The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne
The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne

Author: Andrew Nicoll

Publisher: Black & White Publishing

Published: 2015-06-11

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 1845029836

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"A mystery that touches the heart, with characters caught in a world that's harsh but trembles with tender emotions. A beautiful story." JAMES NAUGHTIE, BBC Radio 4 When the door opened and he came out, there came with him the stench of a dead thing, the sweet, sulphurous, warm, rotten chicken smell that only ever comes from unburied flesh. A dead body is found in a locked house. It has been stabbed in a frenzy, the hands and feet bound, the skull smashed, false teeth knocked from its jaws. Blood pools around the corpse and drips from the staircase. Yet nothing is missing: money and valuables remain untouched. Who could have murdered an old woman in such a horrifying way? And why? This is the mystery facing Sergeant John Fraser and Detective Lieutenant Trench when wealthy spinster Miss Jean Milne is murdered in the quiet seaside town of Broughty Ferry. Yet, despite an abundance of clues and apparent witnesses, the investigation proves troublesome: suspects are elusive and Miss Milne herself is found to be far from a model of propriety. And when sensational headlines put pressure on the police force to find a culprit, Fraser and Trench must work fast to prevent the wrong man from going to the gallows. But will they ever unravel the secret life and curious death of Miss Jean Milne? REVIEWS "Nicoll takes a true story and builds it into a twisting piece of prose with an unexpected shift towards the end." DAILY EXPRESS (****, Summer's Most Addictive Crime Fiction) "Beautifully Done." THE SUN "The sense of setting and era are spot on, and the dusky streets of Scotland are suitably spooky." HEAT MAGAZINE "A superb read, the sort of book that keeps you compulsively turning pages." UNDISCOVERED SCOTLAND "Nicoll offers a plausible, if shocking, solution to the crime at the end...in the style of the best Agatha Christie. The writing of a Christie-esque novel in the 21st century, however, requires a fresh and lively narrative, coupled with a wry and critical humour, to make it feel compellingly modern enough. Nicoll achieves that and more by bringing us, sometimes uncomfortably so, closer to our sins of the past." THE NATIONAL "An intelligent crime novel with secrets, passion and great characters - just a great murder mystery." PORTOBELLO BOOK BLOG "A triumph of tone, very moving, completely convincing." ANDREW MARR on The Good Mayor "An exuberant, whirlwind read, with a glint of steel beneath the frothy plot." THE GUARDIAN on The Good Mayor

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Author: Muriel Spark

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2012-03-20

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1453245030

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“A perfect book”—and basis for the Maggie Smith film—about a teacher who makes a lasting impression on her female students in the years before World War II (Chicago Tribune). “Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life!” So asserts Jean Brodie, a magnetic, dubious, and sometimes comic teacher at the conservative Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh. Brodie selects six favorite pupils to mold—and she doesn’t stop with just their intellectual lives. She has a plan for them all, including how they will live, whom they will love, and what sacrifices they will make to uphold her ideals. When the girls reach adulthood and begin to find their own destinies, Jean Brodie’s indelible imprint is a gift to some, and a curse to others. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is Spark’s masterpiece, a novel that offers one of twentieth-century English literature’s most iconic and complex characters—a woman at once admirable and sinister, benevolent and conniving. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Muriel Spark including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s archive at the National Library of Scotland.

