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The Chestnut Tree (A Short Story)
Jo Thomas - 2014
Could the answer to his problems lie in the chestnut orchard at the bottom of the garden?Only Ellie can help Daniel unlock the delicious secret that will bring them the fresh starts they need. And as autumn approaches, romance will blossom amid the glowing embers of the chestnut fire...*Contains an exclusive extract from Jo's brand-new novel, THE OLIVE BRANCH, out February 2015*
Back Hander: An electrifying racing thriller
John Francome - 2004
Ex-National Hunt Champion Jockey John Francome presents Back Hander, an electrifying racing thriller. The perfect read for fans of Felix Francis and Lyndon Stacey.
'Back Hander is a tightly plotted and well-schooled story... that delivers everything it promises' - Tangled WebNot much is going right for jockey Alan Morrell. He can't get the rides he needs and when he sets up a bloodstock partnership a tragic accident robs him of the business and his best friend Lee. Now Alan owes £100,000 and his only asset is a racehorse who has yet to be put to the test. But all that fades into insignificance next to the suspicion that Lee's fatal fall was more than an accident... Things aren't looking so hot for fellow-jockey Max Ashwood either. There's the backlash from his affair with a trainer's wife and the little matter of his gambling. There's also the convenient death of another man to whom Max owed money. But surely no one is ever going to find out the truth about his part in that... Two riders, two unexplained deaths - but overshadowing both is a conflict that dwarfs the cosy world of racetrack winners and losers. As the noose closes round the neck of one man's criminal empire, just how many others will swing?
What readers are saying about Back Hander:
'A gripping story from start to finish''Highly recommended if you like horse-racing thrillers''Brilliant plotline which hinges on two doomed love affairs'
The Duke of York
Patricia Finney - 2014
Four physicians have failed to bring the young lad back to health, and his nurses seem unable to bring him comfort. Sir Robert decides that he and Elizabeth Lady Carey should have the keeping of the child – despite the disgrace that will come to them if he dies in their care. It’s not long before Sir Robert begins to suspect that foul play lies behind the young Duke’s condition. Is there a poisoner at Court? If so, will Sir Robert find the miscreant in time to save the Duke? Patricia Finney is the author of six novels featuring Sir Robert Carey, all of them written under the pseudonym P F Chisholm and all available on Kindle. Patricia Finney’s latest Elizabethan crime novel, Do We Not Bleed?, features the ambiguous James Enys, his elusive sister, and a young playwright, Will Shakespeare. Do We Not Bleed? is also available on Kindle.
Out of Breath
Julie Myerson - 2008
And suddenly there's a strange boy at the bottom of Flynn's garden. Soon, she and her wayward brother Sam are walking out of the house in the middle of a hot summer's night and crossing four fields to find him again. But as well as the boy, Flynn and Sam find a whole gang of runaway kids. There's Diana, who's just had a baby. There's Mouse, who's only five and likes to set fire to things. And there is the boy himself, who stirs up feelings in Flynn that she's never felt before.But there's also someone else - the unspeakably malign and terrifying presence they're all running from. Escaping him, they stumble on an amazing and extraordinary house by a waterfall, a house which seems to offer safety and meets their every desire and need - or does it? The youngest character in the novel is one day old, and the oldest only seventeen. But the themes that lie at the heart of this ferociously original story are as adult, unsettling and universal as those of Julie Myerson's other novels.
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.
Cassandra's Secret: Sometimes the only way to move forward is to go back...
Frances Garrood - 2008
Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes, Rachel Joyce and Jojo Moyes.
Secrets can’t stay buried forever…
1960s England
Cassandra Fitzpatrick’s family isn’t quite like everybody else’s: her house is always full to bursting with the various misfits her mother houses as lodgers. The creative and chaotic household is all she has ever known and loved, until something awful happens that changes everything. Cass loves her mother deeply, but, as she gets older, she becomes more and more aware of her flaws.
Will Cass have to distance herself from her family to find happiness? Or is she destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps?
