When the head of Nick Rohmer’s Miami accounting firm is found dead after a suspicious accident, Nick finds his quiet, comfortable, boring life slipping out of his control. With most of the firm’s management either on vacation, sick, or dead, Nick is thrust into the unfamiliar position of actually having some responsibility. The weight does not sit easily on his shoulders. He’s relieved when the instructions from the Chicago head office are – don’t do anything until we get there. This he can do. He tries to stick to his ‘do nothing’ instructions even as the firm’s largest client threatens to jump ship. But Nick’s plan of inaction is short-lived when he is convinced to try to save the business. He secures an invitation to dinner on the private island of the mega-wealthy, and highly dysfunctional, Keene family. Things quickly go from bad to disastrous when another dead body shows up, and Nick finds he's the prime suspect. As he gets sucked into the mystery, Nick’s focus quickly changes from trying to save the business to trying to save his skin.

    Completely unprepared and suffering an acute sense of loss, she and her father continue quietly, trying to live by the well-intentioned advice of friends, hoping that time really is a great healer and that they will, eventually, move on. Life changes very little until Sarah leaves for university and begins her first serious relationship. Along with her new boyfriend comes his mother, the indomitable Hazel Poole. Despite some misgivings, Sarah finds herself drawn into the matriarchal Poole family and discovers that gaining a mother figure in her life brings mixed blessings. A mother-in-law who just can't let her sons grow up, a midwife who treats her charges like girls in a private school dormitory. These are some of the people who Sarah must deal with as her own pregnancy turns to motherhood and she realises that she must find her own two feet. Looking Past is a tale of family, friendship, love, life and death – not necessarily in that order. This is the second novel from Katharine E. Smith, author of Writing the Town Read. The narrator’s voice is clear and strong, with vivid descriptions and intelligent observations. Readers will quickly empathise with Sarah, whose grief and confusion at the loss of her mother at key moments in her life is contrasted with a dry and sometimes subtle humour derived from situations and characters which help colour the book. The father-daughter relationship which develops between the bereaved husband and daughter feels very real, as both come to terms with their grief and learn how best to live together. Sarah's father is unassuming and appealing, as he struggles to find a way to deal with his broken heart and support his daughter throughout school, puberty and on into adulthood. Smith's readers have praised her honesty, realism, warmth and humour. Both Looking Past and Writing the Town Read - Katharine's first novel - are written from a strong female first person perspective. However, don't be fooled into thinking this is chick lit - or indeed exclusively women's fiction. Looking Past has received praise from a number of male readers, including an ex-US Marine. You don't get much more macho than that! Nevertheless, this is a story guaranteed to strike a chord with mothers, daughters - and daughters-in-law - everywhere. The dual settings of Yorkshire and Cornwall will interest people with strong links to those places but the characters and events hold universal appeal. This is a book for people who like people. Looking Past was selected for the People's Book Prize Winter 2015 Collection.

    When she's found, their worst nightmare is realized. In the weeks and months that follow, they try to put their lives back together, but tragedy haunts them. Detective Annie Logan finds herself charged with sorting through the lives of those MISSING CHLOE. She has to separate facts from lies in a case that will test both her skills and her emotions, but can she figure it out and prevent a killer from escaping justice. ************************************** MORE FROM JOHN C. DALGLISH THE CITY MURDERS SERIES(Clean Crime Fiction) BOSTON HOMICIDE - #1 MIAMI HOMICIDE - #2 CHICAGO HOMICIDE - #3 DALLAS HOMICIDE - #4 DENVER HOMICIDE - #5 SEATTLE HOMICIDE - #6 NEW ORLEANS HOMICIDE - #7 DETECTIVE JASON STRONG SERIES(Clean Crime Fiction) WHERE’S MY SON? – #1 BLOODSTAIN – #2 FOR MY BROTHER – #3 SILENT JUSTICE – #4 TIED TO MURDER – #5 ONE OF THEIR OWN – #6 DEATH STILL - #7 LETHAL INJECTION – #8 CRUEL DECEPTION – #9 LET'S PLAY - #10 HOSTAGE- #11 A CIRCLE OF FEAR - #12 DEADLY OBSESSION - #13 DEAD OF NIGHT - #14 SHADOW OF DOUBT - #15 FATAL AFFAIR - #16 DRIVEN TO KILL - #17 BOUND BY BLOOD - #18 THE CHASER CHRONICLES (Christian Adventure Fiction) CROSSOVER – #1 JOURNEY – #2 DESTINY- #3 INNER DEMONS- #4 DARK DAYS - #5 FAR FROM HOME - #6 KEIKO'S WAR - (Young Romance Historical Fiction)

