Whole Life Sentence

Lynda La Plante

WHEN you have followed a groundbreaking policewoman’s high-flying career in the tough territory of the London Met, travelling back to see how it all began was always going to be a winner...

And when that police officer is the legendary Jane Tennison – star of the hit Prime Suspect TV series and a whole raft of detective novels – and you know that this is her swansong outing, it makes the reading pleasure even more special.

Yes, Lynda La Plante – the Liverpudlian who became one of the UK’s most famous crime queens – is back to wow her army of fans with the final ever Detective Jane Tennison thriller, a heart-pounding prequel which brings readers right up to the point at which the award-winning Nineties TV series, Prime Suspect, began.

La Plante (pictured below) is, of course, something of a legend herself having last year added the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association’s Diamond Dagger for a lifetime contribution to crime writing to an array of awards and honours. And who else could La Plante have dedicated this last chapter to but Dame Helen Mirren, the actress who brilliantly portrayed the tenacious detective chief inspector famous for making her way in what was then very much a man’s world.

So travel back in time and meet Tennison just as she finally beats the odds and takes that big step into the Met’s prestigious Area Major Incident Team (AMIT) which sees experienced detectives investigating murders and old serious crimes, with teams led by Detective Chief Inspectors.

But despite elbowing her way into an elite team, it’s not going to be plain sailing for Tennison because her boss is Detective Chief Superintendent Kernan, a man who thinks women have no place as detectives in the police force, and allocates Jane a missing student cold case from five years ago as her first assignment.

Keen to show her mettle, Jane quickly gets to grips with the case of 17-year-old Brittany Hall who had reportedly drunk too much and was last seen getting into a car with two men after a night out with friends. The investigation stalled and the lead detective has since retired so the trail has been cold for some time.

As she trawls back through reports and arranges to interview Brittany’s parents and friends, Jane is assigned to another case... an apparent suicide of a woman which Tennison soon suspects is, in fact, murder. Before long, she is uncovering explosive evidence while her new colleagues watch like vultures circling prey. And, one by one, the cases no one else wanted are taken from her... and the glory along with them.

Vowing that nothing is going to stop her clawing her way to the top, Tennison is ready for the fight. Tired of the rampant sexism, snide remarks and undermining, she is going to take what is rightfully hers from those who have held her back. She just has to do what she does best... find her prime suspect.

Whole Life Sentence is the perfect ending to this nostalgic early Tennison series which has opened a window on to the determined detective’s sometimes faltering, but always fascinating, rise from uncertain raw rookie to the hard-headed and totally assured detective who runs her police team with a sharp brain and an iron fist in Prime Suspect.

As always, La Plante’s stunning police procedural, complex, multi-layered plotting, and richly detailed character portrayals, are the best in the business, and her fine line in sardonic humour and no-nonsense Nineties-style policing are the icing on a delicious slice of top-notch crime writing. Here we see Tennison’s police career hanging in the balance as she tackles – with her trademark  meticulous attention to detail – two complex cases that have unseen repercussions. It’s a tough call because all eyes are on her management and detection skills and it all boils down to being a single step away from glory... or ruin.

Immaculately researched, with clues, red herrings, mystery aplenty, and La Plante’s breathtakingly authentic portrayal of time and place, this is a dazzling sign-off to an unforgettable detective and a landmark series.
(Zaffre, paperback, £9.99)

A Cold Wind From Moscow

Rory Clements

IN the bleak and bitter winter of early 1947, the Nazi killing machine has been vanquished but Britain and America face the machinations of another ruthless enemy... the emboldened Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

With the dawn of the Cold War and a new and deadly kind of espionage on the horizon, the country is still on its knees after six years of conflict, and in London, MI5 is on the alert. But already, the British secret services have been penetrated by a Russian mole and they need an outsider to net him... a man they know they can trust implicitly.

In the eighth book of his acclaimed ‘what if’ historical novels series – which has included Corpus, Nucleus, Nemesis, Hitler’s Secret, A Prince and A Spy, The Man in the Bunker and The English Führer – former national newspaper journalist Rory Clements (pictured below) sweeps us back into the life of maverick Cambridge Professor Tom Wilde, his unconventional half-American, half-Irish history don who has braved death and danger to do his bit for victory and freedom.

Our hero Tom spent three years of the war as a spy with the Office of Strategic Services, America’s wartime intelligence agency, and is rapidly learning that there is no such thing as retirement from espionage in the uncertain peace of the post-war period. The Red Army’s ‘liberation’ of Eastern European countries has merely meant replacing one totalitarian enemy with another, and the stage is set for a new kind of warfare.

And in that freezing cold February – which saw icebergs off the coast of Norfolk and starved, frozen songbirds falling from trees – we find Tom despairing that his adopted country has ‘suffered catastrophe after disaster and calamity’ since the war ended 18 months ago.

Although his wife Lydia is away in London where she is training to be a doctor, and he feels stuck in a ‘hungry gloom,’ Tom is enjoying getting back into his academic life at Cambridge University and caring for their six-year-old son Johnny with the help of a live-in housekeeper. What he doesn’t yet know is that Stalin has a plan to destabilise what he sees as a weary, broken Britain and it involves sending his master of ‘Special Tasks’ to create extra chaos. But Stalin has a more important motive than mere disruption. He has a man on the inside who is in danger and must be protected at all costs, a Communist super-spy who has the secrets of the atomic bomb at his fingertips.

In London, Freya Bentall, a senior MI5 officer, no longer knows who to trust and is left with one option... to bring in an outsider whose loyalty is beyond question. That man is Tom Wilde and his task is to find the traitor in MI5. Bentall has three main suspects and Tom must get close to them all. That means delving deep into the criminal underworld, attaching himself to the cultural elite of the arts, and finding a way into the extreme reaches of British politics.

And as one of the coldest winters on record bites and violence erupts, Tom faces an uphill battle to protect his loved ones from merciless killers and he knows that one slip will spell disaster for the country... and his family.

