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*2026 LOCUS FINALIST FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL**SHORTLISTED FOR THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST SERIES*City-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen have sworn to bring ‘Perfection’ and ‘Correctness’ to an imperfect world. But before these ruthless Tyrant Philosophers send in their legions, they despatch Outreach – the rain before the storm. Outreach is that part of the Pal machine responsible for diplomacy — converting enemies into friends, achieving through words what an army of five thousand could not, urging the oppressed to overthrow the bloody-handed priests, evil necromancers and greedy despots that subjugate them.Angilly, twelve-years-old, a child of Pal soldiers stationed in occupied Jarokir, does not know it yet, but a sequence of accidents and questionable life choices will lead her to Outreach. As she travels from Jarrokir to Bracinta, Cazarkand, Lemas, The Holy Regalate of Stouk and finally, Usmai, she’ll learn that the price of her nation’s success is paid in compromise and lost chances, and that the falling rain will always be bitter.THE TYRANT PHILOSOPHERSA world steeped in magic of all flavours: divination, demonology, necromancy, alchemy, gods, monsters, portals to other dimensions and worlds — and what happens when it collides with an implacable foe — the Tyrant Philosophers — determined to bring reason, logic and ‘perfection’ to the exuberant magical chaos.1. City of Last Chances: portrait of Ilmar, a city under Palleseen occupation2. House of Open Wounds: portrait of the Palleseen war machine at work.3. Days of Shattered Faith: portrait of a kingdom consumed, piece-by-piece, by Palleseen diplomatic subterfuge and espionage.3.1 Lives of Bitter Rain: a prequel novella to Days of Shattered Faith, portrait of a life in the Palleseen diplomatic corps.4. Pretenders to the Throne of God: portrait of a city under siege.5. The Grave of Perfection: return to Ilmar, the 'City of Last Chances' where our story began.

The third and final book in the steamy Lyonesse trilogy from the USA Today bestselling author of the Priest, New Camelot and Thornchapel series – a contemporary romance retelling of the legend of Tristan and Isolde.***I think it's important that you know this about me, that you understand this: I'm not sorry. I'd do it again. After Mark Trevena's husband died eight years ago, he made vengeance his only purpose, his religion, his destiny. But to get to his enemy, he had to make himself like his enemy. Mortimer Cashel had a kingdom of secrets? Then Mark would make an empire. Mortimer Cashel had blood on his hands? Then Mark would bathe in it.But Tristan and Isolde changed everything. Mark hadn't counted on wanting them, needing them; he hadn't counted on how it felt to watch the two of them fall in love. He'd thought he had everything under control – he'd thought he was safe from his own long-dead heart. He'd never imagined that the wronged husband, the jealous king from his childhood fairy tales, would be played by none other than himself.It no longer matters what he used to believe. His enemy is ready to finish the game, and for the first time in eight years, Mark has pieces on the board he can't afford to lose. He'll burn the entire world to keep Tristan and Isolde safe. He'll scorch the earth – but as any good assassin will tell you, fire will only get a man so far, because there's always something left in the ashes. And for Tristan and Isolde, what's left in the ashes is the cold, bitter bones of the truth: their story begins and ends with Mark.And every story needs a villain…The spicy and dramatic conclusion to the Lyonesse trilogy is a no-holds-barred thrill ride in which Mark, Tristan and Isolde must untangle the forbidden love between them as the stakes grow higher than ever.TropesReverse HaremMMF RomanceBDSMForbidden LoveSpicy RomanceLegendary RetellingThe Lyonesse Trilogy:Salt KissHoney CutBitter Burn