    Rachael's family comes to America to start a new life after fleeing the pogroms in Russia. Rebekah comes to America with her son, Samuel, fleeing his father, Misha, a Russian soldier with whom she had an affair and has threatened to take him away from her so he will not grow up as a Jew and the son of a cobbler. Set in the Lower East Side of New York and pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, Russia, both women adjust to life in America until Misha kidnaps Samuel and returns with him to Russia. How Rebekah rises to the challenge of earning enough money as a designer of women's gowns to return to St. Petersburg to find her son, and the difficulties she encounters while there, including murder and prison, show the reader the full extent of a mother's ingenuity and determination when it comes to her child. Rachael also faces the possibility of losing a child to war when her son Solomon enlists in the army as America's entry into World War I approaches.

    Though initially employed as a maid, Mary soon becomes the daughter the couple were never able to have. With Britain at war, unable to remain idle, Mary finds employment in the local steel works but when her fiancé Tom Downing is killed in action Mary is convinced it is retribution for their night of sin during Tom's Christmas leave. However, Mary grows to love Jack Holmes, a local miner. They marry and move into a humble terrace house with little but their love to keep them going. As the years pass Mary is determined to achieve success for herself and her family. She sets up her own dressmaking business and it seems as if she has finally found peace of mind. But the business starts to dominate her life until tragedy once more threatens to destroy all she most cherishes...

     Every year, Miriam, her daughter, Heather, and young granddaughter Amy would spend the long summer holidays enjoying the picturesque scenery, visiting local landmarks and integrating with the local community. However, life had moved on, and now with Amy having grown up, married and set up her own business, Miriam suddenly decided to take her family back to this idyllic holiday location. This news brought back poignant memories for all three of them. Thoughts of love and romance combined with dilemmas, choices and a cocktail of emotions would force life to never be quite the same again. Is it always wise to revisit memorable locations? Should the past remain in the past? Learn how Miriam, Heather and Amy all confront their secret fears. Discover whether previous friendships and relationships stand the test of time. Add in the intriguing stories of newcomers whose lives intertwine with the family trio. and how events of the past, present and future merge to form unexpected outcomes.. A subtle blend of engaging, interesting characters, thoughtful life dilemmas with lessons learned makes ‘Secrets we left in Greece’ a compelling summer read.

    Will she make the right choice? An unknown woman is murdered and detectives Pierce Carson, Chelsea Madden and a new recruit, Dean Weston, are assigned to the case. Their search for the killer leads to several dead ends and a suspected drug connection, as even more people are killed. In the process of helping to solve the first murder and those that follow, Chelsea realizes that she is walking a very thin line between personal revenge and professional responsibility. She too has suffered at the hands of a murderer, who brutally snuffed out the life of her parents, giving her a reason to join the police force. To complicate matters, she finds herself attracted to Dean. She knows little about the newcomer to Homicide, only that he’d been a successful undercover agent. Normally a loner, she finds him surprisingly easy to talk to, as she unburdens herself of her past, kept secret for years. As the case becomes more complicated and passions are stirred, questions arise about a mole in the force, and Dean is on the list of possible suspects. Chelsea is torn between trust and doubt, fear and love; her desire for vengeance and belief in the system of which she is now a part. The strands of the plot become intertwined, with unexpected twists and turns, and Chelsea finds herself caught in a life and death struggle in a most unexpected way. Only time will tell if she survives to right the wrong or decides to let it go and find a new direction for her life. Detective Chelsea Madden is the cool, calm, and collected hero of Only Time Will Tell. Putting her life on the line, she doesn’t pull any punches, searching only for the truth, and for the person who takes lives on her watch. Intelligent, resourceful, and uncompromising, Chelsea will take readers on a memorable, white-knuckled journey in this suspenseful, gripping serial killer thriller. <

     Hannah Byler has never married, at twenty-five she half believes it is too late and she half lives in regret at what she might have done in the Englisch world. As she watches Jacob’s body being lowered into the ground her mind starts working and she feels that there may be more to the accident than meets the eye. She and her reluctant sister Ruth start investigating the case and find a haunting web of lies, deceit and coverups that lead them into danger…

