In Germany in 1941, when Pascal kisses Noemi and presses his mother’s silver locket into her hands, it is a moment she has been longing for her whole life. Growing up they were fearless, exploring the wild mountains in the Bavarian countryside together. But when war is declared, overnight their love becomes forbidden – Noemi […]
Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor
Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own unforgettable adventure much closer to home… When news reaches Kansas that her beloved sister has tragically died, Emily must become a mother overnight. Her sister’s orphaned child, Dorothy, desperately needs a home. But Emily doubts her ability to fill her sister’s […]
The Star of Ceylon by Clare Flynn
It’s Ceylon in 1906, and Stella Polegate steps off the ship in Colombo harbour, her heart beating with contradictory emotions. As her father’s unofficial research assistant, she’s thrilled to explore this island of ancient temples and verdant tea plantations — yet painfully aware that her brilliant mind will remain uncredited, her academic ambitions dismissed simply […]
The Barbed-Wire University by Midge Gillies
For most Allied prisoners of war, there were no heroic escapes through secret tunnels – the reality was a constant battle against boredom and brutality. Written when it was still just possible to find men alive who could tell their extraordinary tale, and republished now with a substantial afterword, Midge Gillies’s book casts a new […]
Conscript’s Call by Griff Hosker
England, 1940, and when 17-year-old John Sharratt’s life is shattered by a single, devastating bomb dropped by the Luftwaffe, he is thrust into a world of loss and longing. With his family gone and his heart heavy, John’s conscription into the army offers a refuge and a new beginning, even in the face of turmoil. […]
A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor
In May, 1945, Monkshill Park School for Girls seems a world away from the violence that engulfed Europe during World War II. Yet its lonely, decaying grounds have witnessed a murder. Annabel Warnock, a teacher with a secretive past, left for the holidays and never came back. Both teachers and girls assume she simply walked […]
Encore For Murder by TA Belshaw
Amateur sleuth Amy Rowlings is pulled into one of her most puzzling cases yet. How can a man be murdered twice? When gang member Lonnie Firth turns up dead, again, Amy joins forces with Inspector Bodkin to untangle a web of deception, rival gangs, and dangerous alliances. From the seductive and deadly Bessie Dagger to […]
Secrets of the Bees by Jane Johnson
Time has forgotten this remote corner of West Cornwall, and left its many secrets undisturbed. Until now… Ezra Curnow has lived in the little cottage on the Trengrose estate all his life. He was born there, as was hisfather, and his grandfather before that. It is his own little Cornish paradise. Then the mistress of […]