Longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s 2021 First Novel Prize • A rich, bighearted debut that takes us from working-class Staten Island in the wake of the September 11th attacks to moneyed London a decade later, revealing a story of loss, motherhood, and love. As the Twin Towers collapse, Gigi Stanislawski flees her office building and escapes lower Manhattan on the Staten Island Ferry. Among the crying, ash-covered, and shoeless passengers, Gigi, unbelievably, finds someone she recognizes--Harry Harrison, a British man and a regular at her favorite coffee shop. Gigi brings Harry to her parents' house, where they watch the television replay the planes crashing for hours, and she waits for the phone call that will never come: the call from Frankie, her younger brother. Ten years later, Gigi, now a single mother consumed with bills and unfulfilled ambitions, meets Harry, again by chance, and they fall deeply, headlong in love. But their move to London and their new baby--which Gigi hoped would finally release her from the past--leave her feeling isolated, raw, and alone with her grief. As Gigi comes face-to-face with the anguish of her brother's death and her rage at the unspoken pain of motherhood, she must somehow find the light amid all the darkness. Startlingly honest and shot through with unexpected humor, When I Ran Away is an unforgettable first novel about love--for our partners, our children, our mothers, and ourselves--pushed to its outer limits.

In a funny, moving, and lyrical story, three boys learn a thing or two about the way a person relates to his fellow man, and along the way they grow up, just a little, despite their best efforts not to.

*LOSE YOURSELF THIS SUMMER IN THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER* 'One of my favourite authors' MARIAN KEYES Deira isn't the kind of woman to steal a car. Or drive to France alone with no plan. But then, Deira didn't expect to be single. Or to suddenly realise that the only way she can get the one thing she wants most is to start breaking every rule she lives by. Grace has been sent on a journey by her late husband, Ken. She doesn't really want to be on it but she's following his instructions, as always. She can only hope that the trip will help her to forgive him. And then - finally - she'll be able to let him go. Brought together by unexpected circumstances, Grace and Deira find that it's easier to share secrets with a stranger, especially in the shimmering sunny countryside of Spain and France. But they soon find that there's no escaping the truth, whether you're running away from it or racing towards it . . . *LOSE YOURSELF THIS SUMMER IN THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER* Praise for Sheila O'Flanagan's irresistible novels: 'Brilliantly written and with plot twists popping out like Prosecco corks' Woman and Home 'An exciting love story with a deliciously romantic denouement' Sunday Express 'A feel-good story told by a funny and down-to-earth heroine' Woman's Weekly 'If you're seeking an escape of your own, this sunny, evocative story is the perfect place to hide away' S Magazine A NO. 1 IRISH BESTSELLER (JULY 2020) A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER (MARCH 2021)

The first book in the Angelique De Xavier series, from multi-award-winning author Chris Brookmyre. We all make life choices. Some cause more mayhem than others. Back when they were students, just like everybody else, Ray Ash and Simon Darcourt had dreams about what they'd do when they grew up. In both their cases, it was to be rock stars. Fifteen years later, their mid-thirties are bearing down fast, and just like everybody else, they're having to accept the less glamorous hands reality has dealt them. Nervous new father Ray takes refuge from his responsibilities by living a virtual existence in online games. People say he needs to grow up, but everybody has to find their own way of coping. For some it's affairs, for others it's the bottle, and for Simon it's serial murder, mass slaughter and professional assassination. PRAISE FOR CHRIS BROOKMYRE 'In the pantheon of great crime writers' Elly Griffiths 'Keeps you guessing until the very end' The Times 'Offers a brilliantly scathing portrayal of humanity' Time Out

'There are many boys in the world, all slightly different from one another, and most of them are referred to by names. These are often John or Jack or Desmond, but sometimes they are James or Philip or Simon. Once, and once only, there was a boy whose name was Fizzlebert.' Fizzlebert Stump lives in a travelling circus. But although he gets to hang around with acrobats, play the fool with clowns, and put his head in a lion's mouth every night, he's the only kid there - and he's bored. But then Fizz decides to join a library, and life suddenly gets a lot more exciting, when a simple library card application leads to him being kidnapped by a pair of crazed pensioners! Will he ever see the circus again?

Charley feels unwanted by Aunt Emm who has come to stay during her parents' absence, so she runs away and lives outdoors.