What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

'O'Flynn deftly combines humour, love, loss and grief. Contemporary literary prose at its finest, surely has book prize potential' Publishing News

'Skewers our consumer society in all its absurdity and terrible sadness. A great debut novel from an awesomely talented writer' Jonathan Coe

The 1980s. Kate Meaney is a serious-minded and curious young girl who spends her time with her toy monkey acting out the role of a junior detective. She notes the comings and goings at the Green Oaks shopping centre and in her street, particularly the newsagents, where she is friends with the owner's son Adrian. When she disappears, Adrian falls under suspicion.
2004: 30-something Lisa strikes up a friendship with a security guard. Following CCTV glimpses of Kate, they become entranced by the lost girl and the history of Green Oaks...

Costa First Novel Award Winner 2007
Galaxy British Book Awards Newcomer of the Year 2007

To read a review, and find out more about Catherine O'Flynn click below
http://http://us.macmillan.com/whatwaslost

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

'Her best book yet, an astonishingly complex and moving literary detective story that made me sob but also snort with laughter. It's the sort of novel you have to start rereading the minute you've finished it.' The Guardian

'NOT JUST THE BEST NOVEL I READ THIS YEAR BUT THE BEST MYSTERY OF THE DECADE.' Stephen King

'MORE DEPTH AND VIVIDNESS THAN ORDINARY THRILLERS AND MORE THRILLS THAN ORDINARY FICTION…A WONDERFULLY TRICKY BOOK.'
New York Times

Cambridge is sweltering, during an unusually hot summer. To Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, the world consists of one accounting sheet – Lost on the left, Found on the right – and the two never seem to balance.

Jackson has never felt at home in Cambridge, and has a failed marriage to prove it. Surrounded by death, intrigue and misfortune, his own life haunted by a family tragedy, he attempts to unravel three disparate case histories and begins to realise that in spite of apparent diversity, everything is connected…

Case Histories continues a winning streak for Kate Atkinson which began when her impressive novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum won the Whitbread First Novel Award. Since that book, Atkinson has gleaned a keen following of readers who are prepared to follow in the surprising directions the unpredictable author takes us on. And Atkinson--so far--hasn’t let us down.

The perfectly judged prose that distinguished Human Croquet is fully in evidence in Case Histories, and a new frisson here comes from the genre-stretching that Atkinson is indulging in. In some ways, this book could almost be seen as a new take on the crime novel (not the first genre one would expect the author to tackle), but the crime elements here Atkinson uses are peripheral. The protagonist here is a former police inspector who now makes a living as a private investigator. Jackson Brodie is making ends meet in a sweaty Cambridge summer and trying to deal with his own failed marriage. But if his life is adrift, perhaps Brodie can justify his existence via his belief that he can do some good for the people he encounters in his job. But he is to find that he will be irrevocably changed by those he is trying to help.
 
As a vividly created cast of characters surround the beleaguered Brodie, all the novelistic skills that shone in Atkinson's earlier books are fully in play. Those deluded into thinking they've picked up something resembling a standard private eye novel will find something much more rich and strange; Atkinson goes from strength to strength. Barry Forshaw

A writer's life: Kate Atkinson - An author known for her dark, funny stories of domestic life tells Helen Brown why she has now written a crime novel with a male hero...

About the Author

Kate Atkinson was born in York in 1951 and studied English Literature at Dundee University. After graduating in 1974, she researched a postgraduate doctorate on American Literature. She later taught at Dundee and began writing short stories in 1981. She began writing for women's magazines after winning the 1986 Woman's Own Short Story Competition. She was runner-up for the Bridport Short Story Prize in 1990 and won an Ian St James Award in 1993 for her short-story "Karmic Mothers", which she later adapted for BBC2 television as part of its 'Tartan Shorts' series.

Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995), won the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year award, beating Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh and Roy Jenkins' biography Gladstone. The book is set in Yorkshire, narrated by Ruby Lennox, who takes the reader through the complex history of her family, covering the events of the twentieth century and reaching back into the past to uncover the lives of distant ancestors. The book has been adapted for radio and theatre and has been adapted for television by the author. Her second novel, Human Croquet, was published in 1997 and relates the story of another family, the Fairfaxes, through flashback and historical narrative. Her third novel, Emotionally Weird, was published in 2000, and in 2002 a collection of short stories, Not the End of the World.

