1934. When Miss Pongleton is found murdered on the stairs of Belsize Park station, her fellow-boarders in the Frampton Hotel are not overwhelmed with grief at the death of a tiresome old woman. But they all have their theories about the identity of the murderer, and help to unravel the mystery of who killed the wealthy "Pongle". Several of her fellow residents – even Tuppy the terrier – have a part to play in the events that lead to a dramatic arrest. This classic mystery novel is set in and around the Northern Line of the London Underground. It is now republished for the first time since the 1930s.

British Library Crime Classic

Murder Underground

When her father remarries, the honest, innocent Molly Gibson suddenly finds herself with a new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, worldly and impetuous. This would be more than enough to deal with, but the new wife is the deeply snobbish (and darkly secretive) Hyacinth. Thwarted love, scheming ambition and small-town gossip underlie the warmth, irony and brilliant social observation which link the relationships and the inevitable conflicts as profound change comes to rural England. The most mature and rewarding of her novels, Wives and Daughters places Elizabeth Gaskell in the first rank of English authors.

Wives and Daughters

A rip-roaring, cosy crime novel, perfect for fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club and M. C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series. Good detectives come in all manner of guises . . . Meet Siiri and Irma, best friends and the queen bees of Sunset Grove, a retirement community for those still young at heart. With a combined age of nearly 180, Siiri and Irma are still just as inquisitive and witty as when they first met decades ago. But when their comfortable world is upturned by a suspicious death at Sunset Grove, Siiri and Irma are shocked into doing something about it. Determined to find out exactly what happened and why, they begin their own private investigations and form The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency. The trouble is, beneath Sunset Grove's calm facade, there is more going on than meets the eye, and Siiri and Irma soon discover far more than they bargained for . . . Death in Sunset Grove by Minna Lindgren is full of wit and warmth, continue the mystery series with Escape from Sunset Grove.

Lavender Ladies Detective Agency

The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency: Death in Sunset Grove

79-year-old Martha Anderson, with the aid of her Zimmer frame, is robbing a bank. She’s not past it yet and intends to fund her way to a much more exciting life-style. Except all the cashier can see is a little old lady. So Martha is bundled into a cab and sent back to her atrocious care home. But Martha and her four old friends – otherwise known as the League of Pensioners – are tired of all the rules imposed upon them and decide to rebel. They cause uproar at the home with their antics, protesting against early bedtimes and plastic meals. Then, as the elderly friends become more daring their activities escalate and they come up with a cunning plan to break out of the care home and land themselves in a far more attractive Stockholm establishment. They resolve to stand up for old aged pensioners everywhere, Robin Hood style by stealing from the young to give to the old. And that’s when the adventure really takes off . . . Already an international bestseller, The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules is an incredibly quirky, humorous and warm-hearted story about growing old disgracefully - and breaking all the rules along the way! Translated by Rod Bradbury.

Little Old Lady

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules

Tangled Threads is a gripping romantic saga from Margaret Dickinson. For Eveleen Hardcastle life gets no better than growing up on Pear Tree Farm in the Lincolnshire countryside. Her family works hard for the Dunsmore estate and Eveleen finds it impossible to resist the charms of their employer's son, Stephen Dunsmore. But Jimmy, ever quick to antagonize, ensures that his sister's clandestine trysts do not remain so for long. Mary Hardcastle reacts to the news of her daughter's affair with a shocking ferocity, which seems to be born more of bitterness than maternal protectiveness. But what is it that fuels Mary's resentment towards her daughter? Unable to ignore her own feelings, Eveleen continues to meet Stephen in secret. But deception has a cruel price to pay when her beloved father is found dead from a heart attack. And worse yet, Stephen, far from providing Eveleen with the comfort she craves, deserts her in her hour of need and callously evicts the Hardcastles from the farm. Suddenly homeless, Eveleen is left to take the family reins and she fights to make a new life for her family in Nottinghamshire. And then she makes a stunning discovery about her mother's past which changes all their lives for ever . . . Continue the story of the Hardcastle family with the sequel Twisted Strands.

