A. J. Liebling, born in Manhattan in 1904, joined the staff of the New Yorker in 1935 and contributed innumerable articles to the magazine throughout his lifetime, on subjects ranging from food to boxing and France to horse racing. As a war correspondent during the Second World War, he reported from France, England and Algeria, and participated in the Normandy landings. In later life he married the writer Jean Stafford, his third wife. He died in 1963.

A. J. Liebling

A. J. Rosen is an author of YA fantasy and is known as @agatharoza on Wattpad.

A. J. Rosen

A. K. Davidson

A. O. Scott has been a film critic at the New York Times since 2000. His writing has appeared in many other publications, including the New York Review of Books, Slate, the New Yorker and the Nation. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2010, Scott is currently Distinguished Professor of Film Criticism at Wesleyan University. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. 
 
@aoscott

A. O. Scott

A.S. Byatt (1936-2023) was a novelist, short-story writer and critic of international renown. Her novels include Possession (winner of the Booker Prize 1990), the Frederica Quartet and The Children’s Book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. She was appointed CBE in 1990 and DBE in 1999, and was awarded the Erasmus Prize 2016 for her ‘inspiring contribution to life writing’ and the Pak Kyongni Prize 2017. In 2018 she received the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.

A. S. Byatt

A. T. Williams won the George Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2013 for his book A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa. He lives in Warwickshire.

A. T. Williams

A. W. Chase

Dubbed ‘The new queen of spy fiction’ by the Guardian newspaper, and ‘the real thing’ by the Washington Post, A.C. 'Ava' Glass is the CWA Dagger-shortlisted author of Alias Emma (The Chase), The Traitor and The Trap. The Traitor was a 2023 Richard and Judy Bookclub pick. Alias Emma was a Barnes and Noble book of the month. A former crime reporter and communications consultant, for five years Ava worked closely with spies. Her time in that world fascinated her, and the people she met back then inspire every book she writes.

A.C. Glass

A.E. Housman

Arthur Edward Waite was the designer and co-creator of the now famous Rider Waite Tarot deck. 
 
An American-born British poet and scholarly mystic, his strong interest in all esoteric matters - divination, magic, Kabbalism, alchemy and Freemasony - led to him penning a number of books. These include the Key to the Tarot, The Book of Ceremonial Magic and A New Encyclopedia of Freemasony.

A.E. Waite

A.E. Warren is the author of the Tomorrow's Ancestors series, which consists of Subject Twenty-One, The Hidden Base, The Fourth Species and The Final Rising. 
 
After spending eight years working as a lawyer, she began to write in the evenings and early mornings as a form of escapism from life in a very small cubicle with lots of files. She self-published her first novels in her spare time, which were picked up by Del Rey UK which is the science fiction/fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House. 
 
 She is an avid reader, occasional gamer and fair-weather runner. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter and hopefully, one day, a wise border terrier named Austen.

A.E. Warren

A.G.D. Maran

A.J. Ayer

A K Benedict writes crime and speculative fiction in a room filled with clowns, mannequins and Doctor Who figures. Her first novel, The Beauty of Murder, was nominated for an eDunnit award and is in development for a major 8-part TV series by Company Pictures. Her second, Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts, came out in February 2016. She's written Torchwood audio dramas for Big Finish and her short stories have featured in anthologies including Great British Horror and Best British Short Stories. She lives in St Leonards-on-Sea with her dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.

A.K.Benedict

A. L. Kennedy has twice been selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and has won a host of other awards – including the Costa Book of the Year for her novel Day. She lives in Essex.

A.L. Kennedy

A.M. Ellis is a speculative fiction author and lover of everything steeped in myth and mystery. Her stories often lean into diverse voices, not only in her identity as a Black woman, but in exploring neurodivergence and mental health. A proud introvert and nostalgic gamer, she lives in Maryland, USA, with her husband and three children. Angelica is also the author of Hunt A Killer, a PERFECT SCORE novel, under the pen name A.M. Ellis, which she wrote as an IP for Scholastic in the US.

A.M. Ellis

A.N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is an award-winning biographer and a celebrated novelist, winning prizes for much of his work. He lives in North London.

A.N. Wilson

A.T. Emerald

A.W. Priest

A.B.C. Merriman-Labor was a barrister, writer and munitions worker born in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1877. His published works include A Series of Lectures on the Negro Race and The Story of the African Slave in a Nutshell. He also edited two editions of the Handbook of Sierra Leone. He arrived in the UK in 1904 to study law. In 1907, he organised a centenary commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade in Westminster Abbey. He later embarked on an 'entertainment-lecture' tour called Life and Scenes in Britain, travelling across thousands of miles of West, South West and Central Africa, which he expanded on to create Britons Through Negro Spectacles.