Kate Atkinson has written two plays for the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh: a short play, Nice (1996), and Abandonment, which premiered as part of the Edinburgh Festival in August 2000. She currently lives in Edinburgh and is an occasional contributor to newspapers and magazines.  Her latest books are Case Histories (2004), One Good Turn (2006), shortlisted for the British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year, When Will There be Good News? (2008) and Started Early, Took My Dog (2010), all four forming a crime series featuring ex-policeman Jackson Brodie.

To find out more about the author and her other books click here...

Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy

Winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize

'In less assured hands this could have been a well-intentioned failure, but Cassidy is in absolute control of her material. Compassionate, unsensational and unflinching...' The Guardian

When a 10-year-old girl kills her best friend, she is convicted of manslaughter and locked away.Seven years later she is released on licence with a new identity.

In this brave and intelligent novel, Anne Cassidy explores a myriad of themes, questioning everything from the ethics of tabloid journalism to the outcome of ineffectual parenting.

It asks more questions than it answers and suggests that in some circumstances there is no 'right' or 'wrong', merely 'consequences'. Should our sympathy lie with the killer as she is relentlessly pursued by the press, hungry for a story, or with the victim and her family in a society desperate for justice?

This is a brilliant and disturbing piece of writing that looks behind the headlines and forces the reader to question some of their attitudes to a number of contemporary issues.

Anne Cassidy explains why she wanted to write such a difficult book and speaks about the response it has engendered among young readers....

About the Author

Anne Cassidy was born in London in 1952, and worked for some years as a teacher, before becoming a full-time writer. She specializes in crime stories and thrillers for teenagers, and has written a series of East End Murder books: A Family Affair (1995); Accidental Death (1996); End of the Line (1996); No Through Road (1996); Brotherly Love (1997); Death by Drowning (1999); Killing Time (1999); and Dead Quiet (2000).

Her books also include Missing Judy (2002), the story of Kim, whose sister Judy has been missing for six years, and Looking for JJ (2004).

JJ is Jennifer Jones, a girl who is released after serving a sentence for manslaughter for a crime she committed when she was ten years old. This book was shortlisted for the 2004 Whitbread Children’s Book Award and won the Booktrust Teenage Prize.

Two of her most recent books are The Story of my Life (2007), the story of Kevin, a teenage boy who is drawn into crime; and Forget Me Not (2008).

To find out more about the author click here...

Nowhere to hide - Jan Mark appreciates a chilling tale of betrayal and death in Anne Cassidy's 2004 prize winner...

Warehouse by Keith Gray

'Keith Gray is an outstanding writer for teenagers. This is strong stuff, not in any gratuitously sensational way, but because it credits his readers with an understanding of life's big issues - trust, loyalty, courage and survival.' - Lindsey Fraser - Scottish Book Trust

'Warehouse is Keith Gray on finest form, and doing what he does best: giving voices to the underdogs - Chris Wooding In a skilfully-constructed three-part narrative Keith Gray has produced a fast-paced, convincing and moving story. Warehouse deserves the widest readership.' - Alan Gibbons

'I know a place you can go' It's a secret place hidden among the run-down buildings of the derelict dockyards.

A community of young people who have gathered in an old warehouse to get away from a world they don't fit in to.

Through separate but interweaving narratives Warehouse tells the stories of three of the community's members. There's Robbie who is running away from his violent older brother, Frank, and needs some space to realise that the beatings are not his fault. Amy, who's supposed to be travelling in Europe but has had her rucksack stolen and is too proud to ask her smothering family for help. And then there's Lem, an ex-drug-addict and founder of the Warehouse community, whose perceived role as leader by the other young people is too much for him to cope with.

Warehouse is about many things. It's about the inequality of life. It's about bad luck...It's about evil people. But it's also about strength gained through loyalty and trust. It's funny, it's terrifying and it rings utterly true.

