The Vacant Casualty is not prepared, authorized, licensed, approved, or endorsed by the author or the publishers of The Casual Vacancy.

Nothing ever seems to happen in the sleepy English town of Mumford -- unless you count the man with the axe in his back, staggering down the street getting blood everywhere and leaving a vacancy on the Parish Council...

Into the fray steps Detective Inspector Bradley of the C.I.D. Although he appears to be a plodding buffoon, incapable of detecting his own backside, that is exactly what he is. But when he teams up with an alcoholic, drug-addled writer researching a detective novel, together they will blunder towards the identity of the 'vacant casualty'. They just hope to get there before everyone in the town is murdered.

In this potty-mouthed, depraved, disrespectful parody, strewn with casual violence and sexual deviancy, you will discover aliens, farting tea-ladies, car chases, serial killers and lashings and lashings of tortoise milk. But no immigrants. This is the countryside, after all.

Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers and Jessie Keane, this gangland thriller shows how far one woman will go to protect her family's empire. ___________Most authors write what they know. Linda Calvey writes what she lived. After Ruby's husband, Archie, is brutally murdered, she is distraught. But with an empire to run, Ruby has no time for tears. Determined to keep her family safe, she sends her beloved daughter Cathy away, far from the violence and secrets. As Ruby fights off the affections of her business partner, Vladimir, as well as attacks from local gangs, she knows the game is too dangerous to stay in forever. But who can be trusted, and who is out for blood? In Ruby's empire, family is everything. So, when Cathy gets into trouble, Ruby vows to protect her, whatever the cost. IF YOU COME FOR THE QUEEN, YOU'D BETTER NOT MISS... ___________ WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE LOCKSMITH: 'Up there with the best' 'A brilliant, gripping story which captured me from the first page' 'I could not put it down!' 'Wish I could give it more than five stars!' 'Action-packed and full of drama till the very end'

The Witch’s Heart meets The Foxglove King in this debut fantasy about a woman who can bring people back from the dead, and the princess she must protect, no matter the cost.

The first time Hellevir visited Death, she was ten years old…

Since she was a little girl, Hellevir has been able to raise the dead. Every creature can be saved for a price, a price demanded by the shrouded figure who rules the afterlife, who takes a little more from Hellevir with each soul she resurrects.

Such a gift can rarely remain a secret. When Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the kingdom’s throne, is assassinated, the Queen summons Hellevir to demand she bring her granddaughter back to life. But once is not enough; the killers might strike again. The Princess’ death would cause a civil war, so the Queen commands that Hellevir remain by her side.

But Sullivain is no easy woman to be bound to, even as Hellevir begins to fall in love with her. With the threat of war looming, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the princess alive.

But Death will always take what he is owed.

The brilliant new novel in the "New York Times" bestselling series by Louise Penny, one of the most acclaimed crime writers of our time No outsiders are ever admitted to the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec, where two dozen cloistered monks live in peace and prayer. They grow vegetables, they tend chickens, they make chocolate. And they sing. Ironically, for a community that has taken a vow of silence, the monks have become world-famous for their glorious voices, raised in ancient chants whose effect on both singer and listener is so profound it is known as "the beautiful mystery." But when the renowned choir director is murdered, the lock on the monastery's massive wooden door is drawn back to admit Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec. There they discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. One of the brothers, in this life of prayer and contemplation, has been contemplating murder. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between. "The Beautiful Mystery" is the winner of the 2012 Agatha Award for best novel, the 2013 Anthony Award for best novel and the 2013 Macavity Award for best novel.

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.

