Showing results by narrator "Helen Duff" in All Categories

In this irresistible novel from the author of Then She Was Gone, Jem and Ralph discover the power of starting over after 11 years together have left them drifting apart.

Brothers Tony, Sean, and Ned had the perfect upbringing, but now that they are grown-up, real life is starting to get in the way. Tony’s dealing with divorce and a weight problem, novelist Sean is up against a serious case of writer’s block and a shock announcement from his “perfect” new girlfriend, and their parents have a new lodger, Gervase. Why is Bernie, their mother, so keen to give this unsavory waif a home? And what is the real reason for kid brother Ned’s surprise return from his travels in Australia?

Discover how to talk instantly to your subconscious and manifest the life you want. We all have goals and dreams – whether it’s personally or professionally – that we want to achieve, but for reasons we can’t always fathom, our behaviour and actions can hold us back. In her eye-opening...

Two lost souls. One chance at love. From battlefields to bookshelves, Captain Jane Reed is on a mission to help a world-renowned author, Veronica Cooper, reclaim her passion. Seeking solace from the hustle and bustle of Venice, the two head to a tranquil countryside villa, where Jane discovers more than just the beauty of nature. As fate would have it, Jane crosses paths with David, Veronica's mysterious and brooding son. He too carries the weight of his past, but can Jane break through his walls and find the love they deserve? Or will their scars prove to be too deep to mend?

'The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Cafe invites literature lovers to run their very own bookshop for a fortnight. Spend your days talking books with customers in your own charming bookshop and serving up delicious cream teas in the cosy cafe. Bookworms, what are you waiting for? Your holiday is going to be LIT(erary). Apply to: The Borrow-a-Bookshop Bookshop Cafe, Down-a-long, Clove Lore, Devon.' Jude Crawley should be on top of the world. She's just graduated as a mature student, so can finally go public about her relationship with Philosophy professor, Mack.

It’s a beautiful day for a wedding. White roses scent the air and the summer sunlight streams in. A spoon chimes against a champagne flute and the room falls silent. And there he is - my husband - getting to his feet to propose a toast. He’s still handsome. His new wife is next to him, gazing upwards, oblivious. I’m not supposed to be here. All these years in the same town and I had no idea until I saw his name on the seating plan. He lived with me, once. Loved me. Small-town memories are long, but the people in this room don’t want to remember.

'A very funny and brilliant book. Feigel does a thorough and virtuosic job of describing the dilemmas of contemporary middle-class women' Rachel Cusk Lara Feigel's first novel, The Group, is a fiercely intelligent, revealing novel about a group of female friends turning forty. Who has children...

Your life isn’t perfect, but you’re still happy. Your husband has stuck by you, and he’s a good dad. Your daughter, Becca, makes your heart explode with love. And then, in the time it takes to say ‘bad mother’, there’s no longer a place for you in your own family. Your right to see your child has disappeared. Life goes on in your house - family dinners, missing socks and evening baths - but you aren’t there anymore. Becca may be tucked up in bed in Rose Cottage, but she is as lost to you as if she had been snatched from under your nose.

From the number one best-selling author of The Secret Wife, The Lost Daughter is a sweeping, moving story of the tenacity of love and the power of forgiveness. Spectacular, enthralling and romantic, Gill Paul's latest novel will stay with you forever.

Margot and Will cross paths at the local dog rescue centre where - after a series of misunderstandings and a lot of consternation - they agree to foster Blossom (a gentle Staffy with a giant head, soft, floppy ears and kohl-rimmed brown eyes) together: one week on, one week off. Margot and Will don't get off to the best of starts: he thinks Margot is demanding and needy and Just So Much. And she thinks Will is emotionally unavailable, slightly brittle and very mistrustful. But the more they bicker, the worse Blossom behaves....

When an influencer-turned-bridezilla shows up at the lighthouse to capture Insta-perfect wedding photos designed to entice sponsors to fund her lavish wedding, Gethsemane has her hands full trying to keep Eamon from blasting the entire wedding party over the edge of the cliff. But those wedding bells become funeral bells when members of the bride’s entourage start turning up dead.

