Stef Penney

Paris, 1870. Anne is a former patient from a women's asylum trying to carve out a new life for herself in a world that doesn't understand her. Newcomer Lawrence is desperate to develop his talent as a photographer and escape the restrictions of his puritanical upbringing. Ellis, an army surgeon, has lived through the trauma of one civil war and will do anything to avoid another bloodbath.

Each keeps company with the restless beasts of Paris' Menagerie, where they meet, fight their demons, lose their hearts, and rebel in a city under siege.

Andy Ross and his wife emigrated to Canada, settling in Dove River on the edge of the outback. Their lives were hard but not particularly eventful until the day in 1867 when Mrs Ross discovered the body of a neighbour, Laurent Jammet. When her son is accused of murder, she follows him into the wilderness to try to establish his innocence. Costa Book of the Year Winner.

Flora Mackie was twelve when she first crossed the Arctic Circle on her father's whaling ship. Now she is returning to the frozen seas as head of her own expedition. Geologist Jakob de Beyn joins a rival expedition, and when Jakob and Flora's paths cross, it is a fateful meeting in a place where violent extremes exist side by side.