Quercus/MacLehose Press

Monsters presents, in chronological order, grimly fascinating profiles of 101 notorious and profoundly sinister individuals whose actions have one thing in common: they have had a baleful and blood-soaked impact on the annals of history.

Courtney's boyfriend has just gone down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. She couldn't be happier. And with her super-organised sister, Norah, to help her plan the wedding, what could possibly go wrong? Nothing, until Courtney decides their other sister, Raine, should be invited. No one has seen or heard from Raine for six years — since she ruined Norah's own wedding and ran off with the love of Courtney's life. Convinced they should all be able to move on after so much time, Courtney gets the sisters back together again only to find that family ghosts aren't easily vanquished — and neither are first loves. Reuniting her family is going to make Courtney reconsider every decision she's made for the last six years — right down to the man she's about to marry. It's going to be one long summer...

What exactly is a credit crunch? Why do footballers earn so much more than the rest of us? Which country is likely to be the world's leading economy in 10 years' time? And how does economics affect each one of us, every day? In the seventh volume of the successful 50 Ideas series, Daily Telegraph economics editor Edmund Conway introduces and explains the central ideas of economics in a series of 50 clear and concise essays. Beginning with an exploration of the basic theories, such as Adam Smith's 'invisible hand', and concluding with the latest research into the links between wealth and happiness, he sheds light on all the essential topics needed to understand booms and busts, bulls and bears, and the way the world really works. Packed with real-life examples and quotations from key thinkers, 50 Economics Ideas provides a fascinating overview of how economics influences every aspect of our lives, from buying a house to what we had for breakfast this morning.

The second installment in the Millennium Trilogy sees Lisbeth Salander wanted for murder while Blomkvist tries desperately to clear her name. Lisbeth Salander is a wanted woman. Two Millennium journalists about to expose the truth about sex trafficking in Sweden are murdered, and Salander's prints are on the weapon. Her history of unpredictable and vengeful behaviour makes her an official danger to society — but no-one can find her. Mikael Blomkvist, editor-in-chief of Millennium, does not believe the police. Using all his magazine staff and resources to prove Salander's innocence, Blomkvist also uncovers her terrible past, spent in criminally corrupt institutions.

Salvador Dali was one of the most famous artists of the 20th century — and also one of its greatest eccentrics. Renowned for his striking and provocative work, as well as his unconventional behaviour, he attracted admiration and controversy in equal measure. This stunning volume showcases more than 90 of Dali's most famous works in magnificent giant size. Arranged chronologically to reflect Dali's artistic development from ambitious young painter to reclusive artist, the images include the sensational Persistence of Memory; the finely detailed Metamorphosis of Narcissus; and his later works, such as the arresting image of Christ of St John of the Cross and The Hallucinogenic Toreador. Here too are numerous depictions of his muse and wife, Gala; and his most well-known sculptures, including Lobster Telephone and Retrospective Bust of a Woman; as well as evocative black-and-white photographs of the artist throughout his life. Accompanying the images is art historian Rachel Barnes's lively and entertaining account of Dali's life and artistic style and techniques, shedding light on the artist's influences and inspirations. Ideal for Dali enthusiasts and art lovers, these spectacular giant-size reproductions and insightful commentary reveal the extraordinary life and works of this gifted, controversial and inimitable artist.

Starting with a comprehensive introduction to Vermeer and his paintings — from his early life and influences, key themes and inspirations to his artistic vision and technique — followed by a virtual gallery showing a timeline of Vermeer's entire oeuvre. Individual chapters showcase all 36 works attributed to Vermeer.

50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know is a concise, accessible and popular guide to the central tenets of Western thought. Every important principle of philosophy, religion, politics, economics, the arts and the sciences is profiled in a series of short illustrated essays, complemented by an informative array of timelines and box features. Platonism, The Soul, Communism, Aristotelianism, Faith, Fascism, The Golden rule, Atheism, Racism, Altruism, Secularism, Feminism, Pluralism, Fundamentalism, Islamism, Liberty, Creationism, Capitalism, Toleration, War, Globalization, Scepticism, Duty, Classicism, Reason, Utopia, Romanticism, Punishment, Liberalism, Modernism, Materialism, Democracy, Surrealism, Relativism, Conservatism, Censorship, Utilitarianism, Imperialism, Big Bang, Existentialism, Nationalism, Chaos, Evil, Social contract, Evolution, Fate, Republicanism, Relativity, Quantum mechanics, Gaia.

