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    Hellfire

    Ed Macy

    He launched the weapon that changed a war.May 2006. Ed Macy arrives in Afghanistan along with the Apache AH Mk 1 on its first operational tour. It's an unfamiliar combat zone with a limited role for the Apache and Ed's time is spent escorting Chinooks. But one month later, during Operation Mutay, with 3 Para pinned down in Helmand, the arguments about the Apache's potential are thrown out and Ed deploys the first ever Hellfire missile in combat.That squeeze of the trigger changed the war for the British and the Taliban alike. The £4.2bn Apache programme was dramatically redirected to fighting the enemy head-on and turned Ed and his squadron into one of the British Army's greatest assets.Ed recounts the intense months that followed Mutay: the steep learning curve, the new missions, the evolving enemy and the changing Rules of Engagement. He also sheds light on his early career as a young paratrooper, his operational baptism as a pilot and how both shaped his ability to fly, fight and survive during that fateful first Afghanistan tour against a cunning and ruthless enemy.It was here, in the dusty wastes of Helmand that Ed, his colleagues and the Apache found themselves on trial for their lives and for the reputation of a machine on which the British government had staked a fortune. The crucible of fire that awaited them in Helmand would cement the fate of man and machine forever.

    King of the North Wind

    Claudia Gold

    Henry II conquered the largest empire of any English medieval king. Yet it is the people around him we remember: his wife Eleanor, whom he seduced from the French king; his son Richard the Lionheart; Thomas Becket, murdered in his cathedral. Who was this great, yet tragic king? For fans of Dan Jones, George RR Martin and Bernard Cornwell.The only thing that could have stopped Henry was himself.Henry II had all the gifts of the gods. He was charismatic, clever, learned, empathetic, a brilliant tactician, with great physical strength and an astonishing self-belief. Henry was the creator of the Plantagenet dynasty of kings, who ruled through eight generations in command of vast lands in Britain and Europe. Virtually unbeaten in battle, and engaged in a ceaseless round of conquest and diplomacy, Henry forged an empire that matched Charlemagne’s.It was not just on the battlefield that Henry excelled; he presided over a blossoming of culture and learning termed ‘the twelfth century Renaissance’, pursued the tenets of reason over religious faith, and did more to advance the cause of justice and enforce the rule of law than any other English monarch before or since. Contemporaries lauded his greatness and described him as their ‘Alexander of the West’.And yet it is the people around him who are remembered: his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he seduced away from the French king; his sons Richard the Lionheart and John; Thomas Becket, murdered in his cathedral. Henry – so famed during his lifetime – has slipped into the shadows of history. King of the North Wind offers a fresh evaluation of this great yet tragic ruler.Written as a historical tragedy, it tells how this most talented of kings came into conflict with those closest to him, to become the most haunted.

    Elephants Can Remember

    Agatha Christie

    Hercule Poirot is determined to solve an old husband and wife double murder that is still an open verdict…Hercule Poirot stood on the cliff-top. Here, many years earlier, there had been a tragic accident. This was followed by the grisly discovery of two more bodies – a husband and wife – shot dead.But who had killed whom? Was it a suicide pact? A crime of passion? Or cold-blooded murder? Poirot delves back into the past and discovers that ‘old sin leave long shadows’.

    Warsaw 1920

    Adam Zamoyski

    The dramatic and little-known story of how, in the summer of 1920, Lenin came within a hair's breadth of shattering the painstakingly constructed Versailles peace settlement and spreading Bolshevism to western Europe.In 1920 the new Soviet state was a mess, following a brutal civil war, and the best way of ensuring its survival appeared to be to export the revolution to Germany, itself economically ruined by defeat in World War I and racked by internal political dissension.Between Russia and Germany lay Poland, a nation that had only just recovered its independence after more than a century of foreign oppression. But it was economically and militarily weak and its misguided offensive to liberate the Ukraine in the spring of 1920 laid it open to attack. Egged on by Trotsky, Lenin launched a massive westward advance under the flamboyant Marshal Tukhachevsky.All that Great Britain and France had fought for over four years now seemed at risk. By the middle of August the Russians were only a few kilometres from Warsaw, and Berlin was less than a week's march away. Then occurred the 'Miracle of the Vistula': the Polish army led by Jozef Pilsudski regrouped and achieved one of the most decisive victories in military history.As a result, the Versailles peace settlement survived, and Lenin was forced to settle for Communism in one country. The battle for Warsaw bought Europe nearly two decades of peace, and communism remained a mainly Russian phenomenon, subsuming many of the autocratic and Byzantine characteristics of Russia's tsarist tradition.