Seventeen-year-old Chloe Smedley walks out of the school gates and waves to the person waiting for her across the road. She smiles and hurries towards them… and is never seen alive again. Detective Jackie Cooke is first on the scene when Chloe’s body is found, posed upright at a garden table. In her gut, Jackie knows she’s searching for a monster and it’s only a matter of time before they strike again, but no one will listen.

The inheritance of a lifetime... or is it? When Sophie falls heir to a castle on the Italian Riviera, she can’t believe her luck. The catch? She must share it with her estranged sister, Rachel, for three months. As Sophie travels to Italy, memories of a cheating ex resurface but so does a newfound connection with her friend Chris back home. With the clock ticking, will Sophie be able to heal old wounds with her sister and find love with Chris? A beautiful story of romance and sisterhood, "A Little Piece of Paradise" is the first novel in the "Love From Italy" series.

Stella follows her handsome husband Rob to the beautifully laid-out table in the restaurant he’s chosen specially for her 40th birthday lunch. Stella knows how they must look to anyone watching. Two people very much in love, with the perfect marriage and the perfect life. But Rob is about to drop a bombshell on Stella. He wants a divorce. If she doesn’t agree to his plan - to sell the house, divide the money, and award him full custody of 14-year-old Georgie - he will tell their innocent daughter the one secret he promised to keep.

An acclaimed crime novelist and dramatist, Alison Joseph has scripted over 25 plays for BBC Radio. This collection showcases four of her original crime dramas, all specially written for Radio 4 – beginning with an apparently open-and-shut case for Sister Agnes that turns out to be anything but...

It’s November 1932, and the peaceful village of Dovecote Hatch is still reeling from the recent murder at Mullings, country estate of the wealthy Stodmarsh family. Now it’s about to be rocked by news of another violent demise. When the body of mild-mannered Kenneth Tenneson is found at the foot of the stairs in his home, the coroner’s inquest announces a verdict of accidental death. However, Florence Norris—the quietly observant housekeeper at Mullings—suspects there may be more to the story than a fall.

With her marriage in danger of falling apart, Joanna returns home to the beautiful but dilapidated Mulberry Farm Cottage in Dorset, where her sister Harriet is struggling to keep the farm afloat and cope with their eccentric mother. When Joanna discovers a bundle of love letters in the attic, written by a watercolourist named Emmy, she is intrigued and sets out to discover Emmy's true story. Emmy's letters take Joanna to the picturesque alleyways and bridges of Lisbon, Prague, and the most romantic place of all: Venice - where a whole new magical world seems to unfold in front of her.

She needed a getaway. What she found was a home. After catching her boyfriend in flagrante delicto with another woman, Louise is heartbroken and vows to stay away from men. But when she takes on a restoration project at an Italian hotel run by a group of lively seniors, she can't help but be distracted by the mysterious and alluring neighbour Vito. Despite his tragic past and her no-romance policy, sparks fly between them. Will they be able to resist the pull or succumb to their undeniable chemistry?

One ordinary morning, Laurie's husband, Mark, vanishes, leaving behind his phone and wallet. For weeks, she tells no one, carrying on her job as a cleaner at the local university, visiting her tricky, dementia-suffering father and holing up in her tower-block flat with a bottle to hand. When she finally reports Mark as missing, the police are suspicious. Why did she take so long? Wasn't she worried? It turns out there are many more mysteries in Laurie's account of events, though not just because she glosses over the facts.

A fairytale ending isn’t just for fiction... The Borrow-a-Bookshop is recovering, seven months after the winter flood that destroyed all its wares. When newest resident Joy Foley arrives in Clove Lore with her daughter, five-year-old Radia Pearl, she is set to drag the Bookshop into the 21st century by virtue of her tech expertise. But Joy has a secret. She is on the run from Radia Pearl’s father. She can’t settle down here or anywhere.