New books Issue 62 March 2018

Giant Print

Adult fiction

Archer, Jeffrey. Tell Tale. 2017. Short stories.

Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to find out 'Who Killed the Mayor?' Revel in the stories of the woman who dares to challenge the men at her Ivy League university during the 1930s in ‘A Gentleman and a Scholar’, and a young woman who thumbs a lift and gets more than she bargained for in ‘A Wasted Hour’.

2v.

Bennett, Vanora. The White Russian. 2015. General fiction.

Evie, a rebellious young American leaves New York in search of art and adventure in jazz-age Paris, where her grandmother lives. But on arrival, her grandmother's sudden death leaves Evie compelled to carry out her dying wish: to find a man from her past called Zhenya. The quest leads Evie deep into the heart of the Russian émigré community of Paris. With the world on the brink of war, she becomes embroiled in murder plots.

3v.

Bjørk, Samuel. I'm Travelling Alone. 2016. Crime.

Holger Munch & Mia Kruger: book 1. A six-year-old girl is found hanging from a tree. Around her neck is an airline tag which says 'I'm travelling alone'. A special homicide unit in Oslo is re-opened with veteran police investigator Holger Munch at the helm. When scrutinising the murder files, Mia Krüger spots the number one carved into the dead girl's fingernail. She must find a way to stop this murderer from becoming a serial killer.

5v.

Bondurant, Matt. Lawless. 2012. General fiction.

White mule, white lightning, firewater, popskull, wild cat or stump whiskey? Whatever you called it, Franklin County was awash in moonshine in the 1920s. During Prohibition, the Bondurant Boys were moonshiners and notorious roughnecks who ran liquor though Franklin County, Virginia. Based on the true story of Matt Bondurant's grandfather and two granduncles, Lawless is a gripping tale of brotherhood, greed, and murder.

4v.

Borges, Jorge Luis. Labyrinths: Selected Stories And Other Writings. 2000. Short stories.

Jorge Luis Borges was a literary spellbinder whose tales of magic, mystery and murder are shot through with deep philosophical paradoxes. This collection brings together many of his stories, including the celebrated 'Library of Babel', 'Funes the Memorious', and 'Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote'.

3v.

Brown, Dan. Origin. 2017. Thriller.

Robert Langdon: book 5. Robert Langdon arrives at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that 'will change the face of science forever'. The meticulously orchestrated evening is blown apart before the discovery can be revealed. Langdon flees with the museum's director, Ambra Vidal, to Barcelona to locate a cryptic password and unlock the secret.

6v.

Cannon, Joanna. The Trouble With Goats And Sheep. 2016. Literary fiction.

England, 1976. Mrs Creasy has disappeared. Her husband wanders the street, waiting for her to return. He is convinced that she will be home in time for their Wedding Anniversary. Grace and Tilly are ten-years-old and are determined that they will find Mrs Creasy. And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined.

4v.

Carey, M. R. The Girl With All The Gifts. 2014. Science fiction.

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. Melanie is a 10-year-old with a genius-level IQ. She is at a remote military base for the study of child "hungries". The young hungries crave the flesh of healthy humans.

4v.

Chambers, Kimberley. Tainted Love. 2016. Thriller.

The trap: book 4. It’s the 1980s and although the East End’s heyday is over, one family still rules the manor. But the old ways are changing. Women and children are fair game and nothing can protect them. Bella's dark secret has the power to destroy the Butler brothers' bond once and for all. Meanwhile, Little Vinny's past is about to catch up with him.

5v.

Clements, Katherine. The Crimson Ribbon. 2014. Historical fiction.

May Day 1646. The Civil War is raging and what should be a rare moment of blessing for the town of Ely takes a brutal turn. Ruth Flowers is left with little choice but to flee the household of Oliver Cromwell, the only home she has ever known. On the road to London, Ruth sparks an uneasy alliance with a soldier, the battle-scarred and troubled Joseph. But when she reaches the city, it's in the Poole household that she finds refuge.

3v.

Court, Dilly. The Cockney Sparrow. 2016. Family stories.

Gifted with a beautiful soprano voice, young Clemency Skinner is forced to work as a pickpocket in order to support her crippled brother, Jack. Clemency finds work with a troupe of buskers, and is spotted by the manager of the Strand Theatre. She looks set for operatic stardom, but a chance meeting with the mysterious Jared Stone brings danger and threatens to change her life forevermore.

5v.

Dazieri, Sandrone. Kill The Father. 2017. Crime.

Caselli and Torre: book1. Dante Torre spent his childhood in captivity, held by a man known only as The Father. Now working for the police force, Torre's methods are brilliant but unorthodox. When a young child goes missing in Rome, Torre must attempt to solve the case with Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli. And all evidence suggests The Father is back.

6v.

Downing, David. Silesian Station. 2011. Spy stories.

John Russell: book 2. In July 1939, John Russell returns to Berlin as the Central European correspondent of an American newspaper. With his communist past, German son and English-American parentage he's the perfect catch for any of Europe's warring espionage services, and none will take no for an answer. 4v.

