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By Ben Pastor. 2012
FOURTH IN THE MARTIN BORA SERIES.SPELLBINDING MULTI-LAYERED CRIME NOVEL SET IN UKRAINE AS THE GERMANS REGROUP AFTER THE DISASTER OF…
STALINGRAD.FOR FANS OF PHILLIP KERR (BERNIE GUNTHER SERIES), ALAN FURST (SPIES OF THE BALKANS).THE HERO, MAJOR MARTIN BORA, IS AN ARISTOCRATIC GERMAN OFFICER OF THE ILK OF CLAUS VON STAUFFENBERG, TORN BETWEEN HIS DUTY AS AN OFFICER AND HIS INTEGRITY AS A HUMAN BEING.Ukraine, 1943. Having barely escaped the inferno of Stalingrad, Major Martin Bora is serving on the Russian front as a German counterintelligence officer. Weariness, disillusionment, and battle fatigue are a soldier's daily fare, yet Bora seems to be one of the few whose sanity is not marred by the horrors of war.As the Wehrmacht prepare for the Kursk counter-offensive, a Russian general defects aboard a T-34, the most advanced tank of the war. Soon he and another general, this one previously captured, are found dead in their cells. Everything appears to exclude the likelihood of foul play, but Bora begins an investigation, in a stubborn attempt to solve a mystery that will come much too close to home.By Ben Pastor. 2014
Praise for the Martin Bora series:"The tone of Liar Moon has a flu-like grimness, appropriate the 1943 setting. Pastor is…
excellent at providing details (silk stockings, movie magazines, cigarettes) that light up the setting."-Booklist"Lumen's plot is well crafted, her prose shap . . . a disturbing mix of detection and reflection."-Publisher's WeeklyRome, 1944. While the Allies are fighting their way up the Italian peninsula, Rome lives the last days of Nazi occupation. Their world is falling apart as the German Army, the Gestapo, and the SS vie for power while holding glittering and debauched parties. But this is also a time of Italian partisan attacks, arrests, and mass executions, all to the sound of Allied artillery bombardment just outside the walls of the city.Baron Martin von Bora, an officer in the Wehrmacht, has the complex and delicate task of solving not one, but three murders. A young German embassy secretary has "accidentally" fallen to her death from a fourth-floor window, and a Roman society lady and a headstrong cardinal of the Roman Curia are found dead in her apartment. The cardinal is personally known to Bora and, like the officer, secretly active in the resistance against the Third Reich. With Italian police inspector Sandro Guidi at his side, Bora sets off to establish the truth. Different as they are, the two men confront crime, war, and dictatorship in the awareness that the dignity of man comes at a price beyond all imagination.By Ben Pastor. 2001
Praise for Ben Pastor's Lumen: "Pastor's plot is well crafted, her prose sharp. . . . A disturbing mix of…
detection and reflection."--Publishers Weekly "Rivets the reader with its twist of historical realities. A historical piece, it faithfully reproduces the grim canvas of war. A character study, it captures the thoughts and actions of real people, not stereotypes."--The Free Lance-Star "And don't miss Lumen by Ben Pastor. . . . An interesting, original, and melancholy tale."--Literary Review Italy, September 1943. The Italian government switches sides and declares war on Germany. The north of Italy is controlled by the fascist puppets of Germany; the south liberated by Allied forces fighting their way up the peninsula. Having survived hell on the Russian front, Wehrmacht major and aristocrat Baron Martin von Bora is sent to Verona. He is ordered to investigate the murder of a prominent local fascist: a bizarre death threatening to discredit the regime's public image. The prime suspect is the victim's twenty-eight-year-old widow Clara. Haunted by his record of opposition to SS policies in Russia, Bora must watch his step. Against the backdrop of relentless anti-partisan warfare and the tragedy of the Holocaust, a breathless chase begins. Ben Pastor, born and now back in Italy, lived for thirty years in the United States, working as a university professor in Vermont. The first in the Martin Bora series, Lumen, was published by Bitter Lemon Press in May 2011.By Ben Pastor. 1999
Equal parts wartime political intrigue, detective story, psychological thriller and religious mystery, Pastor's debut follows a German army captain and…
a Chicago priest as they investigate the death of a nun in Nazi-occupied Poland. Stunned by the violence of the occupation and by the ideology of his colleagues, Bora's sense of Prussian duty is tested to the breaking point.By Jenny Ashcroft. 2019
'An epic love story full of exotic charm and rich historical detail . . . Meet Me In Bombay will…
sweep you away to another time and place.' Red Magazine'Powerful and evocative' Woman & HomeAll he needs is to find her. First he must remember who she is. An injured soldier has lost everything, even his past. His dreams hint at his old life; flashes of a woman. His only wish is to return to her, but will his broken mind let him? And will she still be waiting for him, if it does?Back at the start of 1914, at a party on the shores of Bombay, Madeline Bright and Luke Devereaux meet. Strangers in a foreign world, in the sweltering heat and colour of colonial India they fall in love. They want to believe nothing can come between them, not even the disapproval of Maddy's mother. But war looms and Luke, like so many, has no choice but to fight.Maddy's mother urges her to move on. Yet still she clings to the promise Luke left her with: that the two of them will meet again in Bombay...Meet Me in Bombay is a story of fierce love set against the exotic and colourful world of colonial Bombay and the tragedy of the First World War. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies, Lucinda Riley and Kate Furnivall. 'Moving and beautifully written, this enchanting story of love and loss touched my heart' DINAH JEFFERIES'Emotional, evocative and enthralling' KATE FURNIVALL'An epic, bittersweet love story that will draw you in and grip you to the last page' GILL PAUL'An exquisite love story, sumptuous and so moving. A WONDERFUL book!!' TRACY REESBy Euan Cameron. 2019
