Other books that might interest you

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  The Cop and the Anthem

  O. Henry

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  O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), an American writer of outstanding short stories, known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings.In The Cop and the Anthem, a New York tramp, Soapy, is determined to be arrested and sent to jail on 'The Island' for three months during the coldest part of the winter. But it proves astoundingly difficult to get arrested...however hard he tries, no policeman seems inclined to take him into custody.

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  Markheim

  Robert Louis Stevenson

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  Occasionally an author appears who, in a short career, emblazons a legacy so bright and so distinct, as well as popular that it is difficult to believe it is the output of only one man. Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was such a talent. 
   
  Stevenson was born on 13th November 1850 in Edinburgh.  Despite a late start to reading and writing he was a voracious story-teller, regularly performing yarns for all those around him.  His health though was poorly, he suffered lifelong bronchial problems and was incapacitated by this and other ailments throughout his life. 
   
  In Grez, France in September 1876 he met the American, Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne. She was married with children but distress and anger at her husband's infidelities led to several separations. By the time she met Stevenson she was already a promising short-story writer. 
   
  In 1880 she was at last free to re marry and life, despite his health issues, was good.  In the ensuing years travel and exploration would be their calling and the source of his literary inspiration. 
   
  Classics flowed; in 1881 ‘The Body Snatcher’.  In 1883 ‘Treasure Island’, followed 3 years later by ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. 
    
  In 1890, they settled on an estate in Samoa for what would be a last great burst of writing that coincided with his political awakening as the islands moved toward inter-clan warfare as greedy outside powers stoked tensions.    
   
  Over the course of his prolific career Stevenson had not only given his audience many classic novels but beautiful poetry such as ‘A Child’s Garden of Verses’ and many short stories as with his dark classic of Christmas Day ‘Markheim’ (1884). 
   
  Robert Louis Stevenson died at his island home at Valima in Samoa on 3rd December 1894.  He was 44.

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  The Ugliest House in the World -...

  Peter Ho Davies

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  Short stories from the author of A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself—“a writer to behold with real pleasure” (Gish Jen).   In tales that travel from Coventry to Kuala Lumpur, from the past to the present, and from hilarity to tragedy, American bandits herd ostriches in Patagonia, British soldiers confront Zulus in Natal, and John Wayne leads the way for local revolutionaries in Southeast Asia.   These are stories in which small lives are affected by consequential events. In “A Union,” a prolonged strike at a Welsh slate quarry plays mystifying tricks of time on a couple expecting a baby. In “The Silver Screen,” ragtag rebels join a communist revolution with all the flair of the Keystone Kops. In the heartbreaking title story, a rural community in North Wales copes with the accidental death of a child and learns the reaches of guilt. With its deep vein of humanism and pointed humor, this collection was a winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys and PEN/Macmillan Awards, and includes two entries that were selected for The Best American Short Stories.   “A quiet clarity and an all-encompassing empathy that is without borders.” —Elle   “Astounding . . . Peter Ho Davies has left a unique, definitive footprint in the soil of contemporary short fiction.” —The Washington Post

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  Death at Paradise Park - An...

  Ross Greenwood

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  Some secrets refuse to stay buried... 
  When Alfie Hook settles down to eat his fish and chips by the Hunstanton seaside he hasn’t anticipated it is going to be his last meal. DS Ashley Knight and her Major Investigation Team are called to investigate and when they discover who Alfie is married to, they realise this case is not going to be straightforward. 
  A second body is found in gruesome circumstances at the nearby Paradise Caravan Park, but the team struggle to connect the two victims. Even after hours of interviews with the residents, and many questionable stories, to the police's frustration, all their alibis check out. What are they concealing? 
  As the bodies mount up and the leads get ever more complicated, Ashley and her rookie partner Hector Fade finally join the dots. But then it’s a race against time to stop the killer striking again… 
  Bestselling Ross Greenwood is back with an unputdownable seaside thriller, perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Ian Rankin and Peter James. 
  What readers are saying about DS Ashley Knight and Hector Fade: 
  ‘On a par with Peter James. I thoroughly enjoyed Book 1 of this series. It was fast paced and well written with a good storyline.’ 
  ‘An absolute corker of a story, with many characters who will remain firmly in my mind for a long time. Loved it, didn’t guess the end, and can’t wait for book two. A massive five stars from me.’ 
  ‘I love this author’s work so the thought of a new series got me a tad excited. And I was right to be. Our new main characters are Ashley & Hector, & what a fabulous pair they are… A brilliant start to the series & if you haven’t read this author before, this is a great place to start. A fast paced police procedural with plenty of shocks. Fantastic.’ 
  ‘I LOVED this book and read way into the early hours to finish it! I was enthralled by the plot, finding the final pieces to the jigsaw of a complicated crime, linked to an event 30 years before… I felt like I really got to know DS Ashley Knight and her new partner, Hector Fade, who is on the Police graduate scheme.’ 
  ‘Keeps you guessing until the very end! Excellent new series from the author of DI Barton books. Does not disappoint.’ 
  ‘I very much enjoyed meeting Ashley Knight for the first time. This is great start to a new series and I am definitely looking forward to more.’

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  Unexpected Fare A Tale in Five...

  Maxwell Gray

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  Mary Gleed Tuttiett was born and brought up in Newport on the Isle of Wight on 11th December 1846.   
   
  She was largely self-educated but of determined character to achieve something with her life.  As a young woman she travelled in England and Switzerland working as a governess despite bouts of ill-health.  During her writing career her health deteriorated, mainly due to asthma and rheumatism, to such an extent that she was unable to leave her bed for more than a few hours a day. 
   
  Mary began her literary career by contributing essays, poems, articles, and short stories to various periodicals of the times.  In common with several other women of the time she wrote under a male pseudonym, that of Maxwell Gray, and which in literary terms at least, has removed any trace of her life as Mary.   
   
  Her first novel, ‘The Broken Tryst’, arrived in 1879 to little attention or sales.  Mary’s first critical and popular success did not arrive until 1886 with the novel ‘The Silence of Dean Maitland’, an unorthodox ecclesiastical story which was to be later adapted for the stage and screen.  With this recognition came a far more prolific output with several of her other works set in a fictionalised Isle of Wight.  As well as novels there were collections of short stories and several poetry anthologies. 
   
  Mary was strongly supportive of women’s rights and the suffragist cause and was one of several writers who petitioned in support of the Women’s Suffrage Bill in 1910, and she wove these and other social themes into several of her novels.   
   
  After her father's death in 1895, she moved to London and remained there until her own death on 23rd September 1923, aged 76. 
   
  Her short story ‘An Unexpected Fare’ is a classic fish out-of-water story.  A rich, entitled young man has designs on a young woman of a class below his.  Wanting to find out more about her he takes on the job of a cabbie, common accent and all, as a way to discover more.

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  A Quiver Full of Arrows

  Jeffrey Archer

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  The best-selling author of Sons of Fortune once again astonishes, delights, and electrifies with this audio collection.From London to China, and New York to Nigeria, Jeffrey Archer takes the reader on a tour of ancient heirlooms and modern romance, of cutthroat business and kindly strangers, of lives lived in the realms of power and lives freed from the gloom of oppression. Fortunes are made and squandered, honor betrayed and redeemed, and love lost and rediscovered. Embracing the passions that drive men and women to love and to hate, A Quiver Full of Arrows will captivate the hearts and souls of listeners everywhere.Featuring bonus interviews with the author.A Macmillan Audio production.

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