Du Maurier, Daphne. My Cousin Rachel. 2017. Classic.

Philip Ashley's older cousin and guardian Ambrose has died in Rome. Philip is the heir to Ambrose's beautiful English estate. While in Italy, Ambrose fell in love with Rachel, a beautiful English and Italian woman. But the final, brief letters Ambrose wrote hint that his love had turned to paranoia and fear. Now Rachel has arrived at Philip's newly inherited estate.

4v.

Dunmore, Helen. Birdcage Walk. 2017. Historical fiction.

It is 1792 and Europe is seized by political turmoil and violence. Lizzy Fawkes has grown up in Radical circles where each step of the French Revolution is followed with eager idealism. But she has recently married John Diner Tredevant, a property developer who is heavily invested in Bristol's housing boom, and he has everything to lose from social upheaval and the prospect of war.

3v.

Durrant, Sabine. Lie With Me. 2016. Thriller.

Paul has a vision of a better future, and he's going to make it happen. If it means hiding or exaggerating a few things here and there, no harm done. But then he charms his way on to a family holiday and finds himself trapped among tensions and emotions he doesn't understand. He starts to realise that however painful the truth is, it's the lies that cause the real damage.

3v.

Eberlen, Kate. Miss You. 2017. Chick lit.

Tess is in Florence for a final, idyllic holiday before university. Gus and his parents are also on holiday in Florence. For one day, the paths of these two 18-year-olds will criss-cross before they each return to England. Over the course of the next 16 years, life and love will offer them very different challenges. Separated by distance and chance, will they ever meet each other properly?

5v.

Engel, Amy. The Roanoke Girls. 2017. Thriller.

The Roanoke girls are beautiful, rich, and mysterious. But there's a dark truth about them that's never spoken. Lane is one of the lucky ones. When she was fifteen, over one summer at her grandparents' estate in rural Kansas, she found out what it really means to be a Roanoke girl. Lane ran, far and fast. Eleven years later, when her cousin Allegra goes missing, Lane has no choice but to go back.

3v.

Fforde, Katie. Practically Perfect. 2007. Chick lit.

Newly qualified interior designer Anna has risked all her money on the property of her dreams and is determined to do it up herself. Anna's soon wondering whether she's bitten off more than she can chew. Her neighbour Chloe comes to the rescue, providing tea, wine and sympathy. But then good-looking yet impossible Rob Hunter arrives on the scene, putting up more obstacles.

4v.

Fforde, Katie. A Secret Garden. 2017. Chick lit.

Lorna is a talented gardener and Philly is a plantswoman. Together they work in the grounds of a beautiful manor house in the Cotswolds. For them both the door to true love remains resolutely closed. So when Lorna is introduced to Jack at a dinner party and Lucien catches Philly's eye at the local farmers market, it seems that dreams really can come true. But do they?

3v.

Follett, Ken. World Without End. 2017. Historical fiction.

Pillars of the Earth: book 2. On the day after Halloween, in the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. They are a thief, a bully, a boy genius and a girl who wants to be a doctor. In the forest they see two men killed. As adults they will live under the long shadow of the unexplained killing they witnessed on that fateful day.

15v.

Ford, Jamie. Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet. 2012. General fiction.

1986, The Panama Hotel in Seattle has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made a startling discovery: personal belongings stored away by Japanese families sent to internment camps during the Second World War. Among the crowd gathering outside, stands Chinese Henry Lee who is flooded by memories of a Japanese girl he lost his heart to.

3v.

Ford, Maggie. A Girl In Wartime. 2016. Romance.

It's June 1914 and young Connie Lovell should be helping with the war effort. Instead, she applies for a job at the 'London Herald', where she meets the handsome editor Stephen Clayton. Nine years her senior, she knows her family won't approve, but she is helplessly drawn to him. But as WWI rages on, will Stephen be forced to enlist, and can their union survive the consequences?

3v.

Flynn, Katie. A Sixpenny Christmas. 2012. Family stories.

Molly and Ellen, give birth to girls in a Liverpool maternity hospital. Molly lives on a hill farm in Snowdonia while Ellen is married to Sam O'Mara, a dock worker who is quicker with a punch than a kiss. Eventually Ellen throws her husband out, and leaves Liverpool to live with Molly in Snowdonia unaware of the threat that is lurking in the Welsh mountains.

4v.

French, Tana. The Trespasser. 2017. Crime.

Dublin Murder Squad: book 6. Working on the Dublin Murder squad, Detective Antoinette Conway's life is a stream of thankless cases and harassment. Her new case looks like a regular lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty and lying dead next to a table set for a romantic dinner. There's nothing unusual about her, except that Antoinette has seen her somewhere before.

6v.

Gaiman, Neil. Norse Mythology. 2017. Myths and legends.

The great Norse myths are woven into the fabric of our storytelling, from Tolkien, Alan Garner and Rosemary Sutcliff to Game of Thrones and Marvel Comics. Now Neil Gaiman reaches back through time to the original source stories in a vivid rendition of the great Norse tales.

