Showing titles in City Life

1594, Bishopsgate Ward, London. Within the walls and without, unease and uncertainty lurk beneath the noise and bustle of a smoky, teeming city. Matthew Cutler, newly widowed and caring for two spirited daughters, takes his position as constable for the parish of Spitalfields very seriously. So when Paulo Brisco, a quiet Venetian perfumer is found brutally murdered in his own shop, Cutler throws himself into his first major crime, and one which threatens to set all Bishopsgate alight.

Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, divorces her husband, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop. In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married housewife, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju - they all have disappointments in their past.

Coco is having a hell of a month. She’s lost her boyfriend and her business, been forced to uproot her daughter to move back in with her parents in Paris, and now an infuriatingly handsome stranger is yelling at her for acting like a tourist… Right underneath the Eiffel Tower. Storming away from him – and swearing off men for life – she decides she’s going to take the first job that comes her way. Then, as if fate hears her, later that day she stumbles into a little bookshop – but not any old bookshop.

Brought to you by Penguin. York, 1989. Beginning his second year as a tutor at the University of Eboracum, Dr Tom Frith is surprised to be paired as a ‘buddy tutor’ for a new member of staff. At first, Dr Rosie Tremaine appears staunchly independent, and even standoffish. But as Rosie and...

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Julian Rhind-Tutt, star of Green Wing, also known for his roles in The Madness of King George and Tomb Raider. This definitive recording includes an Introduction by Richard Maxwell. After eighteen years as a political prisoner in...

When Aleisha discovers a crumpled reading list tucked into a tattered library book, it sparks an extraordinary journey. From timeless stories of love and friendship to an epic journey across the Pacific Ocean with a boy and a tiger in a boat, the list opens a gateway to new and wonderful worlds - just when Aleisha needs an escape from her troubles at home. And when widower Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to connect with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha introduces him to the magic of the reading list.

Brought to you by Penguin. Her life is so full, so why is she hungry? For Piglet – an unshakable childhood nickname – getting married is her opportunity to reinvent. Together, Kit and Piglet are the picture of domestic bliss – effortless hosts, planning a covetable wedding ... But if a...

To the casual observer, the great enlightened city of Edinburgh, home of no-nonsense sermons and cream teas, might appear immune to the rollercoaster of strong emotions. But at 44 Scotland Street, as Matthew and Elspeth embark on the risky enterprise of married love, the raffish portrait painter Angus Lordie has a premonition of disaster. Soon enough Irene Pollock is shocked to learn that her small son Bertie harbours a highly unsuitable ambition; and Angus finds himself facing a large Glaswegian gangster.

This is a story of a London you won’t find in any guidebooks. This is a story about what it’s like to exist in the moment, about boys too eager to become men, growing up in the hidden war zones of big cities - and the girls trying to make it their own way. This is a story of reputations made and lost, of violence and vengeance - and never counting the cost. This is a story of concrete towers and blank-eyed windows, of endless nights in police stations and prison cells, of brotherhood and betrayal.

Brought to you by Penguin. The sensational Korean bestseller For fans of WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY and THE ALCHEMIST Welcome to the Marigold Mind Laundry where we wash away the stains from your heart. After young Jieun accidentally misuses her powers, causing her beloved family...

Brought to you by Penguin. She can't read his mind. He can't read hers. But you can read both. The iconic '90s rom-com from the number-one bestselling authors. Dating in the 90s sucks. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus and no one is getting a call after the first date. Meet Jack...

Brought to you by Penguin. Zoe, Al, Rachel, Rob, Yas and Indie. Six friends who were inseparable at university, who have all had their secret or not so secret passions for each other, their own hopes and fears. Over the years, they have gone their separate ways. Rob is a history teacher, with a...

As war rages and brave soldiers returning home from the frontline need nurses more than ever, fiercely proud redhead Sylvia Roberts is determined to help in any way she can. In spite of her mother’s belief she isn’t good enough, Sylvia believes that becoming a home front nurse is her calling. Together with the two friends she makes on her first day in the job – Freda and Veronica – she knows she can help save lives. And, as the devastation of war shows no signs of ceasing, their work becomes ever more vital.

Grand Life Apartments is a middle-class apartment block surrounded by lush gardens in the coastal city of Chennai, India. It is the home of Kamala, a pious, soon-to-be retired dentist who spends her days counting down to the annual visits from her daughter who is studying in the UK. Her neighbour, Revathi, is a thirty-two-year-old engineer who is frequently reminded by her mother that she has reached her expiry date in the arranged marriage market. Jason, a British chef, has impulsively moved to India to escape his recent heartbreak in London. 

Cleanness revisits and expands the world of Garth Greenwell’s beloved debut, What Belongs to You, declared ‘an instant classic’ by the New York Times Book Review. In exacting, elegant prose, Greenwell transcribes the strange dialects of desire, cementing his stature as one of our most...

When newly promoted DI Anna Vaughan is called to a case in remote Knapdale, on the Argyll coast, she welcomes the chance to escape her life in Glasgow - more specifically the mother-in-law from hell… Ellen McIver, Baldrishaig’s local busybody, has been found dead. Run over — repeatedly — by a tractor belonging to local farmer Glen Cameron. The most likely culprit is Old Wullie, Cameron’s elderly father, who, despite his dementia, still likes to drive the tractor about the lanes. But once at the crime scene Anna can tell something sinister is afoot…

Three days before her 51st birthday, Clio Campbell - one-hit-wonder, political activist, life-long love and one-night stand - kills herself in her friend Ruth’s spare bedroom. And, as practical as she is, Ruth doesn’t know what to do. Or how to feel. Because knowing and loving Clio Campbell was never straightforward. The media had loved her as a sexy young starlet but laughed her off as a ranting spinster as she aged. But with news of her suicide, Clio Campbell is transformed into a posthumous heroine for politically chaotic times.

Old Michael Snowdon returns to London with an inheritance that he determines should go towards helping the poor—but goodness and charity are not to play a part here. Everyone has an agenda, and scheming spreads through the story like a disease. Gissing’s own experience of London as an outsider in a vast city that both fascinated and appalled him gave him the tools and the drive to create a visceral sense of place. Life is unremittingly grim for just about everyone, from the weak and well-intentioned Jane to the coarse, cunning Clem Peckover and her feckless rival Pennyloaf Candy.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'With Sisters in Yellow, [Kawakami] proves she is still the most exciting Japanese novelist at work today' The Times 'Relentlessly riveting . . . My heart felt very tender reading this. Astonishing Kawakami, as always' Frances Cha, author of If I had Your Face...

Brought to you by Penguin. Sex and the City' with a killer edge for fans of QUEENIE, EXPECTATION and MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER See me, see trouble Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English, though they don't all...