Search Results for: Born a Crime

WINNER OF THE THURBER PRIZE

The compelling, inspiring, (often comic) coming-of-age story of Trevor Noah, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

One of the comedy world’s brightest new voices, Trevor Noah is a light-footed but sharp-minded observer of the absurdities of politics, race and identity, sharing jokes and insights drawn from the wealth of experience acquired in his relatively young life. As host of the US hit show The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he provides viewers around the globe with their nightly dose of biting satire, but here Noah turns his focus inward, giving readers a deeply personal, heartfelt and humorous look at the world that shaped him.

Noah was born a crime, son of a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the first years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, take him away.

A collection of eighteen personal stories, Born a Crime tells the story of a mischievous young boy growing into a restless young man as he struggles to find his place in a world where he was never supposed to exist. Born a Crime is equally the story of that young man’s fearless, rebellious and fervently religious mother – a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence and abuse that ultimately threatens her own life.

Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Noah illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and an unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a personal portrait of an unlikely childhood in a dangerous time, as moving and unforgettable as the very best memoirs and as funny as Noah’s own hilarious stand-up. Born a Crime is a must read.

Eve wasn’t sure what it said about her that she was more comfortable in the morgue than a baby boutique. And she didn’t care. The scent of death was the familiar.

Rushing to the murder scenes of a tortured young woman, Eve is far more at home than when organising best friend Mavis’s baby shower.

And then one of Mavis’s guests – the young, pregnant Tandy – disappears into thin air. Eve steps in, but when the facts begin to blur with the earlier murders, she unearths a chilling trail of deception and cold-blooded greed, leading to a terrifying hunt to find Tandy before time runs out.

‘Fast-paced, superbly crafted’ Library Journal

ADAPTED FOR YOUNG READERS

The host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, tells the story of growing up mixed race in South Africa under and after apartheid in this young readers’ adaptation of his bestselling adult memoir Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.

BORN A CRIME IS SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING OSCAR-WINNER LUPITA NYONG’O!

Trevor Noah, host ofThe Daily Show, shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa, with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child like him to exist. But he did exist — and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his keen smarts and humour to navigate a harsh life under a racist government.

This compelling memoir blends drama, comedy and tragedy to depict the day-to-day trials that turned a boy into a young man. In a country where racism barred blacks from social, educational, and economic opportunity, Trevor surmounted staggering obstacles and created a promising future for himself, thanks to his mom’s unwavering love and indomitable will.

It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime not only provides a fascinating and honest perspective on South Africa’s racial history, but it will also astound and inspire young readers looking to improve their own lives.

‘Shiveringly good suspense!’ Lisa Gardner

THE THIRD BOOK IN A GRIPPING SERIES FROM 30 MILLION COPY SELLING AUTHOR.

At first Kacey Lambert thinks it’s a sad, strange coincidence that two women with an amazing resemblance to her have died suddenly.

But detective Selena Alvarez suspects otherwise. An autopsy confirms that one of the women had traces of poison in her blood…

And Kacey has started to notice ties between the dead women’s lives and her own. They were all close in age. They were born within a few miles of each other. And they all have ties with Trace O’Halleran, the single father Kacey is dating.

Soon more lookalikes are dying and as the body count rises, the killer gets bolder and more brutal. All Kacey knows is that it’s only a matter of time before hers is the next name on a list of those who were born to die.

‘She is one of the best’ Harlan Coben

THE NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES, AFRAID TO DIE, IS AVAILABLE NOW

All she wants is a better life…

Born in Sunderland’s filthy, crime-ridden East End, Pearl Croft’s childhood is desperately troubled. When her violent, drunken father is killed in a fight and Pearl’s elder brothers are sent to prison, she is left to care for her baby brothers. Then Pearl’s mother brings a ‘client’ to the house who has a penchant for little girls. Terrified and hurt, Pearl runs away from home and is found, feverish and near death, by Romany gypsies. But this is far from the end of her struggles. Years pass and as Pearl reaches womanhood she wonders if she will ever find happiness?

The second most infamous member of the shadow organisation called Sentella, Kere, an explosives engineer, is known for striking terror in the hearts of all enemies. The bounty on his head is truly staggering, and no one outside the Sentella knows his real identity.

Zarya Starska grew up hard on the back streets of hell. Labeled a traitor because of her father’s political beliefs, she dreams of a different life and a different world. A world where the harsh hand of the Caronese government doesn’t destroy the lives of its citizens. As a resistance leader, her goal is to topple to government that took her father’s life, along with her mysterious right-hand man, known only as Kere.


