Twenty-six years ago, when she was only three months old, Jody Linder's father was murdered as she slept in her cot. Her mother vanished, presumed dead. Local trouble-maker Billy Crosby confessed to the murder and was locked up, leaving his wife and son to face the consequences in the small Kansas town of Rose. But his son Collin, now a lawyer, has successfully petitioned for a retrial, which means that - for now - Billy is back in town. Jody is horrified - the man who tore her family apart is living just a few streets away. So why does she find herself wondering if Collin is right? What if Billy was innocent, and her close-knit family has been hiding a terrible secret all these years? Haunting and powerful, this is Nancy Pickard's finest achievement to date.
You have to search for the key to the song of your life and when you find it, don't let it go.' Fourteen year old Solomon lives for adventures with his cousin Ze, his dog Duke and above all, to sing and play the piano, for which he has a rare gift. But when life in the idyllic mountains of the Serra dos Orgaos is shattered by injustice, the family is uprooted to the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Everything Solomon loves is stripped away and life seems worthless.Growing up at 'Goodnight', her family's vast cattle ranch in Montana, Kiera Kavanagh dreams of finding the love of her life - the key to her song. But the untimely deaths of two people close to her leave her in turmoil and questioning her romantic teenage notions.Born on the same day, thousand of miles apart, will these two young lives find a love that overcomes their suffering, discovering who they are meant to be, and each other?Solomon's Song is a beautiful debut novel, interlacing the lives of many vividly drawn characters across continents and cultures.
Jennifer Rees Larcombe is well known for the calm grace she brings to even the hardest things, and her books celebrate God's goodness and care in the midst of tough times, as well as when all goes well. In this book she helps us to see how God is with us in good times and bad, drawing on many of the insights her own experiences have given her. Taking inspiration from key events and Christian festivals throughout the year, she has put together daily devotions to inspire grace and faith.This is a beautiful book, helping us to explore our faith with new eyes and a strengthened sense of God's love and care.
It is commonly thought in secular society that the Bible is one of the greatest hindrances to doing justice. Isn't it full of regressive views? Didn't it condone slavery? Why look to the Bible for guidance on how to have a more just society? But Timothy Keller, pastor of New York City's Redeemer Presbyterian Church, sees it another way. In GENEROUS JUSTICE, Keller explores a life of justice empowered by an experience of grace: a generous, gracious justice. Here is a book for believers who find the Bible a trustworthy guide, as well as those who suspect that Christianity is a regressive influence in the world.Keller's church, founded in the 80s with fewer than 100 congregants, is now exponentially larger. Over 5,000 people regularly attend Sunday services, and another 25,000 download Keller's sermons each week. A recent profile in New York magazine described his typical sermon as 'a mix of biblical scholarship, pop culture, and whatever might have caught his eye in The New York Review of Books or on Salon.com that week.' In short, Timothy Keller speaks a language that many thousands of people understand. In GENEROUS JUSTICE, he offers them a new understanding of modern justice and human rights.
Billy Fidget is a feckless, foul-mouthed, forty-something, father of three who spends his life selling fast cars and seducing even faster women. When he is caught in the back of an Aston Martin DB7 with the wife of a gangster, he finds himself in very hot water indeed.With his life disappearing down the plughole faster than a bullet from a Glock 9mm, he remembers that once, long ago, he sang in his local church choir. In dire straits and out of sheer desperation, hard man Billy Fidget finds himself writing a letter - to God.In this fast moving, funny and yet wittily poignant book we see the harsh reality of what happens when the stuff hits the fan. On the surface Billy is successful - on the inside he harbours dark, dirty secrets. Will he succeed in conquering his demons or will he be consumed by his venal appetite for destruction?God only knows ... or does he?
He came from the wrong social class, the wrong place and the wrong profession. He ate with the wrong people, championed the wrong causes and attracted the wrong kind of supporters. He even spoke with the wrong accent. In fact everything about Jesus of Nazareth was wrong. How could this odd-job man be God's Messiah?To the authorities he was a dangerous rebel; to the pious he was scandalously unorthodox. Even his family thought he was mad. But somehow this builder from 'up north' - this outrageous, unorthodox, rebellious teacher and miracle worker - changed the world.In this illuminating new biography, Nick Page strips away centuries of misrepresentation and myth to reveal the real personality portrayed in the gospels. Drawing on a wealth of historical and archaeological research, the result is a startling and vivid new portrait of Yeshua ben Yosef - Jesus of Nazareth.Challenging and thought-provoking, THE WRONG MESSIAH will change the way you view Jesus: the man who in so many ways seemed utterly wrong, but who history has proved triumphantly to be right.
