Best Selling Books by Kevin Brooks

Following a death-defying escape from the hands of a criminal overlord, young PI Travis Delaney thinks he might finally be getting closer to finding out who killed his parents, and why. But things are about to get a whole lot more deadly . . . One moment Travis is trapped in an armed face-off in the offices of Delaney & Co, private investigators. The next terrorists have stormed the building and he''s been abducted. Kept captive alongside Winston, the rogue security officer who Travis believes is responsible for his parents'' death, Travis is quickly plagued by more questions than answers. As the truth begins to emerge, Travis is faced with the ultimate dilemma: how do you choose between saving your own life or saving the life of someone you love?

A dark, fast-paced, and disturbing story of humans stripped to their essential beings from a beloved YA master.

Caitlin''s life changes the moment she sees Lucas walking across the causeway one hot summer''s day. He is the strangest, most beautiful boy she has ever seen - and when she meets him, her world comes alive.

Just like old times. Just the five of them. Saturdaynight. Nicole asked. How could Pete say no?But past hurts among the former childhoodfriends soon surface, and the party''s over beforeit ever begins. The group splinters off into thedarkness. Into the noise and heat and chaos ofthe carnival.The next morning, a girl is missing. Pete doesn''tknow what--or who--to believe: Could one of theold gang be to blame? Could one of their ownbe a killer?

“Peopled with singular protagonists and downright scary villains, this bleak-yet-romantic tale is a whirlwind ride for the right reader.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) On a storm-ravaged night, a nineteen-year-old girl is kidnapped, raped, and killed. Three days later, her two younger brothers set out in search of her murderer. Cole, seventeen, is a dark-eyed devil who doesn’t care if he lives or dies, while Ruben, fourteen, is a strange child who sometimes, inexplicably, experiences sensations above and beyond his own. This is the story of the boys’ journey from their half-Roma home on a London junk lot to the ghostly moors of Devon, where they hope and fear to find the truth about their sister’s death. It’s a long road, cold and hard and violent. It’s The Road of the Dead. “Fans of Brooks’s Martyn Pig, Kissing the Rain, Candy and Lucas, won’t be disappointed by this thrilling, gritty story and it’s memorable, heart-breaking characters.” —Kirkus Reviews “Brooks’s feel for mood and setting is as masterful here as in his taut, noir Martyn Pig. A haunting, tense drama builds from the first line and only lets up for scenes of brutal, vivid violence that bring readers back down to earth.” —School Library Journal “Brooks succeeds on every level with this enthralling mystery/thriller that will keep readers turning pages well past bedtime. The descriptions are poetic, and the dialogue is lyrical but realistic.” —Horn Book

Joe is hooked from the moment he sees Candy. What is it that catches his eye? Is it her hair, her smile, or just the way she''s standing? When they chat over coffee there''s an instant attraction - but can love ever be this sweet?

Pale, blubbery Moo silently endures a rain of spite each day. But when he sees a murder, he must take a stand, and choose between truth and lies, weakness and strength...

After doctors snake a fiber-optic tube down Robert Smiths throat, what they discover doesn''t make medical sense. Armed with a stolen automatic and the videotape of his strange organs, Robert embarks on a violent odyssey to find out exactly who--and what--he is.

Fourteen-year-old Travis Delaney is trying to get his life back on track following the crash that killed his parents last summer. The police called it an accident, but Travis knows better. His parents were on to something, and whatever they were investigating . . . ended with their murder. Since Travis''s Grandad took over Delaney and Co, things have finally started to look up. But when his private investigation partner, Courtney, is attacked following a routine inquiry into a local business, Travis can''t help but get involved, even though he''s supposed to be focusing on his own investigation into thefts at school. But what he discovers draws him into more danger than he ever could have imagined. Tangled up in a web of gang warfare, dirty police and secret organisations, Travis needs to find a way out. But at the heart of it all is a traitor. Someone close to Travis. Someone he''s supposed to trust. But trust is a dangerous thing.

