NEXT I APPLIED TO WORK IN THE ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT a sealed room where women operated clattering machines like enormous typewriters. After I had catastrophically & erroneously applied all the wrong information to several trolley loads of documents & lumbered the staff with weeks of corrective work I was shown the door by a tight-lipped manageress. I knew what was coming. Over the relentless furious din of machinery I lip-read the familiar words: Lacks the necessary aptitude." Pam Ayres early childhood in Stanford in the Vale was idyllic in many ways & typical of that experienced by a great swathe of children born in rural areas in the immediate post-war years. Though her parents generation was harrowed by war better times were coming. Everything the family needed was within walking distance in the village & life with four older brothers & a sister in their crowded council house was exceedingly lively. In her late teens Pam grew dissatisfied with her life as a Civil Service clerk with only the local hop for scintillating excitement. Having seen three of her brothers called up for National Service & sent off to exciting destinations Pam felt desperate for travel & adventure. She joined the WRAF & soon found herself in the Far East. There she began to write in earnest & develop the unique talent that would make her one of Britains favourite comics... Written with Pams much-loved combination of humour & poignancy The Necessary Aptitude is a beautifully written memoir of her early years." ...

Next I applied to work in the accounts department a sealed room where women operated clattering machines like enormous typewriters. After I had catastrophically & erroneously applied all the wrong information to several trolley loads of documents & lumbered the staff with weeks of corrective work I was shown the door by a tight-lipped manageress. I knew what was coming. Over the relentless furious din of machinery I lip-read the familiar words: " Lacks the necessary aptitude." Pam Ayres early childhood in Stanford in the Vale was idyllic in many ways & typical of that experienced by a great swathe of children born in rural areas in the immediate post-war years. Though her parents generation was harrowed by war better times were coming. Everything the family needed was within walking distance in the village & life with four older brothers & a sister in their crowded council house was exceedingly lively. In her late teens Pam grew dissatisfied with her life as a Civil Service clerk with only the local hop for scintillating excitement. Having seen three of her brothers called up for National Service & sent off to exciting destinations Pam felt desperate for travel & adventure. She joined the WRAF & soon found herself in the Far East. There she began to write in earnest & develop the unique talent that would make her one of Britains favourite comics... Written with Pams much-loved combination of humour & poignancy " The Necessary Aptitude" is a beautifully written memoir of her early years." ...

Once the haunt of Jack the Ripper Londons East End is a vibrant mix of history & new ideas but the trendy galleries of Brick Lane disguise a seedy underside where unthinkable crimes bring terror to the innocent. Artist & young mother Sandra Gilles disappears without trace after leaving her three-year-old daughter Charlotte with a friend at the Columbia Road Flower Market. Her lawyer husband Naz Malik is devastated -- but hes also the prime suspect in a murder investigation. When Naz vanishes shortly afterwards Gemma James & her partner Superintendent Duncan Kincaid agree to work together again to solve the case before the murderer can get his hands on the real prize Charlotte. But just as the case grows more dangerous a personal issue threatens to throw Gemma & Duncan off the trail. In the end it is up to them to stop a vicious killer & protect the child whose fate hangs in the balance. ...

A twenty-nine-year-old man lives alone in his Glasgow flat. The telephone rings; a casual conversation but behind this a job offer. The clues are there if you know to look for them. He is an expert. A loner. Freelance. Another job is another job but what if this organisation wants more? A meeting at a club. An offer. A brief. A target: Lewis Winter. Its hard to kill a man well. People who do it well know this. People who do it badly find out the hard way. The hard way has consequences. An arresting gripping novel of dark relationships & even darker moralities The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter introduces a remarkable new voice in crime fiction. The second book in the Glasgow Trilogy How A Gunman Says Goodbye will follow soon.. . ...

