The Second Cut

THE TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE 'Superb' The Times Crime Book of the Month 'A hardboiled gem' Guardian 'I doubt I'll read a better book this year' Val McDermid Auctioneer Rilke has been trying to stay out of trouble, keeping his life more or less respectable. Business has been slow at Bowery Auctions, so when an old friend, Jojo, gives Rilke a tip-off for a house clearance, life seems to be looking up. The next day Jojo washes up dead. Jojo liked Grindr hook-ups and recreational drugs – is that the reason the police won’t investigate? And if Rilke doesn’t find out what happened to Jojo, who will?

'Unputdownable' Sunday Times 'I was hooked from page one' Guardian When Rilke, a dissolute auctioneer, comes upon a hidden collection of violent and highly disturbing photographs, he feels compelled to discover more about the deceased owner who coveted them. Soon he finds himself sucked into an underworld of crime, depravity and secret desire, fighting for his life.

Originally published: Honesdale, Pa.: Front Street, 2000.

Marvel's most mentally misaligned misanthrope, Deadpool, returns in a gloriously raw, uncensored shoot-'em-up romp across America with his good buddy Hydra Bob, a boatload of explosives, enough military-grade weaponry to sink your battleship and a cocktail of mood-altering pharmaceuticals. When Bob is framed for a terrorist act on American soil and hunted by the U.S. government, he and his best friend Deadpool go on the run in a heartfelt, soul-searching journey full of sex, drugs and unnecessary excessive violence! Familiar friends and foes including Taskmaster, Cable, Agent X, Weasel and Blind Al join the bosom buddies on their sanity-smashing adventure as Deadpool helps his pal Bob try to clear his not-so-good name. Plus: Christmastime is here again, and Hydra Bob and Deadpool have a gift you'll never forget! COLLECTING: Deadpool Max 2 1-6, Deadpool Max X-Mas Special

Frannie Thorstin is a divorced English professor, living in a two room New York apartment. She spends much of her time alone, working on a book about dialects and idiomatic language. One evening at a bar, Frannie stumbles upon a man and a woman engaged in a sexual act. A week later a detective shows up at her door. The woman’s body has been discovered in the park across the street. What follows is a chilling tale of lust and murder as Frannie finds herself drawn to the detective. In the Cut is a masterpiece of literary suspense and sexual exploration.

In this riveting New York Times bestselling novel from the “master of the legal thriller” (Chicago Sun-Times) John Lescroart, defense attorney Dismas Hardy tackles his most personal and complex case yet—defending his brother-in-law against murder charges. When Moses McGuire becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his own daughter’s rapist, attorney Dismas Hardy—Moses’s brother-in-law—agrees to defend him. But McGuire has fallen off the wagon, and his stay in prison could bring to light old secrets that would destroy Hardy and his closest colleagues’ careers. As the overwhelming evidence against McGuire piles up, Hardy focuses on planting doubt in the minds of the jurors—until, in a feat of legal ingenuity that is staggering in both its implications and its simplicity, he sees a new way forward that might just save them all. But at what price?

"Tens of thousands of worried parents have turned to this authoritative guide for the facts about the growing problem of teen self-injury--and what they can do to make it stop. Michael Hollander is a leading expert on the most effective treatment approach for cutting, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Vivid stories illustrate how out-of-control emotions lead some teens to hurt themselves, how DBT can help, and what other approaches can be beneficial. Parents get practical strategies for talking to teens about self-injury without making it worse, teaching them specific skills to cope with extreme emotions in a healthier way, finding the right therapist, and managing family stress. Incorporating the latest research, the revised edition offers a deeper understanding of the causes of self-injury and includes new DBT skills"--

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick 'Strikingly original and definitively Brookmyre - there's nothing he can't do' Mick Herron 'I recommend The Cut SO HIGHLY! A fast-paced thriller, lovely characters, [and] it kept me guessing' Marian Keyes The supremely entertaining, moving, and unpredictable new thriller from multi-award-winning bestseller Chris Brookmyre is a wholly original masterpiece and the best crime novel of 2021. Millie Spark can kill anyone. A special effects make-up artist, her talent is to create realistic scenes of bloody violence. Then, one day, she wakes to find her lover dead in her bed. Twenty-five years later, her sentence for murder served, Millicent is ready to give up on her broken life - until she meets troubled film student and reluctant petty thief Jerry. Together, they begin to discover that all was not what it seemed on that fateful night . . . and someone doesn't want them to find out why. 'A twisty spiralling rabbit hole of a book that draws you deeper with every chapter. Brilliantly original, compulsively readable, right to the final page' Ruth Ware 'Dark, heartfelt, stylish and thrilling, The Cut is the kind of wonderfully original tale I just adore. Chris Brookmyre is a storytelling mastermind' Chris Whitaker 'This is a special novel. A brilliant, original, up-to-the-minute tale with all of the dark, edgy, humorous brilliance we've come to expect from one of the finest crime fiction writers in the world. The Cut is simply superb' Abir Mukherjee

Hired by a woman who believes that the shooting of her Atlanta businessman friend was planned by his nephew, defense lawyer Derek Mitchell comes to realize that the nephew is a psychotic movie buff who enjoys acting out favorite violent film plots.

Cheesecake, beefcake, and a pair of dueling caterers whet someone's appetite for murder in this sinfully delicous novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Sticks & Scones Caterer Goldy Schulz is convinced things couldn't get worse. An unscrupulous rival is driving her out of business. An incompetent contractor has left her precious kitchen in shambles. And she has just agreed to cater a fashion shoot at a nineteenth-century mountain cabin with her mentor and old friend, French chef André Hibbard. Together Goldy and André struggle in a hopelessly outdated kitchen to cater to a vacuous crowd of beautiful people whose personal dramas climax when a camera is pitched through a window . . . into the buffet. Then Goldy's contractor is found hanging in the house of one of her best friends. A second murder follows and Goldy must somehow solve a mystery and prepare for a society soirée that could make—or break—her career. It's a mystery that involves the dead contractor's unwholesome past, a food saboteur, the theft of four historical cookbooks, and an overzealous D.A. who has suspended Goldy's detective husband, Tom, from the force. What Goldy discovers is the perfect recipe for murder. And she may be dessert!