English books
JG BALLARD The Kindness of Women
This is autobiography taken to the highest reaches of fiction, another wonderful novel of scorching power, shot through with honesty and lyricism’ Observer
The Kindness of Women continues the story of Jim, the young boy whose experiences in Japanese-occupied Shanghai were described in Empire of the Sun. It follows his return to post-war England, setting his childhood in the context of a lifetime.
Jim tries, and fails, to find stability as a medical student at Cambridge, then as a trainee RAF pilot in Canada. Having finally settled into happy family life, his world is ripped apart by domestic tragedy. He plunges into the maelstrom of the 1960s, an instigator and subject of every aspect of cultural, social and sexual revolution.
We follow, in all this, the progress of a bruised mind as it tries to make sense of the upheaval around it. Turning conspicuously, as in Empire of the Sun, to the events of his own life, Ballard makes of experience fiction that is frankly startling and, at its most tender, powerfully moving.
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.
JILL SHALVIS – SUPERB AND SEXY
Buckle Up. It's Going To Be Quite A Ride.
Despite his brooding bad-boy attitude, Brody's luxury charter airline, Sky High, provides the perfect escape route whenever things get complicated. And lately, things have become very complicated, thanks to the insanely passionate, or perhaps just insane, kiss he shared with Sky High's gorgeous, wisecracking concierge, Maddie. He's tried to keep his distance, but now Maddie desperately needs help, and it's triggering alpha-male urges Brody didn't even know he had--especially after he finds out that Maddie and her twin sister Leena are in big-time trouble. To save Leena, Maddie and Brody must pose as husband and wife. Good plan, except it's hard to tell if the heat in bed is acting or something too good to be true. . .
"Jill Shalvis sweeps you away." –Cherry Adair
Praise for Jill Shalvis and her novels
"Shalvis makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me sigh with pure pleasure." --Susan Andersen, New York Times bestselling author
"Hot, sweet, fun, and romantic! Pure pleasure!" --Robyn Carr, New York Times bestselling author
"Witty, fun and sexy--the perfect romance!" --Lori Foster
JIM C. HINES – CODEX BORN
They're back. And they want revenge...
Sent to investigate the brutal slaughter of a wendigo in the north Michigan town of Tamarack, Isaac Vainio and his companions find they have wandered into something far more dangerous than a simple killing.
A long established werewolf territory, Tamarack is rife with ancient enemies of Libriomancy who quest for revenge. Isaac has the help of Lena Greenwood, his dryad bodyguard born from the pages of a pulp fantasy novel, but he is not the only one in need of her unique and formidable powers...
JIM THOMPSON – THE KILLER INSIDE ME
Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a pillar of the community in his small Texas town, patient and thoughtful. Some people think he's a little slow and boring but that's the worst they say about him. But then nobody knows about what Lou calls his 'sickness'. It nearly got him put away when he was younger, but his adopted brother took the rap for that. Now the sickness that has been lying dormant for a while is about to surface again - and the consequences are brutal and devastating. Tense and suspenseful, THE KILLER INSIDE ME is a brilliantly sustained noir crime masterpiece.
JO BERRY – SHADES OF JAMIE DORNAN
From film and TV critic Jo Berry comes the unauthorized biography of model-turned-actor Jamie Dornan, starring as Christian Grey in the wildly popular Fifty Shades of Grey film!Jamie Dornan is quickly becoming a megastar. The announcement of his lead role in the upcoming movie adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey caused a media frenzy and he has been hitting the headlines ever since. After English actor Charlie Hunnam stepped away from the role, Dornan was catapulted into the international spotlight. Previously a model for Calvin Klein alongside Kate Moss, he has appeared in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette , has dated Keira Knightley, was cast as the sheriff in the hit fantasy TV drama Once Upon A Time , and followed it up with an acclaimed leading performance in the TV thriller The Fall . With details compiled from in-depth research into both his personal and professional life, this insightful book will reveal fifty shades of Jamie Dornan—a no-holds-barred biography of the man who everyone wants to know intimately.
JO HAIGH – TALES FROM THE GLASS CEILING
12-14% of UK businesses are majority owned by women, a statistic that shows both the great strides women have made in business in the past two decades and how many obstacles still remain in a culture where 90% of the top roles are held by men. Jo Haigh has worked for many years in corporate finance, and has experienced these obstacles, and overcome them. In Tales from the Glass Ceiling, she offers women an inspirational guide to success in the male-dominated business world - a goal, that does not mean losing your identity. Haigh offers stories of success from many different areas of business, giving advice on how to reconcile an open, emotional disposition with an executive level's occasionally brutal atmosphere; how to spot the right training and development opportunities (and get them funded); how to overcome resistance to female leadership and how to build, manage and maintain your professional network. Based on Haigh's own experience as an executive and entrepreneur, and bolstered by the experiences and stories of other top women in their fields, Tales from the Glass Ceiling is an indispensable resource for all women in business.
