Its rare for a young woman to die from a stroke & when three such deaths occur in short order it starts to look like an epidemic. Then a sharp pathologist notices traces of benzodiazepine in one of the victims blood samples & just traceable damage to the ligaments in her neck & their cause of death is changed from natural to murder. The police arent making much progress in their hunt for the killer until he appears to make a mistake: Alison Willetts is found alive & D.I. Tom Thorne believes the murderer has made a mistake which ought to allow them to get on his tracks. But it was the others who were his mistakes: he doesnt want to take life he just wants to put people into a state where they cannot move cannot talk cannot do anything but think. When Thorne helped by the neurologist looking after Alison starts to realise what he is up against he knows the case is not going to be solved by normal methods
- before he can find out who did it he has to understand why hes doing it.
...

A WOMAN UNLUCKY TO BE ALIVE Alison Willetts has survived a stroke deliberately induced by a skilful manipulation of pressure points on the head & neck. She can see hear & feel but she is completely unable to move or communicate. In leaving Alison Willetts alive the police believe the killer's made his first mistake. A KILLER UNLIKE ANY OTHER Then DI Tom Thorne discovers the horrifying truth: it isn't Alison who is the mistake it's the three women already dead. A COP'S WORST NIGHTMARE Thorne must find a killer whose agenda is disturbingly unique & Alison the one person who holds the key to the killer's identity is unable to say anything.. . ...

What can magic tell us about ourselves & our daily lives? If you subtly change the subject during an uncomfortable conversation did you know youre using attentional misdirection a core technique of magic? & if youve ever bought an expensive item youd sworn never to buy you were probably unaware that the salesperson was like an accomplished magician a master at creating the illusion of choice. Leading neuroscientists Stephen Macknik & Susana Martinez-Conde meet with magicians from all over the world to explain how the magicians art sheds light on consciousness memory attention & belief. As the founders of the new discipline of Neuro Magic they combine cutting-edge scientific research with startling insights into the tricks of the magic trade. By understanding how magic manipulates the processes in our brains we can better understand how we work
- in fields from law & education to marketing health & psychology
- for good & for ill.

...

This book offers a new look at maths without the Boring Bits.. . How many trillions are there in a googol? Which fractions are vulgar? What famous mathematician refused to eat beans? & which one never travelled without his pet spider in an ivory box? Mathematical theorems & equations are inextricably entangled with the great & often eccentric thinkers who made breakthrough discoveries. Teacher & numbers expert Liz Strachan takes readers beyond the classroom combining anecdotes proofs & party tricks to reveal the foundations of algebra geometry & trigonometry in a clear & entertaining style. From the Difference Engine to magic squares & from the Fibonacci rabbits to Fermats Last Theorem this fascinating tour of the weird world of numbers imaginary real or infinite will appeal to anyone with an enquiring mind. ...

Nevil Shute was a power & a pioneer in the world of flying long before he began to write the stories that made him a bestselling novelist. This autobiography charts Shute's path from childhood to his career as a gifted aeronautical engineer working at the forefront of the technological experimentation of the 1920s & 30s. The inspiration for many of the themes & concerns of Shute's novels can be identified in this enjoyable & enlightening memoir. ...

Charlie & friend Marv are in search of strange & tricky creatures. & they would like to search without Lola bothering & interrupting. Luckily Lola knows exactly how to catch strange & tricky creatures & enlists a little bit of help from her invisible friend Soren Lorensen. (And of course one or three drops of pink milk.) Child is as visually inventive & verbally dexterous as ever.. .classic."
- Guardian " The Child recipe at its fresh playful best."
- Observer "A typically exuberant imaginative whirl of a story."
- Angels & Urchins " Child is second to none when it comes to capturing the imagination of young children."
- Daily Express "A witty book that reminds us why we fell in love with Charlie & Lola in the first place."
- Junior"




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Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn has come to Ringwood Manor to keep his promise to a dying fellow officer. He has sworn to protect the mans sister no matter what
- even when he finds that Miss Eve Morris wants no part of his protection. Finally Aidan makes Eve an offer she cannot refuse. It is intended to be a simple straightforward business arrangement
- but they have reckoned without their own unwilling attraction to each other. & soon they begin to wonder if perhaps it will someday be possible to be more that just slightly married

...

Growing up with four unruly brothers has made Freyja Bedwyn far bolder than most society ladies. From feisty manner to long tumbling hair Lady Freyja is pure fire a woman who seeks both adventure & freedom. Adventure soon finds her on a visit to Bath when a handsome stranger bursts into Freyjas room & entreats her to hide him. His name is Joshua Moore Marquess of Hallmere a man with a hell-raising reputation of his own who is quickly intrigued by the independent beauty. So intrigued in fact that he makes her a surprising request: to pose as his fiance & help thwart his familys matchmaking schemes. For two people determined to be free its the perfect planuntil passion blindsides them both. For as Joshua sets out to achieve his complete seduction of Freyja a woman who has sworn off love is in danger of losing the one thing she never expected to give again: her heart... ...

On a Flemish battlefield Lord Alleyne Bedwyn is thrown from his horse & left for dead only to awaken in the bedchamber of a Brussels brothel. The dark handsome diplomat has no memory of who he is or how he got there
- yet of one thing he is certain: he owes his life to the angel of undoubtedly dubious virtue who is nursing him back to health. But like him Rachel York is not who she seems. The havoc of war has forced Rachel to seek refuge with the 'ladies' of the house whilst devising a plan to restore her fortunes. The dashing soldier she rescued from near-death could be her saviour in disguise. In order to inherit Rachel needs to be married & here is a man with no memory
- & thus no ties
- willing to do anything to help her. However on returning to England their marriage charade draws them both into danger scandal & a blossoming relationship that is ever so slightly sinful...


...

From the moment he spies Lady Morgan Bedwyn across the glittering ballroom Gervase Ashford Earl of Rosthorn knows he has found the perfect instrument of his revenge. But wedlock is not on the mind of the continent's most notorious rake. Nor is it of interest to the fiercely independent Lady Morgan herselfuntil one night of shocking intimacy erupts in a scandal that could make Gervase's vengeance all the sweeter. There is only one thing standing in his way: Morgan who has achieved the impossible -she's melted his coolly guarded heart. For Gervase only the marriage bed will do but Morgan simply will not have him. Thus begins a sizzling courtship where two wary hearts are about to be undone by the most scandalous passion of all: all-consuming love. Slightly Tempted is part of Mary Balogh's Regency-set Slightly series following the adventures of the Bedwyn family. ...