Your ma was killed deliberate ... and someone oughter pay for it.’When young, wealthy spinster Letitia Fairchild witnesses Ella being ill-treated, she takes her in as a scullery maid. But as Ella grows up, she is determined to find the truth about her mother’s tragic death and appeals to Letitia for help, revealing to her the contents of her only personal possession: a black silk purse. Intrigued, Letitia agrees to begin a quest to solve the mystery of Ella’s past. But neither could have imagined the astonishing and dramatic consequences.

    This time no one is safe.A skeleton is dug up at the crossing of the ways on Hanging Moor, striking dread into the heart of Old Ma Ramsgill – the elderly matriarch of the village of Thruscross. And with good reason. The eighteenth-century witch, Jennet, has been woken.A spate of killings by a vicious black dog gives credence to her warnings and the community – in particular her family – realise they are in terrible danger.Drastic measures are needed to contain her, but with the imminent flooding of the valley to create a new reservoir, do they have the ability to stop her and break her curse?

    Now the stories alone are available for the first time in trade paperback.

    His Tales and Legends from India, Angry River, Strange Men, Strange Places, The Blue Umbrella, A Long Walk for Bina and Hanuman to the Rescue are also available in Rupa paperback. The Ruskin Bond's Children's Omnibus has been a firm favourite with young readers for several years. Ghost Stories from the Raj, The Rupa Book of Great Animal Stories, The Rupa Book of True Tales of Mystery and Adventure, The Rupa Book of Himalayan Tales and The Rupa Book of Great Suspense Stories are some of his recent books for Rupa.

    Will Rising had dragged himself from humble beginnings to his own small tailoring business in Gloucester - and on the way he'd fallen violently in love with Florence, refined, delicate, and wanting something better for her children. March was the eldest girl, the least loved, the plain, unattractive one who, as the family grew, became more and more the household drudge. But March, a strange, intelligent, unhappy child, had inherited some of her mother's dreams. March Rising was determined to break out of the round of poverty and hard work, to find wealth, and love, and happiness.

    

    But everything changes when Abbie is twelve and their emotional, spirited mother casts them into a crisis for which no one is prepared. Six years later the Morris family have rebuilt their lives, and when Abbie and Beatie, Abbie's adored elder sister, set off for the county fair, the world seems a good place. But their new-found happiness is not to last. A chance encounter with Louis, a personable, handsome stranger, leads to tragedy and has repercussions that threaten to destroy Abbie's peace of mind for ever. Abbie struggles to forget what happened that night, to get on with her life, but when she meets charming, honourable Arthur - and re-encounters Louis - it becomes clear that she might never recover from the night they stayed so long at the fair...

    When German sniper Dieter Rohde’s older brother is unjustly shot for desertion by the SS, he will stop at nothing to win the Iron Cross medal and redeem his family’s name by targeting as many Allied troops as possible. Rohde’s deadly efforts bring him into direct confrontation with American sniper Caje Cole. Rohde may be driven by ambition, but he hasn’t encountered an adversary like Cole, the so-called hillbilly sniper who is as hard as the mountains he calls home and as wily as a backwoods fox. As the final pitched battle for France takes place around them at the Falaise Pocket, these two snipers declare war on each other.

    But will it cost her all she holds dear?England, 1944: With deadly doodlebugs terrorising London, Bessie Rushbrook agrees to give shelter to eight-year-old evacuee, Marigold, in her Norfolk home. However, the little girl is no random stranger, and Bessie must honour the promise she gave to Marigold’s mother, Grace, and not reveal her connection to the child.Marigold’s arrival stirs up Bessie’s memories from the past when the world was at war for the first time. She is forced to face her actions from those days, and question the haunting secret that she’s long kept hidden.When Grace is injured in London, Bessie makes the heart-wrenching decision to confess her secret, knowing that it could destroy everything she holds dear – her marriage, family and home. Will those who love her understand, and can they forgive her?

    She must put her precious little children, Liesl and Erich on the last Kindertransport out of Berlin, or allow them to become prey for the Nazis. She is a Jewish woman alone, her husband Peter was picked up for defending someone in the street, never to reappear. Whatever hope she has of making it on her own, with children she has none.A childless widow, Elizabeth Klein never met her cousin Peter Bannon, that side of the family were never talked about, some ancient, long forgotten grudge, but when she receives a letter from his wife, begging her to take care of her children, she doesn’t hesitate.The Star and the Shamrock trilogy tells the story of Liesl and Erich as they embark on a new and strange life. From the terrifyingly regimented streets of the Third Reich, to the bombed out streets of Liverpool, and finally settling in the lush green valleys of Northern Ireland. It is a story of the love, light and hope which can be found, even in the darkest of situations, and of the ultimate goodness of humanity.

    So Sassy is devastated when her father marries wealthy widow Elizabeth Bonner. Social climber Elizabeth despairs of a step-daughter who is more at ease with servants than those above stairs, and is jealous of Sassy's growing beauty which threatens to outshine her own daughter. Unwelcome and out of place in this unfamiliar world, Sassy often escapes to her old home on Tuttle Hill and the company of her childhood friends, brothers Thomas and Jack Mallabone. But the trio's bond is threatened by the consequences of her blind adoration for wayward Thomas, much to the dismay of Jack, who has long worshipped Sassy in secret...

    A comprehensive guide to Amor Towles' acclaimed new novel 'A Gentleman in Moscow', this discussion aid includes a wealth of information and resources: useful literary and historical context; an author biography; a plot synopsis; analyses of themes & imagery; character analysis; twenty thought-provoking discussion questions; recommended further reading and even a quick quiz. For those in book clubs, this useful companion guide takes the hard work out of preparing for meetings and guarantees productive discussion. For solo readers, it encourages a deeper examination of a multi-layered text.

    There's Luke Williams, a young American who's been left in a wheelchair by a drunk driver. Then there's Brian Tully, a wise-cracking bully with connections in Vegas, together with his sheepish family. And finally there's Dan Borowski, an Australian security analyst. Trouble is, Dan isn't there to relax, and though they don't yet know it, nor are any of the others... This short story first appeared in "Storyglossia" in May 2008. Dan Borowski first appeared as a character in "For the Dogs", and this is one of two short stories (the other is "Retrospective") to feature him.

    The beloved Gus wouldn't hurt a fly, so when he ends up in the hospital after being attacked, no one quite knows where to point the finger.With the restaurant hanging on by a thread and a criminal on the loose, Charlotte knows she will have to solve this crime with a soup ladle in one hand and a cupcake pan in the other. When it becomes clear that there is more to the coveted soup recipes than meets the eye, Charlotte is certain that the person who attacked Gus won't stop until Gus is silenced once and for all."Red Velvet Villainy" is filled with layered clues and cozy moments, written by Molly Maple, which is a pen name for a USA Today bestselling author.

     In Victorian London’s East End, life for Hope Daniels in the public house run by her parents is not as it seems. Pa drinks and gambles, brother John longs for a place of his own, sister Violet dreams of a life on stage and little Alfie is being bullied at school. Silas Quirk, the charismatic owner of a local gentlemen’s club and disreputable gambling den her father frequents, has his own plans for Hope. When disaster strikes the family lose everything and the future they planned is snatched away from them. Secrets are revealed that make Hope question all she’s ever believed in. Can Hope keep them together when fate is pulling them apart? What will she sacrifice to save her family? A captivating story of tragedy and triumph you won’t want to put down.