The sudden death of Gordon W. Richards in late September 1998 brought a premature end to a legendary training career which had seen him rise from obscurity to national fame as master of his profession.Consigned to racing's scrap-heap with a broken back at the age of 29, he scraped a living as a livery stable proprietor and horse-dealer in a remote part of Northumberland until, five years later, he `discovered' Playlord and a new dawn broke.Rugged, demanding, often outspoken...

We Aim to Live is a collection of fourteen powerful, dark and funny short stories, about ordinary people – mostly men – at moments of crisis, crossroads or revelation. The stories look unflinchingly at men’s behaviour and the moments when masculinity is on the edge of turning dangerous.Some stories portray the toxic world of professional football drawing upon the writer’s past in that world; while others are set in high end hotels, removals firms and sheds.Here, th...

Like so many of us, Margret Kopala lost a significant portion of her life savings in the stock market crash of 2008. Unlike us, however, she went on a long and intense financial odyssey to find out what caused the losses and what she could do to protect herself in the future.Armed with her skills as a journalist and public policy analyst, fueled by equal measures of fear and determination, and mentored by successful investment strategist and financial broadcaster John Budden, Kopal...

We Aim to Live is a collection of fourteen powerful, dark and funny short stories, about ordinary people – mostly men – at moments of crisis, crossroads or revelation. The stories look unflinchingly at men's behaviour and the moments when masculinity is on the edge of turning dangerous.Some stories portray the toxic world of professional football drawing upon the writer's past in that world; while others are set in high end hotels, removals firms and sheds.Here, th...

Birkenhead, 1973. The eighteen-year-old Paul O'Grady gets ready for a big Saturday night out on the town. New white T-shirt, freshly ironed jeans, looking good. As he bids farewell to his mum, who's on the phone to his auntie, and wanders off down the street in a cloud of aftershave, he hears her familiar cry: 'Oh, the devil rides out tonight, Annie. The devil rides out!'The further adventures of Paul O'Grady - following on from the million-copy-selling At My Mother's Knee...

A violent rapist is attacking women, leaving them for dead on south London streets. When young police woman Maeve Kerrigan responds to a domestic disturbance, she's horrified to stumble across the latest victim. But as a new recruit—and a female to boot—she'll have to face down not only her own nerves but rampant sexism from her colleagues if she wants to be taken seriously enough to even assist on the case.International bestseller Jane Casey takes Maeve back to her early days as a...

A must-read collection of stories by Scottish crime writer Val McDermid, "one of the bright lights of the mystery field" ( The Washington Post ).Val McDermid's novels have won the Los Angeles Times Book of the Year Award and the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger and Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for outstanding achievement. Enjoyed by millions of fans worldwide, her intelligent, incisive crime fiction showc...

An original digital short story featuring DS 'Sauce' Haddock and Edinburgh's finest, Chief Constable Bob Skinner, from Scotland's Crime Master.When DS 'Sauce' Haddock visits his old teacher to investigate an alleged jewellery theft, it quickly becomes clear that another, far darker truth, lies beneath the surface.With Chief Constable Bob Skinner's help, Haddock will soon discover that outward appearances are never as they seem, and that no crime can go unpu...

Four of our most-loved saga authors invite you to join them on a journey through motherhood in this collection of heart-warming short stories.Daisy's Day by Anne BakerIt's 1920s Liverpool and Daisy must do everything she can to protect her children from poverty and disease. A mother's love is limitless...The First Strawberry by Pam EvansBombs are falling over London and times are hard for Ros...

Marcus Atkinson is a soccer star (not!). But his dad is convinced that Marcus has magic in his feet.Marcus is a Maths whiz who is not good at sport. His dad is a self-help author who thinks Marcus can achieve anything he sets his mind to, with hilarious results. In illustrated diary format, Marcus's gentle, satiric humour and comic drawings will have readers laughing out loud while learning a surprising amount about soccer.'Shamini scores a goal with every ...

‘Killing the Lawyers…is entertaining, sly, jokey…cynical, well written, and teems with sparkly dialogue – all the virtues we expect from Hill’ Marcel Berlins The TimesJoe Sixsmith, Luton’s premier PI, is naturally on the side of the Law… Trouble is, the Law isn’t always ready to return the compliment.When Joe turns to the town’s top law firm for help in a dispute, he is subjected to nothing but abuse. He walks out, vowing to have vengeance. Then someone starts killing the p...

122 fantastic stories from Britain's best crime writersFor ten years the Mammoth Best British Crime series has been publishing an annual volume of the most outstanding crime and mystery short fiction published in the UK. Over 400 stories by the very best writers in the field have been published. Contributors have included, among many others, Mark Billingham, Liza Cody, Roger Jon Ellory, Reginald Hill, Peter James, Simon Kernick, Alexander McCall Smith, Val McDermid...