JOAN D. VINGE – COWBOYS AND ALIENS
Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in a film that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers-Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci-he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.
1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear.
But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.
Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents-townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors-all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.
The script for Cowboys & Aliens is by Star Trek's Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof (television's Lost), based on Platinum Studios' graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Grazer, Howard, Rosenberg, Kurtzman and Orci produce. Spielberg and Denis L. Stewart executive produce.
JOAN JOHNSTON – I PROMISE
A story of an unforgettable first love in the heart of Texas . . . from New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston
Delia Carson was only sixteen when she fled her Texas hometown. She left behind a web of lies that destroyed her family . . . and Marsh North, the irresistible bad boy she'd fallen in love with. Now, eleven years later, a family crisis forces Delia to return home—back to the mystery, back to the shadows . . . back to Marsh.
His bad-boy reputation behind him, Marsh is now a respected, prizewinning journalist. And he's never forgotten Delia or the youthful love they shared. Determined not to lose her again, Marsh sets out to prove to Delia that they belong together. But will the dark secrets from Delia's past keep them apart?
JOCELYN DAVIES – A BEATIFUL DARK
On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.
In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.
A Beautiful Dark is the first book in a captivating trilogy by debut author Jocelyn Davies.
JODI ELLEN MALPAS – ONE NIGHT PROMISED
You've read E L James, you've seen the Fifty Shades movie, you adored This Man...now meet the hottest new trilogy...
Livy notices him the moment he walks into the coffee shop. He's heart-stoppingly stunning, with a blue-eyed gaze so piercing she's almost too distracted to take his order. When he walks out the door, she thinks she'll never see him again. Then she finds the note he left on his napkin . . . signed M.
All he wants is one night to worship her. No feelings, no commitment - nothing but pleasure. Every defense mechanism Livy has adopted during her solitary life is at risk of being obliterated by this confounding man. He's obnoxious but well-mannered. He's a gentleman but aloof. He's passionate but emotionless. Yet the fascination is so powerful, Livy can't deny him...or herself.
M awakens something in Livy, something deep and addicting that she never knew existed-and that she fears only he can satisfy. But she senses that behind the fast cars, fancy suits, and posh apartment, he's aching inside.
To have him, body and soul, she'll have to brave his dark secrets. Delving into his world and breaking down his defenses becomes her obsession - an obsession that could shatter her heart beyond repair...
JOHN AND CAROLE E. BARROWMAN – BONE QUILL
12-years-old twins Matt and Emily Calder are Animare: they can bring art to life and enter paintings at will. They must do everything in their power to prevent a breach in Hollow Earth: a supernatural place that holds all the demons, devils and creatures ever imagined. The Hollow Earth Society are getting closer to finding the key that will release the beasts: an ancient bone quill whose powers can be only be used by a powerful Animare. The quill has been lost for centuries, but important clues to its whereabouts lie somewhere on the island of Era Mina - as does the entrance to Hollow Earth itself. Matt and Em must find the quill and protect it through their drawings, through certain famous paintings and, ultimately, deep into the mists of time itself. But their lives in the relative safety of Auchinmurn Abbey are thrown into confusion with the arrival of a newcomer who threatens to ruin everything they have worked for. All too soon, the twins are forced to make a terrible choice: save their father, or save the world.
JOHN CONNOLLY – THE GATES
A strange novel for strange young people.
Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund Boswell are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Hallowe'en. Which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Avenue.
The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with Satanism. But it just happens to coincide with a malfunction in the Large Hadron Collider that creates a gap in the universe. A gap in which there is a pair of enormous gates. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out . . .
Can Samuel persuade anyone to take this seriously? Can he harness the power of science to save the world as we know it?
JOHN CONNOLLY – THE KILLING KIND
Irish author John Connolly delivers the third novel in his bestselling, critically acclaimed series featuring troubled ex-cop turned detective Charlie Parker.
John Connolly takes battered ex-cop Charlie Parker on his third outing after Every Dead Thing and Dark Hollow. Still struggling with the horrific ghosts of his past, Parker is now a disillusioned private eye hired to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Grace Peltier—which neither her father nor a former US Senator believe was suicide. The trail leads to a mass grave in northern Maine where a Baptist community disappeared forty years earlier. The deaths of the Baptists and Grace are connected and point in the direction of a shadowy organization known as the Fellowship. With the assistance of some idiosyncratic and murderous acolytes, Parker soon confronts the Fellowship's demonic leader and finds himself caught in a situation more gruesome than even he could ever have imagined.
JOHN GILSTRAP – DAMAGE CONTROL
The hostages are a bus full of teenagers on a church mission. The ransom demands are deliver three million dollars—with zero involvement from law enforcement—or all captives will be executed. But rescue specialist Jonathan Grave doesn’t believe in ultimatums. For him and his elite team at Security Solutions, it’s all about protecting the innocent. Now Grave must face the chilling possibility that someone within the U.S. government has a deadly secret to protect—one that could jeopardize national security like never before…
