Hachette Audio UK

A gripping new work of popular history about a critical year in world history, and Britain's bleakest hour, by the acclaimed author of 1983: The World at the Brink.

'Taylor Downing vividly brings to life a terrible year' Max Hastings Sunday Times

Eighty years ago, Britain stood at the brink of defeat. In 1942, a string of military disasters engulfed Britain in rapid succession : the collapse in Malaya; the biggest surrender in British history at Singapore; the passing of three large German warships through the Straits of Dover in broad daylight; the longest ever retreat through Burma to the gates of India; serious losses to Rommel's forces in North Africa; the siege of Malta and the surrender at Tobruk. All of this occurred against the backdrop of catastrophic sinkings in the Atlantic and the Arctic convoys. People began to claim that Churchill was not up to the job and his leadership was failing badly. Public morale reached a new low. 1942 Britain At the Brink explores the story of frustration and despair in that year prompting the Prime Minister to demand of his army chief 'Have you not got a single general who can win battles?' Using new archival material, historian Taylor Downing shows just how unpopular Churchill became in 1942 with two votes attacking his leadership in the Commons and the emergence of a serious political rival.

Most people think that Britain's worst moment of the war was in 1940 when the nation stood up against the threat of German invasion. In 1942 Britain at the Brink, Taylor Downing describes in nail-biting detail what was really Britain's darkest hour.

'Breaking Point is raw, compelling, and ground-breaking; Coffey puts the life of working mothers under a microscope. To say I loved it is an understatement, I expect it will be a huge success.' Liz Nugent

'A gripping, compulsive pageturner about what we expect from women, especially mothers. It's going to be a massive hit.' Marian Keyes

An innocent mistake. A lifetime of guilt.

Susannah has two beautiful daughters, a high-flying medical career, a successful husband and an enviable life. Her hair is glossy, her clothes are expensive; she truly has it all.

But when - on the hottest day of the year - her strict morning routine is disrupted, Susannah finds herself running on autopilot. It is hours before she realises she has made a devastating mistake. Her baby, Louise, is still in the backseat of the car and it is too late to save her.

As the press close in around her, Susannah is put on trial for negligence. It is plain to see that this is not a trial, it's a witch hunt. But what will the court say?

Readers love Breaking Point:

'A genuine contender for best book I have read this year.' *****

'I was reading through the tears and couldn't read it fast enough' *****

'An excellent novel, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult and Diane Chamberlain' *****

'If you want an addictive, pacey read, this is for you!' *****

'I was a bit of an emotional wreck at the end' *****

'A rare treat, an emotional thriller steeped in humanity. I read it in a single sitting!' John Boyne

'Gripping, unswerving, heart-breaking, you'll read this book through parted fingers - and learn a crucial lesson as you go.' Celia Walden, author of Payday

'Really enjoyed this terrifyingly plausible debut, with much to say about parental guilt and how society treats working motherhood.' Katherine Faulkner, author of Greenwich Park

'An incredibly powerful thriller with real emotional depth - and a chillingly relatable storyline.' TM Logan, author of The Holiday

From the award-winning author of The Apothecary's Daughter comes the next book in the Spindrift Trilogy - a beautifully evocative, family drama, perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Elizabeth Jane Howard's Cazalet Chronicles.

1914 Spindrift House, Cornwall

Edith Fairchild's good-for-nothing husband, Benedict, deserted her when their children were babies. Now the children are almost adult, Edith and Pascal, her faithful lover of two decades, are planning to leave their beloved Spindrift artists' community and finally be together.

But an explosive encounter between Benedict and Pascal forces old secrets into the light, causing rifts in the happiness and security of the community. Then an assassin's bullet fired in faraway Sarajevo sets in motion a chain of events that changes everything.

Under the shadow of war, the community struggles to eke out a living. The younger generation enlist or volunteer to support the war effort, facing dangers that seemed unimaginable in the golden summer of 1914.

When it's all over, will the Spindrift community survive an unexpected threat? And will Edith and Pascal ever be able to fulfil their dream?

Why do readers love Charlotte Betts?

'Romantic, engaging and hugely satisfying' Katie Fforde

'A highly-recommended novel of love, tragedy and the power of art' Daily Mail

'Beautifully written, engaging and heart-warming' Book Club Mumma

'A highly compelling, engrossing read' Discovering Diamonds

'Evocative, enthralling and enjoyable' Bookish Jottings

'Poignant, compelling and extensively researched . . . I cannot wait to find out what happens next to these characters' Sarah's Vignettes

'A delightful historical saga which is so beautifully woven together that from the very start I was enchanted' Jaffa Reads Too

'Rich in detail, full of passion this is a delightful and fascinating read' Book Literati

Read by Stephen Perring, Susan Osman and Robbie Stevens.

