Books published by Hodder & Stoughton

Casting on . . . It starts almost by accident: the women who buy their knitting needles and wool from Georgia's store linger for advice, for a coffee, for a chat and before they know it, every Friday night is knitting night. Finding a pattern . . . And as the needles clack, and the garments grow, the conversation moves on from patterns and yarn to life, love and everything. These women are of different ages, from different backgrounds and facing different problems, but they are drawn together by threads of affection that prove as durable as the sweaters they knit. The Friday Night Knitting Club - don't you want to join?

David Nicholls' highly-anticipated new novel, SWEET SORROW, is out now. STARTER FOR TEN is a comedy about love, class, growing-up and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom.It's 1985 and Brian Jackson has arrived at university with a burning ambition - to make it onto TV's foremost general knowledge quiz. But no sooner has he embarked on 'The Challenge' than he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with his teammate, the beautiful and charismatic would-be actress, Alice Harbinson.When Alice fails to fall for his slightly over-eager charms, Brian comes up with a foolproof plan to capture her heart once and for all. He's going to win the game, at any cost, because - after all - everyone knows that what a woman really wants from a man is a comprehensive grasp of general knowledge . . .STARTER FOR TEN is a comedy about love, class, growing-up and the all-important difference between knowledge and wisdom. Are you up to the challenge of the funniest novel in years?

A chilling thriller featuring Detective Charlie Parker from bestselling author John Connolly. Not to be missed for fans of Stephen King and Michael Connelly.When Charlie Parker was still a boy, his father, a NYPD cop, killed a young couple, a boy and a girl barely older than his son, then took his own life. There was no explanation for his actions.Stripped of his private investigator's license, and watched by the police, Parker is working in a Portland bar, holding down a job and staying out of trouble. But in the background, he is working on his most personal case yet, an investigation into his own origins and the circumstances surrounding the death of his father, Will.It is an investigation that will reveal a life haunted by lies, by his mother's loss and his father's betrayal, by secrets kept and loyalties compromised.And by two figures in the shadows, a man and a woman, with only one purpose: to bring an end to Charlie Parker's existence . . .

FBI agent Smoky Barrett is no stranger to the darker recesses of the human mind. But nothing could have prepared her for the day she had to watch her husband and daughter die at the hands of a serial killer. She bears the scars, mental and physical. Most people would run - from work, from life, from everything associated with the pain of a shattered existence. But Smoky doesn't know how to run - and when the job that has defined her life comes calling once again with the news that her best friend from high school has been brutally murdered, she finds herself back in the firing line, chasing a hidden killer who will stop at nothing to confront her. Face to face.

Why did he leave her alive?They find the girl in the master bedroom, the bodies of the family around her. She's holding a gun to her head. And she will only talk to Smoky Barrett.Smoky is just starting to pick up the pieces of her own life. She knows what it's like to lose everyone you love. But her tragedy is nothing compared with this case. Because this isn't the first time it's happened. Sixteen-year-old Sarah Kingsley has lost her family before. Not once, but twice.Someone out there wants her to stare death in the face - again and again . . .

Welcome to Bascom,North Carolina, where it seems that everyone has a story to tell about the Waverley women. The house that's been in the family for generations, the walled garden that mysteriously blooms year round, the rumours of dangerous loves and tragic passions. Every Waverley woman is somehow touched by magic. Claire has always clung to the Waverleys' roots, tending the enchanted soil in the family garden from which she makes her sought-after delicacies - famed and feared for their curious effects. She has everything she thinks she needs - until one day she waked to find a stranger has moved in next door and a vine of ivy has crept into her garden . . . Claire's carefully tended life is about to run gloriously out of control.

It is 1936 and Lord Peter Wimsey has returned from his honeymoon to set up home with his cherished new wife, the novelist Harriet Vane. As they become part of fashionable London society they encounter the glamorous socialite Rosamund Harwell and her wealthy impressario husband Laurence. Unlike the Wimseys, they are not in love - and all too soon, one of them is dead. A murder case that only Lord Peter Wimsey can solve.

