The Witches of Vardø

Anya Bergman

WHILST many history books and fictional dramas have retold the harrowing tales surrounding the 17^th century witch hunts in Britain and Salem, few outside Scandinavia know of the very real and terrible events on the remote island of Vardø in Finnmark in northern Norway.

Between October 1662 and April 1663, a total of twenty women were imprisoned and died as a result of the witchcraft persecutions.... eighteen were burnt at the stake and two were tortured to death.

Using the court testimonies of some of those caught up in this witch trials maelstrom, and blending historical fact with magical realism and vivid Nordic folklore, debut author Anya Bergman (pictured below) brings us an epic, atmospheric and moving novel about prejudice, misogyny, and a group of strong, determined women who refuse to surrender their souls to the cruelty of men. At the heart of the story are three compelling women who, in their very different ways, have failed to meet the rules and expectations of femininity set out by witch-hunting religious zealots, and face the wrath of both state and church.

In the small fishing village of Ekkerøy on Norway’s Varanger Peninsula in 1662, women must be careful about what they say and do at a time when drinking alcohol, having ‘a sharp tongue’ and even dancing can lead to accusations of witchcraft. Local fisherman’s widow Zigri Sigvaldsdatter has never been the same since the death of her husband and beloved only son Axell. She neglects her daughters, Ingeborg, aged sixteen, and twelve-year-old Kirsten, and is often seen smiling and laughing for wealthy merchant’s son Heinrich Brasches. The two girls feast on Brasches’ gifts of

Great Walks on the England Coast Path

Andrew McCloy

IF you’re looking for a new year fresh air fix, or already making plans for your next summer holiday, step into the pages of a glorious, illustrated guide featuring thirty classic England coastal walks.

Great Walks on the England Coast Path is just the latest guide from Kendal-based Cicerone Press which specialises in outdoor activities guidebooks and has a range of nearly 400 books for walking, trekking, climbing, mountaineering and cycling, covering the UK, Europe and other regions of the world.

Written by Andrew McCloy (pictured below), a writer and journalist specialising in walking and the outdoors and an experienced long-distance walker, this large format, glossy guide celebrates the best day and weekend walks on the England Coast Path, England’s newest National Trail, and celebrates the nation’s stunning and diverse shoreline. These hand-picked and varied walks are selected from the best of the 2,800-mile trail along soaring cliff paths, wildlife-filled estuaries, huge golden beaches and atmospheric saltmarshes, and capture the rich heritage and amazing contrasts of England’s coastline.

Locations include Northumberland with its string of coastal castles, the rollercoaster chalk cliffs above the English Channel, East Anglia’s wildlife-rich shores, smugglers’ coves in Cornwall and the vast sandy beaches and dunes of north-west England.

Routes range from 5.5 to over 27 miles, spanning between three hours and two days, and with options for all ages and abilities. They can be accessed by public transport and are walkable year round (weather permitting).

All the route descriptions are also accompanied by 1:50,000 OS map extracts and included in each walk are comprehensive listings of public transport, toilets and places to eat and drink, which highlight the excellent walking infrastructure available in many areas.

Overview information on the terrain, distance and timing helps to make planning easier, a route summary table allows walkers to choose the right route and GPX files are available for free download. And to make the walk even more enjoyable, fascinating snippets of history and geology are interspersed throughout, with useful websites and further reading in the appendices. Capturing the rich heritage and glorious contrasts of England’s coast, and incorporating beautiful photography of the coastline, the guide offers something for everyone and encourages us to explore both well-loved and less well-known parts of the English shoreline.

The sea has defined England’s history and the coast is a dynamic and exciting place to walk so whether your passion is for escape or adventure, geology or nature, castles or culture, these dynamic walks take you on a journey of exhilarating discovery whatever the season.
(Cicerone Press, paperback, £20)

The Countess of the Revolution

Lana Kortchik

FOR the twenty-three years of her young life, Countess Sophia Orlova has led a charmed existence in the majestic Russian city of Petrograd. But in the spring of 1917, her world of wealth and privilege falls apart when revolution breaks out and a rampaging mob storms the grand home she shares with her husband, Dmitry. Surrounded by armed guards, and now classed as an enemy of the people, Sophia’s only hope of surviving this dangerous new order lies with one man... her husband’s renegade brother.

