Paul Torday – författare

'I really loved this book' BILL NIGHY'Stunning' DAILY MAIL 'Brilliant' OBSERVER 'A triumph' GUARDIAN 'A delight' SUNDAY TELEGRAPHThis is the story of Dr Alfred Jones, a fisheries scientist - for whom diary-notable events include the acquisition of a new electric toothbrush and getting his article on caddis fly larvae published in 'Trout and Salmon' - who finds himself reluctantly involved in a project to bring salmon fishing to the Highlands of the Yemen - a project that will change his life, and the course of British political history for ever.With a wickedly wonderful cast of characters - including a visionary Sheikh, a weasely spin doctor, Fred's devilish wife and a few thousand transplanted salmon - SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN is a novel about hypocrisy and bureaucracy, dreams and deniability, and the transforming power of faith and love.

From the bestselling author of the Richard & Judy selected SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN.'Exceptionally accomplished ... a near masterpiece' DAILY EXPRESS'Heart-wrenching ... a mesmerising page-turner' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Delightfully written...Paul Torday is a remarkably original novelist' EVENING STANDARDLate one summer evening, Wilberforce - rich, young, and work-obsessed - makes a detour on his way home to the vast undercroft of Caerlyon Hall, and the domain of Francis Black, a place where wine, hospitality and affection flow freely.Through Francis, Wilberforce is initiated into a life rich in the promise of friendship and adventure, where, through his new set of friends, the possibility of finding acceptance, and even falling in love, seems finally to be within his reach.Wilberforce becomes a willing pupil to Francis, and in the cellars of Caerlyon he nurtures a new-found passion for wine. But even the finest wine can leave a bitter aftertaste, and Wilberforce will learn the undercroft's unpalatable secrets, and that passion comes at a price ...

'The best book of the year... truly astonishing' Sunday Express'An exciting novel - part love story, part psychological thriller' Mail on Sunday'Surprising and suspenseful' Observer A GHOST STORY, A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER AND A TALE OF LOVE REDISCOVERED, FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMENElizabeth has been married to Michael for ten years. She has adjusted to a fairly monotonous routine with her wealthy, decent but boring husband. Part of this routine involves occasional visits to Beinn Caorrun, the dank and gloomy house in a Scottish glen that Michael inherited. But then Michael begins to change. It starts when he thinks he sees, in a picture, the figure of a girl on a landing. As he changes, life becomes so much more fun and Elizabeth sees glimpses of a man she can fall in love with at last. But who - or what - is changing Michael?

A modern A TALE OF TWO CITIES by the bestselling author of SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN.'Brilliantly and sympathetically drawn...this wonderfully written, clever book does not miss a single trick' DAILY MAIL'Funny, touching and ultimately surprising' SCOTSMAN'A brilliant, page-turning read' GRANTAHector Chetwode-Talbot, Eck to his friends, has left the army and is slightly at a loss as to what to do next, when he is approached by an old army pal, Bilbo Mountwilliam. Bilbo runs an investment fund company and business is booming. Bilbo persuades Eck to join the company as a 'greeter' for moneyed clients. All Eck has to do is supply the contacts with entertainment and large G&Ts and then the fund managers will do the rest.Soon Eck is able to buy himself a luxury sports car and decadent flat. It is on a golfing trip to France that Eck first meets Charlie Summers, a fly-by-night entrepreneur whose latest scheme is to import Japanese dog food into the UK.But one day Charlie lands on Eck's doorstep with his suitcase, intent on staying and relaunching his dog food business in the area. But with the financial crash looming, Eck begins to ask himself if they are so very different...

