Search Results for: true story

‘Ultimately, my experiences as a mental health nurse have taught me that we should judge less and open our hearts more.’

Belinda Black was just seventeen years old when she began working as a nursing assistant at the large and foreboding ‘madhouse’, as it was then known to the villagers of her hometown in the north of England. Following in the footsteps of her mother, she went on to spend a decade caring for patients with widely varying mental health problems, all locked up together and out of view of society. Some had suffered unimaginable trauma, several had violent and volatile tendencies, but amongst this Belinda found moments of joy and even friendship with her patients.

But A Place for Lost Souls is also about the other psychiatric nurses there, from those like Sister Kane who suffered from depression and found treating others a welcome distraction, to others like Belinda’s friend Sally, who always had a sense of humour however dark the situation.

Together, against a backdrop of rattling keys, clanging iron doors, and wards that smelled of disinfectant and stale smoke, these people came together to get through another day. Until the hospital, along with many others, had its doors closed in 1991 – the biggest change to mental healthcare in NHS history.

The result is a moving, shocking but ultimately life-affirming account of a unique and noble profession, told from the frontlines. Amongst so much sadness and distress, and despite witnessing some of the darkest corners of human suffering, Belinda finds hope: in the camaraderie of her colleagues, in the patients she cares for, and in her unwavering belief that even people who have committed violent crimes are fundamentally good.

The true story of how a middle-class Black girl from Minneapolis became one of the single biggest threats to the United States banking system.

Tanya Smith fancied herself a folk hero, a kind of Robin Hood, using her powers of persuasion to buck the system and help the poor and needy.

It started innocently enough, with calls to celebrities’ houses with her teenage twin sister. Soon, Tanya realised she could convince utility companies to amend the balances of her friends, relatives and neighbours, clearing their overdue electricity bills with a single phone call. Eventually, as she tested the limits and realized she could get past any gatekeeper, she started to want the actual money herself.

By the time she was 18, Tanya had ‘confiscated’ some $40 million in cash and commodities from US banks, using hacked wire transfers. It didn’t take long before the FBI was on her tail. But when interviewing her, they made clear that they were using her to get to the person actually running things – clearly, she wasn’t smart enough to do this on her own (Black people she was told, rob people, they don’t hack computers).

Thus began a cat and mouse game with the authorities that would drive her to unthinkable limits, breaking the hearts of her parents, putting Tanya’s life in jeopardy, and costing her custody of two children before finally sending her to Federal prison (where she escaped twice) with the longest sentence ever given for a white-collar crime.

In the spirit of true crime narratives like Catch Me If You Can, Molly’s Game, and Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House, Never Saw Me Coming is a gripping caper, but it’s also the deeply personal journey of a young Black woman finding her way in a world that underestimated her brilliance. For fans of movies like Hustlers and The Bling Ring, Never Saw Me Coming is a high-stakes, gritty tale of wild financial misdeeds.

‘Revelatory and illuminating’ New Yorker

The true, unvarnished history of the town at the heart of Silicon Valley.

Palo Alto is nice. The weather is temperate, the people are educated, rich, healthy, enterprising. Remnants of a hippie counterculture have synthesized with high technology and big finance to produce the spiritually and materially ambitious heart of Silicon Valley, whose products are changing how we do everything from driving around to eating food. It is also a haunted toxic waste dump built on stolen Indian burial grounds, and an integral part of the capitalist world system.

In Palo Alto, the first comprehensive, global history of Silicon Valley, Malcolm Harris examines how and why Northern California evolved in the particular, consequential way it did, tracing the ideologies, technologies, and policies that have been engineered there over the course of 150 years of Anglo settler colonialism, from IQ tests to the “tragedy of the commons,” racial genetics, and “broken windows” theory. The Internet and computers, too. It’s a story about how a small American suburb became a powerful engine for economic growth and war, and how it came to lead the world into a surprisingly disastrous 21st century.

Palo Alto is an urgent and visionary history of the way we live now, one that ends with a clear-eyed, radical proposition for how we might begin to change course.

“Do love stories often end this way?” “Why do you think it’s over?”

Shesheshen has made a fatal mistake for a monster: she’s fallen in love.

Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who usually resides as an amorphous lump in the swamp of a ruined manor, unless impolite monster hunters invade intent on murdering her. Through a chance encounter, she meets a different kind of human, warm-hearted Homily, who mistakes Shesheshen for a human in turn.

