Search results for ""the book guild ltd""

In the middle of nowhere, amidst the endless blackness of a forever night, there is a train. Ordinarily it speeds along in the empty darkness. As much as a train can speed along, when it has no track to speed upon and no landscape to speed through. Motion, like time, reason and destination, is an affectation here.An unnamed narrator wakes suddenly to find himself in the compartment of a train he cannot remember boarding. His fellow passengers are both strange and familiar. Together, they must work out the truth of their situation. Are they memories of long, forgotten souls, or something else? And what links them through the mists of time.They are the afterthoughts, trapped in their past, searching for a future.

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Tasked by Ben, an old friend, to locate a man in Turkey, private investigator Matt Quillan soon finds himself out of his depth when he has a flash drive thrust on him by a stranger who is arrested by armed officers shortly afterwards.When Ben reveals that his mission is to avenge the murder of his sister, the conjunction of this assignment along with the flash drive burning a hole in Matt's pocket puts them both along with holidaymaker Amber in mortal danger.As the case lands Matt in the crosshairs of a local mobster, it is not only Ben's search for vengeance which is left hanging in the balance.

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September 1943. The world is at war. Leo Avery has been left with nothing. His home is gone, destroyed in the Blitz, and his only family his father has mysteriously vanished.When Leo is attacked by a terrifying creature, he is saved from death by a group of strangers calling themselves Angels. Led by the enigmatic Dr Heller, this rag-tag band of hunters wield strange, arcane powers, using them in the fight against monsters they know as dreadfoul'.Leo is soon thrust into a war against the very worst man and myth have to offer, battling both the dreadfoul and the men who intend to use them to create an unstoppable army.With the threat of Armageddon looming ever closer, Leo quickly finds himself torn between his new destiny and the search for his missing father only to find the two are more closely linked than he could ever have possibly imagined.

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In a quiet Cornish town, secrets run as deep as the ocean. Meryan's confession to her husband's murder shocks the community and shatters her family. But all is not as it seems. After serving her sentence, Meryan, fuelled by a need for justice and the crushing weight of her own guilt, embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth.But, as she delves into her husband's past, she stumbles upon a sinister web of crime. When her life is threatened, her only hope lies in the hands of her determined daughter, who refuses to let her mother's sacrifice be in vain. Can they overcome the darkest currents or will they be dragged under?A Mother's Love is a gripping thriller that explores the depths of love, loyalty, betrayal and the power of a mother''s unyielding determination.

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Edinburgh, 1920. Three children are missing, abducted from the poorhouses of the city.When a body is found near the town of Liberton, Dr Thomas Stevenson, still suffering from the trauma of the First World War, finds himself drawn into the police investigation. But suspicion falls on the woman with the mysterious past who lives with Thomas. Could she be guilty of the brutal murder?With time running out and lives at stake, Thomas must prove her innocence, but to do that he has to find the real killer and unlock the truth about her secret past. A past that casts a long, dark shadow.

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In the perilous atmosphere of the Cold War, Adam Devon, a civilian pilot, becomes unwittingly embroiled in an MI6 covert operation to extract a Russian missile scientist from Berlin. But there are traitors in the British Establishment passing information to the Russians and as the assignment starts to go wrong Devon becomes trapped in East Germany.Hannah, Devon's fiancée and one-time agent for the Israeli Secret Service, leads the mission to rescue him and the rest of the team. However, her best chance of success lies in the hands of the unscrupulous Henry Fitzjohn, a British MP and old RAF rival of Devon's, who had once sought a relationship with her.In a race to unmask the traitor and rescue Devon, loyalties are tested and unexpected alliances form. In a world where secrets are currency and danger is ever-present, will love and resilience prevail against all odds?

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Harry's Holiday is the second in the inspiring Scottish trilogy The Tales of Harry Also.Scarecrow Harry's adventures begin when he leaves the tranquillity of his organic garden. Lumbering on to the back of an old Ford pick-up, Harry travels to the Angus seaside for his first holiday, where he meets new characters including Hilary Pig, a yellow seagull named Lara, Ruben the starfish fairy and many others who admire his unconquerable spirit.But when danger strikes, will Harry's quick wit be enough to save the motley crew as they encounter the bullies, myths and monsters of the North Sea?Young readers will learn all about empathy, problem solving and the human impact on the health of the wondrous oceans in this captivating story.