'A spellbinding exploration of obsessive love, so addictive I read it in a single day' CLARE LESLIE HALL'I inhaled this novel. Utterly believable, immersive and heartfelt. I loved it' JENNIE GODFREY'Wonderful. A masterpiece. I adored it' SOPHIE COUSENS'A timeless tragedy, a story of the intricacies and illusions of true love' CHRIS WHITAKER'I didn't want this book to end. 10/10' VOGUE WILLIAMS*Don't miss the intoxicating and compulsive debut novel from Hattie Williams - everyone's talking about it!*'In my life, there are things that have happened to me, and things that I have done, that have proven to be moments that have a clear before and an after. One of those moments, perhaps in some ways the biggest, was the day that I met Richard Aveling for the first time.'Charlie is twenty-three, single and the new publicity assistant at the independent London publishing house Winden & Shane. Richard Aveling is fifty-six, married and the author that has defined his generation.Charlie has long idolised the charming, illustrious writer, who also represents a link to her late mother, who loved his work. But as they embark on an illicit and all-consuming affair, Charlie is forced to hide the relationship from everyone she cares about.And when the success of Richard's latest book launches him to a new level of fame where all anonymity is lost, she realises she might just be in too deep...A thought-provoking exploration of a relationship founded in power, control and silence, Bitter Sweet is perfect for book clubs and will appeal to fans of Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason and Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors.** More praise for BITTER SWEET by Hattie Williams**'Hattie's writing on early-20s friendships and their enmeshed intensity, was so convincing. I enjoyed it so much' MARIAN KEYES'Beautifully crafted, with aftershocks of conscience' JODI PICOULT'This juicy novel is a gem. An age-old plot told in a fresh way - the characterisation is perfect' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'Intoxicating and propulsive. I inhaled it' NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS'Sharp, compelling, and thought provoking. The perfect book club pick for 2025' LOUISE O'NEILL'Brutal but tender, entertaining, compelling and completely believable' LAUREN BRAVO'An instant classic of a debut: honest, winning, breakable' AJ FINN'Raw and beautiful and true' ABIGAIL DEAN'Fresh, unflinching and reminds us how dangerous love can be' ARAMINTA HALL'Thrilling, compulsive and utterly addictive' KIRSTY CAPES'As intoxicating as the relationship she portrays, a book that keeps you obsessively within its pages' KATE WESTON'A brilliantly assured debut which deftly charts the pain of young love' SJ WATSON'A tender assured novel, thrilling and alive and brittle and broken all at the same time' NIKESH SHUKLA'Smart and intense, a thrilling new voice' AJ WEST'Beautiful and tender, addicitve and heartbreaking' CJ COOKE'An addictive, relatable story of obsessive love' JULIA RAESIDE

On an early autumn morning in 1988, on the outskirts of an unnamed Algerian city, a local shepherd stumbles across the dead body of Zakia Zaghouani, a beautiful nightclub singer who ran away from her hometown and family, seeking a brighter future.

Retired Havana police inspector Mario Conde is back. A sweeping novel of art theft, anti-Semitism, contemporary Cuba, and crime from a renowned Cuban author.

The novel is set in the Pantanal, the vast untamed Brazilian lowlands bordering Bolivia. One bright Sunday, alone on the banks of the Paraguay River, the narrator witnesses the fatal crash of a small 'plane. He finds a kilo of cocaine in the dead pilot's backpack. After but a moment's hesitation he pockets the coke and the pilot's expensive watch. Thus begins the protagonist's long slide into corruption. When the crash site is located several days later, the pilot's body is missing and remains unfound for months despite a large-scale police search. Our hero gets involved in a busted cocaine deal and ends up owing a Bolivian drug gang so much money that blackmailing the wealthy family of the dead pilot seems to be the only way out. The family secretly agrees to pay serious money to recover the body of their son. Our hero doesn't have the pilot's body so someone else's will do. Or so he thinks.

From the critically acclaimed author of Pet and The Death of Vivek Oji, Bitter, a companion novel to Pet, takes a timely and riveting look at the power of youth, protest and art.Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the town of Lucille.Bitter's instinct is to stay safe within the walls of Eucalyptus . . . but her friends aren't willing to settle for a world that the adults say is "just the way things are." Pulled between old friendships, her creative passion, and a new a romance, Bitter isn't sure where she belongs - in the art studio or in the streets. And if she does find a way to help the revolution while being true to who she is, she must also ask: at what cost?