About the Author

I was brought up in Grimsby and as a child tried to avoid books. I was an eager rebel and a particularly enthusiastic pain-in-the-backside, but a reluctant reader. Teachers urged and parents moaned, but all in vain. Books were a necessary chore, like washing my dad’s car. I think everyone was surprised (even me) when I raced through Robert Westall’s The Machine Gunners from cover to cover – twice. This book was the starting point for me, making me want to write my own stories. My first book Creepers was published when I was 24 and it was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award. I have since written ten books including Warehouse (also shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award ), Marlarkey (shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize ) and for younger readers The Runner (winner of a Smarties Silver Medal). I lectured for two years in Creative Writing at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, where I enjoyed working with people who shared the same interests and ambitions as I have. I now live in Edinburgh with my partner Jasmine and our parrot, Bellamy. I spend much of my time visiting schools to pass on my love of books and writing, as well as reviewing teenage fiction for the Guardian and the Scotsman.

Read an interview with Keith Gray here...

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

Pete Boland was busy doing nothing that summer. Long, stiflingly hot, lazy days stretched ahead of him. Then she called. 'Listen, Pete . . . you know that funfair, up at the recreation ground . . . I thought we could all meet up . . . You know, for old times' sake.' But, where there are old times, there are old tensions. And as secrets, bitterness and jealousies resurface, five old friends are plunged into the worst night of their lives . . . Teenage readers will find it impossible to tear themselves away from this dark, tense and gripping new novel from award-winning Kevin Brooks.

Praise for Kevin Brooks

'He's an original. And he writes one hell of a story' - Meg Rosoff, author of How I Live Now - 'Watch this guy, he's good' -- Melvin Burgess, author of Junk... you want to tell everyone how good it is' - Sunday Times - 'A masterly writer, and this book would put many authors of "grown up" detective fiction to shame' Mail on Sunday 'A compulsive, atmospheric mystery' Sunday Times 'Gripping, disturbing ... brilliant' Sunday Express 'A cracking story ... grips like a vice' Guardian.

Click here to read The Guardian review by Charlie Higson...

This is the author discussing his new book...





Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

Alem is on holiday with his father for a few days in London. He has never been out of Ethiopia before and is very excited. They have a great few days togther until one morning when Alem wakes up in the bed and breakfast they are staying at to find the unthinkable. His father has left him. It is only when the owner of the bed and breakfast hands him a letter that Alem is given an explanation. Alem's father admits that because of the political problems in Ethiopia both he and Alem's mother felt Alem would be safer in London - even though it is breaking their hearts to do this. Alem is now on his own, in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council. He lives from letter to letter, waiting to hear from his father, and in particular about his mother, who has now gone missing...A powerful, gripping novel from the popular Benjamin Zephaniah.

About the Author

It’s a hard life being labelled ‘political’. It seems that because I’m constantly ranting about the ills of the world I’m expected to have all the answers, but I don’t, and I’ve never claimed to, besides I’m not a politician. What interests me is people. When I hear politicians saying that we are being ‘flooded’ by refugees, I always remind myself that each ‘refugee’ is a person, a person who for some reason has left everything they know and love to find safety in a strange, and sometimes hostile country. I wrote ‘Refugee Boy’ because I realised that every day I was meeting refugees, and each one of them had a unique, and usually terrifying story to tell. I have seen refugee camps in Gaza, Montenegro and other places around the world but when I met Million and Dereje Hailemariam, two teenagers who were being denied asylum in Britain, I knew that I had to write a story that would illustrate the suffering and the struggles that many asylum seekers have to endure. Million and Dereje’s parents feared for the lives of their boys, they did not want them to grow up in an environment where they would witness war on a daily basis. I have also met children whose parents were executed in front of them, or who themselves had been kidnapped and tortured. For ‘Refugee Boy’ I borrowed from the many stories that I have heard and created a story that I believe many refugees would recognise. I would like to know that anyone who reads the book would think before they accuse refugees of looking for a free ride. We all want to live in peace, we all want the best for our families. The Celts, the Angles, the Saxons, the Jamaicans are all refugees of one sort or another. What kind of a refugee are you? And what are you scared of?

Find out more about Benjamin Zephaniah here...