A lone gunman takes the women and doctors at a controversial abortion clinic hostage. Nobody has ended up there by choice. As the tense negotiation for their release unfolds, hour by crucial hour, back in time through the day that brought the hostages and their captor to this moment, every certainty is questioned, every judgement thrown into sharp relief because matters of life and death look very different when you, or the ones you love, are staring down the barrel of a gun. The novel propels the reader through intertwining characters and uncovers motives in this unflinching exploration of what makes a life. Picoult's technicolour prose is full of nuggets like: 'Coal, with time and heat and pressure, will always become a diamond. But if you are freezing to death, which would you consider the gem?' 355pp, paperback.

Jenna Metcalf was with her mother the night she disappeared in tragic and mysterious circumstances, but she remembers nothing. Over 10 years have passed and still Jenna reads and rereads her mother's journals, hoping to find some clue hidden there in the meticulous recording of her scientific research with elephants. Desperate for answers, Jenna uses all her savings to recruit the aid of a private detective, and a psychic. Jenna knows her mother loved her and knows she would not leave her, and she will not rest until she finds out what happened that night to Alice after the car accident, as she retraces the events of that fateful night, but nothing can prepare her for the answers that await. An addictive novel full of twists and turns. If this author has passed you by until now, try her out. 480pp, paperback.

A body is found near a picture-perfect Cotswolds village, but the upstanding local residents couldn't possibly be involved, could they? Murder is the very last thing on Melissa Craig's mind when one of her neighbours pops in to complain loudly about a minor local robbery. She's far too busy thinking about her next book, but when the evening paper lands, there is a shocking headline. A young woman's body has been found in the nearby woods, and it seems the local robbery may offer a crucial clue. Suddenly the whole village is talking about the murder, but none of Melissa's neighbours have come forward to say they know who the victim is. Convinced that the police have got the wrong end of the stick, Melissa can't resist doing some more digging. When she finds a photograph of the dead girl at her former family home, she realises this is the clue she needs, if only she can find out who took the picture. Will Melissa be walking into a trap? Can she work out the truth before she puts herself in harm's way? 250pp, paperback.

23-year-old Katy Speed has always been fascinated by the house across the street. The woman who lives there, Gloria, is the most glamorous neighbour on the avenue, owning a fashionable dress shop in Bexhill-on-Sea. But who is the woman who arrives in the black car most Saturdays while Gloria is at work? Sometimes she brings women to the house, and other times the women come with children. Hilda, Katy's mother, disapproves of Gloria. She wonders where these mysterious visitors have come from, and what they want. Does Gloria have sinister reasons for secretly bringing strangers into the heart of the community? Then one night, the house burns down and in the wreckage the bodies of Gloria and her daughter are found. Katy is sure the unexplained strangers must be responsible, until her father is arrested and charged with murder. Surely the police have arrested the wrong person? Is the rest of the street safe? Can Katy find the truth before it's too late? 352pp, Penguin paperback.

Set in London 1960 and the lives of teenage twins Maisy and Duncan change for ever the night their mother is taken into an asylum. Sent to live in the New Forest with their cold-hearted grandmother, Mrs Mitcham, the children feel unloved and abandoned. At least they have each other, but one day Duncan doesn't come home from exploring in the forest and no one, least of all his grandmother, seems to care about his disappearance. The police who have found the bodies of other missing boys offer little hope of finding Duncan alive. Yet Maisy refuses to give up. Although she doesn't know the woods well, she knows someone who does, the strange old woman who lives at their heart. Does Maisy dare enlist the help of the woman in the wood? The Sunday Times bestselling author provides a narrative that gallops along in a glorious and heartwarming story of a girl who at just 15 was determined to find the truth. 398pp, Penguin paperback.

Coronation Day, 1953 and in a sleepy Somerset village, young shopkeeper Molly Heywood makes a terrible discovery - her friend Cassie has been murdered, and her six-year-old daughter Petal is missing. Weeks pass but the police make no progress, so Molly, against the advice of a childhood friend and village policeman George, takes matters into her own hands. Clutching a letter sent from Cassie to London, she leaves in search of Petal. In the Blitz-scarred East End, Mollies meets and befriends strangers from Cassie's past, but the big city is a dangerous place for a country girl, especially one on the trail of a murderer. Sacrificing home, happiness and a chance at love to find Petal, is Mollie now risking her life? An epic romantic drama set in post-war London. 423pp, Penguin paperback.

Books 1 to 5 to collect in the Dordogne Mysteries series. Set comprises Death in the Dordogne, Dark Vineyard, Black Diamond, Crowded Grave and Devil's Cave. Buy all five paperbacks and save even more.

Books 5 to 10 to collect in the Dordogne Mysteries series. Set comprises Resistance Man, Death Undercover, Dying Season, Fatal Pursuit and Templars' Last Secret. Buy all five or ten paperbacks from the First Set and save even more.

Set contains The Woman In The Wood, Without A Trace and The House Across The Street. Buy all three Penguin paperbacks and save even more.

Life isn't going well for Myron Bolitar. His business is struggling and his father has recently suffered a heart attack when, out of the blue, his college sweetheart Emily appears. Her 13 year old son Jeremy is gravely ill and can be saved only by a bone-marrow transplant from a donor who has vanished without trace. Then Emily reveals even more shocking news - Jeremy is Myron's son, conceived the night before Emily's wedding to another man. Staggered by the revelation, Myron plunges into a search for the missing donor, and gets caught up in a brutal kidnapping and a cat-and-mouse game between an ambitious reporter and the FBI. Beautifully written and brilliantly tense, 339pp in paperback.