ABC Merriman-Labor

AJ Cronin

AJ Molloy

Aabria Iyengar is an American actress and author.

Aabria Iyengar

Aaliya Jaleel is a freelance illustrator, designer, and visual development artist, currently majoring in Animation at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is also the illustrator of Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise. You can visit her online at www.aaliyamj.com.

Aaliya Jaleel

Aaron Allston

After more than fifteen years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist, Dr Aaron Balick has taken the amazing insights from psychology and psychotherapy out of the consultation room and made them accessible to the wider world. 
 
He has been an ‘agony uncle’ for many years for both CBBC and BBC Radio 1, as well as on television, including BBC Worldwide, BBC 3 and BBC Learning.

Aaron Balick

Aaron Carroll

Aaron Dignan is the founder of The Ready--a global organizational transformation and coaching practice--that helps companies large and small adopt new forms of self-organization and dynamic teaming. Clients include Johnson &amp; Johnson, Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, Citibank, Boeing, Mailchimp, Airbnb, Dropbox, and charity: water. 
 
He is also the founder of Murmur--a SaaS startup that helps teams scale culture through the magic of working agreements. The Murmur platform will allow every team on the planet to define and share their ways of working. 
 
Dignan is the author of Brave New Work (2019) and Game Frame (2011), co-host of the Brave New Work podcast, and a friend to misfit toys.

Aaron Dignan

Aaron Edwards is a senior lecturer in defence and international affairs at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, specialising in terrorism and counter-insurgency. He is the author and editor of several books, including Defending the Realm: The Politics of Britain’s Small Wars Since 1945, and has lectured all over the world on aspects of national and international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Aaron Edwards

Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Aaron Robertson

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Simon Beckett

* Don't miss 'THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH' TV SERIES - now streaming on Paramount+ * 
 
Adapted from The Chemistry of Death and Written in Bone - starring Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter 
 
'A superbly strong read' The Times 
 
What began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare . . . 
 
Once a busy hospital, St Jude's now stands derelict, awaiting demolition. 
 
When a partially mummified corpse is found in the building's cavernous loft, forensics expert Dr David Hunter is called in to take a look. He can't say how long the body's been there, but he is certain it's that of a young woman. And that she was pregnant. 
 
Then part of the attic floor collapses, revealing another of the hospital's secrets: a bricked-up chamber with beds inside. And some of them are still occupied. 
 
And it soon becomes clear that St Jude's hasn't claimed its last victim . . . 
 
Chilling, visceral and masterfully paced, Simon Beckett's new crime thriller will leave you gasping.

The Scent of Death

Harry Treadaway is Dr David Hunter: the darkly compelling new TV series ‘The Chemistry of Death’ – streaming now on Paramount+

Lee Child

Jack Reacher is a former major in the US Military Police who, since leaving the army, has drifted round the wide open spaces of America, hitchhiking or on buses, wherever the whim takes him. He has no permanent address, no job, no family ties, no car, no luggage, no mobile phone, no credit card - all he carries with him is a folding toothbrush. 
Reacher is never looking for trouble, but somehow trouble always find him. He is the ultimate hero for our troubled times, with a keen moral compass and sense of justice, even if he is often prepared to take the law into his own hands: he says he doesn't want to put the world to rights, he just doesn't like people who put it to wrongs.

JACK REACHER NEVER LOOKS BACK . . . UNTIL NOW. 
 
'There's only one Jack Reacher. Accept no substitutes.' - Mick Herron. 
 
The present can be tense . . . 
 
A young couple trying to get to New York City are stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. Before long they're trapped in an ominous game of life and death. 
 
But the past can be worse . . . 
 
Meanwhile, Jack Reacher sets out on an epic road trip across America. He doesn't get far. Deep in the New England woods, he sees a sign to a place he has never been - the town where his father was born. But when he arrives he is told no one named Reacher ever lived there. Now he wonders: who's lying? 
 
As the tension ratchets up and these two stories begin to entwine, the stakes have never been higher for Reacher. 
 
That's for damn sure. 
 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Past Tense is the 23rd in the series. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

Past Tense

(Jack Reacher 23)

Christopher Fowler

Arthur Bryant and John May are Golden Age detectives living in the modern world. Together they head up the Peculiar Crimes Unit, ready to solve any of the weird and wonderful crimes that fall across their desks.

