An instant Sunday Times bestseller and soon to be a major motion picture!'Astonishing. Compelling. Powerful' - Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing'Stuns with sacrifice. Uplifts with heroism' - Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry'Powerful' - Matt Haig, bestselling author of The Midnight LibraryFrom the worldwide bestselling author of The Four Winds, The Nightingale and Firefly Lane (a Number One series on Netflix),The Women is a story of devastating loss and epic love. It would be the journey of a lifetime . . .'Women can be heroes, too'. When twenty-year-old nursing student, Frances "Frankie" McGrath, hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on California's idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different path for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurses Corps and follows his path.As green and inexperienced as the young men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed America. Frankie will also discover the true value of female friendship and the heartbreak that love can cause.Readers love The Women:'It honours ALL women: those who have fought for their rights and freedoms, those who have been overlooked and underappreciated, those who have been forgotten by families and society''I've been looking forward to this book's release for months' 'Kristin Hannah has done it again' Read more

Brutally violent, Blood Meridian is the story of one teenage runaway in the nineteenth-century American South, as a sadistic gang unleashes its massacre across the desert land. It is the work that sealed Cormac McCarthy's reputation as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.‘[A] brilliant, uncompromising work of fiction – imagine if the authors of the King James Bible, their hands guided by Satan, wrote a western’ – The TimesThrough the hostile landscape of the Texas–Mexico border wanders the Kid, a fourteen year-old Tennessean who is quickly swept up in the relentless tide of blood.A group known as the Glanton gang hunt Indigenous Americans, collecting scalps as their bloody trophies. At the centre of this violence stands Judge Holden: a massive, hairless man, mysterious if not supernatural, erudite and cold-blooded. He is singularly extreme in his sadistic violence.But the apparent chaos is not without order – the Glanton gang, too, are stalked as prey.Read as both a brilliant subversion of the Western novel and a blazing example of that form, it is a powerful, mesmerizing and savagely beautiful novel – and one of the most important works in American fiction of the last century.‘In Blood Meridian, McCarthy reaches the peak of his style: spare and ornate at once, repetitious but endlessly readable’ – GuardianPraise for Cormac McCarthy:‘McCarthy worked close to some religious impulse, his books were terrifying and absolute’ – Anne Enright, author of The Green Road and The Wren, The Wren'His prose takes on an almost biblical quality, hallucinatory in its effect and evangelical in its power' – Stephen King, author of The Shining and the Dark Tower series'[I]n presenting the darker human impulses in his rich prose, [McCarthy] showed readers the necessity of facing up to existence' – Annie Proulx, author of Brokeback MountainPart of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature. Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP BESTSELLER#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE'An utterly mesmerising novel..I absolutely loved this book' Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the Booker Prize 2019'Epic' Kiley Reid, O, The Oprah Magazine'Favourite book [of the] year' Issa RaePerfect for fans of Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larson.The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' story lines intersect?Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. Read more

NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES BY BARRY JENKINS (COMING MAY 2021) WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2017WINNER OF THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD 2017LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2017NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER 2016'Whitehead is on a roll: the reviews have been sublime' Guardian'Luminous, furious, wildly inventive' Observer'Hands down one of the best, if not the best, book I've read this year' Stylist 'Dazzling' New York Review of BooksPraised by Barack Obama and an Oprah Book Club Pick, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead won the National Book Award 2016 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2017.Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. All the slaves lead a hellish existence, but Cora has it worse than most; she is an outcast even among her fellow Africans and she is approaching womanhood, where it is clear even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a slave recently arrived from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the North.In Whitehead's razor-sharp imagining of the antebellum South, the Underground Railroad has assumed a physical form: a dilapidated box car pulled along subterranean tracks by a steam locomotive, picking up fugitives wherever it can. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But its placid surface masks an infernal scheme designed for its unknowing black inhabitants. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher sent to find Cora, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.At each stop on her journey, Cora encounters a different world. As Whitehead brilliantly recreates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America, from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once the story of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shatteringly powerful meditation on history. Read more