The new spellbinding and enchanting story set in Renaissance Venice, from the internationally acclaimed author of Tomorrow 'A glorious, exuberant summer read; Damian Dibben's triumph is the character of Zorzo, a buoyant, loveable guide to the grandeur and the dangers of Renaissance Venice' THE TIMES 'Addictive, ambitious and knife sharp. A compelling thriller and a celebration of art. Ravishing' RACHEL JOYCE 'An engaging thriller and a compelling exploration of an artist's obsession with love and colour' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'An alluring Renaissance mystery of rivalry in love and art, where the gothic dank darkness of Venice is steeped in dreams of exquisite colour' ESSIE FOX 'Art and ambition, love and obsession all come into play in this compelling and spellbinding tale set in Renaissance Venice' STYLIST 'An intoxicating story about an incredible period in history' SUN 'A terrific book . . . Absorbing, exciting and, dare I say it, colourful. An original tale told beautifully' A. D. SWANSTON _______ Enter the world of Renaissance Venice, where the competition for fame and fortune can mean life or death... Artists flock here, not just for wealth and fame, but for revolutionary colour. Yet artist Giorgione 'Zorzo' Barbarelli's career hangs in the balance. Competition is fierce, and his debts are piling up. So when Zorzo hears a rumour of a mysterious new pigment, brought to Venice by the richest man in Europe, he sets out to acquire the colour and secure his name in history. Winning a commission to paint a portrait of the man's wife, Sybille, Zorzo thinks he has found a way into the merchant's favour. Instead he finds himself caught up in a conspiracy that stretches across Europe and a marriage coming apart inside one of the city's most illustrious palazzos. As the water levels rise and the plague creeps ever closer, an increasingly desperate Zorzo isn't sure whom he can trust. Will Sybille prove to be the key to Zorzo's success, or the reason for his downfall? Atmospheric and suspenseful, and filled with the famous artists of the era, The Colour Storm is an intoxicating story of art and ambition, love and obsession. _______ Praise for Damian Dibben 'An epic tale of love, of courage, of hope' Evening Standard 'Bask in the brilliance' The Mail on Sunday

An extraordinarily compelling debut--ghost stories that grapple with the legacy of the Vietnam War
A beautiful young woman appears fully dressed in an overflowing bathtub at the Frangipani Hotel in Hanoi. A jaded teenage girl in Houston befriends an older Vietnamese gentleman she discovers naked behind a dumpster. A trucker in Saigon is asked to drive a dying young man home to his village. A plump Vietnamese-American teenager is sent to her elderly grandmother in Ho Chi Minh City to lose weight, only to be lured out of the house by the wafting aroma of freshly baked bread. In these evocative and always surprising stories, the supernatural coexists with the mundane lives of characters who struggle against the burdens of the past.
Based on traditional Vietnamese folk tales told to Kupersmith by her grandmother, these fantastical, chilling, and thoroughly contemporary stories are a boldly original exploration of Vietnamese culture, addressing both the immigrant experience and the lives of those who remained behind. Lurking in the background of them all is a larger ghost--that of the Vietnam War, whose legacy continues to haunt us.
Violet Kupersmith's voice is an exciting addition to the landscape of American fiction. With tremendous depth and range, her stories transcend their genre to make a wholly original statement about the postwar experience.
Praise for "The Frangipani Hotel"
" "
" A] sparkling debut . . . These are stories written from wildly different perspectives, and yet the ghosts feel vitally familiar. There's a lightness of touch to these stories, which are playful and wise, an astonishing feat for a young writer who graduated from Mount Holyoke College three years ago."--"Chicago Tribune"
"In this auspicious volume, Kupersmith has reshaped and womanhandled traditional Vietnamese folktales that her grandmother told her into a wildly energetic, present-tense fusillade of short stories. . . . In perhaps the most pungent story here, a young woman who works the graveyard shift stocking shelves at Kwon's World Grocery in suburban Houston befriends an old man she finds standing naked beside a Dumpster. His problem: He occasionally turns into a fourteen-foot python. 'I am just a very old man who is sometimes a python, ' the man tells the woman. 'But you, my child, are a creature far more complex.' One might suspect that Kupersmith, who is working on her first novel, is that creature."--Ben Dickinson, "Elle"
"Violet Kupersmith has woven together culture, tradition, family, and ghosts to create a series of short stories that are as fresh as they are mesmerizing. These stories will haunt you long after the last words have drifted off the page."--Lisa See
"Surgically precise and feverishly imaginative."--Tea Obreht, author of "The Tiger's Wife"
"What is most haunting in Kupersmith's nine multilayered pieces are not the specters, whose tales are revealed as stories within stories, but the lingering loss and disconnect endured by the still living. . . . A] mature-beyond-her-years debut."--"Library Journal "(starred review)
"These polished stories mark Kupersmith, who is in her early twenties, as one to watch."--"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
"Each of the stories is replete with characters both fabulous and ordinary, stories out of this world and firmly rooted in it. Each is meticulously told by a storyteller talented and wise beyond her years."--"Shelf Awareness"

"From the Hardcover edition."

