It was still light so I decided to venture out into the garden. I had never walked out of an argument before, and certainly not one at such an early stage. I think we were both quite pig headed, and my pride had taken an instant punch to the kidney. I didn't expect Rachel to follow me outside, and I certainly didn't want her to. I had slighted her suggestion, and she had taken it badly. I knew I should have stayed, talked it through and made her see my side of things. I should have told her that I would do this film, and if the future didn't work out as I hoped then I would consider her proposal. Hell, as an accountant she would set the business up for me and keep all the books. All I would have to do was do up shitty old houses. Most of it was all cosmetic anyway, a lick of paint here, a new carpet there, a few light fittings and stuff. All done on the cheap, supermarket goods made to look expensive. People would pay more for the houses giving me more profit. Once they moved in they could take all my crappy fittings out if they wanted to, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. I had the skill for it, and that was one of the most important factors in her proposal. The one thing I didn't have just now was the will to do it, and that made one bitch of a difference. I walked down the path at the front of the house. I marvelled at my own work as I passed by, the grass was neatly cut, and was growing in neat strips, making it look like a professionally cut soccer pitch or tennis court. The gravel driveway was well laid and even. There were a couple of stone sculptures at either end of the drive. In fact they weren't stone at all, but a kind of outdoor material made to look like stone. They were weighted down with sand and looked pretty authentic. I figured that if my movie was a success and I got other roles soon I would invest in some real stone ones. I wandered right down to the end of the drive, where our land meets the main road. When I say main road, I don't mean a major carriageway, it was actually a B-road which led towards the M1. There wasn't a lot of traffic around at the best of times, although tonight was unusually silent. I couldn't even hear the usual dull and distant roar of the traffic from the motorway as a thousand souls passed in the near vicinity of my life. Tonight there seemed to be nobody about, not even in the distance. It was just the night for a perfect murder. Why that thought entered my head I was unsure, it just suddenly popped in there and refused to budge. It was disturbing that I should have such an idea so easy, but there it was. I could kill Rachel, and then there would be no reason why I couldn't do whatever I wanted. I could act forever, I could paint houses forever, whatever the fuck I wanted to do. With her out of the way there would be nothing to stop me except my own ambition. I couldn't quite believe I was having these thoughts. I know that everyone is prone to the occasional lapse in normal behaviour, but it usually passes in a moment or two. It also leads to intense remorse that the thought ever occurred. Not in this case though. The thought of digging a grave right here and now, and luring Rachel here, throwing her into the newly dug hole and covering it with earth. She would scream for a while, but there would be nobody to hear her. I would keep filling the hole with earth, and then the screaming would stop. She would be gone forever. I would report her missing, and she would never be found. I would be looked at with sympathy, and my career would skyrocket because of it. I would be the hero who came back from the brink to relaunch a successful acting career. I would marry a supermodel, but not before a string of torrid but highly sexually charged relationships had taken place. I had a peculiar sensation of déjà vu, as if this wasn't exactly a new thought, or indeed a new experience for me. I did

Jinda Maige waited sixteen years for Jackson to come of age so she could discover if he possesses the gifts of his father. Pressed for time, before she fully knows if Jackson can control the bones, Jinda sends him on a dangerous quest to retrieve the artifacts. The bones will not come easily, nor will their holders relinquish them without a fight. The Bone of Evil has found a friend in Emperor Mal, leader of Tarkan, by promising Mal the one thing he still covets. The Bone of Light has found an unlikely vessel to turn an entire village into a den of insanity, and The Bone of Fortune can only be gotten by fulfulling a most unusual wish. Along the way, Jinda and Jackson recruit a beast that spouts philosophy, a daydreaming serving wench, a dragon with a ghastly diet, a soulful commander in the Tarkan army, and others to help them recover the bones. Although the price to bring the bones together is gruesome (just ask Jinda and her one foot), that is when the real adventure begins.