Cool-hand academic Tom has to be one of historical fiction’s most charismatic adventurers… as intrepid as he is intellectually gifted, the unorthodox, US-born professor has acquired an engaging insouciance and British stiff upper lip stoicism which stand him in good stead as he encounters this new breed of enemy, one just as brutal as those he tracked down during the war years. So wrap up warm and buckle yourself in tightly because A Cold Wind From Moscow proves to be a thrilling Arctic ‘blast’ as we join Tom on a gripping, action-packed hunt for cold-blooded spies who will stop at nothing to plunge a broken, freezing Britain into a vortex of chaos and confusion.

And what a twisting, turning adventure it is as Clements immerses us in the harsh realities of strict food rationing, power cuts and other post-war challenges whilst delivering a scintillating spy mystery packed with dark secrets, hidden traitors, and a world that is moving apace towards nuclear weaponry. As always, Tom is the man in the middle, the reluctant but able spy who must use both his brains and his brawn to outsmart unknown but lethal enemies whilst trying desperately to protect his wife and son from their violent clutches.

Packed with drama, action and deadly subterfuge, and with a hero spy who always manages to keep his humanity in the face of others’ inhumanity, A Cold Wind From Moscow is fact and fiction, mystery and real history at its heart-thumping, page-turning best.
(Zaffre, hardback, £16.99)

A Matter of Persuasion

Theresa Howes

EIGHT years ago, 19-year-old Amy Eaton was reluctantly persuaded to break off her engagement to Frank Wareham, the man she loved, because he didn’t match her family’s wealth or social standing in New York society.

Amy was talked into making the break by a friend of her late mother and it’s a decision that she still regrets.But now Wareham has returned to the city and he’s no longer an engineering student with limited prospects... he’s a rich and successful self-made man, and he’s looking for a wife.  

As any aficionado of romance stories will tell you, there is no more alluring plot than a heart-fluttering tale of second chances and the reigniting a love affair that was thought to be forever lost. And if that age-old theme rings a bell with fans of Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion then you are in for a treat with this enchanting new take on the unforgettable romance that has love, loss and longing written straight through its red-hot heart. Brought up on a reading diet of 19^th century novels by literary giants like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and George Eliot, author Theresa Howes (pictured below) always had a special bond with Austen, that other English great, and A Matter of Persuasion is her own special ‘love letter’ to a timeless classic.

Set in 1882, at the heart of America’s famous Gilded Age – a period in which Howes see many similarities in terms of the preoccupation with social class, codes of behaviour and wealth – this is a glorious, giddying whirl of gorgeous gowns, high society histrionics, emotional upheaval, and an unspoken passion that sets the story on fire.

At the age of 27, Amy Eaton may have ‘passed the bloom of youth’ but she has achieved fame as a bestselling authoress. It’s a source of pride for Amy but the cause of much embarrassment for her family who live on upmarket Fifth Avenue, are proudly ‘old money’ and see her professionalism as an impropriety. Despite their undisguised scorn for her, sensible daughter Amy is bound by a promise she made to her dying mother to look after her two sisters and father who is now an aimless widower... and that is getting increasingly difficult because of their outrageous spending habits.

Amy’s life has been overshadowed by giving up on the love of her life, Frank Wareham, after her mother’s best friend, Mrs Rawle, persuaded her not to marry him because a marriage grounded

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Speedy seeds, poems to heal and a school for fireflies

Discover how a dandelion grows from a delicate fluffy seed into a bright yellow flower, enjoy beautiful poems which lift the spirits and heal the body, don’t miss a last visit to the home of spooks, screams and small-town horror, and head off to a magical boarding school where mysteries are solved in a dazzling array of new children’s books

Age 4 plus
Fluffy, Flying Seed
Mary Auld and Dawn Cooper

FOLLOW a tiny dandelion seed with its fluffy parachute as it is carried by the wind and lands safely in a meadow... the perfect place to grow! Fluffy, Flying Seed is the fourth book in a charming and innovative series from exciting, young and independent children’s publisher Mama Makes Books. The Start Small, Think Big series unfolds a world of discovery, beginning from the small and familiar to new areas of knowledge where they really have to think big! In this new journey into the world of plants and their importance to us and our ecosystem, the learning begins the moment a child opens the book’s alluring textured cover complete with a peep-through hole. Here, youngsters watch as the dandelion plant grows, protects itself, reproduces and transforms from a bright yellow flower into a delicate white ball of fluffy, flying seeds. Brimming with facts about germination, photosynthesis, seed dispersal, parts of a plant and food chains, Mary Auld’s easy-to-follow story progresses in a way that builds understanding and Dawn Cooper’s gorgeous colour illustrations bring the story and the science to life. And to make Fluffy, Flying Seed truly special, there is a big fold-out at the back with a map showing the temperate regions where dandelions grow across the world and an I-Spy game to take readers back through the book to look for meadow-dwelling animals. A dazzling addition to any home, school or library!
(Mama Makes Books, hardback, £10.99)

Age 12 plus
Poetry Prescription: Words for Love
Chosen by Deborah Alma

TREAT yourself to – and with – these beautiful poems which have been specially selected to lift the spirits and heal the body. Words for Love, and Comfort, are the first two titles of the new creative Poetry Prescription series... eight pocket-sized gift books containing carefully curated ‘prescriptions in verse’ compiled by Deborah Alma, the founder of the Poetry Pharmacy. Billed as the perfect antidote for life’s ailments, the collections are inspired by the cool Poetry Pharmacy shops in London and Shropshire... social media favourites with a clear focus on promoting well-being through the written and spoken word. Each of the themed titles – which will also include Wild Remedy, First Aid, Inspiration, Becoming, Joy and Calm – offers an array of poems to inspire, heal and comfort, and have been carefully curated by poet and editor Alma who has used poetry while working with people with dementia, in hospice care, with women’s groups, and with children in schools.