But Kere has a dark secret. He’s out for revenge for past crimes against his family, and plans to annihilate all those he feels guilty, along with every resistance member he can find . . . including Zarya.

THE LAST THING A TWIN EXPECTS IS TO BE ALONE …

*** From the acclaimed author of THE LAST THING TO BURN comes a new thriller about identity, rivalry and deceit. ***

‘Dean handles his plot with skill … Molly is an intriguing protagonist and Dean has plenty of surprises for the unwary reader’ OBSERVER

‘The talented Mr Ripley would have enjoyed every moment of its tortuous plot. There is no higher praise’ DAILY MAIL

‘Highly accomplished, dark and dazzling. First Born twists and deceives, and cements Will Dean’s status as a truly rare talent. Pure brilliance’ CHRIS WHITAKER

Molly lives a quiet, contained life in London. Naturally risk averse, she gains comfort from security and structure. Every day the same.

Her identical twin Katie is her exact opposite: gregarious and spontaneous. They used to be inseparable, until Katie moved to New York a year ago. Molly still speaks to her daily without fail.

But when Molly learns that Katie has died suddenly in New York, she is thrown into unfamiliar territory. Katie is part of her DNA. As terrifying as it is, she must go there and find out what happened. As she tracks her twin’s last movements, cracks begin to emerge. Nothing is what it seems. And a web of deceit is closing around her.

Delivering the same intensity of pace and storytelling that made THE LAST THING TO BURN a word-of-mouth sensation, FIRST BORN will surprise, shock and enthral.

‘Powerful … Dean takes on issues of personal identity and familial responsibility’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Tiptoes into Highsmith territory here. Pacy, exhilarating and jaw-dropping, it’s a meditation on identity and loneliness as well as a bloody good page-turner. New York buffets the characters about its ruthless streets, just as the reader is propelled from one twist to the next’ ERIN KELLY
‘A superb page-turner’ STEVE CAVANAGH
‘Will Dean writes a mean thriller, with a keen ear for what scares us. The streets of New York shine off the page, and the action rarely lets up. Highly recommended’ SARAH HILARY
‘Will Dean manages to accomplish the rare blend of excellent writing and intriguing, ingenious plotting’ LIZ NUGENT
‘Taut, suspenseful, chilling and surprising’ GILLY MACMILLAN
‘Equal parts murder mystery and psychological thriller, Will Dean dazzles with FIRST BORN. A tense, taut plot that blows through unexpected twists and turns, you won’t be able to look away until the final, shattering page’ JULIE CLARK
‘Great pace, great twists, a perfect psychological thriller’ B.A. PARIS
‘A clever and sophisticated construction…A jolly good read’ SHOTS
‘Rather special’ Sunday Times Crime Club *Star pick*
‘The storyline is truly original, with one of those brilliant endings only a great thriller writer can dream up’ The Press Association
‘Spine-chilling’ Irish Independent
‘This psychological thriller is a masterpiece’ Crime Review

THE WORD-OF-MOUTH INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

‘Born of No Woman proves that fiction can still amaze’
Le Monde

‘A vivid, mesmerizing tale’
L’Express

‘A choral novel radiating with black light’
Elle

Nineteenth-century rural France.

Before he is called to bless the body of a woman at the nearby asylum, Father Gabriel receives a strange, troubling confession: hidden under the woman’s dress he will find the notebooks in which she confided the abuses she suffered and the twisted motivations behind them.

And so Rose’s terrible story comes to light: sold as a teenage girl to a rich man, hidden away in a old manor house deep in the woods and caught in a perverse web, manipulated by those society considers her betters.

A girl whose only escape is to capture her life – in all its devastation and hope – in the pages of her diary…

THE HIT NOVEL RECOMMENDED BY FRENCH BOOKSELLERS:
‘The most beautiful French novel of the year’
‘Love at first sight for a book is rare. But this novel left me speechless’
‘Dive in: you’ll come out feeling utterly alive’
‘One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read’
‘The best book I have read for a long time’
‘This story has something powerful, animal, carnal and terrible too. A punch in the gut’

Switching continuously between 1984 and the present day, Born Under Punches follows the intertwined lives of a small group of characters, all linked in various ways to the 1984 miners’ strike: Tony Woodhouse, a professional footballer who can’t escape his shady past; Tommy Jobson, cruising the streets of Newcastle, violently collecting debts, about to be sucked into something far more dangerous; Mick Hutton, a striking miner, increasingly desperate to find ways to support his wife and growing family; Stephen Larkin, an idealistic young journalist, determined to expose the truth about the strike – as he sees it; Stephen’s sister, Louise, in love with Tony Woodhouse, stalked by a shadowy figure from her past. As the lives of these five characters unfold, it becomes clear the strike will have devastating repercussions – not only for those directly involved, but for future generations too.

