The boy arrived on a Sunday morning in the midst of a great deal of din and clamor. As the rickshaw skidded into the broad-avenued lane in front of the Sengupta residence, something truly extraordinary happened. The arrival of the young boy in an upper middle class Bengali household triggers a gripping story of love, desire, and renunciation. Set in two different cities, New Delhi and Varanasi, this story explores the entwining lives of four women forced to confront their past decisions in order to understand their present delusions and insecurities. Questions arise throughout the story and family truths are unveiled. Central to the story is a dark and shocking secret that manifests itself and demands expiation from those entangled in it, having lurked in the past for 20 years. The narratives and memories of the four women enable the characters to grow over a period of 20 years, exploring the link between childhood and growing up and the theme of motherhood. Written with humor and compassion, this book is full of the sights, sounds, and scents of India and delivers both an exploration of conflicts peculiar to Indian society and a universal underlying message about the strength of love and how it can be both selfish and selfless.

Across the Mystic Shore (Macmillan New Writing)

Literature & Fiction

Mukherjee, Suroopa

Genre Fiction

Macmillan UK New Writing

In the Shadow of Lady Jane (Richard Stocker)

It is April 1551. While the family of Lord Henry Grey are visiting their Devon estate, the Grey sisters are saved from drowning by a local medical apprentice, Richard Stocker. Little does Richard know that this single act will plunge him into a tide of religious and social upheaval that will change not only his own life but the course of British history. In gratitude for saving his daughters, Lord Henry agrees to employ Richard in his household. Lady Katherine has already fallen for her father’s handsome new employee, while Richard is in thrall to the intellect of her troubled but brilliant sister, Lady Jane, with whom he forms a close friendship. Following King Edward’s death, the teenaged Lady Jane is proclaimed Queen. Soon, however, she is deposed and put to the axe. The woman Richard has grown to love as a friend, confidante, and adviser is dead. Bereft, he abandons the intrigues and deceptions of court life, resolving to resume his medical apprenticeship. In the Shadow of Lady Jane is at once a gripping political thriller and a compelling love story.

Charles, Edward

Contemporary

<p><div> <div>Seven potential customer service representatives start their training course under the professional guidance of Rob Church. From the start, he is disillusioned with the quality of his latest batch of trainees, but ever the professional and an inveterate optimist, he plunges into his routine. His worst fears are confirmed. Each of his charges, with one exception, is a loser. As he works his way through the embarrassingly formulaic training set-pieces with never a doubt about the value of his corporate objectives, the awful reality of the appalling quality of the human material he has to work with becomes clear. From failed actress to religious puritan, from would-be pop star to tarty young temptress, none is the trainee of choice--except, perhaps, the apparently sophisticated Charlotte, professional lady to her fingertips and romantic and professional hope of the slick and be-suited Church. Perhaps--but perhaps not. In parallel with the hilarious accounts of Church's attempts to instill a corporate culture in the team, we are treated to funny and sometimes moving stories of the individuals' private lives and their relationships with each other on and off the job. The threads of their lives are tangled and disentangled, and the course ends with some clever and satisfying events and conclusions.</div> </div></p>

Three Things About Me

Whiteley, Aliya

Literary

What can you do to feel safe in a dangerous world? When Rob Saunders witnesses a young Japanese student commit suicide, he impulsively takes the folder she dropped as she threw herself under a tube train. He finds himself taking souvenirs from a series of tragic or threatening events, at the same time initiating an edgy affair with a work colleague. His behavior becomes increasingly obsessive. The lines blur between witnessing, seeking out, and initiating tragedy. Things spiral out of control when he discovers a dead body while he's jogging in the woods. Stylistically bold, technically accomplished, this fast-paced pageturner explores the anxieties and survival strategies of a post-9/11 world.

