In the quiet cul-de-sac where Keith & Stephen live the only immediate signs of the Second World War are the blackout at night & a single random bombsite. But the two boys start to suspect all is not as it seems when one day Keith announces a disconcerting discovery: the Germans have infiltrated his own family. & when the secret underground world they have dreamed up emerges from the shadows they find themselves engulfed in mysteries far deeper & more painful than they had bargained for. Winner of the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award. ...

In the immediate aftermath of the Revolution, the Western powers were anxious to prevent the spread of Bolshevism across Europe. Lenin & Trotsky were equally anxious that the Communist vision they were busy introducing in Russia should do just that. But neither side knew anything about the other. The revolution & Russia`s withdrawal from the First World War had ensured a diplomatic exodus from Moscow & the usual routes to vital information had been closed off. Into this void stepped an extraordinary collection of opportunists, journalists & spies -- sometimes indeed journalists who were spies & vice versa: in Moscow Britain`s Arthur Ransome, the American John Reed & Sidney Reilly -- ` Ace of Spies` -- all traded information & brokered deals between Russia & the West; in Berlin, Paris & London, the likes of Maxim Litvinov, Adolf Ioffe & Kamenev tried to infiltrate the political elite & influence foreign policy to the Bolshevik`s advantage. Robert Service, acclaimed historian & one of our finest commentators on matters Soviet, turns his meticulous eye to this ragtag group of people &, with narrative flair & impeccable research, reveals one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century. ...

Salonika, 1940. To the bustle of tavernas & the smell of hashish, a secret war is taking shape. In the backrooms of barbers, envelopes change hands, & in the Club de Salonique the air is thick with whispers. Costa Zannis is the city's dashing chief detective
- a man with contacts high & low, in the Balkans & beyond. & as unknown ships & British 'travel writers' trickle through the port, he is a man very much in dem&. Having helped defeat Italy in the highlands of Macedonia, Zannis returns to a city holding its breath. Mussolini's forces have retreated
- for now
- but German sights are fixed firmly on the region. & as the situation in Germany worsens, Zannis becomes involved in an audacious plot
- smuggling Jews to Istanbul, through the back door of Europe. The British hear he can penetrate the continent's closed borders, & soon Zannis is embroiled in the resistance, & in a reckless love affair that could jeopardise everything. With a remarkable cast of operatives, Spies of the Balkans is a brilliant new espionage novel from Alan Furst.



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Salonika, 1940. To the bustle of tavernas & the smell of hashish, a secret war is taking shape. In the backrooms of barbers, envelopes change hands, & in the Club de Salonique the air is thick with whispers. Costa Zannis is the city`s dashing chief detective
- a man with contacts high & low, in the Balkans & beyond. & as unknown ships & British `travel writers` trickle through the port, he is a man very much in dem&. Having helped defeat Italy in the highlands of Macedonia, Zannis returns to a city holding its breath. Mussolini`s forces have retreated
- for now
- but German sights are fixed firmly on the region. & as the situation in Germany worsens, Zannis becomes involved in an audacious plot
- smuggling Jews to Istanbul, through the back door of Europe. The British hear he can penetrate the continent`s closed borders, & soon Zannis is embroiled in the resistance, & in a reckless love affair that could jeopardise everything. With a remarkable cast of operatives, SPIES OF THE BALKANS is a brilliant espionage novel from Alan Furst.



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This title was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2015. It is longlisted for the Gaurdian First Book Award 2015. It was shortlisted for the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year, Irish Book Awards 2015. You find me on a Tuesday, on my Tuesday trip to town. A note sellotaped to the inside of the jumble-shop window: Compassionate & Tolerant Owner. A person without pets & without children under four. A misfit man finds a misfit dog. Ray, aged fifty-seven, `too old for starting over, too young for giving up`, & one eye, a vicious little bugger, smaller than expected, a good ratter. Both are accustomed to being alone, unloved, outcast
- but they quickly find in each other a strange companionship of sorts. As spring turns to summer, their relationship grows & intensifies, until a savage act forces them to abandon the precarious life they`d established, & take to the road. Spill Simmer Falter Wither is a wholly different kind of love story: a devastating portrait of loneliness, loss & friendship, & of the scars that are more than skin-deep. Written with tremendous empathy & insight, in lyrical language that surprises & delights, this is an extraordinary & heartbreaking debut by a major new talent.
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Centenarian Eulalio Assumpcao has reached the end of his long life. From his modest bed in a Rio public hospital, as his mind falters, he grandly recounts his past to passing nurses, his visiting daughter & the whitewashed ceiling. His eccentric stories are seemingly nothing more than the ramblings of a dying man, yet as he overlaps each confused memory, they begin to coalesce into a brilliant & bitter eulogy for himself & for Brazil. Charting his own fall from aristocracy, Eulalio`s feverish monologue sprawls across the last century, from his empire-building ancestors to his drug-dealing great-great grandson. He confronts his senator father who squandered the family fortune on women & cocaine, & recalls the imperious mother who he always disappointed; but as he drifts through each shifting episode, he never stops searching for Matilde, the girl with cinnamon skin, who danced her way into his heart & then broke it when she disappeared. ...

A fantastic new picture book all about a football-playing spider, written by Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, with glorious full colour illustrations from the talented Sebastian Braun & a sparkling, glittery foiled cover. Spinderella the spider has a passion for football! She tries to play a match with her brothers & sisters but she doesn`t know how many spiders should be on each team. Even worse, she can`t count the goals! Luckily for Spinderella, her Hairy Godmother has a plan... Julia Donaldson does it again in this hugely engaging & funny story all about football, spiders & counting
- what`s not to love! The perfect picture book for children of all ages
- boys & girls alike. Julia Donaldson is the internationally renowned author of the best-loved picture books in the world, including The Gruffalo, What the Ladybird Heard, Sugarlump & the Unicorn & Night Monkey, Day Monkey. Julia Donaldson`s collaborations with Axel Scheffler have sold millions of copies, & Room on the Broom is now an Academy Award-nominated short film. Sebastian Braun studied fine & applied arts at Strasbourg University. He moved to London in 2000 & since then has been working exclusively on children`s picture books, having been published by Orchard, Walker, Campbell, Harper Collins & Puffin.

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This spooky activity book is packed full of creepy colouring, deathly doodling & spine-tingling puzzles & activities. Make your very own witch`s hat, brave your way through a cryptic maze, play a haunted house board game & do lots of other ghostly activities in this fun-packed book. PLUS over 1000 scary stickers if you`re feeling brave enough! Also available: Adventure 1001 Stickers, Princess 1001 Stickers, Christmas 1001 Stickers. ...

Spineless Classics offers a unique way of displaying classic literature – a single sheet ready to be mounted on the wall of your living room! Once framed, your favourite books can be transformed into beautiful works of art. Each poster comprises a single sheet, which are available in various standard sizes for easy framing (see individual entries for details). The text is formatted to create decorative silhouettes inspired by your chosen book. While the font is small, it’s perfectly legible up close. All Spineless Classics are printed on heavyweight paper in sharp, lightfast ink that will not fade. Frame not included. ...

This chess set from authentic Models features exquisitely crafted red & cream pieces. Crafted from high quality resin & nicely ...