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1670 Books

The Talented Mr Ripley

by Patricia Highsmith

Ripley wanted out. Wanted money, success - the good life. Was willing to kill for it. . . . . . . . He is struggling to stay one step ahead of his creditors when a chance acquaintance offers him a free trip to Europe. When his new-found happiness is threatened, his response is as swift as it is shocking.

The Tent, the Bucket and Me

by Emma Kennedy

Emma Kennedy's hilarious memoir of wet and windy family trips, NOW ADAPTED FOR THE MAJOR BBC ONE SERIES THE KENNEDYS. For the 70s child, summer holidays didn't mean the joy of CentreParcs or the sophistication of a Tuscan villa. They meant being crammed into a car with Grandma and heading to the coast. With just a tent for a home and a bucket for the necessities, we would set off on new adventures each year stoically resolving to enjoy ourselves. For Emma Kennedy, and her mum and dad, disaster always came along for the ride no matter where they went. Whether it was being swept away by a force ten gale on the Welsh coast or suffering copious amounts of food poisoning on a brave trip to the south of France, family holidays always left them battered and bruised. But they never gave up. Emma's memoir, The Tent, The Bucket and Me, is a painfully funny reminder of just what it was like to spend your summer holidays cold, damp but with sand between your toes.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo

by Christy Lefteri

The International Number One Bestseller, for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Kite Runner.

The Institute

by STEPHEN. KING

'It does everything you'd expect of a masterpiece - and it is one' Sunday Express 'Hums and crackles with delicious unease' Independent 'Captivating' The Sunday Times 'An absorbing thriller' Mail on Sunday NO ONE HAS EVER ESCAPED FROM THE INSTITUTE. Luke Ellis, a super-smart twelve-year-old with an exceptional gift, is the latest in a long line of kids abducted and taken to a secret government facility, hidden deep in the forest in Maine. Here, kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - like Luke's new friends Kalisha, Nick and Iris, are subjected to a series of experiments. There seems to be no hope of escape. Until Luke teams up with an even younger boy whose powers of telepathy are off the scale. Meanwhile, far away in a small town in South Carolina, former cop Tim Jamieson, looking for the quiet life, has taken a job working for the local sheriff. He doesn't know he's about to take on the biggest case of his career . . . THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY OUT. 'An epic tale of childhood betrayal and hope regained... an immersive tale full of suspense and thrills that will keep readers up late at night racing towards a heartbreaking yet glorious finale... a dazzling achievement' - Daily Express

Without Fail

by Lee Child

"Featuring Jack Reacher, hero of the blockbuster movie starring Tom Cruise. This time, he's in the line of fire, protecting the Vice President of the United States. /b> /b>Jack Reacher walks alone. b> o job, no ID, no last known address. But he never turns down a plea for help. Now a woman tracks him down. A woman serving at the very heart of US power. A woman who needs Reacher's assistance in her new job. Her job? Protecting the Vice-President of the United States. b> b>Her problem? b> omeone wants the VP dead."

Stirred But Not Shaken

by Keith Floyd

Britain's most colourful chef serves up a deliciously entertaining account of his sweet and sour (and crazy) life.He was the first celebrity chef, the swashbuckling cook who crossed the high seas, on a BBC budget, communicating his love of food to millions of viewers. Make a wonderful dish and have a bloody good time: that was the criteria of Keith Floyd's mission (a mission that lasted several decades). Along the way he inspired a generation of men to get into the kitchen. After starting out in a hotel kitchen in Bristol, he made and lost fortunes, was married four times, and dealt with a level of fame that bemused him. Now, in his honest and revealing memoir, completed just before he died, Keith reflects on the ups and downs of his career. Above all, the much loved, often copied, Keith Floyd whooshes the reader through his adventures, from the hilarious to the downright lunatic. As irrepressible, funny and charming as Keith himself, Stirred But Not Shaken is a must-read for anyone who loves life, food, women . . . and a quick slurp.

A Real Boy

by Christopher Stevens Nicola Stevens

David is eleven years old. He is happy, healthy and affectionate. He loves school, Disney songs and climbing trees. But he's also profoundly autistic. Unable to speak more than a few words. Barely capable of expressing his most basic needs. Oblivious to danger. Blind to other people's emotions. Deaf to their pleas. A Real Boy is David's story - the true story, told by his parents, of bringing up a child who will always be a little boy. Loving an autistic child is easy ... but living with one is harder than could ever be imagined. This extraordinarily moving account describes the heartbreak and the unexpected joy of autism - once a rare condition, but one that now affects one in a hundred British children. With raw and sometimes brutal honesty, Christopher and Nicola Stevens lay bare their experiences, which are by turns harrowing, funny and inspirational. As David's story unfolds, his parents reveal how the condition has bestowed on them an unbreakable bond. Caring for David is an all consuming experience ... and through it they have learned, above all, the meaning of unconditional love.

The Charming Quirks Of Others

by Alexander McCall Smith

As well as its advantages, there are drawbacks to the enlightened village that is twenty-first-century Edinburgh, where every Saturday night ears burn at dinner parties across the city, and anyone requiring the investigative abilities of a philosophical soul knows where to find her. Jillian McKinlay -- wife of a trustee of an illustrious school -- is the latest petitioner; she asks Isabel to look into a poison-pen letter that makes insinuations about applicants for the position of principal. Isabel's niece Cat has another new boyfriend who seems too good to be true. And when a pretty cellist with a tragic story takes a fancy to her husband-to-be, Isabel finds herself contemplating an act of heroic and alarming self-sacrifice.

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate

by Alexander McCall Smith

Isabel Dalhousie thinks often of friends, sometimes of lovers, and on occasion of chocolate. As an Edinburgh philosopher she is certain of where she stands. She can review a book called In Praise of Sin with panache and conviction, but real life is . . . well, perhaps a bit more challenging - particularly when it comes to her feelings for Jamie, a younger man who should have married her niece, Cat. Jamie's handsomeness leaves Isabel feeling distinctly uneasy, and ethically disturbed. 'I am a philosopher', she thinks, 'but I am also a woman'. And more disturbance is in store. When Cat takes a break in Italy, Isabel agrees to run her delicatessen. One of the customers, she discovers, has recently had a heart transplant and is now being plagued by memories that cannot be rationally explained and which he feels do not belong to him. Isabel is intrigued. So intrigued that she finds herself rushing headlong into a dangerous investigation. But she still has time to think about the things that possess her - things like love and friendship, and, of course, temptation. The last of these comes in many forms - chocolate, for example, or seductive Italians . . .

Wedding Bells on the Home Front

by Annie Clarke

THE THIRD NOVEL IN THE WONDERFUL FACTORY GIRLS SERIES! Three best friends from a County Durham pit village join the ranks of brave women working at a munitions factory. Join them as they journey through the hardships of love, life and war.