1911: Sydney, Australia. From the moment the tumours appeared on her face, Maggie Bright knew she would never live a normal life. Abandoned by her mother and then given away by her father, she spent her childhood learning to become the 'Lagoon Creature': part acrobat, part clown, part circus hand. It's not a bad life -Rafferty Braun, the ringmaster, provides her with an ongoing education, and now, as a young woman, she has the kind of freedom her condition could have easily taken away from her. As much as she tries not to, however, Maggie can't help wishing for more. Charlotte Voigt could not be more different. The talented tightrope walker is a star of the circus, with the entertainment world at her slipper-clad feet. She is also a liar. When an opportunity arises to try on Charlotte's identity for her own, Maggie doesn't hesitate. She wants to know what it feels like to be admired, to be accepted, to be beautiful. And the circus's sudden decision to cross Australia via wagon provides her with the perfect cover. Each new town or remote settlement brings the women closer to understanding one another. Resentments begin to fade, but in their place are secrets that could undo the delicate trust they've built: Maggie, with her alternative life pretending to be the glamorous tightrope walker; Charlotte lying about her background, her family, and the reason she reappeared with the circus after several years' absence. The sawdust road will test their willpower. The truth will determine their futures.

Colleen Lorrah's childhood in the blended white and Native American cultures of Montana's Crow Indian reservation, was marked by omens that held important clues to her future. Her family was Irish-American, but the multi-generational history between the Lorrahs and tribal members provided her the gift of access and participation in rituals and practices of the tribe. Like many young people from the rural West, a successful executive-level career took Colleen away from her family's sprawling sheep ranch on the Reservation. Only her dying father's mysterious request launches her on a mission to trace the family's Irish history, causing her memories to surface and map her destiny. In The Magpie Odyssey, her epic journey weaves her personal history among the Crow Indians together with ancient beliefs still held in tiny pockets of Ireland. The quest brings her face to face with the Irish struggle for peace and with the mysterious McCumhaill, a shadowy hero whose face has never been seen. He is locked in a battle with those who would create violence and chaos in opposition of peace in Ireland. Events unite them, as their passion for Ireland and for each other reaches a violent and astonishing crescendo.

The Sisters of the Crescent Empress is the second book in Leena Likitalo's Waning Moon Duology, a fabulous historical fantasy based on the lives of the Romanov sisters. We all think we know how the story ends... With the Crescent Empress dead, a civil war has torn the empire asunder. No one seems able to stop the ruthless Gagargi Prataslav. The five Daughters of the Moon are where he wants them to be, held captive in an isolated house in the far north. Little Alina senses that the rooms that have fallen in disrepair have a sad tale to tell. Indeed, she soon meets two elderly ladies, the ghosts of the house's former inhabitants. Merile finds the ghosts suspiciously friendly and too interested in her sisters. She resolves to uncover their agenda with the help of her two dogs. Sibilia isn't terribly interested in her younger sisters' imaginary friends, for she has other concerns. If they don't leave the house by spring, she'll miss her debut. And while reading through the holy scriptures, she stumbles upon a mystery that reeks of power. Elise struggles to come to terms with her relationship with Captain Janlav. Her former lover now serves the gagargi, and it's his duty to keep the daughters confined in the house. But if the opportunity were to arise, she might be able sway him into helping them flee. Celestia is perfectly aware of the gagargi coming to claim her rather sooner than later. She's resolved to come up with a plan to keep her sisters safe at any cost. For she knows what tends to happen to the sisters of the Crescent Empress. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

It was on a sabbatical in England in the late seventies that Suniti Namjoshi discovered feminism—or rather, she discovered that other feminists existed, and many among them shared her thoughts and doubts, her questions and visions. Since then, she has been writing—fables, poetry, prose autobiography, children’s stories—about power, about inequality, about oppression, effectively using the power of language and the literary tradition to expose what she finds absurd and unacceptable. This new collection brings together in one volume a huge range of Namjoshi’s writings, starting with her classic collection, Feminist Fables, and coming right up to her latest work. Published by Zubaan.

