mid-flight to a nuclear code-carrying Navy SEAL who learned how to embrace both joy and pain during a hellish training activity. Dr Kross shows us that we already have access to a wide array of tools and demonstrates how to harness them to be healthier and more successful.

Filled with actionable advice, cutting-edge research and inspiring stories, Shift puts the power back into our hands, so we can control our emotions without them controlling us – and help others do the same.

From one of tech's boldest thinkers and his longtime deputy, this is a sweeping indictment of Silicon Valley and treatise on how the West has slid into a culture of complacency - even as we enter a new era of mounting global threats.

Once upon a time, the most brilliant engineering minds once collaborated with government to advance world-changing technologies. Their efforts secured the West's dominance and kept its people safe. Now, our relationship with new technologies has become shallow-and the repercussions could not be more perilous.

Today, engineers and founders build photo-sharing apps and marketing algorithms, furthering the ambitions of whoever can exploit them. This complacency has spread into academia, politics, and the boardroom. The result? An entire generation for whom the narrow-minded pursuit of the whims of a late capitalist economy has become their calling.

In this groundbreaking treatise, one of tech's boldest thinkers and his longtime deputy offer a searing critique of our collective abandonment of ambition. Palantir co-founder and CEO Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska argue that in order for the West to retain its global edge-and preserve the freedoms we take for granted-the software industry must renew its commitment to addressing our most urgent challenges, including the new arms race of artificial intelligence. Governmen , in turn, must embrace the most effective features of the engineering mindset that have propelled Silicon Valley's success.

Above all, leaders must reject intellectual fragility and preserve space for ideological confrontation. A willingness to risk the disapproval of the crowd, Karp and Zamiska contend, has everything to do with technological and economic outperformance.

At once iconoclastic and rigorous, this book will also lift the veil on Palantir and its broader political project from the inside, offering a passionate call for the West to wake up to our new reality.

Police Chief Jesse Stone investigates the mystery behind a dead body found strewn with photos of murder victims and placed on top of $2 million in cash, before a mob of hit men converge on Paradise.

Just another day in Paradise . . .

Chief of Police Jesse Stone is on his way home from a long shift when a call comes in for a welfare check on an elderly resident of the wealthy seaside town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Inside a house packed with junk and trash is a man’s dead body. It’s a sad, lonely end, but nothing criminal . . . until Jesse finds the photos of murder victims strewn around the corpse, on top of a treasure trove of $2 million in cash.

Jesse takes on the case and finds a trail leading to an aging mobster who will do whatever it takes to keep the past from coming to light. Before long, Jesse has a price on his head as hit men converge on Paradise to take back the cash and destroy any remaining evidence. But the real danger might be coming from inside his own department. Jesse Stone must unearth the truth buried under the wreckage of a dead man’s life . . . before he winds up in the ground himself.

A moving personal reflection from global philanthropist and bestselling author Melinda French Gates that encourages readers to stay true to themselves as they navigate transitions in their own lives.

In a rare window into some of her life’s pivotal moments, Melinda French Gates draws from previously untold stories to offer a new perspective on encountering transitions.

Transitions are moments in which we step out of our familiar surroundings and into a new landscape—a space that, for many people, is shadowed by confusion, fear, and indecision. The Next Day accompanies readers as they cross that space, offering guidance on how to make the most of the time between an ending and a new beginning and how to move forward into the next day when the ground beneath you is shifting.

In this book, Melinda will reflect, for the first time in print, on some of the most significant transitions in her own life, including becoming a parent, the death of a dear friend, and her departure from the Gates Foundation. The stories she tells illuminate universal lessons about loosening the bonds of perfectionism, helping friends navigate times of crisis, embracing uncertainty, and more.

Each one of us, no matter who we are or where we are in life, is headed toward transitions of our own. With her signature warmth and grace, Melinda candidly shares stories of times when she was in need of wisdom and shines a path through the open space stretching out before us all.

Have you ever had the sense that maybe all lives are nothing more than the chronicle of countless stinging might-have-beens that continue to haunt us?

In the scorching New York heat, a hundred people wait to be selected as jurors. Paul is reading a newspaper. Catherine is reading a novel. So begins a whirlwind flirtation: over cappuccinos in Manhattan and gallery trips to Chelsea, Paul and Catherine escape into the illusion of an Italian getaway. Their feelings quickly evolve into something deeper, something - as mature adults with lives of their own - Paul and Catherine must carry on in secret, with the understanding that anything more than a casual crush is out of the question.

