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BULLION: The Mystery of Gaddafi's Gold
In March 2011, as the Arab Spring sweeps across the Middle East, NATO powers begin a bombing campaign against the forces of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. In London, a top secret team led by an abrasive Cold War veteran, Priscilla Clarke, has been given the task of finding the whereabouts of Gaddafi's gold. The unaccounted stash is rumoured to be worth at least a hundred billion dollars. The aim is to prevent the gold falling into the wrong hands. The Russian military intelligence, the GRU, is also after Gaddafi's bullion. Who will get to the treasure first?A member of Priscilla's team, a brilliant mathematician, is getting closer. An aspiring TV reporter finds himself drawn into the murky world of international espionage. Their separate nail biting adventures collide with disastrous consequences. When Priscilla discovers that somebody is betraying her, she takes the law in her own hands.The story races from London to Tripoli and Vienna, from the mysterious Bear Valley in Southern Tyrol to the heart of the Sahara Desert.If you're a fan of accurate historical detail and vivid geographical descriptions drawn on the author's first hand experience, this a book for you.The book is also an invaluable guide for anybody who wants to work as a TV reporter in a war zone.
The War Photographers
1943 – Bletchley Park, England Mae Webster, immersed in the clandestine world of codebreaking at Bletchley Park, is recruited to help unveil a spy who’s on the brink of exposing Britain's most guarded secret: the cracking of the Enigma code. As war rages around her, Mae's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls in love with the enigmatic New Zealand war photographer Jack Knight. Their relationship develops at pace, but tragedy strikes when one of Jack's photographs risks unmasking an elusive double agent. 1989 – Berlin, GermanyRachel Talbot, a globetrotting photojournalist, ventures into the heart of a fractured Berlin in search of the Stasi officer whom her beloved grandmother Mae blames for betraying their family. Rachel finds herself entangled in the East German uprising and is irresistibly drawn to a charismatic activist. As the Cold War threatens to boil over, Rachel races to expose a traitor before it’s too late.
Mr Einstein's Secretary
BEHIND MANY GREAT MENSTOOD ONE WOMANAll Hanna Fischer ever wanted to do was to study physics - but her world is suddenly turned upside-down and she is catapulted into a new and extraordinary life: as a secretary, a scientist, a sister and a spy.From racist gangs in Berlin to mobsters in New York City, and Hitler's inner circle during the Second World War, Hanna encounters some of history's greatest minds and most terrible moments, all while desperately trying to stay alive.She is a most unique secretary and she will work for many bosses - from shrewd businessmen to vile Nazis, to the greatest boss of them all, Mr Albert Einstein . . .**** PRAISE FOR #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER MATTHEW REILLY'Thrilling, action-packed adventure from cover to cover' Guardian'Nobody writes action like Matthew Reilly' Vince Flynn'Get ready for a wild ride' Daily Telegraph'Exciting and entertaining' Chicago Sun-Times'An action hero worthy of Lee Child' Sydney Morning HeraldUndeniably addictive' Financial Times
A Beautiful Place to Die
Award-winning screenwriter Malla Nunn delivers a stunning and darkly romantic crime novel set in 1950s apartheid South Africa, featuring Detective Emmanuel Cooper—a man caught up in a time and place where racial tensions and the raw hunger for power make life very dangerous indeed. In a morally complex tale rich with authenticity, Nunn takes readers to Jacob's Rest, a tiny town on the border between South Africa and Mozambique. It is 1952, and new apartheid laws have recently gone into effect, dividing a nation into black and white while supposedly healing the political rifts between the Afrikaners and the English. Tensions simmer as the fault line between the oppressed and the oppressors cuts deeper, but it's not until an Afrikaner police officer is found dead that emotions more dangerous than anyone thought possible boil to the surface. When Detective Emmanuel Cooper, an Englishman, begins investigating the murder, his mission is preempted by the powerful police Security Branch, who are dedicated to their campaign to flush out black communist radicals. But Detective Cooper isn't interested in political expediency and has never been one for making friends. He may be modest, but he radiates intelligence and certainly won't be getting on his knees before those in power. Instead, he strikes out on his own, following a trail of clues that lead him to uncover a shocking forbidden love and the imperfect life of Captain Pretorius, a man whose relationships with the black and coloured residents of the town he ruled were more complicated and more human than anyone could have imagined. The first in her Detective Emmanuel Cooper series, A Beautiful Place to Die marks the debut of a talented writer who reads like a brilliant combination of Raymond Chandler and Graham Greene. It is a tale of murder, passion, corruption, and the corrosive double standard that defined an apartheid nation.
