Books published by Hodder & Stoughton

The fourth book in the critically acclaimed DI Marjory Fleming series.'The allegiances, rivalries and petty jealousies of small town life are carefully but convincingly explored....a dramatic climax.' Scotland on Sunday'Reading Templeton has become something of an addiction.' Publishing NewsA sunny evening, a tranquil garden - and an old man brutally gunned down on his doorstep. In the pretty and tranquil market town of Kirkluce, a proposed superstore development has divided the population in an increasingly bitter war. The low-level aggression of bored youth that is generally tolerated has become sinister. The bloodied carcass of a sheep abandoned in the streets is more than just unpleasant vandalism and teenage bikers, terrorising a woman to breaking point, are impossible to control. When a second victim is killed in what seems a random shooting, the fear in the town becomes tangible. DI Fleming will not accept that the crimes are motiveless, but she struggles to make sense of the two murders, when nothing makes sense any more and no one will believe anything. Not even the truth.

The incredible bestselling true story of the rise and reign of the most wanted criminal in history, told by the one man who was with him every step of the way - his brother Roberto.Murderer, philanthropist, drug dealer, politician, devil, saint: many words have been used to describe Pablo Escobar, but one is irrefutable - legend. For the poor of Colombia, he was their Robin Hood, a man whose greatness lay not in his crimes, but in his charity; for the Colombian rich he was just a bloodthirsty gangster, a Bogie Man used to scare children in their beds; for the rest of the world flush with his imported cocaine, he was public enemy number one. During his reign as the world's most notorious outlaw, he ordered the murder of thousands - at one point even bombing a passenger jet - smuggled drugs into the US in mini-submarines inspired by Bond films, was elected to parliament, staged midnight escapes through the jungle from whole army battalions, built his own prison, consorted with presidents, controlled an estimated fortune of over $20 billion, and for over 3 years outwitted the secret American forces sent to kill him. His ambition was as boundless as his violence, and neither was ever satisfied. This is the first major, and definitive, biography of this remarkable criminal life, told in jaw-dropping detail by the one man who, more than any other, can understand just how far he came and just how low he fell: his brother, Roberto Escobar.

A pacy international suspense thriller with a historical twist, from the New York Times bestselling author.Ex-agent Cotton Malone wants to know what really happened to his father, officially lost at sea when his submarine went down in the north Atlantic in 1971. But when he uses his government contacts to obtain the submarine's sealed file, he finds he is not the only person looking for answers. Malone is in the line of fire when he is attacked in an attempt to take the file. He is pitched into a lethal power struggle between Dorothea Lindauer and Christl Falk, twin sisters whose twisted ambition takes sibling rivalry to new levels. Malone and the twins embark on a dangerous adventure involving Nazi explorations in Antarctica, US government conspiracies, and a series of cryptic historical clues built into the legend of Charlemagne. Forced to choose a side when neither can win, Malone is determined to uncover the truth behind his father's death - but will he be able to escape his own?

'Gems like this are too rare. I was hooked in ten pages.' Conn IgguldenGEORGE HART just wants to serve his Queen and honour his family. It's not that simple.BASTARDHe doesn't know his father, only that he's a pillar of the Establishment. His beloved mother is half Irish, half Zulu.ZULU In a Victorian society rife with racism and prejudice, George's dark skin spells trouble to his regimental commander.WARRIORBut George has soldiering in his blood - the only question is what he's really fighting for: ancestry or Empire. In the heat of battle he must decide . . .

Witch...Some words can kill Germany, 1507. In a time when famine is rife and panic spreading, people resort to desperate measures in order to survive.When a visiting friar suggests that witchcraft is to blame for their failing crops, Irmeltrud sees it as an opportunity to get rid of her burdensome mother-in-law, G de. Frustrated with having to feed the old woman who brings nothing to the table, she is quick to point the dreaded finger of suspicion. G de has three days to clear her name, or be led to the stake . . .

