Wednesday's Child

‘The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong’ – Stephen King, author of It and The Shining When two social workers, investigating reports of child abuse, appear at Brenda Scupham's door, her fear of authority leads her to comply meekly with their requests. Even when they say that they must take her seven-year old daughter Gemma away for tests. It is only when they fail to return Gemma the following day that Brenda realizes something has gone terribly wrong. At the same time, Banks is investigating a particularly unpleasant murder at the site of an abandoned mine. Gradually, the leads in the two cases converge, guiding Banks to one of the most truly terrifying criminals he will ever meet . . . Wednesday's Child is a pulse-pounding tale from the master of police procedural. If you enjoyed it, then you'll love the next instalment in the Banks series – which became the major British ITV Drama DCI Banks – Dry Bones That Dream . ***** Critical acclaim for the Inspector Banks series: 'A powerfully moving work' – Ian Rankin 'Top-notch police procedure' – Jeffery Deaver 'A wonderful novel' – Michael Connelly 'An addictive crime-novel series' – The New York Times 'A guaranteed page-turner' – Mirror 'Demonstrates how the crime novel, when done right, can reach parts that other books can't . . . A considerable achievement' – The Guardian ' One of the most authentic and atmospheric of crime series' – The Independent 'The master of police procedural' – The Mail on Sunday 'Near, perhaps, even at the top of, the British crime writers' league' – The Times 'Banks is genuinely human, rather than a hard man' – The Observer

‘The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong’ – Stephen King, author of It and The Shining When two social workers, investigating reports of child abuse, appear at Brenda Scupham's door, her fear of authority leads her to comply meekly with their requests. Even when they say that they must take her seven-year old daughter Gemma away for tests. It is only when they fail to return Gemma the following day that Brenda realizes something has gone terribly wrong. At the same time, Banks is investigating a particularly unpleasant murder at the site of an abandoned mine. Gradually, the leads in the two cases converge, guiding Banks to one of the most truly terrifying criminals he will ever meet . . . Wednesday's Child is a pulse-pounding tale from the master of police procedural. If you enjoyed it, then you'll love the next instalment in the Banks series – which became the major British ITV Drama DCI Banks – Dry Bones That Dream . ***** Critical acclaim for the Inspector Banks series: 'A powerfully moving work' – Ian Rankin 'Top-notch police procedure' – Jeffery Deaver 'A wonderful novel' – Michael Connelly 'An addictive crime-novel series' – The New York Times 'A guaranteed page-turner' – Mirror 'Demonstrates how the crime novel, when done right, can reach parts that other books can't . . . A considerable achievement' – The Guardian ' One of the most authentic and atmospheric of crime series' – The Independent 'The master of police procedural' – The Mail on Sunday 'Near, perhaps, even at the top of, the British crime writers' league' – The Times 'Banks is genuinely human, rather than a hard man' – The Observer

'One of our major novelists' Salman Rushdie 'One of our finest living authors' New York Times A dazzling new collection of short stories, spanning 15 years of writing, from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose and Where Reasons End A dazzling new collection of short stories written over a decade, spanning loss, alienation, aging and the strangeness of contemporary life - from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose A grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she's lost. A professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In Yiyun Li's stories, people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and grand mysterious forces - death, violence, estrangement - come to light. And even everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar of honey, a mound of wounded ants, a photograph kept hidden for many years, until it must be seen. Li is a breathtakingly original writer, an alchemist of opposites: tender and unsentimental, metaphysical and blunt, funny and horrifying, omniscient and yet acutely aware of just how much we cannot know. Beloved for her novels and memoirs, she returns here to her earliest form, gathering short stories and a remarkable novella never before published in the UK. Taken together, the stories in Wednesday's Child articulate the true cost of living with all Li's trademark unnerving beauty and searing wisdom.

Finalist for the Story Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction Long-listed for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award Named a Best Book of the Year by Los Angeles Times , Vulture , Esquire , NPR, and Kirkus Reviews A new collection--about loss, alienation, aging, and the strangeness of contemporary life--by the award-winning, and inimitable, author of The Book of Goose. A grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she's lost. Elsewhere, a professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In the stories of Wednesday's Child , people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and the grand mysterious forces--death, violence, estrangement--come to light. Even before such moments, everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar of honey, a mound of wounded ants, a photograph kept hidden for many years, until it must be seen. Yiyun Li is a truly original writer, an alchemist of opposites: tender and unsentimental, metaphysical and blunt, funny and horrifying, omniscient and unusually aware of just how much we cannot know. Beloved for her novels and her memoir, she returns here to her earliest form, gathering pieces that have appeared in The New Yorker , Zoetrope , and other publications. Taken together, these stories, written over the span of a decade, articulate the cost, both material and emotional, of living--exile, assimilation, loss, love--with Li's trademark unnerving beauty and wisdom.

Finalist for the Story Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction Long-listed for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award Named a Best Book of the Year by Los Angeles Times , Vulture , Esquire , NPR, and Kirkus Reviews A new collection--about loss, alienation, aging, and the strangeness of contemporary life--by the award-winning, and inimitable, author of The Book of Goose. A grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she's lost. Elsewhere, a professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In the stories of Wednesday's Child , people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and the grand mysterious forces--death, violence, estrangement--come to light. Even before such moments, everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar of honey, a mound of wounded ants, a photograph kept hidden for many years, until it must be seen. Yiyun Li is a truly original writer, an alchemist of opposites: tender and unsentimental, metaphysical and blunt, funny and horrifying, omniscient and unusually aware of just how much we cannot know. Beloved for her novels and her memoir, she returns here to her earliest form, gathering pieces that have appeared in The New Yorker , Zoetrope , and other publications. Taken together, these stories, written over the span of a decade, articulate the cost, both material and emotional, of living--exile, assimilation, loss, love--with Li's trademark unnerving beauty and wisdom.

'One of our major novelists' Salman Rushdie 'One of our finest living authors' New York Times A dazzling new collection of short stories, spanning 15 years of writing, from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose and Where Reasons End A dazzling new collection of short stories written over a decade, spanning loss, alienation, aging and the strangeness of contemporary life - from Yiyun Li, the prize-winning author of The Book of Goose A grieving mother makes a spreadsheet of everyone she's lost. A professor develops a troubled intimacy with her hairdresser. And every year, a restless woman receives an email from a strange man twice her age and several states away. In Yiyun Li's stories, people strive for an ordinary existence until doing so becomes unsustainable, until the surface cracks and grand mysterious forces - death, violence, estrangement - come to light. And even everyday life is laden with meaning, studded with indelible details: a filched jar of honey, a mound of wounded ants, a photograph kept hidden for many years, until it must be seen. Li is a breathtakingly original writer, an alchemist of opposites: tender and unsentimental, metaphysical and blunt, funny and horrifying, omniscient and yet acutely aware of just how much we cannot know. Beloved for her novels and memoirs, she returns here to her earliest form, gathering short stories and a remarkable novella never before published in the UK. Taken together, the stories in Wednesday's Child articulate the true cost of living with all Li's trademark unnerving beauty and searing wisdom.