Brilliantly funny satire set in a contemporary American university.
Deep in the wheatfields of the American midwest, Moo University is in a state of disarray…
In this witty and biting comedy of manners, Jane Smiley turns her wryly perceptive eye towards a community where men and women, the innocent and the cynical, thinkers and careerists, live and work together – in complete disharmony.
‘Satire on a grand scale, a microscopic examination of contemporary American mores conducted with great wit and gracious indulgence for human frailty …Trying to describe this book’s marvellous variety is like trying to describe London to someone who has never been there. The only appropriate exhortation is “Read it.”‘
Fair: Minor marks on the cover.The reign of Queen Elizabeth I was a time of war, passion, and spectacular achievement. Elizabeth: The Golden Age finds Elizabeth facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late sixteenth-century Europe, Elizabeth faces an open challenge from the Spanish King Philip II, who is determined to restore England to Catholicism with his powerful army and dominating armada.
Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability: her love for the seafarer Sir Walter Raleigh. But he remains forbidden for a queen who has sworn body and soul to her country.
Yet as she charts her course abroad, treachery is the rot behind the glittering royal throne. Her most trusted adviser uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne, and the traitors may even include Elizabeth’s own cousin Mary Stuart. Good: Tidy condition.
#1 bestselling author Maya Banks continues her suspenseful and steamy Slow Burn series with this second book—a twisting tale featuring a strong yet vulnerable heroine in danger and the sexy alpha hero who must save her.
Abandoned as a baby to a young wealthy couple and raised in a world of privilege, Arial has no hint of her past or who she belonged to. Her only link lies in the one thing that sets her apart from everyone else—telekinetic powers. Protected by her adoptive parents and hidden from the public to keep her gift secret, Ari is raised in the lap of luxury, and isolation. That is, until someone begins threatening her life.
Beau Devereaux is no stranger to the strange. As the head of Deveraux Security, he’s more than familiar with the realities of physic powers. So when a family friend approaches him about protecting his daughter, he’s more than ready to jump on board. What Beau isn’t prepared for is the extent of his attraction to his beautiful and powerful client. What began as a simple assignment, just another job, quickly turns personal as Beau discovers he’ll do anything at all to protect Ari. Even if it costs him his life.
Good: Tidy condition.When a hand is found in Gallows Wood, PC Lucy Halliday and her specialist search dog Moss must find the rest of the body. What they uncover is a killers dumping ground. Like every case since her husbands mysterious disappearance, Lucy wonders if this one will bring her closer to the truth. Nico was a journalist with a reputation for getting buried in his work; Lucy is certain that this time he delved too deep.
With new DI Jack Ellis calling the shots, Lucy struggles to keep her professionalism intact. She cant stay away from these murders and a killer who may hold the answers she desperately wants. But with those at the very heart of the investigation withholding secrets of their own, can more brutal deaths be prevented?
The first book in the gripping new police procedural series featuring dog handler PC Lucy Halliday. Perfect for fans of Lynda La Plante, Val McDermid and Susie Steiner.
