A date in suburbia has dramatic results. A seamstress takes revenge on an unsuspecting customer, while in France, a mother is promised 'fantastic news' - and lets her imagination run away with her. With each story, Jenny Eclair introduces a fascinating new character. And behind each woman lies a gripping tale - of betrayal, of love, of hope and defiance. Funny, heart-breaking, inspiring - and packed with wicked one liners - this wonderful collection shows Jenny Eclair's exceptional talent for observation at its very best.Based on the BBC Radio 4 series Little Lifetimes.

    Her mother committed suicide, her husband slept with her best friend, and she can't stand her three selfish daughters. But she does love her son, Sonny, who nevertheless plunges her into deep despair when he takes two women and a poodle hostage in his ex-wife's trailer.

    He grew up with his brother, Alvin, and his sister Julia, in the small Maine town of Baxter, confident in his own capabilities, especially regarding music. He took his happy life for granted, as lucky children often do. But everything changed when he was ten and his dad died in a freak accident. Soon, trouble, mostly in the form of a violent stepfather, found a home--his home. As an escape, the Shaw kids turned to music lessons with family friend Uncle Gus, but it turns out no one can escape the violence and grief that rains down on the Shaws. Blue Summer is the story of the Shaw family's undoing, and Cal's struggle to grow up in a world determined to break him. Even his music threatens to take him down with booze-filled nights and one-night stands. As Cal tries to make sense of his existence, living as far away from his family as he can, a snippet of melody comes to him--timeless and haunting. But before he can finish it, his past asserts itself with a phone call that Uncle Gus is dying and it's time to come home and face an altogether different kind of music. In this story, author Jim Nichols writes a riveting coming-of-age novel that examines the melancholy fate of a boy torn apart by loss and domestic abuse, and the justice he eventually delivers, all the while writing a beautiful melody to counter it all, a song he calls 'Blue Summer.'

    When a series of dramatic events brings a strange man to her door, Mary emerges from the comfortable isolation that she knows to follow her dreams in Boston. Those desires do not come without sacrifice and hard choices. When her past comes back to haunt her, Mary must decide whether there is room for both her aspirations and her heart—or if she must surrender one to have the other.

    The women are now in their seventies and time is rendering its Accounts Payable: arthritis, cataracts, forgetfulness, and departures.From the dawn of the new millennium - at which the anti-Christ unaccountably fails to appear, despite evangelist Gayle's predictions - Peggy soldiers on through new upheavals, including her ex-husband Vern's Alzheimer's diagnosis, and the death of one of her live-in friends. Then, on a clear blue day in September 2001, the US Air Force scrambles too late to save America from four hostile attacks, and for the first time Peggy wonders if being a USAF wife - the constant worry about your husband, the faraway postings in Alaska, Norfolk, Siberia, the lack of control over your own life - was worth it.You're getting very negative in your old age, Peggy Dewey, says Lois. Sure it was worthwhile. Leastways we're not speaking Russky. And besides, we had some fun. Didn't we have some fun?

    Cerebral and sensitive, Lewis is forced to confront the latent fears-scars left from the emotional abuse of an alcoholic father and the lack of comfort from a preoccupied mother- that crowd his interior existence.At the heart of the journey, and of the novel itself, is Truman Stroud, the quick-witted, cantankerous, ninety-three-year-old black owner of the crumbling Sabbath Creek Motor Court, where Lewis and his mother are stranded by car trouble. Despite his prickly personality and the considerable burden of his own tragedies, Stroud becomes the boy's best hope for a father figure, as he teaches Lewis the secrets of baseball and the secrets of life.This compassionate, powerful work of fiction travels from the ruined landscape of south Georgia and takes us all the way through the ruined landscape of a broken heart.

    There he falls in love with his Queen Alexandra Corps nurse, Louise, and she with him.The story moves back and forth from their time at the field hospital to the west highlands of Scotland where Donald grew up. As they talk in the quiet hours he tells her the stories of the coast and glens, how his family lived and the fascinating life of a century ago: bagpiping, sheep shearing, celidhs, illegal distilling, his mother saving the life of the people of St Kilda, the navvies building the west highland railway and the relationship between the lairds and the people. Louise in turn tells her own story of growing up in the Welsh valley: coal mining, a harsh and unforgiving upbringing.They get cut off from the allied troops and with another nurse are forced to make their escape through Turkey to Greece, getting rescued by a Coptic priest and ending up in Malta. By this time their love is out in the open, but there is still another tragic twist to their story waiting on the way back to Donald’s beloved highland home . . .

    But the truth is life is threadbare and unpromising until the mysterious Bridget moves in to the Park. The wife of a disgraced Ponzi schemer, she brings with her glamour and wild dreams and an unexpected friendship. Drawn in, Kara forgets for a moment who she’s there to protect.

    Most of the sites he dug were ahead of industrial development or new housing estates, gravel quarries, roads, etc. The people who did the work were down-to-earth. Some were students, others were professional diggers – but they all knew what they wanted from life and were prepared to work long hours, for very low pay. In the seventies to nineties, Alan and his colleagues lived in abandoned houses or camped out on the edges of industrial estates. They were always covered in mud, were deeply suntanned and drunk (or stoned) on their days off. They were feared by respectable citizens. They were known as Circuit Diggers because they worked the 'circuit', moving from one excavation to another, as new sites were opened, right across Britain.Like others on the circuit, Alan Cadbury is obsessive: he won’t let problems lie, even when he’s slumped drunk in a lonely bedsit, somewhere in the Fens. But there’s another side to him, too: he enjoyes solving mysteries. In the late ‘90s he helped to give a forensic archaeology course and there met Richard Lane, now a senior detective in the Leicestershire force. DCI Lane helps him tackle new cases. But this is his first big one: it involves an 'honour killing', which happened eight years ago in Leicester. Most of the action takes place in the Fens, where Alan has lived all his life. It’s a dark tale of past wrong-doing and modern criminality – on a very large scale. And it’s not without violence and rapid action. Alan’s life may be harsh and at times unpleasant, but it’s not likely to be very long, either.

    John's. By the Rivers of Brooklyn traces the story of the Evans family across two countries and three generations, exploring the hopes, passions and heartbreaks of those who went away and those who stayed behind. By the Rivers of Brooklyn transforms into fiction the experience of the 75,000 first- and second-generation Newfoundlanders who once lived in Brooklyn, New York - and the experience of Newfoundlanders throughout history who have gone away to find work and prosperity but never stopped dreaming of home.

    She has a daytime show that has an audience of millions. She seems to have it all. But behind the tirelessly successful facade lies the story of a woman who nearly lost everything. This is the story of a woman who could not keep love in her life. The love of neither her father nor her mother. Who lost the love of her life the first time around, then lost the love of her own child. She could not even find love in herself. This is a story about women, about their sugar and spice, about the deep natural instincts that drive women through whatever society is trying to pin on them at the time. It is also about love, where to look for it and how to hold on to it when it is found.

    She has a loving husband, two healthy children, a place of their own and a regular wage coming in. But it is the late 1920s, unrest is in the air, employers are putting on the squeeze, and when Matthew loses his job Polly’s life is thrown into turmoil.With no money coming in Polly decides that only drastic action can keep the family from starvation and in a desperate gamble she sells all the family goods and chattels and buys a handcart, from which she sells second-hand rugs and carpets. But struggling to deal with poverty and her husband’s hurt pride are only the start of her problems, for when tragedy strikes Polly has to do battle with the bigotry of a sour brother-in-law to keep herself and her family from falling apart.

    At turns hilarious and bittersweet, this novel is destined to be a bookshelf classic.

    If you have not yet bought Lisa Genova’s novel, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial Sidekick. In her debut novel, Lisa Genova takes on the challenging topic of early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. By turns delightful and heartbreaking, Still Alice follows the journey of Alice Howland, renowned Harvard professor, as she fights to maintain a sense of identity and purpose even as her memories fade away. Genova’s novel has over a million copies in print and has touched readers all over the world. It has also been endorsed by the National Alzheimer’s Association. With this Sidekick, you’ll: Spend some more time with the characters you’ve come to know and love Take a look at the novel’s underlying themes Learn what you might have missed on your first read of Still Alice Explore a possible alternate ending and imagine ideas for a sequel Get a chance to discuss Lisa Genova’s Still Alice with other readers on our Facebook forum Sidekicks are entertaining and insightful reading companions, filled with delightful commentary and thought-provoking questions. Readers have raved that they "really put you in touch with the many layers of the novel," "keep you entertained even longer," and are "perfect if you want a vivid understanding of the story." Designed to be read side by side with the novels they complement, they’ll give you even more reasons to love some of today’s best books.

    Southern California Novelist Todd Easterling, discovered by New York's Jay Garon-Brooke Agency (of John Grisham fame), weaves a well-written, character-rich story with cinematic potential.With a topic right out of today's headlines, this story follows Tom Lassiter in a fast paced race to separate facts from propaganda, and ends in a heart stopping glimpse of the new world we live in and threats posed by rogue states set on nuclear weapons development.On his journey, Tom finds friendship and loyalty with his sidekick from The Washington Post, and unexpectedly develops a romantic interest while interviewing key players behind the scenes.The book might be compared to an early Tom Clancy type story (such as The Hunt for Red October) or Harrison Ford type thriller movie involving espionage and covert government actions (Air Force One), yet relationships and suspense play a stronger role in The First Witness. Never delving too deep into technical details to avoid a pure military thriller, the story focuses on uncovering clues, determining who is involved and trying to avoid capture before getting the story out. In the end, Tom Lassiter finds himself and the United States in a mission to fix what he admittedly and inadvertently help set in motion.