The year is 1969 and ten guests are about to enjoy a country house weekend at Tavistock Hall. But one amongst them is harbouring thoughts of murder. . . 
 
The guests also include the young detectives Arthur Bryant and John May – undercover, in disguise and tasked with protecting Monty Hatton-Jones, a whistle-blower turning Queen’s evidence in a massive bribery trial. Luckily, they’ve got a decent chap on the inside who can help them – the one-armed Brigadier, Nigel ‘Fruity’ Metcalf. 
 
The house’s owner – a penniless, dope-smoking aristocrat – is intent on selling the estate (complete with its own hippy encampment) to a secretive millionaire but the weekend has only just started when the millionaire goes missing and murder is on the cards. But army manoeuvres have closed the only access road and without a forensic examiner, Bryant and May can’t solve the case. It’s when a falling gargoyle fells another guest that the two incognito detectives decide to place their future reputations on the line. And in the process discover that in Swinging Britain nothing is quite what it seems… 
 
So gentle reader, you are cordially invited to a weekend in the country. Expect murder, madness and mayhem in the mansion!

Bryant & May – Hall of Mirrors

(Bryant & May Book 16)

Abbie Taylor

WOULD YOU DO THE WRONG THING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS? 
 
When Dawn became a nurse, she took an oath: first do no harm. It's a promise she believes in, and takes seriously. But one day, Dawn is faced with an unimaginable choice and has to decide where the line between murder and mercy is drawn. 
 
When she starts receiving threats, Dawn realizes that someone knows her terrible secret . . . and that their silence will come at a price. She risked everything for what she believed was right once before – but will she know when to stop? 
 
 
 
 
 
*previously published as In Safe Hands*

The Dilemma

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER 
 
A RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB 2018 PICK 
 
---------- 
 
Jack Reacher is having a bad day. 
 
It would be a dumb idea to make it worse. 
Reacher sees a West Point class ring in a pawn shop window. It's tiny. It's a woman cadet's graduation present to herself. Why would she give it up? Reacher was a West Pointer too, and he knows what she went through to get it. 
 
All he wants is to find the woman. 
 
He'll have to go through bikers, cops, crooks, and low-life muscle. 
If she's ok, he'll walk away. If she's not ... he'll stop at nothing. 
 
Best advice: stay out of his way. 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, The Midnight Line follows on directly from the end of Make Me. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

The Midnight Line

(Jack Reacher 22)

Our story begins at the end of an investigation, as the members of London's Peculiar Crimes Unit race to catch a killer near London Bridge Station in the rain, not realising that they’re about to cause a bizarre accident just yards away from the crime scene. And it will have repercussions for them all… 
One year later, in an exclusive London crescent, a woman walks her dog – but she’s being watched. When she’s found dead, the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to investigate. Why? Because the method of death is odd, the gardens are locked, the killer had no way in - or out - and the dog has disappeared. 
So a typical case for Bryant &amp; May. But the hows and whys of the murder are not the only mysteries surrounding the dead woman - there's a missing husband and a lost nanny to puzzle over too. And it seems very like that the killer is preparing to strike again. 
As Arthur Bryant delves in to the history of London’s ‘wild chambers’ - its extraordinary parks and gardens, John May and the rest of the team seem to have caused a national scandal. If no-one is safe then all of London’s open spaces must be closed… 
With the PCU placed under house arrest, only Arthur Bryant remains at liberty – but can a hallucinating old codger catch the criminal and save the unit before it’s too late?

Bryant & May - Wild Chamber

(Bryant & May Book 15)

* Don't miss 'THE CHEMISTRY OF DEATH' TV SERIES - now streaming on Paramount+ * 
 
Adapted from The Chemistry of Death and Written in Bone - starring Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter 
 
'Atmospheric . . . a tense, gripping read' Sunday Times 
 
It's not the dead we need to fear. . . 
 
Top forensics expert Dr David Hunter is facing an uncertain future - his career hangs in the balance and his personal life has taken a turn for the worse. So when he gets a call from Essex police, it comes at the perfect time. 
 
A badly decomposed body has been found in the mudflats and salt marshes of the Backwaters. Could it be linked to two unsolved missing-person cases? 
 
But as these desolate wetlands begin to give up their grisly secrets, more remains are discovered. 
 
With its eerie, claustrophobic sense of place, authentic forensics and explosive, heart-in-mouth moments, The Restless Dead is a masterclass in crime fiction.

