Showing results by publisher "Hodder & Stoughton" in Literature & Fiction

King Ludwig II of Bavaria was an enigmatic figure who was deposed in 1886, mysteriously drowning three days later. Eccentric to the point of madness, history tells us that in the years before he died Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom, one separate, apart, and in lieu of Bavaria. A place he could retreat into and rule as he wished. But a question remains: did he succeed?

The Battle of Evesham has been fought and lost. The King is triumphant, Simon de Montfort is dead, and Adam de Norton is a prisoner, stripped of everything he once honoured and prized. Escaping from captivity in the grim castle of Beeston, Adam becomes a fugitive in a country in turmoil. Branded a king's enemy, he can be slain with impunity.

Alexander the Fatherless: nephew of the villainous King March of Cornwall, who murdered his father. Burning with vengeance, Alexander sets out on a journey to Camelot to seek justice from King Arthur. His path will lead him to the Dark Tower, where the sorceress Morgan le Fay lies in wait. Morgan seduces Alexander and sends him on a quest to Jerusalem to recover the Holy Grail - which she believes will help her take the throne.

Iris and Gabriel have just got home from a make-or-break holiday. But a shock awaits them. One of their dearest friends, Laure, is in their house - sleeping in their bed, wearing Iris' clothes, even rearranging the furniture. She has walked out on her husband - and their good friend - Pierre over his confession of an affair. Iris and Gabriel want to be supportive. But as Laure's mood becomes more unpredictable, her presence begins to unravel secrets in all their pasts - until things reach breaking point.

Japanese-occupied Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara's children are in terrible danger. Her eldest child Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day. Jasmin, the youngest, lives confined in a basement for her own safety. And her son, Abel, has disappeared without a trace. Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.

Amateur sleuth Maisie Cooper is busy planning her wedding to police officer Jack Wingard. After a tumultuous six months solving various murder investigations, she is excited to finally marry her childhood sweetheart. But not everyone is happy for the bride-to-be. Maisie dismisses a few strange 'accidents' targeting her and Jack as pure coincidences. But when she receives a threatening note, Maisie can't deny that someone is after her. Someone who wants revenge.

In the woodland community of Shady Hollow, you'll discover a secret. Moose and mice, owls and bears live side by side in civilized harmony. Shady Hollow has a coffee shop and a bookshop, a haberdasher and a bank. All is well...until the town's querulous toad shows up dead. It's something this village haven't seen before: a murder.

1265. England has a new master. Simon de Montfort's victory at the Battle of Lewes has made him king in all but name. He has vowed to restore the rights and liberties of the kingdom, but now even his friends grow wary of his power. As old alliances break down, new rebellions gather strength. The captive king's supporters muster, vowing to overthrow the new regime. Meanwhile Adam de Norton, who won the honour of knighthood on the field at Lewes, has reclaimed his ancestral lands. A peaceful and prosperous future lies before him - until he receives a summons he cannot refuse.

The best of the golden age crime writers, praised by all the top modern writers in the field including P. D. James and Ruth Rendell, Dorothy L. Sayers created the immortal Lord Peter Wimsey. This book of short stories is his ninth appearance and introduces another detective, Montague Egg. Poisoned port, pet cats in peril, purloined pearls...Lord Peter Wimsey solves the mysteries of the man who was blown into the fourth dimension and the murder in fancy dress.

Paul and Alice's half-sister Eloise is getting married! In London! They couldn't hate it more. The product of their mother's first marriage to a dashing Frenchman, Eloise has everything Paul and Alice have ever wanted: an endless trust fund, model good looks, an international life of luxury and their mother's unconditional love. Meanwhile, Alice is in her thirties, stuck in a dead-end job and mired in an affair with her married boss, and Paul, who still isn't speaking to their mother after their father's death.

Julius Caesar left his gardens to the citizens of Rome, a peaceful sanctuary across the Tiber. Now the gardens and their sacred grove are dangerous haunts, especially for women alone. 'Don't go to the Grove,' people mutter, but when her husband has to leave Rome, it falls to Albia to supervise his building project in an old grotto. Why has someone buried tattered scrolls by obscure philosophers - and does it involve a worse crime than terrible writing? Soon that puzzle is overtaken.

A standalone thriller from the prizewinning queen of Nordic noir and author of the Thora Gudmundsdottir series. A chilling thriller from the author of The Silence of the Sea, winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for best Scandinavian Crime Novel. A journalist on the track of an old case attempts suicide. An ordinary couple return from a house swap in the states to find their home in disarray and their guests seemingly missing.

One by one the seven precious relics of the Arma Christi, the weapons of Christ, are disappearing from sanctuaries across the world. After former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone witnesses the theft of one of them, he learns from his old boss, Stephanie Nelle, that a private auction is about to be held where incriminating information on the president of Poland will be offered to the highest bidder - blackmail that both the United States and Russia want, but for vastly different reasons.

After Mirren Sutherland finds a priceless antique book in her great aunt's attic, she is contacted by Jamie McPherson, who is hopeful she might be able to find another one- a book lost in his own house. He doesn't even know the name of it, only that it is so valuable it could potentially save the entire estate from ruin, and time is running out. On arriving at Jamie's vast crumbling home in the highlands of Scotland (on the family train, no less), Mirren meets rival bookseller Theo Palliser, whose motives are not remotely honourable; and sets out on the quest.

Dora Wildwood is escaping a most unsuitable marriage. She's on the first train to London, having smuggled herself out of the house at dead of night, like all the best books. She plans to go straight to her godmother Lady Dreda Uglow, the only woman she knows who seems to live life on her own terms, and ask to stay. Dora ducks into the London Library to hide, asking the quizzical but kind Ben Stark and the clever Miss Amani for help. And it is there, surrounded by books, where she should feel most safe, that Dora Wildwood most unfortunately stumbles across her first dead body.

On the anniversary of her brother's death, Caroline hosts an intimate dinner party in her beautiful West London home. It's a chance for those who were closest to Daniel to come together over grilled oysters and champagne cocktails as they share fond memories of the man they all loved so dearly, who never came home from New Orleans.

When story-lover Anna takes over Longhampton's bookshop, it's her dream come true. And not just because it gets her away from her three rowdy stepchildren and their hyperactive dalmatian. Unpacking boxes filled with childhood classics, Anna can't shake the feeling that maybe her own fairy-tale ending isn't all that she'd hoped for.

On the rugged, sea-lashed coast of west Scotland lies Ullaness: home to the Scottish legend of Ulla, a Viking woman who washed up on Scottish shores centuries ago. The legend will bring the stories of three different women together. In AD 800 there is Ulla, lost in a foreign country after her lover is brutally killed. Ellen, a servant-girl in the 1800s, catches the unwanted attentions of the master of the house's lascivious son. And, in the present day, there is Libby - an archaeologist who is determined to uncover an age-old mystery.

Hans-Åke Lilja, founder of Lilja's Library, has compiled a brand-new anthology of horror stories to celebrate 20 years of running the number-one Stephen King news website on the web! This anthology includes both original stories like a brand new novella by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Let the Right One In), very rare reprints like The Blue Air Compressor by Stephen King, and at least one classic tale that inspired Lilja's love of the macabre at a very young age! Now, let's join Lilja....

As a professional bridesmaid, Sophie is hired by brides to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but working behind the scenes to ensure their big day goes off without a hitch. From wrangling rowdy hen dos to navigating last minute portaloo cancellations and family dramas, there's no problem she can't solve. So when she's hired by an actual Marchioness to help plan the society wedding of the year, it should be a chance for Sophie to prove just how talented she is.