Book picks similar to
Farthing Hall by Hugh Walpole
unread
british
dieterich
fiction
Second from Last in the Sack Race
David Nobbs - 1983
Born into poverty, saddled with a born loser and parrot-strangler for a dad, short sighted and ungainly, young Henry Pratt doesn't exactly have a head start in life.But in David Nobbs's brilliantly funny evocation of a Yorkshire boyhood, unathletic and over-imaginative little Pratt proves he can stick up for himself with the stoic good nature of the great British underdog
The bench by Cromer beach
R.J. Gould - 2020
One year that changes everything. They seem to have it all. They’re in good health and are financially secure. They live in a pleasant and comfortable town. But as their lives intertwine, cracks emerge and restlessness grows. For Clive, is retirement the beginning of the end? Can fun-loving Saskia break free from her adulterous husband? Will Andy marry his childhood sweetheart? Is Jamie prepared to change his dishonest ways? Might Ellie’s happy marriage be shattered by temptation?Heart-warming and heart-breaking collide in this novel about aspirations, expectations and the realities of everyday life.
The Jeeves Omnibus
P.G. Wodehouse
My Man Jeeves 1919Right Ho, Jeeves 1922Death At The Excelsior, Others 1914
My Former Heart
Cressida Connolly - 2011
She thought she could even pinpoint the exact moment at which Iris had made up her mind to go, leaving her only child behind. Neither of them could have guessed then that they would never live together again.Spanning the second half of the last century, ‘My Former Heart’, Cressida Connolly’s mesmerising first novel, charts the lives of three generations of Iris’s family. Ruth will be deserted again, many years later, by a husband she loves, but not before she has had two children by him. She leaves London to live with her uncle, where she creates a new life for herself with another woman. And we follow the lives of her two children, trying to make a place for themselves in the world in the shadow of the family that precedes them.With its large cast of fascinating characters, this is an outstanding novel about families and their ability to adapt. It surely marks the beginning of a long career as a novelist for Cressida Connolly.
Sidekick to The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
Samantha C. Allen - 2014
If you have not yet bought The Burning Room, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial Sidekick. Killing someone is usually the work of a few moments. But when Orlando Mercedo dies of blood poisoning from the bullet lodged in his spine a decade ago, Detective Harry Bosch finds himself looking at a ten-year murder. With a new partner in tow, Bosch starts digging for the truth in what quickly becomes a highly charged political case. With this Sidekick, you’ll: • Discover some of The Burning Room's fascinating hidden gems • Spend some more time with the characters you’ve come to know and love • Learn what you might have missed on your first read of The Burning Room • Explore a possible alternate ending and imagine ideas for a sequel • Get a chance to discuss Michael Connelly's The Burning Room with other readers on our Facebook forum Sidekicks are entertaining and insightful reading companions, filled with delightful commentary and thought-provoking questions. Readers have raved that they "really put you in touch with the many layers of the novel," "keep you entertained even longer," and are "perfect if you want a vivid understanding of the story." Designed to be read side by side with the novels they complement, they’ll give you even more reasons to love some of today’s best books.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Gina Kirkham - 2021
The laughter continues to flow in Gina Kirkham's brilliant sequel to the hilarious Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong.Our hapless heroine, Constable Mavis Upton, is preparing to walk down the aisle with her fianc� Joe, but has to deal with her temperamental teen daughter, as well as investigate a serial flasher on a push bike.Throw a diva drag queen into the mix and you can expect more marvellous Mavis mishaps...Revel in Gina Kirkham's humorous, poignant, and moving stories of an everyday girl who one day followed a dream.