For readers of M. C. Beaton or Susan Wittig Albert, the high-flying new Birds of a Feather mystery series from bestselling author Marty Wingate begins as a British woman gets caught up in a dangerous plot when her celebrity father disappears. With her personal life in disarray, Julia Lanchester feels she has no option but to quit her job on her father’s hit BBC Two nature show, A Bird in the Hand. Accepting a tourist management position in Smeaton-under-Lyme, a quaint village in the English countryside, Julia throws herself into her new life, delighting sightseers (and a local member of the gentry) with tales of ancient Romans and pillaging Vikings. But the past is front and center when her father, Rupert, tracks her down in a moment of desperation. Julia refuses to hear him out; his quick remarriage after her mother’s death was one of the reasons Julia flew the coop. But later she gets a distressed call from her new stepmum: Rupert has gone missing. Julia decides to investigate—she owes him that much, at least—and her father’s new assistant, the infuriatingly dapper Michael Sedgwick, offers to help. Little does the unlikely pair realize that awaiting them is a tightly woven nest of lies and murder. Marty Wingate’s captivating mysteries can be enjoyed together or separately, in any order: The Potting Shed series: THE GARDEN PLOT | THE RED BOOK OF PRIMROSE HOUSE | BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE | THE SKELETON GARDEN | THE BLUEBONNET BETRAYAL | BEST-LAID PLANTS The Birds of a Feather series: THE RHYME OF THE MAGPIE | EMPTY NEST | EVERY TRICK IN THE ROOK | FAREWELL, MY CUCKOO Praise for Marty Wingate and The Rhyme of the Magpie “Marty Wingate’s Birds of a Feather mysteries provide a perfect blend of quirky characters and atmosphere. These solid traditional cozies deliver a fabulous setting, lots of birding, intriguing bird lore, and complex whodunits with contemporary themes. Add the marvelous mysteries of this wonderful series to your life list.”—Christine Goff, bestselling author of the Birdwatcher’s Mystery series “Marty Wingate plants clever clues with a dash of romantic spice to satisfy any hungry mystery reader.”—Mary Daheim, bestselling author of The Alpine Yeoman “Put the kettle on and settle into a well-crafted village mystery with a delightful new sleuth.”—Connie Archer, bestselling author of Ladle to the Grave “Marty Wingate might just be the new Queen of the Cozy, but her cozy mysteries are deceptive in that they balance quaint village life with strong female characters who achieve self-significance while still maintaining femininity. Long may she reign.”—Bibliotica “Wingate has once again written a superb cozy mystery filled with suspense, red herrings, danger, romance, and magpies. . . . The Rhyme of the Magpie is a must-read for fans of Wingate’s novels and fans of cozy mysteries. You will love this book!”—A Bookish Way of Life “Great characters, picturesque location, and a mystery to solve. With those three ingredients, you can’t be disappointed.”—Mystery Playground

Everywhere, the birds: sparrows and skylarks and thrushes, starlings and bellbirds, fantails and pipits &– but above them all and louder, the magpies. We are here and this is our tree and we' re staying and it is ours and you need to leave and now. Tama is just a helpless chick when he is rescued by Marnie, and this is where his story might have ended. &‘ If it keeps me awake,' says Marnie' s husband Rob, a farmer, &‘ I' ll have to wring its neck.' But with Tama come new possibilities for the couple' s future. Tama can speak, and his fame is growing. Outside, in the pines, his father warns him of the wickedness wrought by humans. Indoors, Marnie confides in him about her violent marriage. The more Tama sees, the more the animal and the human worlds &– and all of the precarity, darkness and hope within them &– bleed into one another. Like a stock truck filled with live cargo, the story moves inexorably towards its dramatic conclusion: the annual Axeman' s Carnival. Part trickster, part surrogate child, part witness, Tama the magpie is the star of this story. Though what he says aloud to humans is often nonsensical (and hilarious with it), the tale he tells us weaves a disturbingly human sen

Master Reynard is a children's story by Jane Fielding. Reynard the Fox is a trickster – he embarks on several dangerous and challenging journeys and needs to use his cleverness to outwit foes. A cute story!