The Beach at Summerly
"There are few more skilled practitioners of the craft of summer fiction than Beatriz Williams." — The New York Times Book ReviewA ravishing summer read from New York Times bestseller Beatriz Williams, sweeping readers back to a mid-century New England rich with secrets and Cold War intrigue.June 1946. As the residents of Winthrop Island prepare for the first summer season after the sacrifice of war, a glamorous new figure moves into the guest cottage at Summerly, the idyllic seaside estate of the wealthy Peabody family. To Emilia Winthrop, daughter of Summerly’s year-round caretaker and a descendant of the island’s settlers, Olive Rainsford opens a window into a world of shining possibility. While Emilia spent the war years caring for her incapacitated mother, Olive traveled the world, married fascinating men, and involved herself in political causes. She’s also the beloved aunt of the two surviving Peabody sons, Amory and Shep, with whom Emilia has a tangled romantic history.As the summer wears on, Emilia develops a deep rapport with Olive, who urges her to leave the island for a life of adventure, while romance blossoms with the sturdy and honorable Shep. But the heady promise of Peabody patronage is blown apart by the arrival of Sumner Fox, an FBI agent who demands Emilia’s help to capture a Soviet agent who’s transmitting vital intelligence on the West’s atomic weapon program from somewhere inside the Summerly estate.April 1954. Eight years later, Summerly is boarded up and Emilia has rebuilt her shattered life as a professor at Wellesley College, when shocking news arrives from Washington—the traitor she helped convict is about to be swapped for an American spy imprisoned in the Soviet Union, but with a mysterious condition only Emilia can fulfill. A reluctant Emilia is summoned to CIA headquarters, where she’s forced to confront the harrowing consequences of her actions that fateful summer, and a choice that could destroy the Peabody family—and Emilia’s chance for redemption—all over again."Grand and gripping...shot through with suspense, romance, and glorious, beach-laden locales. I could not put it down."--Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Mitford Affair
The Paris Gown
“A glorious showstopper of a novel! With its glittering characters, intricately woven plot and chapters full of gorgeous Dior dresses, The Paris Gown will be turning all heads this year."--Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Disappearance of Astrid BricardFrom perennially popular historical novelist Christine Wells, the delightful tale of three young women in 1950s Paris who share a single dazzling Christian Dior gown.Paris, 1955Three friends—Claire, Gina, and Margot—who parted as very young women with their whole lives ahead of them, reunite in Paris years later, determined to start life anew.Parisian Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef one day, but ever since the heady time she spent in the company of socialites Gina and Margot, her dream has been to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric and wealthy Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire’s family brasserie, abruptly leaves Paris, asking Claire to mind her apartment. More bafflingly, Madame Vaughn also makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown.Meanwhile Gina, a cool American blue blood, lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement after her father lost all of the family money in a risky business venture. A journalist aspiring to be a novelist, Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball in the hopes of persuading Hal Sanders, her former fiancé, to invest in her father’s new business venture, she is torn. She wants to help her father, but seeing Hal again will be exquisitely painful. And what on earth is she going to wear?Warm-hearted Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball, and after some hesitation, Gina accepts. At Dior for Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, the friend they thought had gone back to Australia to be married. But Margot is living in Paris and working at Dior under an assumed name, and clearly, she is not happy to have been found.Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?Gorgeous, perfectly fitted, lustrous and luxurious, the Dior gown has the power to change lives—as these three remarkable women are about to discover…“Decadent French cuisine, a haute couture gown, and the streets of Paris create an elegant backdrop for this warm and uplifting story. In The Paris Gown, Christine Wells has lovingly crafted a tale of the resiliency of female friendship and the healing power of chasing one’s dreams.” --Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of Her Lost Words, USA Today bestselling author of Her Lost Words"Wells excels at bringing midtwentieth-century Paris to life in a touching tale that emphasizes the value of true friendship." --Booklist