Mrs Keiller's Marmalade
S.M. Boland - 2015
“Well written and I was left wanting to read on.... It is certainly an intriguing concept” (Troubador)“Writing is dynamic and fast-paced. There's a definite charm about the novel that, I think, would appeal to the kind of audience cultivated by writers such as Marina Lewycka” (HHB Agency)“What a charming novel. I’m from Dundee myself, and the masterful way you wove together setting and culture was admirable. Your characters, too, were powerful yet compassionate, and the prose had a lovely twisting quality” (Canongate Press)“This is fresh and intriguing” (Andrew Lownie)Mrs Keiller's Marmalade is a book about marmalade, the isolation of old age, respect for tradition and the pain of abandonment. Maggie Keiller is a fictional descendent of John Keiller, the last patriarch of Keiller marmalade, whose clan famously created the first ‘Dundee Marmalade’. She is married John's son Billy Keiller in 1909 but lost him in the same year to a storm which visited their small enclave of Auchobane, a village perched precociously on the Dundee coastline of North-East Scotland. Forward fifty years, and Maggie lives a lonely life in Rose Cottage surrounded only by her jars of fine and vintage homemade marmalade. Her only visitor is Dougie, an elderly grocery man and decorated veteran. Maggie’s life is changed when she unexpectedly receives a letter from her estranged niece in London, asking for haven for her teenage daughter. Maggie takes her on, not out of affection for her niece whom she loathes, but to fill the void left by her childless marriage. Isla arrives in 1969, a year on the cusp of a revolution in the London she has just left, and in her own life, hiding the pregnancy she has kept from her mother. Maggie teaches Isla about her heritage, and hopes to pass on to her the tradition of marmalade making. For Isla, abandoned by mother and lover, and struggling to cope with the imminent arrival of an unwanted child, her bond with Maggie becomes a channel to help regain the self-esteem taken from her over her young years. The book culminates in Isla’s entry into the silver spoon Marmalade competition, fifty years after Maggie Keiller had taken the same prize.
The Monkey's Raincoat / Free Fall / Lullaby Town
Robert Crais - 2003
The search for Ellen's errant husband leads Elvis into the seamier side of Hollywood. He soon learns that Mort Lang is a down-on-his-luck talent agent who associates with a schlocky movie producer, and the last place he was spotted was at a party thrown by a famous and very well-connected ex-Matador. But no one has seen him since - including his B-movie girlfriend. At the same time the police find Mort in his parked car with four gunshots in his chest - and no kid in sight - Ellen disappears. Now nothing is what it seems, and the heat is on. It's up to Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike to find the connection between sleazy Hollywood players and an ex-Matador. FREE FALL Read by James Daniels (Sandra Burr, Jill Sovis) Elvis Cole is just a detective who can't say no, especially to a girl in a terrible fix. And Jennifer Sheridan qualifies: Her fiance, Mark Thurman, is a decorated LA cop with an elite plainclothes unit, but Jennifer's sure he's in trouble - the kind of serious trouble that only Elvis Cole can help him out of. Five minutes after his new client leaves his office, Elvis and his partner, the enigmatic Joe Pike, are hip-deep in a deadly situation as they plummet into a world of South Central gangs, corrupt cops, and conspiracies of silence. And before the case is through, every cop in the LAPD will be gunning for a pair of escaped armed-and-dangerous killers - Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. LULLABY TOWN Read by James Daniels (Joyce Bean, Russell Byers) Hollywood's newest wunderkind is Peter Alan Nelson, the brilliant, erratic director known as the King of Adventure. His films make billions, but his manners make enemies. What the boy king wants, he gets, and what Nelson wants is for Elvis to comb the country for the airhead wife and infant child the film-school flunkout dumped en route to becoming the third biggest filmmaker in America. It's the kind of case Cole can handle in his sleep - until it turns out to be a nightmare. For when Cole finds Nelson's wife in a small Conneticut town, she's nothing like what he expects. The lady has some unwanted - and very nasty - mob connections, which means Elvis could be opening the East Coast branch of his P.I. office . . .at the bottom of the Hudson River.
Our Lady of Joy
Valery Keith - 2015
One of only two Emotion Conduits in that world's history and the only one to have survived to maturity, Lira struggles to adapt to being an unprepared cultural icon while coping with the loss of her only family, safeguarded by her violent and troubled Guardian, Rease and her loyal dog, Night. Discovering her gone, her widowed father Jonas must confront his own dark past, forcing him to return to a life he had thought abandoned long ago. Aided by his criminal contacts and spurred on by a prophesy foretelling global conflict in a world without war, he races to save his beloved little girl once more, just as he did when she was an infant. Surrounded by allies and enemies, unable to tell them apart, Lira soon learns she must determine the course of her own life or remain a pawn in this new world. Written for readers of all ages and filled with tasteful romance, intrigue, drama and adventure, Our Lady of Joy is the first book in a series of seven novels, all of which will be available for Kindle download no later than 1/1/16 so that the series may be enjoyed by readers in its entirety without delay.
