In 1937 Andras Levi, a Hungarian-Jewish student, heads for Paris on a scholarship to study architecture. There, he makes an unlikely liaison with a ballet teacher whose past links her to a wealthy Hungarian family. Against the backdrop of gruelling school assignments, exhausting work at a theatre, a budding romance, and the developing kinship between Andras and his fellow Jewish students, Julie Orringer ingeniously depicts the insidious reach of the growing tide of anti-Semitism that eventually lands Andras back in Budapest. Soon, the families’ lives are swamped by history as Europe’s unfolding tragedy sends them into terrifying uncertainty. This incredible story of a love tested by disaster, of brothers whose bonds cannot be broken, of a family shattered and remade in history’s darkest hour, and of the dangerous power of art in a time of war, is expertly crafted, richly detailed, magnificently written, and emotionally haunting. 

Intense, powerful and compelling, Matterhorn is an epic war novel in the tradition of Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead.  It is the timeless story of a young Marine lieutenant, Waino Mellas, and his comrades in Bravo Company, who are dropped into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and forced to fight their way into manhood. Standing in their way are not merely the North Vietnamese but also monsoon rain and mud, leeches and tigers, disease and malnutrition. Almost as daunting, it turns out, are the obstacles they discover between each other: racial tension, competing ambitions, and duplicitous superior officers. The experience will change them forever. Written by a highly decorated Marine veteran, this spellbinding and unforgettable novel, filled with heroism, hatred, healing, terror, politics and love, brings to life an entire world -- both its horrors and its thrills -- and seems destined to become a classic of combat literature. 

What would you do if you unexpectedly inherited 17 million pounds?
Nicholas Shakespeare’s new novel settles this peculiar conundrum on the unprepared shoulders of self-help book editor Andy Larkham. While he trades self-help for help-yourself, Andy realises that he has also inherited a mystery. The first part of the book is an often amusing story of one of life’s losers struggling to cope with strange twists in his life; then it changes tack as we explore the background of his mysterious benefactor. There’s a deliciously evil con-man who pops up far more frequently than even the worst penny, romance, moral dilemmas and a story of betrayal that unfolds in ways that you won’t see coming. Ultimately, Inheritance is a story about identity and finding your place in the world: when Shakespeare is grappling with the dark conflicts of the human heart, he is a captivating writer.  

This book marks a location departure for Alan Furst -- moving from the salons of Western and Central Europe to the more unstable terrain of the Balkans. In other respects, it is still classic Furst, following the double dealings of shady figures in the early years of the Second World War. The action takes place in the countryside of Macedonia, around the time of the British SIS inspired coup there in April 1941, and then in Greece during the invasion itself. Like The Spies of Warsaw, it's a multi-spy novel, involving Turkish, Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian operatives, as the Germans and Italians occupy the country. With extraordinary authenticity, a superb cast of characters, and heart-stopping tension as it moves from the ancient Balkan Greek port of Salonika to Paris to Berlin and back, Spies of the Balkans is about a man who risks everything to right -- in many small ways -- the world's evil. 

This acclaimed novel – a moving depiction of the transformative power of first love -- follows Eveline Auerbach from her high school years in East Hampton, New York, in the 1970s through her early adulthood in the moneyed, high-pressured Manhattan of the 1980s. Centring on Evie's fragile relationship with her family and her thwarted love affair with Harrison Rourke, it is both a love story and an exploration of the difficulty of finding one's place in the world. As Evie surrenders to the dazzling emotional highs of love and the crippling loneliness of heartbreak, she strives to reconcile her identity with the constraints that all relationships -- familial or romantic, spiritually uplifting or quietly detrimental -- inherently place on us. Though she stumbles and strains against social conventions, Evie remains a strong yet sensitive observer of the world around her, often finding beauty and meaning in unexpected places. 

 Gloriously fresh and vivid, with a deliciously irreverent heroine, The Botticelli Secret is a masterful concoction of enticing mystery, historical intrigue and romantic adventure. Resplendent 15th-century Italy is seen through the eyes of the gorgeous Luciana Vetra, prostitute and part-time model. After a request from one of her clients to pose for a painter friend, Luciana agrees to model for the central figure of Flora in Botticelli's masterpiece 'Primavera'. But when the artist dismisses her without payment, Luciana impulsively steals an unfinished version of the painting -- only to find that friends and clients are slaughtered around her in an attempt to get it back. Luciana turns to the novice monk Brother Guido Della Torre to discover what could be so valuable about the painting. Fleeing Florence together, Luciana and Guido race through the cities of Renaissance Italy pursued by ruthless enemies who are determined to keep them from decoding the painting's secrets. 

The final episode in the trilogy that began with the worldwide bestseller Man and Boy, followed by Man and Wife. It is crunch time for Harry Silver: Life is good for him, he has a beautiful new wife, three wonderful children and a great job as producer of the cult radio show, ‘A Clip Round the Ear’. But Harry is about to turn 40, and when his 15-year-old son Pat moves out to live with his mother and his job is at risk, the hard times just begin. Into the chaos of Harry's life stroll two old soldiers who fought alongside his late father in the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944. Will these two grumpy old men help Harry reclaim his life? And can they show Harry what it really means to be a man? Funny, moving and unforgettable, Men From the Boys is a story of how we live now. 

Two families, one terrible secret, and a painting to die for ...spy turned art restorer Gabriel Allon has severed his ties with the Office after his final showdown with the murderous Russian oligarch and arms dealer Ivan Kharkov, and retreated to the Cornish coast. But an unspeakable act of violence once again draws him into a world of danger when Glastonbury, an art restorer, is brutally murdered and the newly discovered Rembrandt on which he has been working has disappeared. Allon is persuaded to use his unique skills to trace the painting and those responsible for the crimes. As he investigates, he discovers there are terrible secrets connected to the painting, and terrible men behind them: he will need to undertake a journey through some of the 20th century's darkest history. 

Set in the chaos of Bombay, Saraswati Park is the charming, even comical story of three family members whose middle-class lives are thrown into disarray. Mohan, a professional letter writer, furnishes missives for village migrants and disenchanted lovers. But his true passion is collecting second-hand books, particularly novels with marginal annotations. So when the pavement booksellers are summarily evicted, Mohan's life starts to lose some of its animating lustre. As Mohan and his wife, Lakshmi, are joined by their nephew, Ashish, a diffident, sexually uncertain 19-year-old, their lives are thrown into sharp relief by the comical frustrations of family life: annoying relatives, unspoken yearnings and unheard grievances. Lakshmi leaves Bombay to mourn not only her brother’s death but also the vital force of her marriage. Beautifully rendered, Saraswati Park is about love and loss and the noise in our heads -- and how, in spite of everything, life, both lived and imagined, continues

Another intriguing mystery, leavened with charm and humour, informed by a deep love of French rural life and a broad knowledge of France, past and present, from the author of the popular bestsellers Bruno, Chief of Police and The Dark Vineyard. France's Perigord region is the home of the treasured, exquisite black truffle; when reports reveal that this unique delicacy is being adulterated with a cheaper Chinese version, Bruno Courreges is asked to investigate. In St Denis market there are early signs of a Vietnamese-Chinese triad war, and when a brutal murder occurs, Bruno has his work cut out to find the connection between present and long buried crimes linked to France's colonial past.

In this fast-paced, nail-biting thriller from the popular crime writer of acclaimed international bestsellers such as Piece of My Heart, Friend of the Devil and All the Colours of Darkness, DCI Alan Banks must face his most challenging and personal case yet. A distraught neighbour Juliet Doyle has found a loaded gun hidden in the bedroom of her daughter, whose best friend and flatmate is Tracy Banks. Tracy’s boyfriend is the suspected owner of the gun, and when he persuades Tracy to go on the run with him, a deadly chase across the country is set in motion. Thrust into a complicated and dangerous case intertwining the personal and the professional, Banks must risk everything to outsmart a smooth and devious psychopath as his daughter’s life hangs in the balance. 

Nina, her son Christopher in tow, flies to Malta for one last visit with her aging parents. Her previous attempt to see them ended in tears. Disowned for falling pregnant while at university in England, she was not allowed into the house. This will be her final chance to make her peace with them. But Malta holds more secrets and surprises than Nina could possibly imagine. What she finds is not the land of her youth, a place full of memories and happiness. Instead she meets dead people. Lots of them. Malta, it transpires, is a transit lounge for recently deceased spirits and somehow Christopher enables her to see them, speak with them and help them. And, in return, they help Nina come to terms with her own loss. One so great that she has yet to admit it to herself. Like Bees to Honey is a magical tale, a story of family, redemption and ghosts. 

From the author of the bestsellers The Russian Concubine, Under a Blood Red Sky and The Concubine’s Secret. It is Russia, 1910. Young Valentina Ivanova charms St Petersburg's aristocracy with her classic Russian beauty and her talent as a pianist. She scandalises society when she begins a romance with Jens Friis, a Danish engineer. He brings to her life a passion and an intimacy she has never known. Unbending in their opposition, her parents push her into a loveless engagement with a Russian count. Valentina struggles for independence and to protect her young sister from the tumult sweeping the city, as Russia is bound for rebellion. The Tsar, the Duma and the Bolsheviks are at each other's throats. Valentina is forced to make a choice that changes her life forever ...

This rollicking, pacy story, for rugby fans with a sense of humour, plays fast and loose with rugby lore, in the style of an alternative (and much funnier) history of one of New Zealand’s most famous touring teams. It is about the 1924 Invincibles -- practically saints in Kiwi rugby mythology -- on tour of the United Kingdom as it might have been, if there was more sex and less etiquette than the rugby historians would have us believe. Beau Baxter, a strapping, handsome, dark-skinned, lovable rogue, is enticed into contention for the Maori All Blacks by a conniving coach who sees his raw potential, and eventually, after some questionable incidents, is picked for the Invincibles. Along the way, Beau is caught up in a bawdy farce of subterfuge and naughtiness, as much fun is poked at conventional history and post-Edwardian sensibilities. 

When Auckland cop Sean Devereaux, who enjoys skating close to the edges, does a favour for his attractive neighbour, he unwittingly exposes a web of deceit and corruption. As he investigates the murder of a 16-year-old Epsom 'princess' in his day job, his after-hours’ efforts have him stumbling into the aftermath of a scam involving senior colleagues, and he is soon enmeshed in an escalating cycle of kidnapping, murder and violent mayhem. With his unconventional ex-colleague-turned-security-specialist John Hale, Devereaux slowly begins to unravel the truth as the body count climbs and the stakes become personal. As an outwardly terse, street-savvy operator, Devereaux emerges as an engaging and irreverent hero, becoming the catalyst for an absorbing, strangely uneasy murder mystery, set in unnervingly familiar surroundings.