"This is a unique and necessary book. The Good Russian takes us inside wartime Russia, to a city that Jana Bakunina knows intimately. She brings us face to face with ordinary Russians, and also tells her own compelling personal story. Best of all, she writes very well." Simon Kuper, FT Journalist and author of the bestselling ChumsWhen Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the writer Jana Bakunina, who has lived in the UK for 20 years, felt furious, ashamed, but most of all helpless. A year later she travelled to her home city of Yekaterinburg to see how ordinary Russians viewed the conflict - and whether the soul of her nation had truly been crushed.Jana finds a booming city seemingly untouched by war. Reconnecting with old friends, she discovers people either happy to go along with a regime that has brought them stability, or else staying out of politics. Most painful of all, her once liberal father has channelled his personal disappointments into becoming a firm fan of Putin.In the grand humane tradition of Russian dissident writers, Jana Bakunina grapples with a universal problem: what happens when a country you love becomes infected by nationalism? What hope is there when voices of conscience are silenced by dictatorship? And can Russians in exile still imagine a liberated future?
The football World Cup is the most watched sporting event on the planet. It has become a global obsession: 211 nations initially entered the 2022 edition. It has been running for almost a century. Yet there is no comprehensive history of the tournament: based on fresh interviews and meticulously researched this book will change that.By 1930, football had outgrown the Olympic Games. A new competition, run by Fifa, would take international football to the next level. After a shambolic start to the first cup in Uruguay - an incomplete stadium, shoddy refereeing and physios accidentally injuring players - the thrilling final saw Uruguay take on Argentina, beating them 4-2.From those chaotic beginnings grew the modern World Cup, a cultural phenomenon that draws the world together like nothing else, and that gives it a profound importance. Ask a random person on a random street to name a moment in the history of Senegal and they may well say Pape Bouba Diop's winner against France in the 2002 World Cup, a goal not only against the defending champions but against the former colonial masters.The World Cup has political significance. West Germany's success in 1954 was a moment of reintegration into global society. Progress to the semi-finals in 1998 gave a huge boost to Croatia's sense of national self. But football is an unpredictable sport. In the so-called Soccer War of 1969 tensions between El Salvador and Honduras were ignited by a World Cup qualifier. More recently, the focus for governments seeking to political gain has been hosting the tournament, with the World Cups in Russia and Qatar clear examples of sportswashing, staging a tournament to project an image of a thriving society.There has never been a comprehensive history of the World Cup that has considered not only the matches and goals, the players and coaches, the tales of scandal and genius, the haggling and skulduggery of the bidding process, but has also placed the tournaments within a socio-political framework. The story of the World Cup is also the story of the world; this book tells its definitive history.
In a mirror England fuelled by stories, the knight and the enchantress are fated to fall in love and doom each other over and over, the same fable retold over thousands of lifetimes. But Vina and Simran are looking for a way to break the cycle, just as a mysterious assassin begins targeting tales like theirs. From the author of the World Fantasy Award-winning The Jasmine Throne, comes a sapphic epic fantasy of medieval myth, romance, and the magic of stories.