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Any Lengths to Please is a uniquely entertaining compendium by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter and acclaimed novelist Paul A. Mendelson. A short story, a novella, a medium-sized novel and a brief literary confection', designed to whet any appetite.The shortest, Einstein, is a quirky love story, set in New York State, about a young woman finding her Mr Wrong.I Can't be Ill, I'm a Hypochondriac is a semi-autobiographical and wryly poignant tale about the effect on a family when a member is diagnosed with a serious cancer. It tells how life and work don't stop they just become infinitely more fraught.Lost Souls, the novel, is a laugh-out-loud, larger-than-life fable. It tells of how the scuzziest guy in LA, a soulless, dissolute porn'-broker, has to find love in five days with the kindest, least-worldly soul around, a scruffy Lake District shepherdess, or go straight to Hell!A Perfect Murder Story, a brief confectio

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I am just a mum who couldn’t even save her child from dying, who am I to write a book about grief and grieving? My son Brett was just thirteen-years-old when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. He was very sick and could only be offered experimental treatment. Brett went on to have over five years of cancer treatment. We were told on the 23rd December 2013 that there was nothing more they could do. Brett (18), came home on Christmas Eve (2013) to die at home. At the time, I felt my family and friends deserted us. But the reality was, they didn’t know what to do or say. No one talks about death and grieving. After devouring books from ‘grief experts’, I decided that no one knew what they were doing when it came to grief. Well, not my version of grief anyway. So, I set out to write my own book about it. In Because Of Brett I share my experiences both before and after Brett’s death. My aim is to end the awkward silences around death – it is a story of grief without the clichés.

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Four individual and complex stories about human development and the psychological nature of the mum and boy relationship. They explore the potential complexity of this connection and show how it can go badly wrong.A dead boy remembering tragedy from inside his coffin; a boy dealing with the death of his mum, who died by suicide; a teenager who mistakenly kills his father; a teenager dealing with hallucinations. Each compelling story covers a range of topics from mental health, suicide and psychological trauma. All with one thing in common - vulnerable human beings looking for survival.

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Cornish Villages Volume 2 is the perfect guide for holidaymakers and local people in Cornwall, to make planning trips easy.In her first volume, Cornish Villages, Sandra Srivastava explores a variety of delightful villages, ensuring that, wherever people may be in Cornwall, there are easily accessible places to visit. This second volume is filled with information on beautiful Cornish villages, with accompanying photographs. Each chapter provides a section on places to see nearby, so every adventure can last a day or more, from coastal walks to beaches and towns.

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Rutland 1998. When George Bowman, the publican of Leighton Parva's Old Volunteer Inn is found dead at the bottom of his cellar steps the police dismiss it as a tragic accident. But Frank McBride and Bernard Taylor aren't so sure.Teaming up with their neighbour, Ron Godsmark, their suspicions centre on Joachim and Hannah Keller, the Swiss couple who manage Leighton Hall, the wedding venue just outside the village.Bernard sends his granddaughter, Emma, on an undercover mission, working at the hall as a waitress. Together they stumble upon a web of intrigue involving fraud, smuggling and murder.Frank believes that he can persuade his old colleagues in Customs and Excise to investigate, but Bernard has something else entirely in mind.Crime deserves justice. Murder requires revenge.

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After sixteen-year-old Harriet Flynn trips over an ancient gravestone etched with strange markings in a seventeenth-century holiday village and reads the inscription, she and her friends are alarmed to wake up with supernatural powers. Having magical abilities is fun at first, but when a series of accidents cause the group to become frightened, Harriet becomes determined to find out what’s going on. While investigating the history of the gravestone they came across that night, Harriet realises she has unwittingly awakened a centuries-old, deadly curse and she is the only one who can put an end to it – and she has less than a day. With time running out, Harriet must find the true magic key, to save herself and the ones she loves.

