When Anika Molnar flees her home country of Hungary not long before the break-up ofthe Soviet Union, she carries only a small suitcase - and a beautiful and much-lovedpainting of an auburn-haired woman in a cobalt blue dress from her family's hiddencollection.Arriving in Australia, Anika moves in with her aunt in Sydney, and the painting hangs inpride of place in her bedroom. But one day it is stolen in what seems to be a carefullyplanned theft, and Anika's carefree life takes a more ominous turn.Sinister secrets from her family's past and Hungary's fraught history cast suspicion overthe painting's provenance, and she embarks on a gripping quest to uncover the truth.Hungary's war-torn past contrasts sharply with Australia's bright new world ofopportunity in this moving and compelling mystery.
Dennis Nilsen was one of Britain's most notorious serial killers, jailed for life in 1983 after the murders of 12 men and the attempted murders of many more.Seven years after his conviction, Nilsen began to write his autobiography, and over a period of 18 years he typed 6,000 pages of introspection, reflection, comment and explanation.History of a Drowning Boy - taken exclusively from these astonishing writings - uncovers, for the first time, the motives behind the murders, and delivers a clear understanding of how such horrific events could have happened, tracing the origins back to early childhood.In another first, it provides an insight into his 35 years inside the maximum-security prison system, including his everyday life on the wings; his interactions with the authorities and other notorious prisoners; and his artistic endeavours of music, writing and drama. It also reveals the truth behind many of the myths surrounding Dennis Nilsen, as reported in the media.Nilsen was determined to have his memoir published but to his frustration, the Home Office blocked publication during his lifetime. He died in 2018 entrusting the manuscript to his closest friend and it is now being published with the latter's permission.Any autobiography presents the writer's story from just one perspective: his own, and as such this record should be treated with some caution. An excellent foreword by criminologist Dr Mark Pettigrew offers some context to Nilsen's words, and this important work provides an extraordinary journey through the life of a remarkable and inadequate man.
A tale of two very different sisters whose 1890s voyage from London into remote outback Australia becomes a journey of self-discovery, set against a landscape of wild beauty and savage dispossession.
"e;The greatest strength of the supernatural is that most people don't believe in it."e; On a warm spring day, Jacques Georges de Vere ventures out of his isolated cottage and into the local village. Haunted by the tyranny of depressive illness, he's determined to move on with life. With his medication safely locked in a drawer, Jack stumbles upon the local pub where the music, company and beer are like a return to long ago happier times. It's here that Jack meets a beautiful stranger – a woman with a soft Parisian accent, dressed in black and with dark eyes that seem to penetrate the soul. But who is she, and does she know things about Jack that he barely knows himself? Jack is transfixed and a passionate love affair ensues in her crumbling mansion. But there is something odd about this mysterious lady who appears from nowhere, her affinity for the dark, her cold skin and her musky sensuous odor. So when Jack makes an unexpected and horrific discovery, fear takes hold as he starts to question whether his life may be in mortal danger.Dinner with Eloï se is terrifying, strange and bewitching in equal measure and is a novel best read with the light firmly switched on.
Wen Li, an anxious young woman who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, is tormented by an incessant fear that she might have homicidal impulses. Wen falls for her self-absorbed colleague, Lomax Clipper, who is writing a whodunnit in his spare time. Lomax is pining for Italy and a Sicilian woman he met while on secondment, despite his recurring nightmare about someone being killed on a picturesque street in Palermo. Wen and Lomax both loathe their boss, Julian Ponsonby, who, unbeknown to them, is struggling... as is Fifi de Angelis, a vulnerable man who has been ostracised by his family.Packed with humour, heartache and suspense, this contemporary take on the epistolary novel interweaves the different perspectives of characters whose lives become increasingly entangled.
Tom is a young man without a plan. After graduating from university in the UK, he embarks on a doctorate in political philosophy at Laughton in the search of something meaningful. When he secures a scholarship from the Willoughby T. Forsyth Foundation, the future's looking bright across the pond...
From the BESTSELLING author of DustLife can change in a split second, and so it does for twenty-eight-year-old photographer Finn Chambers. One careless decision at the Cimitero Acattolico in the eternal city of Rome, finds him falling head first onto Shelley' s tomb, to his death.He awakes to a beautiful afterlife surrounded by long-dead poets, artists and thinkers, including Shelley, Keats, Gramsci, Sanchez and the delightful Lady Mary von Haas, and these luminaries test Finn' s values and principles in a way they have never been tested before.Uncomfortable truths require honest assessment when the 21st century' s lust for celebrity, drugs, and fifteen minutes of fame, is questioned by others from centuries past but his new life finds much in common with his previous life, with love, art, sex, music, humour and irreverence, all experienced on this different and fascinating plane.For Finn Chambers there is life after death – and it' s a life worth living.
