Mayan legends tell of a location where the secret to surviving the end of the world may be found. One part of that legend is recorded on a stone tablet in the dusty attic of Lord ‘Ratty’ Ballashiels’ crumbling manor. The other twin part disappeared from a Berlin museum when the Nazis took power. When Ratty seems about to sell his tablet to the adopted son of Josef Mengele, his friend, the archaeologist Ruby Towers, is appalled. Soon it is clear that more than archaeology is at stake. The quest to rescue historic Central American artefacts becomes a race to prevent an apocalyptic threat when Ruby discovers that the ancients have set in motion something that will threaten the world today.

    Two daughters born behind the dark walls thrust into the arms of the wrong mothers – one mother the Master’s wife, the other a slave of poverty, Dora. Phoebe and Claretta, the workhouse babies, switched at birth and thrust into an uncertain future. As the years unfurl, destiny sends the young ladies in different directions, but their hearts are bound. One runs, the other seeks. One haunted by fears, the other reaching for a faith and a future. Both longing for love. Their stories are woven into a lifelong saga that will keep you reading to the heart-rending end. Will Phoebe discover her roots and finally find peace? Will Claretta’s past prevent her opening her heart to the arms of the man she has grown to love? Two ladies forged in an unlikely sisterhood. The men who seek to love them. The long journey from workhouse to a world filled with deepest tragedy and soaring joy. This is the story of Dora’s workhouse child - a historical Victorian romantic saga. If you like Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin, you will love reading, Dora's Workhouse Child.

    In this five year period, the Muslim world inflicted a major defeat on the Christian army of Jerusalem that resonated around the known world, and which directly resulted in the confrontation between two of the most celebrated figures in medieval history – Richard the Lionheart, renowned as the great warrior king and personification of the knightly chivalry, and Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, Syria, Arabia and Mesopotamia and consummate diplomat and strategist.The story unfolds through the reminiscences of Geoffrey de Moissac, who relates his incredible first-hand experiences fifty years after the main protagonists have perished. Geoffrey has been witness to all the dramatic events of that time, from the Christian disaster at Hattin, through a perilous journey to the west to solicit aid, and finally as part of the mighty Crusader army intent on the re-conquest of the Holy Land.

    He can hardly remember his days of wanderlust, and he’s grateful to have left behind the violence of a raw frontier. In a celebratory mood, Steve invites his mother to a meet her new grandchild in a chic resort in Monterey, California. With the delivery of a handwritten note, his world suddenly reverts to the savagery of his bygone days. There will be no peace.

    

    He only stops travelling when he reaches Kent and there his life is dramatically altered, when he is adopted by a loving old lady and her roguish son Tom.

    An immediate impediment arises when she becomes involved in a murder investigation. Helping solve the crime is crucial, but Bella must work with Constable Jackson Hastings. Once part of her life, Jax turned his back on Bella after her brother, his best friend, died in the trenches. His cold attitude hasn’t softened, but she can’t let that stop her. Both her hometown and family resort, once popular tourist destinations, may not survive if the crime isn’t solved quickly.Jax, a war veteran, faces his own challenges. Wounded in body and spirit, his dreams shattered, he finds himself doing what he said he’d never do—follow in his father’s footsteps as constable. When a wave of crimes hit the town, culminating in murder, his competence is questioned. In a struggle to find the killer and save his job, Jax needs all the help he can get—but he doesn’t want assistance from Bella. Not when he feels responsible for her brother’s death. But more is at stake than his job. He can’t stand by and let Moreley become a ghost town. Nor can he watch while Bella loses Ballantyne.Working together is the only way to solve the crime and offer hope—to their community and for themselves. Will their efforts succeed, or will it be a precarious homecoming?

    The task of unravelling the mystery falls to history graduate Neil Strachan, now a career cop, fast tracked into a new role on Northern Scotlands Major Enquiry Unit. When Neil calls upon German naval historian, Matthias Fuchs, to help identify the remains, a name soon emerges, that of a dashing young U-boat ace who mysteriously disappeared in 1941: Korvettenkapitän Max Friedmann. Neil seeks the assistance of Glendaig’s elderly residents, but encounters an impenetrable wall of silence, causing him to suspect that they know far more about the young submariner than they are willing to impart. With more questions than answers, and under mounting pressure from his cynical boss to wrap up the enquiry, Neil embarks on a race against time to discover the truth. He begins to unravel a tale of subterfuge, escape and astounding loyalty. A tale that will ultimately reveal a secret that could have changed the course of World War Two...

     In Sarah's Valley, Patrick Smithson meets Frank Lawdry. Frank, who prefers his Abenaki name, Winnipesaukee, spends the night recalling his life story. He and his sister, Sarah, were left orphans when everyone on a wagon train died in a horrific tragedy. It was their story of survival. Return to Sarah's Valley continues where Sarah's Valley leaves off. Now an old man in his nineties, Patrick meets Michael Lawdry, one of Winnipesaukee's descendants, and tells him how two Lawdry men influenced his life. This is a story of life during the Great Depression, struggles and heartache, but also the deep love that a man has for one woman.

    The first avocado pears are appearing at the greengrocer's, people are thinking about carpeting their lavatories and boxing in their banisters, and Ronnie Glover, housepainter, husband and father, is feeling the first vague stirrings of discontent with his life. Then, out of the blue, the fabulous, sophisticated (and married) Jacqueline bursts into his life and teaches him to tango. She seems to offer everything he ever dreamt of. But is it all too good to he true?

    But when a new businessman in the form of Joseph Dawson enters their lives, both Charlotte and her father decide he's the man for her and, within six months, Charlotte marries the dashing mill owner from Accrington.Then a young mill worker is found dead in the swollen River Ribble. With Joseph's business nearly bankrupt, it becomes apparent that all is not as it seems and Joseph is not the man he pretends to be. Heavily pregnant, penniless and heartbroken, Charlotte is forced to face the reality that life may never be the same again . . .

    Harry Flashman, grandson of the famous Victorian General is about to leave Rugby under a cloud. A chip off the old block, one might say. Perhaps more than he realised. Forced to join the army, up to no good at Sandhurst and sent to India. 1914. India. Bored with garrison life, an unwise gamble leads to a flight in one of these new aeroplanes. As a result, and surprisingly smitten by aviation, Flashman returns to England via Sarajevo, intending to learn to fly. Meanwhile, Europe is convulsed. Displaying all his charming family traits, he is caught up in the start of the Great War, shanghaied along the way by the head of the fledgling Secret Service. Fighting for his life over the western front in a box of string and dope, sent beyond the lines on reckless missions for C, terrified out of his wits, dashing for cover, deflowering the local maidens, lying, stealing and generally behaving badly, Flashman gives his honest account of his life as an RFC pilot and sometime secret agent. From the birth of aerial fighting, to the first day on the Somme, from dropping bombs on the enemy, to duelling in the skies with Immelmann, from the nocturnal secrets of enemy spies, to murder on the streets of St Omer, Flashman lives up to his family name, emerging quivering but alive and reputation intact from the maelstrom of total war in Europe.

    The wagon trains, Indian attacks, a lone survivor, and her tale of life among the Kumeyaay. Parts of this story are factual: the trail blazing Butterfield Overland Mail, the unfolding conflicts in California over the issue of slavery, and the looming Civil War. Woven into this historical fabric are the stories of Abby, a young girl raised by Indians; John Jay Butterfield, scion of the founder of the Overland Mail; Waterman Ormsby, reporter for the New York Herald; and many other compelling personages drawn from fact and fiction. Join author Marian Sepulveda as she guides you through this unique chapter in early California lore.

    I can never get used to this, Alexi. Having you, that is. How did I deserve you? Deserve me? You don't have to do anything to deserve me. I love you. It's as simple as that. I love you for what you are. All you need to do is love me back. You don't earn love, as a payment in return.Peter Kingsmill's life had run into the sands since the death of his wife. What was a glittering London career had lost its shine. Until, that is, his life is turned upside down by an unexpected collision of events. He inherits the family estate, meets a girl seventeen years his junior and receives an anonymous letter which casts doubt on all the certainties on which he has built his past life.What follows is a journey of discovery which takes him back in time to war-torn Europe. To a story of betrayal in the secret world of spies and double agents, and ultimately to redemption and a bright new life.The narrative moves at speed from the dusty plains of pre-war Poland to the frozen winter landscapes of German-occupied Norway and finally to the gentle pastoral of the north Yorkshire hills. It is a story of a search for the pieces that make up a human life; and of the love that binds those pieces together....Do you remember the Snow Queen story? I can complete the pattern now. I have everything I need.

    . .1901. When The Earl of Stainton dies in a tragic hunting accident, Giles, the eldest son of the noble Tallant family must step forward to replace him as the head of the family. But Giles has avoided the Castle and his stifling relatives for years, deciding instead to forge his own path away from the spotlight. Now, he must put aside his ambitions and honour his duty to the family.With their world upended, the Tallants and their servants struggle to find their place in the house - and society - once again. And Giles realises that, along with the title and the castle, he's also inherited his father's significant financial troubles that threaten the security of his entire family.In Kensington, Kitty Bayfield, the painfully shy but moneyed daughter of a Baronet, has just left school with her penniless companion Nina. Nina captures the new Earl's heart, but only Kitty can save his family from their debts, and soon Giles must choose between his duty and his heart . . .The Secrets of Ashmore Castle is the first in a brand new historical family drama series, filled with heartbreak, romance and intriguing secrets waiting to be uncovered. The perfect read for fans of Downton Abbey, Bridgerton and rich period dramas