Book picks similar to
One Last Second by Sam Vickery


netgalley
tbr-1
next-up-1
engelstalig

Six Steps To Happiness


Suzie Tullett - 2019
    But Nick and Gaye won’t budge.To add to her problems, Ronnie’s daughter and mother-in-law decide to stage an intervention. With her family keeping a close eye on her, Ronnie is forced to become more devious in her actions to get rid of Nick and Gaye.But just how far will she go?And is moving on ever that easy? Six Steps to Happiness is a hilarious look at just how far one woman will go to recover from a broken heart and find happiness again. What everyone is saying about Six Steps To Happiness: "I highly recommend this hilarious romance." "I definitely recommend this book, you won’t be disappointed!" "Some parts had me laughing and some parts left me wanting to cry." "A great happy read, with fun and laughter thrown in!" "A book with a message and also one with lots of smiles. Loved it." Suzie Tullett is the bestselling author of The French Escape, Little White Lies and Butterflies and The Trouble With Words. Six Steps To Happiness is an uplifting and laugh-out-loud Romantic comedy which will appeal to fans of authors like Sue Roberts, Marian Keyes and Sarah Morgan.

Raving About Rhys


Jessica Redland - 2015
    Tony’s exactly what she’s always dreamed of… or at least he would be if he ever took her out instead of just taking her to bed. And work would be perfect, too, if she wasn’t constantly in trouble with her boss. When the new gardener, Mikey, discovers her in a rather compromising position at work, Callie knows that her days at Bay View Care Home could be numbered. And if she leaves, who’ll look out for her favourite client, Ruby, whose grandson, Rhys, seems to constantly let her down?And can anyone in Callie’s life be trusted?

Toys In The Dust


N.M. Brown - 2019
    He is sad that he doesn’t have a doll to play with like the girls do, so Suzy hurries home to fetch one. When she returns, Suzy discovers both Tina and the stranger have vanished. A short while later, traffic officer Leighton Jones, who is fighting his own demons, is driving home from the scene of a near-fatal accident. When Leighton sees a young girl race out in front of his car and vanish into the countryside, he reports the sighting. Unfortunately, his superiors, who are increasingly concerned about Leighton’s mental health, doubt the child exists. But after Tina’s mother confirms her daughter’s disappearance, Leighton risks his job by pursuing his own investigation of the case. Meanwhile, in the Californian countryside, a child killer is relentlessly searching for the one who got away. Leighton has his work cut out. But can he prove his sanity and find Tina before the stranger does? Toys in the Dust is a gripping and fast-paced serial killer thriller, which will appeal to fans of authors like Damien Boyd, Keith Houghton, Mark Edwards and Angela Marsons. It is loosely connected to N.M. Brown's previous thrillers, also featuring Leight Jones, The Girl on the Bus and Carpenter Road, and can be read as part of a series or as an unmissable stand-alone.

Lucy Mathers Goes Back To Work: A romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of returning to the workplace!


Julie Butterfield - 2019
    Four years later, she’s a stay at home mum with two adorable children, has swapped her Louboutins for rabbit slippers and spends her day making crustless sandwiches and colour co-ordinated lunches instead of signing up high profile clients. When her husband is suddenly made redundant, there is panic in the Mathers’ household. With a mortgage the size of the national debt and a credit card balance that’s in danger of toppling, Lucy reluctantly decides she must return to work. So she digs out her old power suits from the back of the wardrobe and leaves Will to become a house husband. But sitting in Lucy’s old office is Grant Cassidy, suave, handsome and ruthless and with no intention of letting Lucy walk back into the number one job. At home, despite his breezy declaration that swapping boardroom battles for toddler groups would be a doddle, Will’s belief that parental issues could be solved with forward planning and a spread sheet soon falls by the wayside. With both Will and Lucy struggling to adapt, could their previously happy marriage be developing some cracks?

Wife Support System


Kathleen Whyman - 2020
    Instead of living with our partners, struggling to do everything by ourselves and only seeing each other now and then, we should do it the other way round. We should live together and see them now and then.Erica knows her suggestion sounds extreme, but when her nanny leaves without notice, she’s extremely desperate. Polly and Louise aren’t convinced, but when circumstances force them to move into Polly’s enormous but run-down house, they have to admit that life’s much easier when the childcare and workload is shared. At first, communal living seems like the answer to all their prayers - childcare on tap, rotas for cleaning, and someone always available to cook dinner (no more last-minute pizza delivery!). But over time, resentment starts to grow as they judge each other’s parenting styles and bicker over cleaning, cooking and whose turn it is to buy toilet rolls.And as one woman has her head turned by a handsome colleague, one resorts to spying on her husband and another fights to keep a dark secret, they need each other more than ever. But can Polly, Louise and Erica keep their friendship and relationships strong? Or will their perfect mumtopia fall apart?Essential reading for anyone fed up with never-ending housework/homeschooling/preparing healthy meals that their kids reject … Will have you shrieking with laughter! Fans of Why Mummy Drinks, Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life? and Beth O’Leary won’t want to miss this one!

A Christmas Wedding in the Cotswolds


Lucy Coleman - 2021
    Now they are busy planning their wedding, but when the date slips six months because Gray is working on a huge film project, it seems like fate that after their snowy start, they will end up getting married at Christmas. The couple are living in Immi’s grandfather’s picturesque lock-keeper’s cottage at the Aysbury marina in the Cotswolds, which they are renovating to become their forever family home. As well as building work, full-time jobs and wedding planning, Immi is in charge of raising money to build a children’s playground, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of The Santa Ahoy Cruises – her grandfather Tollie’s life work. When Gray is suddenly forced to travel abroad, Immi is left to cope with everything alone, and before long, even the best-laid plans start to wobble. When a terrible betrayal is uncovered, the whole community of Aysbury is left reeling, and Immi is left wondering if there will be a wedding after all…Let Lucy Coleman transport you away to an unforgettable Cotswolds Christmas full of romance and laughter, friendship and family and much-loved festive traditions. Perfect for all fans of Trisha Ashley, Holly Martin and Sue Moorcroft.

My Sweet Friend


H.A. Leuschel - 2017
    She brings a much-needed breath of fresh air into the office and ambitiously throws herself into her new job and friendships. But is Alexa all she claims to be? As her life intertwines with Rosie and Jack’s, they must all decide what separates truth from fiction. Will the stories that unfold unite or divide them? Can first impressions ever be trusted?In this original novella, H.A. Leuschel evokes the powerful hold of appearances and what a person is prepared to do to keep up the facade. If you like thought-provoking and compelling reads with intriguing characters, My Sweet Friend is for you.

My Mother's Choice


Ali Mercer - 2020
    Absolutely nobody. I have no idea what she was like. I’d always thought they kept quiet about her because they were sad. But what if it was because they were guilty?I watch them at the school gates, all the mothers with their daughters. I see the hugs and all those thoughtful little adjustments to scarves and ponytails. How their love seems to overflow, they have so much of it to give.And then I walk home to my aunt’s cold house, where there are a hundred rules for me to follow and only a single photograph of my mother to look at.She is never spoken about in this house. They tell me that it will be easier if I don’t think about her.It is strange though, isn’t it? That I know nothing about my own mother?But they don’t know about the diary I’ve found up in the loft. Maybe they even forgot it was there. It doesn’t matter anymore if they won’t tell me anything. Because within these pages is what I’ve waited fourteen years to find out. And maybe some things I wish I could forget.All I wanted was to bring our family closer together, but could what I find tear us apart instead?A heartbreaking and powerful novel about family secrets and how we live with decisions we never thought we would have to make. Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Kate Hewitt and Amanda Prowse.

The Cottage on Lily Pond Lane - New Beginnings: Part One


Emily Harvale - 2018
     Mia Ward is amazed to be told she has inherited her great-aunt Matilda’s thatched cottage in the tiny seaside village of Little Pondale – especially as Mia didn’t know she had a great-aunt Matilda. She’s even more astonished to discover she’ll only inherit the place if she actually lives there for one year. Mia’s a city girl at heart, not to mention she’s afraid of water, so the fact the cottage backs on to a sandy beach, is not, in her opinion, a bonus. But Mia’s struggling to pay her rent since being fired for inappropriate behaviour at the office party, and her boyfriend’s also dumped her. When her best friend, Ella and Ella’s brother, Garrick offer to help her move and settle in, Mia decides to see this as a new beginning. It may also be the start of an exciting adventure because now Mia wants to know just who, exactly, was great-aunt Matilda. And she’s determined to find out. But it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to make sure Mia doesn’t stay in Little Pondale….