Elliot has lived his first thirteen years confined to his home, incapacitated by fear. Now he’s out of pills, snow is falling, and his only safe person is missing. A terrifying thriller from Carnegie Medalist Kevin Brooks. From the moment of his birth, Elliot’s life has been governed by fear of almost everything, even of his own fear — a beast that holds him prisoner in his room. The beast is kept at bay, though not eliminated, with a daily regimen of pills. But on Christmas Eve, a mix-up at the pharmacy threatens to unleash the beast full force, and his mother must venture out in a raging snowstorm to a store that should be only minutes away. Hours later, when she still hasn’t returned, Elliot sees no choice but to push through his terror, leave the house, and hunt for her. What happens if the last of his medication wears off and the beast starts scratching at the doors of his mind? Everyone has a breaking point — will Elliot come to his? With plot twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats, multi-award-winning author Kevin Brooks offers a high-suspense exploration of fear and what it means to truly be afraid.

PI John Craine - still struggling to cope with the weight of his past - is forced to finally confront it in his most personal and frightening case yet. PI John Craine is hired to investigate the brutal murder of a Somali youth called Jamaal Tan. The police are treating the murder as just another gang-related crime, but Tan’s aunt believes there’s more to it than that, and she claims the police are trying to cover up her nephew’s death. While investigating the case, Craine learns of the sudden death of his friend and mentor Leon Mercer. At first it appears to be a tragic accident, but Craine soon finds himself entangled in two deeply suspicious investigations. And before long he comes face to face with a man he hoped never to see again.

London, 1976: A summer of creation, destruction, and blistering heat. Lili Garcia stands at the edge of London''s growing punk scene, playing bass with one of city''s wildest bands. The group''s success has only strained things between Lili and Curtis Ray, her cool, rebellious boyfriend and bandmate. Lili soon meets William Bonney—a guitarist from Northern Ireland. William is as reserved as Curtis Ray is loud, haunted by the life he left behind, but every bit as brilliant a musician. William''s quiet confidence moves Lili to search for what she really wants. But the secrets of William''s past could mean danger for both of them . . .

A boy raised by wild dogs fights for survival in this gripping post apocalyptic tale by an acclaimed Carnegie Medalist. Jeet is a dogchild, raised by the wild dogs who killed his parents, then recaptured and “rehumanized.” He now lives with one of only two remaining human communities in the world, besieged by the much larger enemy clan. In a wasteland shaped by war, starvation, and haunting violence, Jeet grapples with his identity — he misses his wild family, and the people of his clan see dogchilds as less than human. When the human clans begin to prepare for a final, bloody battle against each other, Jeet is at the center. His struggle and his relationship with another rehumanized dogchild shed light on what it means to be human or inhuman — and what it takes to be a survivor. In his most ambitious novel yet, Carnegie Medalist Kevin Brooks offers a breathless work of speculative fiction that will have readers at the edge of their seat.

PI John Craine has come to Hale Island to get away from it all - the memories and the guilt, and a past that just won''t let go. But within hours he stumbles across the dead body of a young girl on the beach. When the police arrive the body has inexplicably disappeared. Or - in his already tormented state - did Craine imagine it in the first place? Determined to get at the truth, Craine starts asking questions. But it seems no one on the island is talking. And all too soon he finds himself tangled up in a deadly network of fear and violence. Someone has a dark secret to keep, and Craine is getting in the way...

Dawn Bundy is fifteen. She doesn�t fit in and she couldn�t care less. Dawn has other things on her mind. Her dad disappeared two years ago and it�s all God�s fault. When Dawn�s dad found God, it was the worst time ever. He thought he�d found the answer to everything. But that wasn�t the end of it . . .

