'a wonderfully atmospheric tale ... offers a brief, magical escape to a kinder, simpler time' – Roger Cox, The Scotsman It's 1968, and the fishermen of Kinloch are preparing to celebrate the old New Year on the twelfth of January. The annual pilgrimage to the Auld Stones is a tradition that goes back beyond memory, and young Hamish, first mate on the Girl Maggie, is chuffed that he's been invited to this exclusive gathering – usually reserved for the most senior members of Kinloch's fishing community. Meanwhile, it appears that the new owners of the Firdale Hotel are intent upon turning their customers teetotal, such is the exorbitant price they are charging for whisky. Wily skipper Sandy Hoynes comes up with a plan to deliver the spirit to the thirsty villagers at a price they can afford through his connections with a local still-man. But when the Revenue are tipped off, it looks as though Hoynes and Hamish's mercy mission might run aground. Can the power of the Auld Stones come to their rescue, and is the reappearance of a face from Hoynes' past a sign for good or ill?

Discover the first book in the fun and festive cosy crime series, perfect for fans of Murder on the Christmas Express, Murder Under the Mistletoe and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. ‘A wonderfully entertaining mystery.’ Ian Moore 'The feel-good factor is off the scale' The Times ‘Your new festive fave’ My Weekly ‘A crime Christmas stocking must!’ Yorkshire Life A village of secrets. Yorkshire, 1952. Christmas is fast approaching and a dead stranger is found lodged up the chimney of Holly House in the snow-covered village of Elderby. Is he a simple thief, or a would-be killer? A mystery that can’t be solved. Inspector Frank Grasby is ordered to investigate. But as is often the way for him, things don’t go according to plan. A Christmas to remember. When the local doctor’s husband is murdered, Grasby begins to realize that everyone in Elderby is hiding something. And if he can’t uncover the truth soon, the whole country will pay a dreadful price... Praise for Murder at Holly House 'A quintessential slice of Yuletide murder mystery' Sun 'A fun book. Playful. One to make you smile' Stuart MacBride, Sunday Times bestselling crime thriller author of The Dead of Winter ‘Intricately plotted and laced with deliciously dark humour’ The Sunday Post ‘A complete joy of a historical Christmas crime novel’ Miranda Dickinson, Sunday Times bestselling author of Fairytale of New York ‘A hugely entertaining story with an authentic period feel’ The Herald 'Vintage crime from a true master of the genre!' 5* Reader Review 'Wonderful, imaginative and difficult to put down...a real festive treat!' 5* Reader Review 'An intriguing mystery peppered with some delightful touches of humour.' 5* Reader Review 'The plot was immersive and the pacing was superb. There are twists and turns, secrets and lies. All you really need for a romp in the snow!' 5* Reader Review 'Who doesn’t love a Christmas murder mystery?' 5* Reader Review Waterstones Thriller of the Month, November 2024

Twelve Stones is the story of Barbara Ilaynia, a secular Jew who worships Art and Romance, who tries to unravel the meaning of existence and make every moment a masterpiece. She lives and loves with passion, though not always with wisdom, in Parisian garrets and in Moroccan villages, in the light of Southern France and in sunny California. While embracing the drama of life and inhaling the fragrance of flowers along her path, her search is sometimes misguided by intensity and misled by intellectualism. At the zenith of her quest, Barbara discovers something even more meaningful than truth: She encounters the Source of love. Her life-changing confrontation with God transforms a strong willed, sensual, tough-minded individualist . . . and then her real journey begins. This book is Barbara's altar of remembrance, built from the stones she has pocketed along her winding path. She builds this altar to honor the God of miracles.

Second in the renowned Marseilles trilogy following Total Chaos, “one of the masterpieces of modern noir” (Michael Dirda, The Washington Post). This second novel in Izzo’s acclaimed Marseilles trilogy is a touching tribute to the author’s beloved city, in all its color and complexity. Fabio Montale is an unwitting hero in this city of melancholy beauty. Montale has left a police force marred by corruption, xenophobia, and greed. But getting out is not going to be so easy. When his cousin’s son goes missing, Montale is dragged back onto the mean streets of a violent, crime-infested Marseilles. To discover the truth about the boy’s disappearance, he infiltrates a dangerous underworld of mobsters, religious fanatics, crooked cops, and ordinary people driven to extremes by desperation. “Noir at its finest.” —The Times Literary Supplement “Izzo, who died in 2000, is more than adept at noir conventions—gritty light, sudden switches of scene, the pervasive rot of cynicism, which sullies even the best intentions. But what makes his work haunting is his extraordinary ability to convey the tastes and smells of Marseilles, and the way memory and obligation dog every step his hero takes.” —The New Yorker “Like the best American practitioners in the genre, Izzo refrains from any sugarcoating of the city he depicts or the broken and imperfect men and women who people it.” —Publishers Weekly “This hard-hitting series captures all the world-weariness of the contemporary European crime novel, but Izzo mixes it with a hero who is as virile as he is burned out.” —Booklist

Impatient with the strictures of polite British society, Miss Abigail Harewood has decided to live life on her own terms--and the first thing she requires is a lover. When the commanding Duke of Wallingford arrives on the doorstep of her leased holiday castle, she thinks she's found the perfect candidate: handsome, dashing, and experienced in the art of love. But tempting Wallingford into her bed proves more difficult than she imagined. Restless and dissatisfied with his debauched life in London, the formerly rakish duke is determined to spend a year chaste. But as Abigail tries her best to seduce him, Wallingford finds his resolve crumbling in the face of her irresistible charm...and her alluring secrets.

Six years ago, Elizabeth Harewood and Lord Roland Penhallow were London's golden couple, young and beautiful and wildly in love. Forced apart by her scheming relatives and his clandestine career, Lilibet and Roland buried their passion beneath years of duty and self-denial, until a chance holiday encounter changes everything they ever knew about themselves...and each other. But Miss Elizabeth Harewood is now the Countess of Somerton, estranged wife of one of England's most brutal and depraved aristocrats, and she can't afford the slightest hint of scandal to her name. When Roland turns up mysteriously at the castle where she's hidden herself away, she struggles to act as a lady should, but the gallant lover of her youth has grown into an irresistibly dashing and dangerous man, and temptation is only a single kiss away...