Hennessy was the pen name of John Harris, a highly inventive and versatile writer who drew heavily on his experiences in both the Navy and Air Force, serving in WW2. His novels reflect the reality of war mixed with a heavy dose of conflict and adventure and we have a pair of scintillating, full-throttle thrillers of the First World War, perfect for fans of Derek Robinson. Man against man, face to face, one machine against another. It was shortly after the outbreak of WW1 and Martin Falconer and his friend Frank were anxious to 'get into the scrap' as soon as possible, their youth blinding them to the real danger of it all. Geoffrey, Martin's elder brother, knew that it wasn't a game because he had fought in the trenches, been wounded and had seen friends die. For Geoffrey the R.F.C. offered an opportunity to escape the mud and horror of the Front, while for Martin and Frank it was the chance to be in at the start of a totally different kind of fighting. They were to be pioneers and risk everything to win. 292pp in reprinted paperback of the 1971 original, fairly large text.

A companion to The Fledglings code 91808, this is John Harris's gripping First World War novel for fans of Clive Cussler. To swing the tide of war you must take to the air once again. It was 1916 and the First World War still had two years to run. Martin Falconer, at 18 an experienced pilot with service in France to his credit, was kicking his heels in England, awaiting another posting to the Front. Throughout the spring he watched the progress of the war, especially the war in the air, acknowledging to himself the Germans' superiority. Their machines were better, and they had produced the war's best-known hero of the air, the Red Baron. British machines were poor, morale was low, and the odds were stacked against them. Finally at the beginning of April Martin was sent again to France, but this was the month that became known as Bloody April, when a pilot's life expectancy was two weeks, and Martin found himself in a unit demoralised and ill-managed. Harris's sombre picture of Britain at war is as compelling as only the truth can be. 283pp in facsimile reprint of the 1973 original. Fairly large print.

You will be hooked from the first page of this cracking spy thriller which is complicated, fast paced and full of believable characters. Speedbird 117 takes off like any other flight from Heathrow. It will never reach its destination. The cause? Taher, a ruthless terrorist with a score to settle. With the Secret Service on red alert, senior analyst Stephen Holm is given an ultimatum - find Taher and confiscate his devastating surface-to-air missiles, or witness his nation's descent into disaster. Rebecca da Silva meanwhile accepts a seemingly routine job in the Philippines for a wealthy businessman. Little does she know that this will set a course in motion that she is unable to stop, that leads inevitably to Taher. 'The plot could be straight out of a James Bond film, revolving around the Security Services the way it does.' - Diane Harris, Reader. 388pp, paperback.

Brandon Webb is a combat-decorated Navy SEAL sniper turned entrepreneur. As a US Navy Chief he was head instructor at the sniper school and is a multiple New York Times bestselling author. An aircraft carrier adrift with a crew the size of a small town, there is a murderer in their midst. The moment Navy SEAL sniper Finn sets foot on the USS Abraham Lincoln, it's clear something is deeply wrong. Leadership is weak, morale low and when crew members start disappearing what at first seems like a random string of suicides soon reveals something far more sinister - there's a serial killer on board. Suspicion falls on newcomer Finn. After all, he's being sent home in disgrace, recalled from the field under the dark cloud of a mission gone wrong. Finding the killer offers a chance at redemption, if he can stay alive long enough to prove it isn't him. With an authentic taste of life on board an airship carrier. 406 page paperback.

In the spring of 1912 Dr Watson has decided to retire from the practice. In order to rekindle his old friendship with Sherlock Holmes, he travels to Sussex for a short holiday, but within hours of his arrival Watson finds himself drawn into a series of terrible events surrounding the apparent death of Holmes's brother Mycroft, the mysterious kidnapping of a London safe maker, and the murderous attack upon a seaman. All of these events are interrelated, and Sherlock Holmes has to discover what lies at the root of it all, be it in London or Rome. 157pp, paperback.

A gold mine has been established 20 miles or so east of Lifford, County Donegal in the Irish Republic, just across the River Liffey which divides it from Strabane, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. Preparations are in hand for the official opening of the goldmine to be performed by Cathal Hagan, a US Senator of Republican sympathies and doubtful reputation. Inspector Benedict Devlin is responsible for the associated security operation. A body is found at the mine which turns out to be an Iron Age 'bog body' of a young woman who was apparently sacrificed. This brings archaeologists hotfoot from Dublin and the professor in charge turns out to be a childhood neighbour and university drinking buddy of Devlin's. Meanwhile a man shot during an unsuccessful bank raid in Lifford proves to be an illegal immigrant from Chechnya. At the mine a shanty camp is growing on the banks of a nearby river after the discovery of a nugget in the riverbed triggers a mini gold rush. When the controversial US diplomat is attacked the gunman turns out to be a young environmentalist related to an old friend of Devlin's. Then Devlin's friend is found dead near the mine and he begins to suspect that the business is a front for something far more sinister than mere mining. 'A mystery of labyrinthine complexity' - Sunday Telegraph, it is a tale of big business, the new Europe and the dispossessed. 276pp, paperback.

Malta at the heart of the Mediterranean war in 1941 is under siege by German and Italian bombers. Rumours that a British soldier murdered a Maltese teenager cannot go unchallenged without damaging loyalty to Britain. Now Britain will cooperate with Ireland to find the killer and Detective Inspector Stefan Gillespie is sent to Malta. He had been ferrying documents between Dublin and war-torn London when Ireland's greatest actor was arrested in Soho, after the brutal murder of a gay man. But Stefan is looking at a series of murders stretching across Britain and Ireland. The Soho victim was a police informant, spying on nationalist friends, and the killer is probably a British soldier, but the identical murder in Malta makes investigation essential. The British believe the killer is an Irishman and that's the result they want. They would like Stefan to give it to them, but in the dark streets of Valletta there are threats deadlier than German bombs. 320pp, paperback.

Jack Morgan is having a bad week. His twin brother is up on a murder charge and determined to frame him for the crime, and one of Jack's clients has just called to report the burnt bodies of four surfers on his beach. But what seems like a random mugging gone wrong soon reveals something far worse - a killer calling themselves No Prisoners is holding the city to ransom. And there's more bad news - Hollywood's golden couple Thom and Jennifer Harlow have been kidnapped, along with their adopted children. It looks like the whole world is about to discover whether Private are really as good as they say they are. 501pp, paperback.

An invitation from an old friend draws Jack Morgan into a deadly conspiracy. On a cold January morning he stands inside the New York Stock Exchange with his former US Marine comrade whose company is being launched onto the market, eagerly awaiting the opening bell. But before the bell rings, a bullet rips through the air and finds its mark. In the aftermath of the murder, the victim's wife hires Jack to find the killer. As the head of Private, Jack has at his disposal the world's largest investigation agency, but what he discovers shakes him to the core. Jack identifies another murder in Moscow that appears to be linked so he heads to Russia and begins to uncover a conspiracy that could have global consequences. With powerful forces plotting against him, will Jack make it out alive? 'Great action sequences... breathtaking twists and turns.' - Anthony Horowitz. Feel the chill of this thriller. 448pp, paperback.

Showgirls. Millionaires. Murder. Jack Morgan, head of Private Investigations, the global PI agency of the rich and famous, is being pushed to the limit. His car has been firebombed, his ex is dating someone else, and his twin brother is still out to destroy him. But Private doesn't rest, and nor do its clients - not the LAPD who need Private's help catching two scumbags with diplomatic immunity, and not the client who has just confessed to murdering his wife. Add to that Jack's best friend being held on a trumped-up charge that could see him locked away for a very long time, and it seems like all bets are off. 501pp in paperback.