Lana Kortchik – whose bestselling debut novel Sisters of War featured two women living under the shadow of German-occupied Ukraine – sweeps readers back to the dark days of the Russian Revolution for a heart-wrenching tale of loss and sacrifice starring two lovers trapped on the opposite sides of a terrifying political conflict. And what a tumultuous and emotionally-charged story it is... written straight from the heart of Kortchik (pictured below) who grew up in Ukraine and Siberia and at the age of sixteen moved to Australia with her mother, but continues to be inspired by her own family history, not least her great-grandfather, Count Olgert Korsak, who was of Russian nobility and forced to flee his country of birth after taking part in the Polish uprising of 1863.

On March 15 in 1917, Count Dmitry Orlov has planned a lavish dinner at his home near Petrograd’s Neva River but shortly after sundown, the sound of gunfire fills the air and the eerie light of fires devouring the city can be seen from the windows.

For Countess Sophia Orlova, the city of her childhood – the only home she has ever known – is about to become her deadly enemy with the mob ready and willing to get rid of anyone connected to the old regime. The couple have been married for five years... lawyer Dmitry adores Sophia. The love he bears for his wife is overwhelming. It’s a love that consumes him, but

Breakneck Point

T. Orr Munro 

CRIME scene investigator Ally Dymond knows that science-based evidence never lies, and when she uncovers a police officer’s corrupt methods to convict a man on a murder charge, she blows the whistle on the senior detective halfway through the trial.

It’s a brave decision which costs experienced CSI Ally a place on Devon’s major investigations team and leaves her working petty crime cases on the sleepy northern coast of the county... until the discovery of a young woman’s body endangers not just Ally’s life, but that of her 15-year-old daughter.

Stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood because T. Orr Munro (pictured below) – who trained as a CSI and knows exactly what goes on behind the police crime scene tape – thrills, chills and impresses with the first book of her atmospheric and dazzlingly authentic debut serial killer series set in the dark corners of a windswept seaside town. And Breakneck Point lives up to both its name and its billing as Munro harnesses her forensic experiences, and work as a police and crime journalist, on this fast-moving, heart-pounding and disturbing thriller which pits a manipulative and merciless killer against a maverick CSI determined to dig out the truth.

Six months after she publicly refused to be part of a police inspector’s attempt to pervert the course of justice by ‘fiddling the evidence’ in a murder case, senior CSI Ally Dymond has paid a high price for exposing corruption in the ranks and, as some see it, ‘allowing a murderer to walk free.’

Now Ally is off the principal investigation team and working in a rural outpost in the rundown seaside town of Bidecombe where the openly hostile police team hardly acknowledge her existence. But when the body of nineteen-year-old Janie Warren is found by a dog walker near Bidecombe Quay, Ally’s expert skills in suspicious deaths are suddenly back in demand. It’s only

Collins Ultimate Quiz Night

Collins Puzzles and Puzzler Media

CELEBRATING Christmas isn’t just about stuffing yourself with turkey and opening a stocking full of presents... it’s also about sharing quality time with family and friends. So here’s the perfect gift book (for the festive season or any time of the year!) that brings together the generations to enjoy a super-fun quiz night of trivia knowledge offering entertainment, education... and plenty of head scratching.

With 500 quizzes, comprising 10,000 easy, medium and hard general knowledge questions, and 30 picture rounds, Collins Ultimate Quiz Night is the latest title in Collins coruscating collection of word and number puzzles, which range from delightfully teasing to fiendishly difficult. And there’s something on offer for every age and ability in this fabulous bumper-size quiz book, from easy questions for younger family members taking their first steps from quizzing base camp, to extra-tricky testers for experienced trivia travellers heading for the higher peaks of general knowledge down at the pub! The questions are arranged in the easy, medium and hard sections, and to get a taste, do you know which acid is used in lead-acid car batteries, how many eyes a bee has, and which African country takes the name of its currency, the kwanza, from one of the largest rivers in the nation? If you answered sulphuric acid, five eyes, and Angola in that order, then you’re already on a roll!