    Dumb Witness

    Agatha Christie

    An elderly spinster has been poisoned in her country home…Everyone blamed Emily’s accident on a rubber ball left on the stairs by her frisky terrier. But the more she thought about her fall, the more convinced she became that one of her relatives was trying to kill her.On April 17th she wrote her suspicions in a letter to Hercule Poirot. Mysteriously he didn’t receive the letter until June 28th… by which time Emily was already dead…

    Please, Daddy, No

    Stuart Howarth

    Stuart just wanted his father to love him, but he was made to believe he was too naughty to be loved. Finally David Howarth was sent to prison for abusing Stuart's young sisters. Nobody knew the truth about Stuart's abuse until one fateful day when his father tried it again and Stuart fought back in the only way he knew how.Stuart Howarth spent the first thirty years of his life in mental and physical hell. After years of emotional torment and despair, at the age of 32 Stuart felt an overwhelming urge to see his father (who he now knows was actually his stepfather), then living in Wales. Seeking reconciliation, Stuart was only to be met by the same old abusive man. The rage, pain and confusion boiled over in Stuart and he fought back, killing his stepfather.When Stuart's story came to light in the courtroom, it was so terrible that he received the minimum possible sentence for his crime and only served thirteen months in Strangeways prison in Manchester. But while in prison, the cruel system compounded the crimes of his evil abuser, and he suffered at the hands of the prison guards. What happened to him during those months led to him suing the Home Office and Strangeways on his release and winning his case.This is the story of a sweet-natured boy who grew into a brave young man and refused to allow himself to be a victim any longer.

    The Maverick Fakes A Bride!

    Christine Rimmer

    Do You Take This (Faux) Fiancée?All the single ladies in Rust Creek Falls know Travis Dalton. And they all know the sexy, rascally rancher is not the marrying kind. So how is it that our town's most notorious bachelor has wound up engaged on a Western reality TV show?We here at the Gazette are pleased The Great Roundup has chosen our hometown heartbreaker as a contestant. And we are definitely rooting for Travis's unexpected union with childhood friend Brenna O'Reilly, the one girl we believe can keep this cowboy on his toes. But is it true this betrothal is strictly a fabrication for the cameras? Pass the popcorn, dear readers. We suspect this made-for-TV romance could be headed straight for a Hollywood happy ending!

    The Regency Season: Shameful Secrets

    Louise Allen

    Never kiss and tell…From Ruin to RichesCertain he is close to death, William Hadfield, Lord Dereham needs a wife and Julia Prior is ruined and on the run. Accepting his shocking proposal, Julia finds life as Lady Hadfield a way to put her past sins behind her… Until three years later, when the husband she believes to be dead returns, as handsome and strong as ever and intent on claiming the wedding night they never had!Scandal’s VirginHeartbroken Lady Laura Campion has become infamous, flirtatious and shocking. Until suddenly, she has hope and will even go into battle against powerful Avery Falconer, Earl of Wykeham. Laura has discovered her lost daughter is alive and in Wykeham’s care, although he will not release his ward lightly. When an irresistible attraction emerges between the two adversaries, will Avery be able to forgive Laura’s scandalous past?

    Italian Bachelors: Irresistible Sicilians

    Michelle Smart

    Irresistible SiciliansLuca MastrangeloGrace Holden’s millionaire Sicilian husband has found her! She swore that her daughter wouldn’t grow up amid the dark power and money of Luca Mastrangelo. Yet seeing him again, Grace is surprised by the new depths of the man she married – and that makes it harder to fight her desire.Pepe MastrangeloCara Delany shouldn’t have been surprised when Pepe Mastrangelo – world-renowned playboy – disappeared after their unforgettable night, leaving only X-rated memories… But four months later, with more than herself to think of, she’s forced to face the sexy Sicilian again.Francesco CalvettiHannah has lived a sheltered existence, but there’s one man who can tick off her to-do list. But will the gorgeous Sicilian oblige her? Untouched women like Hannah Chapman have no place in Francesco Calvetti’s world. He doesn’t do damsels in distress – except maybe once…

    The Regency Season: Dangerous Dukes

    Кэрол Мортимер

    Men about town…Marcus Wilding: Duke of PleasureMarcus Wilding is the most accomplished lover in England and Lady Julianna Armitage needs him to teach her the art of love. Julianna is determined to maintain control, but as Marcus unleashes a sensual siege that awakens every sense, it is clear that losing control can be the most delicious thing of all!Zachary Black: Duke of DebaucheryWhen Zachary Black comes face to face with beautiful Lady Georgianna Lancaster – his former fiancée – he’s disturbed. Maybe the best way to restore his equilibrium is to hold her captive… and turn the secrets of the past into the sins of the present!Darian Hunter: Duke of DesireDarian Hunter is a legendary rake and notorious bachelor. Mariah Beecham, Countess of Carlisle is society’s scandalous widow and secret agent of the crown. What will happen when, posing as lovers to stop an assassination, the temptation to indulge their every desire becomes overwhelming…