Taking Comfort (Macmillan New Writing)

MORRIS, Roger

Action & Adventure

<p><div> <div> <div> <div> <p>Drinking coffee in a tea room on a 72-hour pass, young American pilot Tom Blake watches a woman who is waiting for a friend. He isn&#8217;t looking for love, but seeing Anna Pilgrim on this cold winter afternoon changes everything. So begins a passionate affair. Their happiness does not last. Shot down over Europe, wounded, in hiding, Tom has no way of telling Anna he is alive. And Anna, left waiting in England, has no way of finding out. Separated by the war, they have only the strength of their love and their memories to connect them. When Anna discovers she is pregnant, she must face the gossip of others and the wrath of her bitter and manipulative mother. Weeks, then months pass without news, and she begins to lose hope. How can she know that Tom is struggling to return to her? Or that the thought of being with her again is all that keeps him going on the long and arduous journey home? Interwoven with the brutality and danger of Tom&#8217;s fight to survive is the story of Anna&#8217;s own struggle to face the uncertainty of waiting. Set vividly against the hardship and horror of the Second World War, <i>Another Time and Place</i> is at once a compelling love story, an enthralling adventure, and a moving depiction of the resilience of the human spirit.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div></p>

Another Time and Place (Macmillan New Writing)

Grosser, Samantha

If only Jeanette would learn to stop being so selfish, then everything would be alright, wouldn't it? She wants to be a successful art photographer, but no one likes her work. She wants a child, but she's virtually menopausal. She wants an affair with Paul, but he's the social worker assessing her and her husband as adoptive parents. And what of Levi, a young boy trapped in the care system in desperate need of rescuing by someone? Will their paths ever cross?

Selfish Jean (Macmillan New Writing)

Sweeney, Cate

<b>Two million dollars in a black bag.</b><b>The meaning of life hidden on a deviously encrypted website.</b><b>And several dozen heavily armed guys with serious existential issues.</b><b>The hunt is on for THE MANUSCRIPT in this high-speed, action-packed thriller.</b>

The Manuscript (Macmillan New Writing)

Fuchs, Michael Stephen

Tell me one lie and two truths about yourself. But what exactly are you revealing? Under the watchful eye of Rob Church, the manager who has enthusiasm oozing out of every pore, seven customer-service trainees' darkest secrets are exposed: death, violence, stardom, cultism, special powers, and some really awful rock and roll all play their part in this hilarious debut novel.

Three Things About Me (Macmillan New Writing)

The year is 1556 in Venicea wealthy, bustling, multicultural city20-year-old English protestant Richard Stocker is recovering from the execution of his friend Lady Jane Grey. Soon Richard finds himself caught up in the complexities of La Serenissima and involved with three of the city’s most remarkable women Faustina Contarini, a nun imprisoned in a convent by her noble family; Yasmeen Ahmed, Muslim clerk and bookkeeper to the great artist Tintoretto; and Veronica Franco, artists’ model, courtesan, and poet. Each has her own story to tell, but they have one thing in commonthey are all daughters of the Doge, held captive by the contradictory laws and regulations of this teeming city.

Daughters of the Doge (Richard Stocker)

British & Irish

<p><div> <div>Prudence Green is a troubled woman. Stifled by her existence as an RAF wife, she's dying for a bit of excitement. When one of the other women on the base commits suicide, having discovered that her husband is having an affair with a male comrade in Iraq, Pru and her best friend Lena are prompted to set off on a memorably surreal journey--a criminal investigation, a search for love, and an exploration of Pru's own dark past. The discontented pair escape the base and arrive in a blighted seaside town, Allcombe, determined to find out the truth behind the supposed suicide of one-time TV star Crystal Tynee. But as they explore the lawless town, Pru and Lena find that Allcombe hides more than one hideous secret. <i>Light Reading</i> is a wickedly clever detective story and a pitch-black mystery, seething with grotesque and unforgettable characters, and concluding with a twist that will leave you breathless.</div> </div></p>

Light Reading

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Macmillan UK New Writing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Macmillan UK New Writing