Audiobooks by Dan Shocker

LoveReading Top 10

1. Unsettled Ground

   Brought to you by Penguin. What if the life you have always known is taken from you in an instant? What would you do to get it back? Twins Jeanie and Julius have always been different from other people. At 51 years old, they still live with their mother, Dot, in rural isolation and poverty. Inside the walls of their old cottage they make music, and in the garden they grow (and sometimes kill) everything they need for sustenance. But when Dot dies suddenly, threats to their livelihood start raining down. Jeanie and Julius would do anything to preserve their small sanctuary against the perils of the outside world, even as their mother's secrets begin to unravel, putting everything they thought they knew about their lives at stake. Unsettled Ground is a heart-stopping novel of betrayal and resilience, love and survival. It is a portrait of life on the fringes of society that explores with dazzling emotional power how we can build our lives on broken foundations, and spin light from darkness. PRAISE FOR CLAIRE FULLER 'So sharply, so utterly brilliant that I found myself holding my breath while reading it, dazzled by Fuller's mastery and precision' LAUREN GROFF, author of Fates and Furies 'Extraordinary, gripping. Fuller writes with a singing simplicity that finds beauty amid the terror' Sunday Times 'A compulsive page-turner. Fuller creates an atmosphere of simmering menace with all the assurance of a latter-day Daphne du Maurier' The Times 'Bewitching, otherworldly, full of dark foreboding. Claire Fuller is a dazzling storyteller' Scotsman © Claire Fuller 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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2. King of Rabbits

   Brought to you by Penguin. Kai lives in a mixed-race family on a rural council estate in Somerset where he and his three older sisters have three different dads, and his mum is being led into crack addiction by his petty-thief father. He idolises his dad, adores his friend Saffie and the school rabbit Flopsy, and is full of ambition to be the fastest runner in Middledown Primary. He and Saffie build a secret world of friendship in the school garden. But Kai's natural optimism, imagination and energy run up against adult behaviour he doesn't understand: his parents' on-and-off romance, his dad's increasing addiction and the limitations of poverty. Despite the people who try to look out for him, notably his loving Nanny Sheila and his big sister Leah, Kai's life drifts towards a tragedy from which it is hard for him to recover. The refuge he seeks in his love of nature, and the wild rabbits who have made their burrows in the woods, may not be refuge enough. Karla Neblett has created a vivid language that is both crafted and raw to tell a story of class, race and how our society fails working class young men. 'A brilliant debut; vivid and compelling.' JENNI FAGAN © Karla Neblett 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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3. Find You First

   One will change your life. One will end it. Who will … FIND YOU FIRST? ‘The best book of his career’ STEPHEN KING ‘A full-throttle powerhouse of a thriller’ TM LOGAN ‘Full of sharply drawn fools and knaves’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘Barclay nimbly keeps the engine racing’ THE TIMES It’s a deadly race against time… Tech billionaire Miles has more money than he can ever spend, and everything he could dream of – except time. Now facing a terminal illness, Miles knows he must seize every minute to put his life in order. And that means taking a long hard look at his past. Somewhere out there, Miles has children. And they might be about to inherit both the good and bad from him – possibly his fortune, or possibly something more sinister. So Miles decides to track down his missing children. But a vicious killer is one step ahead of him. One by one, people are vanishing. Not just disappearing, every trace of them is wiped. Number One Sunday Times bestseller Linwood Barclay returns with his electrifying new thriller, Find You First. PRAISE FOR FIND YOU FIRST: ‘Find You First starts with a bang and ends with an even bigger one. Barclay is a terrific writer, but he’s outdone himself with this. It’s the best book of his career. I couldn’t put it down, and you won’t be able to, either. If you enjoy thrillers, this is the real deal. It never lets up’ STEPHEN KING ‘A full-throttle powerhouse of a thriller – Linwood Barclay is in a class of his own’ TM LOGAN ‘Barclay has a knack for turning news stories or social trends into rambunctious black-comedy thrillers full of sharply drawn fools and knaves’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘Fizzes along the entertainment highway … Barclay nimbly keeps the engine racing’ THE TIMES 'A relentlessly tense thriller … there's plenty of the sardonic humour that came to the fore in Mr Barclay's previous novel Elevator Pitch … the comedy enhances the edgy atmosphere’ THE TIMES CRIME CLUB ‘A fast-moving, high-concept thriller from the talented Barclay … a rip-roaring rollercoaster of a ride’DAILY MAIL ‘Linwood Barclay’s thrillers move at breakneck speed … pacy, exciting’ WOMAN & HOME

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4. Just Work: Get it Done, Fast and Fair

   'Powerful and perceptive . . . belongs on the shelves – and in the hearts and minds – of leaders everywhere.' Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of To Sell is Human From Kim Scott, author of the revolutionary New York Times bestseller Radical Candor, comes Just Work: Get it Done, Fast and Fair – how we can recognize, attack and eliminate workplace injustice – and transform our careers and organizations in the process. We – all of us – consistently exclude, underestimate and under-utilize huge numbers of people in the workforce even as we include, overestimate and promote others, often beyond their level of competence. Not only is this immoral and unjust, it’s bad for business. Just Work is the solution. Just Work is Kim Scott’s new book, revealing a practical framework for both respecting everyone’s individuality and collaborating effectively. This is the essential guide leaders and their employees need to create more just workplaces and establish new norms of collaboration and respect.