The Restless Dead

(David Hunter 5): Harry Treadaway is Dr David Hunter: the darkly compelling new TV series ‘The Chemistry of Death’ – streaming now on Paramount+

"Including a new novella, the clever, twisty tales reveal that even 13-year-old Reacher was a force to be reckoned with." (Sunday Mirror) 
 
This is the first time all Lee Child's shorter fiction featuring Jack Reacher has been collected into one volume. 
 
Jack 'No Middle Name' Reacher, lone wolf, knight errant, ex military cop, lover of women, scourge of the wicked and righter of wrongs, is the most iconic hero for our age. 
 
Read together, these twelve stories shed new light on Reacher's past, illuminating how he grew up and developed into the wandering avenger who has captured the imagination of millions around the world. 
 
The twelve stories include a brand new novella, Too Much Time. 
 
The other stories in the collection are: 
 
Second Son 
James Penney's New Identity 
Guy Walks Into a Bar 
Deep Down, High Heat 
Not a Drill 
Small Wars 
 
All of which have previously been published as ebook shorts. 
 
Added to these is every other Reacher short story that Child has written: 
 
Everyone Talks 
Maybe They Have a Tradition 
No Room at the Motel 
The Picture of the Lonely Diner 
 
_________ 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! **OUT NOW**

No Middle Name

The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Stories

The river Thames is London’s most important yet neglected artery. When a young woman is found chained to a post in the tide, no-one can understand how she came to be drowned there. At the Peculiar Crimes Unit, Arthur Bryant and John May find themselves dealing with an impossible crime committed in a very public place. 
Soon they discover that the river is giving up other victims, but as the investigation extends from the coast of Libya to the nightclubs of North London, it proves as murkily sinister as the Thames itself. That’s only part of the problem; Bryant’s rapidly deteriorating condition prevents him from handling the case, and he is confined to home. To make matters worse, May makes a fatal error of judgement that knocks him out of action and places everyone at risk. 
With the PCU staff baffled as much by their own detectives as the case, the only people who can help now are the battery of eccentrics Bryant keeps listed in his diary, but will their arcane knowledge save the day or make matters even worse? Soon there’s a clear suspect in everyone’s sights – the only thing that’s missing is any scrap of evidence. 
As the detectives’ disastrous investigation comes unstuck, the whole team gets involved in some serious messing about on the river. In an adventure that’s as twisting as the river upon which it’s set, will there be anything left of the Peculiar Crimes Unit when it’s over?

Bryant & May - Strange Tide

(Bryant & May Book 14)

"I know I say this every year. . .But. Best. Reacher. Ever." (Karin Slaughter) 
 
It's just a voice plucked from the air: 'The American wants a hundred million dollars'. 
 
For what? Who from? It's 1996, and the Soviets are long gone. But now there's a new enemy. In an apartment in Hamburg, a group of smartly-dressed young Saudis are planning something big. 
 
In the morning they gave Reacher a medal, and in the afternoon they sent him back to school. 
 
Jack Reacher is fresh off a secret mission. The Army pats him on the back and sends him to a school with only three students: Reacher, an FBI agent, and a CIA analyst. Their assignment? 
 
To find that American. And what he's selling. And to whom. 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Night School is 21st in the series. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

Night School

(Jack Reacher 21)

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
That was how she saw him, mostly, in the weeks that followed. Standing there in the doorway with his toothy little grin, his crooked fringe, his blue fleece with the smiley elephant on the front. 
 
Life as a single mother is hard. Emma loves her thirteen-month-old son Ritchie, she really does – but sometimes, she dreams about what life would be like without him. But when Ritchie is abducted from the London Underground, Emma’s dream becomes a nightmarish reality. 
 
So why don’t the police seem to believe her? Why do they think that she would want to harm her son? 
 
If Emma wants Ritchie back, it looks like she’ll have to find him herself. She hasn’t been the best mother in the past – but she’s willing to go to desperate lengths to bring her little boy home . . .

Emma's Baby

The Sunday Times bestseller

Frank Gardner

'Fast, taut, tense, accurate. A terrific read' FREDERICK FORSYTH 
 'Authenticity seeps from every page . . . this is a promising start' DAILY MAIL 
 
 Introducing Luke Carlton - ex-Special Boat Service commando, and now under contract to MI6 for some of its most dangerous missions. 
 
 Sent into the steaming Colombian jungle to investigate the murder of a British intelligence officer, Luke finds himself caught up in the coils of a plot that has terrifying international dimensions. 
 
 Hunted down, captured, tortured and on the run from one of South America's most powerful and ruthless drugs cartels and its psychotic leader thirsting for revenge, Luke is in a life-or-death race against time to prevent a disaster on a truly terrifying scale: London is the target, the weapon is diabolical and the means of delivery is ingenious. 
 