Break free from unhelpful rituals and take control of your life

'Clear, practical, focused and useful... extremely helpful both for those who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder and those who care for them'

Paul Salkovkis, University of Bath

Are you plagued by a recurring thought or idea that just won't go away, or feel the need to wash your hands repeatedly, to hoard things, or to repeatedly check all appliances in the house have been turned off before you leave? These are common symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a condition that causes distress to hundreds of thousands of people.

Using methods based on real clinical practice and proven cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques, this revised and updated edition teaches you:

· How to face fears and avoided situations

· How to control disturbing thoughts, images and urges

· Strategies to break free from the destructive cycle of obsessive behaviour

Overcoming self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical.

READING WELL

This book is recommended by the national Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme for England delivered by The Reading Agency and the Society of Chief Librarians with funding from Arts Council England and Wellcome.

www.reading-well.org.uk

Series editor: Professor Peter Cooper

An unmissable, sweeping gothic tale full of mystery and romance about a wilful female surgeon, a resurrection man who sells bodies for a living, and the buried secrets they must uncover together. Perfect for fans of addictive, gorgeously written historical fiction with adventurous heroines.

A Reese Witherspoon YA Book Club Pick!

INSTANT NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

'Dana Schwartz is one of the brightest of the next generation of young writers' NEIL GAIMAN

A gothic tale full of mystery and romance . . .

Edinburgh, 1817.

Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry.

Jack Currer is a resurrection man who's just trying to survive in a city where it's too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist's Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham's lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought. Because Hazel has made a deal with Dr. Beecham: if she can pass the medical examination on her own, Beecham will allow her to continue her medical career. Without official lessons, though, Hazel will need more than just her books - she'll need corpses to study.

Lucky that she's made the acquaintance of someone who digs them up for a living.

But Jack has his own problems: strange men have been seen skulking around cemeteries, his friends are disappearing off the streets, and the dreaded Roman Fever, which wiped out thousands a few years ago, is back with a vengeance. Nobody important cares - until Hazel.

Now, Hazel and Jack must work together to uncover the secrets buried not just in unmarked graves, but in the very heart of Edinburgh society.

Praise for Anatomy:

'Lionhearted heroine you'll root for from page one? Check. Dark academia vibes? Check. Cheeky romantic banter that will make you blush? Check, check and CHECK. Read this gripping, ridiculously clever tale only if you're fully prepared to be haunted by its revelations about life and death while also swooning at the idea of flirting with someone in an open grave' Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of You Have a Match and Tweet Cute

'A fast-paced, utterly engrossing tale of mystery, romance, and cadavers...I grinned, I gasped, I cried and ended this book breathless and craving more' Alwyn Hamilton, New York Times bestselling author of the Rebel of the Sands series

'Diabolically delightful. A love story, a murder mystery, and a horror novel bound up together in ghoulish stitches' Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Truly Devious trilogy

'Schwartz's magical novel is at once gripping and tender, and the intricate plot is engrossing as the reader tries to solve the mystery' Booklist (starred review)

A new adventure begins in the bestselling world of the Laundry Files: a nightmarish vision of a Britain where magic has gone mainstream . . .

It's a brave new Britain under the New Management. The Prime Minister is an eldritch god of unimaginable power. Crime is plummeting as almost every offense is punishable by death. And everywhere you look, there are people with strange powers, some of which they can control, and some, not so much.

Hyperorganised and formidable, Eve Starkey defeated her boss, the louche magical adept and billionaire Rupert de Montfort Bigge, in a supernatural duel to the death. Now she's in charge of the Bigge Corporation, just in time to discover the lethal trap Rupert set for her long ago . . .

Wendy Deere is investigating unauthorized supernatural shenanigans. She swore to herself she wouldn't again get entangled with Eve Starkey's bohemian brother Imp and his crew of transhuman misfits. Yeah, right.

Mary Macandless has powers of her own. Right now she's pretending to be a nanny in order to kidnap the children of a pair of famous, Government-authorized adepts. These children have powers of their own, and Mary Macandless is in way over her head.

All of these stories will come together, with world-bending results...

'For all of Stross's genuine ability to spook and dismay, The Laundry Files are some of the most tremendously humane books I've ever read'

Tamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth

Transform your approach to life's challenges with seven questions to challenge and master your self knowledge.

