Books published by Hodder & Stoughton

Mike Pannett, once of the Metropolitan Police, is back in Yorkshire, policing one of the largest rural beats in England. Mike is called to investigate a series of burglaries, which are sending shock waves through the area. Remote farmhouses appear to be the targets, which stretches Mike's small team to the limits. Then, as winter sets in, two dogs are found running loose - Mike fears the owner has gone missing in the dreadful weather and is forced to call on a full-scale search. Throw in a night-time operation in an empty museum, and the harrowing business of taking three children into care against their mother's wishes, and it's quite a case-load for the author of Now Then, Lad, You're Coming With Me, Lad, Not On My Patch, Lad and Just the Job, Lad.For fans of Gervase Phinn and James Herriot.

After ten years with the Metropolitan Police, Mike Pannett has returned to his North Yorkshire roots. Working a rural beat in God's Own Country he finds that life and crime in the countryside continue to throw up fresh challenges. When a drug dealer targets the towns and villages of Ryedale, Mike launches an investigation that will uncover nationwide connections. News of a proposed ban on hunting with dogs raises hackles amongst his friends and contacts, threatening to put him in the firing line. And, as he starts working towards his sergeant's exams, there's trouble on the home front. The roof at Keeper's Cottage springs a leak during a thunderstorm - and they have to share their love-nest with the builder. But none of this matches the drama of the anti-hunt demo which threatens to stop a train bringing a local MP to town. With horseman racing alongside the steam engine, and a protester lying on the tracks, Mike has to call on all his resources to handle an inflammatory situation with the media looking on.For fans of Gervase Phinn and James Herriot.

This is Roger Lewis at his best: more cantankerous and curmudgeonly wit and musings about the pointlessness of life. Dark, witty and hilarious, Roger Lewis has a real way with words.

The Stag and Hen Weekend is the story of Phil and Helen, a couple in their thirties about to commit their lives to one another . . . that is of course if they can just manage to get through their respective stag and hen weekends (his: Amsterdam; hers: a country house and day spa in the Peak District) without falling apart. Told in the unique form of two separate stories that have common characters as well as themes and conclusion, The Stag and Hen Weekend can be read from front to back or from back to front putting the reader in the driver's seat as to which story they wish to read first. Feisty, fun and thought provoking.

'A corker ... A warm, witty read.' CloserJoe Clarke is about 78% sure he's just had an affair. Well, that is the beautiful office intern in bed next to him...But, if Joe really has just cheated, why can't he remember anything about it? Confused but mortified Joe vows to be a better husband and father. Until his wife Penny puts two and two together and leaves him.Devastated, Joe will do anything to win his family back. But when he realises that the key to saving his marriage lies in the hands of the mean-spirited ghost of his least favourite ex-girlfriend, Joe knows he's in real trouble. SEEING OTHER PEOPLE is a hilarious and bittersweet novel about love, parenthood and fidelity and how easy it is to get lost on the way to your own happy ending.From My Legendary Girlfriend to Turning Forty, Mike Gayle's bestselling novels have taken his millions of readers through many key times for the modern man - friendship, courtship, stag weekends, marriage, work, holidays, significant birthdays - but SEEING OTHER PEOPLE is perhaps his most heart-warming, heart-stopping, heartbreaking novel yet.

Havana in the 1850s is a city as dangerous as it is exotic. The murder of a humble night watchman at the British Consulate seems to worry neither the Consul nor the police.But one person cared for the old man. The enigmatic courtesan Leonarda will not rest until she understands the mystery of his death. In wintry England, George Backhouse is plucked from obscurity in the Foreign Office and given an unexpected promotion. His task: to travel to Cuba and take a stand against the illegal slave trade still flourishing there.But Havana is a tinderbox of intrigue. As the great powers of the region conspire against each other with increasing ruthlessness for control of the island, Backhouse comes to see that the most innocent of actions could spark a devastating war. To protect their interests, the powers-that-be in Whitehall are prepared to turn a blind eye to many things. Leonarda will not.But what of George Backhouse?

The eighth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Kidnapping is one of the cruellest crimes - lives are put at risk for cold, hard cash. But when Somali pirates seize the crew of a yacht off the coast of Africa, they bite off more than they can chew.One of the hostages has friends in high places and Spider Shepherd is put on the case. He goes deep undercover in an audacious plan to bring an end to the pirate gang's reign of terror.But as Shepherd closes in on his quarry he realises that there's much more at stake than the lives of the hostages and that the pirates are involved in a terrorist plot that will strike at the heart of London.

A dream house in Tuscany . . . and a dog named Todo.Todo had been waiting at Poggiolino since his mistress died over two years before. The house lay empty and neglected and yet he wouldn't leave. He seemed to know that someday the right people would come along and make it a home again.Louise and Lawrence weren't thinking of buying the very first house they looked at in Tuscany. In fact, their plans to move from London were barely formed . . . but there was something enchanting about the dog waiting at the gates. If they were honest, they wanted Todo - the scruffy dog with the huge grin - as much as they wanted the house. With Todo as their faithful companion they began to restore Poggiolino to life, unlocking her secrets and giving Todo, their beloved dog, a second chance.A heart-warming memoir of moving country, making a new life and coming home.

