Books published by publisher Sam Short Books

What do you get if you cross a murder, the skeleton of a mysterious creature, gold fever and plenty of magic? Mayhem, mystery and laughter - that's what!This is book number two in series. Although the reader might enjoy it as a standalone novel, the author strongly suggests that book number one - 'Witch Way to Spellbinder Bay' - is read first.Millie Thorn has been in the paranormal town of Spellbinder Bay for a few months. During that time, she's come to terms with the fact that she's a witch, and she's come to terms with the fact that her familiar, Reuben, is a particularly cheeky cockatiel.She's finding it hard to come to terms with the knowledge that the father she never knew she had lives in the same town as her. She's finding it even harder to pluck up the courage to discover his identity. When her magical familiar, Reuben, comes up with a plan which may make the delicate situation easier, Millie must decide whether she has the courage to face somebody she never thought she'd see again. Somebody who has been dead for a long time.When Millie is witness to the discovery of a body, gold and the skeletal remains of a strange creature - presumed to be a dinosaur, things begin to spiral into a mystery which involves demons, metal detectorists, alien hunters - and homemade biscuits. (With a choice of raisins, chocolate chip, or for the adventurous - both.)Never having been the jealous type, Millie can't quite work out why she's so offended at the fact that George, a handsome vampire, is showing interest in a mystery woman - but is determined to find out just who the attractive nurse is.With all the ingredients required for magic, mystery, humour and mayhem - 'Broomsticks and Bones' is the second book in the Spellbinder Bay cozy mystery series.

Granny and Boris are tempting fate, and somebody needs to eat all the pies!With Penelope’s magic shop moved onto dry land, and a pie-eating competition in Wickford -- there’s plenty of fun to be had by the Weaver family and their friends.When Barney stumbles upon a body in Granny’s spare bedroom while investigating an arson, somebody needs to make him forget what he saw before the witchy secret of the Weaver family is exposed. Not Granny of course – she’s still suffering from witch dementia.There’s only so many spells a ginger haired policeman can take in one day, though, and Penelope is forced to make a decision which will see her and Barney become closer, and the rest of her family accept that secrets can’t last forever.When Uncle Brian bursts onto the scene in a fabulous display of magical prowess, Granny is happy to have her first born at home again, and is even happier when her oppressed son decides to set up a business in Wickford.With Boris the goat emotionally scarred by a vet’s attempt to take his temperature, and Granny trying to leave the working class behind, Penny is happy she can finally visit the magical haven for some downtime, where she discovers something about herself which she never saw coming.Fate leads to the discovery of a magical artefact which exposes a secret about Boris and helps Granny with her posture, and with a murder to solve too, it’s a busy time in Wickford for all!Although the reader may enjoy this book without reading the series in order -- the author suggests reading the series in order;Book One - Under Lock and KeyBook Two - Four and Twenty BlackbirdsBook Three - An Eye For An EyeBook Four - A Meeting Of Minds

Granny’s got witch dementia, and Boris the talking goat may be drinking too much!Do you like mysteries? Do you love laughing? Then look no further than the zany Weaver family for both of your fixes!Penelope Weaver’s back in Wickford, hoping to relax after a four-month trip aboard her boat. Relaxation is not something she should really have expected though – after all, she is a member of the only witch family in town.It’s no ordinary witch family either. Granny’s developed witch dementia, and Boris the goat is getting used to his new life of brandy and biscuits whenever he demands it. He’s starting a blog too, but that’s a whole different story.Penelope’s mother is still visiting the magical haven on a regular basis, and continuing her conquest to get Penny off her boat and back onto dry land. All things considered, everything’s relatively normal in town.When a murder occurs in Wickford, Penny, her best friend, and her sister, are drawn into the mystery, helping their oversized and under skilled policeman friend to solve it.There’s also a rumour going around that Barney may have the hots for Penelope, but Penelope’s mother disagrees. She thinks Barney may be Scottish. Penelope’s mother is a complicated woman.There’s a barking goose too. Come to think about it - the only normal animal in Penny’s life is her cat, Rosie.Join the residents of Wickford for some light-hearted fun in this 60,000 word cozy mystery novel, which contains no blood and gore, and only very minimal use of the tamest of bad language.Under Lock And Key is book number One in the Water Witch Cozy Mystery Series.Book 2 - Four and Twenty BlackbirdsBook 3 - An Eye For an EyeBook 4 - A Meeting Of MindsThis book is written using British English spelling and terminology throughout.

With everything from Achilles' heel to Pythagoras' theorem, from Oedipus and his complex to Margaret Thatcher and Thucydides, this book aims to unlock the richness of the Greek world and show just how profoundly it has informed our own. Consider the way we think: about right and wrong, about the nature of beauty, goodness, and truth. What, in the end, it is to be a human being amid the immensity of the universe. All this, and more, we have learned from the ancient Greeks. They moulded the basic disciplines and genres in which we still organise thought: from poetry to drama, from politics to philosophy and history to medicine. Packed with useful cribs - history timelines; a who's who; a guide to the Greek gods; a map for those who struggle to know their Lemnos from their Lesbos - It's All Greek To Me is a bluffer's guide in one sense, that will give you a helping hand around Greek democracy, the Persian Wars, or the Parthenon. But it is much more than that; it is a book that aims to bring ancient Greece back into the mainstream of life - where it belongs.