As the only woman homicide inspector in San Francisco, Lindsay Boxer has to be tough. But nothing she has seen prepares her for the horror of the honeymoon murders, when a brutal maniac begins viciously slaughtering newly wed couples on their wedding nights. Lindsay is sickened by the deaths, but her determination to bring the murderer to justice is threatened by her own personal tragedy. So she turns to Claire, a leading coroner, Cindy, a journalist and Jill, a top attorney, for help with both her crises, and the Women's Murder Club is born. Read more

'Truly extraordinary books are rare, and this is one of them' – Roddy DoyleJames is a profound and ferociously funny novel from one of our greatest living writers, Percival Everett.The Sunday Times BestsellerWinner of the National Book Award for FictionWinner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in FictionShortlisted for the Booker PrizeShortlisted for the Dublin Literary AwardFinalist for the Orwell Prize for Political FictionThe Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he flees to nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town.So begins a dangerous and transcendent journey along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. As James and Huck navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise. And together, the unlikely pair embark on the most life-changing odyssey of them all . . .A 'Book of the Year' in The Observer, The Times & Sunday Times, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Spectator, New Statesman, Independent, TLS, The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, i newspaper, The Economist, The Irish Times, The New York Times, TIME and The New Yorker'Who should read this book? Every single person in the country' – Ann Patchett'Scorchingly funny and action-packed' – The Sunday Times, 'Books of the Year''This may be Everett's best book yet' – Bonnie Garmus'Playful and viciously comic' – The Telegraph, 'Books of the Year''My favourite novel this year' – Salman Rushdie Read more

'A splendidly exciting and original story' Sunday Telegraph'Terrifyingly exciting suspense' Ian FlemingSet in Changi, the most notorious prisoner of war camp in Asia, King Rat is an heroic story of survival told by a master story-teller who lived through those years as a young soldier. Only one man in fifteen had the strength, the luck, and the cleverness simply to survive Changi. And then there was King.'KING RAT is the best novel in English to have come out of Japanese prisoner of war camps . . . James Clavell is a teller of stories. They are complicated and exciting, and you are desperate to know what will happen to his characters because they are like the people you know from your own life and experience, set in strange and sometimes terrible circumstances' John Simpson Read more

'Impossible to put down' STEPHEN KING__________________THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERTHE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST FANTASY OF 2019AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF OCTOBER 2019A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALISTIN DEVELOPMENT FOR TELEVISION WITH AMAZON STUDIOSBY THE BESTSELLING CREATOR OF THE GRISHAVERSEAND THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES SHADOW AND BONESTEP INTO THE WORLD OF NINTH HOUSE__________________Galaxy 'Alex' Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world's most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch.Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale's secret societies - well-known haunts of the rich and powerful. Now there's a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won't accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder.Because Alex knows the secret societies are far more sinister and extraordinary than anyone ever imagined. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And sometimes they prey on the living . . . 'One of the best fantasy novels I've read in years' LEV GROSSMAN'Ninth House rocked my world' JOE HILL'I wouldn't blame you for taking the day off to finish it' KELLY LINK'Mesmerising' CHARLAINE HARRIS'Compulsively readable' KIRKUS'Atmospheric' BOOKLIST'The fantasy novel of the year' THE I Read more

Following a harrowing disappearance, a woman returns home to her family—and a life-changing secret in a powerful novel about betrayal, resilience, and love’s unbreakable bonds.After fifteen years in captivity, Nova Lefleur is free, back home, and reunited with her Louisiana family. Through her ordeal, she never forgot them. They never forgot her either. But things have changed since Nova’s been gone.Nova and her encouraging seventeen-year-old daughter, Skye, are getting to know each other for the first time. Her husband, Quinton, is rebuilding a relationship with a wife he thought was gone forever. And Nova’s sister, Leah, is overjoyed—and overwhelmed.Leah shares a secret with Quinton neither can bear to tell the woman they cherish. Not yet. Five years ago, bonding over grief and finding a reason to smile again, Quinton and Leah were married. When it’s time for the truth to come out, they could lose Nova all over again.As Nova is eased back into a life both familiar and unfamiliar, she and her family must confront their deepest fears, the choices they made, and the choices to come that will reshape each of their lives forever. Read more