With picture rounds to exercise your brain cells, a choice of specialist subjects that includes (among many others) geography, music, sport, film, reality television, TV detectives, dinosaurs, who said it, crimes and criminals, record-setting, Downton Abbey, and a host of pot luck categories, you can be sure that there is knowledge, amusement, fun and frustration all the way. So choose a friend or family member to be your wise and witty quiz master, grab paper and pencils, and put on your thinking caps for the first of what promises to be many enjoyable quiz nights!
(Collins, paperback, £9.99)

CHILDREN'S BOOKS: Words of wisdom and age-old life lessons

Writers from the past and the present deliver some much-needed wisdom and guidance for children and teenagers in three inspirational books which are guaranteed to inform, educate and entertain a new generation of youngsters

Age 7 plus
Aesop’s Fables
Caroline Lawrence and
Robert Ingpen

WHEN it comes to universal truths about what it is to be human, look no further than the famous Aesop’s Fables, the wise words of a slave man which are as relevant today as they were when he spoke them 600 years before Christ was born. Just as Stone Age cave paintings belong, not to the artist, but to human civilisation, Aesop’s Fables are cherished by each generation and passed on to the next, and this gorgeous new gift edition delivers life lessons on every page. Retold here by million-copy-selling author Caroline Lawrence and with full-colour artwork by Hans Anderson Award-winning artist Robert Ingpen, Aesop’s Fables are the perfect introduction to a bygone world of clever slaves, Greek gods and talking animals... a world which is sure to enchant young readers.

Aesop’s Fables belong – and have meaning – to every one of us. They were once simply the words of a slave called Aesop who was born with physical disabilities and began life as the lowest of the low. But, fortunately for us, his words were written down by a Greek and then a Roman, and they spread, like the armies of Rome, across the known world. The stories were told around heathen campfires and noble hearths, they were whispered in sacred monasteries and churches, lectured in Victorian school rooms and acted out by children at play. Each little fable – often featuring talking animals – is bound up with 2,000 years of wisdom and truth. And from these we know that a mouse is too weak to withstand the strength of a lion, yet too mighty to be bound by ropes. We learn that the violence of the North Wind is no match for the gentle beaming of the unrelenting Sun. We know in our hearts that the sheep must push through life and try to overcome its many dangers, that the wolf will trick and deceive to survive, and that we cannot pretend to understand the logic of the gods if we do not hold ourselves to the same standard.

This sumptuous gift book – part of Ingpen’s beautiful series of illustrated children’s classics – has a ribbon marker and a helpful glossary with brief definitions of some of Aesop’s words which come from a world thousands of years ago. Beautifully produced and lavishly illustrated with Ingpen’s breathtaking imaginative power and with excerpts from an ancient biography of Aesop woven into the fables, this is a gift to treasure through the generations.
(Welbeck Editions, hardback, £20)

Age 11 plus
Boys Will Be Human
Justin Baldoni 

WITH a warning to readers that this might be the most honest book they have ever read, you can be sure that it will pique the interest of any boy struggling to find his place in the world. Puberty is one of the most challenging phases of a boy’s life and nobody knows this better than filmmaker, actor and author Justin Baldoni who reveals he has written the book that he desperately needed when he was at school and facing ‘one of the most confusing and lonely times in a boy’s life'. ‘My hope,’ he says, ‘is that this book can become a trusted friend and resource to any young person trying to navigate what it means to be a boy or understand the complex experience of growing up as a boy in the world today.’ And so the bestselling Boys Will Be Human was created, an invaluable go-to, get-real, gut-check guide to becoming the ‘strongest, kindest, bravest person you can be’ by helping boys aged eleven and over to embrace their feelings and fears instead of repressing them. In a radically honest but child-friendly voice, Baldoni introduces topics like equality, male privilege, body image, sex and consent with both humour and heart.

Have you ever noticed, he asks, that there are unwritten rules that tell boys how to act, think, and feel? Nobody knows where they came from, but one day – bam! – you suddenly feel these invisible forces, pushing you to follow the rules of masculinity, even if they don’t make you happy. But the book, he adds, isn’t about learning the rules of the boys’ club, it’s about unlearning them. It’s a reality check guide book that shows you how to be brave enough to reveal who you really are, clever enough to ask questions, cool enough to feel all your emotions, confident enough to know your worth, strong enough to speak your truth and much more. And Baldoni cautions readers to be prepared because his book is raw and surprising. 

