Winnifred Cottage


Jennie Alexander - 2013
    The cause is a mystery but her partner Jack is suspiciously involved somehow.A welcome escape route presents itself in the form of Winnifred Cottage situated in the heart of The Lake District – a summer holiday paradise. It has recently been left to Abbie in her grandmother’s will but her sister Jilly is not at all happy about her decision to make it her home.Abbie has grand plans for the cottage but they are not to be. It bears no resemblance to her memories of the place and she is left wondering if she has made the worst mistake of her life.Great aunts Eva and Lilleth hoard their own secrets and both are suspicious as to why Winnifred Cottage has been left to Abigail. Their wise and charismatic friend Jed Tobin appears to know more than he’s letting on but everyone has to wait until he’s good and ready to reveal all. Abbie’s sister Jilly descends for a summer holiday with her family, and with her visit comes a storm of another sort – the worst weather for years. Torrential rain causes chaos in the village of Kirkby Bridge and people are forced to evaluate what’s really important to them.Winnifred Cottage is a novel of contemporary fiction with a little romance making it ideal summer reading/holiday reading.

Purple Reason


Doug Mennen - 2016
    President Jackson Niles knows that the fight to bring real change to Washington could get ugly, but what comes out along the way is far worse than he ever imagined. The conspiracy surrounding the federal government threatens to bring down all that America stands for. Now a new President and a small group of patriots are forced to work behind the scenes to undo the damage caused by two parties run amok.

Suspicion on Sugar Creek


Susannah B. Lewis - 2016
    She hoped to work on her novel, play Rook with the old lady next door and spend some lazy time with her husband and daughters. But when a new neighbor winds up dead, Tessa and her Rook partner find themselves jumping to suspicious conclusions. Add a young hippie named Rusty to the mix, and these three seem like an unlikely trio to solve an alleged crime. When you’re not laughing at the humorous rhetoric in Suspicion on Sugar Creek, you’ll be on the edge of your seat wondering how it will all play out.

The Essence of Shade


Deborah Jean Miller - 2019
    Despite his overbearing nature, Shade delights in her new role as wife and mother. When her husband suddenly dies years later, she uncovers secrets from his past—secrets so profound they derail the lives of both her and her daughter. After tragedy strikes, thirty-six-year-old Shade gains custody of her young grandson, Tyler, and moves to a small Michigan beach town where she becomes the owner of a successful bakery and café. Shade meets and falls in love with Tyler’s baseball coach, but their love for one another is doomed. Shade’s internal struggle to honor her vow to God, while denying her own desires, throws her on a path of painful redemption.

Girl On A Train


P. Hawkins - 2016
    This debut international thriller tangles a sordid web of love and intrigue.

OLD HOUSE


Sharon Mierke - 2018
    Who has not wondered about old houses as they passed by? Who was the builder? Did he take pride in his work? Were the inhabitants always happy or were there hard times? How many people passed through the doors? Old House is a story about one house. It is located in a fictitious valley in the state of Montana U.S.A. Through the course of one hundred years, these are the people who lived, laughed, loved, and cried as they called this old house their home. Each chapter in the book is a story in itself. It begins with the man who built the house in the late 1860s, and it continues with the people who found lodging and refuge in it - from a young man with a bounty on his head, an old man in search of gold, to a woman seeking protection.

'Twas the Night Before Murder: Cozy Mystery (Country Cottage Mysteries Book 21)


Addison Moore - 2021
    

Zetta's Dream: An Appalachian Coal Camp Novel (The Zetta Series Book 1)


Sandra Picklesimer Aldrich - 2015
    Determined to keep the family together, Zetta and their toddlers join Asa and her brothers at the Golden Gate coal camp just before Christmas 1922. She is eight months pregnant. During the first week in the dismal camp, Zetta suffers fearful nightmares of cut trees and fresh dirt--Appalachian signs of trouble. Asa dismisses his wife's pleas to return to their farm, insisting their three-month stay will provide the $400 they need to give their children better lives. Disappointed, Zetta draws strength from her plump red-haired neighbor, Dosha, and the strong willed granny woman, Clarie, who will deliver her baby. And each morning, she thanks the Lord they are one more day closer to home. Or are they?

George Pearly Is A Miserable Old Sod


Steven Primrose-Smith - 2015
     Amazon UK reviews for Steven's first book, No Place Like Home, Thank God: "A superb book I devoured in two days." "This book made me laugh out loud." "Great read. Laugh out loud funny." "I really enjoyed this book!" "Steven's style of writing made me laugh out loud." "I couldn't put it down." "One of the best books I've read in a long time." "Found his one liners very funny." "A highly entertaining read." "So well written with brilliant humour." Seventy year-old British ex-pat miserymonger George Pearly lives on the Costa del Sol, all alone except for his ancient, three-legged dog, Ambrose. George hates his life and everybody in it. These feelings are mutual. Everyone hates George too. From this unhappy equilibrium the situation quickly deteriorates. First, George discovers he is dying of a mystery illness. Then his 35 year-old ape-child nephew, Kevin, moves into George's tiny and once tranquil home with a passion for Vimto, Coco Pops and slobbing around in his greying underpants. Worst of all, George's neighbours start to disappear and all accusing fingers point towards George. Pull up a sun lounger, grab yourself a piña colada and enjoy a murder-mystery romp on Spain's sunny southern coast.

