Modern & contemporary fiction

From a tin mug of crab chowder to a feast for friends and family, this is a celebration of sunshine and sea air and salt spray: a love letter to the beach hut. This uplifting collection of eight short stories, full of heart and humour, will transport you to the golden sands of Everdene for a perf...

Novelist, critic and biographer, Margaret Drabble is one of the major literary figures of her generation. This collection shows her to be a leading practitioner of the art of the short story, presenting her complete short fiction in a single volume, spanning four decades, from 1964 to 2000.

Vicki's husband Daniel once promised to love her in sickness and in health. But after a brutal attack left her suffering with epilepsy, he ran away with his mistress. So when Vicki gets a call one day to say that he's missing, her first thought is 'good riddance'. But then the police find evidenc...

In this investigation Morse has a woman's address on a crumpled piece of paper in his pocket but he does not expect to return there the same day when a suicide is reported.

'Dead Simple' is a collection of short stories from some of the best crime writers around. The stories include the perfect murder and an unusual way to solve crimes. From prison cells to cosy living rooms, these dark, chilling tales will grip you with every twist and turn.

It's been two years since Ethan Greene and Gary Knowles collided one fateful evening outside Tiffany & Co on Fifth Avenue. A mix-up with their shopping bags sent each man's life on an unexpected trajectory, and now they're back in New York where Gary and his fiancé Rachel are counting down the d...

When Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript, it's an intrusion of magic into her life. Though she is a witch of impeccable lineage, the death of her parents while she was a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than witchcraft. Now Diana has exposed herself to a world she's kept...

Weaving together ancient Greek fables with more recent dystopian narratives, Mark Haddon jump starts the heart of these legends told and retold for millennia, and demonstrates their lasting relevance again, in new and unexpected forms.

A busy young writer struggling to cope with domestic chores, hires a housekeeper recommended by a friend. The housekeeper's reputation is one built on dependable effeciency, though she is something of an oddity. This is the story of the relationship between the two women over a period of 20 years.

In 'Dubliners', completed when Joyce was only 25, the author produced a definitive group portrait. The book is rooted in an accurate apprehension of the detail of Dublin life.