A spooky and adventurous debut illustrated fantasy novel about a girl made of dust and bone and imagination who seeks the truth about the magic that brought her to life. Featuring illustrations by Matt Saunders! "This magical story—and the brave girl in its pages—will haunt you in the best way." —Natalie Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author of Over the Moon “Remember, my dear, you do not really and truly exist.” Irréelle fears she’s not quite real. Only the finest magical thread tethers her to life—and to Miss Vesper. But for all her efforts to please her cruel creator, the thread is unraveling. Irréelle is forgetful as she gathers bone dust. She is slow returning from the dark passages beneath the cemetery. Worst of all, she is unmindful of her crooked bones. When Irréelle makes one final, unforgivable mistake by destroying a frightful creature just brought to life, Miss Vesper threatens to imagine her away once and for all. Defying her creator for the very first time, Irréelle flees to the underside of the graveyard and embarks on an adventure to unearth the mysterious magic that breathes bones to life, even if it means she will return to dust and be no more. With echoes of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, debut author Heather Kassner's The Bone Garden is a gorgeously written story--illustrated by Matt Saunders--humming with magic, mystery, and dark imaginings. Perfect for fans of Holly Black, Jonathan Auxier, and Katherine Arden. Praise for The Bone Garden "A gorgeously creepy tale with a timeless feel. With her vulnerability and courage, Irréelle is a heroine you can't help but love." —Elly Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Nightblood "[Evokes] the dreamy tone and themes of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and The Graveyard Book . . . an impressive new fairy tale that will appeal to fans of Lisa Graff’s subtly magical stories." —Booklist "The pages of this book are filled with imagination incarnate—in the form of a haunting heroine made from dust, bone, and a heart of gold. A deliciously dark, unique tale!" —MarcyKate Connolly, author of Shadow Weaver.

When Hugh is given a new cupboard, little does he know the secret it holds or how it will affect him and all his friends. Because the cupboard changes things - sometimes dangerously - and if it has the power to change a wallet into a pig, imagine what it can turn Hugh's friend Penn into! . . . And then there are Hugh's dreams; or are they really dreams?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The seventh book in Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander saga, the basis for the Starz original series. “All you’ve come to expect from Gabaldon . . . adventure, history, romance, fantasy.”—The Arizona Republic Jamie Fraser, former Jacobite and reluctant rebel, is already certain of three things about the American rebellion: The Americans will win, fighting on the side of victory is no guarantee of survival, and he’d rather die than have to face his illegitimate son—a young lieutenant in the British army—across the barrel of a gun. Claire Randall knows that the Americans will win, too, but not what the ultimate price may be. That price won’t include Jamie’s life or his happiness, though—not if she has anything to say about it. Meanwhile, in the relative safety of the twentieth century, Jamie and Claire’s daughter, Brianna, and her husband, Roger MacKenzie, have resettled in a historic Scottish home where, across a chasm of two centuries, the unfolding drama of Brianna’s parents’ story comes to life through Claire’s letters. The fragile pages reveal Claire’s love for battle-scarred Jamie Fraser and their flight from North Carolina to the high seas, where they encounter privateers and ocean battles—as Brianna and Roger search for clues not only to Claire’s fate but to their own. Because the future of the MacKenzie family in the Highlands is mysteriously, irrevocably, and intimately entwined with life and death in war-torn colonial America.

"A whole lot of swashbuckling awesomeness. A definite winner!" —John Gwynne, author of The Shadow of the Gods A brilliantly imagined epic fantasy of honor, glory, and warfare, Call of the Bone Ships is the action-packed sequel to RJ Barker's The Bone Ships. Dragons have returned to the Hundred Isles. But their return heralds only war and destruction. When a horde of dying slaves are discovered in the bowels of a ship, Shipwife Meas and the crew of the Tide Child find themselves drawn into a vicious plot that will leave them questioning their loyalties and fighting for their lives. Praise for The Tide Child Trilogy: "Brilliant" —Robin Hobb, New York Times bestselling author "The Bone Ships is excellent. Aside from the standout writing, it's one of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I've seen in years." —Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author The Tide Child Trilogy The Bone Ships Call of the Bone Ships The Bone Ship's Wake For more from RJ Barker, check out: The Wounded Kingdom Age of Assassins Blood of Assassins King of Assassins

A lively account of the role of the forensic anthropologist in the Office of the Medical Investigator--recovering bodies, establishing identities, and solving the puzzles of death.