English books
Raymond Chandler – Playback
Playback is a classic novel by Raymond Chandler, the master of hard-boiled crime.
Stalking the tawdry neon wilderness of forties and fifties Los Angeles, Raymond Chandler's hard-drinking, wise-cracking Phillip Marlowe is one of the world's most famous fictional detectives.
Playback finds Marlowe mixing business with pleasure - getting paid to follow a mysterious and lovely red-head named Eleanor King. And wherever Miss King goes, trouble seems to follow. But she's easy on the eye and Marlowe's happy to do as he's told, all in the name of chivalry, of course. But one dead body later and what started out as a lazy afternoon's snooping soon becomes a deadly cocktail of blackmail, lies, mistaken identity - and murder . . .
RAYMOND CHANDLER The Long Goodbye
Down-and-out drunk Terry Lennox has a problem: his millionaire wife is dead and he needs to get out of LA fast. So he turns to the only friend he can trust: private investigator Philip Marlowe. Marlowe is willing to help a man down on his luck, but later Lennox commits suicide in Mexico and things start to turn nasty. Marlowe is drawn into a sordid crowd of adulterers and alcoholics in LA's Idle Valley, where the rich are suffering one big suntanned hangover. Marlowe is sure Lennox didn't kill his wife, but how many stiffs will turn up before he gets to the truth?
Rebecca Lim EXILE
As punishment for crimes she can’t remember, Mercy is exiled from the angel world, forced to live human lives, driven from one life to another in an endless cycle of suffering. This time, Mercy finds herself within the life of Lela, a dedicated young girl whose life revolves around caring for her terminally ill mother.
Mercy weaves through the day-to-day commitments of Lela’s small life, but her focus remains turned to the limited fragments she can piece together from the past. In dreams, Luc visits her, telling her of their great love for one another, begging her to find him, or to find the man who can lead Luc to her. This man, Ryan, also loved Mercy, but she struggles to fathom why anyone besides Luc would stir her heart the way Ryan seems to do. Could it be that Luc isn’t telling her the whole truth?
Finding Ryan turns out to be a relatively simple task thanks to the technology available in Lela’s world. He promises to meet Lela in a few days, and her heart soars. But to meet Ryan, Mercy must first survive the onslaught of evil that surrounds her.
REIF LARSEN – THE YOUNG AND PRODIGIOUS T.S. SPIVET
T.S. makes sense of his chaotic family life by drawing beatiful, meticulous maps in innumerable colour-coded notebooks. He is brilliant, and the Smithsonian institution agrees, though when they award him a major scientific prize they dont suspect for a moment that he is twelve years old.
So begings T.S. life-changing adventure, travelling two thousand miles across America to reach the awards dinner, the secret - society membership and the TV interviews than beckon. But is this what he wants?Do maps and lists explain the world?and why are adults so strange?
RICHARD HOUSE – THE KILL
RICK RIORDAN – PERC JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH
The fourth book in the bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Now with a new cover look! Discover the story behind the Disney+ series.
HALF BOY - HALF GOD - ALL HERO.
SURE, AS A DEMIGOD I’VE HAD MY FAIR SHARE OF NEAR-DEATH DISASTERS. BUT HEY, I’M STILL HERE TO TELL THE TALE . . .
Percy Jackson’s enemies are back, and looking for a way to destroy Camp Half-Blood.
To stop them, Percy and his friends must take on a new quest through the mysterious labyrinth – a sprawling underground world with deadly surprises at every turn.
But the labyrinth was built to keep heroes out, and secrets safe within.
As time runs out and the Titans draws near, can Percy save the day once more?
RICK RIORDAN – PERC JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE CHALICE OF THE GODS
THE INSTANT NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
The original hero. A brand-new adventure.
Percy Jackson has saved the world multiple times - battling monsters, Titans, even giants - but these days the modern-day son of Poseidon is hoping for a regular final year at school.
Too bad the Greek gods have other plans, and three new quests for Percy to complete.
First up: the cupbearer of the gods, Ganymede, is missing his golden chalice. Not only is this embarrassing (why do the gods keep losing their magical items?), it's also potentially disastrous. One sip from the cup will turn any mortal into a powerful god. And the old gods do not take kindly to newbies.
Can Percy and his friends Annabeth and Grover find the chalice before it falls into the wrong hands? And even if they do, will they be able to resist its awesome power. . .?
Readers new to the Percy Jackson universe and long-time fans will love this epic adventure - full of legendary heroes, mythical creatures, ancient Greek gods and enduring friendship - from the global bestseller Rick Riordan.
RICK RIORDAN – PERC JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTING THIEF
The first book in the bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Now with a new cover look! Discover the story behind the Disney+ series.
HALF BOY - HALF GOD - ALL HERO.
Look, I never asked to be the son of a Greek god. I was just a normal kid. . . until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher.
Percy Jackson is having a bad week. His life has gone from totally normal to monsters-from-Greek-mythology-randomly-appearing kind of strange. Worse still, the king of the gods thinks Percy has stolen his all-powerful lightning bolt - and it seems making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to catch the true lightning thief and stop all-out war from erupting on Mount Olympus. . .
What could possibly go wrong?