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At a stately home in Burnley in 1936 a young girl is employed as a maid in service to the lord and lady of the house. She falls in love for the first time, ultimately having to deal with the consequences of her love in a manner she never imagined. A young man in the British Army in 1959 wrestles with his own identity and keeps secrets – some of which he will hold for the rest of his life. St. Helens in the mid 1970s and a young boy faces his father with legal documents he doesn’t understand that he finds in a shoe box under the stairs. Based on real events of one family’s search for the truth, Under the Stairs is an aching saga told across time, told through the generations of one family; their unconditional love for each other and their determination to answer the question we all want to know the answer to – Who am I?

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Lincoln 1997. Veteran customs investigator Frank McBride has been targeting gangs of drugs smugglers for decades. Taking out John Pyke’s team of Lincoln-based criminals is just another operation until suddenly things become interesting. Why has Pyke’s team suddenly become so professional? How has it become so adept at evading surveillance? And who is the mysterious figure who is pulling the strings? McBride relishes having found a worthy opponent. But who is he? And what game is he playing? Michael Butcher wants to know why his grandfather, a retired brigadier living in a tiny Rutland village, has decided to become an international trafficker in narcotics. Involving him in an elaborate game where the price of losing is life in prison. McBride and the Brigadier become enmeshed in a private duel, but only one of them knows the rules of the game.

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In a bustling marketplace, an extraordinary encounter sets in motion a series of events that intertwines the fates of two individuals, defying expectations and leading to an indelible love story. Set in thirteenth-century France, at a time of conflict between the Church of Rome and the rebellious Cathar movement, A Fallen God is a retelling of the myth traditionally known to us as Tristan and Isolt, told from the perspective of cuckolded King Marc. Isolt’s entanglement with the enigmatic Tristan reverberates far beyond their immediate surroundings, echoing across the continent and sparking a revolutionary movement that challenges the rigid power structures of medieval Europe. Meanwhile, Marc is forced onto a path of confrontation with the greatest forces of his time in this epic saga exploring the transformative power of love in a time of great upheaval.

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Exposed. Vulnerable. Isolated. A collection of short stories – a killer created from abuse, a teenager in search of answers from his older brother who committed suicide ten years earlier, a woman trapped in a persistent vegetative state, a ghost hunter afraid of ghosts, a bullied police officer, a man in a care home wanting a great adventure, and other fractured human beings looking for answers, trying to survive. What would you do in their place?

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3000 BCE, east Mediterranean. A slave digs a silver nugget out of the ground at an Anatolian mine, launching it on a journey through the ages to the present day. Crisscrossing the globe, travelling into space and plunging to the seabed, it features in a series of world-changing historical events. Over fifteen chapters it falls into the hands of Alexander the Great, Judas Iscariot, Attila the Hun, William the Conqueror, Ferdinand Magellan, Marie Antoinette, Adolf Hitler and many more. As such, it witnesses human endeavour in all its moods, from exploration to invention, from creation to devastation, from triumph to despair. Argentum is a light-hearted canter through the last 5,000 years, combining the adventures of the silver piece with some of the key characters and moments in world history, and revealing along the way the extraordinary adaptability of element 47. So where is it now?

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Ryheart is a low-rank member of the hunter’s guild, removing minor pests for little profit; a role far from the heroic quests he had dreamt of. Desperately in need of coin, he stumbles across a mysterious fae within the cobbled streets of Londaya. The benign creature makes a deal with him; if he provides her shelter, she will help with his money problems. Surely, he thinks, such a simple deal can’t go wrong? Unwittingly he finds himself tied to Fali, the mysterious creature, and is dragged into a dangerous world of magic he is scant prepared to deal with. Can he trust his strange new companion and find a way out of the danger he finds himself in? Or will he fall victim to creatures he never even imagined before the debt collectors can even find him?