Hot Water Man
Deborah Moggach - 1984
Among the ex-pats already there is straight-talking Duke Hanson, whose all-American values cannot prevent him falling, then sinking, helplessly in love with a sophisticated Pakistani girl. In the ensuing tangle of Anglo-American-Oriental relations, the strangest things for those who have come out East are revealed in the very people with whom they arrived…
The Hyperscape Project -Book One (Awakening)
Donald Swan - 2013
It seemed as though the entire universe was holding its breath. Waiting. Whether waiting for the salvation of mankind or its demise was yet unclear.He set out to prove a theory. Now he’s racing to save the galaxy from his mistake.Along with his newly found, rag-tag band of alien friends, Nick Bannon battles to keep his devastating technology out of the hands of the biomechanoid race known as the Mok’tu.Nick is flung to a distant world when his hyperspace experiment goes awry. Technology can always be used for good or evil and now his peaceful experiment could become a horrific weapon of a malicious alien race. Every species in the galaxy is in danger of total annihilation and it may take one man’s greatest sacrifice to stop it.Full 86,000 word space opera novel! Official Website: TheHyperspaceProject.comSci-fi, Space Opera, Nanites, Hyperspace, Aliens, First Contact, Action, Adventure, Fun, Series, scifi, robot, mechanoid, prophecy, queen, battle, stargate, red shirts, takei, battle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I found "The Hyperspace Project" to be an immensely enjoyable read. I kept picturing Harrison Ford, but with the Indiana Jones personality, but in a Blade Runner world as Nick Bannon. The pacing was great, Swan did an awesome job giving just enough desription of the new technology and alien races without dragging the story into a grinding halt. The story had a feel good sense that I got from watching "Guardians of the Galaxy" - where you get to know the characters to the point where you actually want to meet themand have a few drinks at a dive bar to hear more stories.The dialogue and writing were top notch - and it was clear that this story was thought out before Swan committed it to paper. With all of the rehashes (really - can we do a Spiderman reboot just one more time please.....) it is nice to meet some new characters in a new adventure - and it doesn't have to end here, since Swan already has book two on the shelves.Highly recommend this book for lovers of sci fi!!!" - Nathan Merceron⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "5 star sci-fi adventure - this book is FUN. The start of a new series, Book 1 : Awakenings does not disappoint. It has all the elements I desire in a good space adventure story - a reluctant hero fumbling his/her way through new alien space, interesting and unique aliens, exciting twists and turns, a good overall plot and a whole lot of fun. I am right on board the Hyperspace wagon, eagerly awaiting book 2, which means book 1 gets the OMGMOAR 5 star award from Tracing The Stars." -TracingTheStars.com ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "A lost Queen. An ancient prophecy. Worlds caught in an interstellar war between two malevolent alien races. Hyperspace, Nanites, Biomechanoids with a mysterious past. The Hyperspace Project is non-stop action and lots of fun." -John S.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "I really enjoyed this book. There is a lot of action, but it's well balanced. If you like Star Trek or shows like Stargate, then I think you'll like this book. Fun characters and a story that flows well. Some good futuristic science too. (Nanites, hyperspace, gadgets etc.) I only wish that the second book was already available. There is also an interesting extra chapter that can be unlocked with clues from the book. That added an extra bit of fun to it as well." -Sara, BestIndieBooks.com
Murder on the Orient Express / Death on the Nile / The Mirror Cracked / The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie Boxed Set)
Agatha Christie - 2003
East End Jubilee
Carol Rivers - 2005
The residents of Ruby Street in London's East End are celebrating the new Queen's coronation. It's a day of joy of laughter, a new beginning for a nation still in the grip of rationing, still suffering the aftermath of the Blitz. But for Rose Weaver, the day ends in tragedy when her husband Eddie is arrested on suspicion of theft. It's only the first of several shocks as Rose discovers some unpleasant facts about the man she married eight years before, the man she thought she knew so well.Struggling to provide for herself and her two daughters, Rose realises that she'll need the help of family, friends and the good neighbours of Ruby Street if she's to have any chance of pulling through.And when a handsome salesman knocks at her door, it's hard to resist temptation . . .
The Whispering Bell
Brian Sellars - 2012
When he is lost in battle she loses everything, even their children. Her fight to win them back recalls the terror of the shield wall, the harsh lives of convict slaves, and the enormous difficulties a lone woman must face in a male dominated heroic age."This is a really excellent read, a page turner that gives a vivid, convincing picture of 7th century Mercian England." The Historical Novels Review
Annie
Lynda Page - 1993
Refusing to surrender to her husband's misfortunes, Annie manages to keep food on the table and faith in their hearts. Until tragedy strikes again. With the threat of the workhouse looming over them, Annie and her young son Georgie seek refuge with their only relatives: the Burbages - a family they have never met and know nothing about. Adapting to farmlife is a gruelling experience for Annie and Georgie, but hard work and cheerfulness earn them respect. But at the back of Annie's mind, she knows that one day she must return to Leicester to confront the memories she has left behind and begin a new life for herself and her son...