In A Presumption of Death, Jill Paton Walsh tells how World War II changed the lives of Peter, Harriet and their growing family.The story opens in 1940. Harriet Vane - now Lady Peter Wimsey - has taken her children to safety in the country. But the war has followed them: glamorous RAF pilots and even more glamorous land-girls scandalise the villagers; the blackout makes the night-time lanes as sinister as the back alleys of London. Then the village's first air raid practise ends with a very real body on the ground - not a war casualty but a case of plain, old-fashioned murder. And even before the second body is found, Lord Peter Wimsey and his brilliant wife are on their way to finding the killer.

If you ve ever wondered what effect video games have on your children s minds or worried about how much private information the government and big companies know about you, ID is essential reading.Professor Susan Greenfield argues persuasively that our individuality is under the microscope as never before; now more then ever we urgently need to look at what we want for ourselves as individuals and for our future society.ID is an exploration of what it means to be human in a world of rapid change, a passionately argued wake-up call and an inspiring challenge to embrace creativity and forge our own identities.

Imagine a serial killer who has already struck a horrific number of times. A killer who discovers people's secrets -- the deepest, darkest secrets we keep even from ourselves -- and uses them to target and destroy his victims. The case begins with a shock, and the twists keep coming, when FBI Special Agent Smoky Barrett and her team investigate a murder brazenly committed on a flight from Texas to Virginia. Who will the next victim be? Everyone in the world has secrets. Even Smoky.

Twenty-seven-year-old Josey is sure of three things: winter in her North Carolina hometown is her favorite season; she's a sorry excuse for a Southern belle; and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her hidden closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother's house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night ...Until she finds her closet harboring none other than local waitress Della Lee Baker, a tough-talking, tender-hearted woman who is one part nemesis - and two parts fairy godmother ...

'The paciest and most entertaining history book to come my way' Ian McIntyre, The Times'Riveting and beautifully illustrated' The Lady'Engrossing . . . far more than a sartorial survey' The Oldie* * * * * * A vivid history of ordinary women and their extraordinary deeds through two world wars and beyond, by From Our Own Correspondent presenter Kate Adie.Uniform is universally seen as both a stamp of authority and of official acceptance. But the sight of a woman in military uniform still provokes controversy. Although more women are now taking prominent roles in combat, the status implied by uniform is often regarded as contrary to the general perception of womanhood. In association with the Imperial War Museum, this is the first book to look at the image of uniformed women, both in conflict and in civilian roles throughout the twentieth century. Kate Adie examines the extraordinary range of jobs that uniformed women have performed, from nursing to the armed services. Through contemporary correspondence and many personal stories she brings the enormous and often unsung achievements of women in uniform vividly to life, and looks at how far women have come in a century which, for them, began restricted in corsets and has ended on the battlefield in camouflage.

'Witty, compelling and never mawkish' Observer'Written with a sure touch . . . Adie has a natural understanding of what it is like to be unsure of your origins' Sunday Telegraph'A cracker of a subject . . . (Adie) writes with an engaging, forthright immediacy' New Statesman* * * * * *Bestselling author and BBC reporter Kate Adie writes vividly, inspiringly and from many fascinating perspectives about what it means to be an abandoned child.What's your name? Where were you born? What is your date of birth? Simple questions that we are asked throughout our life - but what if you didn't know the answers? Journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent Kate Adie uncovers the extraordinary, moving and inspiring stories of just such children - without mother or father, any knowledge of who they might be, or even a name to call their own.With a curiosity inspired by her own circumstances as an adopted child, Kate shows how the most remarkable adults have survived the experience of abandonment.From every perspective Kate Adie brings us a personal, moving and fascinating insight into the very toughest of childhood experiences - and shows what makes us who we really are.

'Reported with skill and personal insight' The TimesBestselling author and the most famous woman in a flak jacket Kate Adie sets out on a fascinating journey to discover just who is attracted to living dangerously - and why.Ever since her days as a reporter on the front line in Iraq and the Iranian Embassy siege in London, Kate Adie has earned her reputation as one of the most intrepid women of her day. Throughout her career she has regularly reported from the world's most dangerous war zones - often placing her own life at serious risk. It has given her a curiosity about the people who are attracted to danger. Why when so many are fearful of anything beyond their daily routine, are others drawn towards situations, or professions which put them in regular peril of their lives? It has proved a fascinating quest that has taken her to the four corners of the globe in pursuit of an answer. She has met those who choose a career in danger, like stuntpeople, landmine exploders, and even a 'snake man' who - aged 96 - has been bitten countless times by poisonous snakes to find venom for vaccines. She has questioned those whose actions put them in danger, like Sir Richard Leakey whose determination to speak out in Kenya nearly cost him his life, as well as criminals and prostitutes who risk all for money. And of course there are those who - through no choice of their own - have been put in danger, such as Saddam Hussein's food taster - not his career of choice. With Kate's insight, wit, and gift for illumination, this is a compelling read.

