Bøker utgitt av Little, Brown Book Group

I'm Jaz Parks. CIA assassin. Black Belt. Belly dancer at the Corpus Christi Winter Festival. The last is cover for my latest mission: retrieve a vital piece of biotechnology by killing the maniac who stole it. The thief is not your run-of-the-mill nut job, either. He's Chien-Lung, an obsessive vamp who's invulnerable while wearing his armour - which is constantly.Then there are the reavers, ancient fiends who murder innocents and eat their souls. Only I can sense them. So it's not long before they want me dead, dead, dead. And did I mention the nightmares? They're not your garden variety sit-up-and-screamers. These suckers may actually kill me before the reavers do.

Jaz Parks here, though I can't say for how long. This case is a tough one. So tough, it could be my last.The Wizard, a terrorist thorn in the military's side, has finally revealed a chink in his armour. So my vampire boss, Vayl, and I have been asked to join my brother's special ops team to take him down. But nothing on this mission is as it seems. The Wizard has hidden some vicious tricks up his sleeve, including the placement of a mole within the ops team. Add to the mix a pack of reavers bent on revenge, a Seer who'll do anything to share Vayl's power and a small army of parasitic monsters who prey on murderers and their victims. You can see why I'm going to need all my wits and more than my share of luck if I plan to get through this with my job, not to mention my life, intact.Not to mention my life.

Their young carefree days are over, but they've shaped Crista and Maggs' lives...The Devonshire village of Ford is full of excitement and curiosity at the arrival of their new doctor, the dashing young Scotsman, Jamie Murray. Among the fluttering female hearts are sisters Maggs and Crista Fletcher. And though Maggs frequents the local pub, the Angel, in the hope of a chance meeting with the young doctor, it is Crista to whom Jamie has taken a shine.Not that Maggs is exactly drinking on her own. Her admirers include Dickie Trippett, her childhood sweetheart, now scarred for life in the First World War, and handsome, confident and rich Rupert Swain, son and heir to the local paper mill. For Maggs, there is no contest as to where her affections lie: Rupert wins hands down.Except that Rupert is a member of the most hated family in Ford: the Swains run the paper mill in the most ruthless and cruel fashion, paying the lowest rates in dangerous working conditions. And just as Maggs cannot reveal the object of her love, Rupert wouldn't dream of doing so either. As far as he's concerned, she is just another village girl to be loved and left.

A family's triumphs and tragedies, from life as privileged distillery owners to the horrors of the trenches in France. Charlotte becomes engaged to Lieutenant Geoffrey Armitage as the Great War breaks out,. The war takes its toll on all her fmaily, as the men become soldiers and the women nurses. Charlotte's brother Andrew is in Ireland and involved in the 1916 Easter uprising. When his girlfriend and her family are killed by an Irish militant, he kills the man and his family, as well as six others. As the war ends, they return to Scotland a different family and now must cope with the changes that have happened and those still to come . . .

No-one travels like the renowned writer-adventurer Richard Grant and, really, no-one should. Having narrowly escaped death at the hands of Mexican drug barons in Bandit Roads, he now plunges with his trademark recklessness and curiosity into Africa. Setting out to make the first descent of a previously unexplored river in Tanzania, he gets waylaid by thieves, whores and a degenerate former golf pro in Zanzibar, then crosses the Indian Ocean in a cargo dhow before the real adventure begins on the Malagarasi river. Travelling by raft, dodging bullets, hippos, lions and crocodiles, hacking through swamps and succumbing to fevers, Grant's gripping, illuminating and often hilarious book will thrill his devoted readers and bring him to an even broader audience.

Englishness is an ancient and powerful concept, but no one seems sure exactly what it means in the twenty-first century. In exploring our national identity, Tony Thorne has compiled a fascinating compendium of the hundred words and phrases that have become the cornerstones of modern English, and have been used - sometimes deliberately, but often inadvertently - to stake out our common ground, to define what makes us essentially English, and thus different from those beastly foreigners who lurk just off our shores.