'There are two major stars in this book, the laconic private eye Daniel Leicester and the city of Bologna itself. Tom Benjamin mixes these ingredients perfectly making Italian Rules a really great read.' Ian Moore, author of DEATH AND CROISSANTS When Hollywood comes to Bologna, La Dolce Vita turns sweet murder... A famous Hollywood director arrives in Bologna to remake a cult film and the city's renown cinema archive decides to mark the occasion with a screening of the original, only to discover it has disappeared. After English detective Daniel Leicester follows the trail of Love on a Razorblade to an apparent murder-suicide, he begins to suspect there may be more at stake than missing negatives - could the film contain a clue to one of the city's most enduring mysteries? Together with a star from the forthcoming remake, Daniel moves from the glamour of Venice Lido to the depths of Bologna's secret tunnel system as a sinister network closes in and he learns some people are ready to kill for the ultimate director's cut. Praise for Italian Rules ' Benjamin skilfully combines a cracking crime novel with a love letter to Italian cinema . . . Italian Rules is an absolute treat' Trevor Wood Praise for Tom Benjamin 'The locale is brought to life . . . the plot keeps you guessing' The Times 'A slow-burning, tense and brooding thriller' The Herald Scotland 'Tom Benjamin's debut novel blows the lid off a political cauldron in which Leftist agitators, property moguls, the police and city elders struggle for survival and dominance' Daily Mail 'It's an immensely promising debut, which leaves the reader feeling they really know the city.' Morning Star 'Another great crime novel set in Bologna' Reader Review 'The mystery smolders away nicely and the wrap-up throws some curve balls. Another indulgent offering in this rewarding series.' Reader Review

In 1973 Sophie Neville was cast as Titty alongside Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser and Suzanna Hamilton in the film Swallows & Amazons. Made before the advent of digital technology, the child stars lived out Arthur Ransome's epic adventure in the great outdoors without ever seeing a script. Encouraged by her mother, Sophie Neville kept a diary about her time filming on location in the lakes and mountains of Cumbria. Bouncy and effervescent, extracts from her childhood diary are interspersed among her memories of the cast and crew as well as photographs, maps and newspaper articles, offering a child's eye view of the making of the film from development to premiere - and the aftermath.

One hundred years. Seventeen assassins. One hell of a ride.

Agent Seventeen, the most infamous hitman in the world, has quit. But whoever wants to become Assassin Eighteen must track him down and kill him first. So when a bullet hits the glass inches from his face, he knows who fired it - doesn't he?

But the sniper isn't the hardened killer he was expecting. It's Mireille - a mysterious, silent child, abandoned in the woods with instructions to pull the trigger.

Reuniting with his spiky lover, Kat, Seventeen must protect Mireille, and discover who sent her to kill him, and why.

But the road he must travel is littered with bodies. And the answer, when it comes, will blow apart everything Seventeen thought he knew.

The much-anticipated final instalment of the Wool trilogy. 'The next Hunger Games' The Sunday Times 'Thrilling, thought-provoking and memorable ... one of dystopian fiction's masterpieces alongside the likes of 1984 and Brave New World.' Daily Express In the aftermath of the uprising, the people of Silo 18 are coming to terms with a new order. Some embrace the change, others fear the unknown; none have control of their fate. The Silo is still in danger. There are those set on its destruction. Jules knows they must be stopped. The battle has been won. The war is just beginning.

A laugh-out-loud-funny, addictive book book about growing up, finding your purpose and whether everyone really does have a novel within them.

An Australian expat in Berlin, Kim is jobless, rootless, and – as she’s slowly discovering – somewhat useless. That is until a chance encounter with Matthew, a hotshot New York literary agent, gives Kim the direction she’s been craving.

This year she will:

• Finally write her novel
• Decide what said novel is actually about
• Romantically pin down the increasingly flighty Matthew
• Be less jealous of best friend Bel’s baby
• Convince her therapist that the amount of artichokes she eats doesn’t classify as an eating disorder
• Stay sane in the process of achieving the above

Because Kim’s story will not become a sad girl novel. Definitely not.

From six bestselling authors, including New York Times bestseller Kate Quinn, comes a vividly imagined novel following the lives of those in ancient Pompeii on the fateful day Mount Vesuvius erupts.

