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The Comfort of Monsters
by Willa C. Richards&‘Every sentence is a delight in this taut and thrilling debut by Willa Richards.&’ Elizabeth Wetmore, author of Valentine &‘Richards has flipped the usual narrative, centring not on the crime itself but on the loss that ripples from it.&’ New York Times Book Review A remarkable debut novel for fans of Mary Gaitskill and Gillian Flynn about two sisters – one who disappears and the other who is left to pick up the pieces. In the summer of 1991, teen Dee McBride vanished in the city of Milwaukee. It was the summer the Journal Sentinel dubbed &‘the deadliest . . . in the history of Milwaukee.&’ Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer&’s heinous crimes dominated the headlines and the disappearance of one girl was easily overlooked. 2019, nearly thirty years later, Dee's sister, Peg, is still haunted by her disappearance. Desperate to find out what happened to her, the family hire a psychic and Peg is plunged back into the past. But Peg&’s hazy recollections are far from easy to interpret and digging deep into her memory raises terrifying questions. How much trust can we place in our own recollections? How often are our memories altered by the very act of speaking them aloud? And what does it mean to bear witness in a world where even our own stories about what happened are inherently suspect? A heartbreaking page-turner, Willa C. Richards&’ debut novel is the story of a broken family looking for answers in the face of the unknown.
The Comforts of Home (Simon Serrailler #9)
by Susan HillSimon Serrailler faces his most difficult case yet in the ninth installment of Susan Hill’s gripping mystery series. <p><p> Susan Hill—the Man Booker Prize nominee and winner of the Whitbread, Somerset Maugham, and John Llewellyn Rhys awards—returns with a hair-raising new novel, the ninth book in one of the most acclaimed mystery series of our time. Featuring the enigmatic and brooding chief police inspector Simon Serrailler, this intricate and pulse-pounding series follows a collection of grisly crimes plaguing the city of Lafferton—and The Comforts of Home is the most chilling and unputdownable installment yet. <p><p> In this gripping new thriller, Simon, eager to be back at work after recovering from a near-fatal injury, takes on a cold-case review for the Lafferton police about a girl who disappeared some years before. Meanwhile, his family adjusts to changes of its own; namely his sister’s marriage to Chief Constable Kieron Bright. But when events take an unfavorable turn for the Chief Constable and an arsonist goes on a deadly rampage in Lafferton, Simon’s personal and professional lives intertwine in more complex and devastating ways than ever before. <p><p> In the tradition of the fabulous mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P.D. James, The Comforts of Home is Susan Hill’s best work yet—a heart-pounding new addition to a highly-applauded and “elegant” (The New York Times) series.
The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday (Isabel Dalhousie #5)
by Alexander Mccall SmithISABEL DALHOUSIE - Book 5 Nothing captures the charm of Edinburgh like the bestselling Isabel Dalhousie series of novels featuring the insatiably curious philosopher and woman detective. Whether investigating a case or a problem of philosophy, the indefatigable Isabel Dalhousie, one of fiction's most richly developed amateur detectives, is always ready to pursue the answers to all of life's questions, large and small.In the delectable fifth installment of the bestselling adventures of Isabel Dalhousie, our cherished inquisitive heroine returns to investigate a medical mystery.A doctor's career has been ruined by allegations of medical fraud and Isabel cannot ignore what may be a miscarriage of justice. Besides, Isabel's insatiable interest is piqued and she finds herself asking questions. Would a respected doctor make such a grave mistake? If not, what explains the death of the patient? Clearly, an investigation is in order.Meanwhile, there is her baby Charlie, who needs looking after; her niece Cat who needs someone to mind her deli; and a mysterious composer who has latched on to Jamie, making Isabel decidedly uncomfortable. Whatever the problem, whatever the case, we know we can count on Isabel's instincts to help her find the right solution.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Comic Book Mystery (Boxcar Children #93)
by Gertrude Chandler Warner Hodges SoileauHenry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live alone in a boxcar. Now they have a home with their grandfather, and they're going to a comic book convention! The Alden Children are searching for a rare comic book of their favorite superhero, Captain Fantastic. When they finally find the comic, they discover something else, too: a strange note inside, "signed" by the comic's creator. The Aldens soon realize the note is fake. But when they start to investigate, the mysterious note is stolen! It looks like Captain Fantastic has a real-life enemy. Who would want to sabotage a superhero? The Aldens will need their super powers of investigation to catch this comic book culprit!
