Readers love the Theatreland Whodunnits!'I loved this book! The characters are described with warm insight and humour, and the plot twists keep you hooked. I found the book unputdownable, and also a fascinating account of a theatre production. Highly recommended!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Real reader review'A fun, theatre filled cosy with a great cast of characters... An enjoyable start to a new series and I look forward to the next one' ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Real reader revi...

Get ready for a thrilling backstage ride in the world of theatre as seasoned stage manager Hattie embarks on a new production at London's Tavistock pub theatre.Here, the drama doesn't just occur on stage.Troublesome directors and fastidious assistants soon become the least of Hattie's worries as, a week into rehearsals, an actress is found dead backstage on the same day that an extremely valuable theatrical mask goes missing.Hattie ...

Hattie's down on her luck. She's collected enough enemies in high places that the only work she can find is a one-night-only vanity project being mounted by an extremely unlikely impresario, and beyond that things are looking bleak. However her career concerns must be put aside when an old friend appears, in serious trouble and asking for a big favour. Hattie tries to help, but things swiftly go awry and she finds herself thrown into a cat-and-mouse game with some very shady types who purs...

Get introduced to the fascinating world inhabited by the professional software developer. Aimed at a non-technical audience, this book aims to de-obfuscate the jargon, explain the various activities that coders undertake, and analyze the specific pressures, priorities, and preoccupations that developers are prone to. In each case it offers pragmatic advice on how to use this knowledge to make effective business decisions and work productively with software teams.Software projects a...

Stage manager Hattie Cocker is looking around the West End theatre where she's about to start her new temporary gig, when she stumbles across the dead body of the current musical's composer.A week later the prime suspect in the murder is on Hattie's doorstep asking for her help in proving his innocence, and to do that she needs to find a missing musical score. And that may be found in the grand country home of producer Sir Trevor Dougray, where Hattie is stage managing a two-week w...

Troublesome directors and fastidious assistants soon become the least of Hattie’s worries as, a week into rehearsals, an actress is found dead backstage on the same day that an extremely valuable theatrical mask goes missing.Hattie begins investigating both mysteries, all the while trying to keep the dysfunctional cast and crew on track for opening night. As she delves deeper into the secrets behind the scenes, her allegiance to her theatre, cast and crew will be tested to destruct...

Thoroughly reviewed and eagerly anticipated by the agile community, User Stories Applied offers a requirements process that saves time, eliminates rework, and leads directly to better software.The best way to build software that meets users' needs is to begin with "user stories": simple, clear, brief descriptions of functionality that will be valuable to real users. In User Stories Applied, Mike Cohn provides you with a front-to-back blueprint for writing these us...

In this truly unique technical book, today's leading software architects present valuable principles on key development issues that go way beyond technology. More than four dozen architects -- including Neal Ford, Michael Nygard, and Bill de hOra -- offer advice for communicating with stakeholders, eliminating complexity, empowering developers, and many more practical lessons they've learned from years of experience. Among the 97 principles in this book, you'll find useful advice such as:

In an age where everything is measurable, understanding big data is an essential. From creating new data-driven products through to increasing operational efficiency, big data has the potential to make your organization both more competitive and more innovative.As this emerging field transitions from the bleeding edge to enterprise infrastructure, it's vital to understand not only the technologies involved, but the organizational and cultural demands of being data-driven.Wr...

We've all heard it: according to Hal Varian, statistics is the next sexy job. Five years ago, in What is Web 2.0, Tim O'Reilly said that "data is the next Intel Inside." But what does that statement mean? Why do we suddenly care about statistics and about data? This report examines the many sides of data science -- the technologies, the companies and the unique skill sets.The web is full of "data-driven apps." Almost any e-commerce application is a data-driven application. There's a databa...

“If the purpose is to create one of the best books on requirements yet written, the authors have succeeded.”—Capers JonesSoftware can solve almost any problem. The trick is knowing what the problem is. With about half of all software errors originating in the requirements activity, it is clear that a better understanding of the problem is needed.Getting the requirements right is crucial if we are to build systems that best meet our needs. ...

The concept of "Web 2.0" began with a conference brainstorming session between O'Reilly and MediaLive International. Dale Dougherty, web pioneer and O'Reilly VP, noted that far from having "crashed", the web was more important than ever, with exciting new applications and sites popping up with surprising regularity. What's more, the companies that had survived the collapse seemed to have some things in common. Could it be that the dot-com collapse marked some kind of turning point for the ...