THE HOLIDAYS ARE OVER. IT'S TIME TO BECOME AN ASS-KICKING, GETS-THINGS-DONE SUPERWOMAN WITH RUN FAT BITCH RUN.'You'll be up and running in no time' Grazia'Ruth is an inspiring running buddy' Daily ExpressIs there a large arse-shaped dent in your sofa? An eye-wateringly expensive (and rarely used) gym membership burning a hole in your bank account? Does the sight of your wobbly thighs leave you cowering under the duvet?Then it's time you face the truth: if you want to lose weight and get fit there's only one thing left to do . . . RUN!Funny and brutally honest, Ruth Field and her straight-talking alter-ego The Grit Doctor will give you - yes, you - the push you need to start pounding the pavements and shedding pounds in no time.* Locate your inner grit and long-lost energy with a foolproof beginners' programme * Enjoy carbs without guilt with The Grit Doctor's tasty and nutritious recipes* Includes marathon training plan to transform you from casual jogger to elite(ish) athleteReaders LOVE Run Fat Bitch Run:'Exactly what I needed! I am now running regularly and have recently run a 10K' 'A must for anyone thinking they missed their New Year's fitness resolution!' 'Awesome, funny and real' 'Reading this book has kept me motivated and focused. Whenever I get the 'I'll go tomorrow' attitude, my inner bitch reminds me that tomorrow never comes' 'So good I bought a second one for a friend. We'll be running a marathon in no time!'

Summoner-King Tris Drayke takes what remains of the Margolan army north to fight a war Margolan is ill-prepared to fight, as reports from spies confirm Tris' worst fear. A new threat rises across the sea: a dark summoner who intends to make the most of the Winter Kingdoms' weakness. And in Isencroft, King Donelan is assassinated and Tris's wife, Kiara, will now have no choice except to return and claim the crown. But the rogue mage's agents will go to any length to prevent her from reaching her goal.Kiara and Tris must discover the truth behind the dark summoner, the mysterious power surrounding their infant son, and face the awesome power of the Dread as they rise from their barrows for the first time in over a millennium.

'[Sharps] is a ripping good adventure yarn, laced with frequent barbed witticisms and ace sword fighting... Parker's settings and characterizations never miss a beat, and the intricate political interplay of intrigue is suspenseful almost to the last page.' - Publishers Weekly'This is another splendid offering from K.J. Parker, the (pseudonymous) British fantasist who seems incapable of writing in anything but top form.' - LocusFor the first time in nearly forty years, an uneasy truce has been called between two neighbouring kingdoms. The war has been long and brutal, fought over the usual things: resources, land, money . . . Now, there is a chance for peace. Diplomatic talks have begun and with them, the games of skill and chance. Two teams of fencers represent their nations at this pivotal moment.When the future of the world lies balanced on the point of a rapier, one misstep could mean ruin for all.Books by K.J. Parker:Fencer TrilogyThe Colours in the SteelThe Belly of the BowThe Proof HouseScavenger TrilogyShadowPatternMemoryEngineer TrilogyDevices and DesiresEvil for EvilThe EscapementSaloninusBlue and GoldThe Devil You KnowTwo of SwordsThe Two of Swords: Part 1The Two of Swords: Part 2The Two of Swords: Part 3NovelsThe CompanyThe Folding KnifeThe HammerSharpsSavagesSixteen Ways to Defend a Walled CityMy Beautiful Life

'Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one's own experience' - Elizabeth Bowen, author of The Heat of the DayIntelligent and haunting, with echoes of Brief Encounter, this is a love story by one of the best British writers of the 20th century.During summer games of hide and seek Harriet falls in love with Vesey and his elusive, teasing ways. When he goes to Oxford she cherishes his photograph and waits for a letter that never comes.Years pass and Harriet stifles her dreams; with a husband and daughter, she excels at respectability. But then Vesey reappears and her marriage seems to melt away. Harriet is older, it is much too late, but she is still in love with him.