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Conscious that the culture of letter-writing has largely been lost, Diana Miserez felt urged to share in print some of the letters exchanged mainly between herself and her parents throughout the years she worked as a humanitarian aid worker with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Red Cross. Illustrated with photographs reflecting the reality of two of her assignments in Africa and Asia (and some unusual handicrafts), We Still Wrote Letters Then gives readers insights into situations across the world so far removed from the lives of family members living in peaceful Britain. It is also a testimony to the author’s parents, whose letters demonstrate their dignity, modesty and open-mindedness, and whose support buoyed the author throughout her many years working on fascinating and potentially alarming assignments overseas.

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Have you ever wondered what the birds around us get up to when we aren’t watching? A juggling heron, a racing-driver robin and a wagtail who rockets into space are just some of the Super Birds you will encounter in this picture book for very young children. The text is accompanied by highly original and imaginative illustrations by professional cartoonist and animator Ruth Coggins.

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Fuelled by his need for approval and belonging, stockbroker Peter is building an illustrious future for himself, but when he unintentionally pockets a book in a shop, he is suddenly plagued by strange incidents. He realises there is a link to the stolen book and becomes determined to solve the mystery, following a trail that leads to his ghostly tormentor, Edward Featherstone, who is searching for his lost son. Peter will not find peace until he fulfils Edward’s beyond-the-grave quest and is plunged into a haunting that would break the bravest. Can Peter prove his mettle against terrifying forces? Or will they consume him? Silent Accusation preserves the charm of the popular Victorian ghost story, but with a vibrant 1980s setting. It is a tale of twists, tragedy and terrifying awakenings…

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Surely nobody poisons university students, let alone the good guys like Mark Gower? Yet Mark is dead and the puzzle for DI Jimmy Molash is as much why as who. Middleham is a typical English town and some of the students and staff at the university have been trying to change the world. Now that Mark’s world is ended, the drivers behind social change come into sharp focus as Molash unpicks the actions of Mark’s colleagues. Is Mark’s death a by-product of the social and political turmoil of the summer of 2019 or is the motive personal? Molash is the first detective to combine police procedure with betting theories to catch murderers – but can he land the gamble by finding out the truth before Mark’s killer strikes again?

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Meet Harry Also: storyteller and scarecrow, who lives in an organic vegetable garden at the foot of the Campsie Fells, ‘between here and there’. He is an optimist, a patient fellow, after all he can’t go anywhere, and recounts numerous stories to the fairy folk of Handbag Wood. Harry, along with his best friends Peawee (the Wuidwisp) and Button-Box (a cheeky crow) will show readers just how strong a community can be through support, love and adventure. Can Harry stay awake to see a Shetland lamb born? Will he experience the taste of warm honey? And can he save his friend from the vengeful clutches of the Droigs? Everything seems so serene until Peawee reveals a traumatic secret. Will the compassion of Harry Also unite them to allow Peawee to overcome their history and save them all from evil? An inspiring Scottish tale for readers aged 10+, who learn that with inner strength and strong friendship even the deepest of emotional wounds can be healed.

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Women’s sport is finally flourishing in Britain. But still largely unrecognised are the pioneering efforts of the Victorian era ‘pedestriennes’ who laid the foundations for modern woman to participate in professional sport. Dozens of these working-class women abandoned humdrum lives to become history’s first professional sportswomen. They bravely put personal safety and decorum aside to tackle astonishing walking contests of 1,000 miles or more, competing against each other or against the clock, chasing cash prizes to feed and clothe their families. Victorian society was shocked by their chutzpah. Several of the women became rich and famous, but many had a torrid time. Huge crowds watched them trekking day and night. The public loved them, but the authorities wanted them banned. The walks were often riotous affairs that attracted gamblers, drinkers and rowdy behaviour, but it was the women themselves who would be lambasted in the press, condemned as immoral and despicable. The controversy only intensified when they adopted the daring new ‘bloomers’ costume from America, but with hindsight it is clear they were actually pioneers for women’s rights.

