Showing results by publisher "Orion" in Literature & Fiction

It's 1959, and a new killer haunts the streets of London, having baffled Scotland Yard. The newspapers call him 'The Florist' because of the rose he brands on his victims. The police have turned yet again to the inquirers at Miss Brickett's for assistance, and second-year Marion Lane is assigned the case. But she's already dealing with a mystery of her own, having received an unsigned letter warning her that one of the three new recruits should not be trusted.

Claire Swift can't think of anything worse than another holiday with the Wellbeloved family. The last trip together was a complete disaster - yet somehow, despite Claire's best efforts, they're all off to the Cornish coast again this summer. So, this time she's coming prepared. But becoming a domestic goddess to keep up with perfect Honor Wellbeloved isn't easy - especially when Claire is known for being clumsy and burns every meal she makes. And it's not long before her carefully laid plans are going spectacularly wrong.

The fair is the only good thing that happens every year. And Fiona Larson is the only kid in town who's never been. She's pretended to go—but she's never been allowed. Because, before Flora was even born, her sister died there. This year everything will be different. And Fiona Larson will find out what really happened.

Will they find the courage to follow their dreams? St. Ives, 1916. Jess Morgan always hoped to become a celebrated silversmith, but when the men return from war, she's forced to return to her job as a seamstress. All she can cling to is the memory of that delicate, unique silver clasp she created for a society bride. Rachel Bellamy served as an ambulance driver on the front line during the Great War, but now it's up to her to save the family home and picturesque harbour from her wealthy brother-in-law, before it's too late.

Hester always loved her mother best, her father had always been a hard man to like, spending more time (and money) in the local than with his family. After her mother's sudden death, followed by an injury forcing her father to give up his job as the ferryman, Hester is placed in the position of care-giver for her young brother and sister. As the years pass, Hester must row the ferry night and day to keep them all from starvation, while her hopes of working in a kitchen and one day becoming a cook slip further and further away.

Beryl was the first bride of the Farley clan, finding a home in the welcoming arms of eldest son Tony. His charming voice and kind eyes and the way he truly listened made Beryl feel valued in a world in which she had always been rejected. Yet even now, wrapped in Tony's embrace, Beryl has never quite been able to forget the past she decided to run from, nor the devastating secret about her family's past she tried to bury. With Tony away fighting the Jerries alongside his brothers, it's up to Beryl and her sisters-in-law to keep the family afloat.

It's 1949, and Nurse Kitty Longthorne is still hard at work at Manchester's Park Hospital. The one-year-old NHS is inundated by the nation's sick and dying, made worse by a crippling labour shortage. Now engaged, Kitty and James adore each other, but once they marry, she will be expected to leave the job that means so much to her. When she is offered the trip of a lifetime - a voyage by sea to Barbados to recruit nurses to join Park Hospital's ranks - adventurous Kitty is desperate to go.

If Isla Pembroke could turn back time, she knows exactly which days of her life she would change. The day she started working in the local aquarium, not knowing that she'd still be stuck there seven years later. The day her sister, Morgan, ran away from home. And, most of all, the day that changed everything, when her mother's death cracked her family in two. So when she's given an impossible gift - a chance to go back and relive those life-changing moments - Isla realises that she might be able to save the people she loves.

When a teenage girl is found brutally murdered, DS Amelie Davis struggles to keep her own trauma from clouding the investigation. After suffering years of abuse at the hands of her father, Amelie has only ever trusted one man—her husband, Edward. In the middle of the night, she receives a phone call from an unknown number. The voice at the other end asks: Do you think you know your husband?

Tumanbay: Once the most magnificent city on Earth - now the dark heart of an empire that lies in ruins. Occupied by the fanatical forces of the mysterious cult of Maya, corpses hang from the gallows, and citizens are flogged for next to nothing. Barakat, leader of the Inquisition, leads the purge. Gregor, former spymaster to the Sultan, lives in fear. Madu, heir to the throne, is opiated and installed as a puppet ruler. And Qulan, the great general, rots in prison. But the history of Tumanbay shows that those who can rise to power can just as easily fall.