Tangled Threads

For Miss Cordell, principal of Persephone College, there are two great evils to be feared: unladylike behaviour among her students, and bad publicity for the college. So her prim and cosy world is turned upside down when a secret society of undergraduates meets by the river on a gloomy January afternoon, only to find the drowned body of the college bursar floating in her canoe. The police assume that a student prank got out of hand, but the resourceful Persephone girls suspect foul play, and take the investigation into their own hands. Soon they uncover the tangled secrets that led to the bursar's death – and the clues that point to a fellow student.

Death on the Cherwell

A gripping, captivating novel about love, loss and what home really means. Forty-three year old Ria is used to being alone. As a child, her life changed forever with the death of her beloved father and since then, she has struggled to find love.That is, until she discovers the swimmer. Ben is a young illegal immigrant from Sri Lanka who has arrived in Norfolk via Moscow. Awaiting a decision from the Home Office on his asylum application, he is discovered by Ria as he takes a daily swim in the river close to her house. He is twenty years her junior and theirs is an unconventional but deeply moving romance, defying both boundaries and cultures – and the xenophobic residents of Orford. That is, until tragedy occurs.

The Swimmer

Jane Fortune causes a stir when she arrives in the small community of Dingleford. She has bought an old cottage and plans to open a tearoom. Old friends Charles Weatherby and Harold Prestcott both fall for the newcomer, but her behaviour seems to vary wildly – she encourages first one then the other and at other times barely recognises them. Is there more to the fair Miss Fortune than meets the eye? Never before published, this charming story was originally written in the 1930s, when it was thought to be too old-fashioned to appeal to the modern market.

The Fair Miss Fortune

Armistice Day, London, 1918. Fiercely independent Georgie is tired of being told what's best for her by men. When she defies her father's wishes by going out into the peace festivities, she tries to help a woman being attacked and encounters Patrick, a gallant wounded ex-soldier looking for a new calling now that the fighting is done. But the war isn't over for everybody. Enemy forces have infiltrated the bureau and sent her father into hiding. And they are coming for her too. Georgie knows there's only one place where she'll be safe: Honeyfield. But there are traitors in the bureau and she doesn't know who she can trust. Can she get to Honeyfield before her father's enemies find her?

Honeyfield Bequest

Peace Comes to Honeyfield

With the help of her old diaries, Sarah Morris recounts her life story. The daughter of an English vicar, she begins by telling of her happy childhood with her brothers and sister in their country village. As a teenager, Sarah's brother brings home a friend – Charles, a charming Austrian to whom she quickly becomes close. Over the years they fall in love, but when war breaks out Charles must return to Austria. While she awaits his return, Sarah quietly continues working hard and caring for her family. But she can't stop wondering if she will ever see her sweetheart again…

Sarah Morris

Sarah Morris Remembers

Wives and Daughters : Abridged

Bea Abbot's plans are disrupted by the unexpected arrival of one of her clients, bearing a brown leather briefcase full of expensive jewellery. Magda Summerleys has been working as a housekeeper for wealthy art expert Lucas Rycroft who, she says, entrusted her with the briefcase for safekeeping – and who seems to have disappeared without trace. Drawn into the tangled affairs of the dysfunctional Rycrofts, Bea soon discovers that other members of the family are determined to get their hands on the jewels – by whatever means necessary. Also caught up in the chaos is her ex-husband Piers, who had been commissioned to paint Lucas Rycroft's portrait. Then a body is discovered at Lucas's home…

Abbot Agency

False Pride

The Oast Theatre in Steeple Martin is hosting a touring production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night which is attracting a lot of attention. But very soon it begins to attract attention of an entirely different kind when a document goes missing along with its owner. When a body turns up, Libby Sarjeant and Fran Wolfe become involved with the investigation with the help, naturally, of their friends and relatives.

Libby Sarjeant

Murder and the Glovemaker's Son

When the sleepy village of Steeple Martin announces its first beer festival, the locals are excited. Beer, sun and music, what could possibly go wrong? But when an unexpected death shakes the village, it's up to Libby Sarjeant to solve the puzzle. Was it just another rock star death or is there something more sinister afoot?