There’s a new witch in Picklebury, and her name is Pepper Grinder.Wait! Stop right there! That’s not how it’s pronounced! It’s pronounced Grin-der. Grin as in a big cheesy smile, and der as in how dare you mispronounce it! It rhymes with hinder, okay? She’s not a condiment dispenser; she’s a person! It’s easy. Grinder – hinder. Say that ten times, and you’ll have it.So, there’s a new witch in the Derbyshire town of Picklebury, situated in the beautiful region of England known as the Peak District. Her name is Pepper Grinder (that’s it – you’ve got it!), and she’s a dab hand at gardening, without knowing the first thing about plants. Actually, that’s not entirely true - she knows a lot about plants, but not the silly things such as their names, or at what time of the year they’re supposed to flower. No, Pepper knows none of that stuff, but her magic does let her know how a plant is feeling and what it needs to flourish. Such a gift is both a blessing and a curse, and Pepper is quick to find out that the police in Picklebury have a dim view of how she sometimes uses her powers. She’s used to that, though. It’s not the first time she’s had a police warning for sneaking around people’s gardens, and it definitely probably won’t be the last.When she’s not trespassing, or sitting beneath her favourite oak tree in the meadow, Pepper Grinder likes to be alone. She shares her cottage with a cat named Ziggy, and that’s the way she likes it. The fewer people in her life - the better, as far as she’s concerned, so it’s quite unusual when within the space of a day she inadvertently joins a club and takes a small role in a low-budget romantic film about a World War Two Spitfire pilot and his potato picking lover.With things already far more hectic than Pepper is used to, finding a dead body is an additional nuisance she could have done without, especially when she hears through the grapevine that the man’s death may not have been an accident. She can’t tell the police that, though – they’d think she was mad if she told them that her informer was a south-facing, fruit yielding plant, so Pepper must take control and solve the mystery herself, with a little help from members of the club she accidentally joined.With a film director on the hunt for the expensive equipment stolen from his film set, and a strange man skulking around the small canal-side town, Pepper soon realises that moving to Picklebury may have granted her the thatched roof cottage she’d always wanted, but it certainly hadn’t afforded her the peace and quiet she'd craved.A Dash Of Pepper is book number one in The Pepper Grinder Cozy Witch Mystery Series.

Do You Love Cozy Mysteries? Then this bumper box set has you covered! With two full paranormal cozy mystery series included, you'll not be able to put this massive, magical page-turner down!Spellbinder Bay SeriesBook One - Witch Way To Spellbinder BayWould you drop everything and move to a town with a peculiar name, because an odd little man made you a strange offer?Millie Thorn did, and she could never have guessed what mysteries and revelations were awaiting her in the magical town of Spellbinder Bay.After witnessing a murder on her first day in the bay, Millie is cast into a world she never knew existed – a world of magic and the paranormal, and a world where it’s seemingly normal to have a conversation with a cockatiel named Reuben.Learning she is a witch becomes relatively simple to accept after discovering what other paranormal creatures populate the town, and with ever more mysterious clues about her life coming to light, it’s not just a murder she must solve. She must discover who she is, and why she feels like she’s been to the town before. Is it just déjà vu? Millie isn’t so sure.With talk of another dimension known as The Chaos, and with an unlikely board of directors running the local school – there’s a lot for Millie to learn, and should she decide to stay in town – a lot for her to accept, too.Did Millie make the correct decision when she decided to move to the bay? Only time will tell.Book Two - Broomsticks And BonesMillie Thorn has been in the paranormal town of Spellbinder Bay for a few months. During that time, she's come to terms with the fact that she's a witch, and she's come to terms with the fact that her familiar, Reuben, is a particularly cheeky cockatiel.She's finding it hard to come to terms with the knowledge that the father she never knew she had lives in the same town as her. She's finding it even harder to pluck up the courage to discover his identity. When her magical familiar, Reuben, comes up with a plan which may make the delicate situation easier, Millie must decide whether she has the courage to face somebody she never thought she'd see again. Somebody who has been dead for a long time.When Millie is witness to the discovery of a body, gold and the skeletal remains of a strange creature - presumed to be a dinosaur, things begin to spiral into a mystery which involves demons, metal detectorists, alien hunters - and homemade biscuits. (With a choice of raisins, chocolate chip, or for the adventurous - both.)Never having been the jealous type, Millie can't quite work out why she's so offended at the fact that George, a handsome vampire, is showing interest in a mystery woman - but is determined to find out just who the attractive nurse is.Book Three - Spells And CellsA murder in a police cell is always tricky to explain away. When the victim is a werewolf, things become very complicated!Things are looking up for Millie Thorn. She’s finally enjoying life as a witch, and she’s even taken a part-time job teaching cookery in a school for paranormal children. She’s come to terms with the fact that the local policeman, Sergeant David Spencer, is her father, and she’s accepted that it might be better to wait a little longer until she drops that bombshell at his feet.He already has an adopted daughter, who happens to be Millie’s best friend, and interfering in either of those relationships isn’t something Millie wishes to do. She’s also uncertain that the policeman will respond well to the news that he has a second daughter, so decides to sit on the news until the time is right.That was the plan, anyway!And the complete Water Witch Series is included in the box-set!Book OneUnder Lock & KeyBook TwoFour & Twenty BlackbirdsBook ThreeAn Eye For An EyeBook FourA Meeting Of MindsA huge cozy mystery collection!