But as the sultry summer week draws to a close, the end of their rendezvous comes into focus, and Paul and Catherine are forced to decide whether to act on their feelings or leave the fantasy of what could have been to the annals of the past.

You know where you want to go. You know you have it within you. You just need the courage to do it.

As a former Google executive and top career coach – who chased an attractive stranger off the train and later married him – Jenny Wood knows her way around courage. In this book, Wood shatters conventional wisdom about achieving your goals. She gives you permission to ditch your fear and chase after what you want, unapologetically.

Wood reclaims nine traits from their negative shackles and teaches you how to apply them in a savvy and compassionate way to supercharge your success, whether you’re trying to snag a promotion, launch a company or land a life-changing deal.

Wild Courage will teach you how to be:

• Weird: Win as you or lose as ‘who?’.
• Selfish: Be your own champion.
• Shameless: Beat impostor syndrome and self-promote with ease.
• Obsessed: Push, persist and perform at your highest level.
• Nosy: Get curious to network confidently and learn from others.
• Manipulative: Build influence with empathy and manage up like a pro.
• Brutal: Draw lines and stick to them. Embrace the power of no.
• Reckless: Err on the side of action and take healthy risks.
• Bossy: Steer others to success, even if you’re not in charge yet.

The brand new standalone blockbuster thriller from the number one bestseller.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stilwell has been "exiled" to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland.

But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found wrapped in plastic and weighed down at the bottom of the harbor. Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, he starts doggedly working the case.

Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.

She thinks it was murder.
But if she can’t trust herself, can anyone else? 

Nancy North and her boyfriend Felix are making the move across London to Harlesden. A new flat, a new area, a new start. Because while Nancy is fine now, she wasn’t fine before. But settling into the new flat and meeting the new neighbours isn’t helped by Felix’s hovering concern. She is all right. She is sticking to her breathing exercises and doctor-prescribed help. 

So, when their new neighbour Kira Mullan is found dead by suicide, Felix is understandably worried about Nancy’s frame of mind. But Nancy saw Kira the day before she died and she didn’t strike her as someone who was suicidal – she was upset and angry, yes, but was she upset and angry enough to take her own life? 

Nancy is the only one convinced that there’s more to Kira’s death than has been discovered. But all the police and the neighbours see is a vulnerable woman who isn’t sure of what she saw, and might even be imagining things . . . 

Is Nancy imagining things, or are there more questions that should be asked about the last days of Kira Mullan?

From the exceptionally original mind of CWA Gold Dagger Award winner and Booker-longlisted author Belinda Bauer, a sweeping tale of obsession, greed, ambition, and a crime that has remained unsolved for a hundred years.

It was the greatest mystery never told . . .

1926. On the towering cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. But when small and hungry Celie Sheppard finds an 'impossible' red egg, it will forever alter the course of her life - and the lives of others.

100 years later in a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort discovers his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.

A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skullduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer's status as one of our greatest living crime writers.

A brilliant reinvention of the detective novel, set in Renaissance Florence and packed with art, scandal, murder and scheming.

Florence, New Year’s Day 1557. As dawn breaks, a painter is discovered lying on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart.

Above him, the paintings he laboured over for more than a decade. At his home, a hidden painting scandalously depicting Maria de Medici, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Florence, as a naked Venus. Who is the murderer? Who is behind the painting? As the city erupts in chaos, Giorgio Vasari, the great art historian, is picked to lead the investigation.

Letters fly back and forth carrying news of political plots and speculation about the killer’s identity – between Maria and her aunt Catherine de’ Medici, the queen of France; between Catherine and her scheming agents in Florence; and between Vasari and his friend Michelangelo. Meanwhile, the Pope is banning books and branding works of art immoral. And the truth, when it comes to light, is as shocking as the bold new artworks that have made Florence the red-hot centre of Europe.

Bursting with characters and colour, Perspectives is a mystery like no other that shows us Renaissance Florence as we’ve never seen it before – a dazzling, hugely entertaining novel of court machinations, murder and art.

Some will know how it begins . . .

My name is Sandy.
My husband is Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.
But when I disappeared, even he couldn't find me . . .

This is my story.

There's more to Sandy than meets the eye. A woman with a dubious past, a complicated present and an uncertain future.
Then she was gone.

Some will think they know how it ends . . .

Her disappearance caused a nationwide search. Even the best detective on the force couldn't find her.
They thought she was dead.

But nobody knows this . . .