From the very first day that they move to the Oddlode Valley, Mo, Diana and Anke find themselves on a relocation collision course. As inept removal men deliver furniture - and even horses - to the wrong houses, other moves are being made.Mo's bad boy lover takes Diana's eye, Anke's flirtatious husband suggests Mo hop into bed with him - and Diana's local heart-throb brother comes joyfully face to face with his teenage crush.As a long, hot Indian summer burns its embers into winter, new passions ignite and old flames are fanned. The heat is on, and sparks fly - but is it just a flash in the pan or is somebody fuelling the fire?

A budding stand-up comic, Juno is voluptuous, hedonistic, funny and terminally untidy. On her thirtieth birthday she decides to have a wild one-night stand to mark the occasion. But seducing her new flatmate before he's had a chance to unpack his belongings is not a wise move. Just over from New York, Jay Mulligan is intense, mysterious, and as Juno joyously discovers, far better than breakfast in bed. It's only when they get out of that bed on the wrong side three days later that the problems start.

Meet Lucy Gordon, the sweet, scatty, irresistible heroine of Fiona Walker's delicious new novel. Lucy lives in a Berkshire village with her two friends, Jane and Bella, and works in the marketing department of Widgetex Computers. Her boss - Slave Driver - is a constant bane; her family are lovable eccentrics; her boyfriend, the dishy but fickle Greg, takes shameless advantage of her (Lucy is too good hearted to notice). Throughout two action-packed, fun-filled, disaster-strewn years, Lucy charts an erratic course among this motley crew to her very own happy ending.

Felix Sylvian is a charming, silken-tongued dilettante; he has the sex-appeal of a school-girl's day-dream and the soul of a poet. But he has one nasty habit he can't seem to break: a sadistic tendency to ride rough-shod over any girl foolish enough to fall for him.Saskia Seaton is Felix's latest victim. Once a beautiful, precocious, aspiring actress, she is now a suicidal wreck after a whirlwind affair with Felix and a force ten finale. Retreating to lick her wounded pride, she decides she wants poetic justice.And her friend Phoebe's the one to get it. With Saskia's help, Phoebe will become Felix's dream woman. She will pursue him across his London playground and seduce him until he falls in love with her and then she will drop him just as he has so many women in the past. But Phoebe doesn't realise that when she tries to break Felix's nasty habit, she'll find herself breaking her own heart.

When you have it all except true love, you still want more.Odette, who looks like Linda Lusardi in a DKNY suit and has more zeros at the end of her bank balance than an astronomer's altimeter, decides to throw up the high-powered job that doesn't leave time for relationships and start her own club/restaurant. But the venture seems doomed before it has even begun, cursed by a seductive sleeping partner who sleeps around, and a rival chef who is as gorgeous as Jean-Christophe Novelli and as temperamental as Marco Pierre White. When a tall, bullying South African game ranger joins her law suitors and triples her interest, Odette plots their downfall. If revenge is a dish best eaten cold, where better to serve it than in a restaurant? But as she jumps from the frying pan into the fire, she might end up getting her heart broken, her fingers burnt and her goose cooked . . .

Fancy spending the summer in a fabulous Loire chateau?Broken-hearted and jobless, Tash does, even though it means close proximity to her large and unruly family and assorted hangers-on.Sun, Sancerre and sexual tension make for deliciously bad behaviour - even Rooter the dog has a permanent hangover. And with so much French kissing, it's not surprising that at least two people fall in love . . .

