Flailing arms (edit)

Brought to you by Penguin.

“I’m not sure anyone knows who I really am. So here it is.”

The real highs.
The real lows.
The Real Girl.

Mutya Buena was only thirteen when she became one third of the original line-up of the iconic girl band Sugababes.

As she launched into fame, her life became unrecognizable overnight. Suddenly, she was going straight from school to the studio, rubbing shoulders with music royalty and hearing fans scream her name.

But with the dazzle of stardom came the darker side: those who would take advantage of her naivety and her kindness, the constant taunting by the press and the lingering regret of missing out on being a real teenager.

Unflinchingly honest, Real Girl takes us through the highs of a spectacular career and the lows that came with a life in the limelight. For the first time, Mutya opens up about the struggles she kept hidden from the public eye when her life began to spiral out of control.

This is the story of the girl the tabloids never saw.

© Mutya Buena 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Real Girl written and read by Mutya Buena

Brought to you by Penguin.

The festive season is fast approaching.

Jane Austen fears that without her siblings at home, there won’t be much Christmas cheer in the Austen household this year.

But when she uncovers a skeleton in the cellar of Deane Rectory, Jane soon forgets her woes. Who needs merriment, when there’s a mystery to solve?

Her investigation leads her to the legend of a young bride who’s long been thought to haunt the woods nearby. After fleeing her wedding breakfast, the bride was never seen again.

Has Jane found her at last? Or is there more to this mystery than meets the eye?

Tis the season for Jane to embark upon festive delights, making merry, and solving murders…

© Jessica Bull 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

The Austen Christmas Murders written by Jessica Bull and read by Eleanor Yates

Brought to you by Penguin.

Secrets, murder and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo - an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogerian - hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world.

Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom - every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow.

All eyes turn to Steven Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for.

Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late...

© Ross Montgomery 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

The Murder at The Worlds End written by Ross Montgomery and read by Derek Jacobi and Joe Jameson

Brought to you by Penguin.

A ritual killing. An ancient curse. What's myth... and what's murder?

After a bruising encounter with a terrorist group, Detective Kamil Rahman has decided to hand in his resignation to the Met and set up a detective agency with his friend Anjoli. But when his boss asks him to go to India to investigate the murder of a British engineer who was found with eighteen arrows stuck in his body, Kamil agrees to take the case, as long as Anjoli can accompany him.

When they arrive in Mumbai, they find someone is on a gruesome killing spree, striking down those connected to the engineer in increasingly macabre ways. Meanwhile, an old friend of Kamil’s gets in touch to beg for his help: he believes his family are cursed, and that he is going to die on his 47th birthday, just like his father and grandfather before him.

As the body count rises, Kamil is torn between solving a very real murder case and protecting his friend from a grisly – if far-fetched – fate. Can he catch a killer and prevent an ancient curse before more people lose their lives?

Praise for the Detective Kamil Rahman novels:

'Outstanding' SUNDAY TIMES

'Hugely entertaining' ANN CLEEVES

'A rip-roaring mystery that's engrossing from start to finish' ABIR MUKHERJEE

© Ajay Chowdhury 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

The Shadow written by Ajay Chowdhury and read by Mikhail Sen and Layla Chowdhury

What makes a thriller truly unputdownable? Which novels have a sense of place that feels like its own character? What are your favourite darker reads for winter nights. We answer these questions and more on our latest episode of Ask Penguin. 

We’re joined by best-selling author, Paula Hawkins, who discusses art, love and remote islands in her latest thriller, The Blue Hour, as well as answering your latest questions with plenty of book recommendations to help you find your next read.

Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before writing her first novel. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, she moved to London in 1989. Her first thriller The Girl on the Train became a global phenomenon, selling over 23 million copies. Published in over fifty languages, it was a No.1 bestseller around the world and a box-office-hit film starring Emily Blunt.

Paula's subsequent thrillers have all been instant Sunday Times bestsellers. In 2021 A Slow Fire Burning was nominated for Thriller of the Year at the British Book Awards, and in 2025 The Blue Hour was voted the Good Housekeeping Good Books winner.

What makes a setting feel so vivid it becomes a character? With Paula Hawkins

What were our favourite books of the year and what are we most excited to read in 2026? Join the team behind the Ask Penguin podcast to look back at standout titles, memorable podcast moments, and the reading intentions we’re taking into the New Year.



What were the best books of 2025?

In our fast-paced, overstimulated world, anxiety has become an all-too-common struggle, affecting over 40 million adults in the U.S. alone. The Holistic Root to Managing Anxiety: Healing from the Inside Out offers a refreshing and effective path forward, guiding readers toward long-term relief through a whole-person approach.

Now in its Second Edition, this updated guide goes beyond traditional self-help methods by addressing the deep-rooted causes of anxiety using integrative, holistic strategies. Drawing from both Eastern and Western practices, this book empowers you to reconnect with your body, mind, and spirit for lasting change.