In Words for Love, the poems look at all the many manifestations of love and include verse by W. B. Yeats, Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare, Edna St Vincent Millay, D.H. Lawrence, Pippa Little and many more. And in Comfort – containing poems which provide solace, promote recovery, counteract sorrow and help weather storms – we discover the inspirational words of poets like William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Edward Thomas, W.B. Yeats, John Keats and Christina Rossetti. So whether you are looking to find solace for times of ill-health, loss and grief, help to cope with matters of the heart, need some poetic inspiration for courage and confidence, or want to find peace and tranquillity in wild spaces, there is a collection for everyone. Perfect for reading aloud, for quiet contemplation or to store in your memory bank, these elegant books contain a welcome antidote to today’s busy lives.
(Macmillan, hardback, £9.99 each)

Age 9 plus
Shiver Point: Beneath the Ghostly Graves
Gabriel Dylan

ENTER (if you dare!) Shiver Point... the home of spooks, screams and small-town horror! Beneath the Ghostly Graves is the final instalment of a thrilling, chilling and perfectly pitched series from Gabriel Dylan, a teacher and children’s author who is a self-confessed horror fan. So for all those who love having their spines tingled and their goosebumps raised, meet the plucky Shiver Squad and join them for a marvellously menacing new mystery. Mo would be the first to admit that he’s a bit of a scaredy cat. It’s hard not to be in a town like Shiver Point with its urban legends about Blue Bessie, the ghost of Shadow Hill Cemetery, who likes to play deadly games with anyone foolish enough to chant her name. But when Mo tries to prove that he can be brave, things take a chilling turn. Now Blue Bessie is awake and ready to play, and she’s taken Mo’s little brother Zunaid as her prize. It’s down to Mo and his friends to win her deadly game (which she never plays fairly) and bring him home. But there’s more than just bones in Bessie’s creepy crypts... will the Shiver Squad find their way out, or will they be lost in the dark forever? Expect ghostly games galore, a haunting highwayman and a gruesome ghost train... a super-spooky finale for a spine-tingling series!
(Piccadilly Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 8 plus
School for Fireflies
Erica Gomez

DETECTIVE work proves to be marvellously magical in an exciting debut novel from Erica Gomez who was born and raised in London to Nigerian parents. Starring two Black girls passionate about solving mysteries, School for Fireflies follows Siddy and Zadie whose lives take an unexpected turn when they discover they are far from ordinary. ‘The grown-ups aren't telling us the whole story, so we've got to find it...’ When best friends Siddy and Zadie start the year at the magical School for Fireflies – a hidden institution where students are trained to harness magical abilities – they discover they are anything but normal. Amidst the excitement of new powers and potions, there is a decades-old mystery waiting to be solved. The girls must put their detective skills to use to secretly find a long-lost diary. And they soon realise that the clues they uncover might be tied to the reason Siddy’s dad disappeared without trace many years ago... Gomez reveals that she wrote School for Fireflies as a way to cope with living with chronic pain after being diagnosed with a neurological disorder. And her sparkling first novel is full of those ingredients that children love... feisty friends, lots of magic, boarding school fun, and a spooky mystery to solve. Who could ask for anything more?
(Knights Of, paperback, £7.99)

Age 4 plus
Let’s Play Rugby
Gordon D’Arcy, Paul Howard and Ashwin Chacko

GET your youngsters up and running with this winning picture book which puts the all-action sport of rugby union at centre stage! Let’s Play Rugby is bursting with interactive storytelling and is the work of retired medal-winning Irish rugby player Gordon D’Arcy, former sports journalist and author Paul Howard, and illustrator Ashwin Chacko. Brimming with the game’s special verve, speed and hands-on fun, we join a team gathering for the big final! Are you ready to help your team win? Up and at ‘em as you tackle the biggest player on the pitch, push into the scrum, and dive across the try-line. Do you have what it takes? This imaginative and inspirational story puts young readers in the boots of a young player and at the heart of the action as they navigate a rugby match. Each turn of the page invites youngsters to learn more about the game by encouraging them to throw the book over their head for a line-out, push against the opposition pack in the scrum, and weave their fingers through players to score a try. Full of colour, entertainment and terrific tackles, Let’s Play Rugby is the perfect first rugby training ‘manual’ for your sporty children. So what are you waiting for? Crouch, bind, set... and play!
(Little Island Books, paperback, £8.99)

Age 3 plus
Our Love
Fátima Ordinola

THE eternal beauty of love – and particularly a mother’s love – springs to life in colour, words and pictures in a stunning picture book from gifted Peruvian illustrator Fátima Ordinola. The perfect story to share with little ones, Our Love speaks loudly of unconditional love as a luscious gallery of animals, sea creatures and birds – complete with their own special babies – take centre stage on every page.‘Our love is bigger than any river, It can climb higher than any tree. Our love is in everything... Because our love is everywhere.’ From cuddling koalas to snuggling penguins, protective lionesses to gentle elephants, the lyrical text and gorgeous illustrations capture exquisitely the reassuring bond between a parent and child through the lens of the animal kingdom. Ordinola’s expressive watercolour artwork is cleverly matched to the book’s important messages which remind young children about the power and strength of parental love. And watch their little faces light up when they turn to an unexpected fold-out double-page at the end and discover a parade of all the animals they have met along the way!
(Post Wave Children’s Books, hardback, £12.99)

Age 3 plus
Doodle and Dot: The Trouble With Triangles
Lily Murray and Bia Melo

TWO best friends are forced to shape up for action when their drawings come to life and plunge them into an epic adventure! Sharpen your crayons and get ready to square up to a whole bunch of alien triangles in a clever and comical picture book that teaches both art and shapes whilst taking little readers on a fun-packed journey of discovery. The Trouble With Triangles is part of author Lily Murray and illustrator Bia Melo’s Doodle and Dot series which explores different concepts of art and design including shape, pattern, line, and colour. Doodle and Dot are best friends who do everything together and love to draw their own adventures. They both like drawing shapes but their drawings have a habit of coming to life... and Doodle's love for drawing triangles causes a whole lot of trouble, in the form of aliens, sharks, and a VERY hungry dinosaur! Can the pals work together to get the triangles under control? Murray’s action-packed story about friendship and creativity, brought to life by the imaginative and eye-catching illustrations of Brazilian-born artist and designer Bia Melo, is a wonderful introduction to shapes and art. As well as inspiring youngsters to get creative, the story promotes teamwork and problem-solving as Doodle and Dot work together to literally draw themselves out of their artistic scrapes. Perfectly shaped for your pre-schoolers!
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 3 plus
Hannah and the Violin
Satoshi Kitamura