A family enjoy their last holiday at a much-loved beach hut. The tide brings in an old face - and a new temptation - while a writer's retreat is shaken up by a surprise arrival. The simple pleasures of the seaside compete with the Instagram dream, a couple's future is turned upside down and a celebratory evening takes a stormy turn. And as the sun sets, an unexpected romance is simmering....

April, 1963. Aspiring artist Kitty Campbell has recently given birth to her first child in a mother-and-baby home. Kitty is to give her baby away for adoption, but, when the day comes, she can't bring herself to part with her tiny daughter. In desperation, Kitty flees. She stops at a tea shop to feed her hungry baby and meets the owner, Bet - a mother with her own heartache to bear. But Bet is kind to Kitty, holding the baby and offering a listening ear. Then Kitty makes a decision that will change all their lives for ever.

Hannah is 28 when the worst happens. Her first instinct? To call her mum. The problem is, her mum having an accident, being rushed to hospital and never waking up was the worst thing. Realising that she is now the woman of the family, Hannah has to be the rock for her emotionally repressed father and chaotic younger sister, all while trying to muddle her way through the crucial life lessons her mother never taught her.

In remotest Wales, Joseph Carillo recruited young, lonely women to join his community and adopt his erratic views. Blue's mother was one of them. But when the Black House goes up in flames, Blue escapes to freedom and never stops running. Twenty years later, when Blue's old dormmate commits suicide, Blue receives a strange call. She has been awarded sole custody of Natasha's daughter. But things don't add up. The girls haven't spoken since the night of the fire.

Eighty-two-year-old Nettie still hears the occasional gossiping, but most have forgotten what she did. Now, living alone in a run-down farmhouse, she surrounds herself with memories of her late husband and estranged daughter, Catherine. When Catherine's friend James appears out of the blue, Nettie is grateful for the company and keen to learn more about her daughter. But soon James starts asking Nettie questions she doesn't want to answer, about some things she can't remember and others she's tried to forget.

Hometown Tales is a series of books pairing exciting new voices with some of the most talented and important writers at work today. Some of the tales are fiction and some are narrative nonfiction - they are all powerful, fascinating and moving, and aim to celebrate regional diversity and explore the meaning of home.

Estelle is the headstrong daughter of Fleur, a Resistance legend who disappeared during the Great War, supposedly killed while helping Allied soldiers to escape. Christa, an only child, longs to break free from the constraints of London suburbia, and fantasises about the ethereal Belgian heroine who saved her father. When Estelle comes looking for the truth about the mother she believes deserted her, an intense friendship grows between the two young women. Estelle invites Christa to De Eikenhoeve, her family's idyllic country estate.

Sometimes all it takes to make the world a better place is a small act of kindness.... When Ceri Price arrives in the small seaside village of Dwynwen in West Wales, she only means to stay for a couple of nights - long enough to scatter her mother's ashes and then go back to her life as a successful makeup entrepreneur. But a case of mistaken identities means she lands a job as the barmaid in the local pub, unexpectedly finds friendship and wonders if love might follow....

The Last Gift is a short novella to chill you over Christmas - from psychological thriller writer Sarah J Naughton. On 24th December, husband and father Peter Biddiscombe is tragically killed. The body is not discovered until Boxing Day, but when PC Maxine Derbyshire delivers the news, Peter's wife believes it must be a case of mistaken identity. Peter spent Christmas with his family. Bonus material - includes an exclusive three chapters from Sarah J Naughton's new full-length thriller, The Other Couple.

From the best-selling author of Pulitzer finalist What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, Dinner at the Centre of the Earth is a spellbinding thriller, a spy novel and a love story, showcasing Englander's gifts as never before. Prisoner Z, held at a black site in the Negev desert for a dozen years, has only his guard for company. How does a nice American Jewish boy from Long Island wind up an Israeli spy working for Mossad and, later, a traitor to his adopted country?