'[A] sweet tale about the healing power of kindness' Irish TimesIn a quiet village in Ireland, a mysterious local myth is about to change everything…One hundred years ago, Anna, a young farm girl, volunteers to help an intriguing American visitor translate fairy stories from Irish to English. But all is not as it seems and Anna soon finds herself at the heart of a mystery that threatens her very way of life.In New York in the present day, Sarah Harper boards a plane bound for the West Coast of Ireland. But once there, she finds she has unearthed dark secrets – secrets that tread the line between the everyday and the otherworldly, the seen and the unseen.With a taste for the magical in everyday life, Evie Woods's latest novel is full of ordinary characters with extraordinary tales to tell.Praise for The Story Collector:'An engaging story about unsettled grief…the possibility that magic and the fairies are real is dangled tantalisingly before the reader, but not in a way that might make a sceptic roll their eyes' Historical Novel Society'Woods weaves a great tale of past, present and that timeless other realm, making for a very satisfying read' Sunday IndependentReaders have fallen in love with The Story Collector:‘I highly recommend this book if you enjoy historical fiction and want to learn more about Ireland and its folklore history surrounding the faeries.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Romantic and magical, an adventure to be enjoyed.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Painted beautifully.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A bewitching story which I will treasure.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘A mystical treasure that echoes with the fairy world power of Ireland. A mesmerising tale told in two timelines where the past unfolds and ripples like a wave into the future.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'This is the perfect book to read on a winter afternoon in front of the fire.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A delightful tale of love and loss and magical stories.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Previously published as The Story Collector by Evie Gaughan.Evie Woods's book 'The Lost Bookshop' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2023-12-18. Read more

From the bestselling author of The Secret Midwife comes a story of bravery, sacrifice and resilience in war-torn Berlin—and two sisters who will risk it all to make a difference.Berlin, 1943: Ava Müller is a proud supporter of the German war effort, working for Joseph Goebbels alongside her father, a high-ranking official in the Reich. With her sister Hanna, a nurse, braving bombing raids to save lives, they are a model Nazi family. Until Ava discovers her parents and Hanna are secretly working for the resistance…Returning to their country home, Ava is shocked to find her childhood friend Eliana Goldman and her family hidden in the attic. Suddenly she faces a stark choice: denounce her family, as she’s been taught, or betray her country. She knows only too well what happens to traitors—but as Eliana’s story of terror at the hands of the Nazis unravels, Ava realises her loyalty to the regime has blinded her to the horrifying truth.Drawn into the resistance network alongside Hanna, Ava begins the dangerous work of undermining the Reich from within its own headquarters. Relying on each other for courage and resilience, the sisters must risk their own lives to save others, knowing that every day brings them one step closer to making the ultimate sacrifice…Heartbreaking, hopeful and thought-provoking, this is a powerful work of fiction inspired by those who chose to fight the Nazis from within Germany and the events that followed. Read more

A gripping tale of love, war and religious turmoil.France, 1205: Philip of Vercy returns from fighting the infidel in the Holy Land to find his life in ruins and his only son near death. He hears of a miracle healer, Fabricia, a young woman marked with the stigmata, and sets out to find her, desperate to save his child.But Fabricia has sought refuge from the Inquisition in the mist-shrouded mountains of the Languedoc. It’s home to the Cathars, and the Pope has ordered a crusade to crush them. As the south convulses into flame and revolt, Fabricia has nowhere left to run.Determined to find her, Philip must risk losing his lands, his titles, even his life. Any other man would cut his losses and go home.But Philip is not like other men.'Loved, loved, loved this novel. Riveting!' Historical Novel Review.'Beautifully written in typical Falconer style with plenty of snap and sharpness, and wonderfully researched.' Great Historicals.'Spectacular historical fiction blazing with romance, intrigue and dramatic action.' Booklist.Experience the Epic Adventure SeriesThrilling journeys through vividly imagined worlds, heart pounding action and unforgettable characters.Multi-bestselling stand-alone tales that can be read in any order.30,000+ five-star reviews.Part thriller. Part history. All adventure. Read more