RICK RIORDAN – PERC JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE TITAN’S CURSE
The third book in the bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Now with a new cover look! Discover the story behind the Disney+ series.
HALF BOY - HALF GOD - ALL HERO.
It's not every day you find yourself in combat with a half-lion, half human. . .
Percy Jackson has a lot on his plate.
A powerful goddess has gone missing. The Greek gods are on the brink of war with the Titans. And there's the minor threat of a mystery beast that could destroy Mount Olympus forever.
This time, Percy's going to need help and he's found two powerful demigods for the job. . .There's just the small problem of the prophecy. The one that has predicted not all of them will survive.
But when you're the son of a Greek god, it happens. Right?
RICK RIORDAN – PERCY JACKSON AND THE LAST OLYMPIAN
Half boy. Half God. All Hero.
Normally when you turn sixteen you get a really cool present.
But, being sixteen and the son of Poseidon can never be that simple. So instead, I get a prophecy that says the fate of the entire world on my shoulders. Great.
On top of that, Kronos, Lord of the Titans, is attacking New York City and the dreaded monster Typhon is heading our way. So, it's me and forty of my demi-god friends versus untold evil.
Happy birthday to me!
What to expect from Percy Jackson:
· Monsters
· Greek Gods
· Laughs (and terrified screams)
Rick Riordan has now sold an incredible 60 million copies of his books worldwide.
'This is the stuff of legends' - The Guardian
RICK RIORDAN – PERC JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS WRATH OF THE TRIPLE GODDESS
Percy Jackson, now a high school senior, needs three recommendation letters from the Greek gods in order to get into New Rome University. He earned his first one by retrieving Ganymede’s chalice. Now the goddess Hecate has offered Percy another “opportunity”—all he has to do is pet sit her mastiff, Hecuba, and her polecat, Gale, over Halloween week while she is away. Piece of cake, right?
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover settle into Hecate’s seemingly endless mansion and start getting acquainted with the fussy, terrifying animals. The trio has been warned not to touch anything, but while Percy and Annabeth are out at school, Grover can’t resist drinking a strawberry-flavored potion in the laboratory. It turns him into a giant frenzied goat, and after he rampages through the house, damaging everything in sight, and passes out, Hecuba and Gale escape. Now the friends have to find Hecate’s pets and somehow restore the house, all before Hecate gets back on Saturday. It’s going to take luck, demigod wiles, and some old and new friends to hunt down the animals and set things right again.
RICKY RICCARDI – WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
In this richly detailed and prodigiously researched book, jazz scholar and musician Ricky Riccardi reveals for the first time the genius and remarkable achievements of the last 25 years of Louis Armstrong's life, providing along the way a comprehensive study of one of the best-known and most accomplished jazz stars of our time. Much has been written about Armstrong, but the majority of it focuses on the early and middle stages of his career. During the last third of his career, Armstrong was often dismissed as a buffoonish if popular entertainer. Riccardi shows us instead the inventiveness and depth of his music during this time. These are the years of his highest-charting hits, including "Mack the Knife" and "Hello, Dolly"; the famed collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington; and his legendary recordings with the All Stars. An eminently readable and insightful book, What a Wonderful World completes and enlarges our understanding of one of America's greatest and most beloved musical icons.
ROB THURMAN Moon Shine
Cal and Niko Leandros return to take back the mean streets of New York from some distinctly unhuman predators
Cal and his half-brother Niko's lives are settling back to normal after stopping their bloodthirsty relatives from bringing about the apocalypse. They've found a new apartment and even gainful employment by starting an investigative agency in partnership with a glamorous Upper East Side vampire. Of course, their clientele tends to be a little . . . unusual, but their money spends just the same.
Their latest job is undercover work for the Kin - New York's werewolf mafia - to sniff out proof of a set-up by a rival. The location is Moonshine, a gambling club for the otherworldly and Cal figures it will be an easy in-and-out sort of job. But as Niko likes to point out, nothing is more dangerous than overconfidence and when a brawl gets out of hand, it looks like he's right. Are Cal and Niko being set up themselves? And by people whose bite is much worse than their bark . . .
ROBERT CRAIS – THE SENTRY
Dru Rayne and her uncle fled to L.A. after Hurricane Katrina; but now, five years later, they face a different danger. When Joe Pike witnesses Dru's uncle beaten by a protection gang, he offers his help, but neither of them want it-and neither do the federal agents mysteriously watching them.
As the level of violence escalates, and Pike himself becomes a target, he and Elvis Cole learn that Dru and her uncle are not who they seem--and that everything he thought he knew about them has been a lie. A vengeful and murderous force from their past is now catching up to them . . . and only Pike and Cole stand in the way.
ROBERT GODDARD – FOUND WANTING
The car jolts to a halt at the pavement's edge, the driver waving through the windscreen to attract Richard's attention. He starts with astonishment. The driver is Gemma, his ex-wife.
He has not seen or spoken to her for several years. They have, she memorably assured him the last time they met, nothing to say to each other. But something has changed her mind - something urgent...
Immediately Richard is catapulted into a breathless race against time that takes him from London, across northern Europe and into the heart of a mystery that reaches back into history - the fate of Anastasia, youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last of the Romanovs. From that moment, Richard's life will be changed for ever in ways he could never have imagined...
