Grantchester Mysteries 1 _______________ 'Inspector Morse would appear to have a rival' - Scotland on Sunday 'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's' - Guardian 'An undiluted pleasure' - Scotsman _______________ Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITV Sidney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester, is a thirty-two year old bachelor. Sidney is an unconventional clergyman and can go where the police cannot. Together with his roguish friend Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewellery theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a well-known jazz promoter and a shocking art forgery, the disclosure of which puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty... _______________ 'A charmingly effective tale of detection ... a satisfyingly old-fashioned read' - The Times 'No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon Sidney Chambers' - Salley Vickers 'The coziest of cozy murder mysteries' - New York Times Book Review 'Full of witty phrases to delight the reader' - Peggy Woodford, Church Times 'Gentle criminal entertainment with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel to it' - Andrew Taylor, Spectator

‘A tender memoir of the challenges of bereavement ... I closed this book wishing I’d met her – but feeling that I almost had’ Daily Telegraph _______________ A memoir of a husband's grief, and an unforgettable portrait of a marriage; a profound examination of sorrow, and a great celebration of love - by the Sunday Times-bestselling author James Runcie James Runcie’s wife Marilyn Imrie died in August 2020. Their thirty-five year marriage had been miraculously happy – until, in the last two years of Marilyn’s life, she descended into the pain and humiliation of motor neurone disease. In the wake of her death, Runcie stumbled in the dark. How do you make sense of the decline and death of the most alive person you have ever met? And how do you go about building a life worth living in their absence? In Tell Me Good Things, Runcie tells the story of Marilyn’s illness and death – in all its moments of tragedy, rage, farce and surrealness – while painting a vivid portrait of her life and their marriage: a partnership defined by a shared love of beauty, conviviality and storytelling. And during that first year of loss, he awakens to the strange paradox of grief: that the way to survive Marilyn's death is to understand how very good she was at living. Tender, funny, profound and deeply true, Tell Me Good Things is an unforgettable story of life before death – and love beyond the grave. ‘A touchingly honest and tender memoir' The Times ‘A wonderful addition to the literature of bereavement’ Sunday Times

Grantchester Mysteries 2 _______________ 'Runcie is emerging as Grantchester's answer to Alexander McCall Smith. The book brings a dollop of Midsomer Murders to the Church of England, together with a literate charm of its own: civilized entertainment, with dog-collars' - Spectator 'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's' - Guardian 'Totally English, beautifully written, perfectly in period and wryly funny. More, please!' - Leslie Geddes Brown, Country Life _______________ Grantchester is now a major, prime-time six-part series for ITV 1955. Canon Sidney Chambers, loveable priest and part-time detective, is back. Accompanied by his faithful Labrador, Dickens, and the increasingly exasperated Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney is called to investigate the unexpected fall of a Cambridge don from the roof of King's College Chapel, a case of arson at a glamour photographer's studio and the poisoning of Zafar Ali, Grantchester's finest spin bowler. Alongside his sleuthing, Sidney has other problems. Can he decide between his dear friend, the glamorous socialite Amanda Kendall and Hildegard Staunton, the beguiling German widow? To make up his mind Sidney takes a trip abroad, only to find himself trapped in a web of international espionage just as the Berlin Wall is going up. _______________ 'The series has a charming quaintness and deftly turning plot twists but what renders it unique as detective fiction is its overtly Christian content' - Arifa Akbar, Independent 'It takes a first-class writer to put together a convincing storyline for such unlikely circumstances. James Runcie does it admirably ... He is a good man in an imperfect world and we should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A masterpiece' SCOTSMAN 'A wise, refreshing novel ... Runcie has an expert imagination' HILARY MANTEL 'A masterclass in writing about the power of music and grief' THE TIMES, 100 best books for summer 2022 Love and Death. Grief and Joy. Music that lasts forever. Leipzig, 1726. Eleven-year-old Stefan Silbermann has just lost his mother. Sent to Leipzig to train as a singer in the St Thomas Church choir, he is rescued from his homesickness and grief by the Cantor: Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Stefan is brought into the Bach household as an apprentice - until a devastating loss brings his period of sanctuary to a close. Something is happening, though. In the depths of his loss, the Cantor is writing a new work. As Stefan watches the work rehearsed, he realises he is witness to the creation of one of the most extraordinary pieces of music that has ever been written. 'Brilliant ... Readers will be enriched by this novel and its glimpse at genius' The Times, Historical Fiction of the Month 'Warmly, reverently, Runcie brings alive what it is like to take part, for the very first time, in one of the most extraordinary pieces of music ever written' Daily Telegraph

The captivating prequel to the treasured Grantchester series follows the life, loves and losses of a young Sidney Chambers in post-war London

It is 1938, and eighteen-year-old Sidney Chambers is dancing the quickstep with Amanda Kendall at her brother Robert's birthday party at the Caledonian Club. No one can believe, on this golden evening, that there could ever be another war.

