The battles of the Crimea and the streets of Belfast veil the simple life of young barmaid Mary Cannon.Walenty Nikodemski, a Polish sailor, who lives in the shadow of Russian wars and religious conflict, enters the Shamrock Hotel where she works. Mary feels his jade black eyes seeing right through her to her very soul. He pierces her heart.Family, faith and humour shape Mary as she struggles with grief, her violent Ireland and uncertain love. Encased in detailed historical ...

Shortlisted for the 2012 CWA Ellis Peters Historical DaggerFerris is a writer of real authority, immersing the reader into his nightmare world with a brand of scabrous writing reminiscent of William McIlvanney's Laidlaw... everything speaks of an original voice. - IndependentGlasgow's melting. The temperature is rising and so is the murder rate. Douglas Brodie, ex-policeman, ex-soldier and now newest repor...

Michael Morpurgo has created a sweeping and dramatic story in the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie. This spellbinding tale is complemented perfectly by Michael Foreman's illustrations.Robbie McLeod and a wolf cub, both orphaned, venture far from their birthplace, a land of rebellious fighters and vicious redcoats. There is little constancy in Robbie's adventurous life, save for the companionship of his wolf. But when at last Robbie finds a place where he can peacefully make his home, ...

VOLUME TWO OF SPIKE MILLIGAN'S LEGENDARY MEMOIRS IS A HILARIOUS, SUBVERSIVE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF WW2'Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics, throwaway lines and marvelous anecdotes' Daily Mail'Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar' Sunday Times______________'Keep talking, Milligan. I think I can get you out on Mental Grounds.''That's how I got in, sir.'

Scotland Yard's Inspector Troy returns in a Cold War spy thriller hailed as "stylish, sophisticated, suspenseful . . . A fictional tour de force" (Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post ).In April 1956, at the height of the Cold War, Khrushchev and Bulganin, leaders of the Soviet Union, are in Britain on an official visit. Chief Inspector Troy of Scotland Yard is assigned to be Khrushchev's bodyguard and to spy on him. Soo...

Written by 'a sublimely elegant historical novelist as addictive as crack' ( Daily Telegraph), t he Inspector Troy series is perfect for fans of Le Carré, Philip Kerr and Alan Furst.The Germans take Vienna without a shot being fired. Covering Austria for the English press is a young journalist named Rod Troy. Back home his younger brother joins the CID as a detective constable.Two...

VOLUME THREE OF SPIKE MILLIGAN'S LEGENDARY MEMOIRS IS A HILARIOUS, SUBVERSIVE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF WW2'The most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read' Sunday Express'Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics, throwaway lines and marvelous anecdotes' Daily Mail______________'It's all over, Von Arnheim has surrendered and he's very angry.' 'This could mean wa...

For fans of Catherine Cookson comes Eileen Ramsay's tale of heartbreak, hope and family - the perfect read to curl up with this Christmas.'He saw the intelligence in her eyes and the beauty and strength of character in her face . . . 'Since the death of her mother, Kate Kennedy has been parent, helper and house keeper to her large family. But life changes drastically as the young men leave the pits and head to the Great Wa...

Audrey Howard's long-awaited new novel is an epic saga of love and war. Rose Beechworth is mistress of a charming country house - her own, left to her by her wealthy father. In the summer of 1914, she is not even looking for love. Alice Weatherly turns Rose's world upside down. The loveable young heiress longs to kiss Captain Charlie Summers goodbye - she takes Rose to Liverpool's Lime Street station and into the heart of Charlie's brother Harry. Even though they are neighbours, they have ...

A story about dreams, gold, rebellion ... and an unlikely friendship across timeIt's 1854, and the Ballarat goldfields are a place of dreams and rebellion as Sam, a homeless teenager, is called back to the past to join the Puddlehams, who run 'the best little cook shop on the diggings'.The Puddlehams dream of buying a hotel with velvet seats, while others dream of freedom from the British crown, away from t...

The Hanging ShedGlasgow, 1946. The war is over, and Douglas Brodie is back home. A young boy has been raped and murdered, and Brodie's childhood friend Hugh Donovan, a recluse mutilated by war, is the only suspect. Convinced of Donovan's innocence, Brodie trawls the streets for answers with advocate Sam Campbell, uncovering a deadly Glasgow razor gang prepared to slaughter innocents to protect their dark and dirty secrets. But with time running out for Donovan and S...

George MacDonald Fraser’s hilarious stories of the most disastrous soldier in the British Army – collected together for the first time in one volume.Private McAuslan, J., the Dirtiest Soldier in the Word (alias the Tartan Caliban, or the Highland Division’s answer to the Pekin Man) first demonstrated his unfitness for service in The General Danced at Dawn. He continued his disorderly advance, losing, soiling or destroying his equipment, through the pages of McAuslan in the Rough. T...