 Drawing on his years of experience reporting on security matters, CRISIS is Frank Gardner's debut novel. Combining insider knowledge, up-to-the-minute hardware, fly on the wall insights with heart-in-mouth excitement, CRISIS boasts an irresistible, visceral frisson of authenticity: smart, fast-paced and furiously entertaining, here is a thriller for the 21st century. 
 
 Readers are gripped by Crisis: 
 ***** 'An excellently written page turner, full of intrigue.' 
 ***** 'It kept me engrossed and on the edge of my seat.' 
 ***** 'Superb writing style. Gripping story line.' 
 
 Luke Carlton returns in Frank Gardner's third, explosive thriller OUTBREAK. Available for pre-order now.

Crisis

James Becker

An extraordinary discovery. 
 
When his old friend, Angela, invites him out to her archaeological dig in the Iraqi desert, Chris Bronson is expecting a relaxing few days and an overdue catch-up. But when they arrive at the site they find her colleagues slaughtered and a recent discovery defaced. 
 
An ancient mystery. 
 
Their only clue is an incomplete inscription, which holds the key to uncovering the truth behind a centuries-old secret. With unknown assassins hot on their heels, Chris and Angela are forced into a desperate hunt across the globe for the final piece of the puzzle. And if they don’t find it first, the consequences could be fatal . . . 
 
The race of their lives.

The Templar Heresy

In every detective’s life there are cases that can’t be discussed, and throughout the Bryant &amp; May novels there have been mentions of some of these such as the Deptford Demon or the Little Italy Whelk Smuggling Scandal. 
Now Arthur Bryant has decided to open the files on eleven of these previously unseen investigations that required the collective genius and unique modus operandi of Arthur Bryant and John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit - investigations that range from different times (London during the Great Smog) and a variety of places: a circus freak show, on board a London Tour Bus and even a yacht off the coast of Turkey. 
And in addition to these eleven classic cases, readers are also given a privileged look inside the Peculiar Crimes Unit (literally, with a cut away drawing of their offices), a guide to the characters of the Peculiar Crimes Unit, and access to the contents of Arthur Bryant’s highly individual library.

Bryant & May - London's Glory

(Bryant & May Book 13, Short Stories)

Tess Gerritsen

What if your child wanted you dead? 
 
'I defy you to read the first chapter and not singe your fingers reading all the rest. It’s that compelling. It’s that good.' David Baldacci 
 
Julia is terrified by her daughter's aggressive behaviour. Lily has changed from an angelic little girl into someone she is afraid to be alone with. 
 
What scares Julia most, though, is that she knows why Lily is acting this way, but no-one will believe her. If she is going to help Lily, she will have to find the answers alone, embarking on a search that will take her to the shadowy back streets of Venice. 
 
There Julia finds far more than just answers, and uncovers a heartbreaking, long-buried tale of tragedy and devastation. And this discovery has put her in serious danger . . .

Playing with Fire

Erika Johansen

With each passing day, Kelsea Glynn is growing into her new responsibilities as Queen of the Tearling. By stopping the shipments of slaves to the neighbouring kingdom of Mortmesne, she crossed the Red Queen, a brutal ruler whose power derives from dark magic, who is sending her fearsome army into the Tearling to take what is hers. And nothing can stop the invasion. 
But as the Mort army draws ever closer, Kelsea develops a mysterious connection to a time before the Crossing, and she finds herself relying on a strange and possibly dangerous ally: a woman named Lily, fighting for her life in a world where being female can feel like a crime. The fate of the Tearling – and that of Kelsea’s own soul – may rest with Lily and her story, but Kelsea may not have enough time to find out. 
In this dazzling sequel to her bestselling debut The Queen of the Tearling, Erika Johansen brings back favourite characters, including the Mace and the Red Queen, and introduces unforgettable new players, adding exciting layers to her multidimensional tale of magic, mystery and a fierce young heroine.

The Invasion of the Tearling

(The Tearling Trilogy 2)

"Child's best for some time...with detective-story and romcom elements (even sly humour) on top of the psychological duels and set-piece violence." (Sunday Times) 
 
Jack Reacher has no place to go, and all the time in the world to get there. 
 
A remote railroad stop on the prairie with the curious name of Mother's Rest seems perfect for an aimless one-day stopover. He expects to find a lonely pioneer tombstone in a sea of nearly-ripe wheat. 
 
Instead there is a woman waiting for a missing colleague, a cryptic note about two hundred deaths, and a small town full of silent, watchful people. 
 
