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Not even if you begged: A Novel (Invincible Women #4)
By Francis Ray. 2008
Charleston, South Carolina. Thirty-seven-year-old attorney Traci Evans is honored to join the Invincible Sisterhood, a group of older widows, although…
she does not mourn her cheating husband. While fellow member Maureen Gilmore falls in love with a younger man, Traci meets Maureen's unmarried son. Some explicit descriptions of sex. 2008Spain or shine (S.A.S.S. : Students Across the Seven Seas)
By Michelle Jellen. 2005
At home in California, sixteen-year-old Elena Holloway feels overshadowed by her siblings. But then she spends a semester in Spain…
living with a Spanish family, studying playwriting, and flirting with Miguel, an attractive local boy. For grades 6-9. 2005Nights of Awe
By Harri Nykanen, Kristian London. 2004
'Nykänen's twist on Nordic crime fiction may be the most inventive of the year. Ariel Kafka, a middle-aged bachelor, is…
a detective in Helsinki (think early Harry Hole) and, as far as he knows, the only Jew on the entire Helsinki police force, which is why he's picked to head up the investigation of a series of murders that began with two Arabic-looking men who may have been shouting Jewish obscenities as they died. Set during the days leading up to Yom Kippur, this complex tale moves quickly, as Ari attempts to figure it all out. With pressure from his colleagues, police administration, his brother, and the local Jewish community, can he uncover everything before the holiest day in the Jewish calender? The clever combination of classic Jewish themes with the traditions of Nordic crime makes for a refreshing tale with wide appeal. And the subtle humor, combined with a hero who is not completely depressed and alcoholic, makes it even better. Not just for readers of Nordic fiction, this should also be suggested to those who relate to New York Jewish detectives, including Lenny Briscoe (from Law & Order) and John Munch (from Homicide and Law & Order: SVU), as well as readers who enjoy the black humor of Stuart MacBride.' BooklistHarri Nykänen, born in Helsinki in 1953, was a well-known crime journalist before turning to fiction. He won the Finnish crime writing award The Clue in 1990 and in 2001. His fiction exposes the local underworld through the eyes of the criminal, the terrorist, and, most recently, from the point of view of an eccentric Helsinki police inspector.The Cheffe: A Culinary Novel
By Marie NDiaye. 2016
The Cheffe is born into a very poor family in Sainte-Bazeille in south-western France, but when she takes a job…
working in the kitchen of a couple in the Landes region, it does not take long before it becomes clear that the Cheffe has an unusual, remarkable talent for cooking. She dreams in recipes, she's always imagining food combinations and cooking times, she hunts down elusive flavours and aromas, and she soon usurps the couple's cook.But for all her genius, the Cheffe remains very secretive about the rest of her life. She becomes pregnant, but will not reveal her daughter's father. She shares nothing of her feelings or emotions. And when the demands of her work and caring for her child become too much, she leaves her baby in the care of her family, and sets out to open her own restaurant, which will soon win rave reviews and be lauded by all.But her relationship with her daughter will never be easy, and before long, it will threaten to destroy everything the Cheffe has spent her life perfecting.Under a Pole Star: Shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Novel Award
By Stef Penney. 2016
RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB 2017. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 COSTA NOVEL AWARD.'A novel of huge scope with a tremendous…
sense of period and place' Costa judges'A dazzling tale of romance and survival' GuardianFollow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heartFlora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world.Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition. Jakob and Flora's paths cross. It is a fateful meeting, where passion and ambition collide and an irresistible attraction is born.The violent extremes of the north obsess them both: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows, and the strange, maddening pull it exerts on the people trying to make their mark on its vast expanses - a pursuit of glory whose outcome will reverberate for years to come.A Foolish Virgin
By Ida Simons. 2014
It is the middle of the roaring twenties, and Gittel is living The Hague with her parents, whose blazing rows…
are the traditional preserve of Sundays and public holidays. What luck, then, that Gittel is Jewish, and must submit to "the double helping of public holidays that is the lot of Jewish families".After every matrimonial slanging match, Gittel's mother runs off to her parents' home in Antwerp - with her daugher in tow. Much to her delight, Gittel makes the acquaintance of the well-to-do Mardell family, who allow her to practise on their Steinway. Gittel feels that she is taken seriously by Mr Mardell, the head of the household, and by thirty-year-old Lucie, whom she adores. When these friendships turn out to be nothing but an illusion, Gittel learns her first lessons about trust and betrayal. Her second comes soon after, when her father, whose talents for business leave much to be desired, attempts to make a quick killing in Berlin on the eve of the Wall Street Crash.Though this intimate portrayal of familial strife is set in the shadow of the Holocaust, Simons says little about the horror that awaits her characters, yet she succeeds in giving the reader the sense that the novel is about more than a young girl's loss of innocence. In a fluid, almost casual style, she has written a masterly and timeless ode to a relatively carefree interlude in a dark and dramatic period.Translated from the Dutch by Liz WatersLadivine
