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The Magnolia Palace


Fiona Davis - 2022
    For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City’s most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica’s financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.

Mint


S.R. Wilsher - 2021
    It’s the summer of 1976, and after nine years in prison, James Minter is home to bury his mother.A history of depression and a series of personal issues has seen her death ruled as suicide.His refusal to accept that conclusion means he must confront his violent stepfather, deal with the gangster who wants his mother’s shop and, of course, face the family of the boy he killed.But will his search for the truth in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small seaside town, and the unpicking of the peculiar relationship his mother had with the Stonemason next door, put his own life in danger?

Til Death We Do Part, Too


Bruno Beaches - 2021
    She seems wonderful, and it is love at first sight, and they marry quickly. However, not all is rosy in the garden, and a lifetime’s baggage rears its ugly head. Pablo’s ex-wife re-establishes contact with him, and he desperately seeks to exorcise the demons of that betrayal and divorce, but he gets drawn into a double life. Then, one shocking day, Hellion goes to work, and inexplicably, and without warning, fails to return home. Now he has to try to understand another devastating, bewildering calamity.Til Death We Do Part, Too is a story that scrutinises the impact of unfinished business, baggage, emotional damage, and lingering love. It balances heart-breaking loss with resilience, disorientation with hope, and desperation and bitterness with true enduring love and understanding. There is much insight into the reality of relationships and the frailty of the human psyche. It is told with immense depth of feeling, humour, and faith.

Villa Normandie


Kevin Doherty
    The Normandy coastal village of Caillons is under German occupation, its villagers struggling to survive. With her husband forced into compulsory service for the German Reich, Jeanne Dupré, mother of two adolescent daughters, risks everything to lead the local Resistance cell.Life becomes even more dangerous with the arrival of British agent Daniel Benedict. He needs Jeanne's help to complete his mission, vital to Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings. But Jeanne is suspicious that they are not fighting for the same outcome. Their joint foe is Jürgen Graf, a Nazi oberleutnant set on wiping out the local Resistance. Aware that a spy is at large, Graf is on a ruthless mission to hunt Benedict down. With the help of a network of Catholic priests, Benedict penetrates the heart of the Nazis’ defences against Allied invasion, the Atlantic Wall. As the lives of Jeanne and Benedict become increasingly intertwined can they stay true to themselves? Will they have to sacrifice all in their fight for freedom..? ‘Villa Normandie’ is a moving historical novel, presenting an accurate picture of life under Nazi occupation. It is thoroughly detailed, meticulously researched and vividly authentic - depicting the turbulent world of the French resistance and the struggle of the French people for freedom.

Comraich (Jessamine #2)


Shani Struthers - 2018
    Getting to work in one of the spare bedrooms she makes a startling discovery, one that pulls her into a world of the intense and disturbing passions of others that have been here before.Jessamin has to decide.Will delving deeper into Comraich's history bring hope and peace to this troubled house or return her to a darkness she's only recently left behind? Praise for Jessamine: "A haunting tale of lost love and guilt." Carol"A beautiful ghost story which will make you cry." Amazon Customer"When you start to read this prepare to put your life on hold.. you won't want to put it down until you've read the last page." Gill Gillies"Reminiscent in parts of Wuthering Heights and even Jane Eyre in places." Laura Tawn"I fell headlong in the story and nothing else mattered." Amazon Customer

Transgression


James W. Nichol - 2007
    A spark between them becomes a fire—and a dangerous love affair blooms across enemy lines, dooming Adele to a grim postwar existence as a despised outcast, one of the infamous "horizontal collaborators." Ostracized, tortured, tormented, she chooses a desperate escape, accompanying a war-damaged yet optimistic Allied soldier across an ocean to a new land. But there is no refuge from the past, as Adele's broken heart and shameful secret drive her deeper into despair...and toward a shocking outcome.Part mystery and part love story—an unforgettable and beautifully written novel of secrets, passions, and consequences—Transgression is an exceptional work of power and strange beauty.

What a Carve Up!


Jonathan Coe - 1994
    A tour de force of menace, malicious comedy, and torrential social bile, this book marks the American debut of an extraordinary writer.

The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln


Stephen L. Carter - 2012
    Carter’s thrilling new novel takes as its starting point an alternate history: President Abraham Lincoln survives the assassination attempt at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Two years later he is charged with overstepping his constitutional authority, both during and after the Civil War, and faces an impeachment trial . . . Twenty-one-year-old Abigail Canner is a young black woman with a degree from Oberlin, a letter of employment from the law firm that has undertaken Lincoln’s defense, and the iron-strong conviction, learned from her late mother, that “whatever limitations society might place on ordinary negroes, they would never apply to her.” And so Abigail embarks on a life that defies the norms of every stratum of Washington society: working side by side with a white clerk, meeting the great and powerful of the nation, including the president himself.  But when Lincoln’s lead counsel is found brutally murdered on the eve of the trial, Abigail is plunged into a treacherous web of intrigue and conspiracy reaching the highest levels of the divided government. Here is a vividly imagined work of historical fiction that captures the emotional tenor of post–Civil War America, a brilliantly realized courtroom drama that explores the always contentious question of the nature of presidential authority, and a galvanizing story of political suspense.