Elizabeth Taylor's darkest novel . . . She writes with a sensuous richness of language that draws the reader down the most shadowy paths . . . Extremely beguiling. Taylor makes the living moment present, touchable, disturbing, enchanting - Helen Dunmore*Spending the holiday with friends, as she has for many years, Camilla finds that their private absorptions - Frances with her painting and Liz with her baby - seem to exclude her from the gossipy intimacies of previous summers. Anxious that she will remain encased in her solitary life as a school secretary, and perhaps to spite of her friends, Camilla steps into an unlikely liaison with Richard Elton, a handsome, assured - and dangerous - liar.Elizabeth Taylor's darkest novel is a skillful exploration of the danger we'll go to to avoid loneliness. Taylor is increasingly recognised as one of the best writers of the twentieth century, and this little-known novel displays her range admirably.* 'Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one's own experience' - Elizabeth Bowen'Always intelligent, often subversive and never dull, Elizabeth Taylor is the thinking person's dangerous housewife. Her sophisticated prose combines elegance, icy wit and freshness in a stimulating cocktail' - Valerie Martin'A magnificent and underrated mid-20th-century writer, the missing link between Jane Austen and John Updike' - David Baddiel, Independent

INTRODUCED BY DAVID BADDIEL'Elizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: an author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth. As a reader, I have found huge pleasure in returning to Taylor's novels and short stories many times over. As a writer I've returned to her too - in awe of her achievements, and trying to work out how she does it' SARAH WATERSVinny Tumulty is a quiet, sensible man. When he goes to stay at a seaside town, his task is to comfort Isabella, a bereaved friend, and and he is prepared for a solemn few days of tears and consolation. But on the evening of his arrival, he looks out of the window at the sunset and catches sight of a beautiful woman walking by the seashore. Before the week is over Vinny has fallen in love, completely and utterly, for the first time in his middle-aged life. Emily, though, is a sleeping beauty, her secluded life hiding bitter secrets from the past.

The debut novel from Elizabeth Taylor - shortlisted for the Booker Prize*Mrs Lippincote's house, with its mahogany furniture and yellowing photographs, stands as a reminder of all the certainties that have vanished with the advent of war. Temporarily, this is home for Julia, who has joined her husband Roddy at the behest of the RAF. Although she can accept the pomposities of service life, Julia's honesty and sense of humour prevent her from taking her role as seriously as her husband, that leader of men, might wish; for Roddy, merely love cannot suffice - he needs homage as well as admiration. And Julia, while she may be a most unsatisfactory officer's wife, is certainly no hypocrite.*'Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one's own experience' Elizabeth Bowen 'No writer has described the English middle classes with more gently devastating accuracy' Rebecca Abrams, Spectator 'A Game of Hide and Seek showcases much of what makes Taylor a great novelist: piercing insight, a keen wit and a genuine sense of feeling for her characters' Elizabeth Day, Guardian

Introduced by Neel Mukherjee'All her writings could be described as coming into the category of comedy. Comedy is the best vehicle for truths that are too fierce to be borne' Anita Brookner'Elizabeth Taylor has an eye as sharply all-seeing as her prose is elegant - even the humdrum becomes astonishing when told in language that always aims for descriptive integrity, without a clich in sight. As a result, Taylor excels in conveying the tragicomic poignancy of the everyday' Daily TelegraphWhen newly orphaned Cassandra Dashwood arrives as governess to little Sophy, the scene seems set for the archetypal romance between young girl and austere widowed employer. Strange secrets abound in the ramshackle house. But conventions are subverted in this atmospheric novel: one of its worlds is suffused with classical scholarship and literary romance, but the other is chaotic, quarrelsome and even farcical. Cassandra is to discover that in real life, tragedy, comedy and acute embarrassment are never far apart.

