English books
Jean M. Auel – The Valley of Horses: Earth’s Children, Book Two
This unforgettable odyssey into the distant past carries us back to the awesome mysteries of the exotic, primeval world of The Clan of the Cave Bear, and to Ayla, now grown into a beautiful and courageous young woman.
Cruelly cast out by the new leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others, tall and fair like herself. The short summer gives her little time to look, and when she finds a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe horses, she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter ahead. Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many skills but not real hunting. She finally knows she can survive when she traps a horse, which gives her meat and a warm pelt for the winter, but fate has bestowed a greater gift, an orphaned foal with whom she develops a unique kinship.
One winter extends to more; she discovers a way to make fire more quickly and a wounded cave lion cub joins her unusual family, but her beloved animals don’t fulfill her restless need for human companionship. Then she hears the sound of a man screaming in pain. She saves tall, handsome Jondalar, who brings her a language to speak and an awakening of love and desire, but Ayla is torn between her fear of leaving her valley and her hope of living with her own kind.
JEAN PASCAL BENASSY – MONEY, INTEREST, AND POLICY
An important recent advance in macroeconomics is the development of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) macromodels. The use of DSGE models to study monetary policy, however, has led to paradoxical and puzzling results on a number of central monetary issues including price determinacy and liquidity effects. In Money, Interest, and Policy, Jean-Pascal Bénassy argues that moving from the standard DSGE models – which he calls "Ricardian" because they have the famous "Ricardian equivalence" property–to another, "non-Ricardian" model would resolve many of these issues. A Ricardian model represents a household as a homogeneous family of infinitely lived individuals, and Bénassy demonstrates that a single modification–the assumption that new agents are born over time (which makes the model non-Ricardian)–can bridge the current gap between monetary intuitions and facts, on one hand, and rigorous modeling, on the other.
After comparing Ricardian and non-Ricardian models, Bénassy introduces a model that synthesizes the two approaches, incorporating both infinite lives and the birth of new agents. Using this model, he considers a number of issues in monetary policy, including liquidity effects, interest rate rules and price determinacy, global determinacy, the Taylor principle, and the fiscal theory of the price level. Finally, using a simple overlapping generations model, he analyzes optimal monetary and fiscal policies, with a special emphasis on optimal interest rate rules.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
JEANINE PIRRO – SLY BOX
Westchester, New York, 1976 -- Cocaine abuse is rampant, the county courthouse is a boys' club, and men are still legally permitted to beat their wives. Enter Dani Fox, the feisty, ambitious twenty-five-year-old assistant district attorney tired of feeling like an outsider and hungry to bring abusers to justice.
Dani confronts emotionally challenging crime scenes and uncooperative colleagues, facing threats to her safety--and even the safety of her pet pig, Wilbur--in order to protect society's silent victims. Spearheading the country's first domestic violence unit in a shifting legal landscape, Dani must find allies where she can, especially when she discovers a seemingly simple case has some shocking twists. But who can she trust, and which of her colleagues will she end up battling both in and out of the courtroom?
Drawing from her own past as a dynamic, hard-charging former district attorney, Emmy-winning Judge Jeanine Pirro's debut page-turner is ripped from the headlines, full of gripping details, authentic thrills, and suspenseful realism that can only come from a courtroom litigator who's been in the trenches.
JEFF LINDSAY – DOUBLE DEXTER
***A shocking and gripping thriller that inspired the Showtime series DEXTER RESSURECTION***
'Enjoyably macabre' THE GUARDIAN
'Jeff Lindsay's cynical wit makes it fly'THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Snappy and smart' THE NEW YORK TIMES
'Fascinating, entertaining, and brilliant' ROBERT CRAIS
'Stylish, polished, and very readable' THE DAILY MIRROR
He's back and deadlier than ever . . .
