category: Fiction

Nova Scotia

Johnny Grant faces stark life decisions. Seeking answers, he looks back to his relationship with Jerry Field. When they met, nearly thirty years ago, Johnny was 19, Jerry was 45. They fell in love and made a life on their own terms in Jerry’s flat: 1, Nova Scotia House. Johnny is still there today – but Jerry is gone, and so is the world they knew.

As Johnny’s mind travels between then and now, he begins to remember stories of Jerry’s youth: of experiments in living; of radical philosophies; of the many possibilities of love, sex and friendship before the AIDS crisis devastated the queer community. Slowly, he realizes what he must do next―and attempts to restore ways of being that could be lost forever.

Nova Scotia House takes us to the heart of a relationship, a community and an era. It is both a love story and a lament; bearing witness to the enduring pain of the AIDS pandemic and honouring the joys and creativity of queer life.

Intimate, visionary, and profoundly original, it marks the debut of a vibrant new voice in contemporary fiction, and a writer with a liberating new story to tell.

Charlie Porter is an acclaimed art and fashion writer, critic and curator. He is the author of the acclaimed books What Artists Wear and Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion. He lives in London. He is represented for publishing by Rebecca Carter at Rebecca Carter Literary.

Alice With A Why

England, 1919. Alyce – with a Y – lives with her grandmother, the original Alice, having lost her father during the Great War. When a mysterious invitation to a tea party hits her square in the face, Alyce realises her grandmother’s strange stories of a place called Wonderland might have some truth to them after all.

But the land Alyce finds herself in feels different from the Wonderland of her grandmother’s stories – for it is trapped in its own war. The Sun King and the Queen of the Moon are fighting over a stolen hour, and soon Alyce is tasked with setting it right. With the help of the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and a Sailor Fox, Alyce will have to solve Wonderland’s problems and, eventually, find her way back home.

Anna James is a writer and journalist living in London. Anna was Book News Editor at The Bookseller and Literary Editor of Elle UK. Anna has written for The Pool, The LA Times, The Financial Times and The Independent, as well as making YouTube videos as A Case For Books. She hosts literary events and panels and is the co-founder and host of the London YA Salon. She was shortlisted for the Kim Scott Walwyn Award for Women in Publishing, 2015, and the London Book Fair Trailblazers Award, 2016. Anna is represented for publishing by Claire Wilson at RCW Literary Agency.

The Mythmaker

Gwyn has never wanted to act like a lady. She much prefers fighting with her wooden sword to weaving intricate tapestries.

When her father takes her to join the royal court at Tintagel, Gwyn meets Merlin: a wild young boy with unique powers, in desperate need of her help. They flee Tintagel together, and before long, the young prince, Arthur, joins them.

So begins an epic journey across ancient Britain, involving giants, mermaids, unicorns and witches – and their discovery of a truly monstrous plan. This band of unlikely friends must prevent the mythical Oakheart – the foundation of all magic in the land – from being stolen. Or magic will be lost forever . . .

Discover the beginnings of Maker magic, and meet Cordelia Hatmaker’s legendary ancestors, in this thrilling story.

Tamzin Merchant has been an actor since the age of seventeen. Her acting work has taken her around the world and on a journey through time. She has been a Tudor, a Victorian, a Jacobean, and has survived the Blitz and succumbed to pneumonia in Edwardian times. She’s been an alien, a witch, a doomed queen, a feisty Scottish warrior and a rebellious high-society runaway. Tamzin is the bestselling author of The Hatmakers, The Mapmakers and The Troublemakers. Tamzin is represented for publishing by Claire Wilson at RCW Literary

The Missing Hour

YOUR HUSBAND HAS BEEN ARRESTED.

Maggie’s husband is suddenly arrested in the middle of the night, on suspicion of murder.
When Grant dies in custody, her world implodes.

EVERYONE BELIEVES HE IS GUILTY.
All the evidence points to Grant being a killer – including DNA at the scene.
But how can this be true when he was with Maggie all night?

ONLY YOU CAN PROVE THEM WRONG.

Following a trail of deception, it’s up to her to uncover the truth.
But Maggie has a secret too. Something she hasn’t told anyone.

She was with her husband all night – apart from one missing hour…

Robert Rutherford is a founding member of the Northern Crime Syndicate crime writers’ group and has been shortlisted twice for the CWA Short Story Daggers. THE MISSING HOUR is Robert’s second novel after his debut thriller, SEVEN DAYS. He lives in Newcastle with his family. He is represented for publishing by David Headley at D H H Literary Agency.

The Year of the Rat

Year of the Rat is a gripping and urgent exposé – nail-bitingly tense, darkly absurd and utterly chilling. Risking his safety and sanity, Shukman has removed the far right’s terrifyingly everyday mask. Now, we must ensure it stays off.

In summer 2024, riots swept England in the biggest wave of far-right violence in the post-war period. But far-right activity takes many other forms as well, all of them dangerous.

Journalist Harry Shukman knows the dangers all too well: he’d gone undercover to infiltrate these groups. For over a year, he carefully attached his hidden lapel camera and pretended to be an extremist named Chris.

We follow Shukman as he hangs out in the pub with a secretive community network, canvasses with political party Britain First and attends a neo-Nazi conference. We meet a circle of Holocaust deniers, a race science organisation with a major Silicon Valley investor and right-wing think tanks supported by Conservative policymakers. What we witness is hard to believe, or stomach.

Harry Shukman is a researcher at HOPE not hate, an anti-fascist organisation. Formerly a journalist, he worked as a news reporter for The Times and then a writer and editor for the Manchester Mill – an investigative online newspaper – and its sister sites in Liverpool and Sheffield. He is represented for publishing by Doug Young at PEW Literary.