By Marie NDiaye. 2013
Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2016Clarisse Rivière's life is shaped by a refusal to admit to her husband…
Richard and to her daughter Ladivine that her mother is a poor black housekeeper. Instead, weighed down by guilt, she pretends to be an orphan, visiting her mother in secret and telling no-one of her real identity as Malinka, daughter of Ladivine Sylla. In time, her lies turn against her. Richard leaves Clarisse, frustrated by the unbridgeable, indecipherable gulf between them. Clarisse is devastated, but finds solace in a new man, Freddy Moliger, who is let into the secret about her mother, and is even introduced to her. But Ladivine, her daughter, who is now married herself, cannot shake a bad feeling about her mother's new lover, convinced that he can bring only chaos and pain into her life. When she is proved right, in the most tragic circumstances, the only comfort the family can turn to requires a leap of faith beyond any they could have imagined.Centred around three generations of women, whose seemingly cursed lineage is defined by the weight of origins, the pain of alienation and the legacy of shame, Ladivine is a beguiling story of secrets, lies, guilt and forgiveness by one of Europe's most unique literary voices.Translated from the French by Jordan StumpSummer in the Vineyards: a delicious summer tale of hidden secrets and eternal love
By Natalie Meg Evans. 2015
A gorgeous novel set in the French countryside. Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and The Hourglass.Shauna…
Vincent has just learned that the job she set her heart on has gone to a well-connected rival. Devastated, she accepts an offer from an old family friend, and soon Shauna is deep in the French countryside with endless hours to explore the magical landscape around her. But can the charming Laurent de Chemignac, owner of the local chateau, help her untangle the secret that this little French castle amongst the vines might be hiding...'Natalie's books are a treasure trove of vibrant, vivid stories, memorable characters and pacy writing!' Tracy Rees, bestselling author of Amy Snow and The HourglassAlso by Natalie Meg Evans:The Wardrobe MistressThe Girl who Dreamed of ParisThe Dress Thief[Summer in the Vineyards was previously published as A Gown of Thorns]The Cheffe: A Culinary Novel
By Marie NDiaye. 2019
The Cheffe is born into a very poor family in Sainte-Bazeille in south-western France, but when she takes a job…
working in the kitchen of a couple in the Landes region, it does not take long before it becomes clear that the Cheffe has an unusual, remarkable talent for cooking. She dreams in recipes, she's always imagining food combinations and cooking times, she hunts down elusive flavours and aromas, and she soon usurps the couple's cook.But for all her genius, the Cheffe remains very secretive about the rest of her life. She becomes pregnant, but will not reveal her daughter's father. She shares nothing of her feelings or emotions. And when the demands of her work and caring for her child become too much, she leaves her baby in the care of her family, and sets out to open her own restaurant, which will soon win rave reviews and be lauded by all.But her relationship with her daughter will never be easy, and before long, it will threaten to destroy everything the Cheffe has spent her life perfecting.Forever Yours
By Daniel Glattauer. 2012
Judith, in her mid-thirties and single, meets Hannes when he steps on her foot in a crowded supermarket. Before long…
he turns up in the exclusive little lighting boutique that Judith runs with the help of her assistant Bianca. Hannes is an architect - single and in the prime of life. Not only is he every mother-in-law's dream, but Judith's friends are also bowled over by him. At first Judith revels in being put on a pedestal by this determined man who seems to have eyes only for her. But as time goes by, she finds his constant displays of affection increasingly wearying and his intensive attention becomes oppressive and overwhelming. In the end she feels cornered, controlled and stifled. All her attempts to get him out of her life fail. He seems to follow her all the way into her dreams, and when she wakes up he's already waiting on her doorstep to pamper her afresh...Rolling Fields
By David Trueba. 2020
WINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN AWARD'Effortlessly readable and fizzing with energy, this novel is by turns quirky, funny and thoughtful'Mail…