"Immersive, nuanced, impeccably researched" IAN RANKIN"Beautifully written and moving" ALLAN MASSIE"Poignant, nostalgic and redolent of the smell of France" SIMON…
BRETTFamily history has always been a mystery to Will Latymer. His father flatly refused to talk about it, and with no other relatives to consult, it seems that a mystery it shall always remain. Until of course, Will meets Ghislaine, his beautiful French cousin, in a chance encounter that introduces him to his grandmother, Madeleine, shut away in a quiet Breton manor with her memories and secrets.Before long, Will has been plunged headlong into the life of Madeleine's great love, his longlost grandfather, Henry Latymer. Reading Henry's old letters and diaries for the first time, Will discovers an idealistic young man, full of hopes and optimism - an optimism that will gradually be crushed as the realities of life under the Vichy regime become glaringly clear.But the more Will delves into Madeleine and Henry's past, and into France's troubled history, the darker the secrets he discovers become, and the more he has cause to wonder if sometimes, the past should remain buried.By Cornelius Ryan. 2007
Arnhem 1944: the airborne strike for the bridges over the Rhine.The true story of the greatest battle of World War…
II and the basis of the 1977 film of the same name, directed by Richard Attenborough.The Battle of Arnhem, one of the most dramatic battles of World War II, was as daring as it was ill-fated. It cost the Allies nearly twice as many casualties as D-Day. This is the whole compelling story, told through the vast cast of characters involved. From Dutch civilians to British and American strategists, its scope and ambition is unparalleled, superbly recreating the terror and suspense, the heroism and tragedy of this epic operation.'I know of no other work of literature of World War II as moving, as awesome and as accurate in its portrayal of human courage.' - General James A GavinBy Andrew Taylor. 1998
'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The…
Fire Court, this is the fourth instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesThe Korean war rumbles in the background throughout this novel as a reporter is found murdered at the Bathurst Arms, squatters are evicted from a military camp and there are new developments in the three-year-old hunt for a missing teenager. And in spite of all that's going on, Jill Francis, a local journalist, and DI Richard Thornhill find they can no longer resist their feelings for each other.'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time OutBy Andrew Taylor. 2004
'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The…
Fire Court, this is the seventh instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesLove and need make unexpected bedfellows, and both are blind. As the grip of a long hard winter tightens on Lydmouth, a dead woman calls the dying in a seance behind net curtains. Two provincial newspapers are in the throes of a bitter circulation war. A lorry-driver broods, and an office boy loses his heart. Britain is basking in the warm glow of post-war tranquillity, but in the quiet town of Lydmouth, darker forces are at play. The rats are fed on bread and milk, a gentleman's yellow kid glove is mislaid on a train, and something disgusting is happening at Mr Prout's toyshop.Returning to a town shrouded in intrigue and suspicion, Jill Francis becomes acting editor of the Gazette. Meanwhile, there's no pleasure left in the life of Detective Chief Inspector Richard Thornhill. Only a corpse, a television set and the promise of trouble to come.'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time OutBy Andrew Taylor. 1994
'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily TelegraphFrom the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and Fire of…
Court, this is the first instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesWorkmen in the small market town of Lydmouth are demolishing an old cottage. A sledgehammer smashes into what looks like a solid wall. Instead, layers of wallpaper conceal the door of a locked cupboard which holds a box - and in the box is the skeleton of a young baby. Items within the box suggest that the baby was entombed early in the nineteenth century, but when another man is also found dead, the evidence suggests that the baby's death is more recent and that a killer is on the loose. For Journalist Jill Francis, newly arrived from London, this looks like her first story to chase ... 'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid'Captures perfectly the drab atmosphere and cloying morality of the 1950s . . . Taylor is an excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time Out 'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily TelegraphBy Andrew Taylor. 2001
