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  The Hair - An old lock of hair...

  A J lan

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  Leslie Harrison Lambert was born on 11th November 1883 in Nottingham. 
   
  After attending Rugby School he trained to be a surveyor. One of his passions was magic and such was his prowess that he joined The Magic Circle, and performed at society events. 
   
  By the beginning of World War I he was an amateur radio ham and volunteered to work at a coastguard station in Norfolk to intercept German radio transmissions. By November 1914 he was with the Admiralty at Naval Intelligence Room 40.  By 1919 this had become part of the new Government Code and Cypher School.  He was still there as World War II erupted across Europe and with many of his colleagues he transferred to Bletchley Park.  There, in Hut 8, he was quoted as saying that "in contrast to his outrageously unconventional stories" that he led his life on "a monotonously regular timetable". Life outside the Intelligence services was very different.  He married but the couple had no children.  They lived at Holland Park with a second home at Potter Heigham for sailing on the Norfolk Broads.  Other interests were as an amateur radio operator, using the call sign G2ST, and an authority on food and wine. 
   
  He contacted the BBC to suggest he might tell one of his own short stories on the radio.  Thus was born A J Alan, and his broadcast of ‘My Adventure in Jermyn Street’, on New Year’s Eve, 1924.  It was an immediate success and although he only broadcast a handful of times a year he was one of the most popular radio personalities of the time.  He spent weeks working on each short story, honing his conversational style, making his stories seem like anecdotes that had peculiarly happened to him.  
  A live broadcast was, in fact, a performance.  He used cards to avoid any rustling noises and kept a candle lit in case the lights failed.  His attire was a dinner jacket with eye glass, and a slim black briefcase.  
   
  Many of his stories were subsequently printed in newspapers and magazines. 
   
  By 1937 his health had deteriorated and he reduced his radio work making his last broadcast on 21st March 1940.  
   
  A J Alan died on 13th December 1941.

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  Hungry - The Inspiring Tale of...

  B. E. Baker

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  A mesmerizing work, literarily impressive and historically exacting. -Kirkus 
  In 1847, the Donner party resorted to eating human flesh to survive entrapment at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. They became infamous, with books, stories, and interviews exploring their misery. None of them tell the extraordinary story from the first-person point of view of the female survivors. 
  Until now. 
  Three women yearned to make better lives in California: 
  Nineteen-year-old Mary Ann Graves set out west with her family in search of a home that would be free of disease like the ague that had afflicted her mother and sisters for years. If she met a handsome guy along the way, well, she wouldn’t complain. As the belle of the Donner party, she certainly had plenty of interest. 
  Peggy Breen had just given birth to her seventh child, but she wasn’t afraid of the two-thousand-mile journey toward prosperity. She’d take care of her children and honor her husband along the trail, because that’s what women of faith did. But when supplies became limited, her giving heart and her mother’s instinct were at odds. 
  Virginia Blackstone Reed, the thirteen-year-old daughter of the group’s leader, set out in search of adventure, riding her sassy palomino pony alongside the largest double-decker wagon anyone had ever seen. As the adopted daughter of the most influential and prosperous man in the wagon train, she had no idea at the start that her polarizing father with his ostentatious wealth would pave the way for their future devastation. 
  By the time these women and the rest of the party reached mountains after taking a “shortcut,” they were already two months late. They'd lost people, oxen, mules, and livestock they needed. Then the snow began to fall. 
  And it didn’t stop.

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  The Gate

  Nathan Sommers

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  A meteor crashes to earth, revealing a map to the stars. Project Icarus is formed to send a team of astronauts back to the source of the message. Join the crew of the Icarus as they land on a mysterious desert planet. What are the strange plants that grow in the caves? Who built the massive, long-abandoned pyramid? Fans of Alien and Event Horizon are sure to love Nathan Sommers's new sci-fi thriller, The Gate.

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  The Weldons of Tibradden

  Annie M. P. Smithson

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  The story of a house called Clodagh, and the family who made it their home. On the outskirts of Dublin stands an old stone house that has witnessed Ireland's transformation over 150 years. Within its walls, the Weldon women have loved, lost, and survived against the backdrop of a nation fighting for its identity. At the heart of this tale is Faith Weldon, a stubborn, sharp-witted woman who lives long enough to see her world turn upside down and right itself again. From the bloody risings for independence to the quiet battles fought in kitchens and bedrooms, Faith's journey mirrors Ireland's own struggle to define itself. This isn't just another family saga. It's about the spaces between what's said and what's kept silent, about the choices that echo through generations, and about how a house becomes more than just stone and timber. As men march off to revolutions and wars, the Weldon women keep Clodagh standing – sometimes barely, sometimes defiantly. Their triumphs aren't always grand, but they're hard-won and honest. Unflinching, intimate, and shot through with dark Irish humour, 'The Weldons' pulls you into a world where history isn't just something that happens in textbooks but at kitchen tables and on doorsteps.

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  A Shadowing of Angels

  W T Delaney

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  A Shadowing of Angels is now available as an audiobook from Author's Republic. The book unfolds in the murky and dangerous world of covert intelligence collection and the 'Circuit; the name given by private military contractors to UK-based security companies. Set in 2016 this adrenaline-fueled spy-based adventure novel highlights the ongoing struggle against the evil of the Islamic State. Samantha Holloway is a highly trained intelligence operative and special forces officer working on the Circuit when an American hostage is snatched by ISIS in Iraq. Sam's team is contracted to launch a search and rescue mission.  The search starts in London starts amongst radical Islamist organisations and reaches its climax in the very heart of darkness- the Iraqi town of Mosul, then under the demonic control of Daesh.  A Shadowing of Angels is the first book of the Sam Holloway Trilogy. All three interlinked novels are all based against a factual historical backdrop. The writer had drawn on his own experiences of working as an intelligence officer in both Iraq and Afghanistan to craft the story. The narrator was there with him.***** Brilliant, Delaney's background nails the authenticity once again...'***** A cracking listen that had me hooked to the end...'***** Realistic that races off the page. Perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Brad Thor.'***** Wow!! What a cracking book!!!***** This is essentially a ‘rattling good yarn’, a highly topical good vs evil adventure story, fast-paced and packed with incident, that grips the reader’s attention from the start through to the tense and violent climax.***** Gives a great insight into the world of intelligence-based operations in one of the world’s most dangerous places. Moves at breakneck speed from the UK to the Middle East, ***** A real page-turner!***** Delaney is a tour de force! I literally couldn't put this book down. He makes the complex murky world of counterintelligence infinitely entertaining. Loved it!

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  Near Miss

  Traude Ailinger

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  A fun, twisty woman sleuth mystery set in Edinburgh! 
   
   
   
  Fashion writer Amy Thornton has the fright of her life when she narrowly avoids being hit by a car. 
   
   
   
  The driver was being chased, and swerved to miss her only at the last second. He ends up in hospital. 
   
   
   
  Wanting to thank the man or, more likely, wanting to stick her curious nose in, Amy charms her way into his ward to find out more. 
   
   
   
  Thinking she has uncovered a heinous plot she goes to the authorities. Yet her sleuthing does not impress no-nonsense Detective Inspector Russell McCord, who is reluctant to follow up on her wild speculations and won't, it seems, be charmed so easily. 
   
   
   
  But that changes when two dead bodies turn up, connected to the crash. Now Amy may become key to solving the affair. 
   
   
   
  Near Miss is the debut mystery novel by Traude Ailinger. It will appeal to fans of Louise Penny, Martha Grimes, Verity Bright, and LJ Ross.

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