Isabel Dalhousie thinks often of friends sometimes of lovers & on occasion of chocolate. As an Edinburgh philosopher she is certain of where she stands. She can review a book called In Praise of Sin with panache & conviction but real life is...well perhaps a bit more challenging
- particularly when it comes to her feelings for Jamie a younger man who should have married her niece Cat. Jamies handsomeness leaves Isabel feeling distinctly uneasy & ethically disturbed. I am a philosopher she thinks but I am also a woman. & more disturbance is in store. When Cat takes a break in Italy Isabel agrees to run her delicatessen. One of the customers she discovers has recently had a heart transplant & is now being plagued by memories that cannot be rationally explained & which he feels do not belong to him. Isabel is intrigued. So intrigued that she finds herself rushing headlong into a dangerous investigation. But she still has time to think about the things that possess her
- things like love & friendship & of course temptation. The last of these comes in many forms
- chocolate for example or seductive Italians...


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Vivien last saw her mother when she was nine years old. When Hilda suddenly reappears after eight years she stirs up painful memories. Now at last Vivien has the opportunity to find out her father's identity
- but Hilda refuses to reveal his name & so Vivien decides to track him down with the help of her boyfriend Nick. Determination becomes obsession & Nick comes to resent Vivien's quest. When she travels to America to find her father will she lose the love of her life?
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Alice Hart has perfected the art of feeding crowds & in her new book she shows not only how to serve people memorable meals but also how to host all sorts of gatherings in a relaxed & convivial way. From what kitchen kit youll need to take to a music festival how to multiply up the number of servings or how to get around a shortage of cutlery or plates the book contains all you need to know about the practical side of making large numbers of people feel comfortable & well fed taking the stress out of organising hosting & catering. & to make the occasions even more special Alice also

Includes:: fabulously whimsical ideas for how to entertain your guests. The book

Includes:: a diverse selection of party menus for each month of the year although all the dishes can be taken out of context & served for simpler occasions. Break through Februarys gloom with a Honey-roast Beetroot & Carrot Salad served on a mezze evening complete with indoor games for a winters night or throw a beach barbecue in August & impress with Blueberry Almond & Vanilla Choux Buns with instructions for beach cricket & how to recognise clouds. Alice serves an eclectic mix of dishes from all around the world but all are made simple & easy to prepare. & these parties wont break the bank
- being young busy & hard-working Alice understands the demands on her generation when it comes to being low on budget time & space.




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Meet Charlie Katie Grace Jamila & Ellie
- theyre five best friends & theyve just joined the Brownies! The girls cant wait to start
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Five children meet on their first day of school one bright September morning. Drawn by that magical spark of connection that happens to the young Gabby Billy Izzie Andy & Sean
- each bursting with their own personality all with strikingly different looks & diverse talents
- soon become an inseparable group known to everyone else as the Big Five. As they grow up their seemingly perfect lives are altered by families falling apart unfortunate mistakes & losses & victories great & small. Throughout their adolescence the five are able to turn back to their trusted group to regain their footing & steady their course. But as they emerge from school their futures seem neither safe nor clear. As their lives separate the challenges & risks they face become greater the losses sharper & it becomes much harder to know the right path to choose. But despite lifes ups & downs together they are able to face up to challenges with the help of the important bonds forged all those years ago. & the five realise just how lucky they are to treasure valuable friendships that last a lifetime.

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Five children meet on their first day of school one bright September morning. Drawn by that magical spark of connection that happens to the young Gabby Billy Izzie Andy & Sean
- each bursting with their own personality all with strikingly different looks & diverse talents
- soon become an inseparable group known to everyone else as the Big Five. As they grow up their seemingly perfect lives are altered by families falling apart unfortunate mistakes & losses & victories great & small. Throughout their adolescence the five are able to turn back to their trusted group to regain their footing & steady their course. But as they emerge from school their futures seem neither safe nor clear. As their lives separate the challenges & risks they face become greater the losses sharper & it becomes much harder to know the right path to choose. But despite life's ups & downs together they are able to face up to challenges with the help of the important bonds forged all those years ago. & the five realise just how lucky they are to treasure valuable friendships that last a lifetime.

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When Commissario Guido Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the building of his apartment years earlier his first reaction like any other Venetian is to think of whom he knows who might bring pressure to bear on the relevant government department. But when the bureaucrat rings Brunetti at work clearly scared & is then found dead after a fall from scaffolding something is obviously going on that has implications greater than the fate of Brunetti's apartment.. . ...

Danny Wallace is about to turn thirty & his life has become a cliche. Recently married & living in a smart new area of town hes swapped pints for lattes & had even contemplated buying coasters. Something wasnt right
- he was feeling way too grown-up. Until
- Danny finds an old address book containing just twelve names. His best mates as a kid. Where are they now? Who are they now? & how are they coping with this scary concept of being grown-up? & so begins a journey from A-Z tracking down & meeting his old gang. He travels from Berlin to Tokyo from Sydney to LA. He even goes to Loughborough. He meets Fijian chiefs. German rappers. Some ninjas. & a carvery manager whos managed to solve time travel. But how will they respond to a man they havent seen in twenty years turning up & asking if theyre coming out to play? Friends Like These is the story of what can happen when you track down your past & of where the friendships you thought youd outgrown can take you today...

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Danny Wallace is about to turn thirty & his life has become a cliche. Recently married & living in a smart new area of town hes swapped pints down the pub for lattes & brunch. For the first time in his life hes feeling well.. .grown-up. But somethings not right. Somethings missing. Until he finds an old address book containing just twelve names. His best mates as a kid. Where are they now? Who are they now? & how are they coping with being grown-up too? & so begins a journey from A-Z tracking down & meeting his old gang. He travels from Berlin to Tokyo from Sydney to LA. He even goes to Loughborough. He meets Fijian chiefs. German rappers. Some ninjas. & a carvery manager whos managed to solve time travel. But how will they respond to a man they havent seen in twenty years turning up & asking if theyre coming out to play? Part-comedy part-travelogue part-memoir Friends Like These is the story of what can happen when you track down your past & of where the friendships you thought youd outgrown can take you today... ...

Dear Friends When Og the Frog came to live in Room 26 I felt a little jealous. Still I tried to be welcoming but I soon discovered that it's HARD-HARD-HARD to make friends with a lumpy bumpy frog! Then I found out that my fellow students were having problems with their friends too. A.J. & Garth had to deal with a bully named Mean Martin Bean. Heidi & Gail had a terrible argument & Miranda-Golden had a new stepsister who wasn't nice at all. Then there was the Poetry Festival the magic show & the snowstorm! How could one small hamster solve all those problems? Luckily I wrote the whole story in my notebook so you could share in my adventures. Your friend to the end Humphrey. ...