'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The…
Fire Court, this is the sixth instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesWhen the body of Rufus Moorcroft, a middle-aged widower with a distinguished war record, is found in his summerhouse, the verdict is suicide. But both reporter Jill Francis and her lover, Detective Richard Thornhill, approaching the case from different angles, discover there's more to it than that. The key to the mystery stretches back to a highly-charged summer before the war, and back to another death. A local asylum plays a part, as do a moderately famous artist and his wife; Superintendent Williamson, now retired and loathing it; Councillor Bernie Broadbent - a man with more pies than fingers to put in them; a Cambridge don; an aristocratic unmarried mother, now gleefully drawing her old-age pension; and - to Thornhill's surprise and growing horror - his own wife, Edith.'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time OutBy Andrew Taylor. 2000
'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The…
Fire Court, this is the fifth instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesWhen Mattie Harris's body is found drowned in the river, everyone in Lydmouth knows something is wrong. Mattie wasn't a swimmer - it can't have been a simple accident. She was drunk on the last night of her life - could she have fallen in? Or was she pushed? Mattie was a waitress, of no importance at all, so when Lydmouth's most prominent citizens become very anxious to establish that her death was accidental, Jill Francis's suspicions become roused. In the meantime she is becoming ever closer to Inspector Richard Thornhill, and discovering that the living have as many secrets as the dead...'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time OutBy Andrew Taylor. 1997
'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The…
Fire Court, this is the third instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesAfter the coldest night of the year, they find the man's body. He is dangling from the Hanging Tree on the outskirts of a village near Lydmouth, with his trousers round his ankles. Is it suicide, murder, or accidental death resulting from some bizarre sexual practice?Journalist Jill Francis and Detective Inspector Thornhill become involved in the case in separate ways. Jill is also drawn unwillingly into the affairs of the small public school where the dead man taught. Meanwhile a Peeping Tom is preying upon Lydmouth; Jill has just moved into her own house and is afraid she is being watched. And there are more distractions, on a personal level, for policeman and reporter . . .'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time OutBy Andrew Taylor. 1995
'Andrew Taylor is a master story-teller' Daily Telegraph From the No.1 bestselling author of The Ashes of London and The…
Fire Court, this is the second instalment in the acclaimed Lydmouth seriesWhen a spinster of the parish is found bludgeoned to death in St John's, and the church's most valuable possession, the Lydmouth chalice, is missing, the finger of suspicion points at the new vicar, who is already beset with problems.The glare of the police investigation reveals shabby secrets and private griefs. Jill Francis, struggling to find her feet in her new life, stumbles into the case at the beginning. But even a journalist cannot always watch from the sidelines. Soon she is inextricably involved in the Suttons' affairs. Despite the electric antagonism between her and Inspector Richard Thornhill, she has instincts that she can't ignore . . .'An excellent writer. He plots with care and intelligence and the solution to the mystery is satisfyingly chilling' The Times'The most under-rated crime writer in Britain today' Val McDermid 'There is no denying Taylor's talent, his prose exudes a quality uncommon among his contemporaries' Time OutBy Vasily Grossman. 2010
By the author of Life and Fate, now a major Radio 4 drama starring Kenneth Branagh. Vasily Grossman is widely…
recognized as one of the outstanding literary figures of the twentieth century. The short fiction collected here - satire, comedy, tragedy and pure narrative - illustrate the remarkable breadth of his work, and demonstrate all the bold intelligence, delicate irony and extraordinary vividness for which he has become known. In addition to the eleven stories, this volume includes the complete text of 'The Hell of Treblinka', one of the first descriptions of a Nazi extermination camp; a powerful and harrowing piece of journalism written only weeks after the camp was dissolved. Beautifully illuminated by Robert Chandler's introductions and endnotes, with photographs from the family archive, and an Afterword by Grossman's stepson, Fyodor Guber.By Jenny Ashcroft. 2019
'An epic love story full of exotic charm and rich historical detail . . . Meet Me In Bombay will…
