Showing results by publisher "Zaffre" in Literature & Fiction

Life is going well for Maria. Welcomed into the Saward family, she has secured herself a job as a maid for Queen Alexandra and is living with her family in a beautiful cottage on the Royal Sandringham estate. The luxuries and privilege associated with the royal family are a far cry from the poverty and suffering she endured before, though the royals, like the nation, are tightening their belts. But when a mysterious relative turns up, seemingly on the run from the law, Maria's new-found happiness could be under threat.

Flora is a new mum enamored of her baby girl, Iris, even if she arrived a few weeks early. With her husband on deployment, Flora navigates the newborn stage alone. But as the sleepless nights pass in the loneliness of their half-empty home, the edges of her reality begin to blur. Just as Flora becomes convinced she is losing her mind, a surprising guest shows up to help: Flora's own mother, to whom she hasn't spoken in years. Can they mend their fraught relationship? Or is there more Flora's mother isn't telling her about the events that led to their estrangement?

When her family is torn apart, can she find her place in the world? Emma is growing up in the beautiful Norfolk countryside with her family. Life seems idyllic, but little does she know things are about to change. Soon she finds her family split. Her younger siblings are destined for the workhouse whilst Emma takes a job as a cook in a wealthy London household. Then she meets a dashing young fireman. As Emma marries and her family grows, so does her happiness. Until tragedy strikes. Will Emma turn her life around once again?

Growing up in a convent in Glasgow, Ferelith Gallagher dreams of bigger and better things. With no money behind her and no family to speak of, she travels to Edinburgh to study to be a lawyer - a brave choice for a woman in the 1930s. And when she falls in love with a young fellow student, she thinks she's finally found a home. But after a brief and disastrous marriage, Ferelith swears she is through with love and buries herself in her studies, striving to become the first female senior advocate in Scottish history.

What starts out like any other major libel trial for prolific lawyer Charlie Priest turns into a legal train wreck when the defence's star witness turns up murdered. While the defence stalls for time, Priest is determined to find out who is responsible, but as the bodies begin to pile up, Priest realises that he's caught in a web of deceit and corruption that protects a deadly secret - one that threatens to tear him and those he loves apart.

It's 1897, and young Annie Maguire and her parents are leaving their farm in County Down, Ireland. Driven away by poverty, they're looking for a place to start again. After moving to Comber and settling for a time, once again the Maguire family's lives are turned on their heads when Annie's mother dies and she and her father move on, this time to Cleator Moor, Cumberland, where Annie starts work in Ainsworth's Mill.

The beach is quiet at night. The moon shines, the tide falls back, and a woman stands, waiting, watching for those who come to the shore only to walk into the sea. Nancy has lived on the coast for more years than she can remember. A famous actress in her younger days, she has since retreated from the world. Now her only aim is to persuade those who come to her beach to end their lives to go back to dry land, and try, once more, to live. But each time gets harder, and Nancy begins to fear she is no longer strong enough to save the lives of the desperate and hopeless.

Gillian Larkin is used to going unnoticed, until she is sent away to school and befriended by her roommate, the vibrant and spirited Violet Claybourne. As the Christmas holidays approach, Gilly can't believe her luck when Violet invites her to spend them at her home, the crumbling Thornleigh Hall. At Thornleigh, Gilly is dazzled by the family's faded grandeur, and above all by Violet's beguiling older sisters who seem to accept her as one of their own. But following an accident in the house's grounds, Gilly begins to realise the Claybourne sisters aren't quite what she thought they were.

Who have you spoken to about me? What do you know about Operation Wahasha? What have you told Detective Sara Nowak? These are the last words priest Jürgen Stiller hears before he is executed by a former terrorist known only by the codename 'Faust'. Then the killer begins the hunt for Detective Sara Nowak.

Baby has had it with just about everything. She's fed up with her job and her colleagues, her love life is permanently casual, she's grieving for her dad and if her mother and the aunties don't stop asking her when she's going to settle down and start having babies, she might just lose it. When Baby finds some love letters between her grandfather and someone who is very clearly not Baby's Nana, she needs to know more. She's going to go to India, find out why her family left, find out more about the mysterious woman and find out more about herself.