Reacher's one-day stopover turns into an open-ended quest leading to the most hidden reaches of the internet, and right into the nightmare heart of darkness. 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Make Me is 20th in the series. 
 
Be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW**

Make Me

(Jack Reacher 20)

London is under siege. A banking scandal has filled the city with violent protests, and as the anger in the streets detonates, a young homeless man burns to death after being caught in the crossfire between rioters and the police. 
But all is not as it seems; an opportunistic killer is using the chaos to exact revenge, but his intended victims are so mysteriously chosen that the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to find a way of stopping him. 
Using their network of eccentric contacts, elderly detectives Arthur Bryant and John May hunt down a murderer who adopts incendiary methods of execution. But they soon find their investigation taking an apocalyptic turn as the case comes to involve the history of mob rule, corruption, rebellion, punishment and the legend of Guy Fawkes. 
At the same time, several members of the PCU team reach dramatic turning points in their lives - but the most personal tragedy is yet to come, for as the race to bring down a cunning killer reaches its climax, Arthur Bryant faces his own devastating day of reckoning. 
‘I always said we’d go out with a hell of a bang,’ warns Bryant.

Bryant & May - The Burning Man

(Bryant & May 12)

Some moments burn in the mind for ever. The landing is dark. Light comes from a window at the far end, enough to run by. Breath comes hard. From the stairs sound heavy footfalls in pursuit. The landing ends in a last doorway. There is no more running, only the need to hide... 
 
Imagine not knowing the father of your child. Not knowing his name. What he looks like. Or what sort of person he is. Although she is desperate for a baby, that is something that Kate Powell cannot accept. Single, independent, she likes to be in control of her own life - even if it has, somehow, become strangely shallow and meaningless. 
 
Then Kate meets a man who seems to be the answer to all her problems. But we all know appearances can be dangerously deceptive. And Kate should too. Soon her life is out her hands. And out of control...

Where There's Smoke

"Consistently pulse-raising. . .an exhilarating ride. . .Personal wrests back the sheer gusto of the earlier novels; it's the best Reacher adventure in some considerable time." (Independent) 
 
Jack Reacher walks alone. 
 
Once a go-to hard man in the US military police, now he's a drifter of no fixed abode. But the army tracks him down. Because someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president. 
 
Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him. 
 
This new heartstopping, nailbiting book in Lee Child's number-one bestselling series takes Reacher across the Atlantic to Paris - and then to London. 
 
The stakes have never been higher - because this time, it's personal. 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Personal is 19th in the series. 
 
Be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

Personal

(Jack Reacher 19)

Graeme Shimmin

‘I don’t like killing, but I’m good at it. Murder isn’t so bad from a distance, just shapes popping up in my scope. Close-up work though – a garrotte around a target’s neck or a knife in their heart – it’s not for me. Too much empathy, that’s my problem. Usually. But not today. Today is different . . . ‘ 
 
The year is 1955 and something is very wrong with the world. It is fourteen years since Churchill died and the Second World War ended. In occupied Europe, Britain fights a cold war against a nuclear-armed Nazi Germany. 
In Berlin the Gestapo is on the trail of a beautiful young resistance fighter, and the head of the SS is plotting to dispose of an ailing Adolf Hitler and restart the war against Britain and her empire. Meanwhile, in a secret bunker hidden deep beneath the German countryside, scientists are experimenting with a force far beyond their understanding. 
 
Into this arena steps a nameless British assassin, on the run from a sinister cabal within his own government, and planning a private war against the Nazis. And now the fate of the world rests on a single kill in the morning . . .

A Kill in the Morning

It’s a fresh start for the Met's oddest investigation team, the Peculiar Crimes Unit. 
Their first case involves two teenagers who see a dead man rising from his grave in a London park. And if that's not alarming enough, one of them is killed in a hit and run accident. Stranger still, in the moments between when he was last seen alive and found dead on the pavement, someone has changed his shirt... 
Much to his frustration, Arthur Bryant is not allowed to investigate. Instead, he has been tasked with finding out how someone could have stolen the ravens from the Tower of London. All seven birds have vanished from one of the most secure fortresses in the city. And, as the legend has it, when the ravens leave, the nation falls… 
Soon it seems death is all around and Bryant and May must confront a group of latter-day bodysnatchers, explore an eerie funeral parlour and unearth the gruesome legend of Bleeding Heart Yard. More graves are desecrated, further deaths occur, and the symbol of the Bleeding Heart seems to turn up everywhere - it’s even discovered hidden in the PCU’s offices. And when Bryant is blindfolded and taken to the headquarters of a secret society, he realises that this case is more complex than even he had imagined, and that everyone is hiding something. The Grim Reaper walks abroad and seems to be stalking him, playing on his fears of premature burial. 
Rich in strange characters and steeped in London’s true history, this is Bryant &amp; May’s most peculiar and disturbing case of all.