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The View From Here is all about Harriet, a beautiful pink toy hippo, who goes to live with a little girl called Alice. Harriet has been bought for Alice as a birthday present by her father at the Henley Regatta and she leads a very glamorous lifestyle until Alice is given a computer for her 7th birthday. Suddenly, Harriet is no longer the apple of Alice's eye but a 'has been hippo' languishing on top of a dusty wardrobe. How can she make Alice love her again...

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The year is 1621: a time of paranoia following the English Reformation. In London’s Newgate prison, Elizabeth Sawyer, the mother of eleven children, lies shackled in her cell. Denounced as a witch by her woodland neighbours and condemned to death by the court, Elizabeth has one last chance to make her peace with this world. By way of confession, she tells the prison chaplain three stories about her life. Chaplain Goodcole at first responds with revulsion. Like the court he condemns Elizabeth as wicked and depraved but as her execution draws near, his opinion shifts. Does this ‘ignorant’ countrywoman know something that he doesn’t? Has she indeed made a wonderful discovery, or has he, as his colleagues suspect, fallen under the spell of a wily and malign witch? Based on a true story, this novel is rooted in the struggles of rural women 400 years ago. Exploring different types of power, it unravels the fear and superstitions surrounding any girl or woman who spoke her mind.

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Bertie the wild boar lives in a beautiful forest which he loves, but he is also very lonely. The problem is that people expect him to be fierce, so when they see him they are scared and run away. How can Bertie persuade everyone that he just wants to be friendly? He has lots of ideas, but will they work? Bertie’s Big Day is a delightful story about friendship and determination which will appeal to children and adults alike. It features good messages for young readers and is ideal for bedtime reading.

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Trion is under siege. One young boy tries to save the city and his family with the only weapons he has – courage and imagination. But first he must unlock the secret locked in the mind of a rebellious teenage girl… Torn between his practical and militaristic father, and the eccentric views of his teacher Fidias, the ‘Image-maker’, Zeth increasingly feels that he’s different to those around him. When Fidias reveals an alternative history, bringing into question some of the very myths and ideas upon which the city is founded, Zeth’s entire world is rocked. Which version of events actually took place? It won’t take much for the city to fall, and it’s up to Zeth to take action himself to save it.

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“This afternoon I shall go to my own funeral service before I watch them bury me under six feet of London clay.” When kindly provincial solicitor, Andrew Soulsby, fails to listen to his instincts he is condemned to live an evil man’s life in a tailspin to destruction. Plagued by dark memories that do not belong to him and arrested for crimes of which he has no knowledge, he faces professional ruin, bankruptcy and a prison cell. Can Andrew discover what has happened to him, and will he find a way to survive if he regains the love of his wife and children, or is the truth altogether more terrifying? Fantasy meets grim reality in this gripping medico-legal mystery thriller with an original twist, making you question what it means to have a soul, a sense of self.

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On the surface, London’s hairdressing world in the 1960s is a world of glamour, wealth and celebrity. A world of excitement and opportunity. But all is not what it at first seems and the superficial gloss masks something deeper, more sinister. Christine is young and trusting. She wants to escape from her dreary, crushing, home life, and she longs for love or – at the very least – romance. Frank is rich, good-looking and famous. He is a man of the world, with power and influence. The two of them are drawn to each other for very different reasons. Can Christine learn to recognise truth from lies? Violet Eyes is the story of Christine’s sacrifice and her gradual awakening.

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Yehuda from Kerioth was the most able undercover agent that the Temple guard ever produced. After eighteen months of meticulous preparation infiltrating the entourage of a Galilean holy man and would-be king of Israel, Yeshua from Nazareth, he came to Jerusalem at Passover and pulled off his greatest coup. Two days later he was dead. What went wrong? Retired spymaster Solomon Eliades is called back from his vineyard to investigate the death of his protegee. But secrets from his own past – and the search for an inconveniently missing body – put him and his family in danger...

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After thinking she has the summer to organise a move across the globe, Liz receives a call from her husband, Mo, to say that everything has changed – he needs her to join him in Thailand as soon as possible. The Pits, as the town is affectionately known to the tiny expat community, none of whom can ever pronounce its name correctly and where very little English is spoken. Follow Liz through the initial shock to a jet lagged brain at the sheer volume of traffic, noise, and the hubbub of daily life. Trying to provide appetising meals whilst fully aware of the fate of the creature which is providing sustenance is a unique experience. The difficulties encountered with the Thai language, customs, and the subsequent embarrassing consequences. Cockroaches, weevils, geckos or chitchats become part of everyday life. The most important thing to take with you besides your passport, is your sense of humour, because without it you will surely end up on the first flight home.

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Early March, 2020. When a body is found on a spoil heap, Mac gets the case. Detective Inspector Calum Larsen (known as Mac) works for the Peripatetic Investigation Team based in Edinburgh. His early enquiries establish that the dead man, tasered prior to death, was involved in a joint university project to develop new software for the deployment of laser weapons on drones. Days later, a second body is discovered on a beach; also tasered. Mac tries to avoid jumping to the conclusion that the two cases are linked… but then evidence emerges that both men were drug users, and that there was also a personal connection between the two. Meanwhile, Mac discovers that the project has input from an aggressive, multi-national corporation, strongly committed to the extensive use of Artificial Intelligence in weapons deployment. As the Chief Superintendent begins to put the screws on Mac to work quickly to avoid political complications, can Mac get the cases wrapped up before it’s too late?

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A Life’s Tales is a powerful memoir of a life lived in a past age, through poverty, strife, family life, war, conscription, sexual deviation, and climbing a career ladder to ultimate fulfilment with a life-long partner. It’s a life lived with compassion, insight, ambition and an adventurous spirit; a life fighting against discrimination, and a constant search for self-improvement. Starting in 1935 these intimate, sensitively written, and engrossing memoirs span seventy-seven years of social change… Ranging from the poverty of a northern industrial childhood – shared with eight siblings – through the war years, to an adolescent awakening of homosexuality. This is followed by conscription into the Army, progression through the Woolworth company until its meltdown and into a period of creativity and ongoing self-discovery. Told with wry philosophic humour, the story is episodic and follows a revealing journey through family life and struggle, homosexual experiences, the challenge of leading a double life, to ‘coming out’ as a gay man and the eternal search for a loving relationship.

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How would you carry out the perfect murder? This is the conundrum confronting recently widowed farmer John Gault, when friends encourage his dormant writing ambitions to distract him from his recent loss. It’s harder than it sounds – especially with no particular victim in mind. But suddenly an idea presents itself. As he works it through with Sarah, herself widowed not long ago under somewhat mysterious circumstances, his evolving book plot gradually becomes something altogether more sinister…

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Many myths, masquerading as facts, were flourishing, when Anthony Meredith’s first Arnold biography came out, almost twenty years ago. Accordingly, he misrepresented several key issues, just as previous biographers had done. He also fudged others, for Arnold was still alive, and so, too, was his forceful carer. The many Arnold myths lived on. Three years ago, however, Malcolm Arnold’s daughter, Katherine, encouraged the biographer to write a new book with the true story of her father’s last thirty years. She had much new evidence to support it - material that confirmed her suspicions that when her father, in mid-life, came under the total control of two different carers, his vulnerability had been terribly exploited. Arnold’s last thirty years could only properly be understood if seen in the context of his earlier life, so a full biography beckoned. Nor could the years after the composer’s death be omitted, for things occurred in this period that shed much light on previous dramas. The Inside Story, then, sweeps away the many myths that have surrounded the intriguing figure of Malcolm Arnold. It offers arresting new facts about his life, fresh insights into his music and much food for thought about the care of the mentally ill and its legal aspects. This important addition to the literature of British music is an engrossing saga, told with compassion and candour.

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1955. Five Oxford University students embark on an expedition to study the Berber tribes of Southern Morocco, unaware the country is in the throes of a nationalist uprising. Fifty years later, after stumbling across their story, Paul Olding set out (with his nephew James) to try and follow in the students’ footsteps, venturing up into the High Atlas Mountains in search of the Berber Village the team once called home. Return to the Berber Village is part memoir, part travelogue, with a strong historical perspective. Armed with the students’ personal diaries, photographs and an original hand drawn map to help locate the village, join Paul as he uncovers how the team of undergraduates inadvertently chronicled the final dying days of the French administration of Morocco, and the fall of the infamous French sympathiser, T’hami el Glaoui, the Pasha of Marrakech. On his journey of discovery, Paul explores the impact Moroccan independence has made on the lives of the mountain Berbers, connecting with the past by tracking down the families of people that had known the Oxford students, enjoying Berber hospitality along the way and copious glasses of sweet mint tea.

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April, 1944. A man is waiting to assassinate a prominent figure. He is not motivated by revenge or profit but by his belief that this one act of violence will save many lives and secure a greater peace for the whole of Europe. How have circumstances and experiences conspired to lead this apparently ordinary man to believe that what he is about to do is both essential and justified? William Lyus had set out to make his way in the world against the background of the economic and political upheaval of the interwar years. Despite his best intentions, he’s caught up in a major financial swindle, experiences personal tragedy, and his career hopes are dashed. But it is these events that lead him to revisit the idealism of his youth, becoming more active in the political ferment of the 1930s. As the Second World War nears its close and he becomes ever convinced that he, almost alone, sees what must be done to ensure a just outcome to the War, will he be able to fulfil his destiny?

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Christopher is the eldest of seven in a middle-class English family. Theresa is the thirteenth child of Chinese immigrants in the British colony of Singapore. This is the story of how they met after the war, having grown up on opposite sides of the world. Despite vastly different backgrounds, they shared a common bond, having both survived the Second World War in Asia – Christopher as a prisoner on the Burma-Siam railway, Theresa a young woman working in Japanese-occupied Singapore. Real-life characters, from sardonic ex-POWs to affectionate siblings and cousins in the armed forces, eccentric spinster aunts, hilarious ex-girlfriends and ebullient colonial types leap off the page as they tell the story in their own words, collected in this memoir through letters and diaries dating from the 1930s to 1959, interspersed with Theresa’s tape-recordings about her life made in 2000.

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Kenny spills his love of Cornwall onto the pages of All Summer Long. His four years as a lifeguard on Cornwall’s gorgeous beaches during the ‘swinging’ Sixties and Seventies saw him reveling in the liberating glories of surf, sand and their sensualities. These Cornish summers were a celebration of hedonistic ‘coming-of-age’ where the coast distills Kenny’s reflections on dealing with holidaymakers, locals and girlfriends various. His life has the unceasing theme of water running through it from surfing, diving, sailing, rowing and feasting on the fruits of seafood and seaweed. Did you know that an appreciation of surfing can wash your life clean? This is Kenny's cherishing of the unexpected profitability of dead seals and the life-saving sustenance of hot pasties: gaze on the sea, climb aboard, paddle out, “catch a wave and you’re living on top of the world; from a wave-crest everything becomes clear”.

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This is a wedding that will change lives – and not just the lives of the bride and the groom. Devon-born London lawyer Kate Densham is to marry her colleague, Robert Harrington. Her father, a senior university professor, is involved in a substantial land deal in which the university is seeking to sell a large chunk of the land it owns to a developer. Kate and her fiancé are acting for the possible buyers of the land. They know that the organisation is involved in criminal activity and has strong ties to the chairman of the local planning committee, and believe they can take effective action against them 'from the inside’... But don’t forget – as all of this is happening, there’s still the wedding to attend. From Matthew Densham, the uncle of the bride, to Celia Harrington, the grandmother of the groom; Phyllis Drayton, friend of the bride’s parents, to Simon Roche, an ex-university friend of the groom; this is a wedding that will impact the lives of all that are involved.

