A dark-haired olive-skinned boy is forced to fend for himself during the war & wander alone from one Slav village to another sometimes hounded & tortured sometimes sheltered & taught. This is a portrayal of the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe seen through the eyes of a boy. ...

Teenager Lewis Hoxworthy discovers a disturbing painting in a medieval barn; a discovery which excites archaeologist Neil Watson who is excavating an ancient manor house nearby. But when former rock star Jonny Shellmer is found shot through the head in Lewiss fathers field & Lewis himself goes missing after contacting a man on the internet Detective Inspector Wesley Peterson & his boss Gerry Heffernan face one of their most intriguing cases yet. It seems that the Devon village of Derenham is not only full of resident celebrities seeking the rural idyll but full of secrets ancient & modern. Lewiss distraught parents seem to have something to hide. Then the mysterious owner of a new age shop is silenced before she can reveal what she knows about Jonny Shellmer. Is Jonnys death linked to Lewiss disappearance? & does Jonnys best known song Angel contain a clue? As Neil Watson uncovers the story of Derenhams medieval past it becomes clear that the Derenham Doom
- a painted portrayal of hell & judgement more than half a millennium old
- holds the key to the mystery. & as events reach a terrifying climax Wesley Peterson has to act swiftly if he is to save a young life.

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The hill people & the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with two weeks to go & the season looked hopeless. The cotton however was waist high to my father almost over my head & he & my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a good crop. Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler age seven who lives in the cotton fields with his parents & grandparents in a little house thats never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent not own & when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans & a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it. For six weeks they pick cotton battling the heat the rain the fatigue & sometimes each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees & hears things no seven year old could possibly be prepared for & finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever. A Painted House" is a moving story of one boys journey from innocence to experience." ...

Private Detective Spenser is on his easiest job yet. Art professor Ashton Prince has hired him to help recover a stolen painting. The thieves will return it in exchange for a ransom. All Spenser has to do is accompany Prince just in case. & collect his fee. But as Prince walks away from the exchange towards Spensers car carrying the wrapped painting it explodes. Prince is gone & with him Spensers cash. Starting to investigate Spenser discovers Princes past is far from squeaky clean but nothing warrants going to such unusual lengths to kill him. Who did it & why? ...

Araminta Jewell is one of the beauties of her day; a witty resourceful dazzling young lady who manages to resist all the blandishments that come her way. Even her marriage to the staid & ugly Sir Martin Culthorpe has not discouraged the rakes of London; for them she has assumed an almost iconic status. Before she wed a special club had been set up
- the Society for the Capture of Aramintas Maidenhood
- with the first man to bed her standing to win a sizeable wager. Though she is now a wife she is still pursued with unflagging zeal. It is during her first sitting for a portrait painted by the fashionable French artist Jean-Paul Villemot that the architect Christopher Redmayne meets the lovely Lady Culthorpe although he has heard much about her through his dissipated brother Henry one of her most ardent pursuers. Before the portrait can be finished & revealed however Sir Martin is murdered. Joining forces with Henry & his good friend the puritan Constable Jonathan Bale Christopher embarks on a quest to discover the killers identity. But with each new day bringing a fresh batch of suspects & the matter of whether Sir Martin was killed because of his shady business dealings or for the exquisite prize of his wife still unclear Christopher knows this will be far from an easy case to crack.

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The stunning debut fantasy novel from author Peter V. Brett. The Painted Man book one of the Demon Cycle is a captivating & ...

The stunning debut fantasy novel from author Peter V. Brett. The Painted Man book one of the Demon Cycle is a captivating & ...

Stripped of her glittering facade... Athan Teodarkis knows her type well: women for whom designer dresses & priceless jewellery are paid for only in kind. But hes never been distracted by one
- until now. Suspecting his sisters husband of having an affair with the dangerously beautiful Marisa Milburne Athan determines to put a stop to it! Confident the Teodarkis millions will easily divert this gold-diggers attentions Athan has a simple plan: seduce then discard. But contrary to what the cynical Athan believes shy Marisa is no home-wrecker & her innocence is powerless to resist his vengeful seduction...A simmering tension which drew me in right from the start
- another excellent novel from Julia James.
- Victoria Retired Belfast


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Kitty Fane is the beautiful but shallow wife of Walter a bacteriologist stationed in Hong Kong. Unsatisfied by her marriage she starts an affair with charming attractive & exciting Charles Townsend. But when Walter discovers her deception he exacts a strange & terrible vengeance: Kitty must accompany him to his new posting in remote mainland China where a cholera epidemic rages... First published to a storm of protest The Painted Veil" is a classic story of a woman's spiritual awakening." ...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012 Iasi Romania the early 1950s. A nameless man is found on the steps of a hospital. Deaf & mute he is unable to communicate until a young nurse called Safta brings paper & pencils with which he can draw. Slowly painstakingly memories appear on the page. The memories are Safta's also. For the man is Augustin son of the cook at the manor house which was Safta's family home. Born six months apart they grew up with a connection that bypassed words. But while Augustin's world remained the same size Safta's expanded to embrace languages society
- & a fleeting love one long hot summer. But then came war & in its wake a brutal Stalinist regime & nothing would remain the same.
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