Bryant & May - The Bleeding Heart

(Bryant & May Book 11)

Ariana Franklin

'An absorbing re-creation of the 12th Century . . . this is a fast-moving story of humbler folk caught up in cruel battles' The Independent 
 
‘Original, atmospheric and genuinely moving . . . captures the imagination and does not let go’ Giles Kristian 
 
It’s 1141 and freezing cold. 
 
Gwil, a battle-hardened mercenary, is horrified to stumble across a little girl close to death. She has been attacked, just one more victim in a winter of atrocities. Clutching a sliver of parchment, she is terrified – but Gwil knows what he must do. He will bring her back to life. He will train her to fight. And together, they will hunt down the man who did this to her. 
 
But danger looms wherever they turn. As castle after castle falls victim to siege, the icy Fens ring with rumours of a madman, of murder – and of a small piece of parchment with a terrible secret to tell, the cost of which none of them could have imagined . . .

Winter Siege

'Somebody!' I half-sob and then, more quietly, 'Please.' The words seem absorbed by the afternoon heat, lost amongst the trees. In their aftermath, the silence descends again. I know then that I’m not going anywhere... 
Sean is on the run. We don't know why and we don't know from whom, but we do know he's abandoned his battered, blood-stained car in the middle of an isolated part of rural France at the height of a sweltering summer. Desperate to avoid the police, he takes to the parched fields and country lanes but his leg is caught in a vicious animal trap. Near unconscious from pain and loss of blood, he is freed and taken in by two women - daughters of the owner of a rundown local farm with its ramshackle barn, blighted vineyard and the brooding lake. And it's then that Sean's problems really start... 
This nail-shredder of a thriller - like the fiction of Nicci French or Gillian Flynn - holds you from the beginning, tightening its grip as the story unfurls and shocks you with its final twist.

Stone Bruises

'FAST-PACED, TAUT AND PUNCHY' Sunday Times 
 
After an epic and interrupted journey all the way from the snows of South Dakota, Jack Reacher has finally made it to Virginia. His destination, the closest thing to a home he ever had: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th Military Police. 
 
Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But now he's arrived, she's disappeared, and things are getting weird. 
 
Accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide and co-opted back into the army, Reacher says nothing. 
 
But he's sure as hell thinking of a way out. 
 
'One of Reacher's best...a must' Daily Express 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, Never Go Back follows on directly from the end of A Wanted Man. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

Never Go Back

(Jack Reacher 18)

Mo Hayder

Mo Hayder's Jack Caffery series is not for the faint-hearted. 
DI Jack Caffery specialises in the most gruesome, twisted and terrifying crimes. Against the clock to find the killer before the next murder is committed, Caffery is young, unshockable and driven.

Bestselling and prize-winning author Mo Hayder has penned another spine-tingling and stomach-churning thriller that is guaranteed to keep you turning the pages. Creepy, enthralling, twisty and very moving, Poppet is perfect for fans of Stephen King, Stuart MacBride and Karin Slaughter. 
 
'Hayder has a profound ability to shock and surprise her readers' -- Karin Slaughter 
'With Mo Hayder you never know where you are going until you get there' -- The Times 
'Oozes sinisterness from the first page' -- Entertainment weekly 
'Full of twists, turns and lots of tension . . . deliciously dark and creepy.' -- ***** Reader review 
'Completely compulsive reading . . . gritty and often shocking.' -- ***** Reader review 
'Poppet had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up from the very beginning.' -- ***** Reader review 
'Full of twist and turns with a totally unexpected twist at the end!' -- ***** Reader review 
************************************************************************* 
THE MAUDE IS OUTSIDE. 
 
IT WANTS TO COME IN. 
 
IT WANTS TO SIT ON YOUR CHEST. 
 
The patients at Beechway High Secure Unit are terrified. Unexplained power cuts have lead to a series of horrifying incidents. And now fear has spread from the inmates to the staff. 
 
DI Jack Caffery is called to investigate, whilst working the most impossible case of his life. 
 
Will he be able to stare pure evil in the eye, and survive?