The Coming Storm: A Thriller
by Mark Alpert"This novel isn't just ripped from the headlines, it's an alarm bell ringing from the near-future, a prescient warning of where we're headed next. Read this now--before it's literally too late." - New York Times bestselling author James RollinsAmerica is on the brink of collapse, devastated by a brutal government trying to silence its citizens, in The Coming Storm, the next action-packed thriller from Mark Alpert.New York City, 2023: Rising seas and superstorms have ravaged the land. Food and electricity are scarce. A dangerous Washington regime has terrorized the city, forcing the most vulnerable and defenseless people into the flood-ravaged neighborhoods. The new laws are enforced by an army of genetically enhanced soldiers, designed to be the fiercest and cruelest of killers. Genetic scientist Dr. Jenna Khan knows too much about how these super-soldiers were engineered: by altering the DNA sequence in ways that could change the fabric of humanity.Escaping arrest and on the run, Jenna joins forces with a genetically enhanced soldier gone rogue and a Brooklyn gang kingpin to resist the government’s plan to manipulate the DNA of all Americans. The race is on to stop the evil experiment before it spreads the genetic changes…and transforms the human species forever."THE COMING STORM illustrates a terrifying near future that has a direct line of sight to the politics and crises of today...there’s no doubt the book should make us sit up and listen." - The Big Thrill
The Coming of Mr. Quin
by Agatha ChristieOn a dark evening, Mr. Harley Quin appears at the door of Royston Hall under the premise that his car has broken down. Once inside, he embarks upon the tragic tale of Royston Hall's former occupants, leading to a dramatic change in the perceptions of the current inhabitants - but has Mr. Quin's revelation come too late?
The Coming of the Monster: A Tale of the Masterful Monk
by Owen Francis DudleyFATHER ANSELM THORNTON, the Masterful Monk, reappears, to enter the lives of Captain Louis Vivien, of the French Intelligence Service, and Verna Wray, the girl of the tale.The theme is the growing revolt against God and the moral law which is now spreading openly or in subtle forms throughout the world.An unusual love story is interwoven, the setting of which lies mainly in England, with incidental work in Leningrad, Paris, Lourdes and Hollywood. The tale works up to a love-climax, and to a startling ending, consequent upon the detective work of Captain Louis Vivien and certain acts of the Masterful Monk.It will be noticed that the author has adopted a cinema technique—interspersing “interims” with “shots” superimposed in quick succession. The method is effective for showing the monster of revolt in the background, behind the happenings of the tale.
The Command (A Dan Lenson Novel #8)
by David PoyerAfter receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for action in Iraq, Commander Daniel V. Lenson is given new orders: "Take over as skipper of USS Thomas W. Horn." His mission: Prepare the Tomahawk-equipped strike destroyer and her crew for the Red Sea, where she'll join an international task force searching for weapons of mass destruction. But this will be no routine deployment. Horn will be the first U.S. Navy warship ever to deploy with an integrated male and female crew-a controversial and politically explosive experiment that will raise questions about morale, behavior, training, sexual attraction, and ultimately, performance under fire. Facing sandstorms, smugglers, and ambushes, Horn's increasingly polarized crew will conduct demanding, diplomatically sensitive search-and-seizure operations against foreign vessels attempting to smuggle arms to Iraq. But the real nightmare is brewing in Bahrain. There, the most dangerous bomb expert in Al-Qaeda has targeted Horn for attack as the first step in a plan to redraw the map of the whole Middle East. With gripping action scenes and an explosive climax, The Command continues Dan Lenson's star-crossed career in a series that explores both global and deeply personal implications of honor, duty, power, and war.
The Commander
by Patrick A. DavisAfter being unfairly denied promotion by a vindictive general, Air Force investigator Major Burton Webber resigned his commission in disgust. While working in his wife's shop outside South Korea's Osan Air Base, he's asked for help by an old friend from the service. A local Amerasian bar beauty has been savagely murdered in a lavish apartment -- and the powers that be want the case solved quickly and quietly. But when his investigation points him toward the upper echelons of both the Korean and American governments, he realizes that he's being used as a pawn in a twisted international conspiracy of money, power, and murder -- a conspiracy in which Burton Webber has just outlived his usefulness....
