Oyster Blues


Michael McClelland - 2002
    He has to get off a Caribbean island quick before someone nails him for a murder that may or may not be his doing. Desperate, he takes a job from two mob goons to sail their boat to Miami with a coffin -- the contents of which are dubious at best. Then he meets Jane Ellen Ashley, a blazing blue-eyed oyster shucker (who also might have accidentally killed somebody), and the trouble really rolls in. They've just stumbled onto a big-money scam involving some very dangerous people -- which puts them on the endangered species list.Now, they're both on the run from...well, pretty much everyone. And while Harry wants to make Jane his catch of the day, Jane wants to save her beloved Apalachicola Bay -- and both of them want to avoid a fatal case of the..."Oyster Blues

After the rain


Lucy Dillon - 2022
    . . The powerful and heart-stirring new novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author of Unexpected Lessons in Love.--------------------------First, the clouds...Tara Hunter is a therapist on a mission to restore Longhampton's community spirit after catastrophic flooding. But with her boyfriend AWOL, her family fragmented, and only a cat for company, Tara's own life is crumbling.Then the storm...On top of everything, Tara's father - last seen as he walked out on her when she was ten years old - is suddenly back, with a surprising offer that could change everything. And after the rain...Dr David Dalloway is Longhampton Wellness Centre's new star counsellor. He's charming, caring and has a knack for reading people's minds - which is the last thing Tara needs right now. Will having David and her dad around make for a bigger storm on the horizon? Or is this Tara's chance for a fresh start? __________________________Praise for Lucy Dillon:'Bittersweet, lovely and ultimately redemptive; the kind of book that makes you want to live your own life better' Jojo MoyesMy heart is smashed and repaired for reading this wonderfully romantic and strong piece of fiction.' Milly Johnson'Real, heartbreaking - I loved it' Katie Fforde'No one tugs at the heartstrings quite like Lucy Dillon' Red Magazine

Plummet


Brandilyn Collins - 2017
    Concentrate on nothing but saving your life. You want your daughter to be without a father AND a mother?” Cara Westling, a newcomer to the small town of Payton, Idaho, is grateful she’s landed employment with the highly respected J.L. Larrett. A victim of abuse both from her father and ex-husband, Cara is struggling to build her own self esteem—and a new life for herself and her troubled thirteen-year-old daughter, Riley. But J.L. Larrett is not the man people think they know. One week into the job, J.L. forces Cara to do the unthinkable—help hide the body of a woman he’s murdered. If she refuses, she could pay with her life. If she obeys, the stain on her soul may be more than she can bear.

Secrets of Southern Girls: A Novel


Haley Harrigan - 2017
    What's worse is she got away with it. Consumed by guilt, she left the small town of Lawrence Mill, Mississippi, and swore nothing would ever drag her back. Now, raising her daughter and struggling to make ends meet in Manhattan, Julie still can't forget the ghost of a girl with golden hair and a dangerous secret.When August, Reba's first love, begs Julie to come home to find the diary that Reba kept all those years ago, Julie's past comes creeping back to haunt her. That diary could expose the shameful memories Julie has been running from, but it could also unearth the hidden truths that Reba left buried…and reveal that Julie isn't the only one who feels responsible for Reba's death.

The Only Way Is Up


Carole Matthews - 2010
    Then Laurence loses his job, and their house and all their belongings are repossessed. With nowhere else to go, the family move into a flea-ridden council house on a notoriously rough estate and start to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. But will Lily's dream of returning to a world of luxury ever come true - or have her priorities changed? For with the help of new friends, a little luck and a lot of determination she's about to learn what really matters.