Returning to London seven years later, Sidney has gained a Military Cross, and lost his best friend on the battlefields of Italy. The carefree youth that he and his friends were promised has been blown apart, just like the rest of the world – and Sidney, carrying a terrible, secret guilt, must decide what to do with the rest of his life. But he has heard a call: constant, though quiet, and growing ever more persistent. To the incredulity of his family and the derision of his friends – the irrepressible actor Freddie, and the beautiful, spiky Amanda – Sidney must now negotiate his path to God: the course of which, much like true love, never runs smooth.

The touching, engaging and surprising origin story of the Grantchester Mysteries's beloved Archdeacon, Sidney Chambers, The Road to Grantchester will delight new and old fans alike.

Grantchester Mysteries 5 _______________ 'Those who would like an engaging summer read should pack James Runcie's latest tale of clerical detection, Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation' - Alexander McCall Smith, Observer 'Runcie has honed his style of light, escapist, small-town crime stories to something approaching perfection' - Herald 'There is no reason at all why this series should not run and run and why Sidney Chambers should not occupy the same place in the pantheon as Miss Marple or Poirot' - Catholic Herald _______________ Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITV Archdeacon Sidney Chambers is beginning to think that the life of a full-time priest (and part-time detective) is not easy. So when a bewitching divorcee in a mink coat interrupts Sidney's family lunch asking him to help locate her missing son, he hopes it will be an open and shut case. The last thing he expects is to be dragged into the mysterious workings of a sinister cult, or to find himself tangled up in another murder investigation. But, as always, the village of Grantchester is not as peaceful as it seems... From the theft of an heirloom to an ominous case of blackmail, Sidney is once again rushed off his feet in this fifth instalment in The Grantchester Mysteries series.

From the author of THE DISCOVERY OF CHOCOLATE - a romantic historical quest set in Renaissance Florence and China surrounding the search for ultramarine. THE COLOUR OF HEAVEN is a fictional account of a young man who travelled to what are now Afghanistan and China to discover lapis lazuli, the precious stone that when turned into ultramarine changed the history of painting - allowing artists to abandon gold as a background and open up depth, landscape and perspective with the most beautiful shade of blue. Along the way, Paolo suffers the torments of unfulfilled love before he returns to his anxious family in Venice, where he also plays a part in the early development of lenses and spectacles!

Grantchester Mysteries 3 _______________ 'There is no denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries' - Barry Forshaw, Independent 'The third book in the series has all the pleasures of the first two ... gentle, often funny and undeniably charming' - Readers Digest 'We should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail _______________ Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITV It is the 1960s and Canon Sidney Chambers is enjoying his first year of married life with his German bride Hildegard. But life in Grantchester rarely stays quiet for long. Our favourite clerical detective soon attempts to stop a serial killer who has a grievance against the clergy; investigates the disappearance of a famous painting after a distracting display of nudity by a French girl in an art gallery; uncovers the fact that an 'accidental' drowning on a film shoot may not have been so accidental after all; and discovers the reasons behind the theft of a baby from a hospital in the run-up to Christmas, 1963. In the meantime, Sidney wrestles with the problem of evil, attempts to fulfil the demands of Dickens, his faithful Labrador, and contemplates, as always, the nature of love. The third in 'The Grantchester Mysteries' series - six detective novels spanning thirty years of British history - these four longer stories are guaranteed to delight the many fans of Canon Sidney Chambers.

The sixth book in the James Runcie's much-loved series, adapted for ITV's Grantchester which stars James Norton as Sidney Chambers. Perfect for fans of M. C. Beaton.

It is May 1971 and the Cambridgeshire countryside is bursting into summer. Archdeacon Sidney Chambers is walking in a bluebell wood with his daughter Anna and their ageing Labrador Byron when they stumble upon a body. Plunged into another murder investigation, Sidney discovers a world of hippies and psychedelic plants, where permissive behaviour seems to hide something darker.

This is the first of many disturbing secrets that Sidney unearths beneath the tranquil surface of the diocese: a celebrated photographer is accused of rape; a priceless religious text vanishes from a Cambridge college; the authentication of a lost masterpiece proves a slippery business; and Sidney's own nephew goes missing.

Endeavouring to fit in his clerical duties around sleuthing, Sidney continues to reflect on the divine mysteries of love, life and faith, while wrestling with the earthly problems of parish scandals, a progressive new secretary, the challenges of parenthood, and a great loss.