The Commission: A Sam Kincaid Mystery (Sam Kincaid Series #0)
by Michael Norman"Norman is off to a fine start with this alternately gripping and repellent crime novel."—Publishers Weekly STARRED reviewLevi Vogue, Chairman of the powerful Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, is gunned down in the driveway of his home as he returns from a late evening tryst with an exotic dancer. Sam Kincaid, Chief of the Special Investigations Branch (SIB) of the Utah Department of Corrections, is assigned to help Salt Lake City Police Department homicide detective Lt. Kate McConnell solve Vogue's murder.The investigation draws Kincaid and McConnell into the city's seedy underbelly, where the investigation focuses on Charles (Slick) Watts, a violent ex-convict with a long criminal history and a score to settle with Levi Vogue. But before Watts can be apprehended, his body is discovered at an abandoned military base in Wendover, Nevada.Kincaid and McConnell soon expand their theory of the case and are led inside the Utah state prison...
The Committed
by Viet Thanh Nguyen'Call The Committed many things. A white hot literary thriller disguised as a searing novel of ideas. An unflinching look at redemption and damnation. An unblinking examination of the dangers of belief, and the need to believe. A sequel that goes toe to toe with the original then surpasses it. A masterwork' Marlon James, Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings The long-awaited new novel from one of America's most highly regarded contemporary writers, The Committed follows the Sympathizer as he arrives in Paris as a refugee. There he and his blood brother Bon try to escape their pasts and prepare for their futures by turning their hands to capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing. No longer in physical danger, but still inwardly tortured by his reeducation at the hands of his former best friend, and struggling to assimilate into a dominant culture, the Sympathizer is both charmed and disturbed by Paris. As he falls in with a group of left-wing intellectuals and politicians who frequent dinner parties given by his French Vietnamese "aunt," he finds not just stimulation for his mind but also customers for his merchandise - but the new life he is making has dangers he has not foreseen, from the oppression of the state, to the self-torture of addiction, to the seemingly unresolvable paradox of how he can reunite his two closest friends, men whose worldviews put them in absolute opposition. Both literary thriller and brilliant novel of ideas, The Committed is a blistering portrayal of commitment and betrayal that will cement Viet Thanh Nguyen's position in the firmament of American letters.
The Committed
by Viet Thanh Nguyen'Call The Committed many things. A white hot literary thriller disguised as a searing novel of ideas. An unflinching look at redemption and damnation. An unblinking examination of the dangers of belief, and the need to believe. A sequel that goes toe to toe with the original then surpasses it. A masterwork' Marlon James, Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven KillingsThe long-awaited new novel from one of America's most highly regarded contemporary writers, The Committed follows the Sympathizer as he arrives in Paris as a refugee. There he and his blood brother Bon try to escape their pasts and prepare for their futures by turning their hands to capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing. No longer in physical danger, but still inwardly tortured by his reeducation at the hands of his former best friend, and struggling to assimilate into a dominant culture, the Sympathizer is both charmed and disturbed by Paris. As he falls in with a group of left-wing intellectuals and politicians who frequent dinner parties given by his French Vietnamese "aunt," he finds not just stimulation for his mind but also customers for his merchandise - but the new life he is making has dangers he has not foreseen, from the oppression of the state, to the self-torture of addiction, to the seemingly unresolvable paradox of how he can reunite his two closest friends, men whose worldviews put them in absolute opposition.Both literary thriller and brilliant novel of ideas, The Committed is a blistering portrayal of commitment and betrayal that will cement Viet Thanh Nguyen's position in the firmament of American letters.'Here it is, with perfect timing, a novel that anyone who is part of a colonising or colonised nation - and that includes, of course, America - should read . . . Nguyen is a craftsman . . . And then there's the sharp humour . . . Like The Sympathizer, it amounts to much more than the sum of its parts. These two novels constitute a powerful challenge to an enduring narrative of colonialism and neo-colonialism. One waits to see what Nguyen, and the man of two faces, will do next' the Guardian'If The Sympathizer was ostensibly a spy novel, then The Committed is a gangland thriller . . . Two contemporary classics for your bedside table' The Telegraph, five star review
The Committed
