Norman is the clever one of a close-knit Jewish family in the East End of London. Infant prodigy; brilliant barrister; the apple of his parents' eyes... until at forty-one he becomes a drug addict, confined to his bedroom, at the mercy of his hallucinations and paranoia. For Norman, his committal to a mental hospital represents the ultimate act of betrayal. For Rbbi Zweck, Norman's father, his son's deterioration is a bitter reminder of his own guilt and failure. Only Bella, the unmarried sister, still in her childhood white ankle socks, can reach across the abyss of pain to bring father and son the elusive peace which they both desperately crave. **

George Verrey Smith, suburban schoolmaster, is bored: with his wife, his life, his job. Plagued by poison pen letters, suffused with lust for Mrs Johnson next door, the only bright spot in George's life is Sunday. On Sunday George looks his best. On Sunday George dresses up. On Sunday George becomes Emily.

The killer's modus operandi is the same in each instance: strangulation, always with a guitar string, pulled tight from behind until life is taken. And though the murders are happening up and down the country, there is one other similarity that Inspector Wilkins can't help noticing. Each and every victim is a psychotherapist...Donald Dorricks is on a mission. Nine shrinks to go and his crusade is complete. Yet, even after giving himself up and confessing to the killings, he still protests his innocence. And just as Inspector Wilkins struggles to catch the killer, Dorricks' wife Verine attempts to understand the reasoning behind the murders. Then as her husband's tale emerges, it reveals a past peppered with secrets from which Donald had never been able to escape. Until now ... A black comedy that mixes whodunit and whydunit, Nine Lives is the unsettling story of a very English murderer - a novel of suspense, strangulation and psychotherapy.

This novel deals with the relationship between a devoted piano teacher, the Madame Sousatzka of the title, and an aspiring young pianist. The action takes place largely in the dilapidated London home of Sousatzka where three other colourful characters also live. One is a 'countess' in retirement who spends most of her time sitting and looking at the world, the second is a gay osteopath whose theories aim to benefit mankind, and the third, Jenny, is a woman-of-the-evening, albeit one of especial beauty and delicacy. Sousatzka herself came to Britain as a refugee from Russia. She has developed her own system for teaching the piano, but even she has doubts about its efficacy. Madame Sousatzka specialises in child prodigies. In her hands the new boy will blossom into musical genius. But the public cannot hear him yet: until his debut he belongs to Sousatzka and her bizarre hot- house tenants. One day he will be a great pianist - until that day he must play only for Sousatzka ...

Miss Hawkins looked at her watch. It was two-thirty. If everything went according to schedule, she could safely reckon to be dead by six o'clock. 'But by the day's end, events have taken a dramatic turn and Miss Hawkins is sentenced to live. Forcibly retired, she is presented by her colleagues with a five-year diary. Programmed since childhood to total obedience, Miss Hawkins slavishly follows her dairy's commands until the impossible happens – she meets a man. As a last reprieve from the horrors of loneliness she embarks on a determined full-scale mission to taste life's secret pleasures – and pains– until the cup runs dry...

Sir Alfred Dreyfus is in jail, innocent of the charges against him, guilty of a lifetime of denial.Headmaster of one of Britain's most prestigious schools, knighted for his services to education, he has built a distinguished career whilst carefully concealing his Jewish roots. When he is falsely imprisoned for a horrific crime, he realises it is not just his enemies who have difficulty with his identity.