This is the first short story collection from an acclaimed novelist with a wide & loyal readership. Many of the stories have won prizes been published or broadcast; some are new written especially for the collection. Several feature artists & are set in the past in a rural England; others are contemporary: stories set in London or Europe of love glimpsed lost or longed for. In Bratislava" is the brief encounter between a lonely businessman & young student in the aftermath of communism. Two or three look at illness & mortality: in " Last Fling" the title story a dying woman places a lonely hearts ad. All these stories are written with Sue Gees insight precision & delicacy of style & tone. Her last novel " Reading in Bed" (2007) was a " Daily Mail" Book Club Selection; her next will be published in 2012. Poignant & haunting immensely readable " Last Fling" is the perfect book between the two." ...

The Last Four Things" is the second in Paul Hoffman's remarkable series. Death Judgement Heaven & Hell. These are the " Last Four Things". Now there are Five Meet Thomas Cale Returning to the Sanctuary of the Redeemers Thomas Cale is told by the Lord Militant that the destruction of mankind is necessary; the only way to undo God's greatest mistake. Cale seemingly accepts his role in the ending of the world: fate has painted him as the Left Hand of God the Angel of Death. Absolute power is within his grasp the terrifying zeal & military might of the Redeemers a weapon for him to handle as simply as he once used a knife. But perhaps not even the grim power that the Redeemers hold over Cale is enough
- the boy who turns from love to poisonous hatred in a heartbeat the boy who switches between kindness & sheer violence in the blink of an eye. The annihilation that the Redeemers seek may well be in Cale's hands
- but his soul is far stranger than they could ever know. " The Last Four Things" follows on from " The Left Hand of God". It is the second instalment in a gripping trilogy by Paul Hoffman. Imagine if Phillip Pullman's " His Dark Materials" met Umberto Eco's " Name of the Rose". Fans of epic heroic fiction will love this series. Praise for Paul Hoffman: " This book gripped me from the first chapter & then dropped me days later dazed & grinning to myself". (Conn Iggulden). " Tremendous momentum". (" Daily Telegraph"). "A cult classic.. .". (" Daily Express"). Paul Hoffman is the author of four previous novels " The Last Four Things" (2011) " The Left Hand of God" (2010) " The Golden Age of Censorship" (2007) a black comedy based on his experiences as a film censor & " The Wisdom of Crocodiles" (2000) which predicted the collapse of the world financial system."

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Old Filth & The Man in the Wooden Hat told with bristling tenderness & black humour the stories of that Titan of the Hong Kong law courts Old Filth QC & his clever misunderstood wife Betty. Last Friends the final volume of this trilogy picks up with Terence Veneering Filth's great rival in work &
- though it was never spoken of
- in love. Veneering's were not the usual beginnings of an establishment silk: the son of a Russian acrobat marooned in northeast England & a devoted local girl he escapes the war to emerge in the Far East as a man of panache success & fame. But always at the stuffy English Bar he is treated with suspicion: where did this blond louche brilliant Slav come from? Veneering Filth & their friends tell a tale of love friendship grace the bittersweet experiences of a now-forgotten Empire & the disappointments & consolations of age.

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The teenage girl was the first victim. Her throat cut to the bone she didnt stand a chance. Her mother at least had time to fight back. Briefly. Called to the crime scene in leafy Wimbledon Maeve Kerrigans first thought is that this is a domestic dispute gone bad. But the husband is found lying bleeding & unconscious in an upstairs room. As a criminal barrister he insists hes the third victim rather than their prime suspect even if hes a man who makes enemies easily. The only other surviving family member is fifteen-year-old Lydia. She was the one to find her mother & twin sisters bodies
- & the only witness Maeve has. But she isnt talking...
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The teenage girl was the first victim. Her throat cut to the bone she didn't stand a chance. Her mother was the second. She at least had time to fight back. Briefly. Called to the South London crime scene Maeve Kerrigan's first thought is that this is a domestic dispute gone bad. But the husband
- found bloody & unconscious in an upstairs room
- insists he's the third victim not the killer. However the only witness is his young daughter. & she's not talking...

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THE LAST GODFATHERS charts the rise of the notorious Corleone clan. From its humble origins in the town of Corleone the clan manipulated Cosa Nostras code of honour deceiving & bludgeoning its way to the top of the secret brotherhood purging its rivals & launching a terrorist campaign which decimated anti-mafia judges police & politicians. Journalist John Follain focuses on the three godfathers who headed the clan from the 1950s onwards. Luciano The Professor Leggio Salvatore The Beast Riina & Bernardo The Tractor Provenzano who forged a vicious clan bent on the subversion of democracy. Cutting through the romantic aura of Hollywood films THE LAST GODFATHERS portrays the true face of the crime family which inspired Mario Puzos The Godfather. Based on thousands of pages of judicial documents wiretap transcripts the testimony of mafiosi defectors & interviews with investigators this is the last word on the worlds most famous criminal organisation. ...

According to Jewish scripture there are thirty-six righteous people on earth. Without them humanity would perish. But the thirty-six do not know that they are the chosen ones. In Beijing a monk collapses in his chamber. A fiery mark has spread across his back & down his spine. In Mumbai a man who served the poor dies suddenly. His body shows the same mark. Similar deaths are reported in cities around the world
- the victims all humanitarians all with the same death mark. In Copenhagen it falls to veteran detective Niels Bentzon to investigate. He is told to find eight good people of Denmark & warn them of this threat. But Bentzon is trained to see the worst in people & he becomes increasingly skeptical as he realizes that not everyone perceived to be good is truly good. It is only when Niels meets Hannah a brilliant astrophysicist mourning the death of her husband that the pair begin to piece together the puzzle & a pattern emerges. There have been thirty-four deaths & there are two more to come. According to the pattern Bentzon & Hannah can predict the time & place of the final two. The murders will occur in Venice & Copenhagen. & the time is now.
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In October 1972 the Goons reassembled to perform an hour-long show to mark the BBCs 50th anniversary. The show is included on these cassettes together with the 1991 broadcast which celebrated the 40th anniversary of The Goon Show" & interviews & other material." ...

Jack Howard is about to discover a secret. Perhaps the greatest secret ever kept. What if one of the Ancient World's greatest libraries was buried in volcanic ash & then re-discovered two thousand years later? What if what was found there was a document that could shatter the very foundations of the Western World? What if you were the one who discovered this secret? & were then forced to confront terrifying enemies determined to destroy you to ensure it goes no further? This is the story of one last Gospel left behind in the age of the New Testament in the greatest days of the Roman Empire & of its extraordinary secret one that has lain concealed for years. Follow Jack Howard as he discovers the secret & must prevent others from doing the same... ...

At the turn of the nineteenth century Napoleon & his beloved Josephine inhabit the Tuileries Palace. During the years they have been married it has been a time of extraordinary turmoil & triumph; a time of hope & disappointment in their desire for a child. Support for the First Consul has never been more ecstatic in the streets & in the Republic but the machinations of the old regime mean the lives of Bonaparte & all those around him are in constant danger. & never more so than when Bonaparte becomes Emperor & Josephine his Empress. ...