Do you feel stuck in bad habits, or wonder why you procrastinate, or why you keep repeating old patterns? You might not realise the answers you need are already within you.

Every single one of us has an unlimited source of potential for personal growth - and the way to tap into this is not through following rigid advice or rules: it's by asking the right questions.

In THE 7 QUESTIONS, award-winning life coach Nick Hatter offers a toolkit that you can apply time and again for more clarity and continuous self-awareness whenever you feel you've lost direction in life. Each question will prompt you to search within yourself and address the bigger picture - from how you formed your opinion of yourself to whether your beliefs are serving you - and ultimately improve your self-esteem, confidence and emotional intelligence when the loss of a job, relationship or loved one brings you low.

Drawing on vivid examples from the cutting edge of psychology and the author's personal experience, THE 7 QUESTIONS will help you discover your own unique answers.

Razor sharp and intelligent fantasy from K. J. Parker, set in the same world as the hugely popular Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City.

This is the true story of Aemilius Felix Boioannes the younger, the intended and unintended consequence of his life, the bad stuff he did on purpose, and the good stuff that happened in spite of him.

It is, in other words, the tale of a war to end all wards and the man responsible.

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World can be read by itself, but for those who like endings, it can also be considered the refreshingly pragmatic conclusion to K. J. Parker's acclaimed sequence of novels that began with Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City and continued with How To Rule An Empire And Get Away With It

Praise for K. J Parker:

'Readers are ensured a good time and a barrel of laughs to boot' Publishers Weekly on How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It

'Parker's latest epic fantasy proves that all the world is, indeed, a stage, and Parker himself is a master impresario. Readers will enjoy his comedic take on how politics are comprised of equal parts lies, incompetence, and the foolishness of humanity-with just enough flashes of brilliance to save the day. Recommended for fans of Terry Pratchett' Library Journal on How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It

'Full of invention and ingenuity . . . Great fun' SFX on Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

'Launches a witty adventure series . . . Readers will appreciate the infusion of humor and fun-loving characters into this vivid and sometimes grim fantasy world' Publishers Weekly on Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

A brilliant look at modern-day India hailed as 'a monstrously funny and unpredictable wild ride' by Kevin Kwan, New York Times bestselling author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy

'Ramesh is a wonderfully vivid character and this is an explosively funny, surprisingly moving debut' Mail on Sunday

If you're fat and Indian, you're rich; if you're fat and poor, you're lying. It's only the West where the rich are thin and vegan and moral...

Ramesh Kumar grew up deprived and unloved, working on his father's tea stall in the Old City of Delhi. Now, brilliant but poor, he makes a lucrative living taking tests for the sons of India's elite. When one of his clients, the sweet but hapless eighteen-year-old Rudi Saxena, places first in the All Indias, the national university entrance exams, Ramesh sees an unmissable opportunity.

Cashing in on Rudi's newfound celebrity, all goes well for both boys for a while. But Rudi's role on a game show leads to unexpected love, blackmail and, finally, a dangerous kidnapping.

As Ramesh leads Rudi through a maze of crimes both large and small, their dizzying journey reveals an India in all its complexity, beauty, and squalor, moving from the bottom rungs to the circles inhabited by the ultra-rich and everywhere in between.

Praise for How to Kidnap the Rich

'A satire on modern India...this isn't a story about poverty, it's a story about wealth' Guardian

'Conjures up a memorable world that is ghee-greased, polluted, mired in dust and corruption' Sunday Times

'Like Mohsin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, How to Kidnap the Rich purports to be a how-to manual but is in fact a rollicking urban adventure and a biting satire of inequality' Economist

A rousing guide to empower you to find your own kind of happiness from Vicky Pattison - inspired by her hit podcast The Secret To.

The debut self-help book from Vicky Pattison, on how to quash your inner doubts, overcome fear and live a happier life.

"If there's any woman out there who is feeling like they're going through things on their own, or they're worried that they're not achieving what they should be, or feeling or looking how they should, I want this book to let you know you're not alone."

In over a decade on television, Vicky Pattison has had her fair share of ups and downs, from her rise to fame on Geordie Shore to her public break-up with her fiancé, her body confidence issues and debilitating anxiety. In The Secret to Happy, Vicky opens up about her darkest moments and shares the pearls of wisdom and hard-won lessons she's picked up along the way - to overcoming heartbreak, ending toxic relationships and managing her mental health - to help you find inner strength, accept imperfections and be true to yourself.

Brave, honest and insightful, with Vicky's trademark Geordie humour, The Secret to Happy is an empowering and uplifting guide to help you find your own kind of happiness, whatever that looks like.