Rainaldi was a violin-maker and when he was discovered slumped over his workbench, murdered with one of his own chisels, both the police and his friends are at a loss to discover a motive. Then it comes to light that Rainaldi had believed he was on the track of an infamous Stradivari - twin to the one housed in the Asmolean Museum and subject to two hundred years of myth and rumour. With nothing else to go on his two close friends pick up the search from where he left off, and plunge headlong into a world where great musical instruments change hands for millions, where forgery is an art form and where murder is often a dealer's chosen method of negotiation.

Five years after the horrific crash of TWA Flight 800 over Long Island which killed 230 people, John Corey is inadvertently caught up in the now closed case by his FBI lawyer wife, Kate, who believes the government's findings of mechanical failure is wrong. The FBI don't take kindly to the case being looked into again and, as John Corey's instincts and investigations clearly show anomalies, he and Kate are sent off to the Yemen and Tanzania for a month or so each as punishment. On his return, John is not put off - he has ten days' leave. Ten days in which to avoid the FBI and to find that elusive video tape taken by two adulterous lovers on the beach which may - or may not - show a sea-to-air missile racing up to hit the TWA Flight 800...An exciting, edge-of-the-seat thriller - Nelson DeMille's best to date. Www nelsondemille.net

England in 1912 still bears itself with Edwardian confidence, but strikes, protests and public violence reveal the fault lines as society evolves under the spur of new ideas and technology. Among the many branches of the Morland family, Jessie and Violet, childhood friends, learn to cope with the surprises of marriage and motherhood and their different strata of society. Jack, disappointed in love, loses himself in designing aircraft and training airmen for the newly formed flying corps. And Anne exhausted by the Suffragette struggle, seeks comfort in her friendship with an unconventional young woman. The Titanic tragedy shakes the confidence of a people used to conquering nature with engineering; and all the while, the troubled nations of Europe edge closer to a war no-one wants, but which seems inevitable.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles is the author of the contemporary Bill Slider Mystery series as well as the Morland Dynasty novels. Her passions are music, wine, horses, architecture and the English countryside.

Michael Garland (Illustrator)

The news was in the papers and on every TV station. But only Santa's little girl, Chrissie, knows the whole true story about everything that happened when Vernon Ransom, the Big Boss of the EXMAS EXPRESS company, came roaring into town – and bought the North Pole… and even Christmas itself!

James Patterson, the author of numerous international bestsellers, wrote much of santaKid in the family playroom with his young son, Jack. Mr P's top hit novels include the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling Alex Cross series of thrillers and Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. The Patterson family lives in Florida.
Michael Garland is the award-winning author-illustrator of many popular children's books, including The Mouse Before Christmas and Christmas City. With more than forty titles to his credit as an artist, he has garnered numerous citations, including two silver medals from the Society of Illustrators. He lives with his family in Patterson, New York.