A witness. Such a simple concept - and yet for Dexter Morgan, a perfectly well-disguised serial killer, the possibility of a witness is terrifying. As an upstanding blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Police, Dexter has always managed to keep the darker side of his life out of the spotlight. An expert at finding truly bad people - murderers who've long escaped justice - Dexter has long been giving them his own special brand of attention.
But now someone has seen him in the act. Dexter is being followed, manipulated and mimicked, leading him to realise that no one likes to have a double - especially when his double's goal is to kill him.
Dexter is not one to tolerate such displeasure . . . in fact, he has a knack for extricating himself from trouble in his own pleasurable way.
JEFF NORTON – METAWARS ( FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE)
Jonah Delacroix can't stand the real world - so he lives most of his life inside a global computer-based virtual world called the Metasphere, where everyone is represented by an avatar. When he discovers the avatar of his dead father, and assumes his online identity, a series of events are unleashed that compel Jonah to race across the real world with a secret society to protect the freedom of all mankind...
Jeff Norton – MetaWars: The Dead are Rising: Book 2
Even virtual worlds need real heroes...
The Changsphere offers a safe haven for the Uploaded, and with more processing power than the Southern Corner could ever offer, the Uploaded begin to grow, develop, and yearn to be alive again. With the Changsphere offering competition to the Metasphere, more and more avatars take up residency in it. But the Uploaded begin to prey on live avatars, infecting them, and their users, with their personalities and becoming reborn in the real world. The dead are rising. Now reborn into the real world, the once dead avatars will not let anyone shut down the Changsphere - the source of their rebirth. Meanwhile, Jonah, Sam, and Axel struggle to keep the Metasphere safe from Granger's assault on the Western Corner, which is housed in the old subway lines under New York City. But Jonah struggles with whether they are doing the right thing: in fighting Granger, they face a more dangerous virtual world, where millions of Uploaded now roam freely, stalking users for their virtual avatars and their real bodies.
JEFF POVEY – SHIFT
Get ready for one apocalyptic detention. These misfits are going to save the world!
Meet Rev, Billie, the Ape, Johnson, GG, Carrie, the Moth and Lucas, a motley crew of bickering teens who find themselves totally alone in the world after a strange power surge hits their classroom during detention. With no answers as to why or how the rest of the world has disappeared, the mismatched group is soon facing a bigger nightmare than they could ever imagine… Standing between them and the only way home are lethal duplicate versions of themselves, super powered teenagers who will kill anyone who gets in their way. Our unlikely heroes must somehow work together to save themselves… or they'll never see home again.
SHIFTis the first in a fast-paced, page turner of a series, filled with action, adventure and humour. Perfect for fans of Michael Grant, Charlie Higson and Antony Horowitz and for anyone who loves Misfitsor Shaun of the Dead.
JENNIFER A. NIELSEN – THE FALSE PRINCE
Four boys have been kidnapped. Four boys who look remarkably similar.
When one of the boys,Sage, discovers the truth behind their capture - that a boy will be chosen to impersonate the kingdom's missing prince - he can only guess at the danger that now lies ahead.
Sage knows there is only one way he can survive this game of lies and deceit.
JENNIFER BOSWORTH – STRUCK
Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.
Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.
Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn't who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.
JENNIFER CLOSE – GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An “addictive, thoughtful” novel (Entertainment Weekly) that brings us through the thrilling, bewildering years of early adulthood while pulling us inside the circle of three friends, perfectly capturing the wild frustrations and soaring joys of modern life.
Isabella, Mary, and Lauren feel like everyone they know is getting married. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, collect ribbons and wrapping paper, eat minuscule sandwiches and cakes. They wear pastel dresses and drink champagne by the case, but amid the celebration these women have their own lives to contend with: Isabella is working a dead-end job, Mary is dating a nice guy with an awful mother, and Lauren is waitressing at a midtown bar and wondering why she's attracted to the sleazy bartender.