As Cass reflects on her memories, she must lay the ghosts of the past to rest and make peace with the secrets that have haunted her adult life… CASSANDRA’S SECRET is both a coming-of-age story and poignant return to the past, an intricate family drama of the close bond between mother and daughter, and the strength of love needed to overcome abuse and grief. "Garrood's thoughtful prose tells the story of an extraordinary girl's passage to womanhood."
The Big Issue in the North and The Big Issue Cymru
"This is a delightful book, combining some emotional issues with humorous comments and moments."
BCF Reviews
"Frances Garrood is a magnificent writer"
thebookbag.co.uk
*** PLEASE NOTE THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS THE BIRDS, THE BEES AND OTHER SECRETS ***
Burying Father Tim
Tom Robertson - 2008
Narrated by a doctor who returns to his old neighborhood for the first time in nearly forty years to attend the funeral of his boyhood parish priest, the story blends hilarious accounts of childhood escapades with the timelessly poignant theme of loss. Reminiscences resonate as the story unfolds, evoking laughter in one moment and tugging on heartstrings the next. Whether you attended Catholic school or merely know someone who did, there is a lot of all of us in the story of Father Tim.
The Docklands Girls
June Tate - 2016
Working as a supervisor on a production line for planes, Hildy believes she is doing her part to help with the war effort. But troubles at home, with her dependent and overly-protective mother, make it harder for her to findhappiness as she hides her relationship with an American GI.Meanwhile, Cora has lost both her parents in the Blitz and is still reeling from the devastating loss. Along with her friend, Belle, the two young women turn to the dark streets of Southampton to work on the game, wishing to raise enough money for a new beginning elsewhere and put their pasts behind them.For all three women, the war provides challenges and hardships that they will only emerge from by maintaining courage, strength and, above all, hope.
Stronger Than Skin
Stephen May - 2017
He knows exactly why they are there and he knows that the world he has carefully constructed over twenty deliberately uneventful years is about to fall apart. He could lose everything.A story of a toxic love gone wrong, with a setting that moves easily between present day London and 1990s Cambridge, Stronger Than Skin is compulsively readable, combining a gripping narrative with a keen eye for the absurdities of the way we live now.
Mums on Strike
Laura Kemp - 2014
Perfect for fans of Pedigree Mum and The Mummyfesto.It was just a squashed grape on the kitchen floor. Hardly a reason to get upset, right? But six years of motherhood has left Lisa Stratton feeling like a skivvy. Every morning before she’s opened her eyes, she starts her mental inventory of jobs to do. And just like yesterday, the day before and every day since she became a mum, she’s woken up knackered. So when her husband deliberately steps over the grape because it’s ‘her responsibility’ to run the house, it tips her over the edge. He wasn’t always like this – they used to share everything. Then the kids came along and he saw it as an excuse to sit back. But this time things are going to change. Lisa has made a decision. She’s going on strike…
The Forest, Part 1 of 2
Edward Rutherfurd - 2000
. . A sprawling tome that combines fact with fiction and covers 900 years in the history of New Forest, a 100,000-acre woodland in southern England . . . Rutherfurd sketches the histories of six fictional families, ranging from aristocrats to peasants, who have lived in the forest for generations. . . . But the real success is in how Rutherfurd paints his picture of the wooded enclave with images of treachery and violence, as well as magic and beauty.”–The New York Post
Handbags and Poobags: Tales of a Soho Boxer Dog
Alice Wright - 2012
and bags of laughs too! A love story with a twist in its very waggy tail. I think Alice Wright is really Bridget Bones! Forget Hugh Grant or Colin Firth though, her dog is a much better love interest (and he’s a proper Boxer!)If you’re contemplating settling down with a good dog, read this first and if it doesn’t put you off then you’ll be fine. Already had your heart stolen by a dog? You’ll definitely recognise the dogification of your wardrobe, the permanent damage to your flooring and especially the gritty bed linen!What a page-turner. I Loved it.”Beverley Cuddy, Editor DOGS TODAY MAGAZINE"Incredibly honest, genuine and captivating... a real life take on modern day doggie living. It is brutally honest yet heart-warmingly brilliant. A must for all animal fans."Jessica Brown, PETS MAGAZINEWhat happens when you drop a big, bouncing Boxer dog into the life of a glamorous girl about town? Alice Wright reveals all in her dog-memoir with a difference...Alice's busy life consists of 'parties, premieres and private members clubs' and she loves it! She certainly doesn't want the responsiblity of a partner or a pooch but seems to end up with more than she bargained for in this very funny but incredibly personal memoir about modern dog ownership.Set in the streets of Soho and the parks of North London HANDBAGS AND POOBAGS reveals why you should never wear a long cashmere scarf when poop scooping and how to hide a dog under a barstool and in the back of a taxi-cab. A bit different from the traditional pet-memoir this warm, touching real life tale is full of embarrassing anecdotes and surprising discoveries as Alice realises that owning a dog changes not only her lifestyle but her life.See facebook.com/handbagsandpoobags for updates and photos!
Your Move
Silvia Forrester - 2017
Two dreams. One big lesson in love. With a passion for people and property, nothing gives newbie estate agent Gemma Cole more pleasure than matching buyers with their ideal homes. After a nomadic childhood with her ditzy mum, Gemma longs for nothing more than a place she can call her own. But with one modest income and meagre savings, will she ever be able to make her own home-owning dream come true? When Marcus, the new photographer, arrives at the estate agency, he’s the epitome of laidback, festival chic. Sexy, laidback, festival chic. But Gemma dismisses him as another commitment-phobic, eternal student, just like her ex. However, looks can be deceptive. Marcus is reeling from a shocking family tragedy. Will Gemma revise her opinion of Marcus, and will he trust her enough to reveal his family’s painful past? Pandora works at Perfect 10, a premier beauty and cosmetic clinic. Always effortlessly glamorous – with model-looks, bucketloads of confidence and bulging designer wardrobes – she appears to have it all. But Pan also has a spiralling spending addiction, a string of failed relationships, and still lives at home with her mum. Aged thirty-three. When her numerous credit cards are refused, Pan takes drastic action, and joins dating website MillionaireMen.com. Will a super-wealthy guy be the answer to all Pan’s woes? And can she find one who’s sane, honest and not old enough to be her grandfather? Your Move is a lively romantic comedy, charting the blossoming friendship between modern heroines Gemma and Pandora, as well as the amorous entanglements that crisscross both their lives. Praise for Your Move… ‘A humorous and heart-warming tale’ – Holly Kinsella Silvia Forrester writes novels and short stories, has an MA in creative writing and teaches at the Open University. She lives in Kent with her husband; they have four grown-up daughters and three granddaughters. Silvia enjoys writing contemporary fiction exploring love, friendship and family.
Dark Deception
Amanda James - 2019
Leo works part-time in London as an investment advisor to wealthy businessman, Paul Donaldson. The couple hope to start a family soon and life couldn’t be better. But Leo has been stealing from Paul and Paul isn’t the sort of man you steal from. When Leo realises that Paul knows what he’s done, he has no choice but to resort to drastic measures. Meanwhile, after discovering she is pregnant, Kerensa can’t wait for her husband to return home so she can share her news. But she soon discovers he’s gone missing. After receiving a threatening phone call from Paul, Kerensa realises how much trouble her family are in.
Just how far is Paul prepared to go to get revenge? And will Kerensa ever be happy or safe again?
Amanda James is also the bestselling author of novels including Another Mother and The Cornish Retribution. Dark Deception is a twisty and suspenseful psychological thriller which will appeal to fans of authors like C.L. Taylor, Claire McGowan and Louise Jensen.
Paradise Lane
Ruth Hamilton - 1996
Young Sally leads a ragged and lonely existence in the shadow of Paradise Mill, whose corrupt, evil and greedy owner destroys his own family and then turns his venom on Sally and her friends.