WATERSTONES FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER 2024THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLERBARACK OBAMA'S BOOK OF THE YEAR PICKAMAZON.COM NO.1 BOOK OF THE YEAR'I loved this book' BONNIE GARMUS'A generous, compassionate book about the power of love and community' LOUISE KENNEDY'I can't recommend this one highly enough ' HARLAN COBEN'THIS is his best book' ANN PATCHETTIn 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighbourhood where Jewish immigrants and African Americans lived side by side through the 1920s and '30s.In this novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them, James McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community - heaven and earth - that sustain us. Read more

Maddie Work, sleep, and sometimes eat.Rinse and repeat.That’s been my life for the past two years. One struggle after another. Fighting to keep my sister alive. Fighting to maintain the strength to not give up. I had everything under control. I had a routine. Order.Until a certain Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome turned my world on its axis. He’s relentless. No matter how much I shut him down, he keeps showing up.Theo I make it a habit to always get what I want.Either through brute force or by outsmarting my opponent. I never lose. I never hear the words no. Until the day I walked into a coffee shop and saw her. Maddie doesn’t know who she’s dealing with.She doesn’t know just how relentless I am when I want something. And right now, that something is the mousy brunette glaring at me from behind the counter.This is book 1 in a series of four standalone mafia romances, each book contains the story of one of the four sons of Theo and Holly Valentino who you can read about in the Valentino Empire Series. Read more

A heartbreaking story of friendship, loyalty and the true cost of love, from the bestselling author of The Secret Midwife and Wives of War.Berlin, 1944: Amira and Gisele have been best friends since they were children, and now Gisele is the only person who knows Amira’s secret. A secret that puts her and everyone she loves in unimaginable danger amid the daily horror and violence of Nazi Germany.With the threat of exposure drawing closer, Gisele’s suggestion that Amira marries her friend Fred, a famous pianist, might just be the lifeline she needs to keep them both safe. Because Fred has secrets too.As the two strangers promise to look after each other, a profound love develops. But while the war rages on, Amira, Fred and Gisele are soon faced with terrible choices that will test their loyalty—and their courage—to the ultimate limits. How far will they go to keep each other alive?An unforgettable World War Two novel about those who chose to defy the Nazis from within Germany. Read more

The Number One Global Sensation*Foyle’s Fiction Book of the Year**Amazon Book of the Year**Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year**Fiction Book of the Year 2024 – British Book Awards*‘Addictive’ Grazia‘Hugely entertaining’ Observer‘Provocative’ Mail on SundayTHIS IS ONE HELL OF A STORY. IT’S JUST NOT HERS TO TELL.When failed writer June Hayward witnesses her rival Athena Liu die in a freak accident, she sees her opportunity… and takes it.So what if it means stealing Athena’s final manuscript?So what if it means ‘borrowing’ her identity?And so what if the first lie is only the beginning…Finally, June has the fame she always deserved. But someone is about to expose her… What happens next is entirely everyone else's fault. ‘The book that everyone is talking about’ Glamour‘Ingenious, astute, hugely entertaining’ David Nicholls‘Breathtakingly clever on jealousy, talent, success, and who gets to tell which story’ Elizabeth Day‘Hard to put down. Harder to forget’ Stephen KingR.F. Kuang’s book Yellowface was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23R.F. Kuang’s book Yellowface was a #5 New York Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23Rebecca F Kuang's book 'Yellowface' was a No.2 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-06-03. Read more