2v.

Gemmell, David. Legend. 2009. Fantasy.

Drenai: book 1. Druss, Captain of the Axe, whose fame was legendary, had chosen to wait for death in a mountain hideaway. There the grizzled old warrior kept company with snow leopards and awaited his old enemy death. Mighty Dros Delnoch, protected by six outer walls, was the only route by which an army could pass through the mountains. It was the stronghold of the Drenai empire. But now it was under threat.

4v.

Gibson, Mary. Bourbon Creams And Tattered Dreams. 2017. Family stories.

Frank Rossi took Matty Gilbie away from her working class roots in Bermondsey, East London and promised her fame and fortune in America as a movie star. But the Wall Street Crash of 1929 puts paid to all that. As Frank becomes more violent, Matty flees back home to Bermondsey where she finds work at a biscuit factory. But Frank is on the move, determined to get her back.

5v.

Golden, Christopher. Ararat. 2017. Horror.

Meryam and Adam are the first to reach a massive cave in Mount Ararat, Turkey. They discover an ancient ship, buried in time, believed by some to be Noah's Ark. Deep in its recesses stands a coffin. Inside is a twisted, horned cadaver. Outside a storm threatens to break. Is it the raging blizzard that chases them down the mountain or something far worse? Contains swear words

3v.

Goodwin, Rosie. Mothering Sunday. 2017. Historical fiction.

Days of the week: book 1. It's 1884 and 14-year-old Sunday Small has been in the Nuneaton workhouse since she was abandoned at birth. The regime is cruel, but Sunday has Miss Beau who comes in every week to teach the inmate children their letters, and her friend Daisy. However, she's attracted the unwelcome attention of the workhouse master and it's time for Sunday to go it alone.

5v.

Grisham, John. Camino Island. 2017. Thriller.

Five manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald's are stolen and this puts bookseller Bruce Cable on the FBI's Rare Asset Recovery Unit's watch list. Writer Mercer Mann spent summers on Florida's idyllic Camino Island as a child, in her grandmother's beach cottage. Now she is being made an offer she can't refuse: to return to the island and infiltrate Bruce Cable’s circle of literary friends.

3v.

Grisham, John. The Whistler. 2016. Thriller.

Lacy Stoltz investigates judicial misconduct by Florida's judges. She meets Greg Myers, an indicted lawyer who is representing a whistle blower who knows of a judge involved in organised crime. Under Florida law, those who help the state recover illegally acquired assets stand to gain a large percentage of them. Myers and his whistle blower friend could make millions and need Lacy to start an investigation of the most corrupt judge in American history.

4v.

Grossman, David. A Horse Walks Into A Bar. 2017. Literary fiction.

An audience that has come expecting an evening of amusement instead sees a comedian falling apart on stage; an act of disintegration, a man crumbling, as a matter of choice, before their eyes. They could get up and leave, or boo and whistle and drive him from the stage, if they were not so drawn to glimpse his personal hell.

2v.

Haddon, Mark. The Pier Falls And Other Stories. 2017. Short stories.

An expedition to Mars goes terribly wrong. A seaside pier collapses. A 30-stone man is confined to his living room. One woman is abandoned on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Another is saved from drowning. Two boys discover a gun in a shoebox, and a group of explorers find a cave of unimaginable size, deep in the Amazon jungle.

3v.

Haig, Matt. How To Stop Time. 2017. Literary fiction.

Tom Hazard may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but he was born in 1581. Owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Shakespeare's England to jazz age Paris, Tom has seen a lot. Always changing his identity to stay alive, Tom has the perfect cover, working as a history teacher at a London school. The only thing Tom mustn't do is fall in love.

3v.

Harris, Robert. Conclave. 2017. Thriller.

The Pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, 118 cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next 72 hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

3v.

Harris, Robert. Munich. 2017. Spy stories.

Munich. September 1938. Hugh Legat is one of Chamberlain’s private secretaries; Paul Hartmann a German diplomat and member of the anti-Hitler resistance. Great friends at Oxford before Hitler came to power, they haven’t seen one another since they were last in Munich six years earlier. Now, as the future of Europe hangs in the balance, their paths are destined to cross again.

3v.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1992 Classic.

Having been found guilty of adultery, Hester Prynne is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter "A" as a punishment for her sin. Her vengeful husband embarks on a quest to discover the identity of her lover. Hester is left to face the consequences of her infidelity and find a place for herself and her illegitimate child in the hostile environment of seventeenth-century Puritan Boston.

3v.

Heller, Mandasue. Run. 2017. Thriller.

After being cheated on by her ex, Leanne Riley is trying to get her life back on track, which isn't easy without a job and living in a bedsit surrounded by a junkie and a mad woman. On a night out with her best friend she meets Jake, a face from her past who has changed beyond all recognition. Jake is charming, handsome and loaded. But good looks and money can hide a multitude of sins.

3v.

Hislop, Victoria. Cartes Postales From Greece. 2017. General fiction.