Joy Randall is a girl with big expectations and an even bigger love for vampire romance novels. Unsuccessful so far in her quest to find her soulmate, Joy can t say no when her friend Roxy suggests a holiday to the Czech Republic. Tall, dark strangers? Tick. Craggy, romantic landscapes? Tick. Hoardes of centuries-old men who want to suck your blood? OK, that s just Roxy s over-active imagination. After all, vampires don t exist . . . do they? Plagued by dreams of a handsome stranger, haunted by a mysterious prophecy, and pursued by three pale, brooding, slightly sinister suitors, Joy isn t so sure now. Worried about her growing attraction to the enigmatic Raphael, she knows that one thing s for certain: Mr. Right should not equal Mr. Heading-Right-For-Your-Neck. But can she resist the lure of the Dark Ones? Is her attraction to Raphael just lust . . . or blood lust? And will she find a chosen life partner that is, well, alive? Nowadays, finding The One sure is a pain in the neck . . .

The shocking conclusion of Elizabeth George's previous bestseller, WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS, saw the wife of New Scotland Yard's Thomas Lynley gunned down in the street outside her home. Under arrest for the crime is a twelve-year-old boy, Joel Campbell. What possible motive could he have? What chain of events could have led such a child from the housing estates of North Kensington to the elegant streets of Belgravia with such deadly intent? The answer to these questions is a complex mixture of fate and circumstance. Abandoned (albeit involuntarily) by his parents, Joel and two siblings are dumped on the doorstep of his aunt's house. Kendra, childless and with two marriages behind her, is doing her best to turn her life around; responsibility for three troubled children is not what she had in mind. Drugs, neglect, violence and poverty are commonplace in North Kensington. Joel does his best to look out for his family, but that involves a Faustian pact. And the Devil will have his pay.

When the Metropolitan Police fail to realise a serial killer is at work, London ignites over the fact that the killer's victims are young black and mixed race boys. Institutionalised racism is claimed by the community's activists and tabloids alike. Acting Superintendent Thomas Lynley is given the case, and his Scotland Yard task force is soon handling more killings and a looming tragedy. Elizabeth George brings to the familiar subject of the serial killer a freshness and clarity of vision that provide illuminating insight into the psychological complexity of the tortured criminal mind. She does so within a richly textured, thrillingly suspenseful narrative that defies any reader to predict its outcome. Nor does she neglect our favourite characters, whose private lives provide an engrossing counterpoint to their professional duties.

Balford-le-Nez is a dying seaside town on the coast of Essex. But when a member of the town's small but growing Asian community is found dead near its beach, the sleepy town ignites. Working without her long-time partner, Detective Inspector Lynley, Sergeant Barbara Havers must probe not only the mind of a murderer and a case very close to her own heart, but also the terrible price people pay for deceiving others . . . and themselves.

When the body of Nicola Maiden, the daughter of a retired Scotland Yard undercover officer, is found near an unidentified body in the middle of a pre-historic stone circle in Derbyshire, Inspector Lynley is asked to lead the investigation into the deaths.Lynley must get to the bottom of the crime without the assistance of his long-time partner Sergeant Barbara Havers following her demotion as a result of an internal investigation. But Barbara Havers has plans of her own, and they involve the very case that Lynley is working on . . .

Twenty-eight-year old virtuoso violinist Gideon Davies has lost his memory of music and his ability to play the instrument he mastered as a five-year-old prodigy. One fateful night he lifted his violin to play in a Beethoven trio . . . and everything in his mind related to music was gone. Gideon suffers from a form of amnesia, the cure for which is an examination of what he can remember. And what he can remember is little enough until his mind is triggered by the weeping of a woman and a single name: Sonia.Then, one rainy evening, Gideon's mother Eugenie travels to London for a mysterious appointment. But before she is able to reach her destination, a car swoops out of nowhere and kills her in the street.In pursuing Eugenie's killer, Lynley and Havers come to know a group of people whose lives are inextricably connected by a long-ago death, a trial, and a prison sentence handed down as retribution for a crime no one has spoken of for twenty years.

The sudden death of Guy Brouard after his morning swim shocks the residents of Guernsey. Brouard has been a generous patron and benefactor of the island since his arrival there a decade ago, and his demise puts a question mark over many cherished projects.When a young American woman is charged with the murder, her brother seeks help from the only contact he has in the UK - Deborah St James. Deborah is horrified to find that her old friend has been arrested and persuades her husband Simon to accompany her to Guernsey to avert this miscarriage of justice.What they find on that beautiful island is a tangled web of deceit and betrayal, with its origins in wartime occupation. In solving the crime, they must rely on their long-standing friendship with Inspector Thomas Lynley; they must also learn painful lessons about loyalty and trust, and the loving tyranny of family ties.