The morning after a gruelling psychotherapy session in a Warsaw monastery, Henryk Telak is found dead, a roasting spit stuck in one eye. The case lands on the desk of State Prosecutor Teodor Szacki. World-weary, suffering from bureaucratic exhaustion and marital ennui, Szacki feels that life has passed him by, but this case changes everything. He must steer his way among a gallery of colourful characters: a flirtatious young journalist, an eccentric psychiatrist, a lecherous police colleague and a paranoid historian. Szacki's search for the killer unearths another murder that took place twenty years earlier, before the fall of Communism. The trail leads to facts that, for his own safety, he'd be better off not knowing.

When Martina accuses her ex-boyfriend the son of a powerful local judge of assault and battery, no witnesses can be persuaded to testify on her behalf and one lawyer after another refuses to represent her. Guido Guerrieri knows the case could bring his legal career to a premature and messy end but he cannot resist the appeal of a hopeless cause. Nor deny an attraction to Sister Claudia, the young woman in charge of the shelter where Martina is living, who shares his love of martial arts and his virulent hatred of injustice.

**Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel** The electrifying second book in the award-winning Winnowing Flame trilogy - the sequel to The Ninth Rain. Epic fantasy for fans of Robin Hobb and Adrian Tchaikovsky.'An absolute joy to read... jam-packed with breath-taking inventiveness' James Oswald'Incredible heroines... incredible fantasy... Escapism at its finest' Stylist The Ninth Rain has fallen. The Jure'lia are awake. Nothing can be the same again.Tormalin the Oathless and the fell-witch Noon have their work cut out rallying the first war-beasts to be born in Ebora for three centuries. But these are not the great winged warriors of old. Hatched too soon and with no memory of their past incarnations, these onetime defenders of Sarn can barely stop bickering, let alone face an ancient enemy who grow stronger each day.The key to uniting them, according to the scholar Vintage, may lie in a part of Sarn no one really believes exists - a distant island, mysteriously connected to the fate of two legendary Eborans who disappeared long ago.But finding it will mean a perilous journey in a time of war, while new monsters lie in wait for those left behind.Join the heroes of THE NINTH RAIN as they battle a terrible evil, the likes of which Sarn has never known.What readers are saying about THE BITTER TWINS:'The sequel to the brilliant Ninth Rain kicks it up a notch with more action, scarier monsters and a more expansive story''Be ready for some great reveals and twists that may break your heart, but that will overall leave you fist pumping the air''The world building continues to blow my mind

The story begins in 1989 on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. The investigation into a young woman’s disappearance falters as Yugoslavia plunges into a fratricidal war. Another three decades will pass before the truth is revealed. Inspector Gorki Šain, haunted by his failure to unravel the case the first time, returns to solve the crime in 2017.A PRIZE WINNER. The novel was awarded the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Prize for best Croatian novel in 2018, and the Fric Prize for best Croatian fiction in 2019. In France in 2022 it won theGrand prix de la literature policière, previously awarded to such writers as Mary Higgins Clark and Michael Connelly, the Prix Mystère de la critique, and the Prix Le Point. SUSPENSE FICTION AS A GATEWAY TO HISTORY. Like Graham Greene's The Third Man, Martin Cruz Smith's Stalin's Ghost or Damascus Station by David McCloskey,an evocation of the sordid aftermath of violent regime change in authoritarian countries.We are barely two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, only “an instant” before the shift from one world to another, the shift toward tragedy for a country ultimately forged by war.

An Amazon Charts, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling series.She’s investigating a cold case no one else could—by going places no else would dare.In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo. Gwen understands what it’s like to worry about your children.Gwen’s investigation unearths new suspects…and victims. As she follows each sinister lead, the implications of the mystery grow more disturbing. Because the closer Gwen gets, the closer she is to a threat that looms back home.In a town that’s closed its ranks against Gwen; her partner, Sam; and her kids, there’s no bolder enemy than the Belldene family—paramilitary, criminal, powerful, and vengeful. As personal vendettas collide with Gwen’s investigation, she’s prepared to fight both battles. But is she prepared for the toll it could take on everyone she loves?

The latest in the Guido Guerrieri series. The setting is Bari in Southern Italy. Against his own instincts, defence attorney Guerrieri takes on an appeal against what looks like an unassailable murder conviction. The alleged perpetrator is the son of a former lover. A taught legal thriller and a meditation about the ravages of time.

A desolate apartment in a Japanese city, a man and a woman about to spend their last night together. Each believes the other to be a killer, and is determined to extract a confession. Two people desperate to unlock the truth. A psychological thriller told in two voices, giving very different versions of the same events.

A young transvestite is found strangled in a Havana park. Mario Conde's first investigation into a young man's violent murder exposes the equally disturbing death of his beloved Cuba.

A brutally mutilated body is discovered washed up in the bay of Havana. The body of Miguel Forcade Mier, head smashed in by a baseball bat, genitals cut off by a dull knife. Forcade, once an official in the Cuban government responsible for the confiscation of the belongings of the bourgeoisie fleeing the revolution, was an exile in Miami.

Lieutenant Mario Conde is asked to investigate the disappearance of Rafael Morin, a high-level business manager in the Cuban nomenklatura. He remembers Morin from their student days that Morin always got what he wanted, including Tamara the girl he was after. While pursuing the case, Conde confronts his lost love for Tamara and his dreams.

Twenty-four year old Lissette Delgado was beaten, raped, and then strangled with a towel. Marijuana is found in her apartment and her wardrobe is suspiciously beyond the means of a high school teacher. This novel presents a eulogy of Cuba, its life of music, sex and the great friendships of those who elected to stay and fight for survival.

THE GREATEST LOVE STORY NEVER TOLD.A profoundly moving sapphic tale of love, identity and defiance that retells the love story of Penelope, one of Ancient Greece's most famous heroines.'This is Rosie Hewlett's masterpiece' JENNIFER SAINT, bestselling author of Hera'As dazzling as Madeline Miller's reimagining of the Iliad in The Song of Achilles' ELODIE HARPER, bestselling author of The Wolf Den'The fury, the power, the cadence of this story will stay with me for years to come ... Sappho herself would be proud.' NIKITA GILL, bestselling author of HetakeOne fateful night in Sparta, a young slave girl encounters a mysterious, grey-eyed princess. Melantho and Penelope, though from different worlds, are instantly connected. But betrayal soon tears them apart.Years later, on Ithaca's rocky shores, Melantho is sent to serve Princess Penelope and her new husband, Prince Odysseus. Hardened by slavery, Melantho vows to stay distant from Penelope. Yet, the undeniable pull between them proves stronger than ever.As war ignites Greece, Odysseus and Ithaca's men are called away and, in their absence, Melantho finds a new world opening up before her – one where women rule, where family can be found, and where love is finally given the space to bloom.But all wars eventually end and as Troy falls, Penelope and Melantho must face the King’s return and decide how far they will go to protect what matters most to them.'A stunning tale of defiance, integrity and enduring love. Crafted with complexity and woven with reverent yearning' KIKA HATZOPOULOU, bestselling author of Threads That Bind 'What The Song of Achilles did for The Iliad, Sweetbitter Song does for The Odyssey. A masterclass in mythic retelling' KIM CURRAN, author of The Morrigan'Visceral and haunting ... Outstanding' HAZEL McBRIDE, bestselling author of A Fate Forged in Fire'Will tear you to pieces and mend you again ... a gorgeous, scintillating re-imagining.' EMILY HAUSER, author of MythicaReaders love Rosie's writing...'This book is up there with Song of Achilles as one of my all-time favourite retellings''Heart-breaking and beautiful''Any readers of mythological retellings struggling to find a rival to Madeline Miller should look no further than Rosie Hewlett''Absolutely spellbinding''Dark, moody, at times heartbreaking, and utterly phenomenal, this book is an absolute must read for any fans of Circe or Ariadne!'

In an exclusive resort in a dark, threatening pine forest on the coast of Tuscany, the rich and famous are gathering at their second homes for Christmas. On the morning that a husband and wife from one of the heavily-guarded villas go missing, a certain Count Delaude is washed up, battered to death, on the seashore.