Lipstick Jungle


Candace Bushnell - 2005
    This time around, the ladies are a bit older, a lot richer, but not particularly wiser nor more endearing than Bushnell's earlier heroines. Lipstick Jungle weaves the stories of Nico O'Neilly, Wendy Healy, and Victory Ford, numbers 8, 12, and 17 on The New York Post's list of "New York's 50 Most Powerful Women." But this is 21st Century New York, and to get ahead and stay ahead, these women will do anything, including jeopardizing their personal and professional relationships. Take for example Nico, editor-in-chief of Bonfire magazine, who betrays her boss to rise to the top of the entire magazine division at media mega-giant Splatch-Verner. As president of Paradour Pictures, Wendy may be poised to win an Oscar for her 10-year labor-of-love, Ragged Pilgrims, but her marriage is in shambles and her children care more about a $50,000 pony than their mother. And for single, 43-year-old fashion designer Victory, pleasing tough critics may be more important than ever finding the real relationship she's convinced herself she doesn't need. This racy tale of women behaving badly manages to shrewdly flip the tables to show us how gender roles are essentially interchangeable, given the right circumstances. Whether that was Bushnell's intent when crafting this wicked tale is another story. --Gisele Toueg Q: Were Victory, Wendy, and Nico inspired by any real-life women? A: The characters and situations in Lipstick Jungle were inspired by the real-life women I know and admire in New York City. As with Sex and the City, I spent a lot of time thinking about where women were today, and what I noticed was that there was a fascinating group of women in their forties who were leading non-traditional lives. They were highly successful and motivated, they often had children, and usually were the providers for their families, and yet, they didn't fit the old stereotype of the witchy businesswoman. Indeed, so many of these women were the girls next door, the girls who reminded me of my best friends when I was a kid and we used to fantasize about the great things we were going to do in life. Like the women in Sex and the City, the Lipstick Jungle women are charting new lives for themselves, redefining what it means to be a woman when you really are as powerful, or more powerful, than a man. Of course, you probably want specifics, so I will say that there was a moment when it all clicked. Tina Brown used to write a terrific column in the Washington Post, and one of the things she was always mentioning was how there was a group of powerful women who were meeting and lunching at Michael's restaurant. They'd been working for over twenty years, their children were now in their early teens and didn't need them every minute, and now, in their forties or early fifties, they had time to strive for new career goals and to spend more time with their girlfriends. I thought, "Aha--that's the Lipstick Jungle." Q: What kind of research did you do to cover fashion, film, and publishing in one book? A: To research fashion, film and publishing, I did what I always do--I talked to my girlfriends! Of course, it helps that I've worked in magazine publishing and have had my share of experience with Hollywood. I'm also lucky enough to have a couple of girlfriends who are top designers, who offered to help me out with the specific details. I still remember the afternoon when one of my girlfriends and I sat down to talk--she was over eight months pregnant, and I was worried that we were going to have to run to the hospital!

Papa Bear


Jeff Davis - 2004
    He founded the National Football League and created its storied franchise, the Chicago Bears. He is considered the father of pro football, as he grabbed an outlaw sport by its throat, shook it, led it into respectability, and made it into the richest and most popular spectator sport on the earth. As owner of the Bears from 1920-1983, he also coached the team for 40 seasons and won 8 NFL titles. with 324 victories as head coach, and his name graces the trophies awarded each year to to both the NFC champion and the league's defensive player of the year. And his family still owns the Bears. Halas remains, nearly 20 years after his death, one of the towering figures of professional sports--a man whose very name is synonymous with the league and team he founded. He was every bit as important a figure (if not more so) as legendary Packers' coach Vince Lombardi, the subject of David Maraniss' best-selling biography When Pride Still Mattered. His story is one of those great American success stories, yet ironically, there has never been a full-fledged, thoroughly researched, balanced, authoritative, biography written about the man. draws on exclusive interviews with formerly reticent members of the Halas family, his closest friends, his former players and assistant coaches, his business associates, and others. This material, as well as other archival materials Davis has unearthed has never before been published in any of the previous, no-frills works published on Papa Bear Halas, the last of which was published in 1986. This is the first biography to tell the whole story of the great Halas, from all possible angles, and it's also the first to tell the story of Halas' legacy, all the way through the recent renovation and rededication of Chicago's Soldier Field in 2003, where a bronze statue of Halas now stands.

Devil's Corner


Lisa Scottoline - 2005
    Attorney Vicki Allegretti goes to meet a confidential informant and finds herself facing a loaded 9 mm Glock semiautomatic weapon, wielded by a panicky teenager. Violence is the last thing this neophyte lawyer expects. The case is easy, the kind given to new ADAs to help them cut their teeth. Yet almost before she has time to react, her partner is dead, shot in the chest.From that high-octane introduction to her job, Vicki vows to continue with the case, protect her informant, and find the shadowy figure behind the death of her partner. This decision will take her to the depths of the federal detention center’s “bowl,” to a row house on the street where she grew up, and to the posh suburbs where her parents now live. Set against the gritty backdrop of a modern American city and imbued with Lisa Scottoline’s trademark style and wit, Cater Street is the story of a determined young lawyer seeking justice.

Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag


Michael Tonello - 2008
    With a fabled waiting list of more than two years to purchase one, the average fashionista has a better chance of climbing Mount Everest in Prada pumps than of possessing this coveted carryall. Unless, of course, she happens to know Michael Tonello. . . . With down-to-earth wit, Michael Tonello chronicles the unusual ventures that took him to nearly every continent� and from eBay to Paris auction houses and into the lives of celebrities and poseurs alike� on the road to becoming a successful entrepreneur and Robin Hood to thousands of desperate rich women.

It Must Be Love


Caroline Khoury - 2022
     Fifteen years. A lifetime of love. When Abbie met Oz, they were young, idealistic students from different backgrounds, but their connection was unmistakable. Then Oz went home to Istanbul and life moved on. Now Abbie is with the man she thinks she's going to spend the rest of her life with, until she meets Oz again - a chance encounter that might change everything. They find themselves drawn to each other once more, but have commitments, jobs and families that take priority, and too much time has passed, hasn't it? Abbie and Oz are about to find out that no matter how many miles and obstacles are between them, fate might just have another plan, and that their love story isn't over yet. From London to Istanbul, Paris to Beirut, It Must Be Love is a heart-wrenching story that will leave you believing in the power of fate and destiny. For fans of Cecilia Ahern, Dani Atkins and Sophie Cousens.

Anything Could Happen


Lucy Diamond - 2021
    A great love story on the cusp of beginning. And then he was gone.For Lara and her daughter Eliza, it has always been just the two of them. But when Eliza turns eighteen and wants to connect with her father, Lara is forced to admit a secret that she has been keeping from her daughter her whole life.Eliza needs answers - and so does Lara. Their journey to the truth will take them on a road trip across England and eventually to New York, where it all began. Dreams might have been broken and opportunities missed, but there are still surprises in store...Anything Could Happen is a warm, wise, funny and uplifting novel about love, second chances and the unexpected and extraordinary paths life can take us down.

Ineligible Bachelor


Kathryn Quick - 2013
    Unfortunately, Freddy’s “fool-proof” plans have a tendency to backfire, with disastrous—albeit hilarious—results. And this one looks to be no exception…Because Logan doesn’t lose—he wins, earning a spot on a new reality TV show with six beautiful women vying for his affections. And if Freddy had read the fine print on the entry form, she would know that, as Logan’s oldest friend, she will be tagging along to choose the lucky girl. Suddenly Freddy’s perfect plan has become a perfect nightmare, complete with scheming TV executives, conniving contestants…and a bachelor in danger of falling for the wrong woman. Freddy caused this mess. Now it’s up to her to prove to Logan—and millions of television viewers—that the girl next door is really the woman of his dreams.

England, Our England


Alan Titchmarsh - 2007
    shirt makers; tying a Windsor knot to making a pot of tea; Victoria sponge to fish pie, and the rules of cricket to Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

Edgar and Lucy


Victor Lodato - 2017
     Eight-year-old Edgar Fini remembers nothing of the accident people still whisper about. He only knows that his father is gone, his mother has a limp, and his grandmother believes in ghosts. When Edgar meets a man with his own tragic story, the boy begins a journey into a secret wilderness where nothing is clear—not even the line between the living and the dead. In order to save her son, Lucy has no choice but to confront the demons of her past. Profound, shocking, and beautiful, Edgar and Lucy is a thrilling adventure and the unlikeliest of love stories.

Nobody Told Me: Poetry and Parenthood


Hollie McNish - 2016
    How her family and friends would react; that Mr Whippy would be off the menu; how quickly ice can melt on a stomach. These were on top of the many other things she didn't know about babies: how to stand while holding one; how to do a poetry gig with your baby as a member of the audience; how drum'n'bass can make a great lullaby. And that's before you even start on toddlers: how to answer a question like 'is the world a jigsaw?'; dealing with a ten-hour train ride together; and how children can be caregivers too.But Hollie learned.And she's still learning, slowly. Nobody Told Me is a collection of poems and stories taken from Hollie's diaries, one person's thoughts on raising a child in modern Britain, of trying to become a parent in modern Britain, of sex, commercialism, feeding, gender and of finding secret places to scream once in a while.