Is the young man simply drunk or does his staggering walk suggest something more sinister? When he collapses in front of the two sisters on that dark, wet night, the women guess rightly that he's been poisoned. So begins this gripping tale set in the town of Banff, Scotland in the 1620s. The body of the victim, the apothecary's apprentice, is found in the house of Alexander Seaton — a fallen minister, the discovery of whose clandestine love affair has left him disgraced and deprived him of his vocation. Why was the body moved to Seaton's house? What is the significance of the unusual poison used to kill him? And why would anyone want to murder this likeable young man? Seaton sets out to find answers to these and many other questions, embarking on a journey where he encounters the witch hunt, extreme religious prejudice, cruelty and the darkness in men's souls. It is also a personal quest that leads Alexander to the rediscovery of his faith in God and his belief in himself. Among her many strengths, Shona MacLean is brilliant at evoking period and place. You feel you are in those cold, dark, northern rooms, eavesdropping on her characters. You are totally involved in the rich, convincing world she has re-created.

The fascinating history of humanity's bond with the horse is spectacularly brought to life in this beautifully illustrated volume. With over 100 giant images from the extraordinary Parthenon Frieze to the thoroughbred portraits of Stubbs; and from the enigmatic paintings of Edgar Degas to the contemporary creations of Damien Hirst, this book will delight horse and art lovers alike. Drawing on his extensive equestrian knowledge, Simon Barnes tells the story of horses and their unique relationship with humans. Rachel Barnes, as art historian, traces changes and development in Western art revealed through paintings and sculptures of the horse and explores the animal's role as the subject of myth and legend, as a symbol of royal power and authority, as the subject of anatomical scrutiny and the embodiment of strength and beauty. The Horse covers the following periods: ancient civilizations and the horse; the horse in the age of chivalry; horses in renaissance and Baroque art; horses in nineteenth-century art; and, modern tributes to the horse.

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder — and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

The Tudor period (1485 to 1603) marks in the minds of many the emergence of an English national identity. Defined by the totemic figure of the virgin queen — Elizabeth I — it witnessed the end of the dynastic uncertainties of the Wars of the Roses, the creation and triumph of the Anglican Church; the successful repulsion of foreign invaders and the beginnings of the adventure of empire; the blossoming of a sublimely gifted generation of musical composers, including Thomas Tallis and William Byrd; and the flowering of English poetry and drama, culminating in the glories of Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. But it was also a period wracked by rebellion, invasion scares, sectarian strife, and — increasingly — by worries about dynastic succession. The Tudor Chronicles is a compelling, year-by-year chronology of this tumultuous and critical period in the development of the modern English nation. Each year is covered by a concise, informative and accessible narrative, amplified by extensive quotations from contemporary sources and accompanied by generously captioned and stunning images of the period — including portraits, maps, illuminations, royal seals, tapestries and other artefacts. Authoritative, informative and sumptuous, and compiled by a scholar who is steeped in knowledge of the period, The Tudor Chronicles brings a glorious era of English history dramatically and vividly to life. It is the perfect gift book for anyone with a love of, or fascination for, 16th-century English history.

In a hulking drab warehouse in a hulking drab city in the center of an empty state, Parker is caught moving pharmaceuticals into a waiting truck. Led into a joint called Stoneveldt — from which no one has ever escaped — Parker has to find a way out, before his whole violent past catches up with him. And getting out of Stoneveldt means taking on the only partners he can find, including one who is already planning his next job. For Parker and his fellow jail breakers, freedom is just another word for committing their next felony. They pull off the perfect jailbreak and then start the perfect heist. But things go south in a hurry — leaving three men dead and Parker and his fellow escape artists scratching, clawing, and running for their lives. Suddenly, the big, drab city in the big, empty Midwestern state has become a prison. A cast of cops, busybodies, snitches, and weak links have turned into jailers. And for Parker, the ultimate jailbreak is about to begin.