by Viet Thanh Nguyen'Call The Committed many things. A white hot literary thriller disguised as a searing novel of ideas. An unflinching look at redemption and damnation. An unblinking examination of the dangers of belief, and the need to believe. A sequel that goes toe to toe with the original then surpasses it. A masterwork' Marlon James, Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven KillingsThe long-awaited new novel from one of America's most highly regarded contemporary writers, The Committed follows the Sympathizer as he arrives in Paris as a refugee. There he and his blood brother Bon try to escape their pasts and prepare for their futures by turning their hands to capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing. No longer in physical danger, but still inwardly tortured by his reeducation at the hands of his former best friend, and struggling to assimilate into a dominant culture, the Sympathizer is both charmed and disturbed by Paris. As he falls in with a group of left-wing intellectuals and politicians who frequent dinner parties given by his French Vietnamese "aunt," he finds not just stimulation for his mind but also customers for his merchandise - but the new life he is making has dangers he has not foreseen, from the oppression of the state, to the self-torture of addiction, to the seemingly unresolvable paradox of how he can reunite his two closest friends, men whose worldviews put them in absolute opposition.Both literary thriller and brilliant novel of ideas, The Committed is a blistering portrayal of commitment and betrayal that will cement Viet Thanh Nguyen's position in the firmament of American letters.Copyright © 2021 by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc. Epigraph by Rithy Panh with Christophe Bataille, excerpted from The Elimination, translated by John Cullen. Copyright © 2014 by Rithy Panh. Reprinted by permission of Other Press. "Seasons in the Sun." Written by Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen. Published by Edward B. Marks Music Company (BMI). All rights administered by Round Hill Carlin, LLC. "Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi." Words and Music by Jacques Dutronc and Jacques Lanzmann. Copyright (c) 1966 Alpha Editions Musicales. Copyright Renewed. All Rights Administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission. Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard LLC. 'Here it is, with perfect timing, a novel that anyone who is part of a colonising or colonised nation - and that includes, of course, America - should read . . . Nguyen is a craftsman . . . And then there's the sharp humour . . . Like The Sympathizer, it amounts to much more than the sum of its parts. These two novels constitute a powerful challenge to an enduring narrative of colonialism and neo-colonialism. One waits to see what Nguyen, and the man of two faces, will do next' the Guardian'If The Sympathizer was ostensibly a spy novel, then The Committed is a gangland thriller . . . Two contemporary classics for your bedside table' The Telegraph, five star review
The Committee: A Novel
by Sterling Watson“Transmutes Lavender Scare investigators’ ruthless assaults on suspected homosexuals in 1950s Gainesville into heart-racing fiction.” —New York Journal of BooksIn the late 1950s, Gainesville, Florida, seems to be a sleepy university town. Its residents live, by outward appearances, ordinary lives. And yet the town is far from ordinary. The most private acts of professors, students, townspeople rich and poor, and politicians are under the close scrutiny of a shadowy group of men—the Committee—who use the powers of government and the police to investigate, threaten, and control this increasingly fearful community.The Committee pits friends against friends and threatens careers and lives in a struggle for the soul of a town, a university, and an ideal. Based on actual historical events and set against the backdrop of political, cultural, and class turmoil, this is a story of love—both licit and hidden—war, friendship, betrayal, compromise, and finally the necessity to stand firm against the encroachments upon freedom by men who believe they are doing God’s and the government’s righteous work.“The Committee takes place on campus, but deserves to be included with those ‘academic’ novels like Mary McCarthy’s The Groves of Academe, Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim, and Jane Smiley’s Moo, all books that burst out of their scholarly settings to light up the characters and societies they live in . . . This book will hold you to the very end, and after.” —Peter Meinke, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay“At once an historical, political, and academic novel, and it is one that succeeds on all these fronts.” —Reviewing the Evidence
The Common Lawyer
by Mark GimenezAndy Prescott is the most laid-back young lawyer in Austin, Texas. Specialising in traffic law, he operates from a small room above a ramshackle tattoo parlour. He rides a trail bike and spends way too much time drinking beer in the sunshine. Ambition has never been Andy's strong point - he prefers to take it easy.That is, until one of Texas's wealthiest men walks into his office. On the spot, billionaire Russell Reeves retains Andy as his lawyer and, in exchange for some easy legal work, pays him more money than he has ever earned before. Andy's life is transformed.But nothing comes for free. Russell is a desperate man whose sole aim is to save his eight-year-old son, Zach, who is dying from leukemia. He is prepared to do anything - even if it means putting Andy's life in danger...
The Common Lawyer
by Mark GimenezAndy Prescott is the most laid-back young lawyer in Austin, Texas. Specialising in traffic law, he operates from a small room above a ramshackle tattoo parlour. He rides a trail bike and spends way too much time drinking beer in the sunshine. Ambition has never been Andy's strong point - he prefers to take it easy.That is, until one of Texas's wealthiest men walks into his office. On the spot, billionaire Russell Reeves retains Andy as his lawyer and, in exchange for some easy legal work, pays him more money than he has ever earned before. Andy's life is transformed.But nothing comes for free. Russell is a desperate man whose sole aim is to save his eight-year-old son, Zach, who is dying from leukemia. He is prepared to do anything - even if it means putting Andy's life in danger...