Murder by the Barrel

1916: Bella is working as a Voluntary Aid driving ambulances in England when she gets engaged to Philip, on leave from fighting in France. His family strongly disapprove of her but the two of them are happy together. Georgie, Philip's sister, is in trouble having broken her engagement and fled from her bullying family. Who can she turn to for help when she needs it most? When the worst happens, Bella must manage on her own, though there are shocks and dangers she did not foresee ahead. Thankfully, Philip's best friend Tez, injured in France, steps in to offer assistance. Can he also help Bella build a new life?

A Stranger in Honeyfield

From award-winning author Siobhan Daiko, comes a hauntingly epic read that will sweep you away to the beauty of the Italian Riviera. A story of heart-wrenching loss, uplifting courage, and secrets untold. When Gina Bianchi returns to the beautiful Italian resort of Portofino to attend her father's funeral, she is beset by vivid memories of World War 2, when she joined the Resistance, alongside her identical twin sister, Adele. In her childhood bedroom, Gina reads Adele's diary, left behind during the war. As Gina learns the shocking truth about her sister, she's compelled to face the harsh realities of her own past. For readers of Rhys Bowen, Fiona Valpy, and Victoria Hislop.What real readers are saying about The Girl from Portofino:"I was totally blown away." Netgalley reviewer "If you are after quality historical fiction, this author is someone whose books you should be reading." Goodreads reviewer "The writing was really good with well developed characters and a great storyline." Netgalley reviewer

The Girl from Portofino (Unabridged)

Ellie Quicke believes in helping people in trouble. But it would appear that her latest good deed has returned to bite her when she takes in a weeping girl who needs somewhere to stay. Selfish, thoughtless and irresponsible, Angelica is by no means the easiest of house guests, confident that someone else will always pick up the bill. But when a dead body is found in the garden the morning after a riotous party she's organised, Angelica plunges Ellie's household into a situation too hot for any of them to handle. Ellie does not believe Angelica is capable of murder. However, when she attempts to uncover the truth about what happened that night, Ellie unearths a series of disturbing revelations.

Ellie Quicke

Murder for Nothing

October 1941. Marianne Fordham has a lot to cope with. As well as taking care of her young daughter Emily and working on dressmaking commissions, she is desperately worried about her pilot husband Alex, flying over enemy territory. And her baby is almost due . . . Thea welcomes her best friend, Violet Steele, to Rookery House. Violet has been in charge of an ambulance station in London's East End during the Blitz, and is in need of a holiday. Will a week in the countryside give her the rest she deserves? VAD nurse Evie Jones receives unwelcome news that stirs up her past and forces her to make an uncomfortable decision. Though she has a surprise when her friend Ned Blythe returns to start a new job in the hospital gardens. Can Evie let go of the past and give her future happiness a chance?

Rookery House

A Christmas Baby at Rookery House

October 1940. When VAD nurse Evie narrowly escapes being killed in an air raid during the London Blitz, it propels her to make a life-changing decision to break free of her troubled and unhappy life. She escapes to the Norfolk countryside to start afresh, with a job at the newly opened Great Plumstead Hall hospital, and a wonderful new home at Rookery House. The community of Great Plumstead welcomes evacuees to the village - mothers and children bombed out of their London homes. Sisters Prue and Thea, along with members of The Mother's Day Club, help the new arrivals settle in, while continuing their work for the war effort by holding knitting bees and doing WVS work. But when a patient arrives who knew her in her former life, Evie's newfound freedom and happiness are in danger. Will the secrets of her past be revealed?

A Wartime Welcome at Rookery House

1944. With deadly doodlebugs terrorising London, Bessie Rushbrook agrees to give shelter to eight-year-old evacuee, Marigold, in her Norfolk home. However, the little girl is no stranger, and Bessie must honour the promise she gave to Marigold's mother, Grace, and not reveal her connection to the child. Marigold's arrival stirs up Bessie's memories from the past when the world was at war the first time. She is forced to face her actions from those days and question the haunting secret that she's long kept hidden. When Grace is injured in London, Bessie makes the heart-wrenching decision to confess her secret, knowing that it could destroy everything she holds dear. Will those who love her understand, and can they forgive her?

Secrets and Promises

March, 1941. After Flo Butterworth loses everything in Manchester's Christmas Blitz, she decides to leave the area and join the Women's Land Army. Putting the past firmly behind her, she arrives at Rookery House in Norfolk hoping for a new start and a chance to do the gardening work she loves. The grip of war has intensified and growing more food is vital to keep the nation going. Thea buys an extra field to grow crops, and in the village, her sister Prue leads members of The Mother's Day Club and Women's Institute as they take on a derelict allotment. Meanwhile the construction of a nearby aerodrome disrupts village life and brings even more new residents to Rookery House, including Hettie's difficult sister, Ada. With Rookery House now bursting at the seams, will it still be the happy home it's always been?

Digging for Victory at Rookery House

Bel Lamington finds London a very lonely place – until a young artist literally drops in on her rooftop garden... Bel, an orphan daughter of an Army colonel, is brought up in an English village and flung into the whirl of London life to earn a hard living as a secretary while attempting to navigate romance, unexpected friendships and urban life. Shy and sensitive, she is unaware of the pitfalls that surround her. When Bel is offered a chance to leave London and venture to a fishing hotel in Scotland for a much needed holiday with an old school friend, things begin to change. There she learns that you cannot escape from your troubles by running away from them…

Bel Lamington

What would you do if you saw a girl in a crowd whose face had the same, identical birthmark as your only child? A child who, nearly ten years ago, you were told died? It's 1935 and housewife Emma glimpses a face in a crowd – a little girl with a very unique birthmark. Transfixed by the sight of a stranger; Emma becomes convinced that the girl is her long-lost daughter taken from her at birth. There is only one problem: Emma's daughter is dead. So who is the stranger?

The Liar

Is it ever too late to change...After a health scare, 77 year-old spinster Barbara goes to convalesce in the sleepy Somerset village of Winsleigh Green with her sister Pauline, who is now a widow. The sisters are like chalk and cheese - Barbara, outspoken and aloof and Pauline, good natured and homely - so it's not long before the tension starts to rise. But when Pauline accidentally knocks down a vagrant who goes by the name of Bisto Mulligan, the ladies find themselves with another houseguest. As he recovers, it becomes apparent that Bisto is not who he first seemed, and as the sisters get to know the kind and courageous man he really is, it's clear Bisto has the potential to change both of their lives.As the spring turns to summer, and Winsleigh Green comes to life, can the three friends make the changes they need to, to embrace fresh starts, new loves, new lives and new horizons. Or do old habits die too hard? Funny, joyful and with a spring in its step that reminds you to live every day like it's your last. Judy Leigh has once again written the perfect feel-good novel for all fans of Dawn French, Dee MacDonald and Cathy Hopkins.Praise for Judy Leigh's books:'Brilliantly funny, emotional and uplifting' Miranda Dickinson'Lovely . . . a book that assures that life is far from over at seventy' Cathy Hopkins bestselling author of The Kicking the Bucket List'Brimming with warmth, humour and a love of life... a wonderful escapade' Fiona Gibson, bestselling author of The Woman Who Upped and Left

The Old Girls' Network - A Funny, Feel-Good Read For Summer 2020 (Unabridged)

Shortly before Bel's marriage to Ellis Brownlee, her friend, Louise Armstrong, goes house hunting for them and discovers a charming but neglected old stone cottage in the Cotswolds. Bel adores the house, called Fletchers End. Ellis buys the place from the absentee-owner, Lieutenant Commander Lestrange, and, after a picture-book wedding, the happy couple move in. As she embarks on her new life as a devoted wife, Bel loyally guides Louise through her own romantic tribulations. She also enjoys sharing with Ellis the excitement and satisfaction of decorating their first real home, as well as unravelling the mysteries of the old stone cottage. But with the unexpected arrival of Lieutenant Commander Lestrange, the peace of Fletchers End is suddenly threatened…

Fletchers End

December 1939. Hettie Brown, former Cook at Great Plumstead Hall, has been happily retired since the summer, but when she hears some shocking news, it unsettles her and makes her question her new life at Rookery House. Expectant mother, Gloria Jessop, is having doubts about her new evacuated life in the village. She's missing her children and husband, and since there's been none of the expected bombing in London, she's tempted to return and unite her family. But is that the right thing to do? The prospect of Christmas in a time of war isn't easy for anyone, with loved ones away and homes and communities left behind. Hettie and Gloria decide to take action and quickly hatch a plan. Can they support each other, celebrate Christmas, and bring the whole village together in their time of need?