Hotel Laguna
In 1942, Hazel Francis left Wichita, Kansas for California, determined to do her part for the war effort. At Douglas Aircraft, she became one of many “Rosie the Riveters,” helping construct bombers for the U. S. military. But now the war is over, men have returned to their factory jobs, and women like Hazel have been dismissed, expected to return home to become wives and mothers.Unwilling to be forced into a traditional woman’s role in the Midwest, Hazel remains on the west coast, and finds herself in the bohemian town of Laguna Beach. Desperate for work, she accepts a job as an assistant to famous artist Hanson Radcliff. Beloved by the locals for his contributions to the art scene and respected by the critics, Radcliff lives under the shadow of a decades old scandal that haunts him.Working hard to stay on her cantankerous employer’s good side, Hazel becomes a valued member of the community. She never expected to fall in love with the rhythms of life in Laguna, nor did she expect to find a kindred spirit in Jimmy, the hotel bartender whose friendship promises something more. But Hazel still wants to work with airplanes—maybe even learn to fly one someday. Torn between pursuing her dream and the dream life she has been granted, she is unsure if giving herself over to Laguna is what her heart truly wants.
Last House
“A richly detailed, slow-burning family saga distinguished by incisive psychological insight and masterful research. . . Shattuck is such a good writer, giving us swaths of cultural and historical background as gracefully and intelligently as she parses the emotional depths of her characters. Every note in the novel rings clear and true.” — Kate Christensen, New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of The Women in the Castle comes a sweeping story of a nation on the rise, and one family’s deeply complicated relationship to the resource that built their fortune and fueled their greatest tragedy, perfect for fans of The Dutch House and Great Circle.It’s 1953, and for Nick Taylor, WWII veteran turned company lawyer, oil is the key to the future. He takes the train into the city for work and returns to the peaceful streets of the suburbs and to his wife, Bet, former codebreaker now housewife, and their two children, Katherine and Harry. Nick comes from humble origins but thanks to his work for American Oil, he can provide every comfort for his family, including Last House, a secluded country escape. Deep in the Vermont mountains, the Taylors are free from the stresses of modern life. Bet doesn’t have to worry about the Russian H-bombs that haunt her dreams, and the children roam free in the woods. Last House is a place that could survive the end of the world.It’s 1968, and America is on the brink of change. Protestors fill the streets to challenge everything from the Vietnam War to racism in the wake of MLK’s shooting—to the country's reliance on Big Oil. As Katherine makes her first forays into adult life, she’s caught up in the current of the time and struggles to reconcile her ideals with the stable and privileged childhood her Greatest Generation parents worked so hard to provide. But when the Movement shifts in a more radical direction, each member of the Taylor family will be forced to reckon with the consequences of the choices they’ve made for the causes they believed in.Spanning multiple generations and nearly eighty years, Last House tells the story of one American family during an age of grand ideals and even greater downfalls. Set against the backdrop of our nation’s history, this is an emotional tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance and what we owe each other—and captures to stunning effect the gravity of time, the double edge of progress, and the hubris of empire.
Distant Star
Alberto Ruiz-Tagle was once the quiet, unknowable, unpromising member of Chile’s young poetry scene. But the military coup of 1973 sees Alberto reborn as Chile’s leading celebrity poet, Carlos Wieder. Known for his daring sky poems, penned in smoke high above the cities, Weider’s dazzling trajectory is a cause for astonishment and speculation amongst his old poetry friends. Where did this talent suddenly spring from? And, how is it connected to the disappearance of the beautiful Garmendia twins? Told from across the years in exile in Europe, the narrator’s attempts to trace the fate of his old circle will lead him to one last confrontation with the brutality of their generation. Elegant, pocket-sized paperbacks, VINTAGE Editions celebrate the audacity and ambition of the written word, transporting readers to wherever in the world literary innovation may be found.
