Six Years

A lost love... and the secrets and lies at its heart. The stunning novel from No.1 bestseller Harlan Coben. Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. But six years haven't come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd's obituary, he can't keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd's wife he's hoping for... but she is not Natalie - and Jake's world is turned completely inside out. As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can't be found or don't remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake's search for the woman who broke his heart - and who lied to him - soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction.

Part One: SIX YEARS OF DARKNESS Refugees from the Nazis, seventeen-year-old Joni Morgen and her mother arrive in blacked out London in November 1939, after an eight-months stint as domestic servants at a seaside resort. Standing on the wet pavement outside Victoria Station, Joni takes one look at the hustle and bustle of the busy street and is immediately sucked into the spirit of this great city. There is no other place where she wants to be at this time in history. She remains in London through air raids, destruction, shortages, financial stresses and twelve hour work days. Finally the war was over. With youthful optimism she writes: "Peace! Peace on Earth! No man, woman or child will ever be killed again, no bomb dropped, no torpedo fired. World peace. How long mankind longed for that. Now itOs real." Part Two: THIS NEW LIFE Seven years after the war, Britain is still trying to recover from its devastation. Disillusioned, tired of unending rationing, bomb-damaged buildings, shortages and personal restrictions, Joni and her friend Gerda, both alone in the world immigrate to Canada. An unexpectedly carefree and exciting new life opens up for thirty-year-old Joni, a striking contrast to the severity of the war years. The personal nature of these stories allows the reader to walk in the shoes of an "enemy alien" during the war, and an adventurous young woman seeking a purpose in life after the war.

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE LONGEST-HELD AL QAEDA CAPTIVE IN THE WORLD Stephen McGown was en route from London to South Africa, on a once-in-a-lifetime trip by motorbike, returning home to Johannesburg. He had reached Timbuktu, in Mali, when he was captured, along with a Dutch and a Swedish national, by Al Qaeda Islamist militants. Steve was taken because he held a British passport. He was subsequently held hostage at various camps in the Sahara Desert in the north-west of Africa for nearly six years before eventually being released. Life as Steve had known it changed in that instant that he was taken at gunpoint. He had nothing to bargain with, and everything to lose. For the next six years, he reluctantly engaged in what he came to call the greatest chess game of his life. Thousands of kilometres to the south, in Johannesburg, the shock of Stephen's capture struck the McGown family and his wife, Cath, with whom he had, until recently, been living in London. They immediately began efforts to secure Steve's release, through diplomatic channels and in every other way they felt might have a chance of seeing Stephen freed. But as the months of captivity became years, Steve was compelled to go to extraordinary lengths to survive. Making it back home alive became his sole aim. To accomplish this, he realised that he would have to do everything he could to raise his status in the eyes of his captors. To this end, he taught himself Arabic and French, and also converted to Islam, accepting a new name, Lot. To this day, Steve retains the unenviable record of being the longest-held, surviving prisoner of Al Qaeda. While he was undoubtedly always Al Qaeda's captive, through the long years he spent in intimate proximity to his captors, Steve got to see the Islamist militants as few other Westerners have ever seen them. Six Years a Hostage is not only a remarkable story of mental strength, physical endurance and the resilience of the human spirit, but also, significantly, a unique and nuanced perspective on one of the world's most feared terrorist groups. Steve did not merely survive his terrible ordeal; he emerged from the desert a changed - stronger, more positive - human being. This is Stephen McGown's remarkable story, as told to Tudor Caradoc-Davies, a freelance writer, editor and author based in Cape Town, South Africa. After seven years spent working for glossy magazines such as Men's Health, GQ, Best Life and Women's Health, he now contributes to a range of publications. He also writes for the (South African) Sunday Times, and Red Bulletin.

At the age of 67, Henry Holt struck off on a sailing adventure that would become a six-year voyage unlike any other way of seeing the world. The people he met and the challenges he faced along the way – from bureaucratic headaches at ports, to truly frightening weather events, to isolation from his friends and family while relying on their help from afar – only strengthened his commitment to the journey. Around the World in Six Years is an account of sailing lessons and life lessons in equal measure. Dramatic, funny, and heartfelt, it is an account of an ordinary man on an extraordinary trip, and will inspire the aspiring adventurer in every reader.

"Then and Now; or, Thirty-Six Years in the Rockies" by Robert Vaughn is a captivating memoir that takes readers on a remarkable journey through the rugged landscapes of the Rockies. Vaughn's narrative recounts his experiences and adventures spanning over three decades, offering a vivid depiction of life in the wild west. This book is an enthralling choice for those who enjoy tales of exploration and the untamed wilderness.