A Wartime Christmas at Rookery House

Christmas 1942. It's almost two years since Land Girl, Flo Butterworth, lost her family in the Manchester Christmas Blitz. Since then, she's rebuilt her life in Great Plumstead and even found her voice in the village singing group. However, a request to perform a concert of Christmas carols for patients at the local hospital stirs up bad memories for Flo. Will she ever be able to fully celebrate Christmas again? VAD nurse, Evie Jones, is faced with a dilemma that throws her life into turmoil and threatens to ruin her precious relationship with Ned. Will Evie find a way to solve the problem and keep all she holds dear? With Christmas approaching, the women of Rookery House and Great Plumstead are busy facing the challenges of wartime while doing their best to make the festive season happy for one and all.

Christmas Carols at Rookery House

It’s not easy sharing a flat. Especially when you’re 95 years old . . . Escape from Sunset Grove is the second hilarious and heartwarming crime caper in Minna Lindgren's Lavender Ladies Detective Agency trilogy. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club and M.C. Beaton Change is afoot at Sunset Grove retirement home, and its residents aren’t impressed. Under threat from falling masonry, best friends Irma and Siiri are forced out of their home to negotiate twenty-first-century living in the centre of Helsinki. Their new surroundings throw up an endless number of daily challenges, from caring for the ailing Anna-Lisa to the mystery of which of the many remotes controls the TV. The pair are joined by growing numbers of friends in their flat-share, and their new close-quarters living raises some unexpected questions. As the Lavender Ladies begin to dig a little deeper, they find themselves following a trail of corruption, deceit and intimidation that might just lead them to their own front door . . . The Lavender Ladies must steel themselves for what is set to be their most dangerous case yet. Filled with wit and warmth, continue the cosy crime series with The End of Sunset Grove.

Escape from Sunset Grove

In the spring of 1939, with the Second World War looming, two determined twenty-four-year-olds, Heather Jenner and Mary Oliver, decided to open a marriage bureau. They found a tiny office on London's Bond Street and set about the delicate business of match-making. Drawing on the bureau's extensive archives, Penrose Halson - who many years later found herself the proprietor of the bureau - tells their story, and those of their clients. We meet a remarkable cross-section of British society in the 1940s: gents with a 'merry twinkle', potential fifth-columnists, nervous spinsters, isolated farmers seeking 'a nice quiet affekshunate girl' and girls looking 'exactly' like Greta Garbo and Vivien Leigh, all desperately longing to find 'The One'. And thanks to Heather and Mary, they almost always did just that. A riveting glimpse of life and love during and after the war, Marriages Are Made in Bond Street is a heart-warming, touching and thoroughly absorbing account of a world gone by.

Marriages Are Made in Bond Street

From Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg, the Swedish author of the smash-hit The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules, comes the third hilarious yet tender title in this much-loved series, The Little Old Lady Behaving Badly. Introducing the League of Pensioners – a unique blend of exuberance, courage, and audacity. They're on a mission – to seize a fortune from the champagne-soaked billionaires of Saint-Tropez. As Martha and her friends set out to catch some of the biggest financial fish in the sea. But can her septuagenarian gang outsmart the law while keeping their blue rinses intact? The chase is on! If you loved The Hundred-Year-Old Man Series and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, then fasten your seatbelts: more laughter and adventure await in The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again!