JENNIFER WEINER – ALL FALL DOWN
Allison Weiss is a typical working mother, trying to balance a business, ageing parents, a demanding daughter and a marriage. But when the website she develops becomes a huge success, she finds herself challenged to the point of being completely overwhelmed. As she struggles to hold her life together and meet the needs of all the people around her, Allison finds that the painkillers she was prescribed for a back injury help her deal with more than just physical discomfort - they make her feel calm and get her through the increasingly hectic days. Sure, she worries that the bottles seem to empty a bit faster each week, but it's not like she's some Hollywood starlet partying all night. It's not as if she has an actual problem.
Until she ends up in a world she never thought she'd experience outside of a movie theatre: rehab. And as Allison struggles to get her life back on track, she learns a few life lessons along the way. With a sparkling comedic touch and tender, true-to-life characterizations, All Fall Down is a tale of empowerment and redemption and Jennifer Weiner's richest, most absorbing and timely story yet.
JENS LAPIDUS – NEVER SCREW UP
Niklas, a weapons expert, has returned home after years as a mercenary. His world has no laws. His life has made him a violence fanatic and an adrenaline junkie. He is haunted by traumatic childhood memories. One night his mother calls, hysterical. Someone has been murdered in her apartment building. Thomas is a demoralized cop. He’s working the night shift when the call about the murder comes in. The victim has been badly beaten, and his arms have been pockmarked by syringes. But someone wants the case silenced - why? Mahmud is just out of jail, and keen to live the high life. He has debts to someone he used to deal for. In a game of russian roulette, his life is spared – but at what cost? He has to look for a man whom he later wishes he’d never found. And his search takes him to a side of Stockholm he wishes he’d never seen. No matter how hard they try, the power is not theirs. It belongs to Radovan who rules over the dark parts of the city where everything is for sale. But the price is much too high.
JESSA SLADE – FORGED OF SHADOWS
View our feature on Jessa Slade’s Forged of Shadows. The new novel in the seductively sinister paranormal romance series After surviving the Irish Potato Famine, Liam Niall was possessed by a demon in search of redemption. Now, he heads the Chicago league of taylan in their fight against evil. Jilly Chan is a mentor to the local homeless youth-and warrior against the criminals who prey upon her charges. She's already half-taken by a demon, so Liam reluctantly tries to guide her into full power. Even as the proudly independent Jilly tries to remain true to her own soul, Liam's fiercely passionate touch leaves a mark on her desirable flesh as enduring as her new demonic tattoo...
JESSIE KEANE – NAMELESS
They took her children away, and she will fight to the end to get them back
Growing up in the war-torn backstreets of the East End, Ruby Darke, mixed-race and hated by her family, is determined not to become embroiled in a life of crime like her two brothers. After a disastrous affair with Cornelius Bray, a handsome peer of the realm with dubious underworld connections, Ruby gives birth to illegitimate twins who are taken from her at birth: Daisy, born white, is taken to be raised in luxury by Cornelius and his wife, but the son is dark-skinned like Ruby and is taken by Ruby's brother, Charlie, to be "disposed of." Years pass, but still Ruby can’t forget her babies. Desperate to trace her son, Ruby forms an alliance with big-time crook Michael Ward, who says he can help her. But Ruby’s frantic efforts to be reunited with her son and daughter soon put her in the firing line of a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
JG BALLARD – THE DAY OF CREATION
‘Classic Ballard. Mesmerising. No one writes with such haunting impact’ William Boyd
In parched, war-torn central Africa, Dr Mallory watches his clinic fail and dreams of discovering a third Nile to make the Sahara bloom. During his search for water, an ancient tree stump is uprooted by a bulldozer and water wells up, spreading until it becomes an enormous river. With the once arid land now abounding in birds and beasts, the obsessed Mallory forges up-river in an old car ferry, clashing with hostile factions as he tries to find the source of his own creation.
This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Ali Smith, Iain Sinclair, Martin Amis and Ned Beauman) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.