Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

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Gone Girl - Gillian FlynnGone Girl
Gillian Flynn

‘What are you thinking, Amy?’

The question I’ve asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: ‘What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?’

Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren’t his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife? And what was in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed?

In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war…

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Confessions of a Karaoke Queen – Ella Kingsley

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Confessions of a Karaoke Queen - Ella KingsleyConfessions Of A Karaoke Queen
Ella Kingsley

Maddie Mulhern is suddenly in charge. Her parents – former 80s pop duo Pineapple Mist – have left on a nostalgia tour, entrusting her to manage their struggling karaoke bar, Sing It Back. Panicking over the finances, Maddie takes a gamble: she signs up for a fly-on-the-wall reality TV series. With her faithful staff (divalicious drag queen Ruby, shy barman Simon and wannabe actress Jasmine) she’ll transform the bar into a huge success. Right?

Executive Producer Evan Bergman known that scandal sells. It’s no coincidence that he hires cool, attractive Nick Craven as the TV show’s director. Evan wants drama on screen – and he’ll do anything to get it.

As the series builds to a live finale, will Maddie see the truth in a Careless Whisper? Will Nick be able to keep his Poker Face? One thing’s for sure: we all do things at karaoke we live to regret…

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(Un)like a Virgin – Lucy-Anne Holmes

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(Un)like a Virgin - Lucy-Anne Holmes
Unlike a Virgin
Lucy-Anne Holmes

You know that bit in The X Factor, when the singer tells everyone about the rocky road they travelled to pursue their dream? Well, that’s Gracie Flowers’ story.

Gracie is very focused for a woman of almost twenty-six.  Her favourite book is The 5-Year Plan: Making the Most of Your Life.  And her five-year plan is going very well.  That is, until she is usurped from her big promotion by a handsome, posh idiot; she is dumped by her boyfriend; and discovers her loopy mother is facing bankruptcy.

 Hormones awry and ice cream over-ordered, a dream Gracie thought she’d buried ten years ago begins to resurface.  A dream that reminds her of the girl she used to be and everything she wanted to become.

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The Maid – Kimberly Cutter

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The Maid - Kimberly CutterThe Maid
Kimberly Cutter

It is the early part of the fifteenth century and the tumultuous Hundred Years War rages on. The French city of Orleans is under siege, English soldiers tear through the countryside wreaking destruction on all who cross their path, and Charles VII, the uncrowned king, has neither the strength nor the will to rally his army. And in the quiet of her parents’ garden in Domremy, a twelve-year-old peasant girl, Jehanne, hears a voice that will change her life – and the course of European history.

The tale of Jehanne d’Arc, the saint and warrior who believed she had been chosen by God to save France, and who led an army of 10,000 soldiers against the English, has captivated our imagination for centuries. But the story of Jehanne – the girl – whose sister was murdered by the English, who sought an escape from her violent father and a forced marriage, who taught herself to ride, and fight, and lead, and who somehow found the courage and tenacity to convince first one, then two, then tens, then thousands to follow her, is at once thrilling, unexpected and heart-breaking.

Sweeping, gripping and rich with intrigue, betrayal, love and valour, The Maid is an unforgettable novel about the power and burden of faith, and the exhilarating and devastating consequences of fame.

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A Pug’s Tale – Alison Pace

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A Pug's Tale - Alison Pace A Pug’s Tale
Alison Pace

There are pugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Hope McNeill has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for years, but this is the first time she’s been able to bring along her pug, Max. (Officially at least. Previously she’s had to smuggle him in inside her tote bag.)

The occasion: a special “Pug Night” party in honor of a deep-pocketed donor. Max and his friends are having a ball stalking the hors d’oeuvres and getting rambunctious, and making Hope wonder if this is also the last time she gets to bring Max to the museum.

But when a prized painting goes missing, the Met needs Hope’s–and Max’s–help. In her quest for the culprit, Hope searches for answers with an enigmatic detective, a larger-than-life society heiress, a lady with a shih tzu in a stroller, and her arguably intuitive canine. With luck, she’ll find some inspiration on her trips to Pug Hill before the investigation starts going downhill…

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Ruler Of The World (Empire of the Moghul) – Alex Rutherford

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Ruler of the World (Empire of the Moghul) - Alex Rutherford Ruler of the World (Empire of the Moghul)
Alex Rutherford

Keep your enemies close, and your sons closer…

The story of the third great Moghul Emperor, Akbar, leader of a triumphant dynasty which contained the seeds of its own destruction. Akbar, ruler of a sixth of the world’s people, colossally rich and utterly ruthless, was a contemporary of Elizabeth I, but infinitely more powerful. His reign began in bloodshed when he strangled his treacherous ‘milk-brother’, but it ended in glory. Akbar extended his rule over much of Asia, skillfully commanding tens of thousands of men, elephants and innovative technology, yet despite the unimaginable bloodshed which resulted his empire was based on universal religious tolerance.

However, Akbar’s homelife was more complicated. He defied family, nobles and mullahs to marry a beautiful Rajput princess, whose people he had conquered; but she hated Akbar and turned Salim, his eldest son, against him. What’s more, as any Moghul prince could inherit his father’s crown and become Emperor, his sons were brought up to be intensely competitive and suspicious of each other: to see eachother as rivals for the greatest prize of all. And, as Salim grew to manhood, the relationship between father and son became tainted by rebellion and competition to be the greatest Moghul of them all.

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Mini Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella

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Mini Shopaholic - Sophie KinsellaMini Shopaholic
Sophie Kinsella

Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) thought motherhood would be a breeze and that having a daughter was a dream come true – a shopping friend for life! But it’s trickier than she thought – two-year-old Minnie has a quite different approach to shopping.

She can create havoc everywhere, from Harrods to Harvey Nicks to her own christening. She hires taxis at random, her favourite word is “mine”, and she’s even started bidding for designer bags on eBay.

On top of everything else, there’s a big financial crisis. People are having to Cut Back – including all of Becky’s personal shopping clients – and she and Luke are still living with Becky’s Mum and Dad. To cheer everyone up, Becky decides to throw a surprise birthday party – on a budget – but then things become really complicated.

Who will end up on the naughty step, who will get a gold star and will Becky’s secret wishes come true?

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