Bernie Gunther is the ideal narrator for Philip Kerr' bleak tale of the dirty deals made by victors and vanquished alike in post-war Germany. Having learned that there's no way to distinguish 'the one from the other', the cynical P.I. has the moral clarity to see through the deceit and hypocrisy of both friend and foe.It is Munich, in the year 1949. Amid the chaos of defeat, it's home to all the backstabbing intrigue that prospers in the aftermath of war. A place where a private eye can find a lot of not-quite-reputable work: cleaning up the Nazi past of well-to-do locals, abetting fugitives in the flight abroad, and sorting out rival claims to stolen goods. It's work that fills Bernie with disgust — but it also fills his sorely depleted wallet. Then a woman seeks him out. Her husband has disappeared. She's not looking to get him back — he's a wanted man who ran one of the most vicious concentration camps in Poland. She just wants confirmation that he's dead. It's a simple enough job. But in post-war Germany, nothing is simple...

Posing as an escaping Nazi war-criminal Bernie Gunther arrives in Buenos Aires and, having revealed his real identity to the local chief of police, discovers that his reputation as a detective goes before him. A young girl has been murdered in peculiarly gruesome circumstances that strongly resemble Bernie's final case as a homicide detective with the Berlin police. A case he had failed to solve. Circumstances lead the chief of police in Buenos Aires to suppose that the murderer may be one of several thousand ex Nazis who have fetched up in Argentina since 1945. And, therefore, who better than Bernie Gunther to help him track that murderer down? Redolent with atmosphere, this novel ends up asking some highly provocative questions about the true extent of Argentina's Nazi collaboration and anti-semitism under the Perons.

Augustus Cain is a man with his back against the wall. A war-scarred wanderer, he faces a past he wants to forget, a present without prospect or fortune, and an uncertain future marred by the loss of his most prized possession — his horse — which he has carelessly gambled away. But he is not without skill — he has an uncanny, if unwelcome, ability to track the most elusive runaway slaves. And to repay a debt and keep his horse, he must head north from Virginia and retrieve a runaway named Rosetta. When he eventually runs Rosetta to ground in Boston, Cain discovers she carries a secret — and the size of the bounty on her head begins to make more sense. Fleeing the northern states pursued by a posse of Unionists, Cain finds himself increasingly drawn to Rosetta and starts to wonder if his five hundred dollar fee — if any fee — could ever be enough to return her to her master...

Ten high achieving ladies are gathered together in the week between Christmas and the New Year, at the expensive Castle Spa, seeking, through Botox, aromatherapy and general all round pampering, a new beginning to their lives. The Ladies lounge around in the Jacuzzi, drinking champagne and eating chocolate telling each other the stories of their lives. Starting with the Trophy wife's tale: her spell in a Greek prison has left her in serious need of a makeover; the Brain Surgeon's tale: of twins and mistaken identity; the Judge's tale: of the sex change which allowed him to judge the pleasures of the bedchamber from both male and female perspectives. The manicurist, the public speaker, the journalist, the company director, the ex vicar's wife, the screenwriter, all share their stories, ending with the stepmother's tale, a reversal of Cinderella's fate, with the stepmother as victim... Sparkling, witty, always compassionate and occasionally libidinous, Fay Weldon's new novel recalls Boccaccio's late medieval masterwork, The Decameron. Boccaccio dedicated his book to the ladies of his time, who were forced to hide their amorous passions under a veil of discretion, while men were free to indulge theirs.

It is 1867, Canada: as winter tightens its grip on the isolated settlement of Dove River, a man is brutally murdered and a 17-year old boy disappears. Tracks leaving the dead man's cabin head north towards the forest and the tundra beyond. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the township — journalists, Hudson's Bay Company men, trappers, traders — but do they want to solve the crime or exploit it? One-by-one the assembled searchers set out from Dove River, pursuing the tracks across a desolate landscape home only to wild animals, madmen and fugitives, variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for 17 years, a Native American culture, and a fortune in stolen furs before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good. In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly weaves adventure, suspense, revelation and humour into a panoramic historical romance, an exhilarating thriller, a keen murder mystery and ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, one of the books of the year.

