Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Genre Fiction

1952: Vivien and Max collide in the thick London smog. Within a few years, their whirlwind romance sees them living a quiet life on the Norfolk coast, blissfully happy with their beautiful daughter—at least, that's how it appears... 2019: Isobel is hoping for a fresh start when she inherits her beloved grandmother Vivien's house in Silverton Bay. But when she discovers an old photograph of Vivien at one of the infamous parties held at Silverton Hall in the 1950s, Isobel is forced to question how well she really knew her grandmother.

It's the heatwave summer of 1976 and 14-year-old would be poet Jackie Chadwick is newly fostered by the Walls. She desperately needs stability, but their insecure, jealous teenage daughter isn't happy about the cuckoo in the nest and sets about ousting her. When her attempts to do so lead to near-tragedy—and the Walls' veneer of middle-class respectability begins to crumble—everyone in the household is forced to reassess what really matters.

Two women. An open road. The trip of a lifetime. Thea is confident, sorted, determined to have fun, but there are sorrows beneath the surface of her life. Denise is struggling under the weight of her many commitments and in desperate need of some excitement. When these polar opposites meet, and unexpectedly become friends, they realise they're both looking to escape.

Victorian England, 1846: A gripping and powerful story about one woman's incredible courage in the face of heartbreak, and a secret that – if revealed – could destroy everything. Six years ago, Bella Farrow lost everything. Desperate and starving, she made a terrible mistake that forced her to abandon her home, her livelihood and her family. And when the only person she trusted – her beloved, steadfast husband – was killed in a tragic accident, Bella was left alone. She had to make her own way, while keeping her past hidden upon risk of imprisonment, or worse.

Sophie spent many happy summers at Rockaway Beach, visiting her beloved grandmother. Endless days playing in the sand with her sister Celia, watching day trippers come and go, never straying far from the quaint old house on the edge of the sea. Then, one summer, the visits stopped. Sophie knows her mother and grandmother fell out, but she never found out why. So, many years later, it comes as a huge shock when she learns that her grandmother left the house to her and Celia in her will.

In the hard, unforgiving land at the northernmost point of the Roman Empire lies a great wall. Once, the edge had been but a thing of thoughts and dreams, but one day the great Emperor from across the water had grown tired of such borders. So, a wall was raised from the earth at his command. From afar, it looked invincible. Yet every wall has its weaknesses—if one looks close enough. In its shadow gather five thousand fearsome soldiers. Men bred to fight and kill. The Sarmatians have suffered capture and defeat, but under a new command they are prepared to fight again.

The public think Ava's a monster. Ava thinks she's blameless. In prison, they called her Butcher Bird—but Ava's not in prison any more. Released after 25 years to a new identity and a new home, Ava finally has the quiet life she's always wanted. But someone knows who she is. The lies she's told are about to unravel.

Rural West Cork, Ireland. Two Kids, Joseph and Paul, and their struggling, poet father, Fraser, are battling grief and poverty. When a letter arrives with a summons to Dublin and the promise of publication, it offers a chink of light—the hope of rescue. But Dublin is a long, wet and hungry way from West Cork in the mid-'70s, especially when they have no money—just the clothes they stand up in and an old, battered suitcase. So begins an almost anti-roadtrip of flipsides and contradictions.

When Rob decides the family needs to get away for the summer Jess is not convinced—won't all the things they're escaping be waiting for them on their return? But the kids are thrilled, and before long their idyllic little cottage, the sea air, and the feel of skin sticky from sun-cream, lollies and sand, begins to work its magic. Jess allows herself to sink into the holiday vibes—the family even make holiday friends. As the summer heat intensifies Jess—ever vigilant—unearths a secret—a problem she's sure she can help solve.

Algernon is at the end of his life. His granddaughter is at the start of hers. But they have more in common than they think. Every day of Algernon's 97 years has been broken up into an ordered routine. That's how it's been since the war, and he's not about to change now. Until his 15-year-old granddaughter arrives on his doorstep, turning Algernon's black-and-white life upside down. Everything from Anna's clothes to the way she sits glued to her phone is strange to Algernon, and he's not sure he likes it.