Marina is a divorced mother of three preschoolers. Lilah is a shy and lonely librarian. Opal is a broke post-menopausal fitness guru. These three strangers have nothing in common-except for the man who's been lying to all of them. And who they are now holding hostage in a basement. EAT, SLAY, LOVE is a book about making friends, finding joy, and discovering the woman you really are . . . though sometimes, becoming your best self involves committing abduction and murder.

Professional underachiever Dan Foster is finally taking a break. Sure, his life has been average at best and, yes, he has never has quite lived up to his potential. But after a few Bud Lites in paradise with his girlfriend Mara, things are starting to look up. Then the sun explodes. With the island suddenly plunged in darkness, the ultra-rich guests hijack the remaining supplies and declare themselves as the new ruling class.

When her daughter was born with cystic fibrosis, Kate Micklethwaite vowed that Daisy would never be defined by the illness. When Daisy starts school, Kate meets her new teacher, the kind and charming Mr Spencer Swanson. Now, with more time on her hands, Kate can start thinking about her own future. With her Open University dissertation deadline looming, Kate needs to decide what she wants next. But as she and Spencer get to know each other, Kate notices that people are whispering behind her back once more.

It's 1941, and Kate is living in Rangoon, Burma. A world away from her traditional English upbringing, she is bewitched by the country and the kindness of the Burmese people. When Edwin, a young teacher from London, starts working in the government office with her, a friendship develops between them. But Kate can sense that Edwin has secrets and is looking for a place to call home - something she shares. As their bond grows, Kate begins to understand Edwin's past and the tragic events that brought them both to Burma.

Harmony 'Harry' Loveridge is growing up on a farm in post-war Kent. With a Gypsy for a father, she has had a somewhat unconventional, yet happy life. But Harry has always hoped for more. And with ambitions to go to university, and a scholarship in sight, it looks as though she is about to get what she wants. That is until one fateful night, during the yearly hopping, when something happens to Harry. Something that could take everything away from her.

Ellen is growing up in the Oxfordshire countryside. The granddaughter of a Methodist Preacher and intending to marry Charlie, a boy from the local village, Ellen's life is mapped out for her. When Charlie is killed on the battlefields of the First World War, Ellen is left heartbroken and lost. But then she meets Sam Loveridge. Mysterious and unruly, Sam, is from a local Gypsy community. Before she knows what's hit her, Ellen is swept off her feet and shown a world of passion, excitement and love. Is their love strong enough to overcome their cultural distances?

Angie Smith lives in Greenway, Chelmsford, with her elder sister, Doreen, their struggling mother and their drunk, violent father. Bored of her job and of her dull, ordinary boyfriend, Angie dreams of bigger and better things. But then she meets boutique owner Gene Battini. He is older, handsome, charming - and married. She is completely swept off her feet. But little does she know that Doreen is falling for Gene, too, and that their affair will have disastrous consequences.

You know Lara King. The top billing of the showbiz pages, you've seen her every morning: over your breakfast, on your commute to work. You know everything about her; you've dissected her life. Her perfect relationship with film star Matthew Raine. Her beautiful six-year-old daughter, Ava. And so when a terrible incident shatters the family's carefully constructed facade, a media frenzy ensues. What happens when the perfect woman begins to unravel? When her whole life is really just a lie? One she will do anything she can to stop you from finding out?

When Freya arrives at her dream job with the city's hottest start-up, she can't wait to begin a new and exciting life, including dating her new colleague Jay. However, Nicole, Jay's ex and fellow employee, seems intent on making her life a misery. After a big deadline, where Nicole continually picks on her, Freya snaps and tells Jay about the bullying, and together they concoct a revenge prank. The next morning, Nicole is found dead in her apartment....

Ipswich, 1923: After an unlucky start in her first role as a nursemaid, sixteen-year-old Elin Odell looks forward to seeing in the New Year at home. Little does she know, her family is changing and she has no idea what lies ahead. Having been offered the role as governess for the Lamberts in Middlesex, Elin quickly accepts, leaving her own family behind in Ipswich. But when tragedy strikes at her new home, Elin steps up to hold everyone together at the expense of her own happiness.