‘Deeply layered, fiendishly clever and absorbing’ Matt Hilton, author of the Joe Hunter series

The first gritty thriller in the Avison Fluke series by M. W. Craven, the acclaimed author of The Puppet Show.

Detective Inspector Avison Fluke is a man on the edge. He has committed a crime to get back to work, concealed a debilitating illness and is about to be made homeless. Just as he thinks things can’t get any worse, the body of a young woman is found buried on a Cumbrian building site.

Shot once in the back of the head, it is a cold, calculated execution. When the post-mortem reveals she has gone to significant expense in disguising her appearance, Fluke knows this is no ordinary murder.

With the help of a psychotic ex-Para, a gangland leader and a woman more interested in maggots than people, Fluke must find out who she was and why she was murdered before he can even think about finding her killer…

Praise for M. W. Craven:

‘Dark, sharp and compelling’ PETER JAMES

‘Fantastic’ MARTINA COLE

‘Britain’s answer to Harry Bosch’ MATT HILTON

‘Thrilling’ MICK HERRON

‘Brilliantly inventive’ WILLIAM SHAW

‘A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent’ DAVID MARK

Some men are born to be murdered
Classic crime from one of the greats of the Detection Club

Lewis Bishop was born to be murdered – the perfect victim, a man whom many had every reason to hate and fear. When he is suddenly shot dead one night he leaves behind him only unpleasant memories, a flood of relief, and a pretty puzzle for the police – and a case for the irrepressible detective Arthur Crook . . .

Ritchie Duncan, a convict, is released from prison and decides to go clean. But when he is handed some top secret film containing electronic data by a girl in a bar there ensues mayhem and murder. The film is the property of her communist agent boyfriend, and when she refuses to surrender it her connection is killed and she is kept quietly alive in a nursing home until Duncan can save her.

‘Donald MacKenzie is a born storyteller’ Guardian

Paul Henderson is a big time jewel thief on a run of bad luck. He has a seven-year-old daughter to support, so when he’s offered a partnership in the biggest heist of all time he decides to try to take the baubles and run.

He reaches Switzerland, where the crime is to take place, and wangles an invitation to a gala only to be confronted by a double threat, a double cross and a kidnapping. And all this is before the night of the burglary arrives . . .

‘Donald MacKenzie is a born storyteller’ Guardian

When Kirstie Macfarlane’s younger brother is framed for stealing a Van Eyck portrait, she puts the case in the able hands of ex-Scotland Yard Inspector John Raven.

Seduced away from his quiet life on the Thames, Raven dives back into the seamy London underworld filled with police corruption and high-handed swindles. Kirstie and Raven soon realise they have more than one opponent and their lives are perilously on the line.

‘Donald MacKenzie is a born storyteller’ Guardian

‘Donald MacKenzie is a born storyteller’ Guardian

Every thief dreams of committing the perfect crime. Cameron, Thorne and Gun are convinced that the jewel robbery they have planned cannot possibly go wrong, but jealousy mistrust and fear doom the enterprise from the start.

One of them dies a slow, hideous death; the other two find they have walked into hell. Soon, a beautiful woman and two desperate men find themselves trapped by their own actions. And when the thread of tension snaps they learn that death can indeed be a friend.

Terminally ill Polish refugee Henryk Lamprecht, a decoder for British Security, has a score to settle with the Russian who killed his wife and daughter. As he is close to death, he has no time to lose when an opportunity he has been waiting for turns up.
But now, through a chance meeting with his old friend Zaleski, ex-cop John Raven is involved, and so is Lamprecht’s English sweetheart. And so the game of cat-and-mouse begins . . .

‘Donald MacKenzie is a born storyteller’ Guardian

Contains the two novellas Border Town Girl and Linda.

Border Town Girl

Once, Lane Sanson had been a Somebody – war correspondent and a bestselling author. Now he was a Nobody, bumming around Mexico. Lost, lonely, hungry for hope, he was a pushover for a border town B-girl – the perfect fall guy for a lethal frame up . . .

Linda

She was born with the morality gene missing. As beautiful, as inviting, as treacherous as the sea around her, Linda is one of the most compelling women ever created by John D. MacDonald.

It’s 1927 and New Orleans-born novelist Jeff Caldwell is called back to that most colourful of American cities by a frantic letter from Dave Hobart, a boyhood friend.

