1670 Books
'What Colin Dexter did for Oxford, Julie Wassmer is intent on doing for Whitstable' Daily Mail Pearl Nolan always wanted to be a detective but life, and a teenage pregnancy, got in the way of a police career and instead she built up a successful seafood restaurant in her coastal home town of Whitstable - famous for its native oysters. Now, at 39, and with son Charlie away at university, Pearl finds herself suffering from empty nest syndrome . . . until she discovers the drowned body of local oyster fisherman Vinnie Rowe, weighted down with an anchor chain, on the eve of Whitstable's annual oyster festival. Is it a tragic accident, suicide - or murder? Pearl seizes the opportunity to prove her detection skills and discover the truth but she soon finds herself in conflict with Canterbury city police detective, Chief Inspector Mike McGuire. Then another body is discovered - and Pearl finds herself trawling the past for clues, triggering memories of another emotional summer more than twenty years ago . . .
What is lost when knowledge is withheld? In 1914, when the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, it is the women who must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who work in the bindery at Oxford University Press in Jericho. Peggy is intelligent, ambitious and dreams of going to Oxford University, but for most of her life she has been told her job is to bind the books, not read them. Maude, meanwhile, wants nothing more than what she has. She is extraordinary but vulnerable. Peggy needs to watch over her. When refugees arrive from the devastated cities of Belgium, it sends ripples through the community and through the sisters' lives. Peggy begins to see the possibility of another future where she can use her intellect and not just her hands, but as war and illness reshape her world, it is love, and the responsibility that comes with it, that threaten to hold her back. The Bookbinder of Jericho is a story about knowledge - who makes it, who can access it, and what is lost when it is withheld. In this beautiful companion to the international bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams explores another little-known slice of history seen through women's eyes. Intelligent, thoughtful and rich with unforgettable characters.
Escape with Jenny Colgan in 2021. The paperback of Jenny's latest bestseller, FIVE HUNDRED MILES FROM YOU and her new feel-good novel, SUNRISE BY THE SEA, are both out now. 'Nobody does get-away-from-it-all romance like Jenny Colgan' Sunday Express Sun, sea and laughter abound . . . 'A total joy' Sophie Kinsella 'Gorgeous, glorious, uplifting' Marian Keyes 'Irresistible' Jill Mansell 'Just lovely' Katie Fforde 'Naturally funny, warm-hearted' Lisa Jewell 'A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book' Mike Gayle ___________________________________ Evie is desperate for a holiday - a good one. Not only because she's been working all hours as a receptionist for two high-powered plastic surgeons, but also because every holiday she's ever been on has involved sunburn, arguments and projectile vomiting - sometimes all three at once. Why can't she have a normal holiday like everyone else: peaceful beaches, glorious sunshine and (fingers crossed) some much-needed sex? So when Evie's employers invite her to attend a conference with them in the beautiful South of France, she can't believe her luck. At last, the chance to hob nob with the rich and glamorous, to party under the stars, to live life as she'd always dreamt of it. It's the holiday of a lifetime - but things don't happen in quite the way Evie imagines . . . ___________________________________ Why readers ADORE Jenny Colgan 'Her books are so compelling that you can feel the cool breeze on your face, smell the salty air' 'Her descriptions of scenery (and food!) are beautiful' 'I wish her places were real' 'Her books are so good I want to start over as soon as I have finished' 'There's something so engaging about her characters and plots' 'Her stories are just so fabulous' 'She brings her settings and characters so vividly to life' 'The woman is just magic'
'Probably the most suspenseful book I will read all year.' Liz Nugent No one saw it happen. You stand on a crowded tube platform in London. Your two little girls jump on the train ahead of you. As you try to join them, the doors slide shut and the train moves away, leaving you behind. Everyone is lying. By the time you get to the next stop, you've convinced yourself that everything will be fine. But you soon start to panic, because there aren't two children waiting for you on the platform. There's only one. Someone is to blame. Has your other daughter got lost? Been taken by a passing stranger? Or perhaps the culprit is closer to home than you think? No one is telling the truth, and the longer the search continues, the harder she will be to find... Your favourite authors love Andrea Mara: 'Andrea Mara is a star.' Lee Child 'Andrea is an author to watch.' Sarah Pearse 'Mara knows how to take every parent's worst nightmares and turn them into top-class page turners.' Ellery Lloyd
A thrilling mini Murder Most Unladylike mystery, specially written and published for World Book Day 2020. Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are best friends, schoolgirls - and detectives. And wherever they go, mysteries will find them... While on a seaside holiday with their friends George and Alexander, the Detective Society discover the body of famous swimmer Antonia Braithwaite - nicknamed The Pearl - on the beach. Everyone presumes that she drowned accidentally - but how could such a famous swimmer have struggled to swim? Even more mysteriously, three guests at the girls' hotel all wanted Antonia dead... Can the Detective Society solve this mystery? Or will they sink under the pressure? Praise for the Murder Most Unladylike mysteries: 'This is that rare thing: a series that gets better with every book' Telegraph 'Thrilling' Guardian 'A total delight' Metro
An inspiring memoir of finding strength and resilience from the former England Lioness. From the football cages of East London to broadcasting to millions, the engine powering Alex Scott's remarkable journey has always been her resilience. But thanks to a 'push-through mentality' the world has only ever seen the 'strong' side of Alex. Now, she is ready to lower the shield. In her candid memoir How (Not) to Be Strong, Alex shares the lessons that have shaped her, from finally confronting the legacy of a tumultuous childhood to tarnished truth behind the gleaming football trophies. With raw honesty, Alex shows how she's tackled life's challenges and that sometimes the strongest thing you can do is show your most vulnerable side to the world.
He had the power to assume a pleasing shape, but would he take to the stage . . . ? The audience was merry indeed when a third devilish imp bounded onstage to join the two that had been written into the script. But backstage all was uproar. The third demon seemed too much like the real thing. Even Nicholas Bracewell, the company mainstay, was shaken when, next time the play was given, only one devil appeared. The second, poor fellow, was now only a little red heap backstage. Murdered. Before the curtain rose again, Lord Westfield's Men would suffer the sermons of a puritan fanatic, the enchantment of passion, the terror of a London madhouse, prophecies of a famous alchemist, and danger as they'd never known it before . . .