Showing results by publisher "Quercus" in Literature & Fiction

A heart-wrenching family saga for fans of Dilly Court and Val Wood. Kath walked for so long that she wanted to lie down in the snow and sleep, but she thought of her sister and knew she must go on. Soon the snow was so deep that she couldn't move. She could feel her shoes disintegrating, and her feet were numb. The sky cleared, and a great big moon came out, and there were so many stars. She remembered what her mother had said before she died, that each star was one of her people.

Eva Gatsby has often wondered about her grandfather Lawrence's past, and exactly what happened to him in Burma during the Second World War. But it is only when Eva's job as an antiques dealer suddenly requires a trip to Mandalay that Lawrence finally breaks his silence and asks her to return a mysterious artefact of his own - a chinthe - to its rightful owner. As Eva arrives in Burma her mission soon proves dangerously complicated, and the treasure she is guarding becomes the centre of a scandal that will have far-reaching consequences.

For many years Colette has avoided returning to her homeland - the magical island of Belle-Île-en-Mer in Southern Brittany - afraid to confront the painful memories she left behind. She is living on the Cornish coast when she hears about her mother Thea's failing health and realises that the time has come for her to go home. But can Colette ever forgive Thea for what she has done?

Cuba, 1958. Elisa is only 16 years old when she meets Duardo, and she knows he's the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel determined to fight in Castro's army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana when the music of the rumba still calls to her?

The intrepid band of warriors, led by Captain James Keane, have been given their toughest job yet by Wellington. Both the British and French armies have retreated from the old university city of Coimbra, leaving it in ruins, the inhabitants destitute and the houses full of wounded from all sides.

Emma Appleby's arrival in the County Durham village of Tow Law is sudden and mysterious, provoking deep suspicion in the locals. And because she has a child with her, seemingly out of marriage, they want nothing to do with her - except for pub landlord Mick Castle. When Emma opens an academy and sets herself up in competition with the local school, she provokes a savage response from the community.

1920, Durham. Since she was a child, Lucy Charlton has dreamed of working with her father in the family solicitor's firm. But a scandal shatters her dreams and, when her father disowns her, she finds herself on the streets, fighting for survival. Joe Hardy has returned to London after the Great War to find his life in tatters - his father is dead and his pregnant fiancée has disappeared. Then Joe learns he's unexpectedly inherited an old river house in Durham from a stranger called Margaret Lee.

The Angelotti family reels when the lost son, given up for adoption in the war, traces his birth family and returns to the fold, with devastating consequences. As poverty-stricken newlyweds, Laura and Giovanni Angelotti were forced to put their first child - a boy - up for adoption. They have had other children since, and their first little Italian cafe has become a restaurant empire, but Laura is still haunted by thoughts of the baby she lost.

Elsie Barker is desperate for a new start after her husband leaves her. When her friend Izzy, herself planning an escape from her abusive boyfriend, tells her about the jobs going for women as narrowboat crew on the canals between London and Coventry, she jumps at the chance. Their new boss, Dorothy, is kind and fair, but it's clear she has a secret of her own. Their crew is completed by Tolly, searching for a new vocation now that her dream job has been snatched away. The work is hard, but the girls forge close friendships that will see them through the darkest times.

Delia Maxwell is an international singing sensation, an icon of 1950s glamour who is still riding high on the new '60s scene. Adored by millions, all men want to be with her, all women want to be her. But one woman wants it maybe a little too much...Lily Brooks has watched Delia all her life, studying her music and her on-stage mannerisms. Now she has a dream job as Delia's assistant - but is there more to her attachment than the admiration of a fan? Private Investigator Frank is beginning to wonder.

While making merry at the York Christmas Book Fair, Kitt Hartley finds herself drawn into a murder mystery with a festive twist. The victim is Leonard Bell, a festival volunteer who suddenly drops dead during his performance of A Christmas Carol. The next day, police identify the cause of death as an unknown toxin. Fearing for his own life, Bell's lab partner Kevin Ripley enlists Kitt's help to track down the killer—before it's too late.