In the days before the outbreak of war in Syria, a young Kurdish woman, Zarrin, has brought shame on her family. She has paid a high price – as is the way for such dishonour – and fearing for her life, she flees, stumbling her way blindly to the border with Turkey, where she finds herself amongst a growing tide of migrants in a refugee camp. There, a son, Elend, is born – the product of her punishment.She makes her way to Britain, scraping a living as best she can, but she is betrayed over and over as she moves from job to job, living hand to mouth and supporting her young son with what little she has. When her friend is killed and the police arrive, she once more has to flee, moving away from the city to find work as a vegetable picker, exploited, unappreciated but, importantly, largely unnoticed.Then, at last, her fortunes change. She joins a group of itinerant workers who travel the waterways of England. With them, she finds happiness and companionship at last. Elend grows strong, love beckons and in a scene that might have come from Hardy' s Wessex, she is crowned Queen in a festival of hops on a Kentish heritage farm.But her happiness is crushed once again when she is outed inadvertently on social media by one of her friends and, just as she has begun to find sanctuary, Zarrin's safety is at risk once again.
'A penetrating view into what it means to grieve, and then to heal ... a captivating story'Karen HarradineTalented composer Alison Connaught has spent her career writing music for big names, but when her actress daughter, Ria, dies from an overdose, Alison is numb and can no longer compose.Haunted by the feeling that she has somehow let Ria down, Alison searches for answers, first during an intense stay with a Hopi shaman and then by travelling to Hollywood to try to piece together the many parts of Ria' s life that have so far eluded her.As she meets her daughter' s friends, colleagues and therapists, Alison finally begins to understand the realities of Ria' s life, opening the door to self expression and a different kind of music, inspired by stirred/raw feelings and the spirit of Ria.Michelle Shine' s skill as a storyteller brings Alison' s thoughts and actions to life in this visceral and deeply moving tale of grief, regret and ultimately, hope.
Set in an incredibly exciting period of history, a pacy debut, brimming with adventure and romance
The Joy of Text in a Secondary School Classroom
When rogue junk collides with a television satellite 22 000 miles into space, blind cosmologist Harry Stones approaches film director Nathalie Thompson to make an investigative documentary.Undeterred by Harry's lack of sight, their quest leads them from the peaks of Arizona to a mile-deep mine in Yorkshire, and finally to a launch pad in Kazakhstan. As more and more satellites keep falling out of the sky, their curiosity turns to fear. Forewarned of the possible outbreak of WWIII, can Harry and Nathalie prevent the most catastrophic space collision of all time?
It's time to reset your SPIRITUAL compassEveryday life has never been more challenging and it's easy to lose sight of who we are and who we want to be. In Spirituality, Healing and Me, Ilana Estelle draws on her experiences of emotional, mental and physical disability to show how tuning into our spiritual side can improve wellbeing, heal our minds and set us firmly back on track.Packed with inspiring messages and real-life vignettes, this positive and uplifting book shows how spirituality can help us navigate even the roughest waters.Improve emotional balance and wellness Boost confidence and self-esteem Stay self-aware, grounded and patient Appreciate life and each other Accept changing circumstances Enhance positive emotions and personal healing
WESSEX 893 as King Alfred readies his defences against another Viking invasionAmong his many concerns is the plight of Edward, his stable boy, who he believes to be the bastard son of Matthew, a renowned warrior who died fighting for the Saxon cause. If Edward's heritage could be proved, he would stand to inherit a vast fortune which Alfred fears would attract every fraudster in the realm. Worse still, given his noble lineage, the boy could well be used to usurp him as King.Alfred therefore sends Edward to the burh at Wareham on the pretext of having him train Fleet, a magnificent black stallion so spirited it's thought to be unrideable. The boy soon proves his skill with horses but is considered too puny to be a warrior. However, when the fyrd find themselves outnumbered and confronting a Viking warband, Edward's quick thinking and extraordinary courage leave no doubt about his bloodline.
'Brian Landers is the real deal'Andrew Raymond, author of the Novak and Mitchell thrillersWinter 1981.Poland is in turmoil. The Communist regime is close to collapse and the CIA wants to help it on its way. They ask for MI6 assistance but insist the MI6 Station in Warsaw is not involved. Why not? And who will the Americans accept? MI6 agent Thomas Dylan is sent from Moscow. His wife has just witnessed a murder and the Russian authorities want her out of the country. But when Thomas and Julia arrive in Warsaw the bullets start to fly. Two American agents disappear near the Polish lakes, a terrified Polish sailor jumps ship in Middlesbrough and a Polish peasant claims to have found the lost crown of a medieval King. Somebody needs to work out what's happening. And quickly. Because back in London a KGB killer is on the loose.