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5. The World at My Feet

   The dazzling new novel from Richard & Judy book club author Catherine Isaac, The World at my Feet is a story about the transforming power of love, as one woman journeys to uncover the past and reshape her future. The secrets that bind us can also tear us apart… 1990. Harriet is a journalist. Her job takes her to dangerous places, where she asks questions and tries to make a difference. But when she is sent to Romania, to the state orphanages the world is only just learning about, she is forced to rethink her most important rule.  2018. Ellie is a gardener. Her garden is her sanctuary, her pride and joy. But, though she spends long days outdoors, she hasn't set foot beyond her gate for far too long. Now someone enters her life who could finally be the reason she needs to overcome her fears. From post-revolution Romania to the idyllic English countryside, The World at My Feet is the story of two women, two worlds, and a journey of self-discovery that spans a lifetime. ** Shhh... Can you keep a secret? We can't wait to hear what you think about #TheWorldAtMyFeet. No spoilers please! **

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6. Tap to Tidy: Organising, Crafting & Creating Happiness in a Messy World

   Brought to you by Penguin. If you're reading this, then we have something in common .... Whether it's a love of getting crafty, meticulously organising or making fun-shaped snacks! I find it hard to sit still, but losing myself in a craft project or tidying a drawer is my form of meditation. It's a chance for me to forget about the things going on in the world around me for a minute. I hope this book helps you to lose yourself for a moment, too - and that you enjoy reading it and even, maybe, having a go at some of the bits inside. Lots of Love, to the moon and back Stacey x © Stacey Solomon 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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7. Many Different Kinds of Love: A story of life, death and the NHS

   Brought to you by Penguin. A national treasure's journey to the brink and back. 'Will I wake up?' 'There's a 50:50 chance.' In March 2020, Michael Rosen became unwell. Soon he was struggling to breathe, and he was admitted to hospital with coronavirus. What followed was months on the wards: a month in an induced coma, and weeks of rehab and recovery as the NHS saved his life, and then got him back on his feet. Throughout it all, a diary was kept at the end of Michael's bed, where his nurses wrote him letters of hope and support. And as soon as he was awake, he was ready to start writing his own story. Combining stunning new prose poems by one of Britain's best loved poets and the moving coronavirus diaries of his nurses, this is a beautiful story about love, life and the NHS that celebrates the power of community and the indomitable spirits of the people who keep us well. © Michael Rosen 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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8. Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind

   Joe Dispenza, DC, has spent decades studying the human mind-how it works, how it stores information, and why it perpetuates the same behavioral patterns over and over. In the acclaimed film What the Bleep Do We Know!? he began to explain how the brain evolves-by learning new skills, developing the ability to concentrate in the midst of chaos, and even healing the body and the psyche. Evolve Your Brain presents this information in depth, while helping you take control of your mind, explaining how thoughts can create chemical reactions that keep you addicted to patterns and feelings-including ones that make you unhappy. And when you know how these bad habits are created, it's possible to not only break these patterns, but also reprogram and evolve your brain, so that new, positive, and beneficial habits can take over.

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9. A Touch of Ruin

   Persephone's relationship with Hades has gone public and the resulting media storm disrupts her normal life and threatens to expose her as the Goddess of Spring. Hades, God of the Dead, is burdened by a hellish past that everyone's eager to expose in an effort to warn Persephone away. Things only get worse when a horrible tragedy leaves Persephone's heart in ruin and Hades refusing to help. Desperate, she takes matters into her own hands, striking bargains with severe consequences. Faced with a side of Hades she never knew and crushing loss, Persephone wonders if she can truly become Hades's queen. Contains mature themes.

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10. A History of What Comes Next: The captivating speculative fiction for fans of The Man in the High Ca

    Brought to you by Penguin. Imagine everything you thought you knew about human progress was wrong. What would you do? Mia is not sure what she is, but she isn't human. Smarter, stronger than her peers, all she knows are the rules: there can never be three for too long; always run, never fight. When she finds herself in Germany, 1945, she must turn the Nazi's most trusted scientist with an offer: abandon the crumbling Nazi party, escape Germany with your life, come to work for the Americans building rockets. But someone is watching her work. An enemy who's smarter, stronger, decidedly not human and prepared to do anything to retrieve something ancient that was long lost. If only she had any idea what it was . . . © Sylvain Neuvel 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

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