The Girl From the Workhouse


Lynn Johnson - 2020
    Ginnie Jones’s childhood is spent in the shadow of the famous Potteries, living with her mother, father and older sister Mabel. But with Father’s eyesight failing, money is in short supply, and too often the family find their bellies aching with hunger. With no hope in sight, Ginnie is sent to Haddon Workhouse.Separated from everything she has known, Ginnie has to grow up fast, earning her keep by looking after the other children with no families of their own. When she meets Clara and Sam, she hopes that she has made friends for life… until tragedy strikes, snatching away her newfound happiness.Leaving Haddon three years later, Ginnie finds work as a mouldrunner at the Potteries, but never stops thinking about her friends in the workhouse – especially Sam, now a caring, handsome young man. When Sam and Ginnie are reunited, their bond is as strong as ever – until Sam is sent to fight in WW1. Faced with uncertainty, can Ginnie find the joy that she’s never had? Or will her heart be broken once again?An emotional, uplifting and nostalgic family saga that will make you smile, while tugging on your heart-strings. Fans of Sheila Newbury, Kitty Neale and Sheila Riley will love this beautiful read.

Spring Siren: Escape this spring to the Boardwalk by the Sea (The Boardwalk by the Sea series, Book 4)


Georgina Troy - 2021
    

The Vanishing Child


Jennifer Harvey - 2021
    His blond hair neatly combed, smiling for the camera. I thought, you will disappear, Johnny. This will be the last photo taken of you.Forty years ago: Cece’s son went out on his bike on a hot summer’s day and never came home. Every evening she lingers on her front porch, hoping to see him coming up the driveway. But the street remains empty and, with her heart aching, Cece goes back inside and closes the door behind her…Forty years later: On a rare visit to her father, Carla stumbles across a box tucked away in one of the cupboards. Full of her father’s diaries and old newspaper clippings, it tells the story of the disappearance of three boys when her father was just a child.Her father refuses to discuss the missing children and his silence only makes Carla more curious. When she meets the mother of the last boy who went missing, and sees her pain first-hand, Carla becomes determined to help Cece finally lay her child to rest.But as Carla begins to read the diaries and discovers more about the dark days all those years before, she realises the truth might be more complicated than she thought. There are people in this town who will do anything to stop her digging up the past, and uncovering the truth could change her world in ways she never imagined possible…A totally gripping, emotionally charged suspense novel about small-town secrets and the price of facing up to the truth. Fans of Liane Moriarty, Diane Chamberlain and The Silent Daughter will be gripped from the very first page until the final, heart-stopping twist.

Sunrise Over Pebble Bay


Della Galton - 2021
    Talented, yet relatively unknown actress and celebration cake baker extraordinaire Olivia Lambert is running out of time.Approaching forty, she’s yet to land the role that will launch her television career and she’s desperate to be a mum.Her new man, Phil Grimshaw from the Bluebell Cliff Hotel, seems the perfect match, but seems to be in no rush to settle down.Having ditched her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, Tom Boyd, when he backtracked about being a dad, Olivia dreads making the same mistake again.Rocked by confessions from both her sister Ruby and Tom, Olivia knows it’s time to make some life changing decisions.Then a terrifying incident off Chesil Beach changes the course of her future and brings Olivia to question everything she values and loves.

A Secret Scottish Escape


Julie Shackman - 2021
    But an unexpected inheritance and love for her quiet corner of Scotland send her down a new path.Now Layla finds herself facing a whole new kind of drama. Rumours swirl that a celebrity has moved into Coorie Cottage and Layla is determined to have him headline her opening night at local music venue The Conch Club. But the reclusive star is equally determined to thwart Layla’s efforts. Rafe Buchanan is in hiding for a reason, and soon his past comes to Loch Harris to haunt him…

Nasty Business


Gillian Godden - 2019
     And, now that he’s running a fancy West End nightclub, Tony has new-found celebrity status – with a never-ending string of gorgeous women on his arm, he’s become the darling of the tabloids. However, despite his success, he still feels he lacks the respect he deserves and the status he desires. The little boy who lived on the streets is never far away. Desperate for recognition, he’s driven to achieve more and more. Most of all, he craves the acceptance of Ralph Gold and to become a bigger part of his extensive web of organised crime. Fearlessly facing up to enemies, winning battles and becoming the undisputed bosses of the London underworld can be a nasty business, but it’s the only business Tony and Jake know. And they’ll stop at nothing to succeed.