The Christmas season is one of comfort and joy, sparkling lights and steam rising from cups of mulled wine at frosty carol services. A season of goodwill, as families and friends come together to forget their differences and celebrate.Unless, of course, you happen to be harbouring a grudge. Or hiding a guilty secret. Or you want something so much you just have to have it - whatever the cost. In A Very Murderous Christmas, ten of the best classic crime writers come together...

The UN's record in peace operations is long, various, distinguished by both accomplishments and failures, and most importantly, innovative. Unfulfilled expectations and escalating violence in Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia forced retrenchment upon UN peace operations_but at the same time, a new opportunity to enhance capacities, review strategies, redefine roles, and reaffirm responsibilities has opened up. Here, a dynamic group of leading diplomats, academics, and journalists combines forces...

‘Beautifully written and superbly executed’ Times'A joyous romp around England’s dark past' Suzie Feay, GuardianFrom the author of the bestselling The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain, this is a stunningly high-concept historical novel that is both as daring as it is gripping, and perfect for fans of Conn Iggulden, SJ Parris and Kate Mosse.December 1348: With the country in the grip of the Black Death, brothers...

'REMARKABLE' Sarah Perry | 'EXTRAORDINARILY IMMERSIVE' Guardian | 'EPIC' Zoe Ball Book Club'A REALLY, REALLY GOOD READ' BBC R2 Book Club' | 'LYRICAL' Stylist | 'POETIC' Daily Mail1627. In a notorious historical event, pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted 400 people into slavery in Algiers. Among them a pastor, his wife, and their children.In her...

In 1890s Paris, a librarian and a detective must track down a killer – before the city goes up in flames. The Mortal Word is the enthralling fifth instalment in the Invisible Library series from Genevieve Cogman.A corrupt countess. A spy in danger. And an assassin.Peace talks are always tricky – especially when a key diplomat gets stabbed. This murder rudely interrupts a top-secret summit between the warring dragons and Fae, so Librarian-spy Irene ...

'ASTONISHING' Locus, 'ENTHRALLING' Guardian, 'CAPTIVATING' Kirkus***SHORTLISTED FOR THE PHILIP K. DICK AWARD***The Book of Koli begins a breathtakingly original new trilogy set in a strange and deadly world of our own making.Beyond the walls of the small village of Mythen Rood lies an unrecognisable landscape. A place where overgro...

To save her child, she will trust a stranger. To protect a secret, she must risk her life...Fleetwood Shuttleworth is 17 years old, married, and pregnant for the fourth time. But as the mistress at Gawthorpe Hall, she still has no living child, and her husband Richard is anxious for an heir. When Fleetwood finds a letter she isn't supposed to read from the doctor who delivered her third stillbirth, she is dealt the crushing blow that she will not ...

Already a great historian, Tracey Borman proves with this thrilling debut novel that she is also a born storyteller.As she helps to nurse the dying Queen Elizabeth, Frances Gorges longs for the fields and ancient woods of her parents' Hampshire estate, where she has learned to use the flowers and herbs to become a much-loved healer.Frances is happy to stay in her beloved countryside when the new King arrives from Scotland, bringing change, fear and suspicio...

‘Written with intelligence and nuance’ The Times‘A disturbing, powerful and beautifully written novel based on shockingly real events’ Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo‘A thought-provoking read’ My Weekly‘Unputdownable’ The Herald‘For anybody who enjoyed Cilka’s Journey

“Imagine The Leftovers, but with honey” (Elle), and in the spirit of Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go, this “spectacular and deeply moving” (Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author) literary novel follows three generations of beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a spellbinding story of their relationship to the bees—and to their children and one another—against the backdrop of an urgent, global crisis.

Winner of the PEN Hessell-Tiltman PrizeWinner of the Longman History Today Trustees’ AwardLonglisted for the Orwell PrizeUnflinching and revealing, Black and British is a vital history that reveals how black British lives have been woven into the fabric of the nation for centuries – from Roman Britain to the Black Lives Matter protests.'Groundbreaking' – The Obser...

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Last by Hanna Jameson, read by Anthony Starke.BREAKING: Nuclear weapon detonates over WashingtonBREAKING: London hit, thousands feared dead.BREAKING: Munich and Scotland hit. World leaders call for calm.Jon Keller was on a trip to Switzerland when the world ended. More than anything he wishes he hadn't ignored his wife Nadia's last message...