Week after week, the postcards arrive, addressed to someone Ellie does not know, each signed with an initial: A. These alluring cartes postales of Greece brighten her life and cast a spell on her. She decides she must see this country for herself. On the morning Ellie leaves for Athens, a notebook arrives. Its pages tell the story of a man's odyssey through Greece.

3v.

Hogan, Ruth. The Keeper Of Lost Things. 2017. General fiction.

Anthony Peardew spent half his life lovingly collecting lost objects. Realising he is running out of time, he leaves his house and all its lost treasures to his assistant Laura, the one person he can trust to fulfil his legacy and reunite the thousands of objects with their rightful owners. But the final wishes of the Keeper of Lost Things have unforeseen repercussions.

3v.

Honeyman, Gail, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. 2017. General fiction.

Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive, but not how to live. Eleanor leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life until one simple act of kindness shatters the walls Eleanor has built around herself.

3v.

Horowitz, Anthony. The Word Is Murder. 2017. Thriller.

It’s been two years since Injustice aired and Detective Daniel Hawthorne, who consulted for the television show, needs cash. Having been fired from his job at the Metropolitan police, Hawthorne decides to approach Anthony Horowitz. He’s investigating a bizarre and complex murder and he wants Anthony to write a book about it, with a 50/50 split. The only catch is they need to solve the crime.

3v.

Howard, Audrey. The Woman From Browhead. 1997. Family stories.

Lake District saga: book 1. Annie Abbott, daughter of a poverty-stricken hill farmer runs away with a theatrical group at the age of 15. She returns to Browhead with only her pride and her baby daughter to sustain her. Reed Macaulay, son of the district's most prosperous landowner, knows that Annie is the only woman he will ever love. But Reed has promised to marry another woman.

7v.

Hughes, Matthew. Hell To Pay. 2013. Fantasy.

To hell and back: book 3. The shocking truth about the very nature of the fabric of the universe has begun to sink in amongst the highest rank of demonhood and Chesney Arnstruther might just have triggered a revolution in hell. But that's only the start of his troubles, his girlfriend's not happy with him. And then there's the dinosaurs.

3v.

Hurley, Graham. Western Approaches. 2013. Crime.

Jimmy Suttle: book 1. Jimmy Suttle has finally tired of the relentless struggle against the rising tide of crime in Portsmouth. Surely a job in the West Country will offer some respite? Soon he is investigating the murder of a long-distance rower in the small town of Exmouth.

5v.

Hurwitz, Gregg Andrew. Orphan X. 2016. Thriller.

Orphan X: book 1. As a boy he was chosen, then taken from the orphanage he called home. Raised and trained as part of a top secret programme he was sent to the worst places in the world to do the things his government denied any knowledge of. Then he broke with the programme, using everything he'd learned to disappear. But now someone is on his tail.

4v.

Iggulden, Conn. Dunstan. 2017. Historical fiction.

In the year 937, King Æthelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, readies himself to throw a great spear into the north. His dream of a kingdom of all England will stand or fall on one field and the passage of a single day. At his side is Dunstan of Glastonbury, full of ambition and wit. His talents will take him from the villages of Wessex to the royal court, to the hills of Rome.

5v.

Iggulden, Conn. Ravenspur: rise of the Tudors. 2017. Historical fiction.

Wars of the Roses: book 4. England, 1470. The Yorkist king Edward IV is driven out of England, his wife and children forced to seek sanctuary from the House of Lancaster. Desperate to reclaim his throne, Edward lands at Ravenspur with a half-drowned army and his brother Richard at his side. But neither sees that their true enemy is Henry Tudor, now grown into a man.

5v.

Jacobs, Anna. High Street. 2015. Family stories.

Gibson family: book 2. In 1845 Annie Gibson can finally leave Salem Street. Her dreams of being able to open an elegant dressmaking salon in the High Street of Bilsden, a Lancashire mill town, have come true. She is going to take her father and his second family with her, away from the poverty. But Annie has not left trouble behind.

5v.

Jewell, Lisa. I Found You. 2017. Thriller.

East Yorkshire. Single mum Alice Lake finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband disappears she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.

3v.

Kelly, Sheelagh. Family Of The Empire. 2002. Family stories.

Kilmaster: book 2. Probyn Kilmaster runs away to join the army but he is soon sent home, seeking to rectify his mistakes. When he falls in love and marries a young inexperienced Catholic woman, Agnes, his family disapprove. But Probyn finds success in his work and domestic life. Then one day the much older ‘wife’ he unofficially married years ago on his first foreign posting turns up on the doorstep.

7v.

King, Stephen. Sleeping Beauties. 2017. Horror.

Something is happening to women when they fall asleep; they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If awakened, the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed, and the women become feral and violent. In the small town of Dooling, West Virginia, the virus is spreading through a women's prison, affecting all the inmates except one. Soon, word spreads about the mysterious Evie. Is she a medical anomaly or a demon to be slain?

8v.

Kristian, Giles. Winter's Fire. 2016. Historical fiction.

