A healthy and prosperous society needs efficient and trusted institutions. Yet the West is experiencing plummeting levels of trust in academia, the media, politics, business, the justice system and financial regulators. Unhappiness and mental health problems are skyrocketing, especially among the young. What the hell is going on? Everybody has their pet theory – it’s because of the pandemic – social media is addling our minds – it’s all Donald Trump’s fault. Or, as Elon Musk believes, it’s the woke mind virus. You know what – I think it might be a bit more complicated. I wasn’t satisfied with these superficial explanations. After lots of research and questioning, I now understand what’s happening. Much of what I discovered is disturbing, some is scary and a few details are even amusing. These nine essays present my findings. Six focus on the institutions and additional essays explore language manipulation and the new moral and political divides. The final essay examines those common afflictions destroying our institutions to make sense of it all. This haemorrhaging of trust has disturbing consequences and the ‘woke’ explanation for what’s happening doesn’t begin to address the complexity of the situation. Sadly, good old-fashioned incompetence, deceit and vanity are to blame.

Through personal anecdotes and careful examination of Scripture, Carolyn McCulley challenges single women to regard their singleness not as a burden, but as a gift from God that allows them to perform a unique role in the body of Christ.

Bridge has always been a bit of an oddball, but since she recovered from a serious accident, she's found fitting in with her friends increasingly hard. Tab and Em are getting cooler and better and they don't get why she insists on wearing novelty cat ears every day. Bridge just thinks they look good. It's getting harder to keep their promise of no fights, especially when they start keeping secrets from each other. Sherm wants to get to know Bridge better. But he’s hiding the anger he feels at his grandfather for walking out. And then there is another girl, who is struggling with an altogether more serious set of friendship troubles... Told from interlinked points of view, this is a bittersweet story about the trials of friendship and growing up.

From the creator of The Rabbit Listened comes a gentle story about the difficulty of change . . . and the wonder that new beginnings can bring. Change and transitions are hard, but Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! demonstrates how, when one experience ends, it opens the door for another to begin. It follows two best friends as they say goodbye to snowmen, and hello to stomping in puddles. They say goodbye to long walks, butterflies, and the sun...and hello to long evening talks, fireflies, and the stars. But the hardest goodbye of all comes when one of the friends has to move away. Feeling alone isn't easy, and sometimes new beginnings take time. But even the hardest days come to an end, and you never know what tomorrow will bring.

All people could do was speculate on the fate of those who vanished - strangers; seemingly random, unconnected: all plucked from their lives and never seen again. The notes found left behind, apparently describing some slender reason for their removal, were all that linked them. They were all delivered by one man. Rodney Moon had admitted seeing those who had been disappeared and to passing the notes, but denied any involvement beyond that. Who wrote the letters, then? Moon shrugged during the trial: 'It has no name,' he said. 'It's a bogeyman. A monster.' He was not mourned when the vengeful bereft finally found him. Some years later, four strangers; seemingly random, unconnected, all take the last train home. But something each of them has forgotten - or is trying to forget - is catching up with them; with a terrible, inexorable purpose. The devil is in the detail, as they say.

In 2005, Jill Anderson went on trial at Leeds Crown Court for the manslaughter of her husband of eight years. Paul, a 43-year-old linguist, had been suffering for several years from the debilitating effects of ME and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with complications, and had previously attempted suicide. But one day, while Jill was out of the house, he took enough pills to ensure his own death. When she returned home Paul told Jill he had 'taken enough this time' and begged her not to get assistance. She honoured her beloved partner's wishes and, although consumed by grief, allowed him to slip slowly away. Then the full weight of the law came down upon her. She was interrogated by Harrogate Police, had her passport taken away, and faced up to 15 years in jail. Her story was followed by the nation's media and, although too unwell to take the stand at her trial, she was acquitted by a unanimous not guilty verdict. This is Jill's powerfully and elegantly written full story. Stark police interview transcripts sit alongside the love story of Jill and Paul's early, happy years before they faced the desperation of living with a medical issue with no known cure. This astonishingly honest book leaves the reader asking: 'What would I have done in her situation?' It is an unforgettable and deeply moving account of love in extremis.

'A psychological thriller of superior style and plotting. At once compelling and intriguing, it is also entirely unpredictable. I loved this twisty head spinning thriller in which the pace never flags for a second. Riveting!' LIZ NUGENT MY PATIENT'S JUST CONFESSED - TO THE MURDER I COMMITTED ... 'A nerve-shredding and masterful thriller from one of the best in the business. Top class stuff' DOUG JOHNSTONE THE THERAPIST Sara seems to have it all - a thriving practice as a trauma counsellor, a comfortable home, a loving husband and two children. A world away from her troubled past. She's the only one who knows that her entire life is built on a lie. THE PATIENT Until a new patient confesses to a crime that hits too close to home. Sara is thrown into a quest to hide the truth: from her family, her co-workers, and most importantly, the police. THE CONFESSION How can this person know about Sara's past? And how can Sara silence her before it's too late? One thing is certain: she will do anything to keep her family safe. 'Absolutely loved it! Twisty and super smart, it's everything you want in a compelling psychological thriller. I genuinely didn't want it to end' JOHN MARRS 'A stunning domestic noir that grips from the first page until the brutal conclusion' ED JAMES