Dave owns a fabulous and foreboding 16th-century English manor house moved from England to New Orleans at the whim of his eccentric grandfather. But Delys Hall has been nicknamed Deadly Hall. Some terrible things have happened there – including murder – and there are rumours of hidden treasure and a ghost.

‘The plot’s the thing … it is a sort of gleeful game’ New York Times Book Review

John Raven and his wife Kirstie are holidaying in Lisbon at Ilona Szecheyi’s villa when Ilona’s father Stephen reveals his well-guarded secret: shortly before the communist occupation of Hungary in 1945, he was entrusted with 17 million in government gold bullion. Now, thirty-seven years later, the courts have awarded him full ownership of the money – and the current Hungarian regime is not pleased.

They will stop at nothing to get it back, and when blackmail and murder strike, Raven can’t pull out fast enough before he becomes the main suspect . . .

‘Donald MacKenzie is a born storyteller’ Guardian

Some fairy tales are born of dreams . . . and some are born of nightmares.

‘I loved Path of Needles. Dark but satisfying like the best chocolate’ ELLY GRIFFITHS, bestselling author of The Postscript Murders

Chrissie Farrell is young, beautiful and about to be crowned Queen of the Dance. But on the evening of her triumph she is abducted and murdered, her body left for the police to find.

With no other clues, the disturbing way in which Chrissie’s body has been posed has PC Cate Corbin at a loss – until university lecturer Alice Hyland is called in. An expert on fairy tales, Alice quickly notices a connection between the murder and an obscure version of Snow White.

When a second body is found, Alice is dragged further into the investigation – and only then realises that she is becoming a suspect.


‘Psychologically complex hybrid of magical realism and police procedural’ Publishers Weekly

Now Alice must fight, not just to prove her innocence, but to protect herself: because the body count is growing and it’s looking like she might be next . . .

When a friend’s sixteen-year-old daughter goes missing, investigative reporter Stephen Larkin is enlisted to help find her. Following a trail of warring drug dealers, child prostituion, and born-again Christian gangsters, it soon becomes clear that they are not the only ones looking for the girl, and that others don’t care if she is found dead or alive.

Welfare worker Paul Gunther is killed when he looks into the blackmailing of some of his cases. Lieutenant George Shaw leads the murder investigation, which touches on the jazz community and beatnik culture of Oakland in the early 1960’s.

The House on Lily Street is the story of a corrupt and narcissistic young man, born to privilege, who dallies among the poor-and gets in over his head.

***NOW AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER***

COSMOPOLITAN ‘BOOKS OF 2019 TO BRING TO YOUR BOOKCLUB’

‘Entrancing, compelling, atmospheric, reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier. A beautiful read that delivers a shocking and satisfying ending’ Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs Parrish

‘Delicious and spellbinding . . . absolutely absorbing and scandalous’ Booklist

‘Enthralling and addictive‘ Lisa Ballantyne, bestselling author of The Guilty One

***

Seraphine Mayes and her brother Danny are the first set of twins to be born at Summerbourne House. But on the day they were born their mother threw herself to her death, their au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of a stolen baby.

Now twenty-five, and mourning the recent death of her father, Seraphine uncovers a family photograph taken on the day the twins were born featuring both parents posing with just one baby. Seraphine soon becomes fixated with the notion that she and Danny might not be twins after all, that she wasn’t the baby born that day and that there was more to her mother’s death than she has ever been told…

Why did their beloved au pair flee that day?
Where is she now?
Does she hold the key to what really happened?

***

‘Don’t just pick up and read Emma Rous’ The Au Pair, dive into it and get washed away with it’ A bookseller

‘Filled with mystery and intrigue. I was gripped until the very last page!’ Fiona Valpy, bestselling author of Sea of Memories

‘This will keep you turning those pages. The characters are still playing on my mind’ Jane Corry, bestselling author of My Husband’s Wife

‘One hell of a ride’ New York Post

‘Vivid characters, a magical setting and a tightly knitted plot . . . jaw-dropping climax’ Bookpage

‘Family secrets come to light in this compelling debut with a gothic touch and a shocking denouement. Enthralling and addictive‘ Lisa Ballantyne, bestselling author of The Guilty One

‘A page-turner’ Publisher’s Weekly

‘A juicy and compelling read by a promising new author’ Shelf Awareness

It is three days before Christmas and a bitter wind is blowing across Norfolk.

Until her daughter was born, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway didn’t do Christmas, but now that Kate is a year old, she wants it to be special.

She must get a tree, shop for food, clean the house, buy presents, including one for her new boyfriend – who she isn’t even sure is her boyfriend – and remember to get the turkey out of the freezer.

But time is rushing by and the best-laid plans don’t always work out…