David Baldacci
Stone Cold

'I can't believe you haven't heard: 'Heard what?' 'Somebody blew up Carter Grey's house lost night, with him in it....' Oliver Stone and the Camel Club are back for their most dangerous adventure yet. Casino king and vicious thug Jerry Bagger is hunting Annabelle Conroy, who conned him out of millions. Stone and his colleagues must marshal all their resources to protect her. Yet their skills may not be enough when a deadly new opponent rips off the veneer of Stone's own mysterious past: Bagger's menace pales next to Harry Finn's lethality. As bodies and institutions topple, the story rockets toward a shattering finale that will leave the survivors of this explosive tale changed forever.

Suzanna Clarke
A House in Fez

When Suzanna C1arke and her husband bought a dilapidated house in the Moroccan town of Fez, their friends thought they were mad. Located in a maze of donkey-trodden alleyways, the house ­a traditional riad - was beautiful but in desperate need of repair. Walls were in danger of collapse, the plumbing non-existent. While neither Suzanna nor her husband spoke Arabic, and had only a smattering of French, they were determined to restore the building to its original splendour, using only traditional craftsmen and handmade materials. But they soon found that trying to do business in Fez was like being transported back several centuries in time, and so began the remarkable experience that veered between frustration and hilarity.

Marcus Didius Fako and his laddish friend Petronius find their local fountain has been blocked - by a gruesomely severed human hand. Soon other body parts are being found in the aqueducts and sewers. Public panic overcomes official indifference, and the Aventine partners are commissioned to investigate. Women are being abducted during festivals, and the next Games are only days away. As the heat rises in the Circus Maximus, they face a race against time and a strong test of their friendship. And they know that the sadistic killer lurks somewhere on the festive streets of Rome - preparing to strike again.