Search results for ""author julia kelly""

With mystery, intrigue, and the hints of romance international bestselling author Julia Kelly is known for, Evelyne Redfern returns in Betrayal at Blackthorn Park.Freshly graduated from a rigorous training program in all things spy craft, former typist Evelyne Redfern is eager for her first assignment as a field agent helping Britain win the war. However, when she learns her first task is performing a simple security test at Blackthorn Park, a requisitioned manor house in the sleepy Sussex countryside, she can't help her initial disappointment. Making matters worse, her handler is to be David Poole, a fellow agent who manages to be both strait-laced and dashing in annoyingly equal measure. However, Evelyne soon realizes that Blackthorn Park is more than meets the eye, and an upcoming visit from Winston Churchill means that security at the secret weapons research and development facility is of the utmost importance. When Evelyne discovers Blackthorn Park

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Julia Kelly met a charismatic and successful artist, Charlie Whisker, while she was working on her first novel. He was twenty years older than her. Their relationship was passionate and extraordinary; each of them inspired the other. Their friends were writers, artists and rock stars; they lived a glamorous life of exhibitions, parties and concerts. They became parents to a daughter they adored. But Charlie suddenly changed, becoming hopelessly forgetful, angry and confused. This is an unbearably honest, unsentimental and heartbreaking description of a brilliant man's mental disintegration and its effects on his family. Charlie's disturbing behaviour is described in a series of terrible, understated revelations. An unforgettable telling of a story that will be familiar to many thousands of people in the UK and Ireland.

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From the author of the international bestsellers The Light Over London and The Whispers of War comes “a compelling read, filled with lovable characters and an alluring twist of fates” (Ellen Keith, author of The Dutch Wife) about five women living across three different times whose lives are all connected by one very special garden.Present day: Emma Lovett, who has dedicated her career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens, has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden. 1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to industrialists, solicitors, and bankers looking to show off their wealth with sumptuous country houses. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, she is determined to make them a triumph, but the gardens—and the people she meets—promise to change her life forever. 1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she wants is to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton, on the other hand, is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand house, is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life now that her home has been requisitioned and transformed into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. But when war threatens Highbury House’s treasured gardens, these three very different women are drawn together by a secret that will last for decades. “Gorgeously written and rooted in meticulous period detail, this novel is vibrant as it is stirring. Fans of historical fiction will fall in love with The Last Garden in England” (Roxanne Veletzos, author of The Girl They Left Behind).

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Quercus is delighted to introduce Julia Kelly, the bright new voice in fiction. She writes with intelligence, honesty and tremendous wit, and her future as a leading light is as assured as this, her first novel. With My Lazy Eye is the story of Lucy. Lucy's a misfit. She's growing up in a large family in a semi-detached house, dreaming of being someone else and making her father proud. It's not looking promising. He's an internationally renowned academic and her siblings are bright achievers, but Lucy is idle, directionless and never quite manages to succeed. Her lazy eye sets her apart from the crowd and gives her something to hide behind, and in truth, she's not really trying to overcome it. She hasn't got the energy to revise for exams, she can't convince herself to care about coming last and even when she goes to London and finds the perfect job, she is still destined to fail. And as far as men are concerned, Lucy tumbles into bed with one after another, never finding any she can find real affection for. As her sight deteriorates and her view of reality becomes increasingly oblique, Lucy comes to understand that if her life is going to improve, she'll have to take matters into her own hands. But when a family crisis looms, it might just be too late.

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Evelyne Redfern’s family specialises in notoriety. Her father is Sir Reginald Redfern, a feckless, louche second son of an English baron, and her late beloved mother was a glamorous French party girl. Their disastrous marriage ended in divorce and a very public custody battle over nine-year-old Evelyne that only resolved when Genevieve died three years later. However, the damage was done, with the press dubbing Evelyne “The Parisian Orphan” and making her the most notorious child in the world. Years later in 1940, Evelyne is estranged from her father and working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. She’s bored and craving more from her life, but the only contentment she can find is with stacks of mystery novels that fight for space with her roommate Moira’s ever-expanding wardrobe. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne at a night out at the Ritz, Evelyne seizes the chance for a change and finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms. However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at the war rooms is murdered and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise earned from years of reading mysteries to find the killer. Little does she know that doing so will put her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real reason for being in the cabinet war rooms is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up. With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, Evelyne is a heroine to root for. But can she find out who's been selling England's secrets and catch a killer all while battling her growing attraction to David and her own scandalous past?

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A moving story of the power of friendship, the cost of war and the strength of love. Perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls, A Woman of War and The Secret Orphan.

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A forgotten diary, a forbidden love affair, a desperate fight to save her country2017 When Cara Hargreaves discovers a diary from the 1940s, its contents will change her life forever...1941 When Louise Keene meets dashing RAF pilot, Paul Bolton, she is swept off her feet. Then Paul is sent to war and Louise, defying her mother's wishes, ends up a gunner girl in London.Watching the pitch-black skies for bombers, Louise finds comfort recording her dreams in her diary. And as Cara reads her words, decades later, she learns that hope can be found even in the darkest of times, she just needs to take a chance...Discover the story of the remarkable World War Two gunner girls in this entrancing and heartbreaking novel, perfect for fans of Martha Hall Kelly's The Lilac Girls and Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale.

