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  The ugly sisters

  Danny King

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  For hundreds of years, readers have been enchanted by the tale of Cinderella, of how a nobleman's daughter escaped a life of servitude with the help of a pumpkin, a pair of glass slippers and her Fairy Godmother. But the truth is very different from the fairytale yet no less extraordinary. Marigold and Gardenia Roche have simple dreams; to marry well and live happily ever after. Yet this is a tricky proposition when neither heralds from money nor could be considered a great beauty. But two events are about to change the lives of everyone in the tiny Kingdom of Andovia: the first is the announcement of a great ball, at which the Crown Prince has vowed to choose a bride. The second is the arrival of a widowed French nobleman and his beautiful daughter. Two events, seemingly unconnected, and yet both will have dire consequences for all – unless something is done. Marigold and Gardenia's lives are about to become entwined with the girl who would be Queen. And yet few will ever know the dangers they faced nor the sacrifices they made to save a vainglorious Kingdom from the damsel with the crocodile smile.
  Every child knows the story of Cinderella. But this is the story of Marigold and Gardenia Roche – otherwise known as the Ugly Sisters. And it is no fairytale.
  »One of the few writers to make me laugh out loud.« – David Baddiel, Comedian
  »One of Britain's best kept literary secrets.« – The Big Issue in the North

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  The Ministry of Pain - A Novel

  Dubravka Ugrešic

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  Far from home, a fractured community of Yugoslav outcasts struggle with their lives in award–winning author Dubravka Ugrešić’s novel The Ministry of Pain.   Having fled the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, Tanja Lucic is now a professor of literature at the University of Amsterdam, where she teaches a class filled with other young Yugoslav exiles, most of whom earn meager wages assembling leather and rubber S&M clothing at a sweatshop they call the “Ministry.”   Abandoning literature, Tanja encourages her students to indulge their “Yugonostalgia” in essays about their personal experiences during their homeland’s cultural and physical disintegration. But Tanja’s act of academic rebellion incites the rage of one renegade member of her class—and pulls her dangerously close to another—which, in turn, exacerbates the tensions of a life in exile that has now begun to spiral seriously out of control.  “A shiningly weird and powerful novel. . . . [It] approaches perfection.” —Washington Post  “Soulful, often searing. . . . This is a work that comes from the gut, one that deserves to be read.” —New York Times Book Review  “Splendidly ambitious. . . . She is a writer to follow. A writer to be cherished.” —Susan Sontag

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  The Almost Truth - an...

  Anne Hamilton

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  'In a life full of books and not enough time to read them, I never read a novel twice. This one I will' Clo CareyWinner of the Irish Novel Fair 2021 
  A compelling story of family, secrets, identity, and a reminder that love and life can surprise you… right until the very end. 
  When Alina’s son, Fin, traces his long-absent birthfather, it’s the catalyst for decades of secrets to implode in Alina’s neatly ordered life. 
  With the sudden appearance of Rory, and the ever-present pull of a very different life in Bangladesh, she’s left reeling. 
  Three relationships, all of them built on half-truths. All Alina can truly be sure of, is that you can choose your family, you just can’t choose who they will turn out to be. 
  'A lovely, compelling read about love, family, and finding yourself' Becky Hunter, author of One Moment 
  'Intricately explores themes of home, family, identity, love, and loss, inviting readers to ponder the universal truths — and sometimes lies — that shape our lives' Jane Labous, author of Past Participle 
  'Anne Hamilton handles with ease and grace this complex and compelling 'big Hindi movie' of a novel' Caroline Moir, author of The Brockenspectre 
  'Set across Edinburgh, Bangladesh and Dublin, mysteries and family secrets abound in this intriguing novel' Elissa Soave, author of Ginger and Me 
  'A captivating tale of human dilemmas and the consequences of half-truths' Olga Wojtas 
  'A complex tale of interwoven cultures, told truthfully with humour and outright laughter, but always with Anne Hamilton's trademark sensitivity, understanding and honesty' Paul Soye, author of The Boy in the Gap

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  Lone Wolf

  Michael Newton

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  A werewolf contends with love and hunger while fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War in this romantic fantasy.   Graham is on the run. Running from a civil war that he was forced into, from the beast that lies hidden within him, and from the curse that keeps him from leading a normal life.   When Graham meets Eliza, a mere human, he falls deeply in love. But could she possibly love him once she discovers his ability to transform into the beast? Can Graham tame the beast inside him and live a normal life, or will his secrets tear apart the growing love between he and Eliza?

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  The First Murder

  Carol Goodman Kaufman

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  The ME ruled her death an accident. He was dead wrong.
   
  When Mary Jane Bennett is found dead in her bed— alone, strangled by her own scarf, and with every door in the house locked — the medical examiner rules her death accidental, the result of a sex game gone horribly awry. State police decline to investigate further, but Queensbridge Police Chief Caleb Crane doesn't buy for a minute that his good friend died this way, so he undertakes his own investigation. Facing town councilors afraid of bad publicity, an angry medical examiner, and his own personal demons, he labors to solve what he believes is the first-ever murder in his pastoral Berkshire Hills village. Complicating things: the list of suspects includes some of the people to whom he is closest — including his own wife.
   
  “. . . [a] smartly-paced debut novel . . .”—Gerald Elias, author of the Daniel Jacobus mystery series
   
  “. . . one of my favorite mystery reads this year . . . With a talent reminiscent of Louise Penny, Kaufman creates a small town ambience of alliances and hidden resentments among characters whose humanity draws you in while raising your suspicions. The First Murder is an engaging and intriguing journey to an exciting conclusion.”—Sharon Healy-Yang, author of the Jessica Minton Mystery Series
   
  “. . . [a] deftly constructed debut novel [that] kept me guessing until the very end.”—Leslie Wheeler, award-winning author of the Berkshire Hilltown Mysteries

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  The Fuhrer's Orphans

  David Laws

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  In this moving novel based on true events, a teacher and a British spy discover a group of children hiding from the Nazis in WWII Munich. 
   
  When their parents are taken to concentration camps, twenty-seven children are left alone, hungry, and scared. Claudia Kellner, a German elementary school teacher, discovers the group hiding in a deserted Munich railroad yard. Only able to hide two of them in her home, she is desperate to find shelter for the others. 
   
  Meanwhile, British spy Peter Chesham has penetrated Third Reich territory. But his critical mission is interrupted when he discovers the orphans’ hiding place. Following through on his orders would have fatal consequences for them. But giving up could mean losing the war. Now Peter and Claudia must work together, attempting an impossible rescue operation with the children’s lives—and the fate of the world—at stake.

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