Thomas Dylan is an unlikely spy. Rejected by MI6 he joins the Ministry of Defence where his first mission is a total failure. Unexpectedly he is then sent to Rio de Janeiro to recover a submarine interrogator stolen from the US Navy. In Brazil he discovers that those supposedly on his side, MI6 and the CIA, have their own priorities and that his life is definitely not one of them.A murderous game which began with the death of a British spy in Argentina is being played out in a city of sun, sea and secret police. When Dylan comes face-to-face with the brutal realities of Brazil's military dictatorship he knows he has to trust somebody.But who?The only thing he knows for sure that the woman he wants to trust has been lying to him from the very beginning - should he take the risk?This is a fast-paced thriller in the vein of John le Carre and Eric Ambler.
The Becket List is a not entirely serious compendium of 'First World Problems' - the sort of stuff that drives us round the bend on a daily basis.How is it that atonal music, bus stations, cling-film and coat-hangers can bugger us up so comprehensively? Or passport control people, modern poetry, or just about anything you'll find in a typical hotel bedroom?Embracing both the inanimate - from allen keys to Rawlplugs - and the animated (well, in some cases) - from your fellow-travellers to every third-rate waiter who ever walked the earth - this book is essential for your sanity.As such, this comprehensive A to Z provides a signal service to humanity.
Julia Dylan's aunt, Eveline Sadeghi, vanishes while sailing from Kefalonia to Syracuse in Sicily.Julia and her new husband Thomas abandon their honeymoon and join the search. In Syracuse they encounter a suspiciously well-informed detective who is investigating the murder of an Iranian journalist. Thomas is convinced that Eveline's disappearance is somehow connected.Julia's uncle, the Director General of Defence Intelligence, asks MI6 to investigate but MI6 has higher priorities. The CIA have uncovered a Russian spy at a NATO airbase north of Syracuse.Could it all be connected? And could the connection go all the way back to an infamous Mafia massacre in 1947?To unravel the mystery of Eveline Sadeghi's death, Julia and Thomas Dylan must not just understand history but must understand families, especially their own.John le Carre meets Agatha Christie in the second gripping novel in the Dylan series
Many a loft is full of family memorabilia, but Bryony Hill's collection is extraordinary. Packed to the rafters with photographs and historical documents, Bryony Hill has finally achieved her dream of studying those precious albums to reveal a record of her British family who left the Highlands for India during the reign of George III, continuing through to the reign of Queen Victoria, the high noon of the Raj. In Scotland to Shalimar - a Family's Life in India you'll find family portraits dating back to the 18th century, her ancestor's watercolour images and precious sketches that mingle amongst favourite family recipes, stories of courage, riddles and rhymes - all collected through the generations. This well-researched, fascinating book creates a vivid and unique portrait of life at different stages in the ever-fascinating history of the British and their on-going relationship with India.
Disgraced security consultant Tom Holt accepts a job from a mysterious lawyer, on behalf of a client named Capricorn.
Living with cerebral palsy is enormously difficult. But what if you never knew you had it? This is the incredible story of Ilana Stankler.
The third in the gripping Shadow of the Raven series sees novice monk turned warrior Matthew facing his sternest test yet.
How much truth can true love stand? Briggs' writing has touches of Banville and Barnes and this moving and accomplished exploration of the challenges of love and truth nods towards a modern-day Silas Marner.
In the second book in the exciting and atmospheric Shadow of the Raven series we rejoin novice monk turned warrior, Matthew as he marches ahead of King Alfred, to Exeter to herald the King's triumphant return to the city, marking his great victory at Edington.
'If you hanker for fast-moving adventure novels look no further. Clearly Mr Granger is a name to watch'Barry Forshaw, CrimeTime MagazineA FOREIGN CHEMICAL AGENT IS FOUND ON BRITISH SOILCAN IT BE STOPPED IN TIME IN A RACE AGAINST BIOTERROR?When film director Nathalie Thompson is commissioned to make a programme on bioterrorism, a sudden Ebola outbreak takes her on a dangerous detour to Central Africa. Posing as a Western activist and campaigner for the rights of Africans, Nathalie must investigate the involvement of a Zimbabwean terrorist group.But when a young colleague unearths a suspicious laboratory in eastern Java that may be producing biochemical weapons, Nathalie is immersed in a violent world of corruption and bioterrorism, which is closer to home than she thinks.
Bryony Hill invites us into her beautiful home and garden and shares her tips and recipes for growing, eating and being happy.
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