PI John Craine is struggling to cope with the weight of his past. Sixteen years ago his wife, Stacy, was brutally murdered. Craine found her body in their bed. And since then, to escape the pain and the unanswered questions, he has buried himself in work by day, and whisky by night. But one phone call changes everything. The mother of missing young woman Anna Gerrish calls on his services, and Craine soon finds himself at the centre of a sinister web of corruption and lies that leads back into the murky waters of the past - and to the night that Craine has spent over a decade trying to forget. As he delves deeper and deeper into the case everything gets increasingly, terrifyingly, personal. And it''s down to Craine to stop history from repeating itself ...

Meet Martyn Pig. His name may be bad, but his life is worse.Martyn''s life is miserable, and it always has been. His mother is gone. His father hates him. But at least things can''t get any worse. Or so he thought.When his father dies in a sudden accident, Martyn realizes that for the first time in his life, he has a choice. Sure, he could report what happened - and move in with his horrible Aunty Jean. Or he could get rid of the body and move on with the rest of his life. So Martyn comes up with a foolproof plan to hide the body. Hey, what could go wrong?

Magical realism and gritty mystery meet in Brooks''s provocative dissection of family, friendship, and faith. "A tense psychological thriller...hard-hitting."--Publishers WeeklyDawn Bundy lives in a cave. In her head. Where''s she''s been hiding for two years. Hiding behind headphones. From the two hottest girls at school, in their impossibly short skirts and unbearably tight tops, their skin close enough to touch. Not talking to her mother, not about what matters. Not thinking of her dad, the drug addict, the ex-con, born-again but far gone. Two years is a long time. Enough for the cave to grow so small that her breath feels like stone in her throat. Two years is no time at all. Nowhere near enough to forget. To pretend that nothing happened. Deep one perfect morning.

Originally published: London: Penguin, 2010.

When Dean first appears at school, Jack knows right away that there''s something diffferent about him. The two form a fast bond and dream of starting a band together, but underneath all the unusual teenage posturing of drinking, drugs and rebellion against authority, there''s a darker side to Dean that needs more - more wildness, more violence.

We all tell stories. It''s one of the most natural ways to share information, as old as the human race. This book is not about a new technique, but how to use something we already know in a new way. Stories help us gather and communicate user research, put a human face on analytic data, communicate design ideas, encourage collaboration and innovation, and create a sense of shared history and purpose. This book looks across the full spectrum of user experience design to discover when and how to use stories to improve our products. Whether you are a researcher, designer, analyst or manager, you will find ideas and techniques you can put to use in your practice.

When Travis Delaney''s parents die in a car crash, Travis is devastated. In a bid to pull himself out of his grief, he starts to look into the last case they were investigating at the private investigation agency they ran. What starts as a minor distraction soon becomes a sinister, unbelievable mystery - and Travis is determined to solve it. Why were his parents looking for a missing boy when the boy''s family says he isn''t missing? Where is the boy himself? And why would a man who is in surveillance photos taken by Travis''s parents turn up at their funeral? As Travis searches for answers, he starts to have the chilling realization that the question he should be asking is the one he most wants to avoid: Was the accident that killed his parents really what it seemed? An intriguing, exciting adventure from a master of suspense.

Johnny Delgado is on his first case, but on a council estate as rough as his, he soon finds himself out of his depth and in big trouble. Suggested level: junior secondary.

Je m''appelle Martyn Pig. Martyn avec un Y, Pig avec un seul G. Martyn Pig, autrement dit, Martyn Cochon. Depuis que ma mère est partie - il y a des années - je vis seul avec mon père. Un sale ivrogne, un gros plein de bière. Mais je n''ai pas voulu sa mort. C''est arrivé par accident. J''avais treize ans à l''époque. Alex, elle, en avait quinze. Elle était jolie. Très belle même. Et moi, je n''étais qu''un gamin empoté. C''est peut-être pour cela que tout a dérapé... Rien n''avance en ligne droite, rien n''est jamais simple. Et surtout pas mon histoire.