The Coast Road
“I loved this novel. All the female characters are complex and fascinating, and full of anger and hope. I found it an addictive read.”—actor Gillian AndersonA poignant debut novel about the lives of women in a claustrophobic coast town and the search for independence in a society that seeks to limit it.Set in 1994, The Coast Road tells the story of two women—Izzy Keaveney, a housewife, and Colette Crowley, a poet. Colette has left her husband and sons for a married man in Dublin. When she returns to her home in County Donegal to try to pick up the pieces of her old life, her husband, Shaun, a successful businessman, denies her access to her children.The only way she can see them is with the help of neighbour Izzy, acting as a go-between. Izzy also feels caught in a troubled marriage. The friendship that develops between them will ultimately lead to tragedy for one, and freedom for the other.Addictive as Big Little Lies with a depth and compassion that rivals the works of Claire Keegan, Elizabeth Strout, and Colm Tóibín, The Coast Road is a story about the limits placed on women’s lives in Ireland only a generation ago, and the consequences women have suffered trying to gain independence. Award-winning Irish author Alan Murrin reminds us of the price we are forced to pay to find freedom.
An Episode of Sparrows
By the author of Black Narcissus and The River'A masterpiece of construction and utterly realistically convincing' JACQUELINE WILSON'Godden here tries her deft writing hand at landscaping a child's heart' TIMESomeone has been digging up the private garden in the Square. Miss Angela Chesney of the Garden Committee is sure that a gang of local boys is to blame, but her sister, Olivia, isn't so sure. She wonders why the neighbourhood children - 'sparrows' she calls them - have to be locked out: don't they have a right to enjoy the garden too?Nobody has any idea what sends Lovejoy Mason and her few friends in search of 'good garden earth'. Still less do they imagine where their investigation will lead them - to a struggling restaurant, a bombed-out church, and, at the heart of it all, a hidden garden.'Only Rumer Godden could make a simple tale of a forbidden garden pulse with suspense' NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE BOOK REVIEW
Multivariate Analysis – The Simplest Guide in the Universe
**Multivariate Analysis – The Simplest Guide in the Universe: A Holistic Strategy to Discover All the Relationships in Your Data**Unlock the secrets hidden within your data with "Multivariate Analysis – The Simplest Guide in the Universe." This book by award-winning statistician and author Lee Baker is your friendly, warm, and slightly technical guide to mastering multivariate analysis.**Why this book is your perfect companion:**- **Understand the basics:** Get a clear, straightforward introduction to the building blocks of multivariate analysis.- **Accurate results every time:** Learn why most multivariate results are wrong and how to get them right from the start.- **Holistic approach:** Discover a comprehensive method to uncover all the relationships in your data, ensuring a true and complete story.- **Practical insights:** Gain practical knowledge on choosing the right multivariate tests, interpreting results, and resolving discrepancies between univariate and multivariate findings.- **Plain English explanations:** Enjoy easy-to-understand content with no complex statistical jargon.- **Visual learning:** Benefit from visually intuitive examples that make complex concepts simple.- **Beginner-friendly:** Perfect for anyone new to statistics, with no prior experience required.In this guide, you'll find answers to crucial questions like why you should perform multivariate analysis, how to select the appropriate tests, and how to confidently interpret your results. Lee Baker’s holistic method ties together univariate and multivariate analyses into a single strategic framework, ensuring your findings are accurate and reliable.Whether you're a researcher, student, or data enthusiast, this book will empower you to critically evaluate the results of your analyses and those of others. Its approachable style and clear explanations make it accessible for readers from all backgrounds.Ready to dive into the world of multivariate analysis and reveal the true story behind your data? Get your copy of "Multivariate Analysis – The Simplest Guide in the Universe" today and start discovering the powerful relationships in your data!