Shesheshen is loath to deceive, but just as she’s about to confess her true identity, Homily reveals she’s hunting the shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, but to give them both a chance at happiness, she must figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with the woman she loves.

A glorious, funny, occasionally slightly violent love story which asks us to examine – and re-examine – the meaning of legacy, family and love.

Readers love John Wiswell:

‘Like a warm hug’ – Goodreads reviewer on “Open House on Haunted Hill”

‘So very sweet . . . a perfect little story’ – Goodreads reviewer on ‘Open House on Haunted Hill’

‘Heart-aching . . . you shouldn’t miss this one’ – Goodreads reviewer on ‘Open House on Haunted Hill’

‘Cozy and charming and made my heart grow three sizes which cannot be healthy’ – Goodreads reviewer on “Open House on Haunted Hill”

‘Has such a unique view and voice in his writing that his work is literally incomparable. And I can’t wait for what comes next’ – Goodreads reviewer on ‘Open House on Haunted Hill’

The most explosive true war story of the 21st Century.

It is the winter of 2001. A terror ship is bound for Britain carrying a horrifying weapon. The British military sends a crack unit of SAS and SBS to assault the vessel before she reaches London.

So begins a true story of explosive action as this band of elite warriors pursues the merchants of death from the high seas to the harsh wildlands of Afghanistan. The hunt culminates in the single greatest battle of the Afghan war, the brutal and bloody siege of an ancient mud-walled fortress crammed full of hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Taliban.

Fighting against impossible odds and bitter betrayal, our handful of crack fighters battle to rescue their fellow soldiers trapped by a murderous, fanatical enemy.

‘The most dramatic story of a secret wartime mission you will ever read’ News of the World

‘The author has been given unprecedented access’ Zoo

‘Gripping’ Eye Spy

(P)2023 Quercus Editions Limited

Operation Certain Death chronicles the story of the single most daring Special Forces operation since World War Two – Operation Barras; the attempted rescue by the SAS of the British Forces who were being held captive by guerrilla gang the West Side Boys in the Sierra Leone jungle. The West Side Boys were a strange-looking bunch, wearing pink shades, shower caps, fluorescent wigs and voodoo charms they believed made them invulnerable to bullets – an impression re-enforced by ganja, heroine, crack cocaine and gallons of sweet palm wine. In 1999 a twelve man patrol of Royal Irish Rangers, who were training government troops in Sierra Leone, were captured and held hostage by the West Side Boys. They were held prisoner in a fortified jungle hideaway, with severed heads decorating the palisades, defended by some 400 heavily armed soldiers.

Operation Barras, the rescue mission, was a combined force of 100 Paras, twelve members of the Special Boat Squadron, helicopters from the Navy and RAF and, spearheading the operation, 40-strong D squadron of the SAS. Against amazing odds the hostages were rescued – over 150 of the enemy were killed. Operation Certain Death is a thrilling true story of all out war. No hostages taken. Blood-letting on a vast scale inflicted on a very blood-thirsty enemy.

A gripping piece of true military history, perfect for fans of action adventure stories and anyone interested in the top secret division of the British Army.

‘As good as any thriller I have ever read’ Frederick Forsyth

(P)2023 Quercus Editions Limited

An essential introduction to the most significant poems and their works since 1900

Reproduced within this collection are some of the greatest poems of the 20th century, featuring works from major writers such as T.S. Eliot and Sylvia Plath to Langston Hughes and W.B. Yeats. For each, Michael Schmidt provides an insight into their themes and the background to their work, opening for the reader a deeper understanding and enjoyment of these extraordinary poems.

Poets include:
W.B. Yeats
Robert Frost
Edward Thomas
Philip Larkin
T.S. Eliot
Ted Hughes
Langston Hughes
Sylvia Plath
C.S Sisson
Derek Walcott
Ezra Pound
& many more!

Across the UK, into Europe and further afield, these are the training rides, races and journeys closest to his heart. From one-day classics in the Peak District and Snowdonia to the rolling roads of Tuscany and the wide-open vistas of New Zealand’s South Island, these are the routes you’ll want to ride alongside Britain’s favourite cycling superstar.

We ride out with him from his winter home in the south of France, and around his old Tuscan training base as a GB Olympic hopeful at the very start of his career. We take in the valley roads of the Tour de Suisse (overall winner, 2022), and the sinuous coastal roads of Milan – San Remo.

We go long in Mallorca and bounce along the short cobbled secteurs of Belgium; we take in the vineyards around Adelaide and the bright blue skies of southern California.

