Orion Books

All is not well at Buckshaw, home of Flavia de Luce... With the family finances in a parlous state, Flavia's father has, with deep misgivings, rented Buckshaw to a film company for a location shooting. Naturally enough, director, crew and stars do nothing to endear themselves to the household — especially the servants — until, when a heavy snowfall cuts off Bishop's Lacey from the rest of the world, the actors are talked into staging a benefit performance in the parish hall. But old jealousies surface, and the leading lady is murdered. Flavia, who has been enlisted to help out behind the scenes, finds herself up to her knees in snow — and murder!

Novice knight Gair has a gift: he can hear the songs of the earth, and weave that music into magic. But in the Holy City, that makes him a witch, and that means he must be tortured until he gives up the name of his demon master... except that he has no demon lord; it's just something he can do. After the Questioning comes the court, and Gair himself is as shocked as the knights to find his death-by-fire sentence has been commuted to excommunication, branding and life banishment — but only if he can make it over the boundary by sundown. Gair may be starved, broken in body and with a festering new brand on the palm of his hand — but his spirit has not yet given up, and with help from an unlikely source he escapes to the Western Isles, where he hears about the Veil that separate the worlds, and the Guardians who protect it. But this peaceful haven is threatened by Gair's arrival. Those who condemned him set an implacable witchfinder on his trail, for they want him dead. And a renegade Guardian is striving to tear down the Veil, releasing evil, unearthly monsters into the human world. Before his training is complete, Gair must take his place in the frontline against these forces — and he will pay a terrible price.

The six wives of Henry VIII — Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr — have become defined in a popular sense not so much by their lives as by the way these lives ended. But, as Antonia Fraser conclusively proves, they were rich and feisty characters. They may have been victims of Henry's obsession with a male heir, but they were not willing victims. On the contrary, they displayed considerable strength and intelligence at a time when their sex supposedly possessed little of either.

In this wickedly astute portrait of the intersecting worlds of aristocrats and actors, the author establishes himself as an irresistible storyteller and a deliciously witty chronicler of modern manners in contemporary — and assuredly not as classless as believed — England.

Darian Frey is down on his luck. He can barely keep his squabbling crew fed and his rickety aircraft in the sky. Even the simplest robberies seem to go wrong. It's getting so a man can't make a dishonest living any more. Enter Captain Grist. He's heard about a crashed aircraft laden with the treasures of a lost civilisation, and he needs Frey's help to get it. There's only one problem. The craft is lying in the trackless heart of a remote island, populated by giant beasts and subhuman monsters. Dangerous, yes. Suicidal, perhaps. Still, Frey's never let common sense get in the way of a fortune before. But there's something other than treasure on board that aircraft. Something that a lot of important people would kill for. And it's going to take all of Frey's considerable skill at lying, cheating and stealing if he wants to get his hands on it... Strap yourself in for another tale of adventure and debauchery, pilots and pirates, golems and daemons, double-crosses and double-double-crosses. The crew of the Ketty Jay are back!

Joe Abercrombie is the most successful fantasy novelist of his generation, with a remarkable, cynical and powerful voice cutting through the cliches of the fantasy genre to create something compelling and exceptionally commercial. With a strong core readership already behind him, each new novel breaks new ground — the epic fantasy quest in The First Law Trilogy, revenge fantasy with the hit BEST SERVED COLD, and now, with THE HEROES, venturing into the dangerous and topical territory of war. Set over three days, in the same world as BEST SERVED COLD, the action is compelling and fast, the battlefield is muddy, bloody and horrible and Joe Abercrombie uses his fantasy setting to explore violence and ambition, strategy and the truism that no plan survives contact with enemy. The characters are the stars, as ever, and the message is dark: when it comes to war, there are no heroes...

Alongside contemporaries Slayer, Megadeath and Anthrax, Metallica came to prominence in the eighties as one of the 'big four' of thrash metal. Metallica were to thrash, though, what the Sex Pistols were to punk. Nearly thirty years on, their tale is one of alcohol, rule breaking and tragically early death. But allied to that are colossal sales figures for their records — they are the fifth-highest selling recording artists of all time — and members with backgrounds that touch on jazz and classical music. Metallica, in fact, have garnered more critical acclaim than any heavy rock band since Led Zeppelin. Fresh from the critical and commercial success of WHEN GIANTS WALKED THE EARTH, Mick Wall takes a similar informed look at the band, a group he has known on and off since their formation in 1981.

Max Frei, and the LABYRINTHS OF ECHO series, is a multi-million copy selling Russian literary sensation appearing in English for the first time. Intriguing, original, remarkable and wry... THE LABYRINTHS OF ECHO is a piece of absolute enchantment. Splash a bit of enchantment into my glass... there is no better phrase to describe the state that a reader may find themselves in when exposed to this strong, absolutely legal, literary narcotic which goes by the name of Max Frei. Stolichniye Novosti If it weren't for bad luck, Max Frei wouldn't have any luck at all. A self-described twenty-something classic loser, an insomniac, hardened smoker, a glutton and a loafer, there's nothing much going for Max Frei... at least not until he arrives in the magical city of Echo. Summoned to the city by the head of the Department of Absolute Order, Sir Juffin Halli, Max's dreams are becoming a reality. But as with all dreams-come-true its not quite the reality Max expected; he's about to become a secret agent, tasked to solve extravagant, impossible crimes with nothing but his wits and a handful of unexplained magical abilities to recommend him. Max is going to be thrown into the fray — and he can't even have a cigarette first...