Praise for Gallows WoodDark, funny and addictive, this new crime series is a joy Jo Furniss, author of The Last to Know
Deft plotting, super-fast pace and an enthralling dive into the lives of police dog handlers make this a book to sniff out and devour Heather Critchlow, author of Unburied
Gritty and twisty… I fell head over heels for Lucy and Moss. With echoes of Line Of Duty, this is a detective series to watch out for Rachael Blok, author of The Fall
Gripping from the first page, this book was as pacy as a spaniel on the scent Fliss Chester, author of Death on the Scotland Express
Its not often Im bereft at the end of a police procedural, but Ive just turned the last page of Gallows Wood and I dont want to let the world of these characters go. Gritty, edge-of-your-seat stuff Emma Styles, author of No Country For Girls
A blistering beginning to a new series. Perfectly paced with twists and turns which kept me guessing… Louisa Scarr is one of the best crime writers in the UK James Delargy, author of Into the Flames
Louisa Scarr has created something incredible. A story as brutal and deceptive as any crime fiction fan could ever crave Graham Bartlett, author of City on Fire
An enthralling start to this engaging new series with an ending so propulsive I may have forgotten to breathe. Stunningly good Marion Todd, author of Bridges to Burn
I adored this pacy, twisty, shocking thriller with absolutely first-class characters. I cant wait for book two Cressida McLaughlin, author of The Staycation
A twisty mystery, characters you want to root for, and black humour. And theres a dog! Whats not to love? The start of an excellent new series! Chris Frost, author of The Killers Christmas List
Lightning pace, great characters and superb writing make Gallows Wood stand out from the pack. A fresh take on the police procedural Eleanor Ray, author of Everything is Beautiful
Pacy, gripping and full of twists, Gallows Wood throws you into the dark and deadly world of Lucy Halliday and her awesome police dog Moss Tariq Ashkanani, author of Welcome to Cooper
Fair: one page is dog eared. Otherwise very tidy condition, binding is excellent.A riveting novel of friendship, adventure and love against the odds, set in the early days of flight in Prohibition-era America.
Abe Rockwell and Willard T. Thornton are famous fighter pilots together in World War I. Willard returns to a hero’s welcome in America and launches a film career. Abe just wants to fly – and he has no rich family to support him.
When he crash lands in small-town Georgia, the locals recognise Abe and appeal to him for help. Alcohol-smuggling gangsters are trying to oust them from their own homes. But Abe can’t see that his one patched-up aircraft can make much difference.
Slowly, a plan forms and Abe needs help himself. Enter another tremendously skilled pilot – but it’s a woman. Abe doesn’t want to take her on, but she’s the best there is and brave with it. Neither of them can predict exactly what they’ve let themselves in for.
Willard, meanwhile, forsakes films for banking and rises fast – only to uncover some very dodgy business at the core of the company. He’d like to turn a blind eye but eventually he’s in so deep that he can’t. The firm is under serious threat, from a devious and resourceful attacker. Which is when Willard realises who it must be, and how he’s going to have to team up with someone he’d always overlooked.
Good: Tidy condition.Jeremy Poldark is the third novel in Winston Graham’s hugely popular Poldark series, which has become a television phenomenon starring Aidan Turner.
Cornwall 1790. Ross Poldark faces the darkest hour of his life. Accused of wrecking two ships, he is to stand trial at the Bodmin Assizes.
Despite their stormy married life, Demelza has tried to rally support for her husband. But there are enemies in plenty who would be happy to see Ross convicted, not least George Warleggan, the powerful banker, whose personal rivalry with Ross grows ever more intense.
Jeremy Poldark is followed by the fourth book in this evocative series, Warleggan.
‘From the incomparable Winston Graham.. who has everything that anyone else has, then a whole lot more.’ Guardian
No one does glamour, severity, girlish charm or tight-lipped witticism better than Dame Maggie Smith, one of Britain’s best-loved actors. This new biography shines the stage-lights on the life and work of a truly remarkable performer, one whose career spans six decades.
From her days as a star of West End comedy and revue, Dame Maggie’s path would cross with those of the greatest actors, playwrights and directors of the era. Whether stealing scenes from Richard Burton (by his own admission), answering back to Laurence Olivier, or impressing Ingmar Bergman, her career can be seen as a Who’s Who of British theatre in the twentieth century. This book also covers her success in Hollywood, inaugurated by her first Oscar for her signature film, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, as well as her subsequent departure to Canada for a prolific four-season run of leading theatre roles.
Recently Dame Maggie has been as prominent on our screens as ever, with high-profile roles as Violet Crawley, the formidable Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the phenomenally successful television series Downton Abbey, and as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise: what she herself describes as ‘Miss Jean Brodie in a wizard’s hat’. Yet paradoxically she remains an enigmatic figure, rarely appearing in public and carefully guarding her considerable talent. Michael Coveney’s absorbing biography, drawing on personal archives, interviews and encounters with the actress, as well as conversations with immediate family and dear friends, is therefore as close as it gets to seeing the real Maggie Smith.
Good: Tidy condition.