Books published by publisher Plain Press Limited

Meet Lydia Crow... Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London.When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.Soon, Lydia is neck-deep in problems: her new flatmate is a homicidal ghost, the intriguing, but forbidden, DCI Fleet is acting in a distinctly unprofessional manner, and tensions between the old magical families are rising. The Crows used to rule the roost and rumours claim they are still the strongest.The Silvers have a facility for lying and they run the finest law firm in London.The Pearl family were costermongers and everybody knows that a Pearlie can sell feathers to a bird.The Fox family... Well. The less said about the Fox family the better.For seventy-five years, a truce between the four families has held strong, but could the disappearance of Maddie Crow be the thing to break it? The Night Raven is the first book in Crow Investigations, an exciting new paranormal mystery series from bestselling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter.‘My favourite new urban fantasy series, clever and twisty and deliciously magical, with a shivery sense of wonder that feels utterly grounded in its London setting. Perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Genevieve Cogman or Robert Galbraith!’ Stephanie Burgis, author of Snowspelled and Masks and Shadows ‘Clever and charming and funny – and a bit creepy!’ Keris Stainton, author of If You Could See Me Now and Counting Stars

[STOP PRESS December 2018: A flurry of announcements about repurposing of stores, takeovers and mergers have been made by some of the Big Four supermarkets in recent months. No surprises, then, for readers of this book. Its 2020 vision and predictions of market share remain unchanged.]Background to this book: After more than twenty years of the internet, bricks-and-mortar retailers have started to buckle. The data shows that up to a third of shopping will be online by the start of the 2020s, so that up to a third of bricks-and-mortar retailers may have to close their doors. Thus far the grocery sector has been immune to the internet threat. Yet, even here, the dynamics have changed. It’s not enough for the traditional bricks-and-mortar supermarket to get an online presence: they still have to compete with a new type of bricks-and-mortar discounter on the High Street.In this book, the author shows how two supermarket groups from Europe are helping themselves to the market share of the Big Four and why they can’t be stopped. It has little to do with ‘buying power’. This new retail paradigm is to have a small footprint and fast shopping – less space and more speed. The secret is that it lowers the fixed cost structure of each store – running costs such as rent and wages – by up to a third. These stores can afford to slash gross margins and thus selling prices. The traditional grocery chains can’t compete.The book starts with a primer on the UK grocery business. It shows how the cost structure in the sector sets limits on what firms can do. It then applies concepts devised by two of the world’s top strategists to show how the traditional grocery groups are being disrupted through innovation by the upstarts from Europe. The author uses one of the simplest formulas yet devised – Little’s Law – to show how and why fast shopping works. This flow-rate formula underpins key concepts in diverse fields such as business strategy, supply chain management, operations planning, reengineering, project management, constraint theory, and lean thinking. The book also goes into how some supermarket groups might have made their own plight worse through groupthink, strategic drift, financial engineering, short-termism, too much debt, and undue pressure on suppliers and staff. In 2014 the author made startling predictions of market share in 2020 for this sector, based on his hypotheses. So far the predictions are on track, and can be checked online. Even if the author’s views are only half right then this controversial yet clear guide is a must-read for anyone in retail.

Meet Lydia Crow... Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London.When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.Soon, Lydia is neck-deep in problems: her new flatmate is a homicidal ghost, the intriguing, but forbidden, DCI Fleet is acting in a distinctly unprofessional manner, and tensions between the old magical families are rising. The Crows used to rule the roost and rumours claim they are still the strongest.The Silvers have a facility for lying and they run the finest law firm in London.The Pearl family were costermongers and everybody knows that a Pearlie can sell feathers to a bird.The Fox family... Well. The less said about the Fox family the better.For seventy-five years, a truce between the four families has held strong, but could the disappearance of Maddie Crow be the thing to break it? The Night Raven is the first book in Crow Investigations, an exciting new paranormal mystery series from bestselling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter.‘My favourite new urban fantasy series, clever and twisty and deliciously magical, with a shivery sense of wonder that feels utterly grounded in its London setting. Perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Genevieve Cogman or Robert Galbraith!’ Stephanie Burgis, author of Snowspelled and Masks and Shadows ‘Clever and charming and funny – and a bit creepy!’ Keris Stainton, author of If You Could See Me Now and Counting Stars

[STOP PRESS December 2018: A flurry of announcements about repurposing of stores, takeovers and mergers have been made by some of the Big Four supermarkets in recent months. No surprises, then, for readers of this book. Its 2020 vision and predictions of market share remain unchanged.]Background to this book: After more than twenty years of the internet, bricks-and-mortar retailers have started to buckle. The data shows that up to a third of shopping will be online by the start of the 2020s, so that up to a third of bricks-and-mortar retailers may have to close their doors.Thus far the grocery sector has been immune to the internet threat. Yet, even here, the dynamics have changed. It’s not enough for the traditional bricks-and-mortar supermarket to get an online presence: they still have to compete with a new type of bricks-and-mortar discounter on the High Street.In this book, the author shows how two supermarket groups from Europe are helping themselves to the market share of the Big Four and why they can’t be stopped. It has little to do with ‘buying power’. This new retail paradigm is to have a small footprint and fast shopping – less space and more speed.The secret is that it lowers the fixed cost structure of each store – running costs such as rent and wages – by up to a third. These stores can afford to slash gross margins and thus selling prices. The traditional grocery chains can’t compete.The book starts with a primer on the UK grocery business. It shows how the cost structure in the sector sets limits on what firms can do. It then applies concepts devised by two of the world’s top strategists to show how the traditional grocery groups are being disrupted through innovation by the upstarts from Europe. The author uses one of the simplest formulas yet devised – Little’s Law – to show how and why fast shopping works. This flow-rate formula underpins key concepts in diverse fields such as business strategy, supply chain management, operations planning, reengineering, project management, constraint theory, and lean thinking.The book also goes into how some supermarket groups might have made their own plight worse through groupthink, strategic drift, financial engineering, short-termism, too much debt, and undue pressure on suppliers and staff.In 2014 the author made startling predictions of market share in 2020 for this sector, based on his hypotheses. So far the predictions are on track, and can be checked online.Even if the author’s views are only half right then this controversial yet clear guide is a must-read for anyone in retail.

London is Lydia Crow’s city so when a man is found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge, she takes it personally.Driven by her desire to improve her fledgling P.I. skills and an innate sense of justice, Lydia investigates. Even when it seems as if the Silver Family might be involved, Lydia refuses to back down.The Silver Family, who run the finest law firm in London, have a gift for persuasion. In the Bad Old Days it was said they could make a man jump off a roof by convincing him he could fly. But that's all in the past… Isn’t it?Everybody wants something from Lydia: Her Uncle Charlie wants her to join the infamous Family Business, her ghostly flatmate wants her to test her power, DCI Fleet wants a relationship, and the Silver Family want her to keep her nose out.Trouble is, Lydia has never been much good at taking orders. And London in a heatwave is a dangerous place to be... ‘My favourite new urban fantasy series, clever and twisty and deliciously magical.’ Stephanie Burgis, author of Snowspelled