     "A story with laugh out loud moments, heart-rending events and a nice easy flowing style." --Trip Fiction "Anyone who likes their romance with a touch of realism and not too much syrup will adore this book." --Read Reviewed WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOUR WIFE ORGANIZED A THREESOME FOR YOU ON YOUR HONEYMOON? Scott is shocked by his wife Hannah's suggestion, but hesitantly agrees to go along with it. Back home, both feel a little guilty about their encounter with a Thai woman called Marilyn, but soon put it behind them when they discover Hannah is pregnant. Then Marilyn turns up on their doorstep, six months pregnant, and Scott comes to realize that in life there is often a price to pay for indiscretion. Squeezed is a story about family, and how sometimes we don't appreciate what we've got until it's gone. Perfect for fans of Graeme Simsion, Tracy Bloom, Sue Moorcroft, Jojo Moyes and Cecelia Ahern ALSO BY DAVID ATKINSON LOVE BYTE

    There’s only one problem; no one seems to know who Monroe Lovett is, and to make matters worse, he hasn’t had a single client. His sole hope is that just one person will hire him.That hope is answered when in walks Ashley Butler. Monroe is so glad to see her, happy to have a someone in need of his service that he jumps at the opportunity to represent her. Little does he realize, Ashley’s case will pit him against forces wanting his client convicted. Her case will open the closest to the Butler family’s secrets.Ashley Butler’s problems started when adultery and accusations led to a single rash act that ended in murder. In a matter of seconds, an argument climaxed with Julie, Marcus Butler Jr.'s mistress, dead.The Lane County Sheriff’s Department receives a tip of hearing what sounded like gunshots coming from inside the Butler home. Minutes later, deputies arrived to find Julie's body lying on the bedroom floor. The ill-tempered Detective Carson investigates the crime scene and upon leaving gets a tip that Ashley is the killer. The detective attains an arrest warrant and puts out an all-points bulletin for the arrest of Ashley Butler.Ashley hears from a friend that deputies are looking for her. Knowing her husband’s family, she seeks the help of the only person she believes she can trust, Lane County's newest defense attorney, Monroe T. Lovett. Knowing that her husband’s father, Marcus Sr., holds power over most of Lane County, she's not even sure Monroe can help her. But he's her only hope.Speaking with Monroe in his office, Ashley explains that she is about to be arrested for murdering her husband's girlfriend. After she tells him of her predicament, and with only a few details, Monroe, in desperate need of a client, agrees to take her case. Soon, he learns Ashley isn't just any client, and he will have to fight to save her life.To make matters worse, Monroe will face Lane County’s District Attorney Robert Breaux. Breaux. Monroe will discover that Robert Breaux is a self-serving, egotistical district attorney, who is interested in one thing—winning. Justice is not Breaux's goal. Convictions translate into votes and those votes to lead to him gaining more political clout.Monroe soon finds himself in over his head. A godsend in the person of Herman (Herm) Edwards, a retired New Orleans detective and a native of Peregrine offers to help Monroe. Monroe is skeptical, knowing that Edwards is from the area. In need of help, Monroe, with the urging of his wife, Debbie, decides to hire Herm. But he still unsure of Herm’s allegiances. Trust issues arise between them as suspicions of a possible corrupt sheriff's department is trying to impede Ashley’s case.As Monroe’s case begins to unravel, Monroe is forced to seek a different approach to prove Ashley's innocence. This new tactic lands him right in the middle of the Butler family secret, a secret that even Ashley does not know about. No one in Lane County knows the truth the Butlers have been hiding for years, and Monroe is ready to rip the door off the closet. To stop him, Marcus Butler Sr., the family patriarch, will do whatever he must to keep the closet locked.To stop Monroe, Marcus Butler Sr. forms some new alliances to ensure his secrets stay buried. His new ties include a man named Félix Roche, a man who has many aliases and a sinister reputation with more than one agenda.Only the truth can free Ashley, but finding the truth will mean revealing her past, a past she would just as soon forget. However, Monroe encourages her, convincing her this is the only avenue to freedom. Monroe’s plan? Go after the patriarch, Marcus Butler Sr., and expose the man and the Butler family secrets. It is the only way Butler's justice will prevail.