on Sunday Dani Mosca is 40 and his father has just died. Fulfilling his father's last wishes, Dani embarks on a road trip back to his childhood village, a three-hour hearse journey from Madrid. Leaving behind the busy streets of the city for the deserted, archaic heart of Spain, Dani revisits the key junctions of his life: his conflicted relationship with a pragmatic and authoritarian father; the mystery of his birth; his school years in the repressed atmosphere of Catholic Spain; the origin of his band and its early successes; the emptiness left by a tragically lost friendship; his great loves. Laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving and featuring an unforgettable cast of characters - from Ecuadorian drivers to Spanish Bowie lookalikes - Rolling Fields is a novel full of the grace and messiness of life: brave, exciting and completely irresistible.Translated from Spanish by Rahul BeryThe Moment We Meet: Stories of love, hope and chance encounters by the No. 1 bestselling author
By Sheila O'Flanagan. 2003
Who you meet can change your life for ever...A wonderful collection of short stories from Sheila O'Flanagan, Sunday Times bestselling…
author of THE MISSING WIFE and THE HIDEAWAY. The Moment We Meet was previously published as Destinations. Featuring an exclusive Q&A with Sheila O'Flanagan...Perfect for readers of Catherine Alliott and Marian Keyes. A young PR girl has the night of her life at a glitzy work event and finds more than just her face splashed across the newspapers the next day. Two women listen in on each other's phone calls and learn more about themselves than they ever expected. And a wife faces up to the truth that her husband isn't a man she feels safe with.Everyone aboard this train is on a journey - and they all have a story to tell...Praise for Sheila O'Flanagan's bestselling novels:'Wonderfully escapist...captivating' Daily Express'A beautiful backdrop to the story of a woman finding acceptance and new beginnings' Woman & Home'A hugely enjoyable romance, written with pace and heart' Sunday Mirror'Page-turner' Bella'I read the book in one sitting as it was so enjoyable, full of romance and kept you riveted until the last page' Woman's WayBlack Water Lilies: 'A dazzling, unexpected and haunting masterpiece' Daily Mail
By Michel Bussi. 2011
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'Ends with one of the most reverberating shocks in modern crime fiction' The Sunday Times 'A dazzling,…
unexpected and haunting masterpiece' Daily Mail 'A work of genius... Stunning' Daily Express Jérôme Morval has been found dead in the stream that runs through the gardens at Giverny, where Monet did his famous paintings. In Jérôme's pocket is a postcard of Monet's 'Water Lilies' with the words: Eleven years old. Happy Birthday.Entangled in the mystery are three women: a young painting prodigy, the seductive village schoolteacher and an old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream. All three of them share a secret. But what do they know about Jérôme's death? And what is the connection to the mysterious 'Black Water Lilies', a rumoured masterpiece by Monet that has never been found?MICHEL BUSSI: THE MASTER OF THE KILLER TWIST ''A novel so extraordinary that it reminded me of reading Stieg Larsson for the very first time' The Sunday Times on After the Crash'Inventive, original and incredibly entertaining' Sunday Mirror on Don't Let Go 'Combines an extraordinarily inventive plot with characters haunted by long-ago events - and demonstrates why he has such a hold on readers' The Times on Time Is A KillerAbout the Size of the Universe
By Jón Kalman Stefánsson. 2015
A modern saga spanning the whole of the 20th century, by one of Iceland's most celebrated writers.At the beginning of…
this story there is death, and yet it is a celebration of life - the passion between a man and a woman, forbidden love, violence, sorrow, betrayal. Happiness and misfortune are passed down from one generation to the next. The sorrow over what was and what might have been weighs heavily on the characters and at the end of this chain, for now, stands Ari, on his way to his dying father, with a score still to be settled. The raw beauty of life is written into the dramatic Icelandic landscape, and into a society that has undergone great transformation within a century. In language both archaic and lyrical, and yet entirely contemporary and full of humour, Jón Kalman Stefánsson proves himself one of the finest European writers of his generation.A companion volume to Fish Have No Feet (longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2017).Translated from the Icelandic by Philip RoughtonUnder a Pole Star: Shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Novel Award
By Stef Penney. 2016
RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB 2017. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 COSTA NOVEL AWARD.'A novel of huge scope with a tremendous…
sense of period and place' Costa judges'A dazzling tale of romance and survival' GuardianFollow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heartFlora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world.Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition. Jakob and Flora's paths cross. It is a fateful meeting, where passion and ambition collide and an irresistible attraction is born.The violent extremes of the north obsess them both: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows, and the strange, maddening pull it exerts on the people trying to make their mark on its vast expanses - a pursuit of glory whose outcome will reverberate for years to come.Rolling Fields
By David Trueba. 2020
WINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN AWARD'Effortlessly readable and fizzing with energy, this novel is by turns quirky, funny and thoughtful'Mail…