Where did she go? Why did she run? What would cause a woman to leave her whole life behind and
simply vanish?

For the first time the truth behind Sandy Grace’s dramatic disappearance is revealed. They Thought I Was Dead will thrill fans and new readers alike with its gripping story of a woman on the run. This is Sandy's story.

It's not dust she's looking for.
It's dirt.

Esmie is supposed to be invisible. Just a cleaner with a foreign accent that no one quite has time to place. Her uniform of leggings and a duster allows her to explore the homes of the wealthy, unseen; an outsider creeping around the edges of privilege.

But as she sweeps through the exclusive Woodlands gated neighbourhood, cleaning is the last thing on her mind. Treading silently over the polished wooden floorboards and cloud-soft carpets, Esmie gathers up the mess of broken marriages, quiet deceptions and careless failures. She tucks away their fragments, keeping them safe. For now.

Because one of the residents took from her the person she loves most. She’s not here to clean; she’s here for revenge – and she’ll get it using the weapons her employers unwittingly handed her along with the keys to their homes: their own secrets…

This beautifully sinister, propulsive page-turner that explores themes of identity and privilege is perfect for fans of Harriet Tyce and Lisa Jewell.

A heart-wrenching and unforgettable story of courage, friendship and resistance, inspired by the incredible true story of a Jewish ballroom dancer in Paris during WWII, perfect for fans of The Paris Library.

Paris, 1938. Annie Mayer arrives in France with dreams of becoming a ballerina. But when the war reaches Paris, she's forced to keep her Jewish heritage a secret. Then a fellow dancer offers her a lifeline: a ballroom partnership that gives her a new identity. Together, Annie and her partner captivate audiences across occupied Europe, using her newfound fame and alias to aid the Resistance.

New York, 2012. Miriam, haunted by her past, travels from London to New York to settle her great-aunt Esther's estate. Among Esther's belongings, she discovers notebooks detailing a secret family history and the story of a brave dancer who risked everything to help Jewish families during the war.

As Miriam uncovers Esther's life in Europe, she realises the story has been left for her to finish. Grappling with loss and the possibility of new love, Miriam must find the strength to reconcile her past and embrace her future.

Source Code describes with unprecedented candour Bill Gates’ life from his childhood in Seattle to dropping out of Harvard aged 20 in 1975. Shortly afterwards he wrote, with Paul Allen, the programme which became the foundation of Microsoft and eventually for the entire software industry, changing the way the world works and lives.

Gates writes about the centrality of family to his life – his encouraging grandmother and ambitious parents, about struggles to fit in, his rebelliousness, and the impact on him of the death of his closest friend. We see his extraordinary mind developing as a teenager, his excitement about the rapidly emerging technology of computing, and the earliest signs of his phenomenal business acumen.

Source Code is a warm, wise and revealing self-portrait of one of the most influential people of our age.

After the unsettling events of The Witches of Hogsback, Zelda Scott is very much grounded.

But when her best friend, Song, reconnects with a childhood friend turned social media star, Song manages to convince Zelda’s mom to let her tag along on a holiday to a secluded island in Sedgefield. Zelda soon finds herself the outsider in a group of glamorous teens with an unsettling dynamic. With no adults around, they indulge in endless partying—until the fun takes a deadly turn.

Cut off from the mainland by a raging wildfire and with their communication sabotaged, Zelda must confront a chilling reality: someone on the island is a killer. As people start to vanish and bodies begin to pile up, Zelda races against time to unmask the murderer. But
in a group where everyone harbours dark secrets, can she trust anyone?

Dive into this gripping young adult mystery thriller where every twist leaves you breathless and no one is safe.

Isabella voel nie soos die tradisionele beeldskone heldin wat jy op ’n silwerskerm gaan raaksien nie, want sy is ietwat sag om die kante en haar hare het ’n onbuigbare wil van hul eie. Sy besluit die tyd het aangebreek vir opwinding en avontuur, want sy wil nie meer stry teen die knaende begeerte in haar om skaamteloos aan die ontvangkant van ’n man se hartstogtelike liefde te wees nie.

Sy vlug uit die stad om van haar oorbeskermende ouers weg te kom en asem te skep in die oop ruimtes waar niemand vir haar voorskryf wat om te doen nie. Isabella soek ’n man wat haar voete onder haar gaan uitslaan en sy is vasbeslote om hom te kry. Iemand wat haar gaan liefhê vir wie sy in al haar volrondheid is. Tydens haar soektog ontmoet sy ’n hele paar mans wat nou nie almal eintlik as goeie mans met suiwer intensies beskou kan word nie. En wie is die geheimsinnige man wat oral onverwags opduik en pal op haar spoor bly?

