With or Without You – Domenica Ruta

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With or Without You - Domenica RutaWith or Without You
Domenica Ruta

Domenica Ruta grew up in Danvers, Massachusetts, in a ramshackle, rundown, trash-filled house with her mother, a drug dealer and user who raised Domenica on a steady diet of Oxycontin. Growing up, Domenica knew she didn’t fit in -she was far smarter and worse dressed than everyone else she knew, and she clearly had the most flamboyant mother of anyone in town – but she found solace in writing and reading. As she grew older, though, and as her mother’s behavior grew increasingly outrageous and her home life increasingly untenable, Domenica fled Danvers only to become ensared by the demons of addiction.

A thoroughly textured and masterfully written book, layered with wildly colorful characters, a biting sense of humor, and penetrating, deeply sympathetic insights, With or Without You finally ends with Domenica’s increasing awareness that she must leave the life she grew up with in order to survive.

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The Real Lady Detective Agency – Rebecca Jane

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The Real Lady Detective Agency - Rebecca JaneThe Real Lady Detective Agency: A True Story
Rebecca Jane

‘It’s not me then?’ she says. A little bit of my heart breaks, and I struggle to swallow down the lump in my throat. ‘No Jane, it’s not you. You were right.’

Why won’t he ever let you use his phone? Why is he always going on about that girl from work?

Is he cheating on you?

There’s one way to find out – ask him. Then (when he lies) call Rebecca Jane, founder and owner of the Lady Detective Agency.

The Agency is one of the UK’s most successful female private detective services. It exists for one purpose: to find the truth.

Whether that means trailing a transsexual prostitute through the streets of London, following suspected cheats on stag parties, tracking down someone’s beloved pet ferret or uncovering famous people’s affairs, Rebecca and her elite team will help. Whatever it takes.

Their extraordinary dedication stems from first-hand experience of deception. Here Rebecca not only reveals her clients’ fascinating stories, but her own rollercoaster journey too – from early success to crushing failure, scandal, abuse and affairs, and ultimately to finding true love.

At times heartbreaking, hilarious and eye-opening, this vibrantly-written compilation of stories introduces us to a sparkling and witty new voice in Rebecca and her crack team of female detectives who are always ready to solve any case, no matter how big or small.

For the first time, the Agency is opening its doors and revealing its secrets.

Guilty consciences beware.

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Trafficked – Sophie Hayes

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Trafficked - Sophie HayesTrafficked
Sophie Hayes

He’d been her friend for years. He said he loved her. Then she realised she didn’t know him at all…

When everything seemed to be falling apart in Sophie’s life, she was thankful for her friend Kas, who was always at the end of a phone, ready to listen and to offer comfort and advice.

Her father’s cold dislike of her and then her parents’ divorce had left her with a deep distrust of men. But, gradually, Kas made her believe there was at least one man who truly cared about her.

But she was wrong.

At first when Sophie went to stay for a few days with Kas in Italy, he was kind and caring, as he’d always been. But three days after she arrived, everything changed.

His eyes were cold as he described the things he expected her to do ‘for love’. But soon Sophie’s bewilderment turned to fear as he punched and shouted at her and threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn’t do exactly as she was told… to sell her body on the streets to pay off Kas’s debts.

Terrified of Kas, the police and the men whose pleasures she was forced to satisfy, Sophie worked seven nights a week for the next six months on the dark and lonely streets of a town in northern Italy.

Subjected regularly to Kas’s verbal, mental and physical abuse, she knew she would never escape.

And then, one day, after she’d been admitted to hospital with stomach pains – and knowing that Kas would kill her if he found out – she dared to phone her mother.

But who would reach her first?

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Unsaid Things… Our Story – McFly

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Unsaid Things... Our Story - McFlyUnsaid Things…Our Story
McFly

Prepare to meet the real McFly .

In 2003, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter came together and formed what would become one of the most popular and successful bands in the UK. Just teenagers at the time, they were catapulted into the limelight and had to adapt quickly to their new-found fame – and everything that came with it. Now, at last, they have decided to tell their story, in full and revealing detail.

Speaking with candour and their trademark humour, Tom, Danny, Harry and Dougie share both the stories of their own lives and that of McFly. They give their personal insights into their contrasting childhoods, the individual paths that led them to the band, the struggles they have each overcome, their love lives and, of course, their music.

Packed with previously untold stories, a lot of laughter and the occasional tear, Unsaid Things offers a privileged look into the lives of four guys who started out as bandmates and became best friends. Their unique camaraderie radiates from every page and by the end of the book, you’ll know them almost as well as they know each other.

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A Street Cat Named Bob – James Bowen

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A Street Cat Named Bob - James BowenA Street Cat Named Bob
James Bowen

When James Bowen found an injured, ginger street cat curled up in the hallway of his sheltered accommodation, he had no idea just how much his life was about to change. James was living hand to mouth on the streets of London and the last thing he needed was a pet.

Yet James couldn’t resist helping the strikingly intelligent tom cat, whom he quickly christened Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas.

Soon the two were inseparable and their diverse, comic and occasionally dangerous adventures would transform both their lives, slowly healing the scars of each other’s troubled pasts.

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The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz – Denis Avey

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The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz - Denis AveyThe Man Who Broke into Auschwitz
Denis Avey

The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz is the true story of a British soldier who marched willingly into Buna-Monowitz, the concentration camp known as Auschwitz III.

Denis Avey was being held in a POW labour camp near Auschwitz III. He had heard of the brutality meted out to the prisoners there and he was determined to witness what he could.

He hatched a plan to swap places with a Jewish inmate and smuggled himself into the camp. He spent the night there on two occasions and experienced at first-hand the cruelty of a place where slave workers had been sentenced to death through labour.

Astonishingly, he survived.

For decades he couldn’t bring himself to revisit the past that haunted his dreams, but now Denis Avey feels able to tell the full story – a tale as gripping as it is moving – which offers us a unique insight into the mind of an ordinary man whose moral and physical courage are almost beyond belief.

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Life… with No Breaks – Nick Spalding

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Life... with No Breaks - Nick SpaldingLife… with No Breaks
Nick Spalding

Nick Spalding tried to write a book in 24 hours. Turns out that’s impossible… it took 30!

Life… With No Breaks is a unique, hilarious and heartfelt look at the modern world we live in, told by a master story-teller with much to say – and only a weekend to say it in. You’ll laugh out loud reading Nick’s odyssey of non-stop writing in a collection of anecdotes, asides and stories – all dredged up from an over-stimulated brain functioning on caffeine, nicotine and the occasional chocolate biscuit.

The book is a conversation with you, and with Nick you’ll venture into the thorny topics of love, life, sex, horribly timed bowel movements and a deathly fear of sponges (among many other things). After you’ve read Life… With No Breaks, you may never look at the world the same way again!

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