THE ROAD TO DUNE is a compilation ofmaterial celebrating and adding to the epic Dune novels. In this fascinating volume, the world's millions of Dune fans can now read atlong last the unpublished chapters and scenes from the original Dune books;as well as correspondence with Frank Herbert relating to DUNE; short stories byBrian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson and also SPICE PLANET, an original novellaby Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, based on a detailed outline left by Frank Herbert. 'Frank Herbert would surely be delighted and proud of this continuation of his vision.' Dean Koontz

From the author of Thirteen Hours - A Sunday Times '100 best crime novels and thrillers since 1945' pickLEMMER is a professional bodyguard. Silent and invisible, he never gets involved. EMMA LE ROUX believed her brother died twenty years ago, until she sees him on the news as the prime suspect in the brutal killing of four poachers.As Lemmer and Emma join forces in pursuit of the truth, it soon becomes clear that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them.When that someone tries to murder them both, Lemmer is forced to step out of the shadows for the first time in his life.

Set in Changi, the most notorious prisoner of war camp in Asia, King Rat is an heroic story of survival told by a master story-teller who lived through those years as a young soldier. Only one man in fifteen had the strength, the luck, and the cleverness simply to survive Changi. And then there was King.

Manchester's criminal underworld is brought shockingly to life by the bestselling author of THE CLUB.Maria Price is a survivor of the care system who thought she would never have a family or security again. She's just inherited a house and a bank account, and things appear to be looking up.Joel Parry - good-looking, charming and a wonderful lover - seems to know everyone who is anyone in Manchester. He just happens to need a place to stay. Before long Joel moves into Maria's house and is helping her to spend her money. But he isn't what he seems to be. Deep in the drug scene, his terrifying past is about to catch up with him - and the na ve girl who trusts him . . .

It's the hottest new night club in town. . . ARE YOU IN? Jenna Lorde knows she's taking on a challenge when she inherits her dad's nightclub. But Zenith comes with a top class reputation and a location which other clubs would kill for, so she reckons she's more than up for it. Until she starts to realise that the dangers aren't just from other clubs. Beneath the glamour of the VIP lounge and the pumping music, sleaze and corruption are starting to creep in, and it'll take all Jenna's cunning to stop the rot. The club's survival - and her own - depend on it ...

Larry Logan is a small-time TV star with a mile-wide ego. Gutted when his latest show is axed, he's less than impressed when the only work he can get is fronting a fake game show - actually an undercover police sting to entrap criminals. His reluctance evaporates when the show rockets his career back to prime time stardom. And when lovely, shy Stephanie enters his life he thinks he finally has it made. But Larry doesn't know how dangerous those criminals are. He has shafted some dangerous men - and they want revenge.

A gritty tale of hard time, hard men and hard drugs for fans of Martina Cole, Dreda Say Mitchell and Kerry Barnes.When Mary's mother throws her out, the sassy teenager soon learns how tough life can be. Her new friend Lynne is older, more sophisticated. She has a taste for cocaine and isn't above walking the streets for extra cash to pay for it. Mary sticks to a straighter path, until the night Lynne brings Ali and Raiz back to their flat. The women don't know that their sexy new friends are small-time criminals, desperate for alibis for a drug-dealer's murder.All too soon, Mary is in more trouble than she can handle. Can her old friend Jane's risky scheme save Mary? Or has her fate been sealed by falling for the wrong man?

Sarah Mullen is a beautiful child who at seven years old is put into care by her drug-addicted mother. Trying to live with the rejection is bad enough, but no one could have prepared her for the pain that was yet to come.Harry Shaw is the boy that everyone bullies, the kid whose own mother locked him in a cupboard so she wouldn't have to look at his face, and then left him there.When he meets Sarah for the first time, a friendship is instantly forged. And out of a desire to be loved an alliance is born.Then into their lives comes Vinnie Walker, a good-looking and calculating thirteen-year-old who will change both their lives forever.

When four old school friends decide to make some easy money, they pick the wrong target. Very wrong.Robbing a small supermarket on a Manchester estate looks easy - but with one of them wounded and a dead body on their hands, things can't get worse. But they do. The supermarket is merely the front for something bigger. The friends are small fish who have unwittingly plunged into a very big pond and they are now swimming with the great white sharks of the criminal underworld.

An anthology and miscellany of everything an Englishman should know: From Austen to Wordsworth,Jerusalem to the Scout s Honour, Kings and Queens of England to Land of Hope and Glory, Savile Row tailors to Jermyn St Shirt Makers, Tying a Windsor knot to making a pot of tea, Victoria sponge to fish pie and the rules of cricket to Gilbert and Sullivan operas