Hartlepool Hall has been in Ed's family for generations - but is that about to change, and who is the mysterious Lady Alice?'A deliciously dark comedy about class, snobbery and a vanishing way of life' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'Gloriously enjoyable' DAILY MAIL'Excellent' METROEd Hartlepool has been living in self-imposed exile for five years, but with a settlement regarding his inheritance looming, he must return to his ancestral seat, Hartlepool Hall. On his return, he discovers that his father has left him, along with the house, a seven million pound tax bill, two massive overdrafts, an 80-year-old butler, and a vast country estate that is creaking at the seams. Not only that, but there is a strange woman in residence - Lady Alice - who seems to have made herself very much at home. With the debts mounting, it seems that Ed's only recourse is to turn to his friend Annabel's new boyfriend, a property developer who plans to turn Hartlepool Hall into luxury flats and a golf course. But can Ed save his inheritance without such a drastic move? And is Lady Alice really the person she claims to be?

'An unsettling, haunting story...memorable, atmospheric and tense' THE LADY'Well-written, well-crafted and constantly gripping' DAILY MAIL'A disquieting and atmospheric psychological novel' DAILY EXPRESS'A grippingly dark thriller...Great writing from a master storyteller' RED MAGAZINENorman Stokoe has just been appointed Children's Czar by the new government. He sells his flat and moves up north to take up the position. However before his first salary cheque has even hit his bank account, new priorities are set for the government department for which he works. The Children's Czar network is put on hold but it is too late to reverse the decision to employ Norman. So he is given a P.A. and a spacious office in a new business park on the banks of the Tyne.He settles down in his new leather chair behind his new desk, to wait for the green light to begin his mission. The green light never comes. What does happen is that two children go missing. As Children's Czar, surely this case should fall within his remit, but Norman has built a career on doing nothing, on stamping pieces of paper with 'send to the relevant department'. Now, faced with a campaigning journalist and a distraught mother, he is forced to become involved. The search will take him to dark places and will make him ask questions about the system he is supposed to uphold.

Political chaos, MPs turning on each other, expediency and skulduggery at the highest echelons of government? No, not Brexit, but a brilliant political satire from the bestselling author of SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN'THE DEATH OF AN OWL will ring true with anyone who has ever hated politicians or fallen out of love' EVENING STANDARD'A pleasure to read' DAILY EXPRESSAndrew Landford, MP is driving home one night along a dark country lane when a barn owl flies into his windscreen. It is an accident, nothing more. But Andrew sits on a parliamentary committee concerned with the protection of endangered species, and the death of the owl threatens to destroy his hopes of reaching No. 10. Also in the car is Andrew's old Oxford friend and political adviser, Charles Fryerne. Will they be able to keep the crime under wraps, or will circumstances conspire against them? Paul Torday's last novel, and completed by his son Piers, this is a timely reminder that in politics, nothing is sacred...'A pleasure to read' Daily Express'Skeweringly accurate' Evening Standard'A compelling blend of morality and satire' Sunday Mirror'Witty and well-crafted - a delightful gothic fantasy' Guardian

Two creepy, spine-tingling tales from the masterful storyteller and author of R&J book club selected SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMENIn BREAKFAST AT THE HOTEL DÉJÀ VU, Bobby Clarke arrives at a hotel on the Mediterranean shore. A former MP, unseated by the expenses scandal, he is spending time abroad to recover from a major illness. The other purpose of his stay is to write his memoirs in order to demonstrate that he was unfairly treated, having valiantly served his country for 30 years. He settles into his new surroundings but it soon becomes clear that all is not as it seems. For a start Bobby seems to have no memory of the immediate past. Each time he sits down to continue his memoirs he finds only a blank page. Every morning as he comes downstairs the same scene replays itself in front of him: a young woman and her son pass him on the stairs. And what has become of his wife?In THEO, John Elliott is the recently appointed vicar of St Joseph's - a dilapidated church with a congregation of 16 and a leaky roof. Having entered the Church more by default than through any great calling, he struggles to inject some life into his ailing parish. His wife Christine longs for them to escape the endless rounds of coffee mornings and cake sales. Then Theo, a child at her school, starts to exhibit strange marks on his hands and feet that vanish almost as soon as they have appeared. What has produced these marks - is it physical violence or something stranger? And what really did happen to the previous vicar of St Joseph's...