Then the vision of an enormous town prsented itself of a monstrous town...a cruel devourer of the worlds light. There was room enough there to place any story depth enough for any passion variety enough there for any setting darkness enough to bury five millions of lives. Conrads monstrous town is London & his story of espionage & counter-espionage anarchists & embassies is a detective story that becomes the story of Winnie Verlocs tenacity in maintaining her devotion to her peculiar & simple-minded brother Stevie as they pursue their very ordinary lives above a rather dubious shop in the back streets of Soho. ...

Splat the Cat turns detective in this hilarious new title in the internationally best-selling series from the creator of Russell the Sheep. Splat the Cat notices that something isnt quite right in his house. First the toy ducks his father makes start to go missing. Then they are mysteriously returned but strangely enough without their beaks! Who could possibly be causing all of this trouble? To solve the mystery Splat musters up his courage & rises to the challenge as Secret Agent Splat! ...

The Secret Anatomy of Candles is a medico-legal mystery drama written by a doctor which is set predominantly in Durham City & the north east of Engl&. Jasper Candle is a ruthless compensation lawyer who finds blame behind every misadventure. But when 3 year old Ollie dies because of the measles vaccination controversy a man recovering from cancer surgery also perishes as a result of an infection caught from another sick patient & Jaspers wife commits suicide in mysterious circumstances Jaspers convictions are tested to the limit. Investigating the enigmatic death of his wife Jasper uncovers a devastating family secret running in his family which forced an impossible choice upon her. As the investigation unfolds Jasper finds blame for her death increasingly difficult to apportion something he is not accustomed to & this re-examination of culpability conflicts strongly with his professional convictions & practices. In the end finding somebody to blame for every event is not always that simple that appropriate nor that desirable. Jasper always tells his clients that blame facilitates closure but ultimately finds that neither blame nor closure can heal everything. ...

Britain 1941. The government is building a secret army of intelligence agents to work undercover gathering information & planning sabotage operations. Henderson's boys are part of that network: kids cut adrift by the war training for the fight of their lives. They'll have to parachute into unknown territory travel cross-country & outsmart a bunch of adults in a daredevil exercise. In wartime Britain anything goes. ...

When Liz learns from one of her agents that suspicious meetings are taking place at an Islamic bookshop she trusts her instinct that a terrorist cell is at work. Her boss Charles Wetherby Director of Counter Terrorism trusts her as well & immediately puts a surveillance operation into place. An attack seems imminent. So Liz is surprised when Wetherby suddenly takes her off the case. & she's shocked to hear the reason why: he has received a tip-off that a mole is at work inside British Intelligence. If true then the potential damage to the Service itself could be immeasurable. Now as her colleagues scramble to avert a terrorist strike Liz must find out who the mole is & what their intentions are before it is too late. ...

Flatlands a residential school on Merseyside is the only home Owain Jones can remember. But it's not a happy place for Owain whose mysterious Welsh ancestry makes him stick out like a sore thumb. & then he learns his class is going on a school trip to Wales
- When Owain finds new friends Geth & Marian they're quickly drawn into the age-old conflict between Rippers & Stitchers. Time travel sword fights & kidnap are just some of the perils they face. Will Owain be able to save his mates from the evil Rippers? & will they ever get back to the twenty-first century?
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Secret Britain" is an exploration of the fascinating & beautiful yet more obscure & less-visited corners of the country. Landscapes & heritage sites that receive little coverage in more conventional guides are revealed here in all their glory & there is a diverse range of locations to suit every mood. Travel from the rugged beaches of Cornwall to the ancient burial sites of the Orkney Islands & in between encounter a colourful mix of museums stately homes pubs abbeys monuments nature reserves & the many other gems that add to the rich tapestry of this unique & exciting country. Tom Quinn brings the fascinating architecture eccentricities of local culture breathtaking landscapes & mystical heritage of Britain to life with his lively commentary. Each chapter is accompanied by a full-colour map & Chris Coes beautiful photography which captures the unique character of each site." ...

Ex-Navy Seal Nolan Kilkenny finds himself on his dangerous mission yet one which will take him from the Vatican to the arid steppes of China! Ex-Navy Seal Nolan Kilkenny is called to Rome on the pretence of examining the Vatican library. But on arrival he discovers his real mission one that will ultimately involve China the Mafia & the conclave to elect the next Pope. In agony the ailing Pope reveals the whereabouts of the secret cardinal who has been imprisoned by the Chinese for 30 years & who could become the next leader of the Catholic Church. With the assistance of the US President American Special Forces & the CIA Kilkenny assembles a crack team & in doing so attempts a daring rescue mission that could determine the fate of mankind! ...

In the follow up to Darwins Lost World Martin Brasier book introduces the quest for the missing history of life & the cell. Through a series of journeys it emerges that the modern plant cell is one of the most deeply puzzling & unlikely steps in the whole history of life. Decoding this puzzle is a great adventure that has mainly taken place over the last half century. Brasier puts the big questions into context through lively descriptions of his explorations around the world from the Caribbean Sea & the Egyptian pyramids to the shores of the great lakes in Canada andto the reefs & deserts of Australia. Covering the period from 1 to 2 billion years ago
- a period he once dubbed the boring billion
- he demonstrates how it in fact involved great evolutionary potential with the formation of the complex (eukaryotic) cell. Without this cell there would be nothing on Earth today except bacteria & the formation of this cell was a fundamental turning point in the history of life on Earth. Weaving together several threads Brasier emphasises the importance of single-celled forms to marine ecosystems; symbiosis & coral reefs; & the architecture & beauty of single-celled Foraminifera & what they tell us about evolution. From a master storyteller comes a vivid description of the earliest biological forms & a set of fascinating tales of travels & research.

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Assam 1925. James Mac Donald is one of the sons of empire who has no yearning for Engl&. Running a tea plantation he loves India & is reluctant to choose a British bride from the eager crowds sent over. But when he takes a beautiful young Indian woman as his courtesan he can little imagine what he has begun. So starts the story of Mary & Serafina. Born of two worlds accepted by neither. Growing up beloved but hidden away their childhood is one of contradiction. It is only as the shadow of war falls & the turmoil of Indian partition begins that the girls must face the truth about their parents & begin the search for somewhere to belong. It will be a journey full of forbidden questions hidden answers heartbreak & determination. As Serafina & Mary grow into women they must risk everything & make choices with a legacy that will last a lifetime & beyond. ...