Staff Recommended Reads

From the number one bestselling author, Peter James, comes an explosive standalone thriller that will grip you and won't let go until the very last page.Investigative reporter Ross Hunter nearly didn’t answer the phone call that would change his life – and possibly the world – for ever.‘I’d just like to assure you I’m not a nutcase, Mr Hunter. My name is Dr Harry F. Cook. I know this is going to sound strange, but I’ve recently been given absolute proof of God’s existence – and I’ve been advised there is a writer, a respected journalist called Ross Hunter, who could help me to get taken seriously.’What would it take to prove the existence of God? And what would be the consequences?This question and its answer lie at the heart of Absolute Proof, an international thriller from bestselling author Peter James.The false faith of a billionaire evangelist, the life’s work of a famous atheist, and the credibility of each of the world’s major religions are all under threat. If Ross Hunter can survive long enough to present the evidence . . .This audio edition includes a bonus feature with the author, Peter James, who reveals the inspiration behind the story and characters.

A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.Doerr’s gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.

ALMOST HUMAN tells the remarkable story of Julius the chimpanzee, born in the Kristiansand Zoo in Norway, and rejected by his mother at just six weeks old. The zoo director and his family fostered Julius with the aim of returning him to his tribe, but Julius wasn't in any rush to reconnect and the tribe repeatedly snubbed him. Despite regular attempts to reintroduce Julius to zoo life, he often returned to his human home. Julius' story soon caught the imagination of the Norwegian people and he became the star of his own TV show - the nation following his story as he grew up. Finally, after twenty-five turbulent years that saw daring escape attempts, failed relationships, rejection and injury, Julius was settled into a different chimpanzee tribe. Today, at almost forty years old, he enjoys life as a contented alpha chimpanzee with two of his own offspring. ALMOST HUMAN explores more than this unique chimpanzee's life - it examines how our treatment of animals in captivity has changed over the decades, how the mind of a chimpanzee works, and how much we have in common with the primates who share 98.6% of our DNA. This powerful story shows how Julius was faced with the very same challenges we humans experience - the need for food and safety, the desire for love and sex, how to negotiate status and power, and finding ways to deal with loneliness, sorrow and death. It reminds us that what we all require is very simple: a loving family and a place to call home.

After a tragic yachting accident leaves him wracked with guilt and despair, Andrew Alexander becomes certain he doesn't deserve to be around his own family, let alone the beautiful, forthright Astrid Worthington. He wanders for years, only allowing himself respite from his self-imposed exile when he thinks Astrid safely married. He returns home to find instead that the only woman he's ever loved has been recently—and mysteriously—widowed. When Andrew leaves, Astrid refuses to pine. She finds an amiable husband and contents herself with a cordial if unexciting marriage. But her husband's sudden death and Andrew's reappearance threaten to break her heart all over again. When Astrid's life is threatened, she finds Andrew will do anything to protect her not only from her enemies, but also from the truth of his dark past. Award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes's gorgeous writing and lush Regency world will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Whether it's through her thriving design business, Studio McGee, her popular Netflix series, Dream Home Makeover, or her online community of over five million followers, Shea McGee has shown the world how the principles of high-end design can be applied to any home. As the title of her new book suggests, designing rooms for maximum impact while also remaining approachable to any who enter is an art. But it's also a skill that can be learned because it's inside each one of us. In The Art of Home, Shea takes us through every room of the house, starting with an explanation of process and then guiding our entryways, living rooms, kitchens, offices, kids' rooms, and even our utility rooms. With step-by-step guides paired with her own design projects and the power of her personal stories, Shea helps us transform the most important parts of our lives and how we live.

Veronica McCreedy lives in a mansion by the sea. She loves a nice cup of Darjeeling tea whilst watching a good wildlife documentary. And she's never seen without her ruby-red lipstick. Although these days Veronica is rarely seen by anyone because, at 85, her days are spent mostly at home, alone. She can be found either collecting litter from the beach (people who litter the countryside should be shot), trying to locate her glasses (someone must have moved them) or shouting instructions to her assistant, Eileen (Eileen, door!). Veronica doesn't have family or friends nearby. Not that she knows about, anyway . . . And she has no idea where she's going to leave her considerable wealth when she dies. But today . . . today Veronica is going to make a decision that will change all of this.