Wuthering Heights meets The Cruel Prince in the new Celtic-inspired erotic fantasy romance from Sunday Times bestseller S.T. Gibson, author of the TikTok phenomenon A Dowry of Blood.For as long as Adam can remember he has dreamed about visiting Cragimar, a crumbling manor in the Highlands. Nicola, his closest friend, is just as filled with longing for adventure, and for Adam. Perhaps in the remote wilds of Scotland, Adam will finally surrender to their shared attraction.When a storm strands them at Craigmar, Adam and Nicola find themselves at the mercy of Eileen, an eccentric aristocrat, and Finley, her brooding groundskeeper.Trapped by the storm, and bound by ancient faery magic, Nicola and Adam will get more than they bargained for as they become entangled in Eileen and Finley's world of mind games, deceit and forbidden desire.Praise for S.T. Gibson's A Dowry of Blood:'Stunningly gorgeous and devastatingly romantic' Katee Robert, author of Neon Gods'A dizzying nightmare of a romance that will leave you aching, angry and ultimately hopeful' Hannah Whitten, author of For the Wolf'A dark seductive tale. . . intermingling love, pain, fear and anger in mesmerizing prose' Publishers Weekly
'A fascinating testimony to our nervous hunger to map the hazy, haunted territory at the edges of the rational... engrossing, entertaining and distinctly unsettling' Sarah Waters'Shiversomely eerie... so impressive in its research and remarkable in all it uncovers' Tom HollandLate one evening the telephone rings, and on the line is a stranger. They tell you that your nine-year-old son gave them your number. Your heart stops. You tell them that your son has been dead for almost 20 years. They know this, they say. He wants you to come and see him.What do you do when reality begins to fray around you? Where do you go when science cannot explain your experiences? The Society for Psychical Research was founded in 1882 to tackle these very questions and to shine light on the shadowy world of the supernatural. Distinguished members have included prime ministers and Nobel Prize-winning scientists.But the most prolific of all the SPR's paranormal investigators was a young British naval officer named Tony Cornell. A rationalist and a sceptic he became haunted by a wartime encounter in India that changed everything . Between 1950 and 2010 he became perhaps the world's most prolific investigator of psychic phenomena and paranormal events. Alongside his colleague, the psychologist Alan Gauld, they combined the roles of detectives, exorcists and psychiatrists, returning time and again to the unsettling spaces that exist on the very periphery of our tidy, rational lives: Ghosts. Poltergeists. Psychic powers.Drawing on a previously untapped archive of Cornell's case files, which survive as a unique repository of encounters reported by ordinary people, Chasing the Dark is the compelling story of our relationship with the supernatural. What do these atmospheric and often chilling cases teach us about who we are, and the anxieties that consume us? And why do the dead still find ways to make themselves known?
This is a wild, raw and hilarious memoir that charts Dylan's first year of transitioning - which was extensively documented through her viral TikTok series 'Days of Girlhood' - and the chaos that ensued. Written in true and authentic Dylan style in a combination of journal-style entries and essays, the book tackles mental health struggles, feminism, religion, internet trolls and more. It's 100% honest and 100% Dylan.'The thing that my videos lack is backstory. Granular moments or revelations that deserve to be enjoyed in a more personal way. As a trans human sharing my vulnerabilities, I have to be very sure that I am ready to disclose sensitive topics. My videos have free range for anyone, including the haters, to enjoy. This book would be a safety blanket to invite my true allies under, to share the personal and scary truth of my life as a trans influencer with the right crowd.'
'Gritty, romantic, and breathlessly fierce, The Second Death of Locke will grip your heart and never let go' Tasha SuriLove. Loyalty. Sacrifice.Grey Flynn has dedicated her life to her mage, Kier.She will be his blade on the battlefield, his healer and protector. The deep well of raw power inside her is Kier's to use. Grey would do anything for Kier - be anything for him - if he would only ask.When a quest to protect the child of an enemy kingdom pulls them into the dangerous heart of their nation's war, Grey and Kier will need to decide what they are willing to sacrifice to protect their secret. For Grey is no ordinary magical well, but heir to the lost island of Locke - the root of all power. If she dies, all magic dies with her.The Second Death of Locke is a devastatingly romantic epic fantasy and about the undying bond between a knight and their mage, perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and The Six Deaths of the Saint.'A gloriously haunting story, with a searing chivalric romance that burns bright and bittersweet, The Second Death of Locke will hold your heart in its fist until the very end' Georgia Summers, author of The City of Stardust