In our busy lives we often sideline prayer and spiritual practice, or wrap the subject up in a tangle of guilt-driven showmanship and 'self-motivation'. Stripping away the jargon that we can often get caught up in, NAKED SPIRITUALITY presents the core concepts of prayer in a fresh and accessible way. Brian D. McLaren has spent years working with these concepts in his own life and shares candidly his own experiences and insights as well as challenge in this very applicable book. Using twelve words as a structure, he shows how we can connect with God in practical, doable and durable ways, and use that connection to serve others.
Are you a woman getting on with shaping your surroundings - in the office, at church, in your local community? Do you ever feel unsupported and unequipped? Do you sometimes doubt your calling? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, INFLUENTIAL is for you. In it Jo Saxton unpacks biblical principles on leadership, interviews women who lead in different situations and contexts, asks the deepest, most difficult questions, and gives all sorts of practical ideas for how to be a woman of influence - wherever you are.
Too often these days Christianity is seen as just part of our cultural background, rather than a living, breathing faith that sets out to challenge the norms we live by. Here R. T. Kendall brings the scandalous nature of Christianity back to the forefront of our faith, arguing not just that an unscandalous Christianity isn't good for much, but that Christians must welcome that scandal if they are to know God's blessings to the full. R.T. argues that as Christians we must not try to simply fit in alongside our neighbours, but should be willing to stand out - even when that's hard to do. He makes clear that we shouldn't seek out difficulties, but equally shouldn't be shy of standing up for our beliefs, wherever that may take us.
Unpredictable yet reliable, gentle yet powerful, authoritative yet humble, human yet divine.' At a time when interest in Jesus has never been higher, respected pastor and bestselling author Tim Keller takes a deep and thought-provoking look at the life of Christ. Drawing from Mark's gospel, he explains how Jesus' identity as king and his purpose in dying on the cross have meaning and significance on a cosmic scale as well as for the individual. THE REASON FOR GOD gave a passionate and intellectually compelling case for God, while THE PRODIGAL GOD explored the gospel's central message of grace. Now KING'S CROSS gives a captivating account of the person at the heart of it all: Jesus. Written in Keller's trademark authoritative yet inviting style, this book will unlock new insights for believers and unbelievers alike.
COMING TO TELEVISION THIS CHRISTMAS FROM SKY1In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in magic release form B1-7g.Then the magic started fading away.Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for soothsayers and sorcerers. But work is drying up. Drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and even magic carpets are reduced to pizza delivery.So it's a surprise when the visions start. Not only do they predict the death of the Last Dragon at the hands of a dragonslayer, they also point to Jennifer, and say something is coming. Big Magic . . .
NUMBER OF ACCIDENTAL DEATHS PER YEAR By suffocation: 3,300 By poisoning: 8,600 STAGED BY PROFESSIONALS: You have no idea. Ex-cop Charlie Hardie's latest job is guarding an isolated mansion in LA's Hollywood Hills. But it comes with an unwanted guest - a D-list actress who says she's being hunted by professional hitmen. Charlie thinks she's just high and paranoid. But he's wrong. The killers are real. They've tracked her to the house. And they're not letting anyone out alive.
Arlen Wagner has seen it in men before - a trace of smoke in their eyes that promises imminent death. He is never wrong. When Arlen and his young companion Paul Brickhill are stranded at the Cypress House with a hurricane approaching, Paul won't abandon the boarding house's enigmatic mistress Rebecca to face the storm alone. But Arlen's gift warns him that if they stay too long, they may never leave.
There is a lighthouse in Blade Ridge, Kentucky. Hundreds of miles from the sea, it illuminates nothing but the desolate, wooded hills around it. For many years the lighthouse has been a source of amusement - until its eccentric builder is found dead and his belongings reveal a bizarre and macabre local history. When her husband died, Audrey Clark swore to carry on his work of building a big-cat rescue centre. Now she is ready to move sixty-seven lions, tigers and other species into a shelter next to the lighthouse - despite some troubling developments near her new home. For deputy sheriff Kevin Kimble, a man on the brink of a very dangerous relationship, the odd beacon seems to contain disturbing proof that a long-held secret was somehow known to others. Events convince Kimble that his secret is connected to the ridge, and that a terrifying evil might be on the other side of the divide between dark and light.
An unsettling, darkly humorous tale of teenage girls in a predatory adult world, and a cocktail of lies, jealousy and unworldliness that leads to tragedy.
