Nineteen-year-old Frank Friedmaier lives in a country under occupation. Most people struggle to get by; Frank takes it easy in his mother’s whorehouse, which caters to members of the occupying forces. But Frank is restless. He is a pimp, a thug, a petty thief, and, as Dirty Snow opens, he has just killed his first man. Through the unrelenting darkness and cold of an endless winter, Frank will pursue abjection until at last there is nowhere to go. Hans Koning has described Dirty Snow as “one of the very few novels to come out of German-occupied France that gets it exactly right.” In a study of the criminal mind that is comparable to Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me, Simenon maps a no man’s land of the spirit in which human nature is driven to destruction—and redemption, perhaps, as well—by forces beyond its control.

“A writer as comfortable with reality as with fiction, with passion as with reason.” —John Le Carré In this brilliant new translation of Georges Simenon’s classic novel, a young man descends into a brutal world of crime “And always the dirty snow, the heaps of snow that look rotten, with black patches and embedded garbage . . . unable to cover the filth.” Nineteen-year-old Frank—thug, thief, son of a brothel owner—gets by surprisingly well despite living in a city under military occupation, but a warm house and a full stomach are not enough to make him feel truly alive in such a climate of deceit and betrayal. During a bleak, unending winter, he embarks on a string of violent and sordid crimes that set him on a path from which he can never return. Georges Simenon’s matchless novel is a brutal, compelling portrayal of a world without pity; a devastating journey through a psychological no man’s land.

DOWN AND DIRTY Faced with a choice between bad-boy detective Dean Ryker and sexy power player Parker Anderson, Sage Reece fought the law--and the law won. But while Ryker's sizzling touch may rule her nights, Sage's days belong to Parker's cool, calculating intensity. . . . Both Ryker and Parker are determined to protect Sage from a brutal enemy who'd use her to pay for their mistakes. Yet when the usually on-point Ryker is distracted by ghosts from his past, Parker seizes his opportunity to get Sage's attention--and keep it in ways beyond her wildest dreams. Now, caught between a mobster out for revenge and two men who were once best friends, Sage must play to win--even if it means getting dirty. . . .

Iréne gives the wealthy businessmen what they want, diving headfirst into the filthy river, thinking only of providing for her baby daughter, Marisa, as the men salivate over her soaked body emerging onto the bank. A young boy tries to befriend the reticent younger sister of the town's cruelest bully, only to discover the family betrayal behind her quiet countenance. Josefa, a young bride, is executed for murdering the man who raped her. Joy Castro's How Winter Began traces these and other characters as they seek compassion from each other and themselves. Thematically linked by the lives of women, especially Latinas, and their experiences of poverty and violence in a white-dominated, wealth-obsessed culture, How Winter Began is a delicately wrought collection of stories. The question at the heart of this riveting book is how or whether to trust one another after the rupture of betrayal.

The well-known Ozark folklorist gathers together bawdy tales, previously considered unprintable, that provide insight into the region's rich exotic narrative tradition.

I'm going to show her how good it can be to get dirty... JOSEPHINE Moving to a small town for a new job was the only thing I should be focused on. But the first time I see Gabe, all of that goes out the window. He's the owner of a garage in the town I now call home, and picturing the filthy things he'd do to me with those grease-stained hands fills my head. The way he looks at me makes me feel like a woman, like he's undressing me with his eyes ... like he could teach me a thing or two about what a real man does with a woman in his bed. I don't care if being with him is fast or sudden. I want him to devour me. GABE The first time I lay eyes on Josephine, I know she'll be mine. I won't stop until she is. I want to get my dirty hands all over her. I want to make that creamy pale skin of hers dark from grease, and red from holding onto her. And I'll do all of that, because there's no way I'm backing off, not until I know I have her. Warning: You like filthy and insta-love? Well, this story is full of it. If you're into a hero who knows how to handle his woman, and a heroine who's all about tall, dark, and dirty, you better hang on because this story will most definitely give you whiplash.

Now streaming on Netflix and BBC iPlayer! The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil's sharp and thrilling sequel to Get Even. Perfect for fans of E. Lockhart, Karen M. McManus, and Maureen Johnson. The members of Don't Get Mad aren't just mad anymore . . . they're afraid. And with Margot in a coma and Bree under house arrest, it's up to Olivia and Kitty to try to catch their deadly tormentor. But just as the girls are about to go on the offensive, Ed the Head reveals a shocking secret that turns all their theories upside down. The killer could be anyone, and this time he—or she—is out for more than just revenge. The girls desperately try to discover the killer's identity as their own lives are falling apart: Donté is pulling away from Kitty and seems to be hiding a secret of his own, Bree is sequestered under the watchful eye of her mom’s bodyguard, and Olivia's mother is on an emotional downward spiral. The killer is closing in, the threats are becoming more personal, and when the police refuse to listen, the girls have no choice but to confront their anonymous “friend” . . . or die trying.

Meet Dirty Bertie - a boy with nose-pickingly disgusting habits. He's full to bursting with madcap plans and crazy ideas, and if it's trouble you're after, look no further - Bertie's sure to be up to his neck in it!

'I doubt whether it is possible for the crime novel to rise to greater heights than it does in Simenon's hands here' H.R.F. Keating

Dirty Bertie - the boy with nose-pickingly disgusting habits - is back for another helping of comic chaos! More disgusting than ever with crazier plans and increasingly madcap schemes, Bertie continues to delight his legions of fans who revel in his revolting ways. Join Bertie in Rats! as he crosses paths with a cheeky rodent, takes part in a chaotic cross-country run and tries to get his dog Whiffer to eat healthily - with disastrous results!