Pompeii was a lively resort flourishing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius at the height of the Roman Empire. When Vesuvius erupted in an explosion of flame and ash, the entire town would be destroyed. Some of its citizens died in the chaos, some escaped the mountain’s wrath . . . and these are their stories:

A boy loses his innocence in Pompeii’s flourishing streets. An heiress dreads her wedding day, not knowing it will be swallowed by fire. An ex-legionary stakes his entire future on a gladiator bout destined never to be finished. A crippled senator welcomes death, until a tomboy on horseback comes to his rescue. A young mother faces an impossible choice for her unborn child as the ash falls. A priestess and a prostitute seek redemption and resurrection as the town is buried.

Six authors bring to life overlapping stories of patricians and slaves, warriors and politicians, villains and heroes who cross each other’s paths during Pompeii’s fiery end. But who will escape, and who will be buried for eternity?

An epic new romance from Rowan Coleman, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Memory Book and We Are All Made of Stars.

Ben Church has never done anything extraordinary in his life -- until now. Now, he needs to fulfil as many of his dreams as possible while he still can. That's why he's standing in front of his favourite painting by Leonardo da Vinci when he should be at work.

Vita Ambrose's life of parties and fabulous clothes looks wildly glamorous but in reality it has no meaning. She's seen too much, lived too much and lost too much. That's why she's come back to the gallery, to seek solace in her favourite painting.

Ben and Vita's connection is immediate, spontaneous and passionate. But the clock is ticking. Can they find a way to make their love live forever? Because every moment matters when it might be your last . . .

Newlyweds face the unimaginable in this epic tale about marriage, motherhood, and enduring love.

For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams.

At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with a college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds. Woven throughout this bold novel is the story of Wren’s mother, Angela, who becomes pregnant with Wren at fifteen in an abusive relationship amidst her parents’ crumbling marriage. In the present, all of Wren’s grief eventually collides, and she is forced to make an impossible choice.

A sweeping love story that is at once lyrical and funny, airy and visceral, Shark Heart is an unforgettable, gorgeous novel about life’s perennial questions, the fragility of memories, finding joy amidst grief, and creating a meaningful life. This daring debut marks the arrival of a wildly talented new writer abounding with originality, humor, and heart.

For fans of Tess Gerritsen and Kathy Reichs comes a gripping debut thriller introducing Camden's most exciting new forensic investigator. 'SPELLBINDING STORYTELLING' VAL MCDERMID 'A FIRST-RATE CRIME NOVEL ... I LOVED IT' ELLY GRIFFITHS 'LIKE SILENT WITNESS BUT MUCH MORE BELIEVABLE' SUSI HOLLIDAY **DON'T MISS CASSIE RAVEN'S NEXT MYSTERY, CASE SENSITIVE, AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW!** Mortuary technician Cassie Raven believes the dead can talk. We just need to listen . . . Cassie Raven is used to people thinking her job is strange - why would anyone want to cut up dead bodies for a living? But they don't know what she knows: that the dead want to tell us what happened to them. She's eviscerated thousands of bodies, but never someone she knew, someone who meant a lot to her - until now. The pathologist says her death was an accident. Her body is telling Cassie differently. Praise for Body Language: 'Blackly humorous, with a fabulously one-of-a-kind protagonist' Heat Magazine 'Ingenious and sardonically written' Financial Times '[A] gritty novel with an engaging heroine' Sunday Times 'A terrific, well-placed plot' Spectator 'Cassie Raven is a lot of fun to spend time with' Big Issue 'Excellent fun, compulsive and Cassie Raven is a protagonist I want to meet again soon' James Oswald 'Cassie Raven is a blast of fresh air, striding onto the crime scene like a punk superstar' Sarah Hilary 'Move over Silent Witness - Cassie Raven is an utterly compelling contemporary forensic heroine' Isabelle Grey 'A fresh and exciting new series' Claire McGowan 'One of the best series openers I've read in years' Jane Casey

Inspired by an incredible true story, by a multi-awardwinning new star of historical fiction.

1589. Scottish housemaid Geillis and Danish courtier Margareta lead opposite lives, but they both know one thing: when a man cries “witch”, no woman is safe.

Yet when the marriage of King James VI and Princess Anna of Denmark brings Geillis and Margareta together, everything they supposed about good, evil, men, and women, is cast in a strange and brilliant new light.

For the first time in history, could black magic – or rumours of it – be a very real tool for women’s political gain?

