Killing Time is a wonderful surprise gift from Alan Bennett – a new story, set in a home for the elderly; a glorious, darkly comic treat. We have a choir and on special occasions a glass of dry sherry. It’s less of a home and more of a club and very much a community. Presided over by the lofty Mrs McBryde, Hill Topp House is a superior...

Russell Watson was at the peak of his success as a much-loved classical singer. He had gone from humble beginnings, working in a factory making nuts and bolts in Salford to singing in working men's clubs to performing to stadiums filled with thousands of fans. But then tragedy struck. In 2006 and 2007 he was diagnosed with two brain tumours. In the...

It is Christmas Day and at Champton Rectory, Canon Daniel Clement and his mother Audrey are joined by the residents and guests of the big house to drink, eat and be merry. At the festive feast, peace and goodwill prevail. Until two meet under the mistletoe. One of them falls down dead. And Daniel suspects murder has returned to Champton... Can Dani...

This is a book for people who don't normally think about politics. We have a new government and have bid a loud goodbye to the Tories, but the issues that allowed the last government to mismanage and deceive us for so long lie deep. Amidst a landscape of economic turmoil and deepening societal fractures, we need to see a new age of accountability i...

From battlefields, cathedrals and museums to castles and stately homes, from the Lancastrians and Yorkists to the Roundheads, Royalists and an abundance of kings called Edward (and Henry!), the history of our island nation unravels its rich tapestry beneath our very feet - if only you know where to look. Take, for instance, the Tower of London, whi...

In elite sport, the margin between victory and defeat is miniscule, and the pressure is immense. Chris has built a glittering sporting career on understanding these moments: how to feel for them, how to cope with them, how to make them count.Last year, he faced another life-changing moment. He found out that the ache in his shoulder was in fact a t...

How did little Jenny Hargreaves become Jenny Eclair and elbow her way into the male dominated world of 1980s stand-up? Daughter of Major Derek Hargreaves (spy?) and June Hargreaves (spy's wife?) sister of Sara (born to be Head Girl) and Ben (the usurper), Jenny's comedy career took off via drama school, cider, sausage rolls, sleeping with men who l...

Welcome to one of the nicest streets in one of London's vilest boroughs: a determined middle-class oasis of skips and bay trees, where Volvos sniff each others' bumpers and men called Giles live with women called Samantha. This is a satellite-dish-free zone of tall houses, standing shoulder to shoulder with big front doors, five floors apiece. Come...

In Nicola Tanner and Phil Hendricks, Thorne has good friends by his side. He finally has a love life worth a damn and is happy in the job to which he has devoted his life.... He has everything to lose. Hunting the woman responsible for a series of grisly murders, Thorne has no way of knowing that he will be plunged into a nightmare from which he ma...

Al Murray's passion for military history and the Second World War in particular has always run parallel with his comedy and was brought to the fore with several acclaimed and award-winning television shows and the recent huge success of his podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk which he hosts with fellow bestselling military author James Holland....

In 1973, Myra Hindley, the most notorious woman in Britain, is serving a life sentence for the Moors murders—a case that shocked the world. Behind bars, she has fallen in love. When Hindley is refused parole, she persuades a sympathetic prison officer and former nun to help her break out of London's grim Holloway prison. The women plan to run...

A new novel from the acclaimed author and broadcaster as part of Quick Reads 2022 and World Book Night. Helen is a retired teacher living on the Irish coast. She enjoys the peace and quiet—despite the burden of Margaret, her unpleasant sister. Margaret arrived three years ago for a short holiday but somehow managed to stay and worm her way in...

Surprisingly little has been written about second-generation Bloomsbury who tantalised the original 'Bloomsburies' at Gordon Square parties with their captivating looks and provocative ideas. Young Bloomsbury introduces us to an extraordinarily colourful cast of characters, including novelist and music critic Eddy Sackville-West, 'who wore elaborat...

The Wicked Years continue in Gregory Maguire's Son of a Witch—the heroic saga of the hapless yet determined young man who may or may not be the offspring of the fabled Wicked Witch of the West. A New York Times bestseller like its predecessor, the remarkable Wicked, Son of a Witch follows the boy Liir on his dark odyssey across an ingeniously...

NEXT IN LINE is a thrilling addition to the much-loved and bestselling detective fiction series from a rising star in Scottish crime fiction. Ideal for fans of Alex Gray, D. K. Hood and Rachel Amphlett.Gaby Fox is known to many due to her successful TV career, so when her brother and his pals hire the salubrious Lamond Lodge for his birthday celebr...

Don't miss this compulsive new addition to the gripping DI Clare Mackay series from Bloody Scotland Scottish Debut Crime Novel 2020 shortlisted author Marion Todd.It is the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay when Alison Reid admits a caller to her home. When her death is later reported, DI Clare Mackay attends the scene. The initial evidence does not r...

DI Clare Mackay is about to face a test of her loyalty...When a report comes in that a van containing two prison officers and a convicted jewel thief is missing, the police in St Andrews work quickly to locate the vehicle. Their efforts prove in vain when no trace is found and they realise the wives of both officers also appear to have left the are...

A landmark exploration of one of the most consequential and mysterious issues of our time: the rise of chronic illness and autoimmune diseasesA silent epidemic of chronic illnesses afflicts tens of millions of Americans: these are diseases that are poorly understood, frequently marginalized, and can go undiagnosed and unrecognized altogether....

Behind the humour, swearing, dogs and nonsense,  Never Enough is a no-holds-barred account of life through Pete Wicks' lens. He shares his mental health trials and approach to life - starting with his journey as a 16-year-old who had the words 'NEVER ENOUGH' tattooed across his body, a marker of a time of anger and sadness, but also of his struggle...

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer... Lies to Tell is a page-turning crime thriller perfect for fans of Alex Gray, D. K. Hood and Rachel Amphlett.Early one morning DI Clare Mackay receives a message from her boss DCI Alastair Gibson telling her to meet him in secret. She does as he asks and is taken to a secure location in the remote S...

The second instalment from an exciting new Scottish detective series. Perfect for fans of Alex Gray, Rachel Amphlett and D. K. Hood.When a baby girl is snatched from the crowd of spectators at a fun run, the local police have a major investigation on their hands. DI Clare Mackay and her team are in a race against the clock when they learn that the...