Showing results for "locks" in Genre Fiction

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

Aeon, a mixed-up and mixed-race teenager from a leafy Liverpool suburb, is desperate to find his Black roots. He needs to understand the Black identity foisted upon him by his friends and his community. To his growing shame, the only Black people in his life are his dad and his cousin, Increase – but they don’t count. Aeon’s dad is intent on ignoring race and climbing the social ladder. And Increase has taken to demeaning all Black culture since the shady and unresolved death of his father, a Yardie gangster.

Meet Mercy Blain, whose house has just burnt down. Unfortunately for Mercy, this goes beyond the disaster it would be for most people: she hasn't been outside that house for two years now. Flung out into the world she's been studiously ignoring, Mercy goes to the only place she can. Her not-quite-ex-husband Eugene's house. But it turns out she can't stay there, either. And so begins Mercy's unwilling journey.

He had led the posse for miles through the desert, but now Matt Keelock was growing desperate. He was worried about Kristina. His trip to the town of Freedom for supplies had ended in a shootout. If caught he would hang. Even though Kris could handle a horse and rifle as well as most men, the possibility of Oskar Neerland's finding her made Matt's blood run cold. He knew the violent and obsessive Neerland, publicly embarrassed when Matt had stepped in and stolen Kris away, would try to kill them both if given half a chance.

On a mission to recover a billion-dollar research satellite from the seas north of Australia, Starcatcher and her crew vanished without a trace—victims of a ruthless and calculated attack. Under the command of Captain Amanda Lee Garrett, the US Navy's Seafighter Task Force is dispatched to ensure that it will never happen again. They will meet a powerful enemy unlike any they have ever encountered. If they are to prevail, they must look beyond the awesome naval arsenal at their disposal and find out how good they really are...

In the small suburb of Gawler, South Australia, the tang of cut grass and eucalyptus seems to mingle perpetually on the warm air. The neat houses perched under the big gum trees on Church Street have been home to many over the long years. Years of sprinklers stuttering over clipped lawns, children playing behind low brick walls. A seemingly endless stream of youthful paperboys. Family barbecues. Gossipy neighbours. Arguments. Accidents. Births, deaths, marriages. This ordinary street has seen it all. Until the arrival of newlyweds Thomas and Elsie Mullet.

Port Kingerton: the insular cray-fishing town at the butt-end of South Australia, where everyone knows everyone. And everyone knows too that when Abigail Fancy left town at seventeen, she hung out the window of her boyfriend's Corolla, middle fingers held high, swearing she'd never come back. And she hasn't, until now. At her parents' house Abigail finds a party (read: town meeting) in full swing over something iffy found on the beach—a thigh bone.

It's kill or be killed in the space penitentiary that houses the galaxy’s worst criminals, where convicts face off in gladiatorial combat while an underworld gambling empire reaps the profits of the illicit blood sport. But the newest contender in this savage arena, as demonic to behold as he is deadly to challenge, is fighting for more than just survival. His do-or-die mission, for the dark masters he serves, is to capture the ultimate weapon: an object that will enable the Sith to conquer the galaxy.

Daisy May thought she had everything figured out. After successfully establishing her coffee shop at the idyllic Wildflower Lock and with things going well with charming Theo, she was ready to embrace her happily ever after. But when Theo pops the question, the happiness is overtaken by worries. Because meeting Theo’s family for the first time is not accompanied by the warm welcome she hoped for. Theo’s parents disapprove of her and they have no qualms in showing it. And when they reveal secrets about Theo’s past, Daisy is left in a spiral.

London is in lockdown under martial law. A hospital is being urgently built by the river Thames to contain the thousands of victims of a flu-like epidemic. Construction is brought to a sudden halt when a leather holdall containing the bones of a child is unearthed from the rubble. A psychopath has been unleashed on the city; his mission is to take all measures necessary to prevent the bones from being identified. But why are he and his handlers determined to go to such murderous lengths to hide the origins of the body?

Just when Daisy thought she had canal life understood, Theo, her primary go-to for all of her boating questions has left Wildflower Lock, not to mention the budding romance that has been steadily growing. Not one to sit and wallow, Daisy takes matters into her own hands. Who said long-distance relationships can’t work? With the help of trusted friend Yvonne, Daisy takes the September Rose on a round trip to surprise her new boyfriend. The best thing about a home on the water? You can go anywhere!

Daisy May is embarking on a new chapter of her life as a permanent resident at the idyllic Wildflower Lock. Determined to seize this second chance she's been granted, Daisy is putting her all into making her new business venture a success. As her friendship with Theo grows ever stronger, her happily ever after seems within reach. However, life isn't always smooth sailing. When a string of unfortunate mishaps and an unruly stag party leaves Daisy’s finances in dire straits, she starts to question her decision to launch a coffee shop.

Meghan Smith has always been a protective mother. Her baby son, Harry, has a life-threatening condition and is never far from her sight. But on the evening of her wedding anniversary, as she and her husband celebrate in the garden with friends, Harry disappears from his cot without a trace. In an instant, the perfect life she always longed for is in tatters, her family exposed to interrogation and accusation in the glare of media attention.

Loretta has run the little sewing shop in Butterbury for years, while bringing up her three headstrong daughters. Her own grandmother taught her how to quilt, and Loretta always found time to sit with Daisy, Ginny and Fern, pulling together scraps of material - and their hopes and dreams - into a beautiful whole. But this Christmas the family is coming apart at the seams.

Today’s the day. The things I’ve packed are hidden away and I’m waiting for the go-ahead to collect the keys to the new house. I’m so close to escaping Justin’s moods, his drinking and his violent tendencies, which are gradually getting worse. His promises of change mean nothing anymore and I’ve got to get away from him. But a national lockdown has just been announced.

It is 1914, and while battles rage across Europe, three empires fight for dominance in the Middle East. In the midst of the chaos is Kingdom Lock. Working for the British Intelligence Service, Lock is sent to Persia by the Australian Infantry Force. His mission: to prevent a German spy from inciting rebellion among the Muslim tribes and from seizing control of the oilfields. But before then, having recently rescued Amy Townshend, the daughter of a British officer, he now finds that he must save her from the clutches of death once more.

Whilst nursing the Hangover from Hell, Ellen stumbles downstairs to discover the kitchen slowly filling with water. Panic quickly sets in, and the three flatmates find themselves in the attic desperately attempting to switch off the water supply. But when Ben, Alexa's Hinge date from the night before, walks in, the door slams, the handle breaks, and all four of them are trapped. As the long hours tick by, Ellen nurses her sore head whilst Ben and Alexa really get to know each other, and Jack plans an unorthodox rescue mission.

Anna Karenina is beautiful, married to a successful man, and has a son whom she adores. But a chance meeting at a train station in Moscow sets her passionate heart alight, and she is defenceless in the face of Count Vronsky's adoration. Having defied the rules of nineteenth-century Russian society, Anna is forced to pay a heavy price.

Coventry Dakin's tale begins with her accidental killing of her neighbour. Forced to flee the law, she deserts her council estate, her boring husband and two demanding children for the anonymity of London's cardboard city. Originally published in 1988, Rebuilding Coventry is a brilliantly observed satire of Eighties Britain and the hypocrisy of the middle and upper classes.