MUSIC maestro please! Japanese author and illustrator Satoshi Kitamura warms up young imaginations – and the orchestras of their minds – for an enchanting picture book full of creativity, music and dance. When Hannah spots a leaf on the grass, she thinks it looks like a violin, and decides to pick up a twig see if she can play it. Soon everything – and that includes birds, flowers, clouds and animals – are singing and dancing to the music! Kitamura’s joyful book celebrates the sense of play, creativity and imagination that exists within us all as music and the mind blend perfectly to make sweet harmony for an unforgettable orchestral ‘performance.’ Through words, pictures and youthful playfulness, little Hannah’s leaf violin shows us that, with a little imagination, we can conjure up music and rhythm from something as simple as the sounds of insects and birds. And when the ‘music’ takes us, we can dance, sing, share our joy with others, and be transported to new worlds. A creative masterpiece!
(Scallywag Press, hardback, £12.99)

Age 3 plus
The Great Unicorn Rescue
Diane Ewen

A GLORIOUS spectrum of vibrant colour, a truly heartwarming tale about a little girl scared of the dark, and a celebration of friendship blend together in one magical picture book from illustrator – and now author – Diane Ewen. Filled with adorable unicorns, playful adventures, and youthful fears and fun, The Great Unicorn Rescue is magical to read and magical to see. Louella lives on the edge of a forest. But this isn't just any forest... this forest has unicorns in it! Louella’s unicorn is called Norrie and they love collecting shells from the stream and spending all day together. Norrie’s special power is being able to cast a bright beam of light... so although Louella’s biggest fear is the dark, she never has to worry with Norrie around. Until one day when Louella’s school has a class trip into the forest and Norrie doesn’t appear. Where could Norrie have got to? Can Louella overcome her biggest fear to help out her friend? In this enchanting story about friendship and facing fears with your pals alongside, bravery brings its own special rewards. Packed with Ewen’s enchanting artwork, which is inspired by her love of bright colours, this is a book that has been perfectly designed to empower.
(Macmillan Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 2 plus
How to Walk a Whale
Sam Wilde and Sarah Horne

WHAT would really happen if your pet was a blue whale? The answer might surprise you! Little ones can enjoy lots of giggles, fascinating animal facts, and some jaw-droppingly helpful reminders of the responsibilities of having a pet (and particularly a surprising pet!) in this adorable picture book from author Sam Wilde and illustrator Sarah Horne. How to Walk a Whale – fourth book in their delightful Peculiar Pets series – explores what a whale of a time you might have with a rather large sea creature that eats up to four tons of food a day! And as blue whales swim halfway around the world every year, feeding and exercising, this pet might be more of a challenge than you bargained for. The idea of having a pet, and just what is entailed in that, is pushed to hilarious extremes as creative illustrator Horne lets loose her imagination on Wilde’s warm-hearted and fun-filled story. And if meeting a very wild and peculiar pet wasn’t enough, you can learn more fascinating facts about blue whales in a section at the back of the book.
(Oxford University Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 2 plus
Say Cheese!
Sophie Aggett and Pauline Gregory

A BUNCH of barnyard friends go photobombing barmy in this delightfully funny, lift-the-flap board book full of cheesy smiles and gorgeous grins. Say Cheese! – the creative work of author Sophie Aggett and illustrator Pauline Gregory – puts every child’s favourite animals in the picture in a farmyard filled with photo fun.‘A photo at the pond – get set! The piglets get their pink feet wet. Say Cheese!’ The animal friends on the farm love to take photographs – the goats pose politely, the horses happily wave their hooves, and the cows are dressed in their very best. When everyone is ready, they smile and say ‘Cheese!’ but someone is always jumping in the way! Can the animals EVER get their perfect picture? With hilarious surprises hiding behind every flap, a fun rhyming story and Gregory’s bright, laugh-out-loud illustrations, little ones will love spotting the photobombing culprits and discovering if the animals can get the picture they want. Snap happy fun!
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £7.99)

Age one plus
Upside Down Opposites
Danielle McLean and Matt Hunt

GO from happy to sad and high to low... all with the flip of a book! Opposites are part of everyday life and it’s a concept that children are never too young to learn. So here’s an inventive board book that teaches little ones first opposites in the most delightful and entertaining way. Upside Down Opposites has transformations on every page, allowing little ones to read it, flip it and watch the upside-down picture change into its opposite. Featuring the bright, striking artwork of acclaimed illustrator Matt Hunt and simple, accessible pairings like happy and sad, dry and wet, high and low and good and bad, this is the perfect stylish and fun way to introduce little ones to first words and opposites... no matter which way they'd like to hold the book!
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £7.99)

The Collaborators

Michael Idov

AS a young CIA agent working on cases linked to Russia, Ari Falk is used to dealing in danger but when he is caught up in a cut-throat global conspiracy, the stakes are suddenly higher and more deadly than he could ever have imagined.

If sophisticated espionage, bone-crunching thrills and spills, a cast of authentic characters, and a storyline full of sparkling dialogue and geopolitical intrigue floats your boat, then set sail with this all-action spy romp from novelist, director and screenwriter Michael Idov, a Latvian-born American who was raised in Riga under Soviet occupation.

The Collaborators – Idov’s electrifying debut spy thriller – is a truly globetrotting adventure that manages to criss-cross both classic and surprising locations from Berlin to Portugal, Latvia, Belarus, and a 1980s Jewish refugee camp near Rome. Pitting present-day Russia against the CIA, Idov (pictured below) opens a tantalising door into a secretive world and the what-ifs of espionage as we follow Ari Falk, a brilliant young intelligence officer hot on the trail of Russian-born Paul Obrandt, and his hook-up with the billionaire financier’s feisty heiress daughter, Maya Chou, who believes he staged his own death.

Working with the CIA’s National Clandestine Service in Riga, the capital of Latvia, Falk is posing as a media investor and likes to dress down and ‘stay undefined or misdefined.’ 

His job is to help Russian opposition journalists find and run stories that are damaging to the Kremlin, and his latest ‘hiring’ is Anton Basmanny, an openly gay blogger known for asking local officials absurd and embarrassing questions in impromptu street video interviews.