As the North Berwick witch trials whip Scotland – and her king – into a frenzy of paranoia, the clock is ticking. Can Margareta and Geillis keep each other safe? And once the burnings are over, in whose hands will power truly lie?

A gang of thieves thrusts Gotham City into a state of fear when they are mysteriously well-armed with military-grade weapons: flamethrowers, grenade launchers, and even tanks. And this gang claims it is funded by none other than former district attorney Harvey Dent. Balancing his two lives, Bruce Wayne must find the truth by tapping his growing network of agents, including Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon, Waylon Killer Croc Jones, and the savvy new Catwoman. Bruce is distracted by the seemingly impossible return of another figure believed dead: his grandfather Adrian Arkham. He must also comfort his longtime friend, Gotham City mayor Jessica Dent, who is scarred both physically and mentally from her experience with the Riddler, which resulted in the gruesome death of her brother. But is Harvey back, plotting revenge on a city he proclaims to be guilty? When Batman discovers the truth behind these many mysteries, his entire world unravels Batman: Earth One Vol. 3 is written by Geoff Johns with art by Gary Frank, Jon Sibal and Brad Anderson.

The entire SEVEN TO ETERNITY epic collected in one deluxe, OVERSIZED, hardcover edition! The God of Whispers has spread an omnipresent paranoia to every corner of the kingdom of Zhal; his spies hide in every hall spreading mistrust and fear. Adam Osidis, a dying knight from a disgraced house, must choose between joining a hopeless band of magic users in their desperate bid to free their world of the evil God, or accepting his promise to give Adam everything his heart desires. Writer RICK REMENDER reteams with collaborators JEROME OPENA (Fear Agent) and MATT HOLLINGSWORTH (TOKYO GHOST) in this giant prestige edition loaded with variant covers, sketches, model sheet designs, raw inks, and script pages -- the ultimate oversized format to enjoy this groundbreaking and critically acclaimed series. Collects SEVEN TO ETERNTITY #1-17

A hilariously filthy tale of sex, crime, and family dysfunction from the brilliantly twisted mind of John Waters, the legendary filmmaker and bestselling author of Mr. Know-It-All.

Marsha Sprinkle: Suitcase thief. Scammer. Master of disguise. Dogs and children hate her. Her own family wants her dead. She's smart, she's desperate, she's disturbed, and she's on the run with a big chip on her shoulder. They call her "Liarmouth" - until one insane man makes her tell the truth.

John Waters's first novel, Liarmouth, is a perfectly perverted "feel-bad romance," and the reader will thrill to hop aboard this delirious road trip of riotous revenge.

The shocking and thought-provoking book club novel. Soon to be 2023's most talked-about debut.

Rachel has been in love with Alistair since she was seventeen. Even though she hasn't seen him for sixteen years and she's now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her. She's found it impossible to forget their summer together on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island.

Until now.

When Rachel unexpectedly reconnects with a girl that she knew back then, she is forced to re-examine her memories of that golden summer and confront the truth about her relationship with Alistair and about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man on the island. And when Alistair returns, the pull of the past could prove impossible to resist...

The Girls of Summer is a compulsive and searching exploration of the complicated nature of memory and trauma, power and consent, victimhood and shame.

One of National Book Tokens’ '23 Books to Read in 2023' and a Times Literary Supplement Summer Book 2023.

"My name is Morgan... And there aren’t enough words for all that I am."

When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers. Vengeful and brilliant, it's not long before Morgan becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin, influential sorcerer to the king. But fighting for her freedom, she risks losing everything – her reputation, her loved ones and her life.

An atmospheric, feminist retelling of the early life of famed villainess Morgan le Fay, set against the colourful chivalric backdrop of Arthurian legend.

An ambitious new novel of family life past and present from the author of the Costa Book Awards shortlisted The Stranding.

Mary has raised her daughters in this house. Watched them play and fight and grow up in this house. Today it is the house where she will get married.

The wedding celebrations have brought the fractured family together for the first time in years:
There is Phoebe and her husband Michael, children in tow. The young and sensitive Rosie, with her new partner. Irene, Mary's ex-mother-in-law. And Emma. There, despite all that has gone before.

Set over the course of an English summer's day and punctuated with memories from the past forty years of love and betrayal, hope and joy, heartbreak and grief, this is the story of a family. Told by a chorus of characters, it is an exploration of the intimacies and transgressions that bring us to where we are, the changes that are brought about by time, and what, despite everything, stays the same.