Pacific Heights

‘A rising star of Australian crime fiction’ SUNDAY TIMES

In the courtyard of the Pacific Heights building, a local waitress is found dead.
Five apartments overlook the murder scene. Five people witnessed a crime take place.
Finding the killer should be simple.

Except none of the witnesses’ stories match.
They all saw something – from a different angle, at a different time.
None of them saw everything. Anyone could be the killer.

Detectives Carl “Bluey” Blueson and Lachlan Dyson, each with their own careers in peril, must solve what others assume is a straightforward case. But to unmask a killer they must unpick a complex puzzle – where the motivations of the witnesses are as mystifying as the crime itself.

How can you solve a crime if anyone could be lying?

Bad Manners

A men-only charity dinner. A clutch of young waitresses.

The jokes are uncomfortable. The hands linger. The collars loosen.

Behind closed doors, the wine flows.

The night is dark. The faces blur. The memories warp.

Behind closed doors, the money flows.

But revenge is sweet and justice is a burning flame.

Behind closed doors, the blood flows…

A fierce and addictive read about lust and power, the love we want versus the love we take, and the tinderbox secrets that hide so well in the heart of families, this is the searing new novel from the author of Spilt Milk.

A Very Irish Christmas

One part American sugar, two parts Irish spice. Cassie O’Hara is about to discover the recipe for the sweetest Christmas…

When New York-born Cassie O’Hara decides to use the money her sassy Irish nana Nora left in her will to book a month-long stay in a quaint country village, she’s expecting a cozy cottage, steak-and-ale pie and plenty of Christmas cheer. Instead, she gets a draughty disaster covered in dust, a temperamental stray dog and two devastatingly handsome men vying for her attention…

There’s Charles, the dashing English aristocrat with an enormous manor house and a heart of gold. And Ryan, a curly-haired Irish handyman with a past he won’t talk about and an accent that makes her weak at the knees.

When Charles enlists Cassie’s event-planning expertise to save his family estate, she finds herself working shoulder to shoulder with Ryan, breathing new life into Bancroft Manor. As village life weaves its spell, Cassie uncovers some intriguing secrets about Nana Nora’s past. With her return ticket looming and her heart pulling her in unexpected directions, can Cassie find the love and belonging Nana Nora always wanted for her?

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy filled with Irish charm, festive flirting and enough Christmas spirit to warm even the coldest of hearts. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Catherine Walsh and anyone who believes in the luck of the Irish…

Murder in the Dressing Room: A Misty Divine Mystery

MURDER IN THE DRESSING ROOM by Holly Stars is the first book in the brilliantly funny Misty Divine drag-queen murder mystery series published by Penguin. With shades of Only Murders in the Building and Medusa Deluxe, centred around our drag amateur sleuth, Misty.

Drag queens aren’t just dramatic. They’re deadly…

By day, shy hotel accountant Joe hides behind their desk and plays by the rules.

By night, Joe takes to the stage as Misty Divine, an upcoming star of the London drag scene.

But when Misty’s mentor and drag bar owner, Lady Lady, is found dead in her dressing room, Misty finds herself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Because Lady Lady was murdered – and as the only ones with access to her room, Misty and her fellow performers quickly become prime suspects.

Heartbroken by the loss, and frustrated by the inaction of the police, Joe is determined to uncover the killer in their midst. But what can they, a mere hotel accountant, possibly do?

This is a case for Misty Divine…

About Holly:

Holly Stars is a drag stand-up comedian and writer. She is the writer of smash hit drag murder mystery, Death Drop, a play that has had three runs on the West End and a UK and Ireland tour. Holly has two seasons of her own television series, Holly Stars: Inspirational, produced by Froot TV and Tuckshop. She is also the producer and co-host of murder mystery book review podcast, Read to Death.
She is currently a “trainee investigator”, completing an accredited qualification in professional investigation which she believes will make her the world’s first drag queen private detective. Murder In The Dressing Room is her debut novel.

Your Child Next

Your Child Next is the latest in MJ Arlidge’s co-written books published by Orion. It asks how far you’d go to protect your child and taps into our deep-seated fears about how much we share about ourselves online and what the wrong people can do with that information.

 

They’ve faked your child’s death, and if you don’t give them what they want, they’ll make it a reality

Things have been difficult for Annie since her husband left and her teenage daughter, Isla, has become a ghost of her former self. Annie’s terrified that Isla might do something desperate and that she’ll lose her, too. So, when Annie receives a video of herself crying at Isla’s funeral, her blood runs cold.

Confused and horrified, Annie races upstairs to check on Isla, who is alive and well. The video is a fake. But who sent it and what do they want?

The following day Annie is approached by a stranger – a young woman who tells her that unless she sets up a direct debit for £5,000 a month to a company registered in the Cayman Islands, her daughter will die. And she mustn’t go to the police.

Annie has a deadly choice on her hands: comply with the demands or try to unmask the dangerous criminal.

Across town, rich widower Michael is struggling to hold it together for his kids. Going through his late wife’s finances, he chances upon a surprising monthly direct debit for £5,000 to a bank in the Cayman Islands, which he can’t make head or tail of. He decides to cancel it. Big mistake.

Two days later, his son Aaron is run over in a nasty hit and run but miraculously survives, making the local newspapers.

Michael holds vigil at the hospital, and it’s here that Annie (who’s made a connection between the woman who threatened her and the hit and run driver caught on doorbell footage) approaches him. Had Michael or his late wife been forced to pay money to a shell company in the Cayman Islands..?

Together the pair join forces on a desperate mission that will reveal the bewildering scale of this sickening shakedown. They will risk their lives to free themselves from an awful bind, liberating scores of other families in the process. And when their victory is assured, when the dust has finally settled, might they have found something in each other that will allow them to re-build their lives?