But one of his recent takedowns involved a high-ranking Russian defence official who was sacked as a result, leaving Anton’s life at serious risk and Ari the critical job of getting him out of the country and to safety. A flight is hastily arranged and Anton loaded on to a plane, but Ari’s plans are altered by a dramatic intervention on the journey to Istanbul. Meanwhile, US-Russian tech billionaire Paul Obrandt, who runs one of Southern California’s largest investment funds, is reported dead after his apparent elaborately arranged suicide in which, it’s claimed, he jumped off his yacht off the coast of Portugal.   

Totally unconvinced that her Russian-born father would do something like that, his brash and troubled 23-year-old heiress daughter Maya leaves the family mansion in Los Angeles for

The Island Getaway

Lucy Diamond

IMAGINE waking up in a king-sized bed in a light-filled, spacious suite, stepping on to the balcony and taking in the view of a magnificent sweep of golden sand and a sea that’s a breathtaking shade of teal...

If the January blues (more an iron-grey shade than teal) are getting you down, escape to the sun-drenched Greek island of Kefalonia where the new arrivals at the luxurious Ionian Escape hotel are hoping for a break from everyday life... and bringing with them a load of baggage that they didn’t have to check in at the airport!

The Island Getaway is the beautiful, big-hearted and amazing twentieth novel from the queen of romance, Lucy Diamond (pictured below), an author who has the knack of putting the world’s glorious hotspots not just on the page but into the hearts and minds of her army of adoring fans. And the new dream holiday destination of Kefalonia proves to be the perfect magical backdrop to set in place a superbly drawn and eclectic guest list and then conjure up the unfolding of a sizzling, summertime celebration of second chances, true love and the life-affirming joy of unlikely friendships.

Disgraced soap star Miranda Vallance feels like the worst person in the world after a very public scandal that has seen her asked to leave the set of a hit TV show for the next few episodes, and warned by her angry agent to ‘get her act together.’

What’s more, her sister Imogen won’t speak to her, she’s been ‘slagged off’ online, and she’s even had people shouting at her in the street. So Miranda has fled to Kefalonia to avoid the stress, keep her head down and see out a fortnight’s exile in ‘dignified silence.’ But despite appearances, Miranda is desperate to put things right and doesn’t know how.

Meanwhile, eighty-two-year-old cellist Evelyn Chambers has come to the island to fulfil a promise to the love of her life. She’s well aware that life is short and that we ‘all need to get over ourselves and make the most of what we’ve got.’ But can Evelyn steel herself to go through with a painful ‘last task’?

And then who should arrive but Frank Neale, the sixty-something celebrity chef and restaurateur, who checks in at the hotel with rumours swirling round his head. Frank is accompanied by his

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: A time-travel epic, woodland anarchy and superhero plants

Enjoy history, mystery and music in perfect harmony with a fantastic time-travelling new series, share glorious gags, hilarious comedy routines and madcap escapades with two fox cub siblings and discover what links seaweed, forests and bananas in a super selection of children’s books

Age 9 plus
Hunt for the Golden Scarab
M.G. Leonard and Manuel Sumberac

WITH a trip to Egypt, a cruise down the Nile, and a pilgrimage to the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings all playing leading roles in her research schedule, it’s little wonder that the first book of bestselling author M.G. Leonard’s epic new Time Keys series is a time-travelling wonder! Leonard – loved and admired for her prodigious imagination which has inspired stories about fantastical beetles, beautiful birds and thrilling train rides – was inspired to write this breathtaking series from her own lifelong passion for music and she certainly hits all the right notes with this all-action opener, fabulously illustrated by Croatian artist Manuel Sumberac. So buckle up and enjoy an utterly spellbinding journey back in time with a band of young musicians who discover they have the ‘keys’ to open time doors and travel through epochs and age in a bid to search for treasure and solve mysteries. 

Twelve-year-old musician Sim Lockier and his mum Callidora never live anywhere for long and when dangerous strangers appear one night, Sim discovers why. His mum has been keeping secrets... he comes from a family that has the power to open doors in time. But these time doors are controlled by the sinister Council of Keys who outlaw and hunt down all who disobey them. Running for their lives, Sim and his friends are determined to outwit the Council and be the first to find Nefertiti’s lost tomb and a powerful door to Ancient Egypt. They must piece together long-hidden clues if they are to solve the mystery of her golden heart scarab. Can they find it before the Council finds them? With more thrilling adventures to come in Viking Norway, Ancient Rome and medieval England, and Sumberac’s richly detailed and atmospheric illustrations bringing the action life, the Time Keys series is history made fun... and with that all-important guaranteed pulling power for your reluctant readers!
(Macmillan Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 7 plus
Grimwood: Party Animals
Nadia Shireen

YOU can never be too young, or too old, to enjoy a bit of anarchy! Youngsters (and their parents!) will be grinning, guffawing, snorting and sniggering when they get their hands on the fourth woodland caper in one of the funniest children’s series currently on the market. Grimwood – a sort-of Watership Down with foxes which evokes tears of laughter rather than of sorrow – is the work of author and illustrator Nadia Shireen who has won awards for her picture books and been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Fully illustrated throughout, the books star two fox cub siblings, Ted and Nancy, who love their new life in Grimwood… the forest where anything (riotous!) can happen. They have made a lot of new friends there but now Sharon the Party Crow has lost her mojo! Three parties in one day have proved too much for Grimwood’s favourite raving resident, and it’s up to Ted, Nancy, Willow, and the rest of the gang to help Sharon get her groove back. Teamwork, friendship and, most importantly, dance skills, will all be put to the test as the gang try to get the party started again! Shireen serves up an irresistible blend of glorious gags, hilarious comedy routines, boundless madcap escapades, and a memorable cast of quirky characters which young readers will love following from first page to last, and from book to book. With a side helping of zany, high-energy black and white illustrations, which bring both the animals and the action to life, the Grimwood series has the legs – and the laughs – to run and run.
(Simon & Schuster Children’s Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 6 plus
Little Experts: Superhero Plants
Chris Packham

