Books published by Hodder & Stoughton

'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The Fire Court, this is the seventh instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesLove and need make unexpected bedfellows, and both are blind. As the grip of a long hard winter tightens on Lydmouth, a dead woman calls the dying in a seance behind net curtains. Two provincial newspapers are in the throes of a bitter circulation war. A lorry-driver broods, and an office boy loses his heart. Britain is basking in the warm glow of post-war tranquillity, but in the quiet town of Lydmouth, darker forces are at play. The rats are fed on bread and milk, a gentleman's yellow kid glove is mislaid on a train, and something disgusting is happening at Mr Prout's toyshop.Returning to a town shrouded in intrigue and suspicion, Jill Francis becomes acting editor of the Gazette. Meanwhile, there's no pleasure left in the life of Detective Chief Inspector Richard Thornhill. Only a corpse, a television set and the promise of trouble to come.'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time Out

'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The Fire Court, this is the sixth instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesWhen the body of Rufus Moorcroft, a middle-aged widower with a distinguished war record, is found in his summerhouse, the verdict is suicide. But both reporter Jill Francis and her lover, Detective Richard Thornhill, approaching the case from different angles, discover there's more to it than that. The key to the mystery stretches back to a highly-charged summer before the war, and back to another death. A local asylum plays a part, as do a moderately famous artist and his wife; Superintendent Williamson, now retired and loathing it; Councillor Bernie Broadbent - a man with more pies than fingers to put in them; a Cambridge don; an aristocratic unmarried mother, now gleefully drawing her old-age pension; and - to Thornhill's surprise and growing horror - his own wife, Edith.'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time Out

'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The Fire Court, this is the fifth instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesWhen Mattie Harris's body is found drowned in the river, everyone in Lydmouth knows something is wrong. Mattie wasn't a swimmer - it can't have been a simple accident. She was drunk on the last night of her life - could she have fallen in? Or was she pushed? Mattie was a waitress, of no importance at all, so when Lydmouth's most prominent citizens become very anxious to establish that her death was accidental, Jill Francis's suspicions become roused. In the meantime she is becoming ever closer to Inspector Richard Thornhill, and discovering that the living have as many secrets as the dead...'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time Out

'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The Fire Court, this is the fourth instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesThe Korean war rumbles in the background throughout this novel as a reporter is found murdered at the Bathurst Arms, squatters are evicted from a military camp and there are new developments in the three-year-old hunt for a missing teenager. And in spite of all that's going on, Jill Francis, a local journalist, and DI Richard Thornhill find they can no longer resist their feelings for each other.'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time Out

'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The Fire Court, this is the third instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesAfter the coldest night of the year, they find the man's body. He is dangling from the Hanging Tree on the outskirts of a village near Lydmouth, with his trousers round his ankles. Is it suicide, murder, or accidental death resulting from some bizarre sexual practice?Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill become involved in the case in separate ways. Jill is also drawn unwillingly into the affairs of the small public school where the dead man taught. Meanwhile a Peeping Tom is preying upon Lydmouth; Jill has just moved into her own house and is afraid she is being watched. And there are more distractions, on a personal level, for policeman and reporter . . .'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time Out

'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The Fire Court, this is the second instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesWhen a spinster of the parish is found bludgeoned to death in St John's, and the church's most valuable possession, the Lydmouth chalice, is missing, the finger of suspicion points at the new vicar, who is already beset with problems.The glare of the police investigation reveals shabby secrets and private griefs. Jill Francis, struggling to find her feet in her new life, stumbles into the case at the beginning. But even a journalist cannot always watch from the sidelines. Soon she is inextricably involved in the Suttons' affairs. Despite the electric antagonism between her and Inspector Richard Thornhill, she has instincts that she can't ignore . . .'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time Out

The phenomenal bestseller A Street Cat Named Bob, featuring best friends James and street cat Bob, now available as a special edition for children aged 11 and above.'We are all given second chances every day of our lives, but we don't usually take them. Then I met Bob.'James Bowen was a homeless musician, busking on the streets of London to survive. But the moment he met an injured stray cat with ginger fur and big green eyes, his life began to change. Together James and Bob the cat faced the world - and won. A purrfectly true 'tail' of love and friendship to make you smile!Please note contains some drug references.

Michael Stone was once a famous author. That was before he went to prison. Now, recently released, Michael needs a new beginning. Weighed down by failure and despair, the town of Silverbridge seems too offer him a quiet, rural escape from the past. Kind, gentle vicar John Wentworth takes Michael under his wing, and introduces him to his family and friends. At the vicarage, John's inexplicably discontented wife Daphne brings up their daughters. Bedridden Harriet, John's former nanny, deals impatiently with a world to which she cannot actively participate. At the family home, Belmaray, Aunt Maria is burdened by the worry of a failing estate. And at the grim little town school is fiery teacher Mary O'Hara, determined to foster change. A story of courage and community, set in the beautiful Devonshire countryside.

