The Swift And The Harrier

A sweeping historical adventure set during one of the most turbulent periods of British history—featuring a heroine you’ll never forget ... Dorset, 1642. When bloody civil war breaks out between the king and Parliament, families and communities across England are riven by different allegiances. A rare few choose neutrality. One such is Jayne Swift, a Dorset physician from a Royalist family, who offers her services to both sides in the conflict. Through her dedication to treating the sick and wounded, regardless of belief, Jayne becomes a witness to the brutality of war and the devastation it wreaks. Yet her recurring companion at every event is a man she should despise because he embraces civil war as the means to an end. She knows him as William Harrier, but is ignorant about every other aspect of his life. His past is a mystery and his future uncertain. The Swift and the Harrier is a sweeping tale of adventure and loss, sacrifice and love, with a unique and unforgettable heroine at its heart.

Survivors of the Black Death face new dangers as they seek safety and freedom in the New York Times–bestselling author’s sequel to The Last Hours. England, Winter, 1348. As the Black Death continues its devastating course across England, the quarantined people of Develish question whether they are the only survivors. Guided by their beloved young mistress, Lady Anne, they wait, knowing that when their dwindling stores are finally gone, they will have to leave the safety of their moated walls. But first, to prepare for the wasteland outside, one courageous man must venture out alone. Thaddeus Thurkell, a free-thinking, educated serf, goes in search of supplies and news. A compelling leader, he and his companions quickly throw off the shackles of serfdom and set their minds to ensuring Develish’s future—and freedom for its people. But what use is freedom that cannot be gained lawfully? When Lady Anne and Thaddeus conceive an audacious plan to secure her people’s independence, neither foresees the life-threatening struggle over power, money and religion that follows . . .

As a plague descends on Medieval England, a courageous Lady must protect her land and people at all costs in this historical novel: “Enthralling” (Julian Fellowes, creator of The Gilded Age). England, 1348. When the Black Death arrives in Dorset, no one knows what manner of sickness it is or how it spreads and kills so quickly. The Church proclaims it a punishment from God, insisting that daily confession is their only hope for survival. But Lady Anne of Devilish has different ideas. With her trusted steward Thaddeus at her side—and her brutal husband absent—she gathers her serfs within the moated walls of Devilish and refuse entry to outsiders, including her husband. Bu in such a confined space, conflicts soon arise. Ignorant of the world outside, Lady Anne’s people wrestle with the terrible uncertainty of their futures. And as food stocks run low, they begin to wonder how long they can survive within. The moment will come when they must cross the moat . . . and encounter a world transformed in ways they can’t imagine.

A compelling look into damaged minds, The Chameleon's Shadow is a psychological thriller from crime queen Minette Walters. When Lieutenant Charles Acland is flown home from Iraq with serious head injuries, he faces not only permanent disfigurement but also an apparent change to his previously outgoing personality. Crippled by migraines, and suspicious of his psychiatrist, he begins to display sporadic bouts of aggression, particularly against women, especially his ex-fiancee who seems unable to accept that the relationship is over. After his injuries prevent his return to the army, he cuts all ties with his former life and moves to London. Alone and unmonitored, he sinks into a private world of guilt and paranoid distrust . . . until a customer annoys him in a Bermondsey pub and he attracts the attention of local police investigating three murders which appear to have been motivated by extreme rage . . . Under suspicion, Acland is forced to confront the real issues behind his isolation. How much control does he have over the dark side of his personality? Do his migraines contribute to his rages? Has he always been the duplicitous chameleon that his ex-fiancee claims? And why – if he hates women – does he look to a woman for help?

A blistering new thriller about the horrors of war and the struggle to survive in the face of pure evil. Foreign correspondent Connie Burns is hunting a British mercenary that she believes is responsible for the rape and murder of five women in Sierra Leone in 2002. Two years later she finds him training Iraqi police in Baghdad. Connie is determined to expose his crimes, but then she is kidnapped and released after three days of unspeakable torture. Silently, she returns to England and attempts to isolate herself, but it soon becomes apparent that the horrors of the world and her own nightmarish past aren’t so easy to escape from.

In the tradition of Arianna Franklin and C. J. Sansom comes Samuel Thomas's remarkable debut, The Midwife's Tale It is 1644, and Parliament's armies have risen against the King and laid siege to the city of York. Even as the city suffers at the rebels' hands, midwife Bridget Hodgson becomes embroiled in a different sort of rebellion. One of Bridget's friends, Esther Cooper, has been convicted of murdering her husband and sentenced to be burnt alive. Convinced that her friend is innocent, Bridget sets out to find the real killer. Bridget joins forces with Martha Hawkins, a servant who's far more skilled with a knife than any respectable woman ought to be. To save Esther from the stake, they must dodge rebel artillery, confront a murderous figure from Martha's past, and capture a brutal killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. The investigation takes Bridget and Martha from the homes of the city's most powerful families to the alleyways of its poorest neighborhoods. As they delve into the life of Esther's murdered husband, they discover that his ostentatious Puritanism hid a deeply sinister secret life, and that far too often tyranny and treason go hand in hand.

Winner of the Crime Writers’ Association John Creasey Award for best first novel, The Ice House is the mystery thriller from crime queen Minette Walters. It was evident, if there were no other entrance to the ice house, that the body had at some point traversed this thorny barrier . . . The big question was, how long ago? How long had that nightmare been there? The people of Streech village had never trusted the three women living up at the Grange – not since Phoebe Maybury's husband suddenly, inexplicably, vanished. Ten years later a corpse is discovered in the grounds and Phoebe's nightmare begins. For once they have identified the body the police are determined to charge her with murder . . .

'Utterly brilliant: a fantastically exciting book... This really does read like the best kind of thriller. His best book yet' James Holland, author of Normandy '44 April 1982. Argentina invades the Falkland Islands. In response, Britain despatches a naval task force. Eight thousand miles from home, its fate hinges on just twenty Sea Harriers against the two hundred-strong might of the Argentine Air Force. The odds against them are overwhelming. The MoD's own estimates suggest that half the Harriers will be lost in the opening days of the conflict. They need backup. Within three weeks 809 Naval Air Squadron is reformed, trained and heading south, ready for war. Not since World War Two had so much been expected of such a small band of pilots.