Dr Michael Mosley, author of the best-selling 5:2 Fast Diet, reveals a game-changing approach to one of the greatest silent epidemics of our time - raised blood sugar levels. The food we eat today, high in sugar and easily digestible carbohydrates, is not only making us fat but is putting us at risk of type 2 diabetes, strokes, dementia, cancer and a lifetime on medication. More than a third of adults in the UK now have raised blood sugar levels and most don't know it. In this timely book, Dr Mosley explains why we pile on dangerous abdominal fat and shows us how to shed it - fast. He demolishes common myths, such as the claim that steady weight loss is always better than rapid weight loss and that those who lose weight rapidly will inevitably put it back on. This is a book not just for those at highest risk but for anyone who has struggled with their weight and wants to regain control of their health. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

“Remember the words of Ivan Rogers the next time you hear some plausible posh boy in a suit telling you ‘no deal’ wouldn’t hurt at all and might even be a jolly good thing.” J.K. RowlingTwo and a half years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, the political debate over Brexit seems as intense and as complicated as ever. Who and what can we trust? And how on earth do we make sense of it all?Ivan Rogers, the UK’s former ambassador to the EU, is uniquely placed to tell some home truths about the failure of the British political class and the flaws, dishonesty and confusion inherent in the UK’s approach to Brexit so far.In this short, elegant essay, Rogers draws up nine lessons that we, as a soon-to-be ‘third country’, need to learn from the last few years, if the next few years – indeed the next decade – are not to be even more painful.

This is the happiest story you will ever read. It's about two people who led wonderfully fulfilling, successful lives. The odd thing was, they weren't born geniuses. They had no extraordinary physical or mental gifts. Nobody would have picked them out at a young age and said they were destined for greatness. How did they do it? In the past thirty years we have learnt more about the human brain than in the previous 3000 - a scientific revolution has occurred. The unconscious mind, it turns out, is most of the mind - the place where the majority of the brain's work gets done, where our most important life decisions are made, where character is formed and the seeds of accomplishment grow. In this illuminating and compelling book, David Brooks weaves a vast array of new research into the lives of two fictional characters, Harold and Erica, following them from infancy to old age. In so doing, he reveals a fundamental new understanding of human nature. Most success stories are explained at the surface level of life. They describe academic ability, hard work and learning the right techniques to get ahead. This story - the story of Harold and Erica - is told one level down, at the level of emotions, intuitions, biases, genetic predispositions and deep inner longings. The result is a new definition of success, highlighting what economists call non-cognitive skills - those hidden qualities that can't be easily counted or measured, but which in real life lead to happiness and fulfilment. The Social Animal is a moving and nuanced intellectual adventure. Impossible to put down, it is an essential book for our time - one that will have a broad social impact and change the way we see ourselves and the world.

**AMAZON TOP 5 BESTSELLER** **INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER** REVISED AND UPDATED - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This is the happiest story you will ever read. It's about two people who led wonderfully fulfilling, successful lives. The odd thing was, they weren't born geniuses. They had no extraordinary physical or mental gifts. Nobody would have picked them out at a young age and said they were destined for greatness. How did they do it?

Dr Michael Mosley, author of the bestselling 5:2 Fast Diet, reveals a game-changing approach to one of the greatest silent epidemics of our time – raised blood sugar levels.The food we eat today, high in sugar and easily digestible carbohydrates, is not only making us fat, but is putting us at risk of type 2 diabetes, strokes, dementia, cancer and a lifetime on medication. More than a third of adults in the UK now have raised blood sugar levels and most don’t know it.In this timely book, Dr Mosley explains why we pile on dangerous abdominal fat and shows us how to shed it, fast. He demolishes common myths, such as the claim that steady weight loss is always better than rapid weight loss and that those who lose weight rapidly will inevitably put it back on.This is a book not just for those at highest risk but for anyone who has struggled with their weight and wants to regain control of their health.

[b]Bicentenary Edition" Celebrating 200 years of Jane Austen[/b]In a country parsonage in the late 18th century, there lived a large family of seven children. They were all bright and clever and noisy, so nobody really noticed when little Jane turned quietly into a genius…The modest, obedient youngest daughter of the Reverend Austen was to grow up to be one of the greatest writers in the English language. And the story of how she succeeded is every bit as romantic as one of her novels…