Dan Rhodes

The darkest, most twisted novel yet from the author of Timoleon Vieta Come Home. In a room above a bizarre German museum, and far from the prying eyes of strangers, lives in Old Man. Caretaker by day, by night he enjoys the sound of silence, broken only by the occasional crunch of a spider between his teeth. Little Hands Clapping brings the Old Man together with the respectable Doctor Ernst Frohlicher, his dog Hans and a cast of grotesque and hilarious townsfolk who find themselves involved in a crime so outrageous it will shock the world. From its sinister opening to its explosive denouement, Little Hands Clapping blends lavishly entertaining storytelling with Rhodes's macabre imagination, entrancing originality and magical touch.

A chance encounter prompts an ageing professor to regret a lifetime of wasted opportunities; a beautiful wife tests her husband by making herself hideous; for the love of a girl, a boy turns himself into a violoncello. Funny, magical and strange, in these seven short stories Dan Rhodes lays bare the pain and enchantment of love.

The rugged loner Jake Sullivan has finally returned home -- to find a brazen, beautiful trespasser in his bed. Emily Bright intends to stay. But has Jake been saddled with an unwanted intruder... or blessed with a bride?

Meet the mongrel. Timoleon Vieta. A deeply loyal, undemanding and loving companion . . . with the most beautiful eyes. He's living an idyllic existence in the Italian countryside with Cockroft, a composer in exile. Until, that is, the mysterious and malevolent 'Bosnian' comes to stay. How will the stranger affect the bond between dog and master? Timoleon Vieta Come Home is a free-wheelin' take on the Lassie legend, deeply moving and hysterically funny.

Zoe y Kate son dos deportistas de élite entregadas al ciclismo de pista, pero con unas vidas muy diferentes. Zoe, una chica explosiva y temperamental, doble campeona olímpica, es el rostro publicitario de una conocida marca de agua mineral. Vive en un lujoso piso en Manchester y tiene muchos amantes ocasionales. Kate es más sensata y tranquila. Está casada con Jack, un campeón de ciclismo, y está volcada en su hija Sophie que padece leucemia. Por esa razón Kate no ha podido competir en los dos últimos juegos olímpicos, y Londres 2012 es su última oportunidad. Cuando Tom, su común entrenador, recibe la noticia de la Federación Inglesa de Ciclismo de que solo podrá enviar a una participante. Elegir entre Kate o Zoe es una decisión particularmente difícil, porque Tom conoce la historia de ambas. Pero tiene que ser imparcial y organiza una carrera entre ellas para nombrar la vencedora. Sin embargo, justo el día de la competición, el estado de salud de Sophie empeora gravemente…

Everybody at the Womens Institute in the village of Upper Bottom is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a very special guest speaker: the world famous evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins. But with a blizzard setting in, their visitor finds himself trapped in the nearby town of Market Horten, with no choice but to take lodgings with the local Anglican vicar. Will the professor be able to abide by his motto - cordiality always - while surrounded by Christians? Will he ever reach Upper Bottom? And can his assistant, Smee, save the day?