The Common Pleas Lawyer: A Casey Cort Novella (A Casey Cort Novel #0.5)
by Aime AustinSylvie Fox writing as Aime Austin shares the beginning of Casey Cort's story. Casey crosses a powerful family in this prequel novella. It's spring in Cleveland, Ohio, but Casey Cort isn't going to let rain and gray skies get her down. The last year of law school is a magical time. At any moment her long-time boyfriend, Tom Brody, is going to pop the question. She's ready to finish a successful year as a senior editor on the law review, and her dream job at Morrell Gates is right around the corner. The bar exam is her last hurdle, and she's more than ready to jump it. Or so she thinks. When Casey reports an honor code violation to the dean of the law school, her perfect future comes crashing down around her as friends and fellow students fail to come to her rescue. In this prequel novella of the Casey Cort series, Aime Austin--a former trial lawyer in Cleveland--weaves a tale that blends the best of today's top legal thrillers with the heart and soul of women's fiction, in a story ripped from real-world headlines.
The Commuter
by Patrick OsterIt seemed an innocent enough idea. After Barnaby Gilbert got laid off with a nice severance, his boss suggested he take up a new hobby to fill up his free time. On his regular commuter train, Barnaby got an idea what that hobby would be. He decided to satisfy a curiosity he'd long had. An avid birder, he began tracking some regular passengers -- people he'd always wondered about -- to see where they went and what they did. In following a Chinese man, a schoolgirl, and a sexy woman, he used the same techniques he had to add hawks and herons to his life list. But in this quirky, tongue-in-cheek thriller, he found out pretty fast that humans were a much more dangerous species.
The Companion
by Agatha ChristieA classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually for the first time as an ebook. When Miss Marple dines at the Bantrys the conversation always turns to murder. Whilst Dr Lloyd was in the Canary Islands, a woman drowned in the sea. To all it seems an accident, but one eyewitness says her paid companion deliberately drowned her…
The Companion
by Katie AlenderThe other orphans say Margot is lucky. Lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family. Lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night. And finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate. But it wasn't luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home. Margot was handpicked to be a companion to their silent, mysterious daughter, Agatha. At first, helping with Agatha--and getting to know her handsome older brother--seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated, gothic house begins playing tricks on Margot&’s mind, making her question everything she believes about the Suttons . . . and herself. Margot&’s bad dreams may have stopped when she came to live with Agatha – but the real nightmare has just begun.
The Companion
by Lloyd A. MeekerShepherd Bucknam hasn't had a lover in more than a decade and doesn't need one. As a Daka, he coaches men in the sacred art and mystery of sexual ecstasy all the time, and he loves his work. It's his calling. In fact, he's perfectly content--except for the terrors of his recurring nightmare and the ominous blood-red birthmarks on his neck. He's convinced that together they foretell his early and violent death. When Shepherd's young protégé is murdered, LAPD Detective Marco Fidanza gets the case. The two men are worlds apart: Marco has fought hard for everything he's accomplished, in sharp contrast to the apparent ease of Shepherd's inherited wealth--but their mutual attraction is too hot for either of them to ignore. Shepherd swears he'll help find his protégé's killer, but Marco warns him to stay out of it. When an influential politician is implicated, the police investigation grinds to a halt. Shepherd hires his own investigator. Marco calls it dangerous meddling. As their volatile relationship deepens, Shepherd discovers his nightmares might not relate to the future, but to the deadly legacy of a past life--a life he may have to revisit before he can fully live and love in this one. 2015 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance
The Companion
by Sarah DunnakeyThe Companion is a beautiful and powerfully-told story of buried secrets and unsolved murder, set between the 1930s and the present day, on the wild Yorkshire moors.'Utterly charming, wonderfully creepy and rich with mystery. The Companion is a rare treat.' CL Taylor, Sunday Times bestselling author of The EscapeBilly Shaw lives in a palace. Potter's Pleasure Palace, the best entertainment venue in Yorkshire, complete with dancing, swing-boats and a roller-skating rink.When it is arranged for him to become companion to the child at the big house above the valley, Billy leaves home to find a wild, peculiar boy in a curiously haphazard household where nothing that's meant is said and the air is thick with secrets. Before long, tragedy strikes and facts become entangled with fictions. It's left to Anna Sallis, almost a century later, to unravel the knots and find the truth.'An absorbing mystery story, really evocative of the Yorkshire Moors and the mill. I loved the character of Billy Shaw! The story kept me engrossed and flipping the pages right to the end' Katherine Webb, bestselling author of The Legacy 'The Companion is beautifully written and so evocative of time and place...If you thought the Brontes were the most intriguing literary family in Yorkshire, wait until you meet the Harpers' Linda Green, author of the No.1 bestseller, While My Eyes Were Closed 'Sarah writes with warmth, wit and wisdom AND she makes you want to turn the page. A rare combination' John Humphrys