Rise of Sigurd: book 2. Norway, AD 785. Sigurd Haraldarson has proved himself a great warrior. He has gone a long way towards avenging the murder of his family. And yet the oath-breaker, King Gorm, who betrayed Sigurd's father, still lives. Sigurd knows that he and his band of warriors are not yet strong enough to confront the treacherous king. And so they venture west to fight as mercenaries and it is there that Sigurd’s destiny will be forged.

4v.

Land, Ali. Good Me Bad me. 2017. Thriller.

Annie's mother is a serial killer. The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police. As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly. But Milly's mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water. Good me, bad me. She is, after all, her mother's daughter.

3v.

Lapeña, Shari. The Couple Next Door. 2017. Thriller.

Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour. But now, she's gone. You've never had to call the police before. Now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there.

3v.

Le Carré, John. A Legacy Of Spies. 2017. Spy stories.

George Smiley: book 9. Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, has retired to his family farmstead on the south coast of Brittany when a letter from his old Service summons him to London. His Cold War past has come back to claim him. Somebody must be made to pay for innocent blood once spilt in the name of the greater good.

3v.

Ludlum, Robert. The Bourne Supremacy. 2010. Thriller.

Bourne: book 2. In Washington, Hong Kong and Peking, terror sweeps the globe. The Vice-Premier of the People's Republic has been brutally murdered by a legendary assassin, and everyone is asking the same fearful questions: why has Bourne come back? Who is paying him? Who is next on his death list? But US officials know the shocking truth: there is no Jason Bourne.

8v.

McDermott, Andy. The Tomb Of Hercules. 2008. Thriller.

Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase: book 2. Studies of an ancient text have convinced archaeologist Nina Wilde that a tomb containing the remains of legendary warrior Hercules may actually exist. If she can locate it, it will be the most important historical find ever to be unearthed. As Nina and Eddie Chase begin their search it's clear that others want to find the tomb. Contains violence and swear words

5v.
Also;

McDermott, Andy. The Secret Of Excalibur. 2009. Thriller.

Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase: book 3.

5v.

McGrath, Patrick. The Wardrobe Mistress. 2017. Literary fiction.

January 1947. London is in ruins, there’s nothing to eat, and it’s the coldest winter in living memory. Charlie Grice, one of the great stage actors of the day, has suddenly died. His widow Joan is beside herself with grief. Then one night she discovers her dead husband's secret. Plunged into a dark new world, Joan realises that though fascism might hide, it never dies. Contains swear words

3v.

Mackintosh, Clare. I See You. 2017. Thriller.

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation, no website: just a grainy image and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman.

4v.

McLain, Paula. Circling The Sun. 2015. Literary fiction.

As a young girl, Beryl Markham was brought to Kenya from Britain by parents dreaming of a new life. By the age of 16 Beryl had been catapulted into a disastrous marriage. Scandalizing high society with her errant behaviour, she left her husband and soon became embroiled in a love triangle with Karen Blixen and big game-hunter Denys Finch Hatton. It was this unhappy affair which set tragedy in motion.

4v.

Mallory, Sarah. The Duke's Secret Heir. 2017. Mills and Boon romance.

Years ago, in the Egyptian desert, Ellen Tatham fell wildly in love and exchanged vows with Max Colnebrooke. But, when made to believe Max could not be trusted, she fled. Now, Max is back in England to take up the reins as Duke of Rossenhall. And when he spies Ellen at a ball, the sparks are hard to contain! Little does Max know, though, that Ellen has a secret.
3v.

Mansell, Jill. Meet Me At Beachcomber Bay. 2017.

Chick lit.

Love is in the air in St Carys. The man Clemency loves belongs to someone else. For the first time in Ronan's life his charm has failed him in winning over the woman he wants. Belle seems to have the perfect boyfriend, but something isn't quite right. And now a long-buried secret is slowly rising to the surface. The truth has a funny way of revealing itself, and when it does St Carys will be a very different place indeed.

4v.

Mascull, Rebecca. Song Of The Sea Maid. 2016. Historical fiction.

In the 18th century, Dawnay Price is an educated foundling, a woman of science in a time when such things are unheard-of, she overcomes her origins to become a natural philosopher. She sets sail to Portugal to develop her theories. The siren call of science is powerful, but as war approaches she finds herself pulled in another direction by feelings she cannot control.

3v.

Neill, Fiona. The Betrayals. 2017. General fiction.

Best friends Rosie and Lisa's families had always been inseparable. But one summer, Lisa had an affair with Rosie's husband Nick. And now, after years of silence, she sends Rosie a letter begging for help. Daisy, Rosie's daughter, begins to unravel. Teenage son Max blames himself for what happened that long hot summer. And Nick must confront his own version of events.

4v.

Nugent, Liz. Lying In Wait. 2017. Thriller.

Lydia Fitzsimons lives in the perfect house with her adoring husband and beloved son. There is just one thing Lydia yearns for to make her perfect life complete, though the last thing she expects is that pursuing it will lead to murder. However, needs must, because nothing can stop this mother from getting what she wants.

3v.