'Tense, chilling and beautifully written, El Dorado Drive is an absolute knockout' HARLAN COBEN'A smart, twisty, and riveting family drama' KARIN SLAUGHTER'Suspenseful as all hell but also beautifully observed' DENNIS LEHANEThe thrilling new novel from bestselling writer Megan Abbott: a story about three sisters who join an exclusive club which promises to empower and enrich its members, but will actually put them in mortal danger...Pam, Debra and Harper are three sisters who grew up in Detroit when the city was a boom town thanks to the auto industry. Now in mid-life, their lives have faltered in different ways, mirroring the fortunes of their city. Debra's husband needs expensive medical treatment. Pam's partner is stealing her children's inheritance. And Harper has a big debt which is also a big secret. In desperate need of money, support and just some fun, the three sisters join The Wheel, a pyramid scheme posing as an exclusive women's club. As The Wheel turns, the money flows, the stakes get higher - and then a shocking murder tears everything apart. El Dorado Drive is a nail-biting, brilliantly dark story about class, money, women in mid-life, and the decline of the American dream.'Megan Abbott is quite rightly considered to be psycho thriller royalty' DAILY MAIL'A literary rock star' RILEY SAGER, New York Times bestselling author of The House Across the Lake'Always essential reading' IRISH TIMES
From one of the most original and dazzling voices in speculative fiction comes an intergalactic tale of conspiracy, war and the fall of empires. My name is Mawukana na-Vdnaze, and I am a very poor copy of myself. In telling my story, there are certain things I should perhaps lie about. I should make myself a hero. Pretend I was not used by strangers and gods, did not leave people behind. Here is one truth: out there in deep-space, in the pilot's chair, I died. And then, I was reborn. I became something not quite human, something that could speak to the infinite dark. And I vowed to become the scourge of the world that wronged me. This is the story of the supernova event that burned planets and felled civilizations. This is also the story of the many lives I've lived since I died for the first time. Are you listening?Discover this thrilling and breathtakingly imaginative space opera from the multi-award-winning Claire North, perfect for fans of Ann Leckie, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Arkady Martine.
Not everyone who's missing wants to be foundWhen human remains are discovered in an abandoned Cornish tin mine's engine house, everyone believes it is the body of teenage tearaway Elizabeth King, who disappeared from her home thirty years earlier. But Elizabeth - or rather, Eloise - is now married, respectable... and very much alive. But someone is after her - someone who remembers her from thirty years ago.Without revealing her identity, Eloise must now face the past and solve her own murder, without alerting the killer, or she will lose everything she holds dear - including even her own life.----------Praise for Jo Jakeman:'Packed with explosive twists, this captivating murder mystery will keep you reading late into the night' - Womans Own'A superb mystery with perfectly drawn characters and plenty of twists and turns' - Katy Watson, author of The Three Dahlias'Absolutely loved this witty, wicked and cleverly plotted story, with its sharply-drawn characters and skewering of privilege and class.... a classic murder mystery - and one that will keep you guessing to the very end' - Caz Frear, author of Sweet Little Lies
Using previously undiscovered material, Surreal tells the riveting story of Gala Dali,(1894-1982) who broke away from the her cultured but penurious background in pre-Revolutionary Russia to live in Paris with both France's most famous poet, Paul Eluard, and artist Max Ernst. By the time she met the budding artist Salvador Dali in 1929, Gala was known as the Mother of Surrealism. She rapidly became his mentor and protector, marrying him in 1934 and subsequently engineering their vast fortune. At a time when artists were celebrities, Gala acted as the ambassador of the Surrealist movement, spreading its popularity across the globe. She was the survivor of two world wars, the Russian revolution and the Spanish Civil War, and lived between France, Spain and the U.S. Gala was a heroine whose originality captivated people wherever she went, and her life story has everything : glamour; drama; true love, twisted love; ambition; money; art; defiance and daring,. In this vivid, detailed rendering, Michele Gerber Klein has brought Gala out of the shadows to reveal a charismatic figure who played a pivotal role in the art world, yet has never received the full recognition she deserves.
