New Releases by Joanne Harris

Once there was a widow with three sons, and their names were Black, Brown and Blue. Black was the eldest; moody and aggressive. Brown was the middle child, timid and dull. But Blue was his mother''s favourite. And he was a murderer.

From the author of Chocolat, an intoxicating fairy tale of alchemy and love where wine is the magic elixir. Jay Mackintosh is a 37-year-old has-been writer from London. Fourteen years have passed since his first novel, Jackapple Joe, won the Prix Goncourt. His only happiness comes from dreaming about the golden summers of his boyhood that he spent in the company of an eccentric vintner who was the inspiration of Jay''s debut novel, but who one day mysteriously vanished. Under the strange effects of a bottle of Joe''s ''75 Special, Jay decides to purchase a derelict yet promising château in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. There, a ghost from his past waits to confront him, and his new neighbour, the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous - hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, there seems to be a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic? Joanne Harris''s previous novel, Chocolat, was both a dazzling literary success and a commercial triumph. Chocolat, the major motion picture directed by Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules), was released in December 2000, starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Dame Judy Dench, Alfred Molina, and Lena Olin.

Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Susan Hill, Nicci French and Val McDermid, this is an astute and intelligent psychological thriller centring around obsession and rage from international multi-million copy seller Joanne Harris. Fast paced with unexpected twists and turns, it will get right under the skin... ''[A] gripping psychological thriller... Harris is one of our most accomplished novelists and Gentlemen & Players, with its pace, wit and acute observation, shows her at the top of her form'' -- DAILY EXPRESS ''[A] delicious black comedy ... the plot is so cleverly constructed, the tension so unflagging, you''d think she''d been writing thrillers all her life'' -- DAILY MAIL ''It kept me on the edge of my seat and I was thinking about it long after I turned the last page'' -- ***** Reader review ''An intricate, engrossing novel'' -- ***** Reader review ''Wonderfully, horribly plausible'' -- ***** Reader review ''I read it in three days which is as close as I get to "couldn''t put it down"'' -- ***** Reader review ''Well written and enthralling'' -- ***** Reader review ''A must read....'' -- ***** Reader review ''Absolutely loved this book!'' -- ***** Reader review ******************************************************************************************* At St Oswald''s, a long-established boys'' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt. The trilogy continues with blueeyedboy and Different Class.

Because I am a girl I am less likely to go to school Because I am a girl I am more likely to suffer from malnutrition Because I am a girl I am more likely to suffer violence in the home Because I am a girl I am more likely to marry and start a family before I reach my twenties. Eight authors have visited eight different countries and spoken to young women and girls about their lives, struggles and hopes. The result is an extraordinary collection of writings about prejudice, abuse, and neglect, but also about courage, resilience and changing attitudes. Proceeds from sales of this book will go to PLAN, one of the world''s largest child-centered community development organisations.

''I''m still rather fond of this first book of mine, in spite of all the time that has elapsed, and in spite of the way my style has evolved.'' Joanne Harris Caution - May contain vampires. It''s never easy to face the fact that a man you once loved passionately has found the girl of his dreams, as Alice discovers when Joe introduces her to his new girlfriend. Then Alice finds an old diary and reads about two men and the mysterious woman who bewitched them both, buried in Grantchester churchyard half a century ago. As the stories seem to intertwine, Alice comes to realize that her instinctive hatred of Joe''s new girlfriend may not just be due to jealousy, as she is plunged into a nightmare world of obsession, revenge, seduction - and blood.

The New York Times bestselling author takes a riveting new direction with this richly textured, multi-layered novel of friendship, murder, revenge, and class conflict set in an upper-crust English school—as enthralling and haunting as Ian McKewan’s Atonement and Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley Audere, agere, auferre. To dare, to strive, to conquer. For generations, elite young men have attended St. Oswald’s School for Boys, groomed for success by the likes of Roy Straitley, the eccentric classics teacher who has been a revered fixture for more than 30 years. But this year, things are different. Suits, paperwork, and Information Technology rule the world, and Straitley is reluctantly contemplating retirement. He is joined in this, his 99th, term by five new faculty members, including one who—unknown to Straitley and everyone else—holds intimate and dangerous knowledge of St. Ozzie’s ways and secrets, it’s comforts and conceits. Harboring dark ties to the school’s past, this young teacher has arrived with one terrible goal: Destroy St. Oswald’s. As the new term gets underway, a number of incidents befall students and faculty alike. Beginning as small annoyances—a lost pen, a misplaced coffee mug—they soon escalate to the life threatening. With the school unraveling, only Straitley stands in the way of St. Ozzie’s ruin. But the old man faces a formidable opponent—a master player with a strategy that has been meticulously planned to the final move. A harrowing tale of cat and mouse told in alternating voices, this riveting, hypnotically atmospheric novel showcases Joanne Harris’s astonishing storytelling talent as never before.

