Ellen Trawton is running away from it all-literally. She's getting married to a man she doesn't love, her job is depressing and her mother is getting on her nerves. So she escapes to the one place she knows her mother won't follow her-her aunt's house in rural Ireland. Once there, she uncovers a dark family secret-and a future she never knew she mi...

Bestselling children's book writer Angelica is amused and flattered at the attention of Jack, the owner of a vineyard in South Africa, whom she meets at a dinner party. With his easy charm and reputation as a ladies' man, Jack makes her feel good about herself-surely it can't do any harm to indulge in a mild email flirtation?

Santa Montefiore's involving and dramatic novel The Butterfly Box opens in Vina del Mar, Chile, in the sweltering Summer of 1982. Frederica Campione adores her father. When he gives her a magical box from Peru she believes he will always be there for her. Yet, when her parents' marriage falls apart, she is forced to move to Cornwall with her mother...

For thirty years, Area X has remained behind its border- an environmental disaster zone. Eleven expeditions have been sent in to investigate; all with terrible consequences. Annihilation is the story of the twelfth expedition. Their mission: to take samples and expand their understanding of Area X. But an inexplicable moaning calls in the distance,...

Max Flynn, undercover agent, has the unenviable job of spying on his own side. When to kill, who to kill, whether to kill are all questions which have to be answered. But why does an innocuous airline ticket No. 14B matter so much? Who has gone to the trouble of committing suicide? The murky world of counter espionage leaves no room for errors and...

A vicious robbery at a secluded Brighton mansion leaves its elderly occupant dying, and millions of pounds' worth of valuables stolen. But, as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace rapidly learns, there is one priceless item of sentimental value that the old woman's powerful family cherish above all else. And they are fully prepared to take the law in...

Moments of change, chance encounters, twists of fate that create a new way of thinking or being: the stories in Dear Life build to form a radiant, indelible portrait of just how dangerous and strange ordinary life can be. The collection includes four powerful pieces, 'Autobiographical in Feeling', set during the time of Munro's own childhood, in th...

Maud is forgetful. She makes a cup of tea and doesn't remember to drink it. She sometimes thinks her daughter Helen is a total stranger. But there's one thing Maud is sure of: her friend Elizabeth is missing. The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, Maud will get to the bottom of it. A debut novel...

Sue Townsend, creator of the much-loved Adrian Mole series, tells a compassionate and gritty story of love and loss in Ghost Children. Seventeen years ago Angela Carr aborted an unwanted child. The child's father, Christopher Moore, was devastated by the loss and retreated from the world. However, when he makes a horrifying discovery on the heath,...

If you had the chance to make a fresh start, what would you keep from your old life? What would you give away? Gina is starting her life again, after a difficult few years she'd rather forget. But the belongings she's treasured for so long just don't seem to fit who she is now. So Gina makes a resolution. She'll keep just a hundred items-the rest c...

The collection begins in the 1950s in an insular northern village 'scoured by bitter winds and rough gossip tongues.' For the child narrator, the only way to survive is to get up, get on, get out. The title story sees our narrator ironing out her northern vowels with the help of an ex-actress with one lung and a Manchester accent. In Third Floor Ri...

Loopy follows an unnamed man who is struggling to grow up and move beyond the confines of his mother's home. Indifferent to his fianc‚e and bored with his 9 to 5 job, his only outlet is with his local drama group. Following a performance as the wolf in Red Riding Hood, he gradually becomes obsessed with his wolf alter-ego, spending more and m...

Gabrielle is sitting in an apartment in Manhattan, watching the clock. Her daughter has been kidnapped, she's shot and killed a man, and is trying to negotiate with the kidnapper. He wants the October List, and he wants money. The doorbell rings...That is the end of Gabrielle's story, and the first chapter of the novel. The next chapter is the scen...

Before she soared to massive popularity with her bestselling True Blood novels, Charlaine Harris launched her career with this critically acclaimed mystery. Catherine Linton has returned to her hometown of Lowfield, Mississippi, unconvinced that the death of her parents in a car crash six months earlier was an accident. And her suspicions are confi...

Miles Flint is a low-level operative in the world of espionage, with a watching brief that satisfies him perfectly; he's not a man who craves more active duty. But IRA bombs are wreaking havoc on the British mainland, and Miles finds himself with all kinds of problems. He is sent to Belfast, where he finds that his job is much more than merely watc...

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, but in one afternoon everything begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill, but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations and mysterious phone calls, she soon realizes that she is in for the...

Lara has always had an overactive imagination, but now the spirit of her great aunt Sadie has appeared to make one last request: she must find a missing necklace. Lara's got enough problems of her own: her start-up company is floundering and she's just been dumped. But perhaps Sadie's ghost could also be the answer to Lara's problems?

A Study in Scarlet was the very first Sherlock Holmes novel. Here. In the most remarkably precise manner, Doyle produced two of the most well-known characters in English fiction. Their individual traits and their relationships, their ambitions and foibles are introduced against the backdrop of an exciting story of revenge and persistence, which sta...

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of About a Boy by Nick Hornby, read by Stephen Mangan. Nick Hornby's second bestselling novel is about sex, manliness and fatherhood. Will is thirty-six, comfortable and child-free. And he's discovered a brilliant new way of meeting women-through single-parent groups. Marcus is twelve...

A 20th anniversary edition of this million copy bestseller, with a new introduction by John Niven: a classic story of paradise found-and lost. Richard lands in East Asia in search of an earthly utopia. In Thailand, he is given a map promising an unknown island, a secluded beach-and a new way of life. What Richard finds when he gets there is breatht...

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The House by Simon Lelic, read by Adam Newington and Gemma Whelan. THE PERFECT COUPLE. THE PERFECT HOUSE. THE PERFECT CRIME. Londoners Jack and Syd moved into the house a year ago. It seemed like their dream home: tons of space, the perfect location, and a friendly owner who wanted a young couple to have it...