'Joyful, sad, smart and surprising' NICK HORNBY, bestselling author of High Fidelity and About a Boy'Full of historical allusions, unforgettable characters, and thrilling escapades' THE MIRRORWas he about to recruit her into the secret service? She held her breath. Frogwoman, codebreaker, assassin, saboteur - whatever it was, she'd do it!Oxford, 1938. Ida and Medora are two brillia...

To marry the woman he loves, Hercules must complete twelve challenging tasksHercules, son of Zeus, is known as the greatest hero Greece has ever seen. But it takes more than a godly parent to create a hero. This is the tale of how one man becomes a hero and that hero becomes a god.Soon before Hercules's birth, Zeus, ruler of the gods, declares that his son will one day be the high king of Mycenae. When his jealous wife, Hera, tricks Zeus to ensure that Hercu...

Sherlock Holmes isn't the only detective in London—Andrew Tillet and Sara Wiggins at your service!Andrew Tillet can hardly believe his luck. Only one year ago he landed in London completely unaware of his real name and identity, or that his mother was the beautiful and accomplished actress Verna Tillet. Now that he and Verna have been reunited and Sara and her family are well provided for, it seems like all their dreams are coming true.But no amount of good ...

A mysterious, broken-nosed cabby, a beautiful actress, and a villainous art heist have one thing in common—but the only one man who knows what it is has methods that are a little, shall we say . . . irregularLate Victorian London: home to gas streetlights, bands of ragged urchins, and now, young Andrew Craigie, who recently arrived from a tiny Cornwall village with his stern guardian, Mr. Dennison. At first the city feels dark and unwelcoming, but just around the co...

'Wonderfully feisty and beguiling' William Boyd, bestselling author of GABRIEL'S MOONWas he about to offer her a job in the secret service? She held her breath. Frogwoman, codebreaker, assassin, saboteur - whatever it was, she'd do it!Oxford, 1938. Ida and Medora are two brilliant young philosophers at the heart of a group who gather in storied rooms to dance, drink and debate theories of right and wrong.But as the...

Blink once for yes, twice for no, and three times for murderSometimes it seems like all the boys at school know about Andrew Tillet's friendship with Inspector Peter Wyatt of Scotland Yard. Mostly it's a little embarrassing, but when Andrew's classmate Cortland makes a very strange request, it becomes handy to have friends who can launch an official investigation . . . as well as ones who work in more unofficial ways.Cortland thinks there's something not qui...

Famous archaeologist Lord Somerville leads a quiet life behind high walls, but is he keeping something out—or in?Things are looking up for Peter Wyatt. Now promoted to inspector and in possession of his own office, the sharp young detective is giving Andrew Tillet a tour of Scotland Yard when they run into an old friend—someone who Andrew is surprised to see again the next morning talking to police in front of Lord Somerville's villa. He's even more surprised a week...

It's one thing to be interested in history—it's another to thing to make itAndrew Tillet is just looking out for a younger classmate when he gets pulled into a heroic scheme—a mission to return an abducted boy to his heartbroken mother. Andrew and his friend Christopher carry out their mission perfectly, but Andrew has curious mixed feelings about several details.The next day, he's still thinking things over when police arrive at school with news that a loc...

Special effects might look like magic to the audience, but there's always someone behind a curtain pulling the stringsSomeone is targeting the best actresses in London, and the only way to keep Verna Tillet safe is to keep her off the stage until Andrew Tillet, Sara Wiggins, and Inspector Peter Wyatt can find out who the deadly killer is.But Andrew's mother isn't going to like being kept in the dark, and with a mysterious criminal mastermind set to take ove...

Brian and Tertius set out on a quest to find a wizard and save a kingdom from an evil knightAll his life, Brian has craved a grand adventure. On his sixteenth birthday, he meets the young traveler Tertius and knows it's a sign that his adventure is about to begin. Tertius is on a mission to find a wizard to teach him magic, and Brian promises to help him. But before they can begin, the two must pass through Meliot, a small kingdom with a terrible problem: every year...

Turning up missing is better than turning up deadInspector Peter Wyatt is out of town. This is inconvenient, because something is terribly wrong with Andrew Tillet and Sara Wiggins's friend, antiquities dealer Baron Beasley—and he refuses to see a doctor or speak to anyone except Wyatt. A large man with usually-rosy cheeks and a fondness for exotic delicacies, Beasley now looks like a shadow of himself and can't be coaxed out of bed.To Sara and Andrew, Beas...

Are we our brains? How can you map the mind? Can brain scans read our minds?Based on Rob Newman’s live stand-up show and new BBC Radio 4 series, his thought-provoking new book explores the scientific breakthroughs that have turned received ideas of brain science upside down.After imagining volunteering for a brain-imaging experiment meant to locate the part of the brain that lights up when you’re in love, comedian Robert Newman emerged with more questions t...