Glen Barber's life has just spiralled out of control. His wife's car is found at the scene of a drunk-driving accident that took three lives. Not only is she dead, but it appears she was the cause of the accident. Suddenly Glen has to deal with a potent mixture of emotions: grief at the loss of his wife, along with anger at her reckless behaviour that leaves their young daughter motherless. If only he could convince himself that Sheila wasn't responsible for the tragedy. But as more and more secrets begin to surface, Glen may have to face something much, much worse...

The third in the cycle of novels that began with THE SHADOW OF THE WIND and THE ANGEL'S GAME. THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN returns to the world of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. It begins just before Christmas in Barcelona in 1957, one year after Daniel and Bea from THE SHADOW OF THE WIND have married. They now have a son, Julian, and are living with Daniel's father at Sempere & Sons. Fermin still works with them and is busy preparing for his wedding to Bernarda in the New Year. However something appears to be bothering him. Daniel is alone in the shop one morning when a mysterious figure with a pronounced limp enters. He spots one of their most precious volumes that is kept locked in a glass cabinet, a beautiful and unique illustrated edition of The Count of Monte Cristo. Despite the fact that the stranger seems to care little for books, he wants to buy this expensive edition. Then, to Daniel's surprise, the man inscribes the book with the words 'To Fermin Romero de Torres, who came back from the dead and who holds the key to the future'. This visit leads back to a story of imprisonment, betrayal and the return of a deadly rival.

At an abandoned Soviet base in the Arctic, a battle to save all life on Earth is about to begin... THE SECRET BASE It is a top-secret base known only as Dragon Island. A long-forgotten relic of the Cold War, it houses a weapon of terrible destructive force, a weapon that has just been re-activated... AN ARMY OF MURDERERS When Dragon Island is seized by a brutal terrorist force calling itself the Army of Thieves, the fate of the world suddenly hangs in the balance. But there are no crack units close enough to get to Dragon in time to stop the Army setting off the weapon. ONE SMALL TEAM Except, that is, for a small equipment-testing team up in the Arctic led by a Marine captain named Schofield, call-sign SCARECROW. It's not a strike team; just a handful of Marines and civilians. It's not equipped to attack a fortified island held by a small army. But it will go in anyway, because someone has to. THE ULTIMATE HERO IS BACK, FACING THE ULTIMATE ARMY OF VILLAINS.

The warm and witty new novel from acclaimed author Veronica Henry will be her best yet. Expect affairs of the heart, lies, scandal and humour — all wrapped up in one perfectly presented Veronica Henry-sized package! This will be a lovely women's fiction read that Ronnie's fans will not want to miss.

Eric is the Discworld's only demonology hacker. The trouble is, he's not very good at it. All he wants is the usual three wishes: to be immortal, rule the world and have the most beautiful woman fall madly in love with him. The usual stuff. But what he gets is Rincewind, the Disc's most incompetent wizard, and Rincewind's Luggage (the world's most dangerous travel accessory) into the bargain. Terry Pratchett's hilarious take on the Faust legend stars many of the Discworld's most popular characters in an outrageous adventure that will leave Eric wishing once more — this time, quite fervently, that he'd never been born.

When naughty Wizz Bee and Buzz Bee come home without any honey, Queen Bee is very cross. Can they cheer her up with a story?

Down in the Jungle it's time for bed, but Monkey isn't tired, he wants a story, and he sets off to find one.

The story of the birth of Jesus and the first Christmas retold with delightful simplicity, and illustrated with charming soft watercolours. Both text and pictures are designed to make this the perfect introduction to the Christmas story for very young children.

Horrid Henry gets up to some horrid tricks when the Queen comes to visit his school. The Queen is coming to visit Horrid Henry's school. The real live Queen! Henry can't believe it. But when Miss Battle-Axe puts him in the back row, Henry is furious. Now how is he meant to find out how many TVs she has? Somehow Henry has to get himself noticed — and show the Queen just how horrid he can be...

Horrid Henry's favourite author TJ Fizz is coming to visit his class!

Horrid Henry has a wonderful, spectacular idea for his family's Christmas presents.

Horrid Henry is trapped inside on a rainy day.

Horrid Henry hates Sports Day. But how can he get out of it?

Moody Margaret plays a trick on Henry.

It's all quiet at the pet shop at the end of the day, but the animals want to have some fun — who wants a story?

Vardia is descending into chaos. And that makes it a good time to be a freebooter. Never one to miss an opportunity, Captain Darien Frey has hit on a lucrative plan: stealing Awakener relics, and selling them back to them through the feared pirate, and his former finacee, Trinica Dracken. Things are finally looking good for the Ketty Jay and her crew... until the Shaklemores, bounty hunters to the aristocracy, catch up with them, anyway. They kidnap Crake, one of Frey's most valued crewmen, and vanish with him. Crake is wanted for murder — he has been for years — but is his kidnapping in the name of justice or is something altogether more sinister going on behind the scenes? If Captain Frey wants his man back, he and the Ketty Jay are going to have to find out — even if the quest leads them into the heart of the civil war, to the treason and invasion threat beyond.