When the body of England's leading batsman, Kenneth Fleming, is discovered in the burnt-out shell of a country cottage, it looks like a clear-cut case of arson. Further investigation reveals an almost embarrassing multitude of suspects for murder: from Fleming's lover to his son, nearly everyone in contact with Fleming seems to have a motive - and an opportunity. Inspector Lynley and his partner, Barbara Havers, are called in from Scotland Yard to help the local police force. They find a torment of twisted familial relationships and broken dreams - and as he brings the murderer to justice, Lynley must bear the weight of his own conscience.

When Deborah St James hears of the unexpected death of Reverend Sage, her sadness has a very personal tinge. For their paths had crossed some months earlier at a particularly vulnerable time for Deborah, and she had found herself confessing her intimate anguish to this sympathetic stranger. When she realizes that his death is far from accidental, Deborah, with her husband, Simon, enlists the help of Inspector Lynley, and the trio embarks upon an investigation that hinges upon the overriding - and ulimately destructive - power of parental love.

The quiet, confident atmosphere of Bredgar Chambers School is shattered by the discovery of the body of one of its pupils in a country churchyard. Who murdered the brilliant boy and why? How did his body get from the school to the distant churchyard? Why had he lied about his exeat destination? Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Barbara Havers, find their investigations hampered by the code of honour and loyalty that prevail in the old and distinguished public school. But they discover within the confines of that privileged community a culture of cruelty that stretches back across the generations.

Elena Weaver, in her skimpy dresses and bright jewellery, exuded intelligence and sexuality. A student at St Stephen's College, Cambridge, she lived a life of casual but intense physical and emotional relationships, with scores to settle and targets to achieve. Until someone, lying in wait on the bank of the River Cam, where Elena went running every morning, bludgeoned the young woman to death. Called into the rarefied world of academia, Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner Barbara Havers find a tangled skein of love, obsession and desire - a maelstrom of emotion that has claimed Elena Weaver's life.

Inspector Thomas Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton, feels some trepidation as he introduces his bride-to-be to his mother at the ancestral home of Howenstow in Cornwall. But Lynley's private concerns are soon forgotten as the brutal murder of a local journalist requires him to focus on the professional, rather than the personal. The investigation tears apart powerful ties of love and friendship, shattering the tranquillity of the picturesque Cornish community and exposing a long-buried family secret. Its consequences irrevocably alter the course of Thomas Lynley's life.

The fascinating story of science unfolds in this account of the lives and extraordinary discoveries of twelve of its greatest figures - Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Faraday, Darwin, Poincar , Freud, Einstein, Marie Curie and Crick and Watson. Exploring their impact and legacy with leading scientists of today including Stephen Jay Gould, Oliver Sacks, Lewis Wolpert, Susan Greenfield, Roger Penrose and Richard Dawkins, Melvyn Bragg illuminates the core issues of science past and present, and conveys the excitement and importance of the scientific quest.

For current dog owners or those thinking about getting a dog, this is the ultimate guidebook covering all of the essentials and answering all of the most commonly asked questions about living with and caring for a healthy, happy dog. Including how to: - select the right breed, and more importantly, the right energy for your own unique needs- introduce your new dog to your family, especially children, and other pets- set the rules of the house- learn to fulfill your dog's needs, not just your own- understand what your dog is trying to tell you through his or her behaviour- learn to manage a dog with 'issues'- find the right vetand much more! Filled with photographs, clear instructions, and resources for every dilemma, this book will give families everything they need to build a long and satisfying life with their new best friend.

'Unsentimental, truthful and wonderful' Independent Books of the Year When Sam Richardson returns in 1946 from the 'Forgotten War' in Burma to Wigton in Cumbria, he finds the town little changed. But the war has changed him, broadening his horizons as well as leaving him with traumatic memories. In addition, his six-year-old son now barely remembers him, and his wife has gained a sense of independence from her wartime jobs. As all three strive to adjust, the bonds of loyalty and love are stretched to breaking point in this taut, and profoundly moving novel.

Set in Britain during the 1950s, this moving and evocative novel follows the intertwined fates of people crossing boundaries in their lives. As a teenager in the small northern town of Wigton, Joe Richardson falls in love with Rachel, just when her life is about to be uprooted. While his parents, Sam and Ellen, face the frontiers of middle age, Joe finds himself drawn by the intoxicating world outside home, and swept into situations that seem beyond his control. Vividly conveying the spirit of the mid-century and the profound social changes taking place at the time, this is a masterly successor to the award-winning THE SOLDIER'S RETURN and A SON OF WAR.