British spy Leonard Flood is asked to investigate the poisoning in London of Willa Karlsson, a retired secret service officer suspected of being a Russian agent. British intelligence is terrified by the possibility that Moscow poisoned her upon her retirement since she was no longer useful to them.

Disgraced British spy August Drummond is on his way to Istanbul when he sees a passenger throw away directions to a cemetery just before being arrested. August can’t resist the temptation to go in his place. But when he is confronted by a terrifying figure from Islamic State, he realizes he’s about to face the greatest challenge of his career.

A forbidden romance, a fractured family, and one woman's journey to piece it all togetherHometown hero Ana Leigh Watkins ventures to Bitter End, Tennessee, to help her great-aunt prepare for retirement. A town called Bitter End seems an ironic place for Ana to refresh her weary spirit, but she's desperate for respite from the attention and unwarranted admiration of her community. While on a hike in Roan Mountain, a ragtag group of amateur bird-watchers takes her under their wing--a little against her will. However, she quickly warms to these genuine souls seeking solace in the great outdoors. But when Ana's adventures in Bitter End lead her to a severed branch of her family tree--one that involves the forbidden love between a moonshiner's daughter and a preacher's son--what began as a getaway to help her great-aunt becomes a transformative journey that binds together two women who, though they live on the same street, have been estranged for sixty years.An immersive faith-based novel of finding belonging, reconciliation, and new beginnings for fans of southern fiction. This narrative of friendship and community makes for a perfect book club selection.

A beautiful and fearless exploration of food and feelings – with bite – for fans of Crying in H Mart and Midnight Chicken.‘Touching, absorbing and unflinching… shows you how to stomach life’s shit, celebrate the ugly, and keep going' Angela HuiEat bitter is a Chinese proverb meaning ‘endure hardship to taste sweetness.’ For Lydia Pang, it embodies the struggles of her Hakka ancestors, a persecuted Chinese ethnic group whose ingenuity shaped a food culture rooted in fermenting and foraging.Pang reimagines eating bitter as a philosophy to confront her own challenges: burning out, testing her marriage, navigating fertility struggles and caring for a parent. Through eight recipes, she shares food as memory and medicine: the silly egg noodles her father cooked when her sister was ill, the bone broth she boiled in New York while homesick and courgettes grown in rural Wales as a gesture of reconnection.

Guild of Food Writer’s Awards, Highly Commended in ‘First Book’ category (2021)In Bitter Honey, seasoned chef Letitia Clark invites us into her home on one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean Sea – Sardinia.The recipes in this book do not take long to make, but you can taste the ethos behind every one of them – one which invites you to slow down, and nourish yourself with fresh food, friends and family.The importance of eating well is even more pronounced here on this forgotten island. Try your hand at Roasted Aubergines with Honey, Mint, Garlic and Salted honey, or a Salad of Pecorino with Walnuts and Honey, followed by Malloreddus (the shell-shaped pasta from the region) with Sausage and Tomato.Each recipe and the story behind it will transport you to the glittering, turquoise waters and laid-back lifestyle of this Italian paradise. With beautiful design, photography, full colour illustrations and joyful anecdotes throughout, Bitter Honey is a holiday, a cookbook and a window onto a covetable lifestyle in the sun – all rolled into one.Praise for Bitter Honey:"Reading Letitia Clark’s Bitter Honey: Recipes and Stories from the Island of Sardinia feels like being on the loveliest holiday... a beautiful book, infused with the spirit of place, and love for good, simple food." - Nigella Lawson"Just lovely. Fans of the Italian South will love particularly." - Marina O’Loughlin "One of the most exciting cookbooks of this year. The writing, photo, design and most importantly the recipes are all outstanding. One that you will read cover to cover and also cook from." - Olia Hercules "Like a blast of Sardinian sunshine on a drab British lockdown evening. Full of artichokes, pasta and joy." - Bee Wilson "One of the best cookbooks of the year" - The Times