The Master House, close to the Welsh border, is medieval and slowly falling into ruins. Now the house and its surrounding land have been sold to the Duchy of Cornwall. But the Duchy`s plans to renovate the house and its outbuildings are frustrated when the specialist builder refuses to work there.

Tells the date of the ancient Roman law that made it legal to break wind at banquets; the name of the defunct medieval pope whose putrefying corpse was subjected to the humiliation of a trial before a court of law; and the identity of the priapic monarch who sired more bastards than any other king of England.

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared off the secluded island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family. There was no corpse, no witnesses, no evidence. But her uncle, Henrik, is convinced that she was murdered by someone in her own family — the deeply dysfunctional Vanger clan. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired to investigate, but when he links Harriet's disappearance to a string of gruesome murders from forty years ago, he needs a competent assistant — and he gets one: computer hacker Lisbeth Salander — a tattoed, truculent, angry girl who rides a motorbike like a Hell's Angel and handles makeshift weapons with the skill born of remorseless rage. This unlikely pair form a fragile bond as they delve into the sinister past of this island-bound, tightly-knit family. But the Vangers are a secretive lot, and Mikael and Lisbeth are about to find out just how far they're prepared to go to protect themselves — and each other.

Baby is twelve years old. Her mother died not long after she was born and she lives in a string of seedy flats in Montreal's red light district with her father Jules, who takes better care of his heroin addiction than he does of his daughter. Jules is an intermittent presence and a constant source of chaos in Baby's life — the turmoil he brings with him and the wreckage he leaves in his wake. Baby finds herself constantly re-adjusting to new situations, new foster homes, new places, new people, all the while longing for stability and a 'normal' life. But Baby has a gift — the ability to find the good in people, a genius for spinning stories and for cherishing the small crumbs of happiness that fall into her lap. She is bright, smart, funny and observant about life on the dirty streets of a city and wise enough to realise salvation rests in her own hands.

The fourth title in the Quercus Ideas You Really Need to Know series demystifies the management concepts that any budding entrepreneur would want to grasp. The 50 bite-sized topics expound the wisdom of the well-known business gurus (from Peters and Porter to Welch and Gates), explain helpful theories and tools (Ansoff's Product/Market grid, the 4Ps, Boston Matrix), expand on management ideas (branding, outsourcing, supply and demand) and cover the latest commercial concepts from the online world.

Ansel Adams' legendary photographs inspire an appreciation for natural beauty and conservation that has communicated down the generations. His ambition was not simply to record the landscape, but to capture his emotional and spiritual response to the wild areas that he loved so deeply. The results are spectacular: an emotional charge and passion shine through the prints with an intensity that is as powerful today as it was over sixty years ago.In 1941, Ansel Adams was commissioned by the United States Interior Department to take photographs of the National Parks to be printed as murals for the walls of the new Interior Department building. This couldn't have been closer to his heart: it combined a commercial assignment with his personal, creative work he referred to as within. The within was the work that encapsulated his emotional reaction to the landscape — when he, the camera and the landscape were at one. Unfortunately, the project was curtailed with the outbreak of World War II and the mural was never produced.The majority of pictures in this book are from the National Parks Mural Project, but also include work from other projects. The Kings Canyon photographs, taken in 1936, were successfully used to lobby for Kings Canyon to be designated a National Park. There is an exuberant photograph of an apple tree in snow taken at Yosemite, as well as the images taken for a documentary project during the war when Japanese Americans were interned at the Manzanar Relocation Centre.

Roger Ferris is one of the CIA's soldiers in the war on terrorism. He has come out of Iraq with a shattered leg and an intense mission — to penetrate the network of a master terrorist known only as 'Suleiman'. Ferris' plan for getting inside Suleiman's tent is inspired by a masterpiece of British intelligence during World War II: he prepares a body of lies, literally the corpse of an imaginary CIA officer who appears to have accomplished the impossible by recruiting an agent within the enemy's ranks. This scheme binds friend and foe in a web of extraordinary subtlety and complexity, and when it begins to unravel, Ferris finds himself flying blind into a hurricane. His only hope is the urbane head of Jordan's intelligence service — a man who just might be an Arab version of John le Carre's celebrated spy, George Smiley. But can Ferris trust him? And can he trust the CIA?