O'Farrell, Maggie. This Must Be The Place. 2017. Literary fiction.

A reclusive former film star living in the wilds of Ireland, Claudette Wells is fiercely protective of her privacy. Her husband Daniel, reeling from a discovery about a woman he last saw 20 years ago, is about to embark on a journey. It will send him far away from the life he and Claudette have made together. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?

5v.

Overton, Hollie. Baby Doll. 2016. Thriller.

Lily was abducted from outside her high-school gates. For eight long years she's been locked away from the outside world and had a baby. And now she has seized her chance and escaped. She returns to her old life, to her much-loved twin sister Abby, her mum, her high-school boyfriend. Her return, and the revelation of who took her, will send shockwaves through the whole community.

3v.

Pearse, Lesley. The Woman In The Wood. 2017. Thriller.

15 year old Maisy Mitcham and her twin brother Duncan lose their mother to an asylum one night in 1960. The twins are sent to their grandmother's country house, Nightingales. Cold and distant, she leaves them to their own devices. One day Duncan doesn't come home from the woods. It is left to Maisy to uncover what has happened to him.

4v.

Penney, Stef. Under A Pole Star. 2017. Historical romance.

Flora Mackie was twelve when she first crossed the Arctic Circle on her father's whaling ship. Now she is returning to the frozen seas as the head of her own exploration expedition. Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan, but his yearning for new horizons leads him to the Arctic as part of a rival expedition. When he and Flora meet, all thoughts of science and exploration give way before a sudden all-consuming love.

6v.

Rendell, Ruth. A Judgement In Stone. 1978. Crime.

Four members of the Coverdale family - George, Jacqueline, Melinda and Giles - died in the space of fifteen minutes on St Valentine's Day. Eunice Parchman, the illiterate housekeeper, shot them down on a Sunday evening while they were watching opera on television. Two weeks later she was arrested for the crime. But the tragedy neither began nor ended there.

2v.

Rhys, Rachel. Dangerous Crossing. 2017.Thriller.

England, September 1939. Lily Shepherd boards a cruise liner for a new life in Australia and is plunged into a world of cocktails, jazz and glamorous friends. But as the sun beats down, poisonous secrets begin to surface. Australia, six-weeks later. The world is at war, the cruise liner docks, and a beautiful young woman is escorted onto dry land in handcuffs. What has she done?

4v.

Roberts, Nora. The Next Always. 2011. Romance.

Inn at Boonsboro trilogy: book 1. The historic hotel in Boonsboro is getting a facelift from the Montgomery brothers. Beckett is the architect, and he's got his eye on the girl he's been waiting to kiss since he was fifteen. After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster settles into her life and is drawn by the old inn and the man behind it.

4v.

Robinson, Peter. When The Music's Over. 2017. Crime.

Inspector Banks: book 23. When the body of a 15-year-old is found in a remote countryside lane, beaten and broken, DI Annie Cabbot is brought in to investigate. Newly promoted Detective Superintendent Alan Banks is faced with a cold case. Now in her 60s, Linda Palmer was attacked aged 14 by celebrity entertainer Danny Caxton. As each steps closer to the truth, they'll unearth secrets darker than they could have guessed.

5v.

Sawyer, Robert J. Mindscan. 2012. Science fiction.

Transplanting his consciousness into an android body in order to escape death, Jake Sullivan falls in love with the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life. But Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance. And then Jake's biological body takes hostages and demands its mind back.

4v.

Steel, Danielle. Blue. 2016. General fiction.

Since the tragic accident that killed her husband and young son, Ginny has struggled to truly find meaning in her life. Then, on the anniversary of the fateful accident, she meets thirteen-year-old Blue Williams, who has been living on the streets. Ginny reaches out to him. Just as Blue is truly beginning to trust her, she learns he has been hiding a shocking secret.

3v.

Styles, Daisy. The Bomb Girls. 2015. Family stories.

Bomb girls: book 1. Ernest Bevin's 1941 announcement that all woman between 18 and 30 must register for war work has made Emily furious; she's just landed her dream job and the last thing she wants is to have to give it up for a bomb factory in Lancashire. The glamorous Lillian and studious Alice are not too happy either. But for downtrodden Elsie and determined Agnes, the promise of a new challenge brings renewed hope.

4v.

Thynne, Jane. A War Of Flowers. 2015. Thriller.

Clara Vine: book 3. August, 1938. British actress, Clara Vine, is in Paris to film her latest movie, having left Berlin under a cloud. With war becoming increasingly likely, Clara is approached by an undercover British operative, Guy Hamilton, who asks her to befriend Eva Braun, Hitler's girlfriend, and to pass on any information she can gather.

4v.

Tinti, Hannah. The Twelve Lives Of Samuel Hawley. 2017. Literary fiction.

After years spent living on the run, Samuel Hawley moves with his teenage daughter Loo to Olympus, Massachusetts. There, in his late wife's hometown, Hawley finds work as a fisherman, while Loo struggles to fit in at school and grows curious about her mother's mysterious death. Haunting them both are twelve scars Hawley carries on his body, from twelve bullets in his criminal past.

