The Apothecary, Maile MeloyA dose of magic could save the world . . . Fourteen year old Janie Scott is new to London and she's finding it dull, dreary and cold until she meets Benjamin Burrows who dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin's father, the mysterious apothecary, is kidnapped he entrusts Janie and Benjamin with his sacred book, full of ancient spells and magical potions. Now the two new friends must uncover the book's secrets in order to find him, all while keeping it

And why are disinformation campaigns so effective

Named one of the best books of 2017 by NPR and the New York Public Library

'A well-written treat' Professor David Spiegelhalter

tumbledown third-tier towns and gilded megacities

with chaste Miriam and the provocative Clara

but now he mainly reads detective novels while his family slide into genteel poverty

Crackling with the intellectual sensitivity of Elif Batuman and the sinewy absurdism of Thomas Pynchon

In I Ching

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red

It is only when he becomes a Hollywood actor in later life that what he has experienced in the past comes into telling play in his present

This beguiling and hilarious novel by Adam Foundation Prize winner Rebecca K Reilly owes as much to Shakespeare as it does to Tinder

Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional