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By Blood Divided


Lewis Orde - 1991
     When Zalman and Rachel Isakharov’s father is murdered during a tide of anti-Semitic riots, brother and sister have no option but to flee their native land. Possessing only two handcrafted watches given to them by their father, plus their fare for passage to America, they arrive exhausted in Amsterdam and prepare to set sail. But when a fire sweeps through their lodgings on the eve of departure, Zalman and Rachel are separated, each believing that their sibling is dead. Devastated, Zalman resolves to leave for America alone – while Rachel is persuaded to sail for England. So they begin new lives on opposite sides of the Atlantic, where hard work eventually yields great success for them both. Although their existence is happy in every other respect, the Amsterdam tragedy casts a shadow over their lives – until a meeting between their children seems destined to change everything... Lewis Orde was born in Reading, England, in 1943, grew up in London and came to the United States in 1964. After serving three years in the U. S. Army, he returned to England to work on newspapers and magazines before settling permanently in the United States in 1977. He is the author of twelve novels including The Lion's Way, Eagles, By Blood Divided, and Dreams of Gold. After moving up and down the East Coast in search of the perfect place to call home, he now lives with his wife, Kay, in St. Augustine Beach, Florida.

The Flower Girls


Dee Williams - 2012
    The twins are the apple of their parents' eye, and each other's best friend - they always know what the other is thinking. Feisty Rose has a more rebellious nature than her sister, but it's never before interfered with their closeness. However, Rose's secret dissatisfaction with her humdrum lifestyle reaches a head when she meets the rich and handsome Rodger. To the shock of the Flowers family, she elopes with him to Gretna Green. Once Rose has the money and glamour she's always craved, nothing will persuade her to contact her family again; not even her father's death. And then, in the wake of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, everything changes. With her charmed life in shreds and with no one left to turn to, Rose is determined to build bridges those she has hurt the most. But can forgiveness be sought so easily - and can she ever truly escape her troubled past?

Belong to Me


Kit Morgan - 2016
    They moved to America as young boys and helped tame the Wild West with not only their fists, but impeccable manners! In all that time, they kept hearing bits and pieces of a tale their mother told them. Over the years however, not to mention the loss of their mother, they lost most of the story and could only remember one major detail. A crocodile. Oh, and their third cousin the earl of course, who later became a duke, and whose duchy eventually fell to Duncan – but that’s another tale. This tale is something else entirely …Anthony Sayer had toiled for the East India Company for many years and after the death of his father was more than happy to return to England once and for all. Unfortunately, the Company had other ideas for Anthony, ones he wasn’t too thrilled to take on. Little did he know he’d be taking on so much more.Isabelle Bainbridge – better known as Isabelle Painbridge (or Hurricane Isabelle, depending on which circles one ran in) had given up any hopes of marriage. At twenty-six she was considered “on the shelf” by most of the ton and began to despair of ever finding a husband. Enter one Anthony Sayer. He was handsome, an earl and, better yet, available! But when a diary is delivered to her, its secrets turn Isabelle’s life upside down. Wishing to escape the horrible truths of the diary, she heads for India hoping to escape the scandal that will surely follow should anyone learn the book’s secrets. Unfortunately she runs into something else while abroad. Namely, one Anthony Sayer. And he isn’t exactly glad to see her. After all, Anthony has secrets of his own ...Enjoy this clean and wholesome romance full of fun, adventure, and a few critters to boot!

Islands


Gwyn G.B. - 2022
     Jersey born, Katherine, is a successful business woman living and working in London. She’s estranged from her husband and family and hiding from the pain of failed motherhood. When a major murder and child abuse investigation launches in Jersey, the news shocks the island and brings the world’s media to its idyllic shores. As the island of Jersey faces up to its hidden past, Katherine is forced to face up to hers. A letter arrives from the dying mother of her teenage friend – the friend whose death Katherine caused 32 years before. She knows she must return home and tell the truth; but Katherine isn’t the only one with secrets… Will the truth heal or destroy her? Will she ever come to terms with what drove her away from the man she loved and the sister that needs her?

Joshua Spassky


Gwendoline Riley - 2007
    In her third novel, Riley charts the peculiar final reckoning of a highly charged romance, exploring the possibility of human connection as two young people try to reconcile themselves to all of life’s bad endings, and give some meaning to their mayfly existences.

