James Pattinson Hector Langdon volunteered for the army in World War I when he was no more than seventeen-years-old, though he gave his age as twenty. It was the kind of reckless action he was to take all his life, much to the regret of his solicitor father, who wished him to follow in the same profession.
That would have been far too boring for Hector’s taste, so he drifted from one occupation to another after the war. It seemed he had to be forever on the move – until he met Eva Gray. And even that meeting was to lead to tragedy.
Phillipa Ashley Escape to Cornwall this summer… The new book in the Porthmellow Harbour series, following A Perfect Cornish Summer and A Perfect Cornish Christmas, is available to pre-order now!
Summer in Cornwall is the perfect time for a fresh start… Seven years ago, Marina Hudson’s husband was lost at sea. She vowed to love Nate for the rest of her life – but when kind-hearted Lachlan arrives in Porthmellow, should she deny herself another chance at happiness?
Tiff Trescott was living life to the full as a journalist in London – until her boyfriend’s betrayal brought it all crashing down. Fleeing to her cousin Marina’s cottage, Tiff feels like a fish-out-of-water. And when brooding local Dirk wins a day with her in a charity auction, she’s thrown headfirst into Cornish life.
This summer promises new beginnings for both Tiff and Marina. But are they too good to be true?
M.C. Beaton When Private Investigator Agatha Raisin learns that her friend and one-time lover Charles Fraith is to be married to a mysterious socialite, Miss Mary Brown-Field, she sees it as her duty to find out what she can about the woman. Coming up empty, Agatha—out of selfless concern for Charles, of course—does the only sensible thing she can think of: she crashes their wedding, which ends in a public altercation.
Nursing a hangover the next morning, she gets a phone call from Charles, with even more disturbing news: Mary has been murdered.
Agatha takes on the case, and quickly becomes entrenched in the competitive equestrian world, in which Mary had been enmeshed—as well as the victim’s surprisingly violent past. Agatha finds no shortage of motives among a wide range of characters, from Mary’s old riding competitors, to enemies from her schoolgirl days, to her surly father, who threatens Agatha to mind her own business. Meanwhile, the police department has its money on another suspect: Agatha. Will she track down the criminal in time, or end up behind bars herself?
Winifred Foley After her years in domestic service, Winifred Foley married and started a family. But, while scraping a living as a charwoman in a rundown north London tenement, she continued to long for her home in the Forest of Dean and the cherished relatives she had left behind.
Determined to give their children the rural upbringing she had enjoyed, the young couple moved to an isolated, crumbling cottage not far from the Forest. But even in the 1950s they lacked heating or running water, and money was tight. Food was begged, borrowed or home-grown, and their clothes were hand-me-downs. It was a primitive life of hard work on the land, struggling to make ends meet, and finding strength in the embrace of a loving family.
Steven Gray When Walter Watters—aka “Wattie”—finds out that the hiding place of gold from a major robbery is known to another, he’s instantly on the trail. As the sheriff of a small town, he knows that he has to uphold the law. But the two million dollars in solid gold is a tempting sum.
Soon he has to go into an area known as The Wilderness, riding through the monsoon with his companions to where their prize awaits. But can he trust them? Worse than that, he is being tracked by a ruthless ex-convict called Kurzwell, who was one of the original robbers. Now it is a race against time by both groups of men. Only one group can win the prize, but only one has a ruthless killer at their helm. With time and weather against them, Wattie and his companions face death far from home in a desperate struggle against man and nature.
Alex Frew When Walter Watters—aka “Wattie”—finds out that the hiding place of gold from a major robbery is known to another, he’s instantly on the trail. As the sheriff of a small town, he knows that he has to uphold the law. But the two million dollars in solid gold is a tempting sum.
Soon he has to go into an area known as The Wilderness, riding through the monsoon with his companions to where their prize awaits. But can he trust them? Worse than that, he is being tracked by a ruthless ex-convict called Kurzwell, who was one of the original robbers. Now it is a race against time by both groups of men. Only one group can win the prize, but only one has a ruthless killer at their helm. With time and weather against them, Wattie and his companions face death far from home in a desperate struggle against man and nature.
Frank Ellis Evans Marshal Reuben Kane is charged with finding the men who have spread terror and violence in an unprecedented bank robbing spree. It’s a routine, albeit dangerous, assignment. Routine, that is, until Reuben discovers Sal McIntyre, badly beaten and left to die by the men he is hunting.
Near to her is the body of her murdered husband. Reuben postpones his search in order to nurse the woman back to health, but from the moment she regains consciousness, vengeance is the only thing on her mind. Sal’s hatred is all-consuming and, against his better judgement, Reuben finds himself drawn into her ill-conceived plot to kill the men who murdered her husband. Reuben sets out to bring them to justice. But Sal McIntyre wants revenge—at any cost.
When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days.
Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect.
He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever. But is he going as a father or a detective?
As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast – and a small town with big secrets – he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find…
Evelyn Orange Arasay – remote Scottish island, wildlife haven, and home to Jenna’s ancestors. When she arrives to help out her great aunt in the bookshop, she’s running from her past and hiding from the world. What she isn’t expecting is to meet an attractive wildlife photographer even before she sets foot on the island.
But Jake too is using Arasay to escape from previous trauma. As Jenna embraces island life and becomes closer to Jake and his family, there are secrets lurking in the mists that could threaten their future happiness.
Alexander McCall Smith The new novel from the bestselling Alexander McCall Smith about Isabel Dalhousie–philosopher, moral sleuth, mother, wife–in which Isabel is called upon to help when a paternity question presents more than meets the eye.
Isabel finds herself befriended by Patricia, a single mother whose son, Basil, goes to school with Isabel’s son. Isabel discovers that Basil is the product of an affair Patricia had with a well-known Edinburgh organist, also named Basil, who was, rumor has it, initially reluctant to contribute financially to the child’s upkeep. Though Isabel doesn’t really like Patricia, she tries to be civil and supportive, but when she sees Patricia in the company of an unscrupulous man who may be a wanted criminal, her suspicions are aroused and she begins to investigate the paternity of Basil Jr.
When Isabel takes her suspicions to Basil Sr., she finds that, although he is paying child support and wishes he could have more of a relationship with Basil Jr., Patricia has no interest in Basil Sr. taking a more hands-on role in Basil Jr.’s parenting, even as she continues to accept his financial support. Should Isabel help someone who doesn’t want to be helped?
As Isabel navigates this ethically-complex situation, she is also dealing with her niece, Cat, who has taken up with a brawny and opinionated tattoo shop clerk? Isabel considers herself open-minded, but has Cat pushed it too far this time? As ever, Isabel must use her kindness and keen intelligence to determine the right course of action.