Quelle horreur! The venerable Auberge des Deux Vall es has fallen into the hands of an English couple and that spells the end of gastronomic civilisation for the small commune of Fogas in the French Pyrenees.The mayor is particularly incensed: he had intended his brother-in-law to take over. He determines to eject les rosbifs by any means possible, and before they have the chance to serve their first pastis, Paul and Lorna are up to their eyes in French bureaucracy.But the mayor hasn't reckoned on the locals. They have their own reasons for wanting l'Auberge to succeed and they take the young incomers to their hearts. If they pull together, can they outwit the mayor or will l'Auberge end up in the merde?

Number One New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown returns with another suspenseful thrillerDodge Hanley is a private investigator who doesn't let rules get it in his way That's why he's the first person Caroline King - who after a thirty-year separation continues to haunt his dreams - asks for help when a deranged stalker attempts to murder their daughter . . . the daughter Dodge has never met. He has a whole bagful of grudging excuses for wishing to ignore Caroline's call, and one compelling reason to drop everything: guilt. His daughter Berry has become the object of desire of a co-worker, a madman and genius with a penchant for puzzles and games who had spent the past year making Berry's life hell, and who now has vowed to kill her. The heart-pounding situation goes from bad to worse when the stalker begins to claim other victims and leaves an ominous trail of clues as he lethally works his way toward Berry. From the acclaimed international bestselling author Sandra Brown, Tough Customer, is a thrilling tale about obsession and murder, the fragile nature of relationships, and, possibly, second chances. Praise for Sandra Brown 'Suspense that has teeth' Stephen King 'Lust, jealousy, and murder suffuse Brown's crisp thriller' Publishers Weekly 'An edge-of-the-seat thriller that's full of twists . . . Top stuff!' Star

With bullets flying, wounded soldiers scream out in pain as the Chinook comes in to land in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan. At the machine's controls is one man and if he doesn't stay calm then everyone could die. That man is Flt Lt Alex 'Frenchie' Duncan DFC and he's been involved in some of the most daring and dangerous missions undertaken by the Chinook force in Afghanistan. In this book he recounts his experiences of life under fire in the dust, heat and bullets of an active war zone. At 99ft long, the Chinook is a big and valuable target to the Taliban, who will stop at nothing to bring one down. And yet Frenchie and his crew risk everything because they know that the troops on the front line are relying on them. Sweating the Metal is the true story of the raw determination and courage of men on the front line - and it's time for their story to be told.

On 14th April 1912 the Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank. Fifteen hundred passengers and crew lost their lives. As the order to abandon ship was given, the orchestra took their instruments on deck and continued to play. They were still playing when the ship went down. The violinist, 21 year-old Jock Hume, knew that his fianc e, Mary, was expecting their first child, the author's mother. One hundred years later, Christopher Ward reveals a dramatic story of love, loss and betrayal, and the catastrophic impact of Jock's death on two very different Scottish families. He paints a vivid portrait of an age in which class determined the way you lived - and died. An outstanding piece of historical detective work, AND THE BAND PLAYED ON is also a moving account of how the author's quest to learn more about his grandfather revealed the shocking truth about a family he thought he knew, a truth that had been hidden for nearly a hundred years.

It's Friday in the Leeke household, but this is no ordinary Friday: the Leekes are Lancastrian Mormons and tonight they will be welcoming back their son Gary from his two-year mission in Utah. His mother, Pauline, wants his homecoming to be perfect. Unfortunately, no one else seems to be following the script. In turn, the members of the family let us into their private thoughts and plans. There's teenage Jeannie, wrestling with a disastrous secret; her peculiar elder brother, Julian, who's plotting an exit according to his own warped logic; their father, Martin, dreaming of escape; and 'golden boy' Gary, who dreads his return. Then there's Pauline, who needs a doctor's help but won't ask for it. As the day progresses, a meltdown looms. Except that nothing goes according to anyone's plan, and the outcome is as unexpected as it is shocking. Laced with black humour and giving an unusual insight into the Mormon way of life, this is a superbly orchestrated and arresting tale of human folly and foibles and what counts in times of crisis.

An unsettling, darkly humorous tale of teenage girls in a predatory adult world, and a cocktail of lies, jealousy and unworldliness that leads to tragedy.

In Rachel Knight, author and OJ Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark has created a feisty heroine with class and style - a terrific character for a heart-thumping thriller series set in LA.'A terrific writer and storyteller' James PattersonWhen Deputy District Attorney Rachel Knight's journey home is interrupted by screaming sirens, she decides to follow them.But what she finds when she arrives at a sleazy LA motel shatters her world: her trusted colleague Jake lies dead beside the body of a teenage male prostitute.The police say murder/suicide. Rachel's gut says different.Her search for proof will take her through the dark and tangled city, from its wealthy suburbs to its violent heart.And a truth so dangerous it could kill her.Rachel Knight returns in the novels GUILT BY DEGREES, KILLER AMBITION and THE COMPETITION and the short stories If I'm Dead and Trouble In Paradise for more L.A. crime and court action!

