Jake Arnott

London, 1972, and a charismatic anarchist called O'Connell dies of an overdose, leaving his artist boyfriend, Pearson, and fellow activist Nina in shock. It also leaves a spar room in their squat, so Pearson moves in Sweet Thing, a streetwise yet vulnerable young boy he initially picks up but then tries to help. Pearson isn't the only one who's interested though - glam rock star Johnny Chrome is on the brink of a breakdown and is convinced that Sweet Thing is the only one who can bring him back. As Sweet Thing gets drawn further into Johnny Chrome's dangerous orbit, Pearson and Nina discover that O'Connell was not all he seemed.

Paris, 1903. Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald, one of the greatest heroes of the British Empire, is facing ruin when he meets the notorious occultist, Aleister Crowley. As they set out into the night on a wild journey through the sinful city, the story of Macdonald's tragedy begins to unfold - with startling revelations both for the general and the aspiring magician. A tale that ranges from the battlefields of Sudan to the backstreets of Edinburgh, bringing alive a fascinating, forgotten figure of history, and a world trembling on the brink of a brutal new era. Black magic, Baden-Powell and Islamic revolution are just some of the ingredients in this novel, which explores imperialism, sexuality and the very nature of belief.

Newgate Gaol, 1726. An anonymous writer sets down the words of Edgworth Bess as she confides the adventures and misfortunes that led her all too soon to the judgement of London: Cruelly deceived, Bess is cast out onto the streets of the wicked city and by nightfall her ruin is already certain. What matters now is her survival of it. In that dangerous underworld known in thieves' cant as Romeville, she will learn new tricks and trades. And all begins with her fateful meeting, that very first night, with the corrupt thief-taker general Jonathan Wild. But it is the infamous gaol-breaker, Jack Sheppard, who will lay Romeville at her feet. Drawing on the true story that mesmerised eighteenth-century society, the acclaimed author of The Long Firm delivers a tour de force: a riveting, artful tale of crime and rough justice, love and betrayal. Rich in the street slang of the era, it vividly conjures up a murky world of illicit dens and molly-houses; a world where life was lived on the edge, in the shadow of that fatal tree the gallows.

En 1966 à Londres, alors que les Anglais fêtent leur victoire dans la Coupe du monde de football, un drame bouleverse le pays : trois policiers sont froidement abattus. Au gré de l'enquête, l'auteur dresse le portrait des trois hommes liés à ce crime : Frank, l'inspecteur chargé de l'affaire, Tony, journaliste de la presse à scandale, et Billy, un petit voyou pris dans l'engrenage de la violence.

Larry Zagorski spins wild tales of fantasy worlds for pulp magazines. But as the Second World War hangs in the balance, the lines between imagination and reality are starting to blur. In London, spymasters enlist occultists in the war of propaganda. In Southern California, a charismatic rocket scientist summons dark forces and an SF writer founds a new religion. In Munich, Nazis consult astrologists as they plot peace with the West and dominion over the East. And a conspiracy is born that will ripple through the decades to come. The truth, it seems, is stranger than anything Larry could invent. But when he looks back on the 20th century, the past is as uncertain as the future. Just where does truth end and illusion begin?