THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY - Book 5 Fans around the world adore the best-selling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea. Still engaged to the estimable Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe understands that she should not put too much pressure on him, as he has other concerns, especially a hair-raising request from the ever persuasive Mma Potokwane, matron of the orphan farm. Besides Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters on her mind. She has been approached by a wealthy lady to check up on several suitors. Are these men interested in the lady or just her money? This may be a difficult case, but it's just the kind of problem Mma Ramotswe likes and she is, as we know, a very intuitive lady.

THE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERA GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH, THE TIMES, IRISH TIMES, ROUGH TRADE, MOJO, CLASH, ROLLING STONE, UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEARFrom award-winning musician and composer Warren Ellis comes the unexpected and inspiring story of a piece of chewing gum. FEATURING AN INTRODUCTION BY NICK CAVE'Warren has turned this memento, snatched from his idol's piano in a moment of rapture, into a genuine religious artefact.'NICK CAVE'Such a mad, happy book about art and music and obsession. I'm so glad I got to read it. It made the world feel lighter.'NEIL GAIMAN'In praise of meaning-rich relics and magical things. Totally heartwarming project.'MAX PORTER'A unique study of a fan's devotion, of transcendence and of the artistic vocation - it's got depth and great warmth. It's a beautiful piece of work.'KEVIN BARRYI hadn't opened the towel that contained her gum since 2013. The last person to touch it was Nina Simone, her saliva and fingerprints unsullied. The idea that it was still in her towel was something I had drawn strength from. I thought each time I opened it some of Nina Simone's spirit would vanish. In many ways that thought was more important than the gum itself.On Thursday 1 July, 1999, Dr Nina Simone gave a rare performance as part of Nick Cave's Meltdown Festival. After the show, in a state of awe, Warren Ellis crept onto the stage, took Dr Simone's piece of chewed gum from the piano, wrapped it in her stage towel and put it in a Tower Records bag. The gum remained with him for twenty years; a sacred totem, his creative muse, a conduit that would eventually take Ellis back to his childhood and his relationship with found objects, growing in significance with every passing year.Nina Simone's Gum is about how something so small can form beautiful connections between people. It is a story about the meaning we place on things, on experiences, and how they become imbued with spirituality. It is a celebration of artistic process, friendship, understanding and love. 'This is such a beautiful f*@king book. Thank you, Warren. I highly recommend this motherf*@ker.'FLEA'A beautifully written book about the power of music and objects. I powered through it in two days.'COURTNEY BARNETT'A moving, inspiration insight into a beautiful mind.'JIM JARMUSCH'The year's most eccentric and joyful musical memoir.'DAILY TELEGRAPH (Books of the year)'[Nina Simone's Gum] is a metaphor for [Ellis'] creativity - the blossoming of a small idea into something bigger and bolder - but also a journey inside the impulsive, improvisatory mind of Warren Ellis, his passions, obsessions and superstitions.' OBSERVER'[A] beautiful, strikingly idiosyncratic book - part memoir, part essay, part conceptual art project, all testament to humans at their strangest and best . . . [Ellis] sees signifiance where others might not.'MOJO'A glorious piece of object fetishism . . . Marvel as Ellis' collection of eccentric personal mementos morphs into a celebration of the intangible wonder of music.'UNCUT'Wonderful.' THE TIMES'The most peculiar book I've ever read.' CRAIG BROWN, MAIL ON SUNDAY'Delightful . . . A joy from start to finish.' BIG ISSUE'A joyous work full of love, connection, creativity and gratitude.' THE SPECTATOR'Completely charming and joyful . . . glorious.' LA REVIEW OF BOOKS'Beautiful . . . remarkable.' NEW EUROPEAN

Fans around the world adore the bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series and its proprietor, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s premier lady detective. In this charming series, Mma Ramotswe—with help from her loyal associate, Grace Makutsi—navigates her cases and her personal life with wisdom, good humor, and the occasional cup of tea. Under the endless skies of Botswana, there is always something Mma Ramotswe can do to help someone and here she finds herself assisting a woman looking for her family. The problem is the woman doesn't know her real name or whether any of her family members are still alive. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi is the recipient of a beautiful new bed that causes more than a few sleepless nights. And, at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has come under the influence of a doctor promising a miracle cure for his daughter's medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to accept. Nonetheless, Precious Ramotswe handles these things in her usual compassionate and good-natured way, while always finding time for a cup of red bush tea.

What's a young mage to do in a land where magic is illegal, and the penalty is death? At the age of fourteen, Randall Miller is surprised to learn that he has the talent--for magic! Tricked into apprenticeship by a powerful Mage, Randall is forced to leave everything he knows behind. When his mentor is killed by Aiden, head of the secret police, he flees for his life, stumbling from one misadventure into another. Teaming up with a trio of greedy traders and a capricious imp along the way, Randall must learn to master his budding power, or die at the hands of the Rooks!

Overwhelmed by the realities of first-time motherhood and disillusioned with the corporate world, Jane trades in her Manolos for nappies, nipple shields and the foot spread of a yeti: a lifestyle choice her man-eating girlfriend, Rachel, thinks is taking retro chic just one step too far. Unlike the lovely Liz, who'd give anything to be in Jane's pram shoes. Desperate to reconnect with the outside world, Jane finds salvation in her local New Mothers Group, a nonagenarian neighbour, and a royal duo of bloggers dedicated to shoes and behind-the-scenes celebrity gossip. Meanwhile, her unlucky-in-love best friend, Fi, thinks she's found THE one - Marco. Should Jane be concerned that Marco is a handsome, intelligent, Italian shoe designer with a passion for teaching his craft to bored housewives? Or that her work-focussed husband is spending increasingly long hours at the office ... A heart-warming and timeless tale of the transition from career-girl to new mum, The Shoe Princess's Guide to the Galaxy is a sassy and sparkling debut about one modern woman's attempts to put her best foot forward.

It's the start of a stormy, passionate affair when internationally successful singer Siobhan McGovern turns up at the launch of Robert Lanaghan's latest book in Dublin. Though they both love the written word - and each other - they find they come from very different worlds: Robert lives a solitary, quiet life and Siobhan is in the media spotlight every day. And after their daughter Ciara is born, it becomes clear that their relationship is over. Bitter with the way things have turned out, Robert accepts a substantial financial settlement from Siobhan but also signs an agreement never to see his daughter again. He thinks, in the circumstances, it will be best for everyone. But after travelling aimlessly around Europe, spending the money as he goes, his life begins to spiral out of control as he struggles to come to terms with what he has done. Can Robert overcome the disappointments of his past to build a better future?