There are no lies or subjects off-limits. Sometimes things might get a little uncomfortable but he explains that that is an important part of getting to know – and believe in – yourself, reminding readers that they are not on the journey alone. With highly designed, two-colour pages, filled with activities, sidebars, and inspirational quotes, this groundbreaking book is an invaluable self-esteem-building guide and the perfect social and emotional learning tool for parents and teachers who want to jump-start conversations about masculinity with boys.
(HarperCollins, hardback, £12.99)

Age 4 plus
The Sour Grape
Jory John and Pete Oswald 

AND enjoy more food for thought as bestselling author and illustrator team, Jory John and Pete Oswald, serve up a fruity feast of life lessons in The Sour Grape, the sixth tasty romp in their inventive Food Group picture book series. Ripe with the duo’s trademark humour, and bursting out all over with common sense and creativity, this new adventure stars a Sour Grape who holds a bunch of grudges for every reason under the sun. Lime never returned a borrowed scarf. Grudge! Orange never called back. Grudge! But when his friend Lenny holds a grudge against the Sour Grape without listening to an explanation, the Sour Grape quickly realises how unfair grudges can be. Could a sprinkling of gratitude and a bunch of forgiveness be enough to turn a sour grape sweet? This terrific top team can’t put a foot wrong when it comes to delivering up child-friendly stories with important life messages, all carefully cooked to perfection inside John’s warm and witty wordplay and Oswald’s captivating, high-energy artwork. So get ready for giggles galore as youngsters gorge on the antics of a thin-skinned grape while gaining valuable lessons about compassion, understanding, and accepting that life is what you make it.
(HarperCollins, paperback, £6.99)

Airside

James Swallow

IT'S been a bad day for Kevin Tyler… everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, and it has proved both catastrophic and ruinous for the London businessman. Stranded at a remote airport in Germany after missing his flight during a storm, he’s at rock bottom until he discovers a hidden bag with two million euros in cash inside it. Does he hand it over to the authorities… or has he stumbled on the answer to all his problems?

Fresh from his smart, classy, high-octane Marc Dane series – must-reading for discerning espionage and action fans – BAFTA-nominated scriptwriter and bestselling author, James Swallow (pictured below), returns with a heart-pounding, standalone thriller featuring a desperate man with a difficult choice.

Fascinating, addictive and with a ‘be careful what you wish for’ motif, Swallow’s story threads back to when he was working on a project that involved extensive air travel and the germ of an idea took root during the long hours spent in airports and on airliners. Harnessing that insular, no-man’s-land quality of airport departure lounges – the ‘anticipation, anxiety and boredom’ of being captured ‘in a big glass box’ – Swallow’s imagination takes flight on a thrill trip that will leave readers gasping for air.

Engineer and businessman Kevin Tyler’s life is imploding. He has spent the last six months travelling backwards and forwards to set up a deal to open an office in northern Germany, risking everything he owns to push the project through.

But on his current visit, and at the last possible moment, his partners reneged on the agreement when another organisation swept in with a better offer. Left high and dry, consumed by guilt, and with a ‘giddy trickle of pain building between his eyes,’ Kevin feels that everything has gone wrong with his life.

His marriage to Sadie is over, his beloved daughter Maddie is far away, studying in New York, and he knows he is going home to bankruptcy and an uncertain future. And to add insult to injury, an overbooked flight at Barsbeker airport sees him bumped off the last plane home and left behind to wait out a storm until the next departure the following

Believing in Tomorrow

Rita Bradshaw 

THE hardships and challenges of girls and women in the early part of the 20^th century come under the spotlight in a moving, gritty and gripping tale of love, loss and survival from one of the nation’s favourite saga queens.

Prepare to have your heartstrings pulled as committed Christian, animal lover and captivating storyteller Rita Bradshaw (pictured below) – whose raft of compelling novels includes Storm Child and The Winter Rose – sweeps us away on a rollercoaster journey filled with high emotion and life-changing drama.

Molly McKenzie, who lives with her family in the countryside near Newcastle, is only eleven years old in 1900 when her abusive, farmworker father Josiah McKenzie – known for his hands the size of cannonballs – beats her to within an inch of her life for sneaking out of the house to attend the Michaelmas Fair.

Molly is certain that he killed her only sister Kitty when she fell pregnant at fourteen and, terrified that one day she will die the same way, she escapes from the hovel she calls home and is taken in by kind fisherfolk in North Shields who find her sick and close to death.

They are the Mallard family – Jed and Enid, their two married daughters, and their three sons Harry, Rory and Matthew who live at home – and with them, she experiences the love of a family for the first time. Life is still hard for Molly but she is content in their care.

Time passes and Molly is looking ahead to a future with the boy she loves, but then a terrible tragedy rips her life apart. Once again she is cast adrift in an uncaring world, but Molly is made of stern stuff and is determined to survive.

In the male-dominated society of the early 1900s, Molly has to fight prejudice and hatred, and rejection comes from all sides. Can she hold fast and become the woman she is destined to be?