Essential reading for fans of E.M. Forster, Elizabeth Jane Howard and Mary Stewart.The third in the classic family saga about the Eliots of Damerosehay.Despite the success and acclaim he has found as an actor, David Eliot struggles with the demands of his career. His brittle conversation and seeming arrogance earn him the dislike of his new secretary, Sebastian Weber.But when Sebastian visits David's family home, he discovers a different side to his employer. As Damerosehay and its inhabitants weave their magic, Sebastian slowly begins to lay his own demons to rest.What readers are saying about THE ELIOT CHRONICLES'Goudge has produced a truly enchanting world with Damerosehay at its heart. Perfect' - 5 STARS'A delightful 'feel-good' family saga' - 5 STARS'A beautifully-written trilogy' - 5 STARS'Joyful, affirming and uplifting' - 5 STARS'A complete antidote to murder and mayhem!' - 5 STARS

In THE LOST CONTINENT BBC Europe Editor Gavin Hewitt tells the story of a flawed dream, a noble vision that turned dangerous, and which led Europe into its gravest crisis since World War Two - a crisis for which it was totally unprepared.A pillar of the post-war European dream was a shared currency, and with it came easy money, seducing some countries into a wild spending binge. After the financial crash in the United States, Europe caught the cold and was left with a debt crisis that came to threaten the entire European project. THE LOST CONTINENT is rich in anecdote, weaving together the stories of ordinary people with the high politics and drama of Europe in crisis to give an unparalleled and vivid portrait of a massive shift in modern history. It includes interviews with top officials and insiders, and dramatic accounts of key meetings. Gavin Hewitt's THE LOST CONTINENT is a clear-eyed book by a distinguished and well-connected journalist which tells the astonishing story of how we got here and where we might be headed.

One by one he'll stalk them, then he'll squeeze the trigger, savouring the way each lifeless body crumples to the reddening snow. One down already. And then there were five...Sheriff Dan Grayson lies near death and the police department of Grizzly Falls, Montana, is in shock. Then a prominent judge's body is found.Detectives Regan Pescoli and Selena Alvarez head up the search for the killer, but they don't realize how personal and dangerous the case is going to be. Headstrong and eager for justice, Pescoli tracks the scant clues straight to a monster who has had her and Alvarez in his sights all along...

Sticks and stones break bones. Words kill.They recruited Emily from the streets. They said it was because she's good with words. They'll live to regret it.Wil survived something he shouldn't have. But he doesn't remember it.Now they're after him and he doesn't know why.There's a word, they say. It shouldn't have got out. But it did.And they want it back...Find out why in one of the most mind-bending, page-turning, thrilling novels you'll ever read.*Winner of the Aurealis Award for science fiction and GoodReads Choice Awards finalist for best science fiction*

When tragedy strikes the small mountain village of Fogas in the French Pyrenees, the residents must once more rally round to protect their precious way of life - and this time the stakes are higher than ever. A struggle for the town hall sees political ambition rise to ever more dangerous - even life-threatening - levels, crucial relationships are tested and a deadly plot for revenge and retribution has terrible consequences . . . But among the grief and drama come love, laughs and new beginnings. And in good times and bad, the value our villagers place on community and friendship has never been greater.

Halima Bashir was born into the remote western deserts of Sudan. She grew up in a wonderfully rich environment and later went on to study medicine. At the age of twenty-four she returned to her tribe and began practising as their first ever qualified doctor. But then a dark cloud descended upon her people... Janjaweed Arab militias began savagely assaulting her people. At first, Halima tried not to get involved. But in January 2004 they attacked people in her village. Halima treated the traumatised victims and was sickened by what she saw. She decided to speak out in a Sudanese newspaper and to the UN charities. Then the secret police came for her. For days Halima was interrogated and subjected to unspeakable torture. She finally escaped but the nightmare just seemed to follow her... This inspiring story tells of one woman's determination to survive and her passion to defend her people. For the first time, we can truly understand the personal horrors of Darfur from someone who lived through it.

The tiniest things - a coin, a pendant, a photograph, a lie - can make or ruin lives. It is 1939. Deep in the working-class Melbourne suburb of Richmond Kip Westaway, failed scholar and stablehand, is about to live through the most important day in his young life as Australia hovers unknowingly on the brink of war. What happens that day is the catalyst for momentous events strung across eight more moments in time; love and deception, near-misses and misunderstandings, all centred around the terrible thing that happens to a young girl and the repercussions it will have on the lives of her family, even those not yet born.. Toni Jordan's NINE DAYS is a beautiful, heartbreaking novel, a masterful piece of writing filled to bursting with warm, funny, spiky, lovable characters. It is the story of a tragedy, and the ripples that spread outwards from it through the generations, for better or worse. It is a book you will want to pass on, if you can bear to let it go.

Saul David's 100 DAYS TO VICTORY is a totally original, utterly engaging account of the Great War - the first book to tell the story of the 'war to end all wars' through the events of one hundred key days between 1914 and 1918.100 DAYS TO VICTORY is a 360 degree portrait of a global conflict that stretched east from the shores of Britain to the marshes of Iraq, and south from the forests of Russia to the bush of German South East Africa. Throughout his gripping narrative we hear the voices of men and women both eminent and ordinary, some who were spectators on the Home Front, others - including Saul David's own family - who were deeply embroiled in epic battles that changed the world forever. 100 DAYS TO VICTORY is the work of a great historian and supreme story teller. Most importantly, it is also an enthralling tribute to a generation whose sacrifice should never be forgotten.

Annie is obese, lonely and hopeful. Armed with self-help books, her cat and a collection of cow-shaped milk jugs, she moves into her new home and sets about getting to know the neighbours, especially the man next door. She ignores her neighbour's inconvenient girlfriend, but it's not quite as easy for Annie to dismiss her own past. As Annie's murky history of violence, secrets and sexual mishaps catches up with her, she cannot see that she has done anything wrong. She's just doing what any good neighbour would do, after all...

'There's more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor's work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics' Ursula K. LeGuin Prequel to the highly acclaimed, World Fantasy Award-winning novel, Who Fears Death. *** ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD FINALIST***They call her many things - a research project, a test-subject, a specimen. An abomination. But she calls herself Phoenix, an 'accelerated woman' - a genetic experiment grown and raised in Manhattan's famous Tower 7, the only home she has ever known. Although she's only two years old, Phoenix has the body and mind of an adult - and powers beyond imagining. Phoenix is an innocent, happy to live quietly in Tower 7, reading voraciously and basking in the love of Saeed, another biologically altered human.Until the night that Saeed witnesses something so terrible that he takes his own life. Devastated, Phoenix begins to search for answers - only to discover that everything that she has ever known is a lie. Tower 7 isn't a haven. It's a prison.And it's time for Phoenix to spread her wings and rise. Spanning continents and centuries, The Book of Phoenix is an epic, incendiary work of magical realism featuring Nnedi Okorafor's most incredible, unforgettable heroine yet.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.In three more classic tales, the Saint continues to push his luck in his own inimitable style. The Story of a Dead Man sees the Saint in a more mundane line of work - running an office and writing letters to the editor - until Inspector Teal comes to investigate the mysterious Mr Vanney and the Saint's real intentions come to light. In The Impossible Crime, a bored Saint tackles a most unlikely mystery: a man who has somehow been shot in a locked room. And in The National Debt Simon Templar stumbles across a remote Welsh inn where a series of strange things is happening . . . another job for the Saint!

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.Simon Templar finds himself on the side of the righteous for once when he agrees to work with the police. They're after the gang known as the Angels of Doom, who specialise in abetting convicted criminals escape. But Templar finds a kindred spirit in Jill Trelawney, the mastermind behind the gang, and Scotland Yard soon learn that you can't hire a Saint and hope to have things all your own way...

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. These three stories find the Saint flushing out swindlers in inimitable style. In The Logical Adventure Templar is on the tail of a famous aviator who has a sideline in drug smuggling and human trafficking. In The Wonderful War the Saint travels to the Central American republic of Pasala to avenge the murder of an oil inspector, which involves instigating revolution. Finally, in The Man Who Could Not Die, the Saint encounters adrenaline junkie Miles Hallin. Hallin claims to be able to cheat death but when one of Templar's friends is killed, the Saint decides to put that to the test.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. After a fruitless chase across Europe on the tail of his enemy Rayt Marius, the Saint returns to London with a price on his head. But adventure is never far from Simon Templar's door, and soon he finds himself rescuing Sonia Delmar, a munitions heiress, from Marius's clutches. Sonia allies with the Saint - in a bid to prevent Marius and his ally Prince Rudolf bringing war and destruction to Europe.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. In these three early adventures, the Saint's reputation starts to rise, as he tackles thieves, smugglers and killers. In The Man Who Was Clever he outwits Edgar Hayn, a drug smuggler who thinks he's smarter than everyone. In The Policeman with Wings he stays one step ahead of Inspector Teal in the hunt for diamonds on Dartmoor and in The Lawless Lady one of the Saint's gang helps him deal with sea-faring swindlers, only to fall in love.

Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time. When the Saint and Patricia Holm stumble upon a government test of a weapon of mass destruction, they realise they've seen something that must be kept away from the wrong hands. But the Saint's nemesis Rayt Marius is already nearby... There is only one way to stop Marius from using the weapon to start a war - kidnapping the scientist who built it. The plot comes to a climax on the banks of the River Thames, and not everyone will survive.

'Splendidly creepy, with plenty of paranoia' Guardian'A writer who can leave you breathless with anticipation...A superb book, from start to finish' Alex Marwood'This is one super-disturbing psychological thriller' Woman & HomeEveryone keeps telling me I have to move on. And so here I am, walking down the road where he died, trying to remember him the right way. She thought losing him was the worst thing that could happen. She was wrong. They tell her not to worry. Her sister, the police. They say it's only natural, when someone close to you dies, to see him everywhere, sense him still nearby.But they don't know Zach like she does. How much he loved her. How he liked things just his way. How far he would go to get revenge...

A gripping psychological thriller for fans of Clare Mackintosh and Shari LaPena, from the bestselling author of Lie With Me.'You'll be glued to every page' Closer It's true what they say: one moment can change your life completely. I found a woman's body on the common. I touched her; that was all.But now the police won't leave me alone. Because all the evidence is leading to me. And I don't know who I can trust... Gaby Mortimer thought she had a perfect life: a high-powered job, loving husband, beautiful daughter. But then early one morning she discovers the body of a murdered woman - a woman who looks like her, and seems to be wearing her clothes... 'Will keep you gripped and guessing till the very end.' Grazia

Reaching from late 19th-century Cumbria to the present, this elegiac novel celebrates two spirited women: Grace, a farm labourer's daughter who fatefully followed her heart, and Mary, the child she was forced to give up. Unsung heroines according to Mary's son who, as his elderly mother's mind begins to fail, lovingly recreates their lives and the vanished country of their pasts, linking three generations in a chain of enduring love, loss and courage.

Local squire Robert Haslewood is gripped by the prospect of war. Following his boyhood hero, he leaves his family and travels away from their Oxfordshire village to fight for the Parliamentarian cause. Wise Froniga, Robert's cousin, is caught between two worlds. Divided between her Puritan family at the manor house and her relatives in the Romany community, she works to heal those in need. Left behind with her brother, Robert's daughter Jenny grows up under the shadow of conflict. When she encounters mysterious royalist Francis Leyland, she must choose between family loyalty and her own heart. As their lives entwine, the villagers struggle to stay true to their beliefs as war threatens to tear their community apart.

We've all had them, those pointless arguments that are seemingly impossible to solve. We've been round in circles trying to work out what came first, the chicken or the egg? Don't get us started on the debate of what we are all here for? And you're bound to have had sleepless nights pondering which ingredient you simply can't do without in a full English Breakfast - sausage or bacon. Well worry no more, here to help you solve some of life's biggest - and most pointless - conundrums are Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman.So, does God exist? and what is the most pointless sport - ballet or darts? With a witty and intelligent collection of stand-up pieces, quizzes, cryptic brainteasers and pointless facts, Alexander Armstrong and his pointless friend Richard Osman will put the world to rights and finally answer the 100 Most Pointless Arguments in the World....Ever.

**Explore the fascinating history of the real Downton Abbey as the Crawley family saga makes its way on to the big screen with Downton Abbey, the major motion picture**'An excellent depiction of English aristocratic life ... a compelling portrait' Publisher's Weekly* * * * * *The follow-up to the international bestseller Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey, this book moves the story into the 1920s, and focuses on the remarkable American heiress who came to reign at Highclere Castle.Sometimes the facts are even more extraordinary than the fiction ... This book tells the story of Lady Catherine, a beautiful American girl who became the chatelaine of Highclere Castle, the setting for Julian Fellowes' award-winning drama Downton Abbey. Charming and charismatic, Catherine caught the eye of Lord Porchester (or 'Porchey', as he was known) when she was just 20 years old, and wearing a pale yellow dress at a ball. She had already turned down 14 proposals before she eventually married Porchey in 1922. But less than a year later Porchey's father died suddenly, and he became the 6th Earl of Carnarvon, inheriting a title and a Castle that changed both their lives forever. Catherine found herself suddenly in charge of a small army of household staff, and hosting lavish banquets and weekend house parties. Although the couple were very much in love, considerable challenges lay ahead for Catherine. They were immediately faced with the task of saving Highclere when debts threatened to destroy the estate. As the 1920s moved to a close, Catherine's adored brother died and she began to lose her husband to the distractions London had to offer. When the Second World War broke out, life at the Castle would never be the same again. Drawing on rich material from the private archives at Highclere, including beautiful period photographs, the current Countess of Carnarvon transports us back to the thrilling and alluring world of the 'real Downton Abbey' and its inhabitants.