A successful journalist returns to her hometown just as her biggest mistake becomes headline news in this vibrant, funny, and heartfelt novel about facing the past, and its secrets, head-on. Entertainment journalist Dawn Roberts has a lot to work through: a widow’s grief, betrayals of family and friends, and scandals that almost tanked her reputation. Not that Dawn dwells on the past. Well, hardly. When she returns to Baltimore with her husband’s ashes, she can’t avoid it. In fact, she’s diving into decades of backstabbing and treachery for her first trip home in years.She’s looking at you, Joe Perkins. Her former mentor, whose explosive exposé about big-city corruption is being turned into a slanderous movie, is also back in town. The villain of the piece? Dawn. The good news is that this could all be a chance to reset—heal family wounds, admit to her own mistakes, and maybe even reconnect with the one who got away. Oh, and get even with Joe any way she can.With the surprising help of an up-and-coming journalist and a legendary R & B diva, Dawn will finally set the record straight. Returning home might just be the biggest story in Dawn’s life, a fresh start—and happy ending—she never expected. Read more

"Buckle up and enjoy the ride, because you're not coming out the same way you went in. A top 2020 read hands down.” Helena Hunting, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author“Heartbreakingly beautiful, awe-inspiring, and gut-wrenching, Angry God is a unique masterpiece that will leave you gasping for air and crying for more. LJ Shen is in a league of her own and this book and series will forever leave a mark on your soul.” Rachel Brookes, Bestselling author Vaughn Spencer.They call him an angry god. To me, he is nothing but a heartless prince. His parents rule this town, its police, every citizen and boutique on Main Street. All I own is a nice, juicy grudge against him for that time he almost killed me. Between hooking up with a different girl every weekend, breaking hearts, noses and rules, Vaughn also finds the time to bully little ole’ me. I fight back, tooth and nail, never expecting him to chase me across the ocean after we graduate high school.But here he is, living with me in a dark, looming castle on the outskirts of London. A fellow intern. A prodigal sculptor. A bloody genius. They say this place is haunted, and it is. Carlisle Castle hides two of our most awful secrets. Vaughn thinks he can kill the ghosts of his past, but what he doesn’t know? It’s my heart he’s slaying. Read more

The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was trouble…my trouble.Trouble so young, so pure−begging for me to corrupt her.So I made her my bride, a deal forged in deceit and desire.But the instant she carried my heir, the game turned primal…Aria Abruzzi was born on the wrong side of my world.A little intern in the DA’s office.The daughter of the city’s top cop…my greatest enemy.She shouldn’t have uncovered the monster in me. But she did.Now, there’s only one way to keep her alive—making her mine.My wife. My spy. My possession.She swore she hated me...that I would never touch her.But I ripped that innocence from her with my bare hands.And the more she defied me, the more I craved her.She was pure before me. Now? She’s ruined for anyone else.Marked by me. Owned by me.She calls this deal a mistake. A curse.But forbidden vows were spoken, and I don’t believe in regrets.When the truth−her truth−is revealed,She swears she’ll destroy me.But it’s too late, bella.You carry my child.And I’ll burn my empire to the ground to keep what’s mine.***Publisher’s Note: “Mafia King’s Forbidden Vows” is the fourth book in the “Savage Mafia Empire” series. Each book is a standalone with no cheating, no cliffhangers and a satisfying happy ever after. It is a spicy Dark Mafia, forced marriage, enemies to lovers, secret pregnancy romance, featuring violent scenes as well as those of an explicit rough intimate nature. Please buy this book only if you are comfortable with such content. Read more

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Wandering Stars is the kind of book that saves lives' Kaveh Akbar, author of Martyr!'Among the tragedy .... there is redemption and humanity. It's a stunning book' Dua Lipa, Service95 Book of the MonthA heart-rending story of a Native American community told through the generationsColorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by an evangelical prison guard, who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial school, dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture and identity.Years later, Star's son, Charles, is sent to this school, where he is brutalised by the same man. Together with fellow student Opal Viola, Charles envisions a future far away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.Full of poetry music, rage and love, Wandering Stars, looks to the past and future across the generations of the Bear Shield and Red Feather family, finding their way through displacement and pain, towards home and hope.A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024'Wondrous' Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars'This novel is alive' Tess Gunty, author of The Rabbit Hutch'A towering achievement’ New York Times'As vital as air' Guardian Read more