And we have guest rides too: from world champion Remco Evenepoel and his favourite winter training ride in Calpe, Spain; around Yorkshire, with Olympic mountain bike champion, world cyclo-cross champion and newly crowned winner of Strade Bianche, Tom Pidcock; in the wilds of western Ireland from champion sprinter Sam Bennett.

Twenty rides, twenty adventures you’ll never forget. All of this in a small-size hardback that can slide just as easily into your hand luggage as the back pocket of your jersey.

A revelatory memoir from Liverpool legend and global football star Bobby Firmino.

Master of the no-look goal and Anfield favourite, Roberto ‘Bobby’ Firmino, signed for Liverpool in July 2015. Over the next eight years – and seven winners’ medals – he established himself as one of the club’s most important players in recent years for his audacious skill, impressive goal scoring, and beaming smile.

Jürgen Klopp saw Firmino as the on-pitch ‘engine’ that drove the club’s counter-pressing strategy and together with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, Firmino formed a formidable attacking trio. The Kop rewarded Roberto with the ultimate accolade – his own song: ‘Sí, Señor, give the ball to Bobby and he will score.’

Sí, Señor celebrates Firmino’s cherished years in a red shirt and will remind fans why they fell in love with him in the first place.

‘I’m always wary of llamas. They’re mischievous and smart. I get a sense, when I approach them, that they are conferring . . . as if to say, ‘That’s that bloke off the telly.’

Bill Bailey has always had dogs in his life, including a Lakeland Terrier called Rocky who would travel with him in the van to his first shows and occasionally join him on stage. Fast forward a few decades and Bill shares his home with a variety of birds, dogs, frogs, chameleons, and an armadillo called Tommy. ‘We even had a giant chicken at the house for a while, a huge Malay cockerel, Kid Creole. After a few stand-offs he took against me. He had to go in the end, I was being stalked in my own back garden.’

That chicken apart, animals have always been at the heart of an extraordinary life as one of the nation’s favourite comedians, actors, musicians and (thanks to Strictly) dancers: from terriers to the orangutans of Sumatra and the parrots that share his breakfast every morning in west London.

As anyone who has ever had a pet knows, animals are a constant source of joy, but they also connect us to the world and to each other, touching on a deeper, older human need for companionship. Full of the leftfield humour, wit and wisdom that has made Bill Bailey such a beloved performer around the world, My Animals, and Other Animals is the story of Bill’s life, but more than that, it’s the story of how all of our lives are enriched by the animals who accompany us on that journey.

‘Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller’ Lee Child

In the summer of 2007 the British Army’s 662 Squadron deployed its most potent weapons system in combat for the very first time – the iconic Apache attack helicopter. This is the definitive story of the aircraft and of the crew who fly her, and of their baptism of fire in the battle for Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Under the call-sign Ugly, four of the Army Air Corps’ finest pilots flew a relentless series of missions during their 100-day deployment, stretching the aircraft, and themselves, to the limit. Apache Dawn recounts these operations from the perspective of the aircrew, plus the soldiers on the ground who owe their lives to the Apaches’ intervention during the white-hot heat of battle. Bestselling author Damien Lewis has been given unprecedented access to the pilots of the Apache Attack Squadrons – an elite band of warriors operating at the very limits of modern warfare. Apache Dawn is their story, and it is one of untold bravery and resilience against all odds.

‘As good as any thriller I have ever read’ Freddie Forsyth

‘Reveals a true story of British courage and daring’ The Sunday Times

‘Riveting’ Richard & Judy Show

‘The most dramatic story of a secret wartime mission ever’ News of the World

‘A perfect, sunny read’ – B magazine

‘Great fun from start to finish’ – Sunday Express

‘Makeup, sunshine, fabulous locations, a holiday romance . . . what more could you want in a summer read?’ – Novelicious

Ever wished you could make-over your life?

Make-up artist Stella is an expert at helping other people change their images, but when it comes to transforming herself, she doesn’t even know where to start.

So when her new friend, glamorous Hollywood actress Marina Ray, summons her a movie set in California, Stella can’t resist the chance to start afresh – it is the land of sunshine and opportunity after all!

But are they really friends or does Marina have an ulterior motive? What is the secret that both women are hiding about the nautical (but nice) men in their lives? And what will it take to really make both of their California dreams come true?

