STELLA DUFFY

This long-awaited collection brings together a selection of Stella Duffys award-winning short fiction. It includes stories written for radio, here in print for the first time since they were broadcast, and highlights the terrific range and variety of her writing.

Based on a true story, London Lies Beneath is a compelling historical novel from the award-winning writer Stella Duffy.

A gripping psychological suspense novel from CWA Dagger award-winning Stella Duffy.

A princess, perfect in every way except one, arrives in London from a land of milk and honey and sets up home in a Notting Hill tower block. Her self-appointed mission - to break up couples in love. Men in love with women, men in love with men, and women in love with one another, in her beautiful hand she holds the ripe peach of love and deftly squeezes it dry. For what she lacks is a heart . . .

Nobody turns the screw of tension tighter than Stella Duffy VAL MCDERMIDFast and bold and thrilling CHRISTOBEL KENTA stunnerTHE TIMESLife is good for Laurie and Martha. They have three great kids, a much-loved home in the countryside, and after years of struggle, Lauries career as an architect is taking off at last. Everythings perfect.But someone is about to walk into their happy family and tear it apart. Laurie has been hiding from him for years. The question is, now that hes found her, can she keep her family safe? And just how far will she go to protect them?A haunting tale that lingers in the memorySUNDAY TIMESUtterly grippingSUNDAY MIRROR

Duffy is best known for her sharp insights and sharper wit, and both are on display here... Brave, understated and unforgettable DAILY MAILWhen Jack and Cindy meet at a friends party they are immediately attracted to one another. Cindy, a celebrated mapmaker, traces the contours of their relationship, from New York to LA, from first passion to real love. After five years together, Cindy and Jack think they have tested their love to its limits. But then Cindy falls dangerously ill, and the couple must face the hardest test of all. Told with wit, tenderness and unflinching honesty, STATE OF HAPPINESS is a captivating story of love and loss from a writer at the height of her powers.STATE OF HAPPINESS is a sharp, sobering cocktail spiked with metaphysic, immense good humour and understanding. Stella Duffy gets better and better Ali Smith, author of HOTEL WORLD

Wealth, celebrity, sexuality and a tangled web of secrets ...Oh boy, what a mix. And it works . . . It was my first introduction to this writer and Ill be coming back for moreIRISH EXAMINERDespite her youth, Russian-born Yana Ivanova is already a Hollywood legend. She lives in a beautiful house in Beverly Hills with Jimmy, a sitcom star, and Penny, her British PA. Theirs is a strange and uneasy partnership, held together by sex, secrets and the fear of scandal. Then Yana starts receiving threatening letters from an anonymous but very knowledgeable source. Suspicion turns to fear, and fear leads to murder. But who exactly is conning whom?Highly entertainingDAILY MAILA fine piece of writing . . . a powerful talent . . . a tough, poignant bookGUARDIANA warm, witty and truthful love storyTIME OUT

Justinian took a wife: and the manner she was born and bred, and wedded to this man, tore up the Roman Empire by the very roots ProcopiusCharming, charismatic, heroic - Theodora of Constantinople rose from nothing to become the most powerful woman in the history of Byzantine Rome. In Stella Duffys breathtaking new novel, she comes to life again - a fascinating, controversial and seductive woman. Some called her a saint. Others were not so kind... When her father is killed, the young Theodora is forced into near slavery to survive. But just as she learns to control her body as a dancer, and for the men who can afford her, so she is determined to shape a very different fate for herself. From the vibrant streets and erotic stage shows of sixth century Constantinople to the holy desert retreats of Alexandria, Theodora is an extraordinary imaginative achievement from one of our finest writers.

Siobhan Forrester, lead singer of Beneath the Blonde, has everything a girl could want - stunning body, great voice, brilliant career, loving boyfriend. Now she has a stalker too. She can cope with the midnight flower deliveries and nasty phone calls, but things really turn sour when intimidation turns to murder. Saz Martin, hired to seek out the stalker and protect Siobhan, embarks on a whirlwind investigation, travelling with the band from London to New Zealand with plenty of stop-overs. As jobs go, this one shouldn't be too hard, except Siobhan is economic with the truth and Saz isn't sure she wants to keep the relationship strictly business.

Londres, años noventa, Maggie Simpson, cómica londinense, inicia una relación pasional con una mujer enigmática, celosa de su pasado. Mientras, Saz Martin, una detective de la ciudad, intenta descubrir la verdadera identidad de una joven apodada Septiembre, que podria estar involucrada en una red de prostitucion, drogas y juegos. La investigacion lleva a Saz a un casino de lujo de Nueva York, tras cuyas paredes podria, ocultarse la respuesta. Un asesinato provocara que los caminos de Maggie y Saz acaben por cruzarse.