With bullets flying, wounded soldiers scream out in pain as the Chinook comes in to land in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan. At the machine's controls is one man and if he doesn't stay calm then everyone could die. That man is Flt Lt Alex 'Frenchie' Duncan DFC and he's been involved in some of the most daring and dangerous missions undertaken by the Chinook force in Afghanistan. In this book he recounts his experiences of life under fire in the dust, heat and bullets of an active war zone. At 99ft long, the Chinook is a big and valuable target to the Taliban, who will stop at nothing to bring one down. And yet Frenchie and his crew risk everything because they know that the troops on the front line are relying on them. Sweating the Metal is the true story of the raw determination and courage of men on the front line - and it's time for their story to be told.
'It's a funny thing about holidays in the country, but after only a few days away you feel as if you've been out of circulation for a month' Marcus Corvinus' break in the Alban Hills is interrupted by the sudden and messy death of a candidate for the local censorship post. Can Corvinus find his murderer before the Latin Festival raises its stakes? How do the Latin Nationalists fit into the picture? And what exactly is Meton the chef up to in the kitchen with Dassa the sheep? Corvinus doesn't know the answers either.
Forced from her father's humble Norfolk vicarage, Ellen Gowan finds herself in an unforgiving London. At fifteen she falls for Raoul de Valentin, the dangerous descendant of French aristocrats. Raoul marries Ellen for her brilliance as a designer but abandons his wife when she becomes pregnant. Determined that she and her daughter will survive, Ellen begins her long climb to success. Toiling first in an east-end factory, she finally opens her own salon in Berkeley Square. One single dress, a ball gown created for the enigmatic Countess of Hawksmoor, transforms Ellen's fortunes, and as the years pass, her business thrives. She tells the world - and her daughter - she's a widow. But then Raoul de Valentin returns and threatens to destroy all that Ellen has achieved.
The eighth book in the bestselling Dan 'Spider' Shepherd series. Kidnapping is one of the cruellest crimes - lives are put at risk for cold, hard cash. But when Somali pirates seize the crew of a yacht off the coast of Africa, they bite off more than they can chew.One of the hostages has friends in high places and Spider Shepherd is put on the case. He goes deep undercover in an audacious plan to bring an end to the pirate gang's reign of terror.But as Shepherd closes in on his quarry he realises that there's much more at stake than the lives of the hostages and that the pirates are involved in a terrorist plot that will strike at the heart of London.
High summer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.Two young soldiers, Milo and Zac, are on a mission which could really make their names. Their special duties team is to ambush and capture a notorious Taliban leader.The operation has been meticulously planned and set up. But suddenly - all is chaos.The hunters are now the hunted. To reach safety they must make their way through fifty kilometres of hostile territory, with a Taliban captive and a young, frightened woman in tow. Perilous at every turn, the journey is the biggest test any of them has ever faced, and it will change their lives forever.
Depressed by her expanding waistline, Kate Adams set out to lose weight - and keep it off for good. Six months later and over two stone lighter she decided to share her experiences and set up the Flat Tummy Club. Now you too can become a member by following the foolproof Flat Tummy Club Diet:1. Do the Flat Tummy Inquisition to work out where exactly your spare tyre comes from.2. Beat the bloat and shed up to 7lbs in a week with the 7-day Jump Start.3. Swap in the Top 20 Flat Tummy Foods to keep you on the straight and narrow-waisted.4. Keep your flat tummy forever with tips to help you maintain your willpower when stress, holidays and work start getting in the way.
'When you choose the action love sponsors, then will you do more than survive, then will you do more than win, then will you do more than succeed. Then will you experience the fully glory of Who You Really Are, and who you can be.''Judge not, and neither condemn, for you know not why a thing occurs, nor to what end.'These are just some of the messages contained in Conversations With God which its many readers will welcome in the form of these daily meditations. A phenomenon in the United States, having spent over 40 weeks in the best-seller lists, the book's success is now being repeated around the world.
'Fabulous' Observer
'Achingly stylish' Guardian
'Irresistible' Daily Telegraph
'Gripping' The Sunday Times
In a jazz bar on the last night of 1937,
watching a quartet because she couldn't afford to see the whole ensemble,
there were certain things Katey Kontent knew: the location of every old church in Manhattan
how to sneak into the cinema
how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year
and that if you can still lose yourself in a Dickens novel then everything is going to be fine.By the end of the year she'd learned:how to live like a redhead
and insist upon the very best;
that riches can turn to rags in the trip of a heartbeat,
chance encounters can be fated, and the word 'yes' can be a poison.That's how quickly New York City comes about, like a weathervane, or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.
'A delicious and memorable novel that will leave you wistful - and desperate for a martini.' Stylist'Elegance and hardship drip off the page' Daily Mail
