Knights of the Skull is a full-color, graphic non-fiction series chronicling the development of the German Panzer (armored) forces in World War II. Volume 2 starts with the April 1941 Balkans and Greece campaigns, then moves into the planning and early months of Operation Barbarossa-the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. With detailed, and historically accurate illustrations of vehicles, uniforms, locations, and characters, this vivid chronicle of the early years of World War II in Europe is not only an artistic look at the war, but is also a concise history of Germany's influential approach to armored warfare. Tactics developed and executed during Germany's 1939-41 campaigns changed warfare forever, and were honed throughout the remaining years of the war.

England, 1940. Can Maggie keep her family - and her secret - safe? An emotional and heartbreaking wartime novel for fans of Diney Costeloe, Dilly Court and Mandy Robotham. When Maggie's new job takes her from bombed-out London to grand Snowden Hall in the Cotswolds she's apprehensive but determined to do her bit for the war effort. She's also keeping a secret, one she knows would turn opinion against her. Her mother is German: Maggie is related to the enemy. Then her evacuee sister sends her a worrying letter, missing the code they agreed Violet would use to confirm everything was well, and Maggie's heart sinks. Violet is miles away; how can she get to her in the middle of a war? Worse, her mother, arrested for her nationality, is now missing, and Maggie has no idea where she is. As a secret project at Snowden Hall risks revealing Maggie's German side, she becomes even more determined to protect her family. Can she find a way to get to her sister? And will she ever find out where her mother has been taken? Readers LOVE A Wartime Secret! 'A must for fans of WWII stories. It has everything I enjoy in a book. Intrigue, romance, adventure and true friendship. Highly recommended.' NetGalley reviewer, 'Gorgeous story. I really enjoyed it.' NetGalley reviewer, 'If you love wartime and family saga you will love this book.' NetGalley reviewer, 'Enjoyable... An entertaining, heart-warming novel that I can thoroughly recommend.' NetGalley reviewer, 'Plenty of twists (and some pleasingly teasing romances too)... Humour and spot-on period detail... Great fun to read... A hugely satisfying story. Highly recommended. NetGalley reviewer,

June 1945. Hitler has triumphed, Britain is under German occupation and America cowers under the threat of nuclear attack. In the dead of night, a figure flits through the ruins of Dryburgh Abbey, searching for a hidden document he knows could change the course of history. The journal he discovers, by a young soldier, David Erskine, records an extraordinary story. When the Allies drive the Germans out of France and victory seems imminent, Erskine is in Antwerp, where he witnesses a world-changing reversal of fortune. From a high vantage point, he watches a huge mushroom cloud rise over London: an atomic bomb has been detonated by the Germans in a last desperate roll of the dice. Captor becomes captive and Erskine is held as a POW in his own land. As the brutal grip of the occupying forces tightens, he is determined to join the resistance. A daring escape leads him and his fiancee Katie on a breathless chase to the university town of St Andrews, where the Germans have established a secret research laboratory. When it becomes clear what its purpose is, David, Katie and their small, trusted band must adopt a desperate and audacious plan to thwart Nazi domination . . .

A spy navigates the labyrinthine horrors of Nazi Germany, on a mission to save the woman he loves "Charyn's blunt, brilliantly crafted prose bubbles with the pleasure of nailing life to the page in just the right words. . . . [Cesare is] provocative, stimulating and deeply satisfying." -Washington Post On a windy night in 1937, a seventeen-year-old German naval sub-cadet is wandering along the seawall when he stumbles upon a gang of ruffians beating up a tramp, whose life he saves. The man is none other than spymaster Wilhelm Canaris, chief of the Abwehr, German military intelligence. Canaris adopts the young man and dubs him "Cesare" after the character in the silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for his ability to break through any barrier as he eliminates the Abwehr's enemies. Canaris is a man of contradictions who, while serving the regime, seeks to undermine the Nazis and helps Cesare hide Berlin's Jews from the Gestapo. But the Nazis will lure many to Theresienstadt, a phony paradise in Czechoslovakia with sham restaurants, novelty shops, and bakeries, a cruel ghetto and way station to Auschwitz. When the woman Cesare loves, a member of the Jewish underground, is captured and sent there, Cesare must find a way to rescue her. Cesare is a literary thriller and a love story born of the horrors of a country whose culture has died, whose history has been warped, and whose soul has disappeared. Jerome Charyn is the author of more than fifty works of fiction and nonfiction. Among other honors, he has received the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and his novels have been selected as finalists for the Firecracker Award and PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Charyn lives in New York.

Berlin, 1989. As the wall between East and West falls, Miriam Winter cares for her dying father, Henryk. When he cries out for someone named Frieda-and Miriam discovers an Auschwitz tattoo hidden under his watch strap-Henryk's secret history begins to unravel. Searching for more clues of her father's past, Miriam finds an inmate uniform from the Ravensbruck women's camp concealed among her mother's things. Within its seams are dozens of letters to Henryk written by Frieda. The letters reveal the disturbing truth about the 'Rabbit Girls', young women experimented on at the camp. And amid their tales of sacrifice and endurance, Miriam pieces together a love story that has been hidden away in Henryk's heart for almost fifty years. Inspired by these extraordinary women, Miriam strives to break through the walls she has built around herself. Because even in the darkest of times, hope can survive.

Magnus is a deeply moving and enigmatic novel about the Holocaust. Magnus is a man searching for his own identity, attempting to piece together the complex puzzle of his life. But his true story turns out to be closer to a painting by Edward Munch than the romantic tale of family heroism and self-sacrifice on which he was nurtured by the woman he believed was his mother. In Magnus, Sylvie Germain uses imagination and intuition to unlock the enigma of human life and confer on history the power of myth and fable.

'A wonderfully crafted masterpiece' Melanie Blake 'A delightful cast of characters' Woman's Weekly Praise for Alex Brown: 'An intriguing story you will love' Jill Mansell 'The cleverly entwined stories kept me turning the pages' Trisha Ashley 'I adored it' Lesley Pearse 'Evocative and engaging ... a story to fall in love with.' Cathy Bramley 'A warm, emotional tale of love, friendship and following your heart.' Milly Johnson 1940: Beatrice Crawford left her safe life in England to nurse the soldiers in the fields of France during the Great war. Once the war was over, she never returned home, and during the darkest days of WW2, her beloved Paris is occupied by the Nazi's. Beatrice must once again do her bit, but who can she trust in this dangerous new world? Present day: Keen to put the spark back into her life, Annie Lovell volunteers to investigate her neighbour's inherited apartment in Paris. There she discovers a bundle of secret diaries hidden within its walls. Captivated by the City of Light, Annie must piece together the events from the past if she is to fulfil the legacy that Beatrice left for her to find...

It is 1940 and twenty-year-old Charlotte Richmond watches from her attic window as enemy planes fly over London. Still grieving her beloved brother who never returned from France, she is working hard to keep her own little life ticking over: holding down a dull typist job at the Ministry of Information, sharing gin and confidences with her best friend Elena, and dodging her difficult father. She has good reason to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. She knows what happens when she makes a nuisance of herself. On her way to work she often sees the boy who feeds the birds - a source of unexpected joy amidst the rubble of the Blitz. But every day brings new scenes of devastation, and after yet another heartbreaking loss Charlotte has an uncanny sense of foreboding. Someone is stalking the darkness, targeting her friends. And now he is following her. She no longer knows who to trust. She can't even trust herself. She knows this; her family have told so her often enough. As grief and suspicion consume her, Charlotte's nerves become increasingly frayed, and soon her very freedom is under threat . . . Riveting and deeply moving, The Midnight News is a tour de force from Sunday Times bestselling author Jo Baker - a breathtaking story of friendship, love and war.