WHAT links seaweed, forests and bananas? They’re all superhero plants! Get up close to nature with naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham... and encounter the amazing plants that will help us to save the world! Packham is the latest in a line-up of well-known personalities who are bringing their experience and knowledge to Little Experts, an inspirational non-fiction series for younger readers. These experts are famous for their incredible know-how and passion for their subjects, and now they have made it their mission to share that knowledge in these beautifully illustrated books which come packed with fascinating facts and colourful pictures, and include a helpful glossary to explain words and phrases. So here’s your chance to learn all about plants, the environment and protecting our planet. Discover some incredible plants and the amazing jobs they do... from supporting wildlife and providing food, materials for clothing or for building, to inspiring inventions and new technology. Packham provides lots of intriguing facts and offers an invaluable guide to helping plants be superheroes while Plymouth-based illustrator Jake Williams brings all the amazing plants and their uses to life. Packed with fun, facts and challenges, Little Experts: Superhero Plants is a timely reminder to us all of the need to care for the Earth at a time when it’s in most urgent need of our protection, and is an entertaining and educational addition to a series that aims to empower and inspire a new generation of experts.
(Red Shed, hardback, £9.99)

Age 3 plus
I Really, Really Love
My Noisy Bum
Karl Newson and Duncan Beedie

THE bottom line is... this is the perfect book for kids who love bottoms! Dynamic picture book duo – award-winning children’s author Karl Newson and creative illustrator Duncan Beedie – are back with another loud (and very loud!) tale starring everyone’s favourite Bush Baby. This is the talented pair’s fourth collaboration in a hilarious and heartwarming series that has included I Really, Really Need a Wee, I Really, Really Love You So, and I Really Really Need a Poo. The star performer once again is the cute Bush Baby who is on a mission to find out who’s behind some extraordinary bottom blasts, and solve the rumble in the jungle. Could it be capybara? Tortoise? Bear? No! Who could that mega-tooter be? Packed with parps, toots and trumps galore, this clever, comical book delivers laughs on every page and is packed with humour that will appeal to all those young toilet humour enthusiasts. With Newson’s fun-filled rhymes, Beedie’s bold, vibrant illustrations, and an itsy-bitsy twist in its tail that will tickle young readers, I Really, Really Love My Noisy Bum is simply overflowing with gasps and giggles!
This book is published on February 6.
(Little Tiger Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 3 plus
Measuring Me!
Nicola Kent

OUR bodies are amazing... and getting the measure of them is fascinating! Award-winning author and illustrator Nicola Kent works her magic on a clever new picture book which presents the topic of measuring in an exciting and personal way. From finding out how tall you are in food tins and weighing yourself in terms of your toys, to discovering how much electricity your body can generate, Measuring Me! includes plenty of relatable and intriguing methods to explore the concepts of measuring. Kent’s bright and lively artwork – created by using watercolour, ink and kitchen table printmaking techniques which she collages digitally – gives visual life and interest to the topics and encourages little learners to engage in this important concept. And with a pull-out height chart, which enables children to measure their own height, this enjoyable lesson on the human body puts young readers firmly in the picture and at the centre of the action!
This book is published on February 6.
(Little Tiger Press, paperback, £7.99)

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Grady Hendrix

‘We were girls... bad girls, neurotic girls, needy girls, wayward girls, selfish girls ... but for girls like us,
down there at the Home, the devil turned out to
be our only friend.’

YOU can’t use the word ‘bewitching’ too many times when extolling the delicious vices and virtues of bestselling US author Grady Hendrix’s latest
chiller-thriller... a totally unique and addictive tale of teenage pregnancy, female oppression, unexpected empowerment, and witchcraft at its wildest and
most wicked.

Best known for a string of quirky, heart-thumping novels – including My Best Friend’s Exorcism, How to Sell a Haunted House, The Final Girl Support Group, and Horrorstör, the only tale of a haunted Ikea store you’ll ever need – it’s no surprise that Hendrix (pictured below) is known as a master of the horror genre. And now he’s back to wow his adoring fans with a torrid, twisted story set in the southern states of America in the sexually repressed 1970s where a group of ‘disgraced’ girls await the birth of their babies at an authoritarian and pitiless home for unmarried mothers in Florida.   

Abandoned by their angry and embarrassed families into the cold and uncaring arms of Wellwood House’s hard-hearted spinster owner, Ethel Wellwood, and her staff of quasi-sadists, the girls are left to have their babies in secret... until they get their hands on a book about witchcraft and suddenly have a power more deadly than they could ever have imagined.

Everyone thinks of them as loose girls, girls who grew up too fast, girls from broken homes who need discipline, girls who get into trouble and who can’t say no. 

Their punishment is to be sent to Wellwood House in St Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption and, most important of all, forget any of it ever happened and return home.

Fifteen-year-old Neva from Alabama is living her worst nightmare in the sweltering summer of 1970. Pregnant to a boyfriend who lost interest in her the moment she told him she was expecting, her father was incensed by the news and told her that it would be better if she was

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: World-saving zombies, a killer weekend and sad ghosts

Discover how zombies turn into modern-day heroes in an exciting, action-packed debut novel, book in at a spooky castle and steel yourself for a killer weekend party, find your kindred spirits when you visit the Sad Ghost Club, go wild with a brilliant Bigfoot adventure and join a group of daring youngsters on a dangerous mission at sea in a dazzling selection 

Age 11 plus
The Zombie Project
Alice Nuttall

WHOEVER would have thought that zombies could be the good guys? Daring debut novelist Alice Nuttall turns the stars of age-old horror stories into modern-day heroes in an action-packed adventure about bees, big business and the future of the planet that will have readers buzzing with excitement. The Zombie Project – which imagines a world in which the bees have died out – packs a real punch with its topical themes of saving the environment, the power of youth activism and fake news vs Science... plus a wickedly clever twist on the ever-fascinating concept of zombies.

