This book contains stories about a poor man named Lane Snipe, who has lost everything, but settling for nothing is not an option. Lane Snipe feels he only has one option, and that is to become a criminal. And what better place to start than robbing banks? Lane Snipe is a smart man, but how smart can a criminal be once outnumbered by the law? Thirteen men, twenty-six guns, and nowhere to runanybody else would surrender, but Lane takes his chances with his back against the wall .

“A smart and gripping debut that saves its best for last.” —Chris Cleave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Little Bee “[A] thoroughly satisfying and suspenseful debut…the final twist in the murder plot will catch many readers unaware, as will the surprising emotional heft of the narrative, which traces the damage wrought by secrets and good intentions gone awry.” —Publishers Weekly For fans of Louise Penny and Tana French, this “unsettling…compelling” (Glamour) thriller explores the devastating repercussions of a long-ago crime as it delves into forbidden relationships, the emotional bond between mothers and daughters, and the dark consequences of harboring secrets. It is the summer of 1956, and fifteen-year-old Betty Broadbent has never left the Cornish fishing village of St. Steele or ventured far beyond the walls of the Hotel Eden, the slightly ramshackle boarding house run by her moody, unpredictable mother. But Betty’s world is upended when a string of brutal murders brings London’s press corps flooding into the village, many of whom find lodging at the Hotel Eden. She is instantly transfixed by one of the reporters, the mysterious and strangely aloof Mr. Gallagher—and he, fully twice her age, seems equally transfixed by her. The unlikely relationship that blooms between Betty and Mr. Gallagher is as overlaid with longing and desire as it is with impropriety and even menace. And as the shocking death toll rises, both Betty and Mr. Gallagher are forced to make a devastating choice, one that will shape their own lives—and the life of an innocent man—forever. The revelations in Powell’s haunting debut will give you chills, and her unforgettable heroine will break your heart.

In R.C. Hutchinson, Barry Webb reclaims the legacy of a highly-acclaimed, yet often forgotten writer. Despite having been awarded the Sunday Times Gold medal for fiction, the W.H.Smith award for the best novelist of the year, being short-listed for the Booker Prize, and several of his 17 novels becoming best-sellers in the UK and America, Hutchinson has not withstood the test of time compared to his contemporaries. Combining Hutchinson's own reflections with insightful critical analysis, Webb traces Hutchinson's thoughtful, observational life alongside his extraordinary literary output. He draws out how Hutchinson's firmly held Christian beliefs allowed him to eschew didacticism for nuanced reflections on the nature of human suffering. Part biography, part critical study, R.C. Hutchinson sheds light on this influential and gifted writer, contextualising his work and highlighting his genius. He was described by Sebastian Faulks as deserving to be 'compared to Balzac or Tolstoy, and is not embarrassed by the comparison', and Cecil Day Lewis as 'one of the very few living novelists who will be read fifty - even a hundred years hence'. Webb offers readers the opportunity to re-discover this exceptional writer.

Includes Part 1, Number 2: Books and Pamphlets, Including Serials and Contributions to Periodicals July - December)

The Unforgotten Women of the Islamic State explores the governance of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization through the lives and words of local Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish women. While the roles and activities of foreign (predominantly Western), pro-IS women have garnered significant attention, the experiences and insights of local civilian populations have been largely overlooked. Drawing on the testimonies of 63 local Sunni Muslim and Yazidi women, Gina Vale exposes the group's intra-gender stratified system of governance. Eligibility for the group's protection, security, 'citizenship', and entrance into the (semi-)public sphere were not universal, but required convergence with the gender norms of IS, through permanent erasure or at least temporary disguise of certain markers of difference. In some cases, this was directed by a pre-meditated 'divide and conquer' strategy, while in others, it manifested as unregulated violences at the hands of individual group members, including women. The structure follows the trajectory of IS's increasing control over its 'citizens' and captive populations: its militarization of society; imposition of law and order; provision of goods and services; and intervention in civilians' private lives. Analysis of diverse first-hand accounts and the group's documentation reveals that the presence, exclusion, and victimization of local civilian women were necessary to the functioning and legitimation of IS's 'caliphate' project, and the supremacy of affiliated men - and women. As a fledgling proto-state, IS needed local Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish women. Though far from represented or protected, they were by no means forgotten.