Don't read Joy Williams if you're looking for Oprah-style stories of redemption--stories in which the human spirit triumphs. And don't look to her for a mirror of reality; with this author, there's never the sense that "I've been there" or "I identify". Williams creates novels and stories that operate under a tightly wound surrealist aesthetic. She distorts the world, but her distortions are subtle enough that you don't see them coming. You can't predict when the logic of dream will take over the logic of the text. Like the filmmaker David Lynch, Williams sees pathology and the ominous everywhere; she renders a world that looks familiar but is slightly off. Like Don DeLillo, she's a sprawling, ambitious writer whose characters often talk in a lovely, unbelievable poetry, as if they were prophets, or preachers, or ghosts. The Quick and the Dead, Williams' fourth novel, follows a series of linked stories, all taking place in Arizona. Indeed, it could be called a desert epic, so dependent is its narrative momentum on the desert's eventual consumption of its inhabitants. These characters are consumed by thirst and mirages, by dry dreams of a lifeless landscape. They reside in a state of spiritual flatness and emptiness. At the heart of the book, three motherless teenage girls befriend each other, go on camping trips, lay out in the sun by the rich girl's pool. Corvus, Alice and Annabel are, respectively, spooky, apocalyptic and prom-queen vain. In the course of things, they encounter, among others, a gay piano player named Sherwin who lives in a smelly apartment and constantly wears a tux, and a retirement-home nurse who entertains her patients with one-liners like: "Thoughts are infusorial" and "The set trap never tires of waiting". Perhaps most memorable is a cowboy-hatted stroke victim called Ray who believes a monkey lives in the back of his brain. Ray hitchhikes and steals credit cards. When he hasn't eaten for a while, the animal takes over: "The little monkey was climbing the walls in his head, making clear that it wanted out. Any avenue along the capillaries would do. There was an awful craving to get out. Ray didn't feel well". Other lively phenomena interrupting the prevailing desert stillness: an injured deer leaping over a fence into a swimming pool in the middle of a party; a man shot in the desert by a couple of stoned guys shooting at cacti; a reappearing ghost called Ginger (Annabel's mother) who arrives every night to rail at her alcoholic widower husband, berating his clothes and his investment strategies. In the hands of a lesser artist these various, often forcefully bizarre characters and events could have seemed like the work of someone out to impress with her weirdness. But Williams is the real thing, and The Quick and the Dead is her visionary world--a place so unmistakably doomed, it literally gives you the chills. --Emily White

Paul Jordan takes us on a vivid journey through the history of our most famous cousin in search of the origins of all mankind

Lifetimes ago, the generation ship Willflower set out, manned by the cream of humanity, on a mission to colonize the stars. But by the 10th generation, things are starting to go badly wrong. The only man who can save the ship is astrophysical Dr Piers Morton. Only he's not an astrophysical engineer, he's not a doctor, he's not even Piers Morgan, and all that remains of his body is his head, his spinal column and absolutely nothing else. Better yet, somebody on board is trying to kill what's left of him...

The new, glitzy, page-turning novel from Arrow's irresistible book-a-year blockbuster author, Lulu Taylor. From the prestigious dormitories of Westfield to the irresistible socialite scene of present-day London: everywhere Allegra McCorquodale goes, scandal follows her. And in Allegra's shadow are her closest friends since school, the Midnight Girls. Romily de Lisle: super rich, brilliant and bored. She's as blessed as Allegra when it comes to looks, but she's a force to be reckoned with. And Imogen Heath: pretty, timid and hopelessly drawn to Allegra's reckless charm. She longs to be a part of the glitzy high-society world where her friends move with such ease.Once free of the cloistered worlds of school and university, the Midnight Girls face new and different challenges, but they are for ever bonded by a terrible secret they've sworn never to break....

