In the immediate aftermath of the Revolution the Western powers were anxious to prevent the spread of Bolshevism across Europe. Lenin & Trotsky were equally anxious that the Communist vision they were busy introducing in Russia should do just that. But neither side knew anything about the other. The revolution & Russias withdrawal from the First World War had ensured a diplomatic exodus from Moscow & the usual routes to vital information had been closed off. Into this void stepped an extraordinary collection of opportunists journalists & spies -- sometimes indeed journalists who were spies & vice versa: in Moscow Britains Arthur Ransome the American John Reed & Sidney Reilly -- Ace of Spies -- all traded information & brokered deals between Russia & the West; in Berlin Paris & London the likes of Maxim Litvinov Adolf Ioffe & Kamenev tried to infiltrate the political elite & influence foreign policy to the Bolsheviks advantage. Robert Service acclaimed historian & one of our finest commentators on matters Soviet turns his meticulous eye to this ragtag group of people & with narrative flair & impeccable research reveals one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century. ...

SPIES IN THE SKY is the thrilling little-known story of the partner organisation to the famous code-breaking centre at Bletchley Park. It is the story of the daring reconnaissance pilots who took aerial photographs over Occupied Europe during the most dangerous days of the Second World War & of the photo interpreters who invented a completely new science to analyse those pictures. They were inventive & ingenious; they pioneered the development of 3D photography & their work provided vital intelligence throughout the war. With a whole host of colourful characters at its heart from the legendary pilot Adrian Warby Warburton who went missing while on a mission to photo interpreters Glyn Daniel later a famous television personality & Winston Churchills daughter Sarah SPIES IN THE SKY is compelling reading & the first full account of the story of aerial photography & the intelligence gleaned from it in nearly fifty years. ...

In Paul Dohertys new novel Amerotke Chief Judge of the Hall of Two Truths is once again summoned to the Imperial Palaceo: Tekreth Guardian of the Door of Sobeck has fallen to his death from the roof of his stately mansion. According to all evidence it was an accident but Pharaoh Queen Hatusu is not convinced. Increasingly worried about reports of mysterious disappearances along the Sobeck Road the imperial highway stretching south she believes that Tekreths death could be part of a far greater problem. Amerotke aware of the reports from the Sobeck Road has also heard rumours about the Shemai a cult devoted to death based along its borders. Before Amerotke can start to consider either of these matters though a gruesome mass murder occurs at the Necropolis. The funeral party for revered scribe Ptulimis has been poisoned & Amerotke must immediately investigate the abomination. As Amerotke probes further he suspects that all these events may be connected & that dangerous forces are at work in Pharaoh Hatusus realm. Will Amerotke be able to uncover the truth before Egypt is overrun by its sinister & dangerous underworld? ...

Salonika 1940. To the bustle of tavernas & the smell of hashish a secret war is taking shape. In the backrooms of barbers envelopes change hands & in the Club de Salonique the air is thick with whispers. Costa Zannis is the city's dashing chief detective
- a man with contacts high & low in the Balkans & beyond. & as unknown ships & British 'travel writers' trickle through the port he is a man very much in dem&. Having helped defeat Italy in the highlands of Macedonia Zannis returns to a city holding its breath. Mussolini's forces have retreated
- for now
- but German sights are fixed firmly on the region. & as the situation in Germany worsens Zannis becomes involved in an audacious plot
- smuggling Jews to Istanbul through the back door of Europe. The British hear he can penetrate the continent's closed borders & soon Zannis is embroiled in the resistance & in a reckless love affair that could jeopardise everything. With a remarkable cast of operatives SPIES OF THE BALKANS is a brilliant new espionage novel from Alan Furst.



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An Autumn evening in 1937. A German engineer arrives at the Warsaw railway station. Tonight he will be with his Polish mistress; tomorrow at a workers bar in the citys factory district he will meet with the military attache from the French embassy. Information will be exchanged for money. So begins THE SPIES OF WARSAW with war coming to Europe & French & German operatives locked in a life-&-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. At the French embassy the new military attache Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier a decorated hero of the 1914 war is drawn in to a world of abduction betrayal & intrigue in the diplomatic salons & back alleys of Warsaw. At the same time the handsome aristocrat finds himself in a passionate love affair with a Parisian woman of Polish heritage a lawyer for the League of Nations. Colonel Mercier must work in the shadows amidst an extraordinary cast of venal & dangerous characters
- Colonel Anton Vyborg of Polish military intelligence last seen in Fursts THE POLISH OFFICER; the mysterious & sophisticated Doctor Lapp senior German Abwehr officer in Warsaw; Malka & Viktor Rozen at work for the Russian secret service; & Merciers brutal & vindictive opponent Major August Voss of SS counterintelligence. & there are many more some known to Mercier as spies some never to be revealed.
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Spike is out on his own away from Angels watchful eye & in charge of his own destiny. Old flames & new challenges arise as Spike faces a crazed killer Wolfram & Hart & the consequences of having a soul. This title collects the complete 8-issue series of Spike" by Brian Lynch that connects the " After The Fall" storyline to the subsequent " Buffy: Season 8" series." ...

Bonnie baby or alien invader? Everyone loves Spike's baby brother Ali. He's so cute even the school bullies want to babysit him. But Spike isn't so sure. Ali's poos are bright green & his soft brown skin looks a little scaly. Yes there's definitely something strange about Ali! & when Spike discovers a way to learn the truth he begins to realise just how different his family really is... ...

Great for boys with a huge collectability factor bolstered by the collectors' cards in the back of the books & links to an excellent interactive website. Malvel has created another deadly Beast to stop Tom from saving the realm of Seraph! Spikefin is a vicious sea creature who drags his victims to a watery grave. Is this the end for Tom & his perilous Quest? ...

On a March night outside the river town of Barron Minnesota three teenage girls gather in a ghost town to play a terrifying game of Russian roulette. By morning one girl will be dead & another in jail. Olivia Hawk claims she didnt pull the trigger on Ashlynn Steele but no one believes her. Olivias best hope is her estranged father an attorney from the city who she barely knows any more. & if hes going to prove Olivias innocence hes going to have to learn everything about her public
- & private
- life however much she might like to keep hidden.

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When her husband dies Lu Si-yan's mother is encouraged to sell her young daughter into domestic service. Lu Si-yan is just eleven when sold by her uncle. Nearly two years will pass before she can get back home to her mother & brother. In this powerful & compelling novel Sally Grindley portrays the life of a young girl in China a young girl whose life is said to be like 'spilled water'. With a brilliant first-person narrative & a powerful description of time & place this novel is gripping heart-wrenching & utterly mesmerising. ...