Maar toe gebeur die ondenkbare tydens ’n gesinskrisis wat opduik. Al die geraamtes wat uit die kas begin tuimel dwing Isabella om tot stilstand te kom en die waarheid in die oë te staar. Sommige antwoorde kan ’n vrou net op haar knieë by die Here kry. Hulle sê die waarheid maak vry en die liefde bedek ’n menigte van sondes. Miskien sal die kronkelpaaie van Isabella se lewe haar ook na liefde en vryheid lei sodat selfs ’n verlore woestynblom soos sy kan blom.

An adorable story about resilience and self-belief.

Basil the bat doesn’t believe he can fly. No matter how hard he tries, he just can’t do it. But when a thundering storm threatens the safety of his beloved friend, Moth, will Basil find his wings and believe in the bat he CAN be?

A touching tale of friendship and bravery, perfect for having conversations about fears, resilience and self-confidence with little ones.

Jayne Ferguson has always been a keeper of secrets, most especially her own . . .

If there’s one thing Jayne Ferguson has learnt in her life, it’s that every blessing comes with a curse. She married the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda - but he’s a bully. She inherited her mother’s gift of second sight - but only ever forsees her fellow islanders’ deaths. She has learnt to keep to herself, treading in the shadows and shirking the highs for fear of the lows.

When a needless death strikes at the heart of her home, Jayne’s bad marriage becomes worse and she finds solace with an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalise her, though there’s no possibility for anything more, especially once word comes of St Kilda’s evacuation.

But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and her closest friends Effie, Mhairi and Flora are each implicated.

On the mainland, the villagers scatter into new lives, hoping distance means refuge. But then Jayne has another of her dreams and she knows the past isn’t done with them yet.

The mystery of St Kilda's residents are all revealed in The Midnight Secret. The Fourth and final book in Karen Swan's sweeping, bestselling Wild Isles series, following on from The Last Summer, The Stolen Hours and The Lost Lover.

Wanneer Suster Libby Lucas by Noordeberg Hospitaal begin werk, hoop sy dat dit vir haar ’n nuwe begin sal wees. En dat sy al haar geheime in die verlede sal kan los.

Maar dan word ’n verpleegsters vermoor – haar lyk in ’n oënskynlike uitbeelding van skoonheid gerangskik.

Skielik voel dit weer asof die onheil Libby agtervolg waar ook al sy gaan. En asof haar verstand met haar begin parte speel.

Loop die moordenaar in die hospitaal rond? En wie stuur dreigende briewe aan Libby oor haar verlede?

Once upon a time in the land of Oz, a green little girl was born...

ELPHIE: A WICKED CHILDHOOD is the captivating coming-of-age story of the most iconic witch ever to grace our screens and bookshelves.

Young Elphaba is destined to be a witch, she bears the markings from childhood. But what happened before her powers took hold?

Elphie is a girl like any other and no other. Nothing like her parents - one beautiful, the other pious - nor her saintly sister, Nessarose. Her skin is green, her mind is cunning. One day she will command this strange and wonderful world. For now, her journey is just beginning.

The road ahead is full of lessons and heartbreak, the first bruising attempts at friendship - and tantalising whispers of magic.

It will lead Elphie to the doors of Shiz University, and to the girl who will change her life forever...

The Dating Playbook is a sobering, matter-of-fact guide to navigating the dating scene, or mjolo as it is colloquially called. Known as the Peaceful One on TikTok, popular dating coach Dudu Nhlabathi-Madonsela is no stranger to teaching people how to win at mjolo and at love. Dudu’s teachings include advice on online dating etiquette, practical flirting and seduction techniques, as well as tips for measuring your progress.

She also explains how location, politics, socioeconomic issues and upbringing inform who and how we date. With an emphasis on understanding yourself first and being honest about what you want at various stages of your life, Dudu helps readers face the harsh realities of modern-day dating and shows them how to find their footing in the dating scene. In an era where you can be exposed to anything from a hobosexual to a high-value narcissist, she can safely say your mother’s advice just won’t do.

Whether you are dating or in a relationship, Dudu’s considered advice will show you the way.

The phenomenal fifth book in the Hunger Games series, this brand-new prequel focuses on a young Haymitch Abernathy!

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

A feature film for Sunrise On the Reaping is currently in production and is slated for release in November 2026.