The Good Mayor
The Good Mayor

Author: Andrew Nicoll

Publisher: Black & White Publishing Ltd

Published: 2019-05-23

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1785302698

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

'A triumph of tone, very moving, completely convincing' - ANDREW MARR 'A Baltic Brief Encounter' - INDEPENDENT Every morning, Mayor Tibo Krovic stops off at the local café on his way to work. He drinks his Viennese coffee with extra figs, leaves a bag of sweets for the owner, and then continues on to his office. There he awaits the arrival of his secretary: the beautiful, married, but lonely, Agathe Stopak. In the respectable town of Dot, there is nothing the good Mayor Tibo can do about his love for Mrs Stopak. Until one day Agathe accidentally drops her lunch into the fountain and a family tragedy is revealed. In that moment, everything changes. The Good Mayor is a magical story of fate and chance, of loss and love. An international bestseller, published in 23 countries, this stunning novel will be loved by fans of Joanne Harris (Chocolat), Louis de Bernieres (Captain Corelli's Mandolin) and William Boyd (Love is Blind). PRAISE FOR THE GOOD MAYOR: 'One of the best books I've ever read . . . It had a humour and lightness of touch that hooked me from the first page to the last' - Daily Telegraph 'An extraordinary achievement - original and profoundly creative' - Scotsman 'The delicious writing takes it into a rare league' - The Sun 'A story of love, dreaming and loss . . . you will not be disappointed.' - Andrew Marr, Observer 'An exuberant, whirlwind read, with a glint of steel beneath the frothy plot.' - Guardian 'Clearly the handiwork of a master storyteller.' - Financial Times 'A literary novel and gorgeously written, old-fashioned romance.' - The Australian Women's Weekly 'Told with fantastical detail, delightful insights and a touch of humour, this fairy tale-ish romance is a genuine treat.' - Publishers Weekly

If You're Reading This, I'm Already Dead
If You're Reading This, I'm Already Dead

Author: Andrew Nicoll

Publisher: Quercus

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1623652502

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The bright, funny and wild story of an acrobat from Hamburg who decided to become the King of Albania, succeeded, and fell in love along the way Otte Witte is an old man. The Allies are raining bombs on his city and, having narrowly escaped death, he has come home to his little caravan to drink what remains of his coffee (dust) and wait for the inevitable. Convinced that he will not see the sunrise, he decides to write the story of his life for the poor soul who finds what's left of him come the morning. And it's quite a story. Years earlier, when he was in either Buda or Pest, working in the circus, a dear friend showed him a newspaper article: Albania was searching for a long-lost Turkish prince to be the new king. The Turkish prince was the image of Otto. . . A plan was formed; adventure, disaster, love and sheer, unabashed hope followed. If You're Reading This, I'm Already Dead is a joy to read; accomplished and full of the warmth, honesty and lightness of touch for which Andrew Nicoll is known and loved.

Murder, She Wrote: Design For Murder
Murder, She Wrote: Design For Murder

Author: Jessica Fletcher

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0698411684

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this mystery in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series, Jessica Fletcher visits New York City during fashion week, only to discover someone has rather fatal designs... Jessica is in Manhattan to attend the debut of a new designer. Formerly Sandy Black of Cabot Cove, the young man has reinvented himself as Xandr Ebon, and is introducing his evening wear collection to the public and—more important—to the industry’s powers-that-be: the stylists, the magazine editors, the buyers, and the wealthy clientele who can make or break him. At the show, the glitz and glamour are dazzling until a young model—a novice, taking her first walk down the runway—shockingly collapses and dies. Natural causes? Perhaps. But when another model is found dead, a famous cover girl and darling of the paparazzi, the fashion world gets nervous. Two models. Two deaths. Their only connection? Xandr Ebon. Jessica’s crime-solving instincts are put to the test as she sorts through the egos, the conflicts of interest, the spiteful accusations, and the secrets, all the while keeping an amorous detective at arm’s length. But she’ll have to dig deep to uncover a killer. A designer’s career is on the line. And another model could perish in a New York minute.

The Lonely Life
The Lonely Life

Author: Bette Davis

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2017-04-04

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 0316441295

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Originally published in 1962, The Lonely Life is legendary silver screen actress Bette Davis's lively and riveting account of her life, loves, and marriages--now in ebook for the first time, and updated with an afterword she wrote just before her death. As Davis says in the opening lines of her classic memoir: "I have always been driven by some distant music--a battle hymn, no doubt--for I have been at war from the beginning. I rode into the field with sword gleaming and standard flying. I was going to conquer the world." A bold, unapologetic book by a unique and formidable woman, The Lonely Life details the first fifty-plus years of Davis's life--her Yankee childhood, her rise to stardom in Hollywood, the birth of her beloved children, and the uncompromising choices she made along the way to succeed. The book was updated with new material in the 1980s, bringing the story up to the end of Davis's life--all the heartbreak, all the drama, and all the love she experienced at every stage of her extraordinary life. The Lonely Life proves conclusively that the legendary image of Bette Davis is not a fable but a marvelous reality.

