Modern & contemporary fiction

A one-off collection of twelve Shakespearean-themed murder mysteries set in Elizabethan London, featuring Master Hardy Drew, Constable of the Bankside Watch, from the acclaimed author of the 7th century Irish Sister Fidelma mysteries.

Have you been wondering what happened to your favourite characters Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson? Dive into this collection of stories and find out. Here are stories to suit all tastes. There are ghost stories and mini cosy mysteries; tales of psychological suspense and poignant vignettes of lov...

Fact: Someone dies by suicide every 40 seconds. Fact: Antidepressant use in the West has more than doubled in the last two decades. Fact: Despite great leaps forward in other branches of medicine, no biological test can currently diagnose any mental health problem.So where are we going wrong? In ...

Carefully selected from five collections and over 30 years of writing, this beautiful new publication celebrates the best of A. S. Byatt's short stories. Fascinated by fairy tales and fables, art and creation, these stories of betrayal and loyalty, quests and longings, loneliness and passion will...

In this collection we meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; and a man whose luck changes when a horse speaks to him. Witty and wise, with subtle connections between the stories, 'Normal Rules Don't Apply' is a startling, and fun...

Margaret Atwood is celebrated as one of the most gifted storytellers in the world. This new collection showcases her many talents - and the return of her beloved characters Nell and Tig. They explore the full warp and weft of experience, from two best friends disagreeing about their shared past, ...

'The Pole' tells the story of Witold Walczykiewicz, a vigorous, white-haired pianist, who becomes infatuated with Beatriz, a stylish patron of the arts, after she helps organize his Barcelona concert. Although Beatriz, who is married, is initially unimpressed by Wittold, she soon finds herself pu...

What if Hillary Rodham had turned down Bill Clinton's proposal of marriage? In 'American Wife', Curtis Sittenfeld painted a picture of an ordinary American girl who found herself married to a President - basing it on the life of Laura Bush. In this new novel, she takes another ordinary American g...

Jhumpa Lahiri sets her gaze on the eternally beautiful city, illuminating the frailties of the human condition and dissecting lives lived on the margins. A man recalls a summer party that awakens an alternative version of himself. A couple haunted by a tragic loss return to seek consolation. An o...

Here are twenty meticulously plotted, intimate portraits of humanity at its best and worst, featuring assassins, CIA agents, gangsters, and more. A drug-dealing hit man unburdens his fears to a stranger. An overlooked rookie cop is assigned to the department's file room. A ruthless killer only ki...