In a Pacific Coast journey that takes in Los Angeles, the world’s most romantic ranch and California’s very own castle in the sky – this story of friendship, long-distance love, kissing (and making up) is the perfect escapist read.

Readers love California Dreamers:
‘A great read set in stunning locations’ – 5* reader review
‘If you like make up, romance and twists this book is for you. Literally read it in a few days’- 5* reader review
‘Could not put it down. Loved it!’ – 5* reader review

‘A lot of those old sayings, ‘Red sky at night…’ and so on, are based on real knowledge. Not that red sky at night really does mean shepherd’s delight – the only thing that’s ever going to delight a shepherd is changing their job and not having to work with sheep any more.’

Kaleb Cooper – star of hit TV show Clarkson’s Farm and Sunday Times bestselling author – has been catapulted into the limelight and his new book, Life According to Kaleb, he shares the highs, lows and unexpected adventures of life at Diddly Squat from wrestling with temperamental tractors to dodging the wrath of cantankerous cows and after all that why he still believes he has the best job in the world.

Kaleb reveals his true, loveable, funny and down-to-earth self, with deadpan gags and unique observations that will have you crying with laughter. Utterly hilarious, this is Kaleb as you know and love him, telling the story of how he has become one of the biggest names in farming today.

Dis//Integration, a previously unpublished work by William Melvin Kelley, author of A Different Drummer, is a notable and welcome addition to African American literature.

The linked “2 novelas, 3 stories, and a little play” that make up DIS//INTEGRATION follow the life journeys of Charles “Chig” Dunford from his Nanny Eva sermonizing from her front porch, when he is only seventeen, to his peripatetic studies in Reupeo (an anagram of Europe) as a college student, to his unsettled bachelorhood as an English professor at a small Vermont college, where he continues to struggle to finish his life-long study of the
Reupeonese author Dupukshamin and find true love.

Along the way, as Chig’s sentimental education unfolds, we meet an array of memorable characters: John Hoenir, the Hemingway-esque expatriate novelist who takes Chig under his wing; Wendy Whitman, an actress passing for white, who breaks Chig’s heart; Merry, his troubled teen-age niece who Chig, in middle-age, agrees to look after; Raymond Winograd, the villainous department chair; Renka Bravo, the alluring dancer who might just make Chig an honest man; and one hundred Africans mysteriously chained together in the lower decks of Chig’s homeward-bound transatlantic liner.

DIS//INTEGRATION is an an odyssey through time in which past and future combine and re-combine to give the arc of a full life.

‘An absolute joy to read, with messy, realistic, and deeply lovable characters. . . Obuobi’s perfect balance of humor and wisdom made this one a true standout’ EMILY HENRY

‘THIS BOOK IS SPECTACULAR! It is deft and voicy, sexy and emotionally brilliant. I am honestly obsessed’ CHRISTINA LAUREN

Talia Hibbert meets Carley Fortune in this swoon-worthy story of love and friendship in the age of social media – where what you see might not be all you get.

Dr Jojo has it all figured out. Or so it seems to her Instagram followers, who love her no-nonsense advice about men, self-love, dating and sex.

But behind the camera, it’s a different story – she’s in love with her best friend, Ezra, and he doesn’t feel the same way.

Committed to moving on, Jo soon finds the perfect distraction – sweet, shy and sexy writer Malcolm. As the pair begin to date, sparks fly, and Jo’s hard exterior begins to soften.

But when she discovers her feelings for Ezra aren’t as unrequited as she thought, Jo finds herself with a tough decision to make. Will she seize the opportunity for romance with her best friend, or is new love the path to her happily ever after?

Praise for Shirlene Obuobi

‘You’re going to love this one‘ Beth O’Leary, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wake-Up Call

‘On Rotation is a brilliant debut rom-com . . . It’s relatable and LOL funny’ Cosmopolitan

‘I couldn’t put down On Rotation‘ Meg Cabot, New York Times bestselling author

‘On Rotation is an original romance novel bursting with charm, humour and the most loveable characters‘ Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, author of Yinka, Where is Your Huzband?

One of the most remarkable stories in the history of Special Forces’ operations – Daily Express

In the bleak moments after defeat on mainland Europe in winter 1939, wartime leader Winston Churchill knew that Britain had to strike back hard.

He recruited a band of eccentric free-thinking warriors to become the first ‘deniable’ secret operatives behind enemy lines, offering these volunteers nothing but the potential for glory and all-but-certain death.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare tells of the daring victories for this small force of ‘freelance pirates’ in their many missions against the Nazis, often dressed in enemy uniforms and breaking all previously held rules of warfare.