'A tender memoir of the challenges of bereavement ... I closed this book wishing I'd met her - but feeling that I almost had' Daily Telegraph _______________ A memoir of a husband's grief, and an unforgettable portrait of a marriage; a profound examination of sorrow, and a great celebration of love - by the Sunday Times-bestselling author James Runcie James Runcie's wife Marilyn Imrie died in August 2020. Their thirty-five year marriage had been miraculously happy - until, in the last two years of Marilyn's life, she descended into the pain and humiliation of motor neurone disease. In the wake of her death, Runcie stumbled in the dark. How do you make sense of the decline and death of the most alive person you have ever met? And how do you go about building a life worth living in their absence? In Tell Me Good Things, Runcie tells the story of Marilyn's illness and death - in all its moments of tragedy, rage, farce and surrealness - while painting a vivid portrait of her life and their marriage: a partnership defined by a shared love of beauty, conviviality and storytelling. And during that first year of loss, he awakens to the strange paradox of grief: that the way to survive Marilyn's death is to understand how very good she was at living. Tender, funny, profound and deeply true, Tell Me Good Things is an unforgettable story of life before death - and love beyond the grave. 'A touchingly honest and tender memoir' The Times 'A wonderful addition to the literature of bereavement' Sunday Times

Grantchester Mysteries 1 _______________ 'Inspector Morse would appear to have a rival' - Scotland on Sunday 'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's' - Guardian 'An undiluted pleasure' - Scotsman _______________ Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITV Sidney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester, is a thirty-two year old bachelor. Sidney is an unconventional clergyman and can go where the police cannot. Together with his roguish friend Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewellery theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a well-known jazz promoter and a shocking art forgery, the disclosure of which puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty... _______________ 'A charmingly effective tale of detection ... a satisfyingly old-fashioned read' - The Times 'No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon Sidney Chambers' - Salley Vickers 'The coziest of cozy murder mysteries' - New York Times Book Review 'Full of witty phrases to delight the reader' - Peggy Woodford, Church Times 'Gentle criminal entertainment with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel to it' - Andrew Taylor, Spectator

'The Discovery of Chocolate' is a fabulous tale, as rich and exotic as the gorgeous creation that Diego de Godoy first discovers when he arrives in Mexico with Cortes and his conquistadors.

Diego is seeking his fortune in the New World. What he finds is love, and chocolate, and an elixir of life. Separated from his lover, he must wander the world, and the centuries, in search of the fulfilment that he first knew in Mexico.

In a series of dramatic episodes that are evocative, witty and thought-provoking, from revolutionary Paris to Freud’s Vienna, Fry’s Bristol and Hershey’s Pittsburgh, Diego and his ever-faithful greyhound, Pedro, seek the perfection of chocolate and the meaning of life.

Grantchester Mysteries 4 _______________ 'The fourth of James Runcie's delightful Grantchester Mysteries, which ought to bring about a critical reappraisal of the genre rather dismissively referred to as "cosy crime" ... The ongoing plots bind the stories, yet each in themselves is precise ... They are a joy' - Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday 'All manner of nostalgic delights. Perfect reading for a sunny English garden' - Kate Saunders, Independent 'The author knows the location well and has caught its dour charm and great art treasures to perfection' - Country Life _______________ Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITV Loveable full-time priest and part-time detective Canon Sidney Chambers is back, continuing his investigations. A mysterious stranger seeks sanctuary in Grantchester's church; a shooting weekend in the country has a sinister end; a friend receives poison pen letters; a piano falls on a musician's head; a school cricket match has an explosive finish; and on a holiday in Italy, Sidney is accused of stealing a priceless painting. On the home front, his new curate has become irritatingly popular with the parish and his daughter is starting to walk and talk.

A group of teenage boys take turns assessing each other's changing bodies before a Friday night disco... A grieving woman strikes up an unlikely friendship with a fellow traveller on a night train to Kiev... An unusually well-informed naturalist is eyed with suspicion by his comrades on a forest exhibition with a higher purpose... The stories shortlisted for the 2021 BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University take place in liminal spaces - their characters find themselves in transit, travelling along flight paths, train lines and roads, or in moments where new opportunities or directions suddenly seem possible. From the reflections of a new mother flying home after a funeral, to an ailing son's reluctance to return to the village of his childhood, these stories celebrate small kindnesses in times of turbulence, and demonstrate a connection between one another that we might sometimes take for granted. The BBC NSSA is one of the most prestigious prizes for a single short story, with the winning author receiving GBP15,000, and four further shortlisted authors GBP600 each. James Runcie is joined on the judging panel by a group of acclaimed writers and critics including: Booker Prize shortlisted novelist Fiona Mozley; award winning writer, poet and winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize, Derek Owusu; multi-award winning Irish novelist and short story writer, Donal Ryan; and returning judge, Di Speirs, Books Editor at BBC Radio.

Diego de Godoy sets off for South America in 1518 with Cortes and the Conquistadors. During his travels he falls in love with Ignacia, a native woman who introduces him to the secrets of the most delicious drink he has ever tasted: chocolate. Tragically, their passionate affair is cut short by the chaotic conquest of Mexico.

Diego later discovers that his lover had secretly added the elixir of life to his chocolate. Unable to die, he lives on through history -- Paris during the time of the Revolution, Vienna in the 19th century, late Victorian England, and Hershey, Pennsylvania -- accompanied by his trusty greyhound, Pedro. All the while, he searches to recapture the magic of Ignacia's chocolate -- and to learn to love life just as fully.

Playful and intelligent, this is a romantic story about love and loss inspired by a very enchanting substance.