The discovery of gold by a team of Mormon mill workers in 1848 sparked a frenzy that shook the world. People swarmed to California from as far as China and Australia. They came from England and France, from Ireland and Chile, leaving behind their families and everything they owned in the hope of making their fortunes in the new world. They came by ship and overland, braving Tierra del Fuego and the pestilences of Panama, lured by the promise of gold. In a spellbinding narrative that spans several continents, Brands brings the fervour and excitement of the gold rush vividly to life. The Age of Gold is narrative history at its best -- the astonishing tale of one of the most extraordinary speculative frenzies in history, told by a master historian.

For aspiring novelist Ellis Brooks, the idyllic setting of Bosco promises to provide the perfect backdrop for finishing her book about its founder, Aurora Latham. But the artists' retreat is not providing the inspiration she hoped for. Instead of being visited by her muse, Ellis is haunted by the spirits of dead children who seem exceptionally playful, even vicious. Bosco is famous as a centre for the arts and for its gardens based on Greek and Native American mythology. But it's infamous for the scandal that took place there early in its history. In an effort to ease his wife's spirits after the death of three of their children, Milo Latham summoned feted spiritualist Corinth Blackwell to Bosco. There she performed two seances, both of which ended in tragedy. But was Corinth medium or charlatan? Seductress or seduced? And when she disappeared from Bosco, did she spirit the Latham's only surviving daughter, Alice, away with her? It seems the events of the past are taking on disturbing relevance for the occupants of the artists' retreat in the present. It transpires that they all have some sort of connection to Bosco or the scandal associated with it. And the ghostly visitations are becoming progressively frightening and violent. But are they truly haunted or is the explanation much more mundane, more earthly, more close to home?

Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch will never see thirty again. Nor forty. A lifetime on the force and all she has to show for it is a couple of hundred pounds in the bank and a mortgaged flat in Highgate Borders. When the take down of a violent criminal goes badly wrong leaving both the target and a young constable dead, something doesn't feel right to Maddy. And her uneasiness is only compounded when she starts to believe someone is following her home. In Cornwall retired Detective Inspector Elder's solitary life is disturbed by a phone call from his estranged wife Joanne. Seventeen-year-old Katherine is running wild. Elder's fears for his daughter are underscored by remorse and guilt for it was his involvement that led directly to the abduction and rape that has so unbalanced Katherine's life. Maddy and Elder have a connection. A brief, clumsy encounter sixteen years earlier. Just a quick grope and a cuddle, leading to nothing, but leaving a trace of lingering regret. In Ash & Bone the unsettled, unhappy Elder is once again persuaded out of retirement. A cold, cold case has a devastating present day impact with sinister implications for the crime squad itself. Elder's investigation takes place against the backdrop of his increasing concern for his daughter and he must battle his own demons before he can uncover the truth.

In the disreputable dance-halls and 'houses of accommodation' of 1870s London, a boastful killer selects his prey. His crimes seem like random acts of malevolence, but Inspector Decimus Webb, promoted to the Detective Branch at Scotland Yard, is not convinced. Webb begins to suspect a connection between the terrible murders, a mysterious theft at the Abney Park Cemetery, and a long-forgotten suicide. His investigations lead him, in turn, to the Holborn General Mourning Warehouse, devoted to the sale of 'Mourning for Families, In Correct Taste,' and its proprietor, one Jasper Woodrow, a seemingly respectable businessman. As Webb delves into Woodrow's life, he uncovers layer upon layer of deceit. But can he unearth Jasper Woodrow's darkest secret, in time to prevent another tragedy? Lee Jackson's second Inspector Webb novel once again guides readers through the dark alleys and gaslit parlours of nineteenth century London, in a suspense-filled gothic mystery, with the Victorian celebration of death at its morbid heart.

Magdalen Nabb's new Marshal Guarnaccia novel continues the critically acclaimed series set in a beautifully atmospheric Florence.

Magdalen Nabb was born in Lancashire in 1947 and trained as a potter. In 1975 she abandoned pottery, sold her home and her car, and went to Florence with her son, knowing nobody and speaking no Italian. She has lived there ever since, end pursues a dual career as crime writer and childre's author.

Jack Santiago is famous for his investigative stories, for his ability to get under the skin of the rich and famous - and for his reporting on nuclear terrorism in New York. New York, he insists, is on the verge of an attack, an attack by nuclear materials, an attack so sudden and secret that none of the preparations will make any difference. He's obsessed with suitcase nukes, with tiny weapons concealed in bags, easily carried into the city. With the fact that 100,000 people will die of nuclear poisoning. The only problem with Santiago is that he is dead. The other problem is that he made up the stories. It is the night of the August 2003 blackout when Santiago is killed. August 14, when the lights go out up and down the US East Coast. And also the night that Artie Cohen, forever single, still regretting the loss of Lily Hanes who has left him, gets married to Maxine Crabbe. He wants a life, kids, a home; with Maxie, he's convinced himself, he can find it. Santiago's death reveals a history of lies, deceit and falsified stories; Santiago has made up everything, including much of his own life. And in the course of uncovering who killed him, Artie also uncovers the ways in which information is corrupted and turned into propaganda... And then Lily returns...

Stunned and outraged by the extravagant lifestyles of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, the Crown Prince and heir to the throne recruits France to help him overthrow the Saudi ruler. With the aid of French hunter killer submarines the Prince plans to inflict heavy damage on the massive oil installations and loading docks on the shores of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, thus destroying the Saudi oil industry and bankrupting the monarch. While the French Special Forces engage in a daredevil operation above and below water, the mysterious Major Jacques Gamoudi marshals yet more ex-French Foreign Legion fighters to take the Southern military base on the Yemen border, then the capital city of Riyadh. Quickly, Admiral Arnold Morgan is asked to take charge of the counter-operation from the White House. In a desperate battle for the desert kingdom, Gamoudi is joined by Morgan's old nemesis, Hamas' General Ravi Rashood. The French intend to assassinate Major Gamoudi, but with the world's oil markets in chaos, the US has one aim - to take him alive and force a confession for what the French have done.

'Save my soul from the sword,
My love from the power of the dog'
Psalm 22

The drug lord, Miguel Angel Barrera, is the head of the Mexican drug federation, a sinister and powerful organisation. He is responsible for millions of dollars worth of cocaine traffic into the United States and the torture of those who oppose the cartel. h-le son, Adan Barrera, is his worthy successor.
Art Kleindeist, a US government operative, is so determined to obtain justice for the brutal murder of his colleague and friend that it borders on the obsessive. How willing is he to compromise his principles to fulfil his need for revenge?

A compelling novel on an epic scale, The Power of the Dog is Don Winslow's breakthrough novel - a story of the devastating effects of the drug trade and the war against it, of the forces that drive people to do what they do and of the shattering consequences of revenge.