    After her mother is killed in a tragic hit-and-run, her mother's childhood guardian, Ursula, also dies suddenly, leaving everything to Lexy. But as Lexy reads through Ursula's hidden papers, what she discovers raises doubts about her own identity and if she really is now all alone in the world.Desperate to find out if she has any surviving family, Lexy travels to Africa hoping she can unravel the mystery she's now tormented by, only to find that she's stumbled into a past full of lies and deceit and that her life is in grave danger.Winner of the Sunday Mail Fiction Competition 2015"Part detective thriller, part emotional journey, Ursula's Secret is a highly enjoyable and intelligent adventure that will appeal to fans of Kate Atkinson and Maggie O'Farrell. A very promising debut."SOPHIE COOKE, author of The Glass House"Lovely straightforward and absorbing story telling of complex lives and a secret that spans decades and continents."ISLA DEWAR, author of Dancing in a Distant Place"The complex story accelerates to a dramatic denouement that leaves Lexy enlightened and chastened, and on the verge of a new phase in her life, and leaves the reader wholly satisfied with Wilson's adept, sympathetic and colourful storytelling."MORAG JOSS, award-winning author of the Sara Selkirk novels'Ursula's Secret is packed full of tension, questions, problems, secrecy and intrigue right until the concluding chapter.'EMMA CROWLEY, Shaz’s Book Blog'This book is filled with twist after twist, secret after secret which will keep you guessing right to the end.'PORTOBELLO BOOK BLOG'I was completely captured from the beginning of Ursula’s Secret, enveloped in the mystery and memories of Ursula and the beauty of her home. With it’s ‘smiling’ staircase and Lexy’s obvious wonder I was lost to the tale and it’s descriptive content… I loved this read.'**** TRACY SHEPHARD, Postcard Reviews Blog

    I loved the humour and poignancy. There were so many brilliant lines that I stopped picking them out and just read.I loved it, the dialogue was very realistic, the characters were easy to picture. This is definitely something I would select in a bookstore.You’re great at really capturing a character with just a turn of phrase or one or two lines.A cracker.An exceptionally well delivered offering in a technical sense - uncliched, crisp, lively prose, top quality constructionA darned good read.First class.Absolutely loved it!Definitely pulled me into the story. Something I would buy.Professional and a pleasure to read.A treat to read some genuinely amusing comedyI really enjoyed this and laughed out loud several times. You demonstrate a compelling wit and kept me amused throughout. Perhaps humour is the best way of dealing with serious issues like Alzheimers but you underpin this with a genuine sense of concern.

    The book gives a rare insight into the home life I shared with my brother Les (James Phelge). Why he called himself Phelge I don’t know, but James is my father’s name: We shared a common mother. The story starts in Edmonton, London. It is the story of heartbreak and neglect in the relentless struggle for food amidst the filth of poverty. What is it like for a small girl to starve? When she needs help, she is abandoned and left to struggle alone.

    Salrich.Make reading better with… Wicked Charms: A Lizzy and Diesel Novel by Janet Evanovich - Reviewed When Janet Evanovich first wrote about "Lizzy and Diesel" millions of fans around the world fell in love. You could say that she created an instant “Classic” series that has continued with the third book... "Wicked Charms". When you read this companion guide you will get a deeper understanding of the characters and plot found in Wicked Charms : A Lizzy and Diesel Novel, as well as the themes included in the novel. You also get a detailed chapter by chapter breakdown and analysis of the events as they unfold along with a glossary of the important characters and terms used in the original book. Just in case that’s not enough for you I’ve also included a list of possible study questions (book club discussions topics) and quotes from the book that I found interesting. Wrapping it all up is a discussion of the critical reviews for "Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich" as well as my overall opinion of the book. Plus much more! This review/summary fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience of the original book. Whether you’re reading this for a book club, school report, or just want to find out what happens before diving into the full length book, you can use this book review and study guide to get most out of your experience reading Wicked Charms: A Lizzy and Diesel Novel by Janet Evanovich.

    But he’s called away to deal with a crisis in Hong Kong and she’s left to settle into a new country on her own. One by one, her three grown-up children need help with major life problems and there’s only her to help them, because as usual, Paul puts his job first. Then she finds out that her husband's been unfaithful for years, and it’s the final blow to their marriage, especially as she’s met another man she finds attractive and kind. Her confidence grows as she wins acclaim as an embroidery artist and then she comes into an inheritance. Will her loyalty keep her with her husband, as it has before, or will Paul get more than he’d bargained for with the new, independent Rosalind?