'Historical fiction of a high order' The Times Barely half of the Bomber Command's aircrews survive a full tour, but wireless operator Billy Angell has beaten the odds and completed his 30th - and final - mission. Now, Billy is due two-weeks leave, a posting to a training squadron and a six-month exemption from active duty. Except that MI5 need an airman to drop into Nazi-occupied France. MI5 are interested in Helene Lafosse, a Frenchwoman keeping unusual company in her small family chateau in the depths of the Touraine. Helene has begun an affair with a senior Abwehr intelligence officer, who, in return, has turned a blind eye to the succession of Jews, refugees, resistance fighters and downed Allied airmen to whom she offers shelter. MI5 believe they can exploit this relationship and plant a false lead about the anticipated allied invasion of northern France. It falls to Billy, playing a downed airman, to find Helene, to win her confidence and to plant a lie that will only make sense to her German lover. But this time, Billy isn't flying at 20,000 feet and he won't be able to escape the incendiary consequences of his actions. Aurore is part of the SPOILS OF WAR Collection, a thrilling, beguiling blend of fact and fiction born of some of the most tragic, suspenseful, and action-packed events of World War II. From the mind of highly acclaimed thriller author GRAHAM HURLEY, this blockbuster non-chronological collection allows the reader to explore Hurley's masterful storytelling in any order, with compelling recurring characters whose fragmented lives mirror the war that shattered the globe. 'Hurley's capable and understated characterization makes his lead's story plausible and engaging' Publishers Weekly

'Historical fiction of a high order' The Times Spring, 1941. The war in the West is as good as won. Nation after nation has fallen before the Reich's armies. Only Britain endures, her cities under nightly bombardment from the Luftwaffe. Berlin would happily call off the bombers in exchange for a peace treaty. Hitler would like to persuade Britain to turn her back on Europe, to attend to her precious Empire instead, to allow Germany a free hand to deal with the real enemy in the East. Peace, perhaps, but at what cost? For Churchill the price is too high; but for others within the British establishment, it is a price worth paying. On both sides of the channel, advocates of total war or peace-at-all-costs are at each others' throats - all unaware that Rudolf Hess, Hitler's quiet, contemplative deputy, has already taken radical steps to change the fortunes of the war... Raid 42 is part of the SPOILS OF WAR Collection, a thrilling, beguiling blend of fact and fiction born of some of the most tragic, suspenseful, and action-packed events of World War II. From the mind of highly acclaimed thriller author GRAHAM HURLEY, this blockbuster non-chronological collection allows the reader to explore Hurley's masterful storytelling in any order, with compelling recurring characters whose fragmented lives mirror the war that shattered the globe.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of the year! London, 1938. As the festive season approaches at the luxurious Buckingham Hotel, romance is in the air. The hotel staff are preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime event - the marriage of chambermaid Nancy Nettleton to debonair demonstration dancer Raymond de Guise. As wreaths are hung and carols are sung, life at the hotel is busier than ever. Guests arrive from around the world, seeking comfort, relaxation and refuge as tensions build across Europe and whispered rumours of war grow louder. Behind the scenes, the staff work tirelessly, ensuring the smooth operation of the hotel, not only keeping the confidences of their guests, but also protecting their own secrets . . . As Raymond takes Nancy in his arms for their first dance, one thing is certain - this will be a Christmas to remember. Be swept away by the new breath-taking romantic novel from Sunday Times bestselling author and Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke. "A novel that's like a hug!" Phillip Schofield

Coventry, 1941. The morning after one of the worst nights of the Blitz. Twenty-two-year-old Rose enters the remains of a bombed house to find her best friend dead. Shocked and confused, she makes a split-second decision that will reverberate for generations to come. More than fifty years later, in modern-day Brighton, Rose's granddaughter Lara waits for the return of her eighteen-year-old son Jay. Reckless and idealistic, he has gone to Iraq to stand on a conflict line as an unarmed witness to peace. Lara holds her parents, Mollie and Rufus, partly responsible for Jay's departure. But in her attempts to explain their thwarted passions, she finds all her assumptions about her own life are called into question. Then into this damaged family come two strangers - Oliver, a former faith healer, and Jemmy, a young woman devastated by the loss of a baby. Together they help to establish a partial peace - but at what cost?

One of the Claridge's kitchen porters is found dead - strangled. He was a recent employee who claimed to be Romanian, but evidence suggests he may have been German. Detective Chief Inspector Coburg has to find out exactly who he was, and what he was doing at Claridge's under a false identity. Once he has established those facts, he might get an insight into why he was killed, and who by. Coburg's job is complicated by the fact that so many of the hotel's residents are exiled European royalty. King George of Greece is registered as 'Mr Brown' and even the Duke of Windsor is staying, though without Wallis Simpson. Clandestine affairs, furtive goings-on and conspiracies against the government: Coburg must tread very lightly indeed .

THE TULIP TEAROOMS is a heartwarming and poignant saga from Pam Evans, set in London just after the Second World War. Perfect for readers of Kitty Neale, Katie Flynn and Dilly Court. The Second World War is finally over when Lola Brown meets Harry Riggs at a dance. It is love at first sight but when Harry tells Lola that he is a policeman, her heart sinks. Lola's father is a petty criminal, and if Harry ever finds out and turns him in, it will destroy her family... Harry reluctantly accepts that Lola doesn't want to see him again, and eventually starts to find happiness without her. In the meantime, Lola encounters the eccentric Pickford sisters and sets about transforming their run-down tearooms in London's West End, only to find her own life transformed as well. Despite everything, Harry and Lola continue to feel drawn to each other, but the truth about Lola's family can't stay hidden for ever...

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW 'Banville writes dangerous and clear-running prose and has a grim gift of seeing people's souls.' DON DELILLO 'Crime writing of the finest quality, elegant, distinctive and utterly absorbing.' Daily Mail 'John Banville is one of the best novelists in English.' Guardian '[The Strafford and Quirke series] promises to elevate the crime novel to new artistic heights.' Financial Times The Sunday Times bestselling author of Snow and April in Spain returns with Strafford and Quirke's most troubling case yet. 1950s Dublin, in a lock-up garage in the city, the body of a young woman is discovered, an apparent suicide. But pathologist Dr Quirke and Detective Inspector Strafford soon suspect foul play. The victim's sister, a newspaper reporter from London, returns to Dublin to join the two men in their quest to uncover the truth. But, as they explore her links to a wealthy German family in County Wicklow, and to investigative work she may have been doing in Israel, they are confronted with an ever-deepening mystery. With relations between the two men increasingly strained, and their investigation taking them back to the final days of the Second World War, can they join the pieces of a hidden puzzle?

It is the 1930s, and young John Wilkins has been taught to fly by his ex-Royal Flying Corps father. He longs to fly in battle, but his Christian beliefs bring him into a pastoral role. When conflict looms in the shape of World War II, he has to make a hard decision. Should he continue to shepherd the flock in his village church, or should he apply for a pilot's job in RAF Fighter Command, where the need for experienced pilots is growing? An absorbing story about a fictional character set in a factual historical setting.

"The innocence of childhood collides with the stark aftermath of war in this wrenching and ultimately redemptive tale of family, seemingly impossible choices, and the winding paths to destiny, which sometimes take us to places far beyond our imaginings." - Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Before We Were Yours and The Book of Lost Friends "Ardone's beautifully crafted story explores the meaning of identity and belonging...recommended to fans of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels." - The Library Journal "[The Children's Train] leaves you with a great sense of the importance of family and the tough decisions that must be faced as a result of that love." - Shelf Awareness Based on true events, a heartbreaking story of love, family, hope, and survival set in post-World War II Italy-written with the heart of Orphan Train and Before We Were Yours-about poor children from the south sent to live with families in the north to survive deprivation and the harsh winters. Though Mussolini and the fascists have been defeated, the war has devastated Italy, especially the south. Seven-year-old Amerigo lives with his mother Antonietta in Naples, surviving on odd jobs and his wits like the rest of the poor in his neighborhood. But one day, Amerigo learns that a train will take him away from the rubble-strewn streets of the city to spend the winter with a family in the north, where he will be safe and have warm clothes and food to eat. Together with thousands of other southern children, Amerigo will cross the entire peninsula to a new life. Through his curious, innocent eyes, we see a nation rising from the ashes of war, reborn. As he comes to enjoy his new surroundings and the possibilities for a better future, Amerigo will make the heartbreaking choice to leave his mother and become a member of his adoptive family. Amerigo's journey is a moving story of memory, indelible bonds, artistry, and self-exploration, and a soaring examination of what family can truly mean. Ultimately Amerigo comes to understand that sometimes we must give up everything, even a mother's love, to find our destiny. Translated from the Italian by Clarissa Botsford