November Book Competition 2015

Bazaar of Bad Dreams
Stephen King

Published by Hachette New Zealand, 03 November 2015 TPB $34.99

‘I made them especially for you’, says King. ‘Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.’
A thrilling collection of twenty stories – some brand new, some published in magazines – with a wonderful bonus: in addition to his introduction to the whole collection, King gives readers a fascinating introduction to each story with autobiographical comments on their origins and motivation. King describes the nature of the short story in his introduction to the book: ‘There’s something to be said for a shorter, more intense experience. It can be invigorating, sometimes even shocking, like…a beautiful curio for sale laid out on a cheap blanket at a street bazaar.’

In The Bazaar of Bad Dreams there is a curio for every reader – a man who keeps reliving the same life, repeating the same mistakes over and over again, a columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries, a poignant tale about the end of the human race and a firework competition between neighbours which reaches an explosive climax. There are also intriguing connections between the stories; themes of morality, guilt, the afterlife and what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past. Effervescent yet poignant, juxtaposing the everyday against the unexpected.

About The Author: Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Doctor Sleep, Revival and Mr Mercedes, winner of the prestigious Edgar Award for best novel. Many of his books have been turned into successful films or TV series including Under the Dome, The Shawshank Redemption, Carrie and Misery. King lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Even Dogs in the Wild
Ian Rankin

Published by Hachette New Zealand, 03 November 2015 TPB $37.99

Even Dogs in the Wild brings back Ian Rankin’s greatest characters in a story exploring the darkest corners of our instincts and desires.

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke is investigating the death of a senior lawyer during a robbery. But the case becomes more complex when a note is discovered, indicating that this may have been no random attack, and when local gangster Big Ger Cafferty receives an identical message, Clarke decides that the recently retired John Rebus may be able to help. He’s the only man Cafferty will open up to, and together the two old adversaries might just stand a chance of saving Cafferty’s skin.
But a notorious family has arrived in Edinburgh, too, tailed by a team of undercover detectives. There’s something they want, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. DI Malcolm Fox’s job is to provide the undercover squad with local expertise, but he’s soon drawn in too deep as the two cases look like colliding. And meantime, an anonymous killer stalks the night time streets, focussed on revenge. It’s a game of dog eat dog – in the city as in the wild.

About The Author: Ian Rankin’s first Rebus novel was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into thirty-six languages and are bestsellers worldwide. He has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards including the prestigious Diamond Dagger in 2005. In 2004, Ian won America’s celebrated Edgar Award for Resurrection Men. He has also been shortlisted for the Anthony Award in the USA, won Denmark’s Palle Rosenkrantz Prize, the French Grand Prix du Roman Noir and the Deutscher Krimipreis. A contributor to BBC2’s Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin’s Evil Thoughts. Rankin is a number one bestseller in the UK and has received the OBE for services to literature.

Trust
Mike Bullen

Published by Hachette New Zealand, 10 November 2015 TPB $34.99

The debut novel from the BAFTA-winning writer of TV’s Cold Feet: a laugh-out-loud tale of romance, sex and morality for anyone who’s ever fallen in – or out of – love.

‘Trust wasn’t something you could have in degrees; it was all or nothing.’

Greg and Amanda are happy. They’ve been together thirteen years and have two young daughters. They’re very much in love.

Dan and Sarah aren’t so fortunate. Their marriage is going through the motions and they’re just staying together for the sake of their son.

When one bad decision sends a happy couple into turmoil and turns an unhappy couple into love’s young dream, there’s only one thing that can keep everything from falling apart: trust.

About The Author: Mike Bullen is best known as the creator/writer of the BAFTA award-winning series Cold Feet, about adults trying to be grown up, much of which was autobiographical. His other TV shows include Life Begins and Sunburn. In a previous life Mike was a radio producer/presenter. He conceived his BBC World Service documentary series Stormclouds Over The Himalayas as a way to be paid to go travelling; it won a Sony Gold Award. He lives in Sydney, Australia. Trust is his first novel.

Stars of Fortune
Nora Roberts

Published by Hachette New Zealand, 03 November 2015 TPB $37.99

A brand-new romantic trilogy begins.

Sasha Riggs is a reclusive artist, haunted by vivid dreams and nightmares that she turns into extraordinary paintings. Desperate to understand her visions, she finds herself drawn to the Greek island of Corfu. She has only just arrived when she encounters Bran Killian, an Irish magician with a warm charisma and secrets dancing in his eyes. Sasha has never met Bran before, but she knows him only too well – because this is the man from her dreams. The man she has painted over and over again. The man she seems fated to be with… if she can find the courage to accept who she really is.

Sasha soon discovers that four other strangers have been lured to the island. Like Bran, they are all desperately searching for a mysterious jewel known as the fire star – before it falls into the wrong hands. Together, they might just succeed. But first they must learn to trust one another, and reveal their deepest secrets. On the sun-drenched island of Corfu, love and magic are sparked into life. And for Sasha, nothing will ever be the same again.

About The Author: Nora Roberts is the number one New York Times bestseller of more than 200 novels. With over 450 million copies of her books in print, she is indisputably one of the most celebrated and popular writers in the world. She has achieved numerous top five bestsellers in the UK, including recent number ones for The Witness and The Perfect Hope and is a Sunday Times hardback bestseller writing as both Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb.

The Competition is now Closed.