Afflicted by classic paranoia, the self-styled Master and God sees enemies everywhere. As he vents his suspicions, no one is safe. A reluctant hero, Gaius Vinius Clodianus is hand-picked for high rank in the Praetorian Guard a brave man striving for decency in a world of corruption and deceit. Flavia Lucilla, tending the privileged women at court, hears the intimate secrets of a ruler who plays with the lives of his subjects as if he were indeed a careless god. In the dark shadow of Domitian's reign, Clodianus and Lucilla play out their own complex tale of resilience, friendship and love. Unwilling witnesses to Domitian's descent into insanity, these ordinary people must choose between their sworn duty to protect the Emperor and an act of courage that will change the future of Rome.

The Mighty Shandar, the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen, returns to the Ununited Kingdoms. Clearly, he didn't solve the Dragon Problem, and must return his fee: eighteen dray-weights of gold. But the Mighty Shandar doesn't do refunds, and vows to eliminate the dragons - unless sixteen-year-old Jennifer Strange and her sidekicks from the Kazam house of enchantment can bring him the legendary jewel, The Eye of Zoltar.The only thing that stands in their way is a perilous journey with a 50% Fatality Index - through the Cambrian Empire to the Leviathan Graveyard, at the top of the deadly Cadair Idris mountain. And it's a quest that sees Jennifer fighting not just for her life, but for everything she knows and loves . . .

In the course of his work as a vicar, Dave Tomlinson meets lots of people who describe themselves as 'not good enough' to be a Christian, thinking that faith involves going to church a lot, or believing in a list of strange things, or following certain rules. But being a Christian isn't about any of that - and actually, following Jesus is a lot easier, and more fun, than most people think...In this handbook to Christianity for people who describe themselves as spiritual but not necessarily religious, Dave sketches out some key practices for how to be a 'bad' Christian, including how to talk to God without worrying about prayer, how to read the Bible without turning off your brain, and how to think with your soul rather than trying to follow rules. With beautiful illustrations from artist Rob Pepper, this is an accessible, light-hearted book, but one with a powerful invitation: to be the person you've always wanted to be, following a God you've always hoped is on your side.

The stunning new standalone novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver. It's been five years since Mia and Brynn murdered Summer Marks, their best friend, in the woods. Increasingly obsessed with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn and by their fan-fiction imagining of its sequel, the girls were drawn by an undertow of fantasy into the magical world they'd created. But eventually, their delusions turned sick, and the Shadow, Lovelorn's central evil, began to haunt them. Or so the story goes. The only thing is: they didn't do it. Brynn and Mia have both found different ways to hide from their notoriety, seeking refuge from a world that hates them - a world that will never feel magical, or safe, ever again. On the anniversary of Summer's death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as past and present, fiction and reality, begin again to intertwine, Brynn and Mia must confront painful truths they tried for so long to bury - and face the long shadow of memory that has, all this time, been waiting. In this engrossing, twisty novel, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver weaves an unforgettable, mesmerizing tale of exquisite obsession, spoiled innocence, and impossible friendships.

A page-turning international bestseller on a split-second decision that changes everything.

100 delicious, meat-free dinners you'll love to cook, in just one pan!

A laugh-out-loud, poignant and uplifting ode to the simple pleasure and small joys in life. Perfect for fans of Gail Honeyman, Rosanna Ley and Ruth Hogan.

The first book to address the issue of family estrangement, based on intensive research, in-depth interviews and survey data, by internationally recognised family sociologist Dr Karl Pillemer.

A reissue of Sjon's masterful, award-winning novel

From the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi comes the third instalment in a series set an elite boarding school that's a contemporary spin on fairy tales, this one a thrilling and swoon-worthy twist on Sleeping Beauty.

Sicily's newest amateur sleuth is back in her third adventure

Veteran reporter William Carver returns in this brilliant thriller set against the backdrop of the Arab Spring, from the author of the highly-acclaimed A Dying Breed

The New Testament tells us very little about Lydia, a seller of purple cloth who was living in Philippi when she met the apostle Paul on his second missionary journey. And yet she is considered the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe. In her second work of fiction, Biblical scholar and popular author and speaker Paula Gooder tells Lydia's story - who she was, the life she lived and her first-century faith - and in doing so opens up Paul's letter to the Philippians, giving a sense of the cultural and historical pressures that shaped Paul's thinking, and the faith of the early church.Written in the gripping style of Gerd Theissen's The Shadow of the Galilean, and similarly rigorously researched, this is a book for everyone and anyone who wants to engage more deeply and imaginatively with Paul's theology - from one of the UK's foremost New Testament scholars.

The stunning new novel from the talented author of Alice and the Fly.