It's move-in day at Tiffin Academy and amidst the happy chaos of friends reuniting, selfies uploading, and cars unloading, shocking news arrives: America Today just ranked Tiffin the number two boarding school in the country. It's a seventeen-spot jump - was there a typo? The dorms need to be renovated, their sports teams always come in last place, and let's just say Tiffin students are known for being more social than academic. On the other hand, the campus is exquisite, class sizes are small, and the dining hall is run by an acclaimed New York chef.

Gabriel Book is an erudite and unconventional London bookseller married to Trottie, the owner of the wallpaper shop next door. He is also a sleuth who uses the chaotic riches of his stock to crack the puzzling cases that come his way. He does not work alone. Book's shop is a magnet for waifs and strays - one of whom is an aspiring writer called Nora. Unlike the TV series, the novel will re-tell the crime stories from Nora's perspective.

April 1940, and Britain is in turmoil. Chamberlain's government is faltering, and a German invasion may be only weeks away. A body, wearing the uniform of a Luftwaffe captain, is found in the grounds of Trent Park - a stately home and now a prison to house high level German POWs. Trent Park's true purpose, however, is intelligence, gathered covertly from prisoners by secret listeners. The morning after the discovery of the body, one of the listeners goes missing.

Berlin, 2017: several young girls have been disappearing for the past fourteen years. Red ribbons show the police the way to their bodies, but there's no trace of the killer. One evening, internationally renowned philosophy professor and anthropologist Walter Lesniak is arrested on the suspicion of the murders in the presence of his daughter, Ann. 'Professor Death' becomes the headline of the tabloid press and Lesniak himself refuses to cooperate with the police. Ann is certain this is all some kind of mistake. And she will prove it.

Alex Fokas, a young and ambitious journalist, is surprised when a book by an obscure author is sent to her in the post. Falling by Avery Lewis is a thriller about a woman who is murdered by being pushed off a cliff. Along with the book, Alex is sent a newspaper article about Avery's recent death by accidental drowning. She fell from the same cliff as the character in her book and her body still hasn't been found. Intrigued and disturbed, Alex travels to Cornwall to research the story for an article.

Amidst the glamour of the French Riviera lies the crumbling façade of Chateau de Sètes, a small slice of France still held by the British aristocracy. But this long since abandoned chateau is now up for sale, and two people are desperate to get their hands on it despite its terrible history. Summer, 1985: Ruby has stayed at the chateau with her family every summer of her 12 years. It was her favourite place to be, away from the strictures of her formal childhood, but this year uninvited guests have descended and everything is about to change.

2019. When Henry Fox is found dead in his ancestral home in Cornwall, the police rule it a suicide, but his pregnant wife, Josie, believes it was murder. 1881. New bride Eliza arrives at Helygen House with high hopes for her marriage. Yet when she meets her new mother-in-law, an icy and forbidding woman, her dreams of a new life are dashed. Can Josie piece together the past to make sense of her present, or will the secrets of Helygen House and its inhabitants forever remain a mystery?

All Mary wants to do is protect her family. But how can she, when their father keeps tearing it apart? Grieving for their mother and abandoned by their father, Mary and her siblings seek refuge at the foundling school. But the school has its own struggles, short-staffed since Hilary married. When the nuns hire Mary's father, and he arrives with the pregnant 16-year-old he left their mother for, Mary's newfound world is shaken. Can she make a new life for her siblings when their father is set on disrupting it?

It's been 10 years since Pretty Boy left the big city - today he's back. No one knows why, but it's clear that revenge is on his mind: he is determined to make the person responsible for his exile from the London scene finally pay. But his plans seem derailed when he takes possession of a bracelet, unaware that its original owner has set a high price for its safe return. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted and Pretty Boy will have to find out if it is indeed a 'good day to die'.