When the world’s bees die out, a new pollinator arrives. Death-flies help grow crops but there’s a nasty side-effect... zombies. Death-flies need bodies... lots of them. And bodies mean zombies. Laying their eggs in people, death-flies turn them into dangerous zombies when they die. The world must adapt or there won’t be enough to eat. Merian understands this, but others are afraid. Can Merian and her scientist mum convince others to save the zombies because they are the future... or will the big corporations succeed in convincing people to kill them? And just what does it mean when a docile zombie shows up? Nuttall, who writes children’s stories and webcomics, has fun with this terrific tale which delivers age-appropriate chills and thrills whilst presenting zombies in a new and very different light, and giving them a vitally important role in a world that is struggling to survive. The powerful and resonant messages threaded through this gripping and original adventure speak loudly to a planet in peril... and make for a story that is enlightening, educational and thoroughly entertaining!
(Chicken House Books, paperback, £7.99)

Age 14 plus
The Party
Natasha Preston

IF your new year has fallen flat so far, book in at a spooky castle and prepare for a killer weekend party! With bestselling, gritty thrillers like The Lake, The Fear, The Twin, The Haunting, The Island and The Dare already under her belt, Natasha Preston springs more dark and deadly surprises in a heart-racing, twisting and turning murder mystery that will leave readers gasping  at every turn of the page. In the heart of the English countryside, sixth former Bessie and her closest friends from boarding school gather at a remote castle for a secret party destined to make this the best spring break ever. They have all told ‘a little lie’ to their parents about where they are spending the long weekend because an abandoned castle – in a village miles from anywhere – would never have passed muster. But when one of the friends dies, the party takes a lethal turn. Trapped inside as a deadly storm rages, and with nobody knowing their whereabouts, it soon becomes clear that Bessie and her friends are being stalked by a killer. As the body count rises, and secrets about the past unravel, Bessie begins to suspect that she doesn’t know her friends quite as well as she thought. And as the party turns into a hunt, the question now is whether Bessie can make it out alive? Preston throws in all those favourite ‘locked room’ murder mystery tropes as the list of victims grows apace, the sense of suspicion and distrust becomes electrifying, and a killer runs amok. With its nod to the Golden Age classics, a cast of soon-to-be wickedly warring schoolfriends, and an ending that will take your breath away, there could be no better start to your crime reading year!
(Hot Key Books, paperback, £8.99)

Age 12 plus
The Sad Ghost Club: A Hopeful Guide to Getting Through Bad Days
Lize Meddings

EVERYBODY has to ask for help sometimes! Welcome to the Sad Ghost Club... a club for anyone who has ever felt sad or lost. We can all feel anxious and alone sometimes... like you’re almost invisible. But at the Sad Ghost Club, you can find your kindred spirits and know you’re not alone. In this fully accessible graphic novel – written by Lize Meddings, creator of the online Sad Ghost Club – readers discover the club’s rules for taking things one day at a time. The helpful guide is based on the Sad Ghost Club community, which has over 600,000 followers on Instagram, and is a place where everyone is accepted and everyone belongs. With the help of heartwarming and very relatable comic illustrations, learn how to make it through the day, grow through ‘the hard stuff,’ and look out for your fellow ghosties. And if you like what you read here, you can join the community of ghosties on Instagram @theofficialsadghostclub
(Wren & Rook, paperback, £12.99)

Age 9 plus
Bigfoot and the Wild Boys
Jenny Pearson and Aleksei Bitskoff

YOU can always rely on award-winning author Jenny Pearson to create giant waves of giggles and guffaws, and young readers are guaranteed to go wild when they get their paws on this brilliant Bigfoot adventure! The great outdoors beckon as Pearson – whose debut novel, The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Book of the Year in 2020 – brings us this thoroughly heartwarming tale of friendship and adventure starring schoolboy Joe who is tired of being called average. Joe hates other kids at school calling him Average Joe, being middle of the class in most subjects and feeling completely forgettable. So when he hears that a Bigfoot-like beast has been spotted in some nearby woods, he senses an opportunity. Surely capturing Bigfoot will make him stand out from the crowd and bring him the popularity he longs for? With no real plan or survival skills, Joe and his best friend Tiago set off on what turns out to be an unforgettably hilarious quest with some very unexpected results! Joe’s journey from feeling left behind to school legend is both inspirational and laugh-out-loud funny as Pearson delivers important messages about friendship, honesty, and the rewards that come from believing in your own self-worth. Brimming with the author’s special brand of imaginative storytelling and brought to life by Aleksei Bitskoff’s richly detailed and comical illustrations, Bigfoot and the Wild is published in Barrington Stoke’s trademark dyslexia-friendly format and is sure to delight readers looking for a truly wild adventure!
(Barrington Stoke, paperback, £7.99)

Age 9 plus
Mission: Manta Ray
Philip Kavvadias and Euan Cook

WHAT happens when your mission ship is torpedoed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? The answer lies in the second book of a brilliantly funny series from exciting debut author Philip Kavvadias who is not just passionate about getting boys reading, but actually knows how to do it! Billed as Jurassic Park meets Wimpy Kid, these seemingly mission impossible adventures are packed full of humour, action and suspense – the perfect ingredients for reluctant readers – and feature two twelve-year-old boys and their ‘rescue pet,’ a tiny flying dinosaur. Good friends Finn and Milo, and new RAPTOR junior agent Tasi, have been sent to investigate reports of deep-sea disturbances in the Pacific Ocean. Along with 65million-year-old microraptor Artemis – a small, winged dinosaur rescued from evil hands by Finn and Milo on their first outing in Mission: Microraptor – the team head off on their new mission. But soon after their arrival, their mission ship Nausicaa is torpedoed... by a giant submersible shaped like a manta ray. Action stations! It’s time for the daring trio to paddle for their lives... There are lots of laugh-out-loud moments to enjoy from first page to last in this high-tech, fast-paced, and drama-filled adventure which has important environmental themes at its heart, explores the joys of friendship and some real-life survival skills, and is brought to life by the atmospheric and inventive black-and-white illustrations of Euan Cook.
(Chicken House, paperback, £7.99)