Poppet

Featuring Jack Caffrey, star of BBC’s Wolf series. A tense and terrifying thriller from the bestselling author

(Jack Caffery Book 6): the heart-stopping thriller that will keep you up all night from bestselling author Mo Hayder

FROM THE PUBLISHERS THAT BROUGHT YOU DAN BROWN 
 
For thousands of years we guarded it. But now it has been found. This could be the end – for us; for our organisation; for the world. You must destroy it, and those who have taken it. 
 
An ancient object is discovered in a Cairo souk. Hours later, the market trader who sold it is tortured to death. As the bodies begin to pile up, a request for help is sent to British Museum historian Angela Lewis. 
 
Angela travels to Spain with her ex-husband, undercover police officer Chris Bronson. There they discover the key to the greatest secret in the history of Christianity. 
 
Their only problem is deciphering it before they are brutally murdered like those before them...

The Lost Testament

Winner of CrimeFest 2013's 'eDunnit Award' for 'the best crime fiction ebook published in 2012 in both hardcopy and in electronic format'. 
 
Two small children are playing a game called 'Witch-Hunter'. They place a curse on a young woman taking lunch in a church courtyard and wait for her to die. An hour later the woman is indeed found dead inside St Bride's Church - a building that no-one else has entered. 
 
Unfortunately Bryant &amp; May are refused the case. Instead, there are hired by their greatest enemy to find out why his wife has suddenly started behaving strangely. She's become an embarrassment to him at government dinners, and he is convinced that someone is trying to drive her insane. She has even taken to covering the mirrors in her apartment, and believes herself to be the victim of witchcraft. 
 
Then a society photographer is stabbed to death in a nearby park and suddenly a link emerges between the two cases. And so begins an investigation that will test the members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit to their limits, setting Arthur Bryant off on a trail that leads to Bedlam and Bletchley Park, and into the world of madness, codes and the secret of London's strangest relic. 
 
As the members of the Peculiar Crimes Unit dig behind the city's facades to expose a world of private clubs, hidden passages and covert loyalties, they realise that the case might not just end in disaster - it might also get everyone killed.

Bryant & May and the Invisible Code

(Bryant & May Book 10)

'A fascinating, swaggeringly confident performance' Sunday Times 
 
When you're as big and rough as Jack Reacher - and you have a badly set, freshly busted nose - it isn't easy to hitch a ride in Nebraska. At last, he's picked up by three strangers - two men and a woman. 
 
Within minutes it becomes clear they're all lying about everything - and there's a police roadblock ahead. There has been an incident, and the cops are looking for the bad guys . . . 
 
Will they get through because the three are innocent? Or because the three are now four? Is Reacher just a decoy? 
 
_________ 
 
Although the Jack Reacher novels can be read in any order, A Wanted Man follows on directly from the end of Worth Dying For. 
 
And be sure not to miss Reacher's newest adventure, no.29, In Too Deep! ***OUT NOW***

A Wanted Man

(Jack Reacher 17)

Tim Sebastian

Edward Bell’s mother had left the Soviet Union thirty years before – a political firebrand, a troublemaker. She worked as an interpreter, and to begin with she’d tried hard to be English. She’d kept her accent in check, been friendly with other mothers at Edward’s school. But gradually she returned to being a foreigner, she went to foreign shops, communicated only with foreign people. To her, England was nothing more than the view for the front window. 
 
She and Edward appear to have lived quietly enough until one day, the war over, a Russian businessman is found dead in London. Suddenly they are hunted by security agents from the major powers, unleashing a cycle of killing right across Europe and into Russia. For Edward Bell it is a nightmare journey – his past is colliding frighteningly with the present and he must extract his family from the ruins of a cold war that is still threatening their lives. 
 
The world through which he travels divides husband and wife, mother and son, twisting their destiny in violence and betrayal. In making his move, Bell must ultimately choose between the death of a principle and the life of a human being. He must struggle to break the political stranglehold on him and on those he loves – struggle for his last rights.

Last Rights

A Private Thriller

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

A Puffin Book

A Ripley Novel

A Slice of the Moon

A Victorian Mystery

A Walk in...

A Women’s Murder Club Thriller

A chef Paul Delamare Mystery

Aberrations

Across the Universe

Actiphons

Adelia Aguilar

Adrian Mole

Adventures in Time

Aftermath

Against War

Age of X

Agent 21

Agent Z

Detective Aidan Waits is a troubled junior detective haunted by his past. Facing an uncertain future, and disconnected from his history, DC Waits and his partner, Detective Inspector Peter 'Sutty' Sutcliffe work on Manchester's streets to uncover the city's worst criminals among the grime of the underworld.

Filters

Category

Publication Date

Format

Series

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter