Gangster Hamsters

Rocco is no ordinary pet hamster. Tired of being kicked around in a plastic ball, he’s certain of his true destiny: to become a great leader among rodents. Through a mind-boggling mix of debatable genius and happy accident, he mounts a daring escape, heads for the Big City … and joins a fearsome gang of restaurant-raiding sewer rats. Now all that remains is to lead his fellow rodents into greatness – and become the gang’s next Big Cheese! All with a little help from his new best friends, Nev the mouse and his martial arts-obsessed sister, Tina. When Rocco discovers that the rats’ arch-enemies, the flea-bitten alley cats, are planning an attack, it seems that his moment to shine has arrived. But as he lands himself, his fellow gangsters and his new-found friends in ever-hotter water, he begins to realise that being a superstar action hamster isn’t quite as straightforward as he thought! Get ready for furious foxes, crazy killer cooks and a double-crossing pigeon named Francis. Just some of the colourful characters in a tale of big dreams, bigger blunders – and refusing to let others make you feel small. A funny, action-packed and unexpectedly heart-warming story for readers aged 8+.

A spoof of the gangster/crime genre. Films such as The Godfather and Goodfellas are parodied in a series of single-panel cartoons.

Although Hip Hop is known to come from the streets of South Bronx, New York, its origins go far deeper than that. Unconsciously, the innovative souls of the 1970s Hip Hop movement demonstrated the captivating, vibrational sound of the five regions in Africa: Northern Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Thus, The Griot Tradition as Remixed through Hip Hop: Straight Outta Africa fleshes out the common threads of Hip Hop’s creative genius across the African diaspora and provides an analytical rubric as a guide to a greater understanding of Hip Hop. The author, Frederick Gooding, examines why Hip Hop holds such an important place within contemporary culture in order to determine how a genre that was so controversial and marginal could become mainstream and central. Through the use of various genres, artists, styles, sounds, images, and rhetorical techniques, Gooding analyzes how Hip Hop, when seen through the lens of African connection, can be appreciated for its regenerative and connective power to create relationships between people both nationally and internationally.

"Sal Cupertine is back—and better than ever. I love this guy." —Lee Child "Gangster Nation is a razor. It will slice you open and reveal your insides. And like the best of Tod Goldberg's work, it'll show you everything you are at your core." —Brad Meltzer, New York Times bestselling author of The President's Shadow It's been two years since the events of Gangsterland, when legendary Chicago hitman Sal Cupertine disappeared into the guise of Vegas Rabbi David Cohen. It’s September of 2001 and for David, everything is coming up gold: Temple membership is on the rise, the new private school is raking it in, and the mortuary and cemetery—where Cohen has been laundering bodies for the mob—is minting cash. But Sal wants out. He’s got money stashed in safe–deposit boxes all over the city. He’s looking at places to escape to, Mexico or maybe Argentina. He only needs to make it through the High Holidays, and he’ll have enough money to slip away, grab his wife and kid, and start fresh. Across the country, former FBI agent Matthew Drew is now running security for an Indian Casino outside of Milwaukee, spending his off–time stalking members of The Family, looking for vengeance for the murder of his former partner. So when Sal’s cousin stumbles into the casino one night, Matthew takes the law into his own hands—again—touching off a series of events that will have Rabbi Cohen running for his life, trapped in Las Vegas, with the law, society, and the post–9/11 world closing in around him. Gangster Nation is a thrilling follow–up to Gangsterland, an unexpected, page–turning examination of the seedy foundations of American life. With the wit and gritty glamor that defines his writing, Goldberg traces how the things we most value in our lives—home, health, even our spiritual lives—have been built on the enterprises of criminals.

‘I met Moet at Steve’s house - he was in a band with Mardy and Robert. He was a sour-faced cherub but as I was to find out, as sharp as a pin.’ – Bob Williams ‘In 1970/71, he was the only kid in the class who went home for lunch, apart from myself, but found time to bring back a record that he’d bought during that break time which within weeks would attain the upper reaches of the music charts.’ – Steve Mardy ‘WHAT TWAT SPAT? WHAT TWAT SPAT? WHAT TWAT SPAT?’ – Steve Middlehurst ‘I believe Moet may be slightly bipolar. He has great bellowing highs and deep worthless lows. This is a common trait of depression, bipolar, call it what you like. It’s sometimes called Life.’ – Craig Scanlon ‘I would call him an emotionally charged mastodon; a complex intellectual who thinks with his penis. But I love him.’ – Jon Rowlingson

By the author of LOOK WHO'S BACK, a radical and bold satire in inequitable times. "Whizz-bang energy and gleeful imaginative savagery" Sam Leith, Guardian "More than mere satire, it's a book that engages deeply" Alex Preston, Financial Times "An immensely enjoyable read" Daniel Hahn, Spectator "A caustic, clever satire with a powerful emotional core" Becky Long, Irish Times "Satirical, sharp, believable . . . Brilliant" Rick O'Shea, RTE REFUGEE CAMPS IN AFRICA ARE SWELLING And Europe has closed its borders. The refugees have no future, no hope, and no money to pay the vast sums now demanded by people smugglers. The only thing they have is time. AND THEN AN ANGEL ARRIVES FROM REALITY T.V. When model and star presenter Nadeche Hackenbusch comes to film at the largest of the camps, one young refugee sees a unique opportunity: to organise a march to Europe, in full view of the media. Viewers are gripped as the vast convoy moves closer, but the far right in Germany is regrouping and the government is at a loss. Which country will halt the refugees in their tracks? THE HUNGRY AND THE FAT A devastating, close-to-the-knuckle satire about the haves and have-nots in our divided world by one of Europe's finest and most perceptive writers. Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch

“Maeve Kerrigan [is] a fascinating and plausible character…What she has is persistence, integrity and emotional intelligence, and a very deft way of insinuating herself into a reader's affections.”—The Irish Independent (UK) Vast wealth offers London defense attorney Philip Kennford a lot of things: a gorgeous house with a pool in the backyard, connections in the top echelons of society, a wardrobe worthy of Milan runways. But his money doesn’t provide a happy marriage, or good relationships with his twin daughters…and it does nothing to protect his family when someone brutally murders his wife and daughter in their own home. When Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan arrives at the scene, the two survivors—Philip and his second favorite daughter, Lydia—both claim to have seen nothing, but it’s clear right away that this is an unhappy family accustomed to keeping secrets. Maeve soon finds herself entangled in a case with a thousand leads that all seem to point nowhere, and it doesn’t help that her boss, whom she trusts more than almost anyone, is starting to make decisions that Maeve finds questionable at best. In The Last Girl, Jane Casey once again demonstrates her ability to write vivid, three-dimensional characters and spin a gripping, unpredictable mystery.

Rufus describes what he and his five hamster siblings do each night after they escape from their cage.