Inside, you’ll discover:
-How nutrition and specific foods can ease anxiety and support emotional balance
-The science behind exercise as a natural mood stabilizer
-Step-by-step instructions for mindfulness, breathing, and relaxation techniques
-Daily rituals and lifestyle shifts that create a solid foundation for mental resilience
The book guides you through a transformational journey toward wellness. Whether you're just beginning to explore integrative health or looking for new tools to deepen your healing, this book offers practical insights you can use right away without needing hours of free time or clinical training.
If you’re ready to feel grounded, empowered, and truly well from the inside out, this book is your starting point.


The Holistic Root, Sample

El afamado escritor, politólogo, y conferencista Agustín Laje presenta La batalla cultural: Reflexiones críticas para una Nueva Derecha – un manifiesto que informará, animará y facultará a los “guerrilleros culturales” para no bajar los brazos en la batalla que sigue perjudicando a nuestras familias y a la sociedad en general.

En el mundo contemporáneo, la sociedad y la cultura cambian a gran velocidad. La voluntad de dirigir esos cambios está en la base de las batallas culturales que hoy se viven en todas partes. Bien investigado y argumentado inteligentemente, este libro define el concepto de batalla cultural y muestra hasta qué punto la cultura ha llegado a ser el botín principal del poder, cómo se han desarrollado estas batallas desde los tiempos modernos hasta la actual posmodernidad y cómo enfrentarlas.

En este libro, Agustín Laje:

Explica qué es la batalla cultural, cómo darla, y cuales son su características
Analiza cómo la nueva izquierda entendió este fenómeno, frente a una derecha que menospreció el poder de la cultura
Examina cómo entendió este fenómeno la nueva izquierda, frente a una derecha que menospreció el poder de la cultura
Pretende brindar las herramientas necesarias para el nacimiento de una nueva derecha
Este libro está dirigido a:

Las familias que son el principal blanco de ataque en este momento, que se sienten fragmentadas, amedrentadas y que quieren hacer algo más para convertirse en agentes de batalla cultural
A los Jóvenes que cursan sus estudios y que entienden que en sus universidades cada vez hay menos educación y más adoctrinamiento
A todo aquel que se preocupa por los asuntos políticos y mundiales de gran magnitud que crean conflictos en la sociedad
“La lucha política y la lucha cultural son las dos caras de una misma moneda. Si no hay política sin hegemonía, entonces tampoco hay política sin batalla cultural”, dice Laje. “La batalla cultural terminará mostrándose como la madre de todas las batallas.”

The Culture Battle

Famed writer, political scientist, and lecturer Agustín Laje presents The Culture Battle: Critical Reflections for a New Right – a manifesto that will inform, encourage and empower the “cultural guerrillas” not to give up in the battle that continues to harm our families and society in general.

In the contemporary world, society and culture are changing at great speed. The will to lead these changes is at the basis of the cultural battles that are being fought everywhere today. Well researched and intelligently argued, this book defines the concept of cultural battle and shows to what extent culture has become the main spoils of power, how these battles have developed from modern times to today's postmodernity and how to face them.

In this book, Agustín Laje:

Explains what the culture battle is, how to wage it, and what its characteristics are
Analyzes how the new left understood this phenomenon, in the face of a right wing that underestimated the power of culture
Examines how the new left understood this phenomenon, in the face of a right wing that underestimated the power of culture
Aims to provide the necessary tools for the birth of a new right wing

Audible

La batalla cultural by Agustin Laje | 6

USA TODAY BESTSELLER | INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

Experience a year of introspection, transformation, and personal growth as you connect to the desires of your heart and live in alignment with them each and every day. These 365 profound, heartfelt reflections from Michelle Maros (founder of Peaceful Mind Peaceful Life and cohost of the widely loved podcast, Life Happens with Barb & Michelle) offer the inspiration you seek as you navigate the ebbs and flows of life.

In Dear Friend, Michelle writes to you with the warmth and wisdom of a trusted friend, offering daily, bite-sized, loving notes that encourage connection, resilience, and true self-care. In just a few minutes each day, this book will offer you a daily reprieve when you feel burned out, beaten down, or overwhelmed by the strains and stresses of modern life. Here, you'll find encouragement to reconnect with your foundation and rebuild your strength from within. Because when you cultivate a deep connection from within yourself, you are equipped to manage all that comes your way.

Inside Dear Friend you will find:

365 reflections to fuel your personal growth day by day
Daily reminders to motivate and encourage you to live in alignment with your desires
A convenient ribbon marker to mark your progress throughout the year
With an exquisitely foiled cover and luxe packaging, this book is an ideal gift for Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day, or even as a gift for yourself to begin a new yearly practice.

Whether you're seeking motivation, confidence, or a deeper sense of peace, Michelle's heartfelt words of encouragement will guide you to align with your truest self, one day at a time. You deserve this journey, because as Michelle says, you are always worthy.

Amazon

DEAR FRIEND by Michelle Maros | Introduction

Listen to an excerpt of THE FIRST TIME I SAW HIM by Laura Dave and narrated by Rebecca Lowman, Tessa Albertson, Colin Donnell, and CJ Wilson. 

Flailing arms (edit)

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