The Black Mountains


Janet Tanner - 1981
    Charlotte, James and their seven children are independent spirits, united by strong family values.Living in a mining community is never easy, and when the shadow of impending war threatens, they must pull together to face the hardship to come. Can this close-knit family overcome whatever tragedy life throws at them?The Black Mountains, a moving saga of love, happiness and heartbreak, is perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Katie Flynn. ‘Sensitive and exceptionally polished’ Manchester Evening News The Hillsbridge Sagas The Black Mountains The Emerald Valley The Hills and the Valley A Family Affair

Darkling, I Listen


Kathryn Le Veque - 2012
    Their new home, a run-down old rectory, is vandalized the first night in their new country. When Scarlett calls the police to report the crime, a handsome deputy constable appears.Archer Phipps is a well-known figure in North Yorkshire. Tall and handsome, he is immediately taken with the gorgeous American with the dark hair and red lips. A routine police report turns into something warm and curious, and Archer finds himself drawn to the luscious woman. He can also see that she is very guarded. Curiosity turns to concern, and concern to genuine interest. Archer and Scarlett began to fall for each other quickly with a fiery passion borne of lust and magnetic attraction.But something evil is lurking in the mist of the North Yorkshire moors. Ten years ago, when Archer was a new inspector, a series of murders were committed by an individual given the horrific nickname of the Yorkshire Cutter. His crimes were particularly brutal, leaving notes behind at the crime scenes that incorporated poems of great English poets into his twisted taunts. Now, as Archer and Scarlett draw closer, the Yorkshire Cutter rears his ugly head again.Archer finds himself once again embroiled in tracking down a killer that now has his sights set on Scarlett. Through life and death, love and loss, Archer and Scarlett face off against a killer in a tense climax with an unexpected twist. Part thriller, part mystery, and all love story, ‘Darkling, I Listen’ is a true adventure in every sense of the word.

The Feud


Amanda James - 2019
    After losing his wife to leukaemia, he wants to make a fresh start. His new life is going well until Matt returns to his cottage to discover a grim warning on his doorstop. The message is clear – Leave now and go back to London.Not wanting to give up his new life, Matt eventually discovers that there has been a 200-year-old feud between his family, the Trevelyars, and another local family, the Penhallows.When Matt learns that one of his ancestors burned down a barn belonging to the Penhallows, and that there were tragic consequences, he understands why his family name is mud. But why is Matt paying for the sins of his ancestors now? And is there more to the feud than meets the eye? Amanda James is the bestselling author of the psychological thrillers Another Mother, The Cornish Retribution and Rip Current, as well as the heart-warming women's fiction novel, The Calico Cat. The Feud is a suspenseful drama which will appeal to fans of authors like K.L. Slater, Shalini Boland and Lucy Dawson.

This Is This Country: The official book of the BAFTA award-winning show


Kerry Mucklowe - 2019
     All the best,Kerry and Kurtanp.s. Kurtan wants to make it clear that although this newsletter is in book format it does not make him any of the following:Book WormBook bummerBoffinNerd alertThe lion, the witch and the book wormp.p.s If you don't buy this newsletter that's fine, but we are getting a percent of the profits to donate to the Kerry Mucklowe eating fund, so if you don't buy it I'll basically starve. Which is fine if your conscience can deal with that utter headf***.

Grace in Mombasa


Tracy Traynor - 2020
    Grace in Mombasa is an intriguing historical saga of betrayal and loss, romance and heartbreak, and one woman’s journey in faith. From the day she was born, Grace Clifton has navigated a life of loss and heartbreak, without a mother to guide her and through the ravages of two World Wars. With England in the midst of a Second World War, Grace experiences the excitement of love and romance, but all too soon, it turns to heartbreak. Through it all, Grace is sustained by her unwavering faith in God, but when all she holds dear is ripped away from her, Grace is left devastated and doubting everything she’s ever believed in. As the world slowly recovers from war, Grace too begins the process of healing from bitterness and the deep wounds inflicted by life. However, her steadfastness to God is lost and she determines never to pray again. When an unexpected opportunity comes up in Kenya, Grace seizes the chance to escape the memories, hoping to find a purpose and build a new life for herself. In the city of Mombasa, Grace soon begins to realise she can’t ever distance herself from life’s complications, but if she’s prepared to open her heart, maybe her shattered faith will once more bring her hope, love and the healing that she desperately needs. Grace in Mombasa is a story about a woman with amazing faith that is shattered when her life falls apart, but will God simply let her go? If you like heartfelt dialogue, stories seeped in fact and history, and memorable characters, then you’ll love Tracy Traynor’s moving and inspirational novel. Read Grace in Mombasa to escape into a story of yesteryear and the evocative dream that is Kenya!