Death of an Earl: Golden Age Mystery (Catherine Tregowyn Mysteries Book 5)


G.G. Vandagriff - 2021
    

Through Her Eyes


Jennifer Archer - 2011
    The last place Tansy Piper wants to be is stuck in Cedar Canyon, Texas, in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of small-town kids. But when her mother decides to move to the desolate West Texas town, Tansy has no choice but to go along. Once there, Tansy is immediately drawn to the turret of their rickety old house, a place she soon learns has a disturbing history. But it's the strange artifacts she finds in the cellar—a pocket watch, a journal of poetry, and a tiny crystal—that have the most chilling impact on her. Tansy soon finds that through the lens of her camera, she can become part of a surreal black-and-white world where her life is intertwined with that of mysterious, troubled Henry, who lived in the same house and died decades earlier. It seems their lives are linked by fate and the artifacts she found, but as Tansy begins spending more and more time in the past, her present world starts to fade away. Tansy must untangle herself from Henry's dangerous reality—before she loses touch with her own life forever.

Afternoon Walk


Dorothy Eden - 1971
    "Am I speaking to Mrs. Simpson?""Yes," said Ella tersely. "I am Mrs. Simpson.""The very lady I want. Just a word of advice, love. Drive carefully."The caller hung up abruptly.Not that Ella would have wanted to talk to him. She hated the sound of his voice. Very vulgar. But why was he calling her all the time? Warning her? About lots of things. Even about her small daughter, Kitty."Do you know where Kitty is?" the voice threatened.Her husband didn't believe a word of it. Told her she was imagining things. That she was loony.He also didn't believe about the old, empty house she and Kitty had stumbled upon a few afternoons ago.But she had seen the house. And so had Kitty. And now that she thought about it she realized that all her troubles had begun with the visit to that house.There was something dark and evil about the place. Something terrible. But what? And who would believe her even if she did find out?

I, Mona Lisa


Jeanne Kalogridis - 2006
    My story begins not with my birth but a murder, committed the year before I was born…"*****Florence****, April 1478:** The handsome Giuliano de' Medici is brutally assassinated in Florence's magnificent Duomo. The shock of the murder ripples throughout the great city, from the most renowned artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to a wealthy wool merchant and his extraordinarily beautiful daughter, Madonna Lisa.More than a decade later, Florence falls under the dark spell of the preacher Savonarola, a fanatic who burns paintings and books as easily as he sends men to their deaths. Lisa, now grown into an alluring woman, captures the heart of Giuliano's nephew and namesake. But when Guiliano, her love, meets a tragic end, Lisa must gather all her courage and cunning to untangle a sinister web of illicit love, treachery, and dangerous secrets that threatens her life.Set against the drama of 15th Century Florence, *I, Mona Lisa* is painted in many layers of fact and fiction, with each intricately drawn twist told through the captivating voice of Mona Lisa herself.**

The Reading Room


Ruth Hamilton - 2009
    That was her past life, at least. For now Leanne has been forced to start again as Lily, leaving her name, job, and marriage behind. No one in the Lancashire village of Eagleton has a clue about Lily, save that she's come up from the South West with her best friend and a small child. But it’s hard to lead a solitary existence in a small place, and Lily and Babs are swiftly embraced by some of the local characters: Mike, the Catholic priest, who the girls can't help noticing is easy on the eye; Eve, a Liverpudlian, who has a big mouth but a heart of gold; the hairdressers Paul and Maurice; and Dave and his love, Philly, both shy yet determined not to be cowed by Dave’s mother, the domineering matriarch of the village. Soon, Lily's new life is full of promise and as she joins Dave's reading room, a shop come café and library, she begins to relax. But then Eve is wounded in a burglary, and suddenly, Lily is afraid that her secret is out: her husband Clive may have discovered where she is, and, having left her for dead before, is now out to kill her.

Almost Perfect (A Good Girl Novel)


Jenny Siegel - 2015
    Now living with her boyfriend Dominic, everything is perfect.Almost.Charlie thought she has escaped her past, but as more photographs surface, she wonders if it has finally caught up with her? Despite Dominic's assurances that nothing can come between them; the truth isn't so easy to accept when it's staring you in the face. Especially when Charlie realises there might be more to the photos than someone trying to remind her of a life she'd rather forget.Can she make peace with her past of will it destroy her present?Being the good girl just got dangerous.

The French Retreat


Suzanne | Sue Fortin - 2015
    In a bid to reassess her life, she heads off to the only place she has ever felt content - her brother’s farmhouse retreat in rural France.Marcie isn’t the only one looking to escape. Ex-soldier Will hopes the gentle pace of French life will help to banish the ghosts of his past and offer him the fresh start he desires.However, all is not what it seems at The Retreat. Fuelled by a string of strange happenings and local rumours, Will and Marcie are pushed together as they try to discover who or what is behind it all. In so doing, they are faced with a moral dilemma and question if doing wrong is doing right?The French Retreat is a story of human compassion, hope and love.