The Little Old Lady Behaving Badly

'Owing to frequent acquaintance with peril, I had become unusually hardened for a woman.' Mrs Paschal, the heroine of Revelations of a Lady Detective, is regularly consulted by the police and serves as an undercover agent as well as investigating her own cases. But even though she is 'verging on 40', she throws herself into cases with verve and gusto and has no hesitation in infiltrating a deadly secret society or casting off her crinolines in order to plummet into a sewer on the trail of a criminal. Mrs Paschal is only the second ever professional female detective in a work of fiction. First published in 1864, these works are of historical significance because for over 20 years they remained the only books to feature a female detective as a protagonist.

British Library Crime Classics

Revelations of a Lady Detective

In the third hilarious, unforgettable installment in internationally bestselling author Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg’s League of Pensioners series, Martha and the League’s latest escapade has them headed for the French Riviera in what is sure to be the most daring caper of the summer. Martha and her friends are sitting comfortably in Sweden… a little too comfortably. Determined to do more for their fellow pensioners—and jazz things up for themselves—they’re up to their usual antics: bank robberies, money laundering, and figuring out how to disappear in a garbage-truck-cum-getaway-car. They have their sights sets on building a resort village for seniors, but that’s going to take money. Lots of money. While stalking their millionaire neighbor, Carl, on Facebook, Anna-Gretta scrolls through his photos—all of them featuring luxury yachts on the Riviera—and an idea comes to her on how to solve the League’s cash problem. When she shares the hare-brained scheme with the others, they’re all aboard. Their plan to cheat billionaires out of their luxury yachts in the south of France’s sun-bleached Saint-Tropez soon turns into the heist of their lives with the police hot on their heels—as well as a couple of ruthless ex-cons. Now this wily group of walker-equipped conspirators are hell-bent on accomplishing their dangerous mission—no matter the consequences…

League of Pensioners

Spring 1942. After a difficult few years with her husband Victor, Prue's life is about to change in a dramatic and unexpected way. Will she have the strength to carry on into a more positive future? Rookery House is bursting at the seams after Thea welcomes two WAAFs to stay while their accommodation is being built on the new aerodrome. Thea also needs more help in the garden. Should she give an unlikely employee a chance - or will she live to regret it? The women of Rookery House and Great Plumstead continue to meet the challenges that life in wartime throws at them. Their strong friendships and community mean that whatever comes their way, they are always there to support one another.

Home Comforts at Rookery House

Mrs Bradley, sharp-eyed detective and celebrated psychiatrist, has decided to spend Christmas with her nephew at his beautiful house in the Cotswolds. It isn't long before a mystery unfolds. There are strange events occurring in the nearby wood and local villagers are receiving anonymous threatening letters. Then the snow begins to fall – and a body is discovered. Mrs Bradley is on the case, but she'll have to hatch an ingenious plan to reveal the truth and find the culprit…

Mrs Bradley

Murder in the Snow

The little old lady is back! This time, Martha Andersson and her friends - the League of Pensioners - have left behind their dreary care home in Stockholm and are enjoying the bright lights of Las Vegas. This is their opportunity for a new lease of life and they plan to make the most of it. But before long, they are up to their old tricks and with ingenious tactics, a pair of false teeth and a wheelchair each, they plot to outwit the security system at one of the casinos. As their antics become more and more daring, Martha and her friends head back to Sweden full of ideas for more money making schemes. However, they aren't the only ones planning on stealing bucket loads of cash and soon find themselves pitted against a gang of dangerous criminals. Can the group of elderly friends work together to outsmart the younger robbers and get away with their biggest heist yet? Or will this job be a step too far for The League of Pensioners?

The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again!