Take A Deep Breath


Shar Dimick - 2012
    Recently divorced from a man who wouldn't or couldn't understand her, she retreats with her daughter to her grandmother's summer cottage on Lake of the Pines. Liv has fond memories of the summers she spent there with her grandparents. Always a safe haven, she hopes to spend the summer relaxing, healing and finding herself again. In the midst of a panic attack, she finds herself face-to-face with Cameron Preston, the boy with whom she'd spent her childhood summers. In love with him back then, she never found the courage to tell him and they drifted apart...Her heart leaps at the second chance for love. Confusion swamps her as she tries to figure out why Cam keeps pulling away... Can Liv rekindle their old friendship and to turn it into something more? Cam quit his busy big-city medical practice exhausted and disillusioned. He returns to his family's summer home on Lake of the Pines to regroup and determine where and what he wants to do next. When he runs into Liv, the girl he let slip away, he knows where wants to head and with whom. When Cam meets Liv's eight-year-old daughter, he assumes Liv is married. He struggles to keep his feelings for Liv in check while resuming the friendship he desperately misses. His one regret was not kissing Liv all those years ago when he had the chance... He has never stopped loving Liv. Will he let her slip away again? Not if he has his way.

Up Beat and Down Dale: Life and Crimes in the Yorkshire Countryside


Mike Pannett - 2012
    Mike is called to investigate a series of burglaries, which are sending shock waves through the area. Remote farmhouses appear to be the targets, which stretches Mike's small team to the limits. Then, as winter sets in, two dogs are found running loose - Mike fears the owner has gone missing in the dreadful weather and is forced to call on a full-scale search. Throw in a night-time operation in an empty museum, and the harrowing business of taking three children into care against their mother's wishes, and it's quite a case-load for the author of Now Then, Lad, You're Coming With Me, Lad, Not On My Patch, Lad and Just the Job, Lad.

The Condition


Jennifer Haigh - 2008
    The year is 1976, and the family, Frank McKotch, an eminent scientist; his pedigreed wife, Paulette; and their three beautiful children has embarked on its annual vacation at the Captain's House, the grand old family retreat on Cape Cod. One day on the beach, Frank is struck by an image he cannot forget: his thirteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, strangely infantile in her child-sized bikini, standing a full head shorter than her younger cousin Charlotte. At that moment he knows a truth that he can never again unknown something is terribly wrong with his only daughter. The McKotch family will never be the same.Twenty years after Gwen's diagnosis with Turner's syndrome, a genetic condition that has prevented her from maturing, trapping her forever in the body of a child, all five family members are still dealing with the fallout. Each believes himself crippled by some secret pathology; each feels responsible for the family's demise. Frank and Paulette are acrimoniously divorced. Billy, the eldest son, is dutiful but distant, a handsome Manhattan cardiologist with a life built on compromise. His brother, Scott, awakens from a pot-addled adolescence to a soul-killing job, a regrettable marriage, and a vinyl-sided tract house in the suburbs. And Gwen is silent and emotionally aloof, a bright, accomplished woman who spurns any interaction with those around her. She makes peace with the hermetic life she's constructed until, well into her thirties, she falls in love for the first time. And suddenly, once again, the family's world is tilted on its axis.Compassionate yet unflinchingly honest, witty and almost painfully astute, The Condition explores the power of family mythologies, the self-delusions, denials, and inescapable truths that forever bind fathers and mothers and siblings.

The Impossible Search for the Perfect Man


Susie Martyn - 2013
    Then through a bizarre twist of events, you find yourself working with the girl he's left you for - and even worse, she's pregnant...Louisa’s not really up to any more complicated relationships. Right now, she doesn’t need them. She has good friends, okay, even if one does have a screwed up husband and the other a horoscope habit. Not to mention the ex-husband she’s counselling about the girlfriend he left her for. There you go. So she certainly doesn’t need anyone else with problems at the moment.It would be nice, wouldn’t it, to find a straightforward man, who isn’t remotely screwed up and have some nice, straightforward fun. Nice, straightforward sex too. Now there’s a thought...Well, it’s okay to dream - isn’t it?Set in the Hampshire countryside against a background of horses and vets, this is a story about friendship and love, and life's way of throwing in the unexpected...

The Harry Palmer Quartet


Len Deighton - 2013
    When Len Deighton wrote THE IPCRESS FILE, HORSE UNDER WATER, FUNERAL IN BERLIN and BILLION-DOLLAR BRAIN he not only reinvented spy fiction, but he created a style icon and literary legend: ‘Harry Palmer’. The nameless, working-class spy of the books was given a face and identity when he was played by Michael Caine in three classic films. Since then both the books and the character have become international icons. Now it’s your chance to delve into the mysteries of the four ‘Secret Files’ as Harry Palmer investigates conspiracies, secret experiments and even a deadly virus, with all the cockiness and dry wit a reluctant spy can muster.