Longlisted for the Booker Prize After the upheavals of the Second World War, the Richardson family - Sam, Ellen and their young son Joe - settle back to working-class life in the Cumbrian town of Wigton. Yet for them, as for so many, life will never be the same again. As the old order begins to be challenged and new vistas open, Sam and Ellen forge their future together with differing needs and desires - and conflicting expectations of Joe, who grows up with his own demons to confront.

Britain during the Dark Ages is the setting for the fascinating story of Bega, a young Irish princess who became a saint, and her lifelong bond with Padric, prince of the north-western kingdom of Rheged. This dramatic, far-reaching tale brings to life a land of warring kings, Christians and pagans, and tribes divided by language and culture, illuminating a little-known yet critical period in British history.

Douglas Tallentire has at last achieved what his father and grandfather before him fought for so bitterly. Educated and independent, he can carve out his own career and spread his wings. But success, freedom and happiness are more elusive than ever in the fiercely competitive Seventies. From Cumbria to the frenetic whirl of sophisticated life in New York and London, Douglas, like all the Tallentires, must come to terms with private uncertainty and pain.

Joseph Tallantire has hope and ambition - like his father before him he is determined to make something of himself and improve his lot. But life is not easy for an uneducated young man in Cumberland before and during World War II, and Joseph's struggle against the odds is the subject of this moving and evocative novel. Suffering hardship and humiliation but eventually achieving a position of some independence, Joseph serves as a tribute to the many like him who lived through one of Britain's periods of greatest social change.

Set in Cumbria and covering the period from 1898 to the early twenties, this is the powerful saga of John Tallentire, first farm labourer, then coal miner, and his wife Emily. John's struggle to break free from the humiliating status of a 'hired man' is the theme of a novel which has been hailed as a classic of its kind - as meticulously detailed as a social document, as evocative as the writings of Hardy and Lawrence.

One of the Sunday Times 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers Since 1945The first extraordinary psychological suspense thriller from internationally bestselling author Sophie Hannah. Not to be missed for readers of Clare Mackintosh and Paula Hawkins.'Terrifying' Scotsman'Ingenious' Sunday TimesIt's every mother's nightmare . . .She's only been gone two hours.Her husband David was meant to be looking after their two-week-old daughter. But when Alice Fancourt walks into the nursery, her terrifying ordeal begins, for Alice insists the baby in the cot is a stranger she's never seen before.With an increasingly hostile and menacing David swearing she must either be mad or lying, how can Alice make the police believe her before it's too late?

Now a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.Tucked away from the building sites of modern Shanghai are the beautiful mansions once owned by the smartest families in 1930s China. They have since been bought by rich businessmen and high-ranking members of the Communist Party. All except one. The owner is an old painter who holds a glittering party each night: swing jazz plays for his former neighbours, who dance, remember old times and forget for an evening the terrors that followed. But questions are being asked. How can he afford such a lifestyle? His paintings? Blackmail? A triad connection? Prostitution? Inspector Chen is asked to investigate discreetly what is going on behind the elegant fa ade. But, before he can get close to anyone, one of the girls is found murdered in the garden and another is terrified she will be next.Chen's quest for answers will take Chen to a strange businessman, triads, Chairman Mao himself and a terrible secret the Party will go to any length to conceal.

'Melvyn Bragg has added another formidable chapter to one of the most distinguished literary series of recent times' David Robson, Sunday Telegraph It was not love at first sight. It proved to be not much of a conversation...Nothing should have come of it. A passionate but ultimately tragic love affair starts when two students - one French, one English - meet at university at the beginning of the sixties. From its tentative early stages, the relationship develops into a life-changing one, whose profound impact continues to reverberate forty years later.

Cain killed Abel: the original murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. It's a mystery that's never been solved. Until now. In Florida, Cal Harper comes face-to-face with his family's greatest secret: his long-lost father, who's been shot with a gun that traces back to an unsolved murder in 1932. What could that murder have to do with the biblical one? Father and son are suddenly thrown into a bloodthirsty quest for an ancient weapon, and the answer to a secret that people are dying to find. But closing in on them is a man tattooed with the mark of Cain - the world's first killer. In his pocket he carries the means of causing a horrifying death. And in his heart an insatiable desire for what he believes is his birthright . . .