“Dark, twisty and full of characters you’ll love to hate, The Nanny is the perfect read for a chilly winter’s night.” — Ruth Ware, New York Times Bestselling Author “The Nanny kept me in white-knuckled suspense until the very last page. Gilly Macmillan’s breakout thriller is a dark and twisted version of Downton Abbey gone very, very wrong.” — Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author The New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew conjures a dark and unpredictable tale of family secrets that explores the lengths people will go to hurt one another. When her beloved nanny, Hannah, left without a trace in the summer of 1988, seven-year-old Jocelyn Holt was devastated. Haunted by the loss, Jo grew up bitter and distant, and eventually left her parents and Lake Hall, their faded aristocratic home, behind. Thirty years later, Jo returns to the house and is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her mother. But when human remains are accidentally uncovered in a lake on the estate, Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew. Then an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and Jo’s world is destroyed again. Desperate to piece together the gaping holes in her memory, Jo must uncover who her nanny really was, why she left, and if she can trust her own mother… In this compulsively readable tale of secrets, lies, and deception, Gilly Macmillan explores the darkest impulses and desires of the human heart. Diabolically clever, The Nanny reminds us that sometimes the truth hurts so much you’d rather hear the lie.

The Nanny

"The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house." On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea – but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.

Mystery in White

'You don't mean you're going to divorce him?' Miss Spanner said with horror. A sophisticated, emotive novel, Chatterton Square concerns the complex web of relationships between two neighbouring families, the Blacketts and the Frasers. Framed by the advance of the Second World War, the subtle mechanics of marriage and love are laid bare through the observation of three of the marital options open to the mid-century woman: unmarried, separated, miserably married.

British Library Women Writers

Chatterton Square

Katherine 'Kitty' Marshall was destined to break with convention. Brought up in a socially active family, her inherent rebellious streak came into play in 1901, when she daringly divorced her husband and joined the newly founded Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), campaigning for women's suffrage. In 1904, she married solicitor Arthur Willoughby Marshall and the couple soon became a powerhouse team in the movement: Arthur defending the suffragettes in court while Kitty, trained in jujitsu and a member of the WSPU's elite team 'the Bodyguard', helped her close friend Mrs Pankhurst evade the clutches of the authorities under the infamous Cat and Mouse Act. Following events as they unfolded on both sides, Mrs Pankhurst's Bodyguard is a gripping account of Kitty and Arthur's incredible work and their fight for political equality.

Mrs Pankhurst's Bodyguard

In 1664, four years after Charles II is restored to the throne, Mercia Blakewood stands to lose everything: her father to the executioner's axe, her freedom to her treacherous uncle, her son to his resentful grandparents. But when her father leaves her a cryptic message in his last speech, she seizes her chance to fight back. With would-be lover Nathan Keyte and unlikely new friend Nicholas Wildmoor, Mercia must unravel her father's mystery to find a great prize long thought lost, striving to recover the King's stolen birthright in the hope of reclaiming her own. From London's bulging metropolis to the forests of Manhattan she will contend with murder, intrigue and lust, fighting for her future and her life.

Mercia Blakewood

Birthright

Following adventures she would sooner forget in the newly renamed New York, Mercia Blakewood is hopeful that she has gained the leverage with the king she needs to reclaim her family's home back in England. The breathtaking new world piques her curiosity and a burgeoning friendship with Clemency Carter, a local medicine woman, prompts Mercia to delay her return. Navigating an unknown landscape, the aftershocks still felt of revolution and restoration, and the uneasy relationship between the Puritan settlers and native Indians, proves complex. But when the virgin forests of New England are tainted by murder, Mercia will not rest until the killer is brought to justice.

Puritan

February 1665. With winter passing, Mercia Blakewood is at last headed back to England from America, hoping to leave behind the shadow that death and heartache have cast. She expects a welcome from the King considering her earlier, mostly successful, mission on his behalf, but the reception is not exactly warm. Mercia faces more manipulation and must accept a clandestine and uncomfortable role at the heart of the royal court posing as a mistress to find a spy and traitor.

Traitor

Max Tobin brings his all-male dance company to Steeple Martin, with his new ballet Pendle, based on the infamous Pendle Witch Trials, due to be performed at the Oast Theatre. There have been unpleasant incidents during rehearsals in London, and Max asks Libby Sarjeant and her friend Fran Wolfe to look into them. To everyone's surprise, the seriousness of the incidents escalates until, inevitably, someone is murdered. While the police look into the murder, Libby and Fran wonder why someone seemed so set against the ballet. Were occult forces at work, or was there a more worldly, personal motive?