Master storyteller and military historian Damien Lewis brings the true adventures of the secret unit to life, from their earliest missions to the death of the group’s leader just weeks before the end of World War Two.

You can’t build a bridge, bake a cake or even do your shopping without maths, but many children (and adults) are put off it at school because it can seem pretty tricky and, dare we say it, boring…

50 Amazing Things Kids Need to Know About Maths will help you over your maths hurdles once and for all. Packed with hundreds of amazing puzzles, games and facts, each chapter breaks down the basics in a fun, accessible way. The weird and wonderful scenarios – which include How to be a Codebreaker, How to Measure a Mountain and and How to Contact an Alien – will entertain as much as they inform, making learning maths a breeze.

Science doesn’t have to just be about periodic tables and test tubes. For those kids (and adults) who are put off reading or learning about science because they think it’s too hard, too boring, or just has nothing to do with them, think again…

50 Amazing Things Kids Need to Know About Science will help to explain science and technology in clear and interesting ways that reinforce what children are learning at school. Packed with hundreds of amazing facts, hands on activities and 50 extraordinary (and some downright bizarre) scenarios – including How to Make Yourself Invisible, How to Survive a Lightning Strike and How to Grow
Another Body – this book will entertain as much as it informs and is the perfect companion for curious minds.

What do the rich and famous really get up to behind closed doors? When does sexual passion become sordid perversion? Who are history’s most shocking deviants and what are their sex secrets? The pages of this book reveal 45 shocking, scandalous – and often disturbing – stories of promiscuity and sexual perversion throughout the ages. Uncovered here are the orgies of Cleopatra and the incest of the Romans; the darkest fantasies of Michelangelo and the gross indecencies of the Marquis de Sade; as well as the insatiable desires of Rasputin, the degrading fetishes of Adolf Hitler, the unashamed exhibitionism of Tallulah Bankhead and the dirty thrills of Elvis Presley. ‘Sordid Sex Lives’ offers an insight into the shocking practices in which so many famous men and women have participated in. What motivates these sexual desires? Were they ever considered ‘normal’? And what happened to those whose filthy secrets were found out? Bursting with real-life accounts, this is the most explicit and shocking account of the sex lives of history’s most notorious characters.

This is the incredible true story of the unbreakable bond forged between Treo, the world’s most highly decorated dog, and his handler Sgt. Dave Heyhoe

When Dave Heyhoe was sent to Afghanistan to help detect the Taliban’s murderous roadside bombs, he knew he’d need a special dog by his side. Luckily for him, his closest pal Treo, a staggeringly brave ball of energy and mischief was with him every step of the way.

The two friends had a miraculous understanding that helped them save countless lives but, as they embarked on a roller-coaster emotional ride, Dave realized he needed Treo more than he could ever have imagined.

Tear-jerkingly sad one moment, laugh-out-loud hilarious the next, It’s All About Treo is a moving and uplifting story that will melt the hearts of animal lovers everywhere.

From Charlaine Harris, no. 1 bestselling creator of Sookie Stackhouse, and Christopher Golden, bestselling co-creator of Baltimore, comes the riveting sequel to the graphic novel Cemetery Girl.

She calls herself Calexa Rose Dunhill. She has been living – hiding out – in Dunhill Cemetery ever since someone left her there to die. She has no idea who wants her dead or why, but she isn’t about to hand around for her would-be-killer to finish the job.

Despite her self-imposed isolation among the deceased, Calexa’s ability to see spirits and the memories she receives from them guarantees she’ll never be alone. The only living people she interacts with are Kelner, the cemetery’s cantankerous caretaker, and Lucinda Cameron, an elderly woman who lives in an old Victorian house across the street. With their friendship, Calexa has regained a link to the world beyond tombstones and mausoleums.

Until the night she witnesses a murder that shatters her life: a life now under a police microscope, as their investigation threatens to uncover Calexa’s true identity . . .

‘Cemetery Girl has a power all of its own’ – Fantasy Book Review

In 27: Amy Winehouse, the first in a series of exclusive ebooks, acclaimed music writer Chris Salewicz celebrates the life of one of the most talented performers of recent times. In an intimate mini-biography, he explores Amy’s artistic influences and inspirations, her ability to capture the imagination and her appetite for self-destruction. Salewicz provides a startling portrayal of the perils of genius and the true cost of fame. Must the ferociously good die young?