Age 7 plus
Betty Steady and the Queen’s Orb
Nicky Smith-Dale and Sarah Horne

BETTY Steady, the Guardian of Wobbly Rock, is back and the fun factor is off the scale! As the daughter of two knights, Betty is blessed with unmatched strength and speed but due to a horrid shrinking spell by a wicked Toad Witch she’s now really, really tiny. Fortunately she is still the shining star (well, most of the time!) of a funny illustrated fiction series from the top team of author Nicky Smith-Dale and talented illustrator Sarah Horne. And in her second adventure, Betty and her Wobbly Rock pals are off to celebrate the famous Turnip Festival in the neighbouring kingdom of Upper Crust. What could possibly go wrong THIS time? The Wobbly Rock VIPs can’t wait to attend Queen McNiff’s legendary festival but when Betty meets a fashionable forest sprite called Misty Jamjar, it dawns on her that perhaps her old pals aren’t as sophisticated as she once thought. Misty convinces Betty that being small isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. If Betty can help Misty break into the Queen’s heavily guarded vault, they might just be able to gain access to the Orb of Ogg. This legendary Orb has the potential to change Betty back to her original stunning height. Golly Gherkins! It’s not as if Misty Jamjar is a secret baddy or anything and Betty isn’t going to accidentally become as tall as a massive giant. That would be ridiculous... With madcap humour at every turn of the page, a cast of the weirdest characters this side of Wobbly Rock, and a lead player who is just a teensy bit too big for her boots, this rollicking romp is joyful, big-hearted and serves up extra dollops of youthful exuberance for readers new to chapter books.
(Farshore, paperback, £6.99)

Age 7 plus
Myths, Mummies and Magic in Ancient Egypt
Stephen Davies and Núria Tamarit

DISCOVER the thrilling myths and magic of Ancient Egypt in a spectacular comic-strip style retelling by children’s author Stephen Davies and illustrator and comic artist Núria Tamarit who is based in Spain. The ancient Egyptian myths are some of the oldest and most famous stories ever told and this vivid and contemporary comic book collection is the perfect introduction to them. Myths, Mummies and Magic in Ancient Egypt features six striking tales full of mythical creatures, gods, pharaohs and adventure, and explores traditional themes like love, loss, greed, envy and bravery. Set sail with Prince Naneferkaptah on his quest to find the magical book of Thoth, join Seth and Horus as they battle for the throne of Egypt, and meet a pharaoh called Khufu who wanted to have the most magnificent tomb ever. Bursting with detail and humour, and Tamarit’s funny and fascinating comic-strip illustrations, this fully accessible and entertaining retelling of ancient myths is a delight for readers both young and old.
(Big Picture Press, paperback, £10.99)

Age 7 plus
Where’s Loki?
Marvel Entertainment International Ltd

DON'T miss out on all the fun packed inside this simply marvellous search-and-find activity book... the latest in a fantastic Marvel and Disney series which is brought to life by stunning, full-colour original illustrations! And if super-heroes are top of your favourites list, then you need to get your hands on the all-action Where’s Loki? which finds Loki, the Asgardian God of mischief, on the loose and up to his old tricks! He’s searching through time and space for an ancient artefact that will let him hide from his brother Thor... but can he hide from you? Track the tricky villain through intricately detailed landscapes from New York to Wakanda, and Jotunheim to Asgard... and be sure to look out for a host of familiar heroes and villains along the way, including Spider-Man, Hulk, Kang and many more! Perfect for Marvel and Disney fans young and old, these beautifully created search-and-find books guarantee hours of entertainment!
(Studio Press, paperback, £7.99)

Age 6 plus
Guardians of the New Moon: Ming and Miaow’s Great Race
Eric Huang and Phùng Nguyên Quang

THERE will be no outfoxing the adorable stars of a fun and full-throttle new illustrated series from London-based podcaster, writer and lecturer Eric Huang and Vietnamese illustrator Phùng Nguyên Quang. Huang – who says his mother’s ancestral home in Shanghai was haunted – has always been fascinated by legends, lore and magical creatures, and promises that every book in this Guardians of the New Moon series will feature an epic adventure about friendship, celebrating differences, and loving your authentic self. In the first book of the series, we meet black-and-white cat Miaow who only wants is to enjoy his peaceful, solitary life as a temple guardian catching mice. But when the Jade Emperor invites all creatures on Earth to compete in a Great Race, the reserved cat finds himself reluctantly entering... and worse, socialising! Nine-tailed fox Ming is a spirited and fiery shapeshifter and Miaow’s polar opposite, and she’s determined to make him her new best friend. But she hadn’t counted on Miaow making other friends too. As the race heats up, things start to unravel… Can the pair (and their friendship) make it to the finish line?

In Book Two, Year of the Rat, Ming and Miaow are now officially Guardians of the New Moon and eager for more adventure! Their first mission is to take home race winner, cheeky rat Su, and help her prepare for the inaugural Year of the Rat. Ming is keen to get started but Miaow finds himself distracted. Things are tense with Su since the rat tricked Miaow during the Race, and the two just can’t seem to be in the same room without causing chaos. It gets even messier when their squabbling catches the attention of a furious sea goddess who is determined to teach Miaow and Su a lesson. Can the long-time frenemies learn to work together, or is the Year of the Rat doomed to disaster? With a menagerie of magical creatures, unpredictable divinities, fantastical lands to discover and Quang’s richly detailed illustrations, these delightfully light-hearted and easy-to read-adventures are sure to fascinate and inspire young readers while introducing the lunar new year and other fascinating East Asian traditions and folklore.
(Little Tiger Press, paperback, £6.99 each)

Age one plus
Tractors Have Wings!
Becky Davies and Gareth Lucas

TRACTORS have wings, don’t they? And trains sail through the sea? Surely that can’t be right! Turn the peep-through pages of this ingenious board book and see how vehicles transform back to how they should look. Little ones will hoot and toot with laughter at the mixed-up pairings... from lorries that have just ONE wheel to cars that zoom through outer space! With a dry, humorous text by Becky Davies, Gareth Lucas’s bold and colourful illustrations, lots of intriguing cut-outs, and a surprise flap on the final page, this is a delightfully entertaining and interactive introduction to first concepts.
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £7.99)

Age one plus
The Story of Taylor Swift
Nicola Edwards and Lindsey Sagar

FROM country pop princess to fearless feminist megastar, Taylor Swift has become a record-breaking global phenomenon... and now even the youngest Swiftie fans can get in on the act! This fun board book – the latest in Little Tiger Press’s bestselling The Story of... series – introduces little ones to Taylor’s squad and her greatest love story – the one with her fans. Author Nicola Edwards charts Swift’s musical evolution and how she has taken on the industry in groundbreaking ways while Lindsey Sagar’s vibrant illustrations bring extra colour the music icon’s life. This unofficial fan guide is the perfect book for all the family’s Swifties!
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £7.99)