The Earl of Burford can't believe his luck; Rex Ransom, his favourite star from the 'talkies', and his hot-shot producer, Haggermeir, want to film their next feature at Alderley, the family's seventeenth-century country estate. Somewhat less enthusiastic is the Countess, who suddenly finds herself hosting an impromptu house party for the incoming Hollywood crowd. It's almost too much for poor Merryweather, the family's imperturbable butler, to cope with. And that's before there's a murder in the dead of night. By morning Inspector Wilkins of the Westshire Constabulary is cast in the unlikely role of hero, as he tiptoes through the evidence and endeavours to unravel the slightly batty, thoroughly baffling mystery.and work out just what a mutilated mink coat has to do with anything.

The theft of the diamond necklace and the antique pistols might all be explained, but the body in the lake is particularly puzzling. 'Don't expect me to solve anything,' Inspector Wilkins announces modestly when he arrives to sort out the unpleasantness. And at a gathering that includes English aristocracy, foreign agents in disguise, a ravishing baroness, a daring jewel thief, a Texan millionaire and, of course, the redoubtable butler, it would take some intricate sleuthing to uncover who killed whom and why. For whodunnit fans who prefer their villains to be nice and refined people, the sort who quote Shakespeare and knock off their nearest and dearest between rubbers of bridge, The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg cozy is a delectable treat.

The acclaimed author of the Inspector Barnaby series offers a madcap manor house mystery: “well-written, witty, and elegantly plotted” (The Guardian, UK). Simon Hannaford is in need of some fast money, and murder seems the obvious solution. Specifically, a 1930s Murder Mystery Weekend, to be held at Madingley Grange, his aunt’s superbly hideous gothic mansion. Simon and his sister are meant to be house-sitting, but surely Aunt Maude would not begrudge them the chance to earn a few nearly honest shekels. As the guests arrive—each one dottier than the last—Simon’s grand plans quickly go awry. Meanwhile, the staff Simon hired on the cheap are busy hatching larcenous plans of their own. But when an actual body turns up, deprived of actual life, Simon’s charade of detection is suddenly forced to begin in earnest.

'A triumph of ingenuity. Excellent escapism' Sunday Telegraph - The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg cozy The theft of the diamond necklace and the antique pistols might all be explained, but the body in the lake - that really was a puzzle. For Inspector Wilkins, it was going to take some intricate sleuthing to uncover who killed whom and why. - The Affair of the Mutilated Mink An impromtu Hollywood party at the Alderley country estateprove too much for the family's butler, Merryweather. And that's before the murder in the middle of the night... - The Affair of the Thirty-Nine Cufflinks When Lord Burford reluctantly agrees to host his relatives at Alderley, he soon finds out that family can be murder. It isn't long before Inspector Wilkins has to be called in ... yet again. 'If you half-close your eyes you can almost smell Poirot or Miss Marple shuffling through the pages' Daily Sport

A dog describes being mistreated by a cruel master but then later being taken in by a kind family.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The lives of three women—transgender and cisgender—collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires in “one of the most celebrated novels of the year” (Time) “Reading this novel is like holding a live wire in your hand.”—Vulture One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Named one of the Best Books of the Year by more than twenty publications, including The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Time, Vogue, Esquire, Vulture, and Autostraddle PEN/Hemingway Award Winner • Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Gotham Book Prize • Longlisted for The Women’s Prize • Roxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club Pick • New York Times Editors’ Choice Reese almost had it all: a loving relationship with Amy, an apartment in New York City, a job she didn't hate. She had scraped together what previous generations of trans women could only dream of: a life of mundane, bourgeois comforts. The only thing missing was a child. But then her girlfriend, Amy, detransitioned and became Ames, and everything fell apart. Now Reese is caught in a self-destructive pattern: avoiding her loneliness by sleeping with married men. Ames isn't happy either. He thought detransitioning to live as a man would make life easier, but that decision cost him his relationship with Reese—and losing her meant losing his only family. Even though their romance is over, he longs to find a way back to her. When Ames's boss and lover, Katrina, reveals that she's pregnant with his baby—and that she's not sure whether she wants to keep it—Ames wonders if this is the chance he's been waiting for. Could the three of them form some kind of unconventional family—and raise the baby together? This provocative debut is about what happens at the emotional, messy, vulnerable corners of womanhood that platitudes and good intentions can't reach. Torrey Peters brilliantly and fearlessly navigates the most dangerous taboos around gender, sex, and relationships, gifting us a thrillingly original, witty, and deeply moving novel.

A supplemental textbook for middle and high school students, Hoosiers and the American Story provides intimate views of individuals and places in Indiana set within themes from American history. During the frontier days when Americans battled with and exiled native peoples from the East, Indiana was on the leading edge of America’s westward expansion. As waves of immigrants swept across the Appalachians and eastern waterways, Indiana became established as both a crossroads and as a vital part of Middle America. Indiana’s stories illuminate the history of American agriculture, wars, industrialization, ethnic conflicts, technological improvements, political battles, transportation networks, economic shifts, social welfare initiatives, and more. In so doing, they elucidate large national issues so that students can relate personally to the ideas and events that comprise American history. At the same time, the stories shed light on what it means to be a Hoosier, today and in the past.

The first English edition was issued simultaneously with the American. John Jacob Astor persuaded Irving to undertake this story of his ill-fated enterprise at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1834. Irving had the use of all of Astor's notes and manuscripts, as well as the original journals of such key participants as Robert Stuart, Wilson Price Hunt, and Ramsey Crooks. The resulting work is a classic - an indispensable resource for students of the American West. It is considered to be the "classic account of the first American attempt at settlement on the Pacific coast,1811--initial action towards substantiating our claim to Oregon--including the earliest extended relation of Wilson P. Hunt's overland expedition from St. Louis to that settlement." Howes.