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Would you risk everything for a single wish? Nelson Hitchcock's life is forever changed when a stranger begs for help during a school trip to the museum. The reward is his heart's desire and Nelson's only wish is the return of his father, who mysteriously disappeared three years before. But there is a price, for the stranger will be dead before Halloween is out, setting Nelson on a desperate race against time to keep the bargain he has struck. One hundred years earlier, police sergeant Caleb Fitzgerald is searching in vain for his son, one of four children snatched in the dead of night during The Vanishings of 1903. The only clue is a chilling calling card left at each scene, 'Critch'. When the sergeant's journal is unearthed at a family party, Nelson is convinced his ancestor has left hidden clues to help him unmask the killer. But Nelson has no idea he is about to unleash a blood feud that has crossed a century; a supernatural vendetta where past and present are set to collide with terrifying results. What must he sacrifice to save those he loves?

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Set in a small fishing town in southern Italy called Termoli and centred around, and narrated by, the ancient castle at the heart of the town that views the stories and lives of the towns’ inhabitants. The novel revolves around Thomas (an English fisherman), his flatmate Roderigo and a mysterious woman, Mariella. Thomas and Roderigo both fall under Mariella’s spell, but as their relationships strengthen, friendships are destroyed, falsehoods are told, and dark pasts are revealed. Emeralds Among the Sand considers the subject of love in many forms, from conditional to unrequited love and shows how love can both trap us and set us free. Francesca Fratamico takes us to the heart of an Italian town full of intriguing characters and complex stories.

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Upper-class teen Sara flees her parents' middle-England mansion after a disastrous party. She happens upon Nork, a mysterious young, orphan boy seemingly from nowhere. Together they go on the run. Evading the authorities and becoming ever more inter-dependent during their long journey, they finally land up in the Scottish wilderness. They find themselves in a small loch-side town, but will they become the victims of the ruthless, hotel owner McTavish – or can they discover a new life and purpose there? This is a coming-of-age story with comedy, romance and sexual references, that is both thought-provoking and amusing.

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At The Stroke of One is the memoir of Ian C Graham, who was born and raised in Berry Brow, Huddersfield and moved to Cornwall with his family in 1996 to take over the running of the Bossiney House Hotel. It is a tale of an ordinary man, a happy life, and the aftermath of dealing with a life changing stroke. Covering his childhood, working life, sporting life as a keen cricketer and footballer as well as his family life (including his marriage and children and divorce), At The Stroke of One evaluates life before, during and after the stroke Ian experienced aged forty-seven. Restricted on use in his right-hand side from his shoulder down to his right foot, Ian suddenly found life very different and simple activities became a challenge. Ten weeks of recuperation in a specialist unit opened his eyes to the reality that life is precious and needs to be lived to the full.

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It's a pretty boring job, tuning pianos, isn't it? Anyway, isn't it a dying craft now? It has been called a dying craft for years and it still holds a mystery for many people. Step back in time to the 1970s as Steven Harris begins an unusual and unexpected career as a piano tuner at Harrods Ltd, London's most famous department store. Prestigious emporium of the rich and elite, what was it like working there as a teenage trainee piano technician? How and why did the author – brought up in care and leaving school with virtually no qualifications whatsoever – get offered a position there? Steven Harris tells all in The Man from Harrods – a thoroughly entertaining and terrific tale! "A brilliant book written from the perspective of a piano tuner." Pianist International magazine

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A couple are shocked to discover the naked body of a woman in their garden. She has been strangled. Acting Inspector Beauregard, who has never led a murder investigation, doesn’t understand how or why the body of a woman ended up in the garden and seeks assistance from ex-detective inspector Clive Walsingham. Clive is now running a hotel in Carlow Valley, but when Beauregard asks for his help, he jumps at the chance. As intriguing details of the dead woman’s past emerge, suspicion falls upon a notoriously unscrupulous local businessman but, before he can build a case against him, Inspector Beauregard is called away to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Lord Westleigh’s daughter, leaving Clive to continue the investigation with the support of an abrasive Detective Constable. A seemingly innocent entry in the dead woman’s notebook, the strange behaviour of her family and the arrival of a mysterious guest at his hotel drag him deeper into the murky investigation. Clive has to use all his powers of deduction to uncover the truth. But, in doing so, he realises his own life is in serious danger.

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