One of Entertainment Weekly's 35 Most Anticipated YA Novels of 2017, this compelling and witty Regency romance is perfect for readers who like their historical fiction with a side of intrigue. Lydia Whitfield has her future entirely planned out. She will run the family estate until she marries the man of her late father's choosing, and then she will spend the rest of her days as a devoted wife. Confident in those arrangements, Lydia has tasked her young law clerk, Robert Newton, to begin drawing up the marriage contracts. Everything is going according to plan. Until the day Lydia is kidnapped—and Robert along with her. Someone is after her fortune and won't hesitate to destroy her reputation to get it. With Robert's help, Lydia strives to keep her family's name unsullied and expose the one behind this devious plot. But as their investigation delves deeper and their affections for each other grow, Lydia starts to wonder whether her carefully planned...

Robin Ratchford reflects on a series of unforgettable experiences across the Middle East. This innovative account of his colourful and atmospheric journeys shows us why this region has always caught the imagination of those who visit. From the historic bazaar of Aleppo in Syria, to the street markets of Baghdad, join Robin in a captivating account of his travels across the Middle East with its ancient cities and glittering metropolises. During his travels he gets lost in the Yemeni capital's maze of ancient winding streets and 'goes round the bend' in Oman, meeting a kaleidoscope of clerics, artists and artisans along the way. From Souk to Souk breaks the rules of the traditional travelogue. Robin takes the many challenges this volatile part of the world faces and gives them a more human perspective, providing a new way to view these countries steeped in history. Travelling through a region rich in contrasts, discover how history and humanity link its cities and people to a...

Anne Beddingfeld holds the clue to a mystery. With the strange scrap of paper she discovered she can forge a link between a diamond robbery, an accidental death, a London tube station - and a murder in a remote country mansion! Anne's journey to unravel the mystery takes her as far afield as Africa and the tension mounts with every step...First published in 1924 the novel was adapted for television by CBS in 1989, and featured Edward Woodward, Tony Randall, Rue McClanahan and Ken Howard in major roles. The film updated the setting and characters to a contemporary period.Christie introduced Secret Service agent Colonel Race in this novel and he appeared in three further novels: Cards on the Table, Death on the Nile and Sparkling Cyanide. The money that Christie received for the serial rights from The Evening News paid for her first car - a Morris Cowley.

Gnosis: Greek word meaning knowledge. Murder, mystery and redemption are at the heart of “Gnosis.” Detective Jack Dantzler has no clue why he has been summoned to the prison to meet with the Reverend Eli Whitehouse, a man convicted of committing a double murder twenty-nine years ago. He is stunned when Eli claims to be innocent and wants Dantzler to prove it. But Eli only gives Dantzler a single clue-look at the obituaries in the local paper for a specific two-week period. Reluctantly, Dantzler agrees to look into the case. As he does, two more people are brutally murdered. And although Dantzler isn’t aware of it, he has become a target for the killer. Dantzler goes back to Eli and pleads for another clue. All Eli says is, “think of Jesus’s empty tomb.” It will be this whispered utterance that unlocks the mystery and reveals the killer’s identity. But this isn’t just any ordinary killer. This is a man with a dark and bloody past, a man with connections to the highest levels of organized crime. Dantzler is now on the trail of an ice-cold assassin, fully aware that one slip will mean instant death. Sometimes having too much knowledge can lead to deadly consequences.

The guitarists' guitarist and the songwriters' songwriter, the legendary Bert Jansch has influenced stars as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Paul Simon, Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, Donovan, Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Bernard Butler, Beth Orton and Laura Marling. Unassuming, enigmatic and completely focused on his music until his death in October 2011, he remained singularly resilient to the vagaries of fashion, being rediscovered and revered by new generations of artists every few years. Born in Edinburgh in 1943, Jansch became an inspirational and pioneering figure during Britain's 'folk revival' of the 1960s. In 1967 he formed folk/jazz fusion band Pentangle with John Renbourn and enjoyed international success until they split in 1973, when he returned to a solo career. In Dazzling Stranger, Colin Harper looks at the career Jansch enjoyed, which has secured his standing as one of the true originals of British music.

Kali doesn't know what to make of Blue. His mind intrigues her, and his body attracts her in the worst way. Fascinated, she accepts when he asks her on a date then is abducted by aliens. Kali escapes captivity to discover planet Earth under attack, and the only thing standing between life and death is Blue, a boy alien to her in every way conceivable. BrE.