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Eve is starting again. Newly single, unemployed and with a baby daughter, she joins the local mums trying to make their nearby playground the heart of the community. But not all games are innocent - and not all friends are true. When the rules change, Eve must forge her own independence - and realise that the playground is no place to hide from adulthood.

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From Julia Kelly, internationally bestselling author of The Last Dance of the Debutante, comes the first in the mysterious and immersive Evelyne Redfern series, A Traitor in Whitehall.Kelly spins an Agatha Christie-esque mystery . . . thoroughly delightful and well-researched.Susan Elia MacNeal1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as The Parisian Orphan as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father's old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's cabinet war rooms.However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister's aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, un

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August, 1939, Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany and three women must choose between friendship or country. Socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office's Air Raid Precautions Department, while matchmaker, Hazel, tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German ex-pat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labelled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost. The Whispers of War is a moving and unforgettable tale of the power and strength of friendship in a time of conflict. Perfect for fans of Lilac Girls, A Woman of War and The Secret Orphan. Praise for Julia Kelly:'A heartbreaking romance that will grip you from the very beginning' Washington Post'Kelly deftly balances intrigue with mystery and historical detail in her latest novel... A charming imagining of the historical gunner girls' Kirkus Review'Kelly weaves an intricate, tender, and convincing tale of war and romance with skill and suspense' Publishers Weekly

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Eve is putting her life together again. Her partner has walked out on her. She's moved into a tiny flat on the outskirts of Dublin. She has no job. But she does have her beloved baby daughter - and there's a little playground across the street. It's a tired spot for teenagers and tramps, but Eve is determined to make this new life work. Alongside her interfering lodger and a group of local mums she swings into action to make the playground the heart of the community. But not all games are innocent - and not all friends are true. When a terrible accident is blamed on her, Eve must forge her own independence - and realise that the playground is not a place to hide from adulthood.

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Amidst the glamour of high society, a tawdry secret will change Lily’s life forever…1958. The last year debutantes will be presented at court to the young Queen Elizabeth and officially come out into society. To appease her traditional mother, aspiring university student Lily Nicholls agrees to debut and do the Season – a glittering and gruelling string of endless balls and cocktail parties.There she befriends two women: aloof Leana Hartford, whose apparent perfection hides a darker side, and ambitious Katherine Norman, who dreams of a career after helping her parents find their place among the elite.But the sparkle of the Season dims when Lily learns a devastating secret that threatens to destroy her entire family. Faced with a murky past, what will she choose for her future: her family legacy, or her own, uncertain happiness?A fast-paced and compelling historical novel for fans of Kate Morton and The Crown.Praise for The Last Dance of the Debutante "Between the crinkling of crinolines and the popping of champagne corks, Last Dance of the Debutante leads us on a glorious dance through the traditional glamour and suffocating expectations of a bygone era." Genevieve Graham, bestselling author of Letters across the Sea"Julia Kelly elegantly brings to life the last official presentation of debutantes at court with her exquisitely researched and beautiful written detail. This story was so decadent, I wanted to don silk and crinoline and read it with a glass of champagne." Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London"Refreshing, intriguing, oozing with elegance, and with three female leads who will keep you thoroughly engrossed, a charming gem of a novel which will delight fans of The Crown." Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter"An insightful and engaging look at this neglected subject … an unforgettable journey of a young woman's liberation." Piper Huguley, author of By Design: the story of Ann Lowe, Society's Best-Kept Secret"Peels back layers of lush glamour and the extraordinary expectations of the London Season to give us a glimpse into a world teetering on the brink of change and the choices facing those who navigated it. Woven with heartfelt emotion, this novel is a captivating, unforgettable story of one woman's journey to find love, truth, and, most importantly, herself." Kelly Bowen, author of The Paris Apartment"Kelly's descriptions of the glamorous, though long nights, are captivating. The pressure these young women feel to impress and make the right match is exhausting, and Kelly evokes compassion for her characters. The story is full of allure, society scandals, and the determination for these young women to eschew the dying traditions of the time." Booklist"The engrossing narrative dishes out the right amount of tension while moving the plot forward at a satisfying pace... Kelly succeeds at bringing a bygone world to life." Publishers Weekly

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Trail running is one of the fastest developing areas of physical fitness and the countryside of North Wales is one of the most scenic parts of the UK in which to practice it. With a rugged coastline, lush countryside, deep sylvan forests and all set against the backdrop of the high mountains of Snowdonia, this part of Wales is a joy upon which to plant the trainer. In a series of fifteen runs, join the authors as they set foot to trail on some of the most exhilarating running routes within the UK. Beach, coast, field, forest and hill, to the runner who wants to get away from the mundane of pounding the tarmac these are some of the most stirring words in the English language. If you've never tried trail running then let this book guide you to some of the most memorable running experiences around. If you are a veteran of the trail running scene then, in the two writers, you've got expert guidance to routes that you simply must put foot to. To the runner, running may be a necessity but there are some runs you just owe it to yourself to experience...

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