Tears will be shed and hearts broken and mended again in this harrowing but ultimately uplifting family saga which is filled with love and hate, humanity and inhumanity, compassion and cruelty, and never fails to impress with the sheer power of its emotional storytelling. A determination to succeed against all odds, the sense of community and warm friendship that helps even the most oppressed to survive, and the strength of love to defeat malice and brutality are the driving forces for a novel which will delight Bradshaw’s army of fans.
(Pan, paperback, £7.99)

The Orphanage Girls Reunited

Mary Wood

A GROUP of girls who met when they were trapped by circumstances in the cruel confines of notorious London orphanage take centre stage again in the second book of an emotion-packed trilogy from favourite saga writer Mary Wood.

Inspired by her own early years living in the East End of London, Wood sweeps us back to 1912 and into the trials, tribulations and hard-fought victories of three friends who helped each other to survive the privations of a Bethnal Green orphanage.

These heartbreaking but also inspirational tales are full of the grit and hardship that have become hallmarks of a storyteller who writes straight from the heart. Wood (pictured below), who lives between Blackpool and Spain, worked in the probation service in both Lancaster and Blackpool, and her hard-hitting and moving historical sagas reflect her own experiences with people from all walks of life, helping her to bring a rich authenticity to her writing. Here, we meet up again with Ellen and Ruth who fear that they may never again find their good friend Amy after she was taken from the orphanage and put on a boat to Canada with the promise of a new and better life across the ocean.

Ellen, who was abandoned by her father for the second time and left scarred from her years at the orphanage, has finally found happiness and hope after being reunited with her long-lost grandmother at her house near Leeds.

Despite feeling loved and cared for her – particularly by her grandmother’s warm and kindly housekeeper Dilly – it cannot compensate for being torn apart from her beloved friends Ruth and Amy. And when a devastating encounter leaves Ellen broken and desperate, she is forced to fight her past demons.

Meanwhile, Ruth has found peace, building a new life as an actress and surrounded by new friends. But she still longs to be with Ellen and Amy after everything they endured together in the orphanage. Amy was shipped to Canada with hundreds of other orphans and Ruth fears that she has little hope of ever finding her. One wish comes true when Ruth’s acting career leads her to Ellen but no sooner has the dust settled than war appears on the horizon. Friendship locked them into each other’s hearts forever but does this approaching conflict mean they are destined to never reunite?

Wood ratchets up the emotional temperature in this gripping tale which comes packed with heartbreak, drama, rich period detail, and the harsh realities of the early 20^th century as Ruth and Ellen battle the slings and arrows of love, life and loss. Written with insight, warmth and the empathy gained from her years working with a cross-section of society, Wood’s new story is a moving and enthralling rollercoaster from first page to last, and will leave readers longing for the final chapter of the girls’ turbulent lives.
(Pan, paperback, £7.99)

Codename Faust

Gustaf Skördeman

SWEDISH detective Sara Nowak hoped that a devastating burn injury to her face during a perilous encounter with a decades-old terror plot would become her only serious brush with death. But a dangerous assassin with the codename Faust – a man linked to a group of radical terrorists – has the volatile and headstrong police officer firmly in his sights... and he’s closing in fast.

Buckle yourself in for a thrill ride because screenwriter, director and producer Gustaf Skördeman (pictured below) returns with a brilliant new standalone spy drama starring the charismatic detective who won hearts and minds in his pulsating debut Geiger, a bestseller which was optioned for the screen by ITV’s Monumental Pictures.

Translated by Ian Giles, Codename Faust is the same tense and terrifying mix of spy mystery and edge-of-the seat action thriller, delivering all the ingredients of a modern classic as Skördeman unleashes his filmic imagination on a tale stretching back into the Cold War and European terrorism. And with a spy who never forgets and never forgives, a sadistic killing made to look like a suicide, a trail that leads to European terrorists, and a desperate hunt to find a fanatical assassin, Skördeman’s intriguing, perfectly plotted and super-powered novel is the next best thing to watching a blockbuster movie.

Who have you spoken to about me, what do you know about Operation Wahasha, and what have you told Sara Nowak? These are some of the last words priest Jürgen Stiller hears before he is executed by a former terrorist known only by the codename Faust at his picturesque vicarage.

Detective Nowak of the Stockholm police, meanwhile, is fully occupied by her personal life. Still recovering from the physical scars of being badly burned in a dangerous police operation, and the mental scars of discovering her well-known father was a rapist, she worries about how easily she resorts to violence against