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up
1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up

Author: Julia Eccleshare

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 960

ISBN-13: 9781844036714

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up is the perfect introduction to the very best books of childhood: those books that have a special place in the heart of every reader. It introduces a wonderfully rich world of literature to parents and their children, offering both new titles and much-loved classics that many generations have read and enjoyed. From wordless picture books and books introducing the first words and sounds of the alphabet through to hard-hitting and edgy teenage fiction, the titles featured in this book reflect the wealth of reading opportunities for children.Browsing the titles in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up will take you on a journey of discovery into fantasy, adventure, history, contermporary life, and much more. These books will enable you to travel to some of the most famous imaginary worlds such as Narnia, Middle Earth, and Hogwart's School. And the route taken may be pretty strange, too. You may fall down a rabbit hole, as Alice does on her way to Wonderland, or go through the back of a wardrobe to reach the snowy wastes of Narnia.

The Love and Death of Caterina
The Love and Death of Caterina

Author: Andrew Nicoll

Publisher: Quercus

Published: 2013-11-05

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 1623652928

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Luciano Hernando Valdez is his Latin American nation's most celebrated novelist and he's suffering from writer's block. So far his latest great work comprises the words "The scrawny yellow cat crossed the road." He's tried all his usual tricks to get back on track--he's had a few debates with his trusty colleagues at the university, he's had an affair with the banker's wife, nothing will work. Until he meets Caterina. Beautiful, young and one of his biggest fans, she has idolized him since she was a child and he has inspired her to write. Convinced that falling in love with her, spending every minute he can alongside her, molding her to his world, will unlock something and enable him to write, he pursues her and soon enough, he falls headlong into her arms. But it's only a matter of time before he murders her.

The Wheel Spins
The Wheel Spins

Author: Ethel Lina White

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published: 2024-10-29

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 1464216452

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First published in 1936 and adapted for the screen as The Lady Vanishes by Alfred Hitchcock in 1938, Ethel Lina White's suspenseful mystery remains her best-known novel, worthy of acknowledgement as a classic of the genre in its own right. Then the rhythm of the train changed, and she seemed to be sliding backwards down a long slope. Click-click-click-click. The wheels rattled over the rails, with a sound of castanets. Iris Carr's holiday in the mountains of a remote corner of Europe has come to an end, and since her friends left two days before, she faces the journey home alone. Stricken by sunstroke at the station, Iris catches the express train to Trieste by the skin of her teeth and finds a companion in Miss Froy, an affable English governess. But when Iris passes out and reawakens, Miss Froy is nowhere to be found. The other passengers deny any knowledge of her existence and as the train speeds across Europe, Iris spirals deeper and deeper into a strange and dangerous conspiracy.

The Death of the Heart
The Death of the Heart

Author: Elizabeth Bowen

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2019-06-05

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1984899988

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Death of the Heart is perhaps Elizabeth Bowen's best-known book. As she deftly and delicately exposes the cruelty that lurks behind the polished surfaces of conventional society, Bowen reveals herself as a masterful novelist who combines a sense of humor with a devastating gift for divining human motivations. In this piercing story of innocence betrayed set in the thirties, the orphaned Portia is stranded in the sophisticated and politely treacherous world of her wealthy half-brother's home in London.There she encounters the attractive, carefree cad Eddie. To him, Portia is at once child and woman, and her fears her gushing love. To her, Eddie is the only reason to be alive. But when Eddie follows Portia to a sea-side resort, the flash of a cigarette lighter in a darkened cinema illuminates a stunning romantic betrayal--and sets in motion one of the most moving and desperate flights of the heart in modern literature.