Mango Crush: A Mango Bob Adventure


Bill H. Myers - 2019
    Traveling across Florida in a motorhome, enjoying a laidback lifestyle while trying to stay out of trouble. But trouble never seems to be far. Especially when it involves women. In Mango Crush, Walker gets an early morning call from the mysterious but lovely Abby - aka the Goat Girl - asking him to drive across the state to pick her up in St Augustine. She says they'll be on the road for a week, so he better bring some wine because she's no fun when she's sober. No way he can turn her down, so he loads up his motorhome and heads out. But this is Florida and things rarely go as planned. Soon Walker finds himself in a different kind of hunt. One that will change his life forever. Ride along as Walker and his cat, Mango Bob, travel across Florida in their motorhome, trying to avoid trouble that seems to show up around every curve. A fun read.

The Scottish Doctor's Daughter


Jo Bartlett - 2018
     DI Hannah Blair has returned to Scotland to head up a small team of detectives investigating the whole range of crimes that occur in the wild Highlands. When her team is asked to investigate a suspicious death in the rural town of Balloch Pass, Blair isn’t just looking for a potential killer, she’s also chasing the ghosts of her past. Dr Noah Bradshaw has only been in town for a year. But as one of three GPs in the small medical practice, he’s already well-liked in the community… until the finger of suspicion points at him, and some of his patients start to believe he really could be capable of murder. With a local priest also under suspicion, Blair is preoccupied by her strained relationship with her father and her unwanted attraction to one of the suspects, until the investigation seems to be slipping through her fingers. But when Noah reveals the secret that brought him to Balloch Pass, everything changes… Blair faces a race against time to stop the killer striking again, and grab her own chance of happiness with both hands.

Ocean of Regret


Mary E. Hanks - 2018
    And complicated. Paisley Grant arrives in her hometown of Basalt Bay, Oregon, with three goals in mind—face her past, make amends, and learn how to breathe again. Three years ago, she left her husband a Dear John letter, then secretly drove to Chicago where she’s been living ever since. That wasn’t fair to Judah—or to her dad, whom she hasn’t spoken with in all this time. Facing them will be hard, but even more difficult will be seeing certain townspeople whose hurtful remarks made her run in the first place. Like her father-in-law, Mayor Grant. It will take every ounce of courage she possesses to look that man in the eye again. As determined as Paisley is to make amends, her plans don’t include getting back together with Judah. It’s time to move on—alone and independent. But when hurricane winds and destructive waves hit the coastal town, and she must face her greatest fear, will she cling to her plans and live with regret, or let them go to find love again?

The Cotton Blossom: A Novel


Dawn Gardner - 2020
    She’s an aspiring, young seamstress who is enchanted by a charming new suitor. His worldly ways and grandeur captivate her—until secrets, lies and unsavory behaviors bring her harm.Uncovering more than she ever imagined, Lillie is pushed to make decisions that she never expected. With the help of a close family friend and her brother Frank, Lillie tries to leave behind her mistakes.The discovery of a 1951 convertible dragged out of its watery grave leads reporters to the doorstep of Lillie Mae. The Cotton Blossom is a spellbinding journey about finding your power, learning from your mistakes and trusting your heart.

A Day Like Any Other


Isla Dewar - 2021
    You can only use the experiences you live through to make your future better, wiser. Anna and her best friend George meet every week to remember, to sigh, to laugh, to reminisce about their moments of glory, guilt and mischief and share their sorrows over a glass or three of wine. The things they've done still make them blush. Anna wanted to be a poet - a famous poet. George left home in a childish rage and years later returned with her baby.When Anna is asked to look after the boy across the road for a few hours each week, she isn't sure. She doesn't really do children. But she takes the job on and, gradually, a child's view of her world shows her a different place.George remembers a flat she stayed in when she ran away from home. It had the kitchen of all kitchens and, oh, how she'd love to see it again. Anna sets out to see if it still exists and discovers a cookbook full of recipes, intimates notes and drawings from George's life.Does all this mark an ending or the beginning of something new and marvelous for Anna and George?

Consecrated Dust: A Novel of the Civil War North


Mary Frailey Calland - 2011
    News of the catastrophe is buried, however, beneath the horrendous casualty reports from the Battle of Antietam, fought on the very same day. Inspired by these two real-life tragedies, Consecrated Dust tells the story of four young northerners - feminist, Clara Ambrose; soldier, Garrett Cameron; industrialist, Edgar Gliddon; and immigrant, Annie Burke - friends, lovers, and bitter rivals. In the teeming streets and factories of Pittsburgh, and on the battlefields of the Army of the Potomac, they struggle to survive, forced to choose between love and duty, sacrifice and greed. Their choices ultimately lead to their presence at both the Arsenal and the Antietam battlefield on that fateful September day, a day that reveals the true meaning of courage - a day not all of them will survive. "Mary Frailey Calland bridges the gap between historian and storyteller, adeptly using characters to walk the reader through the times and events in 1862 Pittsburgh where life and the consequences of war collide. Rich in historic detail, Consecrated Dust is a narrative window to the past." MICHAEL KRAUS, Curator of Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, and military consultant to the films Gettysburg and Cold Mountain. "The Civil War is seared into American memory for the horrors of the battlefields, North and South. Mary Calland's Consecrated Dust brings the tragedy to the northern home front and Pittsburgh - the Arsenal of the Union - which experienced in a single day the greatest death of civilians during the four year conflict." ANDREW E. MASICH, President & CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA.