Expanding the world of his classic-in-the-making debut novel Early Work, Andrew Martin's Cool for America is a hilarious collection of overlapping stories that explores the dark zone between artistic ambition and its achievementThe collection is bookended by the misadventures of Leslie, a young woman (first introduced in Early Work) who moves from New York to Missoula, Montana to try to draw herself out of a lingering depression, and, over the course of the book, gains painful insight into herself through a series of intense friendships and relationships.Other stories follow young men and women, alone and in couples, pushing hard against, and often crashing into, the limits of their abilities as writers and partners. In one story, two New Jersey siblings with substance-abuse problems relapse together on Christmas Eve; in another, a young couple tries to make sense of an increasingly unhinged veterinarian who seems to be tapping,...

Product DescriptionIt is the summer of 1911 and as Britain is gripped by paranoia about German spies and secret preparations for war, railway detective Jim Stringer decides to set out for a much-needed holiday.But before he can leave he finds himself escorting a young aristocrat, Hugh Lambert, who is on his way to be executed for the murder of his father. When Hugh warns that a second murder is imminent in his isolated village, Jim sees a chance to kill two birds with one stone. And so, as he visits the village with his wife Lydia on the pretext of holidaying, Jim finds he has one weekend in which to stop another murder and unravel a conspiracy of international dimensions . . .‘Enough historical details and rural oddbods for a BBC serial, a baffling plot and – most importantly – good writing.’ Scotland on Sunday‘Fascinating . . . Altogether an entertaining read.’ Crimesquad.com‘An eccentric and engaging novel.’ Sunday Times‘The period detail is wonderful . . . The story builds up a good head of steam early on and rattles along nicely to a satisfying conclusion.’ Guardian About the AuthorAndrew Martin grew up in Yorkshire. After qualifying as a barrister he became a freelance journalist. His hugely acclaimed Jim Stringer novels include The Necropolis Railway, The Blackpool Highflyer, The Lost Luggage Porter and Murder at Deviation Junction.

Detective Superintendent George Quinn - Mayfair resident and dandy with a razor-sharp brain - has set up a new police unit, dedicated to investigating the super-rich. When he is shot in mysterious circumstances, DI Blake Reynolds is charged with taking over. But Reynolds hadn't bargained for Quinn's personal assistant - the flinty Victoria Clifford - who knows more than she's prepared to reveal...The trail left by Quinn leads to a jewellery theft, a murderous conspiracy among some of the most glamorous (and richest) Russians in London - and the beautiful Anna, who challenges Reynolds' professional integrity. Reynolds and Clifford must learn to work together fast - or risk Quinn's fate.Set in the heart of twenty-first-century Mayfair, a world of champagne, Lamborghinis and Savile Row suits, The Yellow Diamond is a brilliant new venture from one of our best loved crime authors - meticulously plotted, wonderfully humane and hugely enjoyable.

Why is the Victoria Line so hot? What is an Electrical Multiple Unit? Is it really possible to ride from Kings Cross to Kings Cross on the Circle line? The London Underground is the oldest, most sprawling and illogical metropolitan transport system in the world, the result of a series of botch-jobs and improvisations.Yet it transports over one billion passengers every year - and this figure is rising. It is iconic, recognised the world over, and loved and despised by Londoners in equal measure. Blending reportage, humour and personal encounters, Andrew Martin embarks on a wonderfully engaging social history of London's underground railway system (which despite its name, is in fact fifty five per cent overground). Along the way he attempts to untangle the mess that is the Northern Line, visit every station in a single day - and find out which gaps to be especially mindful of. Underground, Overground is a highly enjoyable, witty...

From the author of The Necropolis Railway, The Blackpool Highflyer, and The Lost Luggage Porter comes another thrilling mystery featuring railway detective Jim Stringer. It is winter 1909, and Jim desperately needs his anticipated New Year’s promotion in order to pay for a nurse for his ailing son. Jumping at any opportunity to impress his supervisor, Jim agrees to investigate a standard assault in a nearby town. But when his train home hits a snowdrift and a body is discovered buried in the snow, Jim finds himself tracking another dangerous killer. Soon he is on a mad chase to find the suspect, trailing him to the furnaces of Ironopolis and across the country on a dangerous ride to the Highlands. As pursuer becomes pursued, Jim begins to doubt he will ever get his promotion— or that he will survive this case at all.

SUMMARY:It is the summer of 1905 and Jim Stringer is copiloting a special train filled with overheated excursionists headed to Blackpool, the seaside resort on the English coast. At the moment when the train picks up speed, a huge rock comes into view farther down the tracks; it lies directly in their path. Full stop of the engine; full steam ahead with the mystery. As he did in The Necropolis Railway, Stringer doffs his railway hat and dons his detective’s derby, assisted once more by "the wife" and her brilliant detecting skills. Capturing the world of railway stations and locomotives during the Edwardian Age, The Blackpool Highflyer carries readers to a place where dark shadows lurk behind innocence and the solution to the mystery waits at the end of the line.

North East India, 1923. On the broiling Night Mail from Calcutta to Jamalpur, a man is shot dead in a first class compartment. Detective Inspector Jim Stringer was sleeping in the next compartment along. Was he the intended target? Jim should have known that his secondment to the East Indian Railway, with a roving brief to inspect security arrangements, would not be the working holiday he had hoped for. The country seethes with political and racial tension. Aside from the Jamalpur shooting, someone is placing venomous snakes - including giant king cobras - in the first class compartments of the railway.Jim also has worries on the home front: his daughter has formed a connection with a Maharajah's son, who may in turn have a connection to Jim's incredibly rude colleague, the bristling Major Fisher. Jim must do everything he can to keep his family safe from harm, as he unravels the intrigues that surround him...

SUMMARY:From the author ofThe Necropolis RailwayandThe Blackpool Highflyercomes another ingenious thriller featuring Jim Stringer. It is winter 1906 and Jim has been promoted from sleuth to official railway detective for York station. His first day on the job, the mysterious Lost Luggage Porter, "a human directory to everything in York" tips him off to a group of railway thieves. Jim is instructed by his Inspector to infiltrate their gang and is drawn along into their plot to carry out a robbery and make their getaway across the Channel. Soon Jim finds himself swept off to Paris with the thieves, his plight made even worse when threats are made against his wife. Can Jim get to get to her before the villains do? UK Praise for THE LOST LUGGAGE PORTER: "Page-turning, confidently written..." Guardian "The atmosphere of neglected streets...dingy saloon bars, supper of boiled bacon and pickles, and dismal, unceasing rain are splendidly evoked." Telegraph

INCLUDES THE THREE BEST GHOST STORIES EVER Who among us, lying in bed at night, listening to the noises of the house – that creak in the stairs, the clock ticking away in the empty hall – has not experienced a momentary chill, that first tremor of fear? What is it about Britain, asks Andrew Martin, that makes it such a fitting playground for the supernatural? We are, it seems, a nation primed for ghostliness; our history, our landscape, our very climate are inherently eerie. In Ghoul Britannia, Martin takes a wry look at our haunted isle, goes to cursed houses, talks to psychics and believers, and studies exorcisms. He asks why some ghosts appear in libraries and others at the end of the bed, what ghosts like to wear, and whether you should feel nervous on a foggy, moonlit night... In this engrossing new book, Martin searches out the dark corners of our subconscious in an attempt to explain our most deep-seated fears – why, despite famously being a nation of...