Archives de catégorie : Nos incontournables

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATE FOLLY de Tim & Emma Flannery

In this entertaining and at times terrifying book Tim and Emma Flannery tell the story of how human beings have tried to change the weather.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLIMATE FOLLY
by Tim & Emma Flannery
Text Publishing Australia, October 2026

In this entertaining and at times terrifying book Tim and Emma Flannery tell the story of how human beings have tried to change the weather. It’s a long story that goes back to priests and shamans who prayed to weather gods and sang and danced to make it rain. It’s a story of shysters and charlatans and snake-oil salesmen. And it’s a story of shocking schemes to reshape nature.

Climate shapes species and plays a key role in evolution. But we are the only species that has ever dreamed of making the weather suit ourselves. And now that we are in danger of triggering catastrophic global warming, the history of human climate folly is more alarming than ever. Hitler, for instance, wanted to drain the Mediterranean. In the 1950s Soviet and US governments contemplated nuking the Arctic ice cap in order to create a warmer climate.

These schemes seem ludicrous to us, but are they any stranger than the idea that we can arrest runaway climate change by burying our carbon emissions deep in the earth or by seeding clouds with sulphur to block out the sun.

This book reveals an outrageous history of dreamers and schemers who wanted to bend the climate to their will.

Tim Flannery is a paleontologist, an explorer, a conservationist and a leading writer on climate change. His books include the award-winning international bestseller The Weather Makers, and Here on Earth, Atmosphere of Hope and Europe: The First 100 Million Years, as well as his previous collaboration with his daughter, Emma Flannery, Big Meg.

Emma Flannery is a scientist and writer. She has explored caves, forests and oceans across most of the globe’s continents in search of elusive fossils, animals and plants. Her research and writing on geology, chemistry and palaeontology has been published in scientific journals, children’s books and a number of museum-based adult education tours.

THE NIGHTLESS CITY de Callum McSorley

The first in a new series of historical thrillers set in nineteenth-century Japan, from the prizewinning author of Squeaky Clean.

THE NIGHTLESS CITY
by Callum McSorley
Pushkin Press, September 2026

Tokyo, 1886.

Chino Kunio, a male courtesan in Tokyo’s infamous Yoshiwara neighbourhood, the Nightless City, discovers his one and only client, a British diplomat, dead and himself in the frame for the man’s grisly murder.

Trying to save Chino from the judicial blade are his friend, samurai rebel turned reckless drunk Shimura Shingo, police inspector Tokuda Reiji, and the victim’s wife, Fiona Gordon, a Scottish teacher living a stifled life in the foreign concession, who is seeking her own answers.

But as more foreigners are slain, dredging up the shadow of shipwreck that led to a diplomatic scandal, Chino’s only hope may be to escape the Nightless City for good, before it explodes into violence between belligerent westerners and nationalist bully boys.

Callum McSorley is a writer based in Glasgow, where he grew up. His debut thriller, Squeaky Clean, the first book in the Alison McCoist thriller series, was published to great acclaim and went on to win the prestigious McIlvanney Prize for best Scottish Crime Book of the Year. THE NIGHTLESS CITY is the first in a new series of historical thrillers set in nineteenth-century Japan.

ALL AT SEA de Jonathan Whitelaw

A destination murder-mystery – think Below Deck meets Knives Out. Perfect for all fans of Only Murders In the Building.

ALL AT SEA
by Jonathan Whitelaw
HarperNorth, publication date TBC
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Howie Temple is down on his luck and desperate for cash. A once promising action movie star, he now lives off a crumbling reputation. On his way to film a new reality TV show, which casts a team of c-list celebrities as crew aboard a luxury yacht, he meets fellow contestant, influencer-of-the-moment Cassandra Troy. The duo take an immediate dislike to each other.

After a hectic first day of filming, the pair are shocked discover that the captain of the ship has been murdered – locked in his control room, slumped over the wheel, a knife in his back. Convinced by the show’s ever-opportunistic director to keep the cameras rolling, the pair team-up to hunt the murderer.

Will the show make Howie and Cassandra bigger stars than they could ever dream of? And can they crack the case before the killer strikes again, or will they go down with this sinking ship?

Jonathan Whitelaw is a Scottish writer and journalist based in Canada, and he’s also a regular host at book events and panels, as well as a regular arts reviewer on BBC Radio Scotland’s Afternoon Show. Jonathan is a leading author in the cosy crime market. His latest series, Bingo Hall Detectives, is published by HarperNorth. There are currently two books in the series, The Bingo Hall Detectives (2022) and The Village Hall Vendetta (2023), the first of which awarded the Gilpin Hotel Prize for Fiction at this year’s Lakeland Book Awards.

STALEMATE de Mary Newnham

Piglet if written by Dolly Alderton, STALEMATE is a testament to the fact that your coming-of-age story can begin whenever you choose, be that in your 30s, 40s or beyond.

STALEMATE
by Mary Newnham
Hodder & Stoughton, January 2026
(via Northbank Talent Management)

Awkward secondary school Physics teacher, Amy and her gym bro fiancé, Josh are in no rush to make it to the altar.

The couple are content with their quiet life in the slow lane. Until they’re coerced by Josh’s family into getting married much earlier than anticipated.

There’s just one problem: after ten years of dating, their sex life has completely dried up.

As time ticks closer and closer to the big day, Amy scrambles to cross everything off her to-do-list… including Josh.

Mary Newnham is a British female fiction writer. Mary found her love for writing when she started blogging about Bloody Marys. Her film production degree led her into the world of advertising, where she worked in the film department at a Soho ad agency. For a brief time, she lived in Australia as a constantly sunburnt producer before returning to England. She currently writes and records The Quack, a weekly blog featuring true stories and witty observations. Mary has an MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes. She lives solo in Jericho, Oxford. She doesn’t own a cat.

THE LOST VOICES OF POMPEII de Jess Venner

THE LOST VOICES OF POMPEII will transport readers into the final 24 hours of the ancient city, vividly detailing the lives of seven diverse characters. Through a blend of meticulous research and compelling storytelling, this book brings Pompeii’s last day to life in a way that is both immersive and unforgettable.

THE LOST VOICES OF POMPEII:
The Last 24 Hours
by Jess Venner
HarperCollins, Spring 2026
(via Northbank Talent Management)

In her thrilling new take on the ancient city, Dr Jess Venner casts aside traditional archaeological and historical perspectives to immerse readers in the vibrant daily lives of its inhabitants. We meet Julia Felix, a successful female entrepreneur defying Roman convention; a slave who gains his freedom during a night of revelry; and politician Gaius Cuspius Pansa who is hosting the Plebian Games at the amphitheatre.

Using real historical figures the book plausibly recreates their final day before the eruption; a fresh narrative approach that brings the ancient streets to life through the eyes of those who lived, worked, loved, and ultimately met their fate there.

Dr Jess Venner is an award-winning ancient historian and archaeologist, and a world-leading expert on Pompeii and Herculaneum. She is currently an academic at the prestigious Institute of Classical Studies in London and was elected as an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society for her contributions to history. She has a following of over 140,000 engaged history fans on TikTok as @lifeinthepastlane_, and has appeared in publications such as The Times, The Mirror, The Daily Star, and Ancient History Magazine.