When translator Edgar Logan arrives from his home in Paris to work in Edinburgh he anticipates a period of enlightenment and calm. But when he is befriended by the philosopher Harry Sanderson and his captivating artist wife, Edgar's meticulously circumscribed life is suddenly propelled into drama and crisis. Drawn into the Sandersons' troubled marriage, Edgar must confront both his own deepest fears from the past and his present growing attraction to the elusive Carrie.Moving, witty and wise, The Missing Shade of Blue is a compelling portrait of the modern condition, from the absence of faith to the scourge of sexual jealousy and the elusive nature of happiness.

Marriage to a handsome Ghanaian architect has brought Eva far from the quiet English countryside. Alfred had made it sound heavenly but the hardship drained her of vitality and the foreign culture bewildered her. But Eva has her friends - Dahlia, Yelena and Margrit - all of them strangers in a foreign land, who rely on each other to fill the gaps left by distant relatives.When a sudden coup unnerves everyone, and Eva's relationship with Alfred begins to unravel, The Association of Foreign Spouses discover that there are dark sides to their lives and that they must scheme and deceive to protect themselves and their families.Set in Ghana in the turbulent eighties, The Association of Foreign Spouses is a story of a group of women who live in a land that at times defeats them, amongst people who often disappoint and baffle them. Yet through their trials and hardships, the women support each other, unified by their foreignness, as ultimately, they are wooed by this strange place that they come to call 'home'.

CHALLENGE was Vita Sackville-West's second novel. It was ready to go to print in 1920, but the aughor suddenly changed her mind. This was not because she lacked confidence in her work,but because of the scandal it would have caused. CHALLENGE remained unpublished for over fifty years.Vita's love affair with Violet Trefusis had reached its peak, and, eloping to France, they decided to abandon everything and everyone - children and husbands included - to spend the rest of their lives together. Although they returned to their families eventually, CHALLENGE remains a testament of their love, and was written during that period. The hero, Julian, might be a Byronic young Englishman, and Eve the woman he adores; it may be an adventure tale about a revolt on a Greek island. But really, this is a love story, written in the presence of the beloved, and inspired by her. And, as its title implies, the novel is a challenge to the society that condemned Vita and her lover.

In the last year, Allie's survived three arrests, two breakups and one family breakdown. The only bright point has been her new life at Cimmeria Academy. It's the one place she's felt she belongs. And the fact that it's brought the dreamy Carter West into her life hasn't hurt. . .But far from being a safe haven, the cloistered walls of Cimmeria are proving more dangerous than Allie could've imagined. The students, and faculty, are under threat and Allie's family - from her mysterious grandma to her runaway brother - are at the centre of the storm.Allie is going to have to choose between protecting her family and trusting her friends. But secrets have a way of ripping even the strongest relationships apart . . .'Night School is dramatic and full of great characters, the perfect blend of suspense and romance.' Sophie McKenzie

Allie's world is falling apart...She hates her school. Her brother has run away. She's just been arrested. Again. And now her parents are sending her away.But instead of hating boarding school, Allie is happy. She's making friends. And there's Carter, a brooding loner with whom she feels an instant connection.Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Her classmates - and maybe some of the teachers - are hiding a secret. And soon it begins to feel like a very dangerous place...'Night School is dramatic and full of great characters, the perfect blend of suspense and romance.' Sophie McKenzie

1925. England is prosperous; the nation has put the war behind it, and hope is in the air. The Jazz Age is in full swing in New York, where Polly Morland is the most feted beauty of the day. But a proposal of marriage from the powerful, enigmatic Ren Alexander takes her by surprise. Her cousin Lennie, expanding his interests from radio to television and talkies, worries that no one knows much about Ren; but his attempts to find out more threaten disaster. In London, the General Strike gives the country another chance to show its stiff upper lip, as everyone turns to and helps out. Emma drives an ambulance again, while Molly runs a canteen, and each unexpectedly finds love, and a new career. But the whirligig is slowing, shadows are gathering over Europe, and the good times are almost over. Morland Place is threatened by the worst disaster of its history, and the Old World reaches out a hand to pluck Polly from the New. The Wall Street Crash brings the fabulous decade to a shattering close, and nothing will ever be quite the same again; but new shoots emerge from the ruins, hope is reborn, and the Morlands prove again that family is everything, and will endure.

1947Ten-year-old Fay Allen of Roswell, New Mexico, witnesses the fiery crash of an extraordinary craft unlike anything she's ever seen...2012More than sixty years later, army engineer Tyler Locke rescues Fay from a pair of assassins. She says they were after a piece of wreckage she obtained from the Roswell crash - and she claims to know secrets about that incident that have never previously been revealed.Tyler is initially sceptical, but after he is kidnapped by a mysterious band of mercenaries, he comes to believe that Roswell holds the key to his and his countrymen's survival. And he realises that there is a desperate race against time for him to uncover its secrets...Fast-paced and thrilling, The Roswell Conspiracy draws on actual details from the Roswell Incident to create a page-turning and thought-provoking thriller.

Born in a Mesopotamian village in the third century, the son of a Parthian warrior, Mani grows up in a volatile and dangerous world. As battle rages for control over the Middle East between the great Roman and Persian empires, as Jews and Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians fight for ascendency, Mani- painter, mystic, physician and prophet- makes his way through the battlefields to preach to his incandescent doctrine of humility, tolerance and love, a doctrine that comes to be known as Manicheanism.A vivid glimpse of the ancient world in all its perfumed splendour and cruelty, an elegantly philosophical discourse on the fall of man, THE GARDENS OF LIGHT is a story of great beauty and resonance, exquisitely told.

You've devoured The Fifty Shades Trilogy. . . now lose yourself in the heady ecstasy of Forbidden Desires.After her wedding to film director Lewis James, Harriet Radcliffe is dismayed to learn that her husband has invited another couple, his married friends Noella and Edmund, to join them on their honeymoon. It soon emerges that Lewis is planning to make another of his hugely successful cinema verite films, using real life as his material. Knowing that Harriet finds Edmund attractive, he plans to explore her forbidden desires. However, Edmund has designs on Harriet, and Lewis's plan goes awry as he finds himself competing to regain his bride . . .The sequel to Dark Secret.

From his chlidhood in Fez, having fled the Christian Inquisition, through his many journeys to the East as an itinerant merhcant, Hasans story is a quixotic catalogue of pirates, slave girls and princesses, encompassing the complexities of a world in a state of religious flux. Hasan too is touched by the instability of the era, performing his hadj to Mecca, then converting to Christianity, only to relapse back to the Muslim faith later in life. In re-creating his extraordinary experiences, Amin Maalouf sketches an irrisistible portrait of the Mediterranea world as it was nearly five centuries ago - the fall of Granada, the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, Renaissance Rome under the Medicis: all contribute to a background of spectacular colour, matched only by the picaresque adventures of Hasan's life.

You've devoured The Fifty Shades Trilogy. . . now it's time to embrace the forbidden pleasures of The Discipline.Young innocent nun Chloe Reynolds is collecting money for Brazilian orphans when she meets sophisticated playboy Carlos. When Carlos opens Chloe's eyes to the corruption behind the charity she is working for, she leaves the Church and heads home to England, thoroughly disillusioned.Even an Ocean can't keep Carlos away from Chloe and she is equally desperate to again be in his dominating presence. Carlos's new mission is to seduce Chloe and to teach her that submitting to his sexual desires will bring her untold pleasures. But is Chloe ready to become a slave to 'the discipline'...?