5v.

Trollope, Anthony. Can You Forgive Her? 2012. Classic.

Palliser: book 1. Alice Vavasor is torn between a risky marriage with her ambitious cousin George and the safer prospect of a union with the formidably correct John Grey. Her friend Lady Glencora is married to Plantagenet Palliser but tempted to escape with her penniless lover Burgo Fitzgerald. And her aunt must choose between a solid farmer and an untrustworthy soldier as her next husband.

11v.

Vincenzi, Penny. Forbidden places. 2006. General fiction.

Grace Marchant marries Charles Bennett at the beginning of the Second World War, and loses him before she has really begun to know him. In the five years while he is away, she finds a new love, overwhelming and exciting in a way that her relationship with her husband never was. The return of Grace's husband, long thought dead, presents her with an agonizing dilemma.

8v.

Wouk, Herman. The Winds Of War. 2013. War fiction.

Henry family: book 1. From the siege of Warsaw to the attack on Pearl Harbour, Herman Wouk recreates the tragedy and the folly that tore nations and their people apart. People like the Henrys, an American family with a tradition of service in the regular navy and the Jastrows, Jewish intellectuals caught in the European holocaust.

13v.

Adult non-fiction

Autobiography and Biography

Cooper, Gwen. Homer's Odyssey. 2011.

The last thing Gwen Cooper wanted was another cat. She already had two, not to mention a phenomenally underpaying job and a recently broken heart. But Homer was no ordinary cat. He was a three week old, abandoned, eyeless kitten and Gwen was unable to resist his charm. Homer's Odyssey is the story of one cat's unswerving loyalty, his infinite capacity for love, his constant happiness in the face of all obstacles.

3v.

Didion, Joan. The Year Of Magical Thinking. 2006.

'The Year of Magical Thinking' is an intensely personal and harrowing memoir. Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter, Quintana, fall ill. She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support. Days later John suffered a massive and fatal coronary. This book is Didion’s attempt to make sense of the weeks and months that followed.

2v.

Fraser, Antonia. Mary Queen Of Scots. 2015.

Mary Queen of Scots passed her childhood in France and married the Dauphin to become Queen of France at the age of sixteen. Widowed less than two years later, she returned to Scotland as Queen. Then came her fatal marriage to Lord Darnley and his mysterious death followed by her marriage to the Earl of Bothwell, the chief suspect. This led directly to her captivity and execution at the age of forty-four.

9v.

Gordon, Bryony. Mad Girl. 2016.

Bryony Gordon is a successful journalist, married to a man she loves with a two-year-old daughter she adores. She is also engaged in a daily battle with mental illness. Fighting with OCD, bulimia and depression, like millions of others in this country, sometimes she finds it a struggle just to get out of bed. In 'Mad Girl' she tackles these subjects with humour, warmth and honesty.

3v.

Herrmann, Dorothy. Helen Keller: A Life. 1999.

Dorothy Herrmann's biography of Helen Keller tells the whole story of the controversial and turbulent relationship between Helen and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. Herrmann also chronicles Helen's doomed love affair, her struggles to earn a living, her triumphs at Radcliffe College, and her work as an advocate for the disabled. 5v.

Tremlett, Giles. Isabella Of Castile: Europe's First Great Queen. 2017.

In 1474, a twenty-three year old woman ascended the throne of Castile, the largest and strongest kingdom in Spain. She faced the challenge of reforming a major European kingdom that was riddled with crime, corruption, and violent political factionism. Her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon was crucial to her success, bringing together two kingdoms.

8v.

History

Frankel, Glenn. High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist And The Making Of An American Classic. 2017.

The story behind the classic movie High Noon and the toxic political climate in which it was created. It's one of the most revered movies of Hollywood's golden era. In the middle of the film shoot, screenwriter Carl Foreman was forced to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities about his former membership in the Communist Party. Refusing to name names, he was eventually blacklisted and fled the United States.

5v.

Kurlansky, Mark. Havana: A Subtropical Delirium. 2017.

On the heels of restored diplomatic relations with the United States, award-winning author Mark Kurlansky presents an insider's view of Havana: the elegant and tattered city he has come to know over more than thirty years. Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes throughout, Havana celebrates the city's exceptional music, literature, baseball and food.

2v.

Literature

Austen, Jane. Selected Letters. 2009.

Jane Austen's letters have a freedom and familiarity that only intimate writing can convey. Her letters are a fascinating record not only of her own day-to-day existence, but of the pleasures and frustrations experienced by women of her social class which are so central to her novels. Vivien Jones's selection includes very nearly two-thirds of Austen's surviving correspondence.

5v.

Natural History

Wohlleben, Peter. The Hidden Life Of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries From A Secret World. 2017.

In The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben makes the case that the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers.

2v.

Society

Glass, Cathy. Cruel To Be Kind: Saying No Can Save A Child's Life. 2017.

'Cruel to be Kind' is the true story of Max, aged 6. He is fostered by Cathy while his mother is in hospital with complications from type 2 diabetes. Fostering Max gets off to a bad start when his mother, Caz, complains and threatens Cathy even before Max has moved in. Cathy and her family are shocked when they first meet Max. But his social worker isn't the only one in denial; his whole family are too.

3v.

Travel and Tourism

Barkham, Patrick. Islander: A Journey Around Our Archipelago. 2017.

The British Isles are an archipelago made up of two large islands and 6,289 smaller ones. Some, like the Isle of Man, resemble miniature nations, with their own language and tax laws; others, like Ray Island in Essex, are abandoned and mysterious places haunted by myths, ghosts and foxes. Patrick Barkham explores some of the most beautiful landscapes in Britain as he travels to ever-smaller islands in search of their special magic.

4v.

True Crime

Graeber, Charles. The Good Nurse: A True Story Of Medicine, Madness And Murder. 2013.

After his December 2003 arrest, registered nurse Charlie Cullen was quickly dubbed 'The Angel of Death' by the media. He was a favourite son, husband, beloved father, best friend, and celebrated caregiver. Implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients, he was also perhaps the most prolific serial killer in American history.

4v.

Warfare and Defence

Deighton, Len. Blitzkrieg: From The Rise Of Hitler To The Fall Of Dunkirk.2014.

This is a history of Blitzkrieg: the ‘lightning war’ by which Hitler and his generals overwhelmed the Allied armies in Western Europe. ‘Blitzkrieg’ begins with a chilling portrait of Hitler’s rise to power in pre-war Germany, setting the stage for the outbreak of the Second World War and his conquests of Poland and Norway. The author then sets out the tactical thinking behind Blitzkrieg.

4v.

Children and young adult fiction

07+ Suggested Reading Age

Bradford, Chris. Gamer. 2015. Reluctant readers fiction.

Barrington Stoke teen. Scott is selected as a games tester for Virtual Kombat, the most realistic fighting video game ever invented, so real it hurts! Once a gamer enters the fighting world, it becomes hard to distinguish between what is real and what is not. Scott must work his way up the ranks to make it out alive. This is a high interest, low reading age book for reluctant readers with a reading age of 8+ and interest age of 13+.

1v.

Fletcher, Tom. The Christmasaurus. 2016.

'The Christmasaurus' is a story about a boy named William Trundle, and a dinosaur, the Christmasaurus. It's about how they meet one Christmas Eve and have a magical adventure. It's about friendship and families, sleigh bells and Santa, singing elves and flying reindeer. It's about discovering your heart's true desire, and learning that the impossible might be possible.

2v.

09+ Suggested Reading Age

Read, Anthony. The Case Of The Limehouse Laundry. 2012.

Baker Street Boys: book 4. London's docklands: home to a large Chinese community and rife with smuggling. Into the fray burst Sherlock Holmes' Irregulars, who find themselves swinging into action to stop a thriving racket, shanghaiing children into slavery. And never is the cause more desperate than when one of those children is their very own Rosie.

1v.

13+ Suggested Reading Age

Bell, Alex. The Haunting. 2016.

Emma is confined to a wheelchair after a terrible accident which took place when she was 10. Seven years later, when she finds out that her grandmother hasn't long to live, she decides to return to Cornwall to the place where the awful event occurred. But the ancient Waterwitch pub still has its ghosts, having been built from timber salvaged from a notorious shipwreck.

2v.

Cassidy, Anne. Dead time. 2012.

Murder notebooks: book 1. Rose and Joshua first met when Joshua and his dad came to live with Rose and her mum. Then their world turns upside down when their mother and father go out for dinner one evening and never return. With police inquiries going nowhere, Rose is dispatched to live with her chilly, unfriendly grandmother and Joshua is sent to live with his uncle.

3v.

Crossan, Sarah. We Come Apart. 2017.

Appearances matter to Jess. She's got a lot to hide. Nicu thinks Jess is beautiful but Nicu's parents want to go back home to find Nicu a wife. His dad's fists are the most powerful force in Nicu's life, and in the end, he'll have to do what his dad wants. As Nicu and Jess get closer, their secrets come to the surface like bruises. The only safe place they have is with each other.

2v.

Green, John. Turtles All The Way Down. 2017.

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there's a hundred thousand dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett's son, Davis.

2v.

Marks, Graham. Bad Bones. 2015.

Gabe is feeling the pressure. His family has money troubles, he’s hardly talking to his dad, plus lowlife Benny is on his case. Needing some space, he heads off into the hills surrounding LA. And he suddenly stumbles across a secret that will change everything. A shallow grave. Gabe doesn’t think twice about taking the gold bracelet he finds buried there. Even from the clutches of skeletal hands. But he has no idea what he’s awakening.

2v.

Pullman, Philip. La Belle Sauvage. 2017.

Book of dust: book 1. Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford. Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them; a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua.

5v.

15+ Suggested Reading Age

Shannon, Samantha. The Song Rising. 2017.

Bone season: book 3. Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population. Having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task is challenging. However Paige’s reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community.

4v.