13 January, 2020.A bulletin from Health Protection Scotland is sent to all GP practices, describing a 'novel Wuhan coronavirus'. It was the first time I'd heard of the virus. 'Current reports describe no evidence of significant human to human transmission, including no infections of healthcare workers,' it says, reassuringly.As COVID-19 has ripped across the globe, crossing borders and crashing markets, it has already cost tens of thousands their lives. But as we wait to discover the full effects of the pandemic, one thing is already clear: on the frontlines of the crisis are our healthcare workers.In Notes on a Crisis , doctor Gavin Francis will take you beyond the headlines to the bedsides of those suffering most, from his GP surgery in Edinburgh to the homeless charity where he volunteers. And inside this compelling narrative of missed opportunities, tragedies and occasional triumphs, he weaves the wider history of medical practice, pandemics and vaccines.Full of compassion, this deeply personal account of a doctor's experiences during the darkest of times is also an intelligent study of what pandemics can do to us - and what we can do about them.

For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do. Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing: but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but

He had her, he lost her…and he’ll do anything to win her back.Powerful, brilliant, and ambitious, Dominic Davenport clawed his way up from nothing to become the King of Wall Street.He has everything—a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, and more money than he could spend in a lifetime. But no matter how much he accumulates, he’s never satisfied.In his endless quest for more, he drives away the only person who saw him as enough.It isn’t until she’s gone that he realizes there may be more to life than riches and glory…but by then, it may be too late.***Kind, intelligent, and thoughtful, Alessandra Davenport has played the role of trophy wife for years.She stood by her husband while he built an empire, but now that they’ve reached the top, she realizes he’s no longer the man she fell for.When it becomes clear that she’ll always come second to his work, she finally takes charge of her life and puts herself first—even if it means leaving the only man she’s ever loved.But what she didn’t count on was his refusal to let her go…or for him to fight for their marriage, no matter what it takes.King of Greed is a steamy marriage in trouble/second chance romance. It's book three in the Kings of Sin series but can be read as a standalone.

Ruthless. Meticulous. Arrogant.Dante Russo thrives on control, both personally and professionally.The billionaire CEO never planned to marry—until the threat of blackmail forces him into an engagement with a woman he barely knows.Vivian Lau, jewelry heiress and daughter of his newest enemy.It doesn’t matter how beautiful or charming she is. He'll do everything in his power to destroy the evidence and their betrothal.There’s only one problem: now that he has her... he can't bring himself to let her go.***Elegant. Ambitious. Well-mannered.Vivian Lau is the perfect daughter and her family’s ticket into the highest echelons of high society.Marrying a blue-blooded Russo means opening doors that would otherwise remain closed to her new-money family.While the rude, elusive Dante isn't her idea of a dream partner, she agrees to their arranged marriage out of duty.Craving his touch was never part of the plan.Neither was the worst thing she could possibly do: fall in love with her future husband.King of Wrath is a steamy billionaire/arranged marriage romance. It contains explicit sexual content, profanity, and mild violence. Recommended for mature readers only.

Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh "Shuggie" Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in run-down public housing in Glasgow, Scotland. Thatcher's policies have put husbands and sons out of work, and the city's notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings. Shuggie's mother Agnes walks a wayward path: she is Shuggie's guiding light but a burden for him and his siblings. She dreams of a house with its own front door while she flicks through the pages of the Freemans catalogue, ordering a little happiness on credit, anything to brighten up her grey life. Married to a philandering taxi-driver husband, Agnes keeps her pride by looking good--her beehive, make-up, and pearly-white false teeth offer a glamourous image of a Glaswegian Elizabeth Taylor. But under the surface, Agnes finds increasing solace in drink, and she drains away the lion's share of each week's benefits--all the family has to live on--on cans of extra-strong lager hidden in handbags and poured into tea mugs. Agnes's older children find their own ways to get a safe distance from their mother, abandoning Shuggie to care for her as she swings between alcoholic binges and sobriety. Shuggie is meanwhile struggling to somehow become the normal boy he desperately longs to be, but everyone has realized that he is "no right," a boy with a secret that all but him can see. Agnes is supportive of her son, but her addiction has the power to eclipse everyone close to her--even her beloved Shuggie.A heartbreaking story of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family that is rarely seen in fiction. Recalling the work of Édouard Louis, Alan Hollinghurst, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara, it is a blistering debut by a brilliant novelist who has a powerful and important story to tell.

‘WOW. Western Lane is glorious. You’ll want to read it over and over again.‘ - Aravind Adiga, author of The White TigerA taut, enthralling first novel about grief, sisterhood, and a young athlete‘s struggle to transcend herself.Eleven-year-old Gopi has been playing squash since she was old enough to hold a racket. When her mother dies, her father enlists her in a quietly brutal training regimen, and the game becomes her world. Slowly, she grows apart from her sisters. Her life is reduced to the sport, guided by its rhythms: the serve, the volley, the drive, the shot and its echo.But on the court, she is not alone. She is with her pa. She is with Ged, a thirteen-year-old boy with his own formidable talent. She is with the players who have come before her. She is in awe.An indelible coming-of-age story, Chetna Maroo’s first novel captures the ordinary and annihilates it with beauty. Western Lane is a valentine to innocence, to the closeness of sisterhood, to the strange ways we come to know ourselves and each other.