You've devoured Fifty Shades . . . Now it's time to lose yourself in the Haven of ObedienceTwenty-something Londoner Natalie Bowen is envied by many, but her personal life is a disaster. Men can't cope with her career success and Natalie thinks she'll never find real happiness. Then she hears about an exclusive weekend retreat called The Haven, a place that specialises in introducing you to pleasures you could never have imagined. Shocked at the idea, but unable to resist finding out more, Natalie decides it's time to put her fears behind her. Once at The Haven, Natalie meets the enigmatic and disciplined Simon, a man who is used to getting what he wants. And Natalie may very well have met her match . . .

You've devoured The Fifty Shades Trilogy . . . Now prepare yourself for incredible sensual revelations in a... Dark Secret.Harriet Radcliffe is bored with her life. At twenty-three, her steady job and safe engagement seem very dull. If she is to inject a little excitement into her life, she realises, now is the time to do it.But the excitement lying in wait for Harriet is beyond even her wildest ambitions. Answering a job advertisement to assist a world-famous actress, Harriet finds herself plunged into an intense and secret world of sexual obsession - playing an unwitting part in a very private drama, but discovering in the process more about her own desires than she had ever dreamed possible . . .The prequel to Forbidden Desires.

The Creator invented the game. The stakes were nothing less than the immortal fate of mankind. Yet when fallen angel Jim Heron was challenged to play, he had no idea the voracious demon Devina would be so formidable an adversary-or that the carnal depths to which he was willing to go could prove so fatal.Devina's more than ready to claim victory in this war and has her next scheme already underway: Sissy, a defenseless woman under the influence and an unwitting player in the fight for Heron's heart.At the defining crossroads between salvation and damnation, Heron is ready to do anything it takes to succeed-a suicide mission that will take him into Heaven and Hell, and into the darkest and most sensual shadows that lie in wait at the end of the world . . . 'Everything J.R. Ward writes is a must read . . . she never disappoints' Christine Feehan

'Descent is politically engaged, brimming with smart ideas and shot through with a mordant wit. The novel is dedicated to the memory of MacLeod's friend Iain M. Banks, and one feels that the future of Scottish SF is in good hands' - James Lovegrove, The Financial Times'Ken MacLeod is the modern day George Orwell' - SFXHOW FAR WOULD YOU GO FOR THE TRUTH?Ball lightning. Weather balloons. Secret military aircraft. Ryan knows all the justifications for UFO sightings. But when something falls out of the sky on the hills near his small Scottish town, he finds his cynicism can't identify or explain the phenomenon. And in a future where nothing is a secret, where everything is recorded on CCTV or reported online, why can he find no evidence of the UFO, nor anything to shed light on what occurred? Is it the political revolutionaries, is it the government or is it aliens themselves who are creating the cover-up? Or does the very idea of a cover-up hide the biggest secret of all?Ken MacLeod, author of 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Award-nominated Intrusion, tells a science fiction story for the twenty-first century - this is what happens when conspiracy theorists meet Big Brother.Books by Ken MacLeod:Fall RevolutionThe Star FractionThe Stone CanalThe Cassini DivisionThe Sky RoadEngines of LightCosmonaut KeepDark LightEngine CityCorporation Wars TrilogyDissidenceInsurgenceEmergenceNovelsThe Human FrontNewton's WakeLearning the WorldThe Execution ChannelThe Restoration GameIntrusionDescent

Maggie's father is 'Mr Safety'. He knows the woods of Duchess Creek in Northern Canada like the back of his hand, and he has taught his daughter how to survive, how to find and make a shelter in all weathers, in any conditions. Along with her sister, Jenny, and their mother Irene, they are safe from the outside world. But when an accident at work goes fatally wrong, Irene struggles to look after her daughters alone. Wild, imaginative and unpredictable, she billets the two girls with a family, promising to return once the summer is over and she has earned more money. But the summer turns to winter, which rolls round again and again. When the letters stop, the two sisters realise that they can rely on no one but themselves - but what kind of shelter can two young girls make for themselves?