Murder Dancing

1787, West Africa: All her life, Grace Winslow, the daughter of an English sea captain and an African princess, has been sheltered from the truth about the family business - the capture and trade of slaves. Desperate to avoid marriage to an odious suitor, Grace escapes the family compound only to be caught up in a slave revolt at the fortress of Zulina. Soon, she begins to grasp the brutality and ferocity of the family business. Held for ransom, viciously maimed by a runaway slave, and threatened with death, Grace is finally jerked into reality. Grace comes to sympathize with the plight of the captives, genuinely moved by the African Cabeto's passion, determination, and willingness to sacrifice anything, including his own life, for his people's freedom.

Grace in Africa

The Call of Zulina

This riveting conclusion of Grace Winslow's fight for freedom carries her from England to America's Deep South. After learning that her husband, Cabeto, is on a South Carolina plantation, Grace dons a sailor's disguise and boards the only ship headed for America-a detestable slave ship. When her secret is discovered, Grace is locked up in the hold. In South Carolina, Grace is bought immediately, but soon sold to a man who is not a slave keeper. Moved by her story of perseverance and faith, John Hull makes Grace's mission his own. Grace now has a dear brother in Christ to help her, but a restored sense of hope does not mean the path to finding Cabeto will be clear-or free of trouble...

The Triumph of Grace

She is safe, and she is free...but she is still alone. In the second chapter of the Grace in Africa Series, slavers burst into Grace Winslow's life with guns blazing and tear her family apart forever. She watches in anguish as her husband is led in chains aboard a tightly packed slave ship bound for America. An old enemy has a more sinister plan for Grace and prepares her for a different kind of servitude in London. But Grace will not be enslaved. And she will not give up on the man she loves. In her determination to be reunited with her husband, she finds God reaching out to her.

The Voyage of Promise

Because the best adventures are still to come…Escape to the sun with the #1 bestselling author of The Cruise in a feelgood rom com full of romance, fun and mischief, which will sweep you away to the azure waters of the Mediterranean with every turn of the page… Set sail on the Diamond Star for sunshine, romance – and just a little bit of mischief… Cosy crime writer Carmen Cunningham is in trouble. Her inspiration has vanished, her deadline is looming, and her meddling elderly mother Betty consumes her every waking moment. Hoping to revive her creativity, Carmen books a dream cruise, featuring workshops with her literary idol, Ruskin Reeve. It’s the perfect plan – until Betty insists on tagging along… However, as the Diamond Star sails through sun-soaked ports and magical Mediterranean islands, Carmen finds the escape she needs as she discovers new friendships, and unexpected sparks with the grumpy, but charming, Ruskin. But mischief is afoot on board the ship, with talk of items going missing and a secret club that’s got everyone talking… Will the cruise reignite Carmen’s writing muse or plunge her into the biggest plot twist of her life? Because, as she's about to find out, anything can happen at sea… Escape this summer on a holiday like no other, where fun and frolics are the order of the day! The perfect read for fans of Sarah Morgan and Judy Leigh. Praise for The Cruise Club:‘This book is just what we all need – pure escapism and lots of fun in the sun. Caroline James's light touch and heart-warming characters are a tonic from the first page to the last.’ Judy Leigh ‘A sun-soaked, feel-good escape packed with mystery, mischief, and heart. You’ll fall in love with Carmen, root for her muse, and wish you were aboard the Diamond Star too.’ Christie Barlow Praise for Caroline James:‘Fabulous to read…It’s about a girls’ weekend with characters in their 60s and determined to have a good time’ Woman & Home ‘A laugh out loud, naughty, enlightening heart-warming story about friendship and discovery’ Yours Magazine ‘Girl power for the over sixties!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The escapades of these three women are funny…Their voices come alive on the page’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A tale of friendship that has lasted through the decades which I found hard to put down’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Oh my word …I couldn't put this down it was so good, following the adventures of Anne, Kath and Jane was brilliant and happy endings throughout’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This author was new to me, and I am already downloading more of her books because she writes in a way that makes me keep reading and because I feel good at the end… What more could anyone want?’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘What an enjoyable read! …a fun filled trip for sure’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Cruise Club

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