One of the most loved - and loving - father-and-son duos in the land, Harry and Jamie Redknapp are football royalty. Football runs through their veins. Both have enjoyed stellar careers on the pitch, in managerial dug-outs and in our television studios. But how did it all start, and what drove them on to be the football fanatics that they so passionately are today?A Family Obsession is the fascinating result of Harry and Jamie sitting round the kitchen table, where they discuss, debate, select and celebrate all aspects of the game that have inspired them. Who are the men who impacted their careers and fired that all-consuming passion for football? This is a deep dive into the matches, the players, the managers and the changes that have spanned their two generations. With amusing anecdotes, Harry and Jamie reveal the individuals who have set their pulses racing, opened their minds, enriched their football lives and stimulated their respective love affairs with the sport.From childhood idols to role models in young adulthood, from beloved team-mates to bitter rivals, from genius managers to the game's great mavericks - from Pele and Maradona to Bobby Moore and Lionel Messi via Steven Gerrad and Pep Guardiola - all are brought to life by two of the country's most knowledgeable, animated and beloved football obsessives.
From the bestselling author of Fight Club comes a dark, satirical parable about a string of mysterious high school disappearances, the seedy underbellies of billionaires, and the tough choices we make in the face of an uncertain future.In Shock Induction, the best and brightest students at a seemingly reputable high school are disappearing. Every day it seems another overachiever is lost to an apparent suicide. But something far more sinister is lurking beneath the surface.These kids have been under surveillance since birth, monitored and measured by an online service called "Greener Pastures." It's here, in Greener Pastures, that billionaires observe and recruit the next generation of talent. The highest test scores, the best grades, and the most niche extracurriculars just might land these teenagers an enticing offer at auction. A couple billion dollars in exchange for the remainder of your life and intellectual labour sounds like a pretty fair deal - doesn't it?In a high school only Chuck Palahniuk could imagine, students must choose between the risk of following their dreams or the security of money and a lifetime of servitude to the world's wealthiest and most elite - but how much of a choice do they truly have?
Even for a con artist, Liz is about to take things way, way too far . . .Liz has a knack for getting wealthy people to trust her - everyone thinks she's an instant friend. She's made a life for herself as a serial con artist, but Liz's many identities and crimes are starting to snap at her heels. So she leaps at the chance to escape to the Mexican coast to decorate a socialite's new villa, planning to behave herself for once.But when Liz is mistaken for her absent employer, she just can't help herself. Drawn into the dazzling seafront community, things take an unexpected turn, until Liz wonders exactly why her doppelganger hasn't come to claim her glittering life . . .Spoiler: it's going to be carnage.
The brand-new crime thriller from Sunday Times bestselling author, J, D. Robb.
From the sacred stones of Stonehenge to the rose red city of Petra, from towering mountains to the smallest grains of sand, rocks have had a profound influence on human life.Anjana Khatwa, an award-winning earth scientist and TV presenter, has dedicated much of her life to geology. Here she tells us in beautifully descriptive writing how rocks have been shaped over the eons-but also how they have shaped us.Boldly alternating between modern science and ancient lore, Khatwa takes us on an exhilarating journey through deep time from bursting volcanoes in the Andes to the wonder of the Dorset coastline, while honouring the Indigenous stories that have brought the land alive over the millennia.She also explores how connecting with the earth has guided her through the toughest times and offers the hope of reconnection with the earth and its stories-if only we open ourselves to hear the wisdom in its whispers.
Jack Ryan returns in a blockbuster new novel of action, thrills and intrigue in the world created by master storytelling Tom Clancy.__________PRAISE FOR TOM CLANCY'Constantly taps the current world situation for its imminent dangers and spins them into an engrossing tale'NEW YORK TIMES'Exhilarating. No other novelist is giving so full a picture of modern conflict'SUNDAY TIMES'A brilliantly constructed thriller that packs a punch'DAILY MAIL'Heart-stopping action . . . entertaining and eminently topical'WASHINGTON POST
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