Alice, Nina and Jules have been best friends for 20 years. They met in Paris and return there once a year, to relive their youth, leave the cares and troubles of home behind and indulge in each other's friendship and warmth. But this year, aged 35, the cracks in their relationships are starting to show. After their weekend together in Paris, the three women never speak again. Each of them claims the other two ghosted them. But what really happened that weekend?

Zannah and Adrian are planning a May wedding. But before that they must endure the one thing that happens before all weddings—the meeting of the families. Will the gathering go smoothly? Will they like each other—the slightly bohemian Gratrixes from Cheshire and the wealthy Ashtons from the Home Counties? The meeting will take place on neutral territory, at a lunch party in the home of Zannah's great-aunt Charlotte in London. A mood of festivity and celebration prevails. Then Adrian's stepfather arrives and Zannah's mother turns frighteningly pale and hurries away from the party.

Summer, 1993. In the aftermath of her mother's suicide attempt, 16-year-old Prue must spend the summer holidays on a remote island in the Shetlands with her favourite Aunt Ruth and Uncle Archie, a man she's barely met since her aunt married him. Prue hopes to re-establish the relationship, and that her aunt might help her understand some of the parts of the past she has been forbidden to discuss by her mother—including the identity of her father. Prue soon finds out that her uncle was the only suspect in the disappearance of a local girl some twenty years ago.

In a condemned tower block in Glasgow, residents slowly trickle away until a young man is left alone with only the angels and devils in his mind for company. Stumbling from one surreal situation to the next, he encounters others on the margins of society, finding friendship and camaraderie wherever it is offered, grappling with who he is and what shape his future might take. The Voids is an unsparing story of modern-day Britain, told with brilliant flashes of humour and humanity.

Sally, a cynical 15-year-old schoolgirl, is much too clever for her own good. When partnered with her best friend, Pamela—a mouthy girl who no one else much likes—Sally finds herself unable to resist the temptation of rebellion. The pair play truant, explore forbidden areas of the old school and—their favourite—torment posh Sylvia Rose, with her pristine uniform and her beautiful voice that wins every singing prize. One day, Sally ventures up to the greenhouse on the roof alone. Or at least she thinks she's alone, until she sees Sylvia on the roof, too.

London, 1628. Nicolaes de Pelgrom, assassin and devoted servant of George Villiers, will do whatever his master asks of him—even if that means enduring the perilous voyage to the Indies to exact a grieving widow's revenge. Making that same journey is Jeronimus Cornelisz, a conniving apothecary determined to escape the backstreets of Amsterdam and become rich beyond imagination. Hired by a criminal mastermind to escort precious cargo to the Indies, he will kill anyone who stands in his way.

Southern Brooklyn, July 1996. Fire hydrants are open and spraying water on the sizzling blacktop. Punk kids have to make their own fun. Bobby Santovasco and his pal Zeke like to throw rocks at cars getting off the Belt Parkway. They think it's dumb and harmless until it's too late to think otherwise. Then there's Jack Cornacchia, a widower who lives with his high school age daughter Amelia and reads meters for Con Ed but also has a secret life as a vigilante, righting neighbourhood wrongs through acts of violence.

In a remote refugee camp, many diverse lives collide. A child with a love of wizards and an ageing rock star share their fate with a collection of disparate visitors when the camp is attacked. Years later, they find a way to tell their stories.

Revolutionary, poet, lover. Robber, murderer, spy. May 1907 and a young Stalin is in London for a conference of Russian communists. With Lenin, Trotsky, and Rosa Luxemburg among others he battles to keep the party radical, while dodging the attentions of the Czar's secret police. He also finds himself drawn to a fiery Finnish activist, Elli Vuokko, beginning a relationship that is as dangerous as it is complicated.

1981. Khalid Quraishi is one of the lucky ones. He works nights in the glitzy West End, and comes home every morning to his beautiful wife and daughter. He's a world away from Karachi and the family he left behind. But Khalid likes to gamble, and he likes to win. Twenty pounds on the fruit machine, fifty on a sure-thing horse, a thousand on an investment that seems certain to pay out. Now he's been offered a huge opportunity, a chance to get in early with a new bank, and it looks like he'll finally have his big win.