on Sunday Dani Mosca is 40 and his father has just died. Fulfilling his father's last wishes, Dani embarks on a road trip back to his childhood village, a three-hour hearse journey from Madrid. Leaving behind the busy streets of the city for the deserted, archaic heart of Spain, Dani revisits the key junctions of his life: his conflicted relationship with a pragmatic and authoritarian father; the mystery of his birth; his school years in the repressed atmosphere of Catholic Spain; the origin of his band and its early successes; the emptiness left by a tragically lost friendship; his great loves. Laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving and featuring an unforgettable cast of characters - from Ecuadorian drivers to Spanish Bowie lookalikes - Rolling Fields is a novel full of the grace and messiness of life: brave, exciting and completely irresistible.Translated from Spanish by Rahul BeryThe Angel's Game: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 2
By Carlos Ruiz Zafon. 2008
The stunning new novel from the internationally bestselling author of THE SHADOW OF THE WIND.In an abandoned mansion at the…
heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Then David receives the offer of a lifetime: he is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home...Black Water Lilies: 'A dazzling, unexpected and haunting masterpiece' Daily Mail
By Michel Bussi. 2011
Giverny. During the day, tourists flock to the former home of the famous artist Claude Monet and the gardens where…
he painted his Water Lilies. But when silence returns, there is a darker side to the peaceful French village.This is the story of thirteen days that begin with one murder and end with another. Jérôme Morval, a man whose passion for art was matched only by his passion for women, has been found dead in the stream that runs through the gardens. In his pocket is a postcard of Monet's Water Lilies with the words: Eleven years old. Happy Birthday.Entangled in the mystery are three women: a young painting prodigy, the seductive schoolteacher and an old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream. All three of them share a secret. But what do they know about the discovery of Jérôme Morval's corpse? And what is the connection to the mysterious, rumoured painting of Black Water Lilies?(p) 2016 Orion Publishing GroupUnder a Pole Star: Shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Novel Award
By Stef Penney. 2016
COSTA WINNING AUTHOR Stef Penney returns to the wild Arctic setting she brought so vividly to life in THE TENDERNESS…
OF WOLVES, in an epic story of ambition, perseverance and love against the odds. Perfect for fans of TO THE BRIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD and THE ESSEX SERPENT. 'A supreme storyteller' Sunday TimesFlora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of twelve. In 1889, the whaler's daughter from Dundee - dubbed by the press 'The Snow Queen' - sets out to become a scientist and explorer. She struggles to be taken seriously but determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland at the head of a British expedition, despite the many who believe that a young woman has no place in this harsh world of men.Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition, led by the furiously driven Lester Armitage. When Jakob and Flora's paths cross, it is a fateful meeting. All three become obsessed with the north, a place where violent extremes exist side by side: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows; heroism and lies. Armitage's ruthless desire to be the true leader of polar discovery takes him and his men on a mission whose tragic outcome will reverberate for years to come. Set against the stark, timeless beauty of northern Greenland, and fin-de-siècle New York and London, Under a Pole Star is a compelling look at the dark side of the 'golden age' of exploration, a study of the corrosive power of ambition, and an epic, incendiary love story. It shows that sometimes you have to travel to the furthest edge of the world in order to find your true place in it.(P)2016 WF Howes LtdThe Moment We Meet: Stories of love, hope and chance encounters by the No. 1 bestselling author
By Sheila O'Flanagan. 2003
Who you meet can change your life for ever...A wonderful collection of short stories from Sheila O'Flanagan, Sunday Times bestselling…
author of THE MISSING WIFE and THE HIDEAWAY. The Moment We Meet was previously published as Destinations. Featuring an exclusive Q&A with Sheila O'Flanagan...Perfect for readers of Catherine Alliott and Marian Keyes. A young PR girl has the night of her life at a glitzy work event and finds more than just her face splashed across the newspapers the next day. Two women listen in on each other's phone calls and learn more about themselves than they ever expected. And a wife faces up to the truth that her husband isn't a man she feels safe with.Everyone aboard this train is on a journey - and they all have a story to tell...Praise for Sheila O'Flanagan's bestselling novels:'Wonderfully escapist...captivating' Daily Express'A beautiful backdrop to the story of a woman finding acceptance and new beginnings' Woman & Home'A hugely enjoyable romance, written with pace and heart' Sunday Mirror'Page-turner' Bella'I read the book in one sitting as it was so enjoyable, full of romance and kept you riveted until the last page' Woman's Way(P)2018 Headline Publishing Group Ltd