The Companion
by Sarah DunnakeyThe Companion is a beautiful and powerfully-told story of buried secrets and unsolved murder, set between the 1930s and the present day, on the wild Yorkshire moors.'Utterly charming, wonderfully creepy and rich with mystery. The Companion is a rare treat.' CL Taylor, Sunday Times bestselling author of The EscapeBilly Shaw lives in a palace. Potter's Pleasure Palace, the best entertainment venue in Yorkshire, complete with dancing, swing-boats and a roller-skating rink.When it is arranged for him to become companion to the child at the big house above the valley, Billy leaves home to find a wild, peculiar boy in a curiously haphazard household where nothing that's meant is said and the air is thick with secrets. Before long, tragedy strikes and facts become entangled with fictions. It's left to Anna Sallis, almost a century later, to unravel the knots and find the truth.'An absorbing mystery story, really evocative of the Yorkshire Moors and the mill. I loved the character of Billy Shaw! The story kept me engrossed and flipping the pages right to the end' Katherine Webb, bestselling author of The Legacy 'The Companion is beautifully written and so evocative of time and place...If you thought the Brontes were the most intriguing literary family in Yorkshire, wait until you meet the Harpers' Linda Green, author of the No.1 bestseller, While My Eyes Were Closed 'Sarah writes with warmth, wit and wisdom AND she makes you want to turn the page. A rare combination' John Humphrys
The Companion
by Sarah DunnakeyThe Companion is a beautiful and powerfully-told story of buried secrets, set between the 1930s and the present day, on the wild Yorkshire moors.Billy Shaw lives in a palace. Potter's Pleasure Palace, the best entertainment venue in Yorkshire, complete with dancing and swing-boats and picnickers and a roller-skating rink. Jasper Harper lives in the big house above the valley, with his eccentric mother Edie and Uncle Charles, brother and sister authors who have come from London to write in the seclusion of the moors. When it is arranged for Billy to become Jasper's companion, Billy arrives to find a wild, peculiar boy in a curiously haphazard household where nothing that's meant is said and the air is thick with secrets. Later, when Charles and Edie are found dead, it is ruled a double suicide, but fictions have become tangled up in facts and it's left to Anna Sallis, almost a century later, to unravel the knots and piece together the truth.Read by Sherry Baines and Mike Rogers(p) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
The Company
by J.M. Varese'Diabolically good . . . J.M. Varese's gothic tale is sinuously elegant and claustrophobic as deadly Victorian wallpaper' Kate Griffin, author of FyneshadeLondon, 1870.Lucy Braithwhite lives a privileged existence as heir to the fortune of Braithwhite & Company - the most successful purveyor of English luxury wallpapers the world over. The company's formulas have been respected for nearly a century, but have always remained cloaked in mystery. No one has been able to explain the originality of design, or the brilliance of their colours, leaving many to wonder if the mysterious spell-like effect of their wallpapers is due simply to artistry, or something more sinister.When Mr Luckhurst, the company's manager, and the man who has acted as surrogate father to Lucy and her invalid brother John since they were children, suddenly dies, Lucy is shocked to discover that there is no succession plan in place. Who will ensure that the company and her family continue to thrive?The answer soon arrives in the form of the young and alluring Julian Rivers, who, unbeknownst to Lucy and John, has been essential to the company's operations for some time. At first, he seems like the answer to their prayers, but as Lucy begins piecing together Julian's true intentions, and John begins seeing spectral visions in the house's wallpaper, it becomes clear to Lucy that she must do everything within her power to oppose the diabolic forces that have risen up to destroy her family.Set against the backdrop of the real-life arsenic wallpaper controversy of the late 19th century, The Company is a dark and haunting slice of gothic Victoriana, following one woman's fight to preserve all that she holds dear.'A chilling gothic thriller . . . entrancing, entwining, and entrapping' Hollis Seamon, author of Corporeality'Varese brings to life the true grittiness of 19th-century London' Amanda Foreman, author of The Duchess'The Company creeps up on its readers before it so splendidly pounces. The new master of suspense has arrived' John Bowen, author of Other Dickens