In the usually peaceful town of Eastvale a simmering tension has now reached breaking point. An anti-nuclear demonstration has ended in violence leaving one policeman stabbed to death. Fired by professional outrage Superintendent Dirty Dick Burgess descends with vengeful fury on the inhabitants of Maggies Farm an isolated house high on the daleside. Inspector Banks is uneasy about Burgesss handling of the investigation. But he has been warned off the case. Soon Banks realises that the only way he can salvage his career is by beating Burgess to the killer... Inspector Banks -- a man for all seasons he knows that often the answers to the clues he seeks are hidden in his own heart. Michael Connelly An award-winning writer with ideas that are imaginative & plots that are refreshingly cliche-free. Time Out If you havent caught up with Peter Robinson already now is the time to start. Independent on Sunday ...

It was to be a routine job. Matt Franklin & his companions would rob the Securicor van. Simple. Until the job turned into a nightmare. Two of them are shot dead & another fatally wounded. But who is trying to wipe them out killing not just them but their families too? How are the Government & the British army implicated? What lurks within a secret research establishment in the English countryside? Franklin has to find out. Finally the only one left alive he tires of being the prey & decides to become the hunter. His quest will bring him into conflict with forces he cannot begin to imagine or understand but he is driven by a need for revenge that overrides his fear. Aided by a desperate detective Franklin becomes embroiled in a series of events that lead to a terrifying climax in the London Underground where he comes face to face with the answers he has sought. Like all of us Franklin was told monsters dont exist. Hes about to find out someone was lying... ...

A former rough sleeper & troubled child of poverty John Bird founder of The Big Issue has written an excoriating attack on orthodox thinking around the gap between rich & poor. Provoking an intellectual revolution he spares neither himself nor others in identifying what needs to be done to end poverty. A lifelong autodidact Bird has learned much from his time in orphanages in prison in slums
- & on the streets. With The Necessity of Poverty the social entrepreneur offers a fresh perspective as one who was once part of the problem & has now become part of the solution.
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This is how it all began. From A Necklace of Raindrops" to " The Patchwork Quilt" here are eight classic stories to treasure & enjoy. Beginning & ending with a birthday this spell-binding collection conjures up a world filled with magic where wishes can come true. A necklace of raindrops that keeps its owner dry in the heaviest rainstorm; a tiger that runs faster than the wind; a huge floating apple pie with a piece of sky in it; a bakers cat who swells to the size of a whale when his mistress feeds him yeast; & a house that stands on one leg
- these are just some of the objects & characters that figure in these delightful stories."
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Once she was Eon a girl disguised as a boy risking her life for the chance to become a Dragoneye apprentice. Now she is Eona thrust into the role of her countrys saviour. But Eona has an even more dangerous secret
- she cannot control her power. When she tries to bond with her Mirror Dragon the anguish of the ten spirit beasts whose Dragoneyes were murdered surges through her. The result: a killing force that destroys everything before it. On the run from High Lord Sethons army Eona & her friends must help the Pearl Emperor Kygo wrest back his throne. Everyone is relying on Eonas power. Can she face her own darkness within & drive a dangerous bargain with an old enemy? A wrong move could obliterate them all. Against a thrilling backdrop of explosive combat ruthless power struggles & exotic lore Eona is the gripping story of a remarkable warrior who must find the strength to walk a deadly line between truth & justice. Full of pulse-racing drama heart-stirring romance dazzling fight scenes & myriad surprises The Necklace of the Gods brings this extraordinarily imagined & exciting fantasy epic to a resounding climax.
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Sophie & Josh have returned to San Francisco. They must protect themselves from the Dark Elders but they've not yet mastered the magic they'll need to do so. Their trust in Nicholas Flamel is shaken & their friend Scatty is missing. Unbeknownst to the twins John Dee has amassed an enormous army of foul creatures with which he plans to battle Nicholas & his wife Peronelle. In order for his plan to work he must train a necromancer to raise the Mother of the Gods from the dead. The twins of legend will make the perfect pupils in his diabolical scheme. ...