Mado has been adrift for too long. After ten years in Paris, she returns to the small island of Le Devin, the home that has haunted her since she left. Le Devin is shaped somewhat like a sleeping woman. At her head is the village of Les Salants, while its more prosperous rival, La Houssinière, lies at her feet. Yet even though you can walk from one to the other in an hour, they are worlds apart. And now Mado is back in Les Salants hoping to reconcile with her estranged father. But what she doesn''t realize is that it is not only her father whose trust she must regain.

Before the sweet delight of Chocolat, before the heady concoction that is Blackberry Wine, and before the tart pleasures of Five Quarters of the Orange, bestselling author Joanne Harris wrote Sleep, Pale Sister -- a gothic tourde-force that recalls the powerfully dark sensibility of her novel Holy Fools. Originally published in 1994 -- and never before available in the United States -- Sleep, Pale Sister is a hypnotically atmospheric story set in nineteenth century London. When puritanical artist Henry Chester sees delicate child beauty Effie, he makes her his favorite model and, before long, his bride. But Henry, volatile and repressed, is in love with an ideal. Passive, docile, and asexual, the woman he projects onto Effie is far from the woman she really is. And when Effie begins to discover the murderous depths of Henry''s hypocrisy, her latent passion will rise to the surface. Sleep, Pale Sister combines the ethereal beauty of a Pre-Raphaelite painting with a chilling high gothic tale and is a testament to Harris''s brimming cornucopia of talents. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Joanne Harris, bestselling author of Chocolat, presents her most accomplished novel yet -- an intoxicating concoction that blends theology and reason, deception and masquerade, with a dash of whimsical humor and a soupçon of sensuality. Britanny, 1610. Juliette, a one-time actress and rope dancer, is forced to seek refuge among the sisters of the abbey of Sainte Marie-de-la-mer. Reinventing herself as Soeur Auguste, Juliette makes a new life for herself and her young daughter, Fleur. But when the kindly abbess dies, Juliette''s comfortable existence begins to unravel. The abbey''s new leader is the daughter of a corrupt noble family, and she arrives with a ghost from Juliette''s past -- Guy LeMerle, a man she has every reason to fear and hate. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Maddy Smith, who bears the mysterious mark of a rune on her hand, learns that she is destined to join the gods of Norse mythology and play a role in the fate of the world.

This publication is not for sale to libraries. When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock. Can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate eclair?

The "New York Times"-bestselling author returns with an exquisite treat that continues the story begun in her novel, "Chocolat."

The sequel to Chocolat.

Following the success of My French Kitchen, bestselling author Joanne Harris and Fran Warde present a deliciously simple collection of recipes that draw inspiration from the rural markets of Gascony and emphasize rustic, fresh flavors and a relaxed, tossed-together style. From large, lumpy tomatoes bursting with taste, to sun-ripened melons, to goat cheese rolled in fresh herbs, and to locally produced organic honey, this is food as nature intended.

In My French Kitchen bestselling author Joanne Harris, along with acclaimed food writer Fran Warde, shares her treasured collection of family recipes that has been passed down from generation to generation. All the classics are here: Quiche Lorraine, Moules Marinière, Coq au Vin, and Crème Brûlée, plus an entire chapter devoted to French chocolate, including cakes, meringues, and spiced hot chocolate.

From the author of "Chocolat" comes an "unexpectedly sweet and powerful" ("New York Times") novel of a widow in her sixties returning to the French town she left as a child, and the clues to long-kept secrets she finds in her mother''s recipe scrapbook.

Returning to the small Loire village of her childhood to run a cafe, Franboise Dartigen soon finds that hidden among her mother''s recipes are clues that will lead her to the truth of long ago.

Enllà del carrer principal de Les Laveuses passa el Loira serè i marronós com una serp al sol, però sota la seva superfície bellugadissa s’amaga un mar de fons mortal. En aquest indret, Framboise, una vídua reservada, posa en pràctica els seus coneixements culinaris a la creperia i deixa que la memòria jugui jocs estranys. Aquest món aparentment tranquil es veu amenaçat amb l’arribada del nebot de Framboise, un parisenc aprofitat que intenta explotar l’èxit creixent de les receptes populars que ella ha heretat de la seva mare, una dona que els habitants de Les Laveuses recorden amb menyspreu. A mesura que la sang vessada d’una tràgica infantesa en temps de guerra torna a fluir, surten a la llum els secrets de Framboise, la vídua amb un passat fictici.