sweep you away to another time and place.' Red Magazine'Powerful and evocative' Woman & HomeAll he needs is to find her. First he must remember who she is. An injured soldier has lost everything, even his past. His dreams hint at his old life; flashes of a woman. His only wish is to return to her, but will his broken mind let him? And will she still be waiting for him, if it does?Back at the start of 1914, at a party on the shores of Bombay, Madeline Bright and Luke Devereaux meet. Strangers in a foreign world, in the sweltering heat and colour of colonial India they fall in love. They want to believe nothing can come between them, not even the disapproval of Maddy's mother. But war looms and Luke, like so many, has no choice but to fight.Maddy's mother urges her to move on. Yet still she clings to the promise Luke left her with: that the two of them will meet again in Bombay...Meet Me in Bombay is a story of fierce love set against the exotic and colourful world of colonial Bombay and the tragedy of the First World War. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies, Lucinda Riley and Kate Furnivall. 'Moving and beautifully written, this enchanting story of love and loss touched my heart' DINAH JEFFERIES'Emotional, evocative and enthralling' KATE FURNIVALL'An epic, bittersweet love story that will draw you in and grip you to the last page' GILL PAUL'An exquisite love story, sumptuous and so moving. A WONDERFUL book!!' TRACY REESBy Prof Bernhard Schlink. 2018
A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER'Bernhard Schlink speaks straight to the heart' New York Times'Brilliant... A tale of love and loss in…
20th century Germany' Evening Standard'A cleverly-constructed tale of cross-class romance' Mail on Sunday'A poignant portrait of a woman out of step with her time' Observer Olga is an orphan raised by her grandmother in a Prussian village around the turn of the 20th century. Smart and precocious, she fights against the prejudices of the time to find her place in a world that sees her as second-best.When she falls in love with Herbert, a local aristocrat obsessed with the era's dreams of power, glory and greatness, her life is irremediably changed.Theirs is a love against all odds, entwined with the twisting paths of German history, leading us from the late 19th to the early 21st century, from Germany to Africa and the Arctic, from the Baltic Sea to the German south-west.This is the story of that love, of Olga's devotion to a restless man - told in thought, letters and in a fateful moment of great rebellion.By Otto De Kat. 2012
June 1941. Dutch diplomat Oscar Verschuur has been posted to neutral Switzerland. His family is spread across Europe. His wife…
Kate works as a nurse in London and their daughter Emma is living in Berlin with her husband Carl, a 'good' German who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Briefly reunited with her father in a restaurant in Geneva, Emma drops a bombshell. A date and a codename, and the fate of nations is placed in Verschuur's hands: June 22, Barbarossa. What should he do? Warn the world, or put his daughter's safety first? The Gestapo are watching them both. And with Stalin lulled by his alliance with Hitler, will anyone even listen? Otto de Kat is fast gaining a reputation as one of Europe's sharpest and most lucid writers. News from Berlin, a book for all readers, a true page-turner driven by the pulse of a ticking clock, confirms him as a storyteller of subtly extravagant gifts.By Euan Cameron. 2019
"Immersive, nuanced, impeccably researched" IAN RANKIN"Beautifully written and moving" ALLAN MASSIE"Poignant, nostalgic and redolent of the smell of France" SIMON…
BRETTFamily history has always been a mystery to Will Latymer. His father flatly refused to talk about it, and with no other relatives to consult, it seems that a mystery it shall always remain. Until of course, Will meets Ghislaine, his beautiful French cousin, in a chance encounter that introduces him to his grandmother, Madeleine, shut away in a quiet Breton manor with her memories and secrets.Before long, Will has been plunged headlong into the life of Madeleine's great love, his longlost grandfather, Henry Latymer. Reading Henry's old letters and diaries for the first time, Will discovers an idealistic young man, full of hopes and optimism - an optimism that will gradually be crushed as the realities of life under the Vichy regime become glaringly clear.But the more Will delves into Madeleine and Henry's past, and into France's troubled history, the darker the secrets he discovers become, and the more he has cause to wonder if sometimes, the past should remain buried.It's the most wonderful time of the year - but can the East End Angels keep London safe?Meet The East…
End Angels, the newest members of Station Seventy-Five's ambulance crew . . .Frankie is trying hard to keep everything together. She can count on the support of the East End Angels, even in the face of family trouble.Winnie's beloved husband, Mac, is putting himself at risk every day in the bomb disposal unit and she's finding it hard while he's away.Bella is growing in confidence and happiness. Her friendship with Winnie's brother, James, is getting closer all the time.Christmas on the Home Front is a hard time with loved ones far away - but the women of the Auxiliary Ambulance service are making do and mending.The third novel in the acclaimed East End Angels series, following Bella, Winnie and Frankie and their lives as members of Station Seventy-Five's ambulance crew. Perfect for fans of Sheila Newberry and Katie Flynn.Readers love the East End Angels series . . . 'Wonderfully written by one very talented author . . . highly recommended''I loved reading this book . . . so looking forward to the next in the series''Reminded me of Call the Midwife''Absolutely brilliant for recreating life in London during the Blitz''A very well-written and researched, warm-hearted book . . . with a bit of romance!'*Don't miss Rosie Hendry's brand new novel, THE MOTHER'S DAY CLUB, coming 18th February 2021 and available now to pre-order*