Showing titles in Contemporary Fiction

Helen Grant is a mystery to her daughter. An extrovert with few friends who has sought intimacy in the wrong places; a twice-divorced mother-of-two now living alone surrounded by her memories, Helen (known to her acquaintances as 'Hen') has always haunted Bridget. Now, Bridget is an academic in her forties. She sees Helen once a year, and considers the problem to be contained. As she looks back on their tumultuous relationship - the performances and small deceptions - she tries to reckon with the cruelties inflicted on both sides. But when Helen makes it clear that she wants more, it seems an old struggle will have to be replayed.

It’s 1954 and Adam Carter is 12 years old, an only child with no friends nor any self-confidence. His father Edward is a bully of a man. A successful and ruthless businessman, he breeds fear into the heart of his family. Adam’s mother Peggy is too cowed to protect her son, so Adam’s only support comes in the shape of Jake Wallis, the school bus driver. One particular afternoon, when Adam is his last drop of the day, Jake decides to accompany him along the darkening wood land to his house.

Sie ist reizbar, rätselhaft und viel älter als er...und sie wird seine erste Leidenschaft. Sie hütet verzweifelt ein Geheimnis. Eines Tages ist sie spurlos verschwunden. Erst Jahre später sieht er sie wieder. Die fast kriminalistische Erforschung einer sonderbaren Liebe und bedrängenden Vergangenheit.

Beauty journalist, and 40-something year old woman, Erica Pells, is tired of feeling invisible and disappearing behind her nematode wrinkles. She’s over the ‘pro-ageing’ articles she is exclusively asked to write (apart from the punny headlines that no one appreciates.) Frankly, she's over most things; getting older, heavy contouring, boring old Wiltshire and her exasperating Mum (who clearly prefers her prodigal brother, Simon).

Hidden by London’s wealth, energy and need for cheap labour, the city’s immigrant population is powerless, despised and often illegal. So when a young woman’s body is discovered on Hampstead Heath one cold morning, she could be anyone...Rich or poor, outsider or insider, five strangers are connected in undreamed-of ways as greed, courage, murder and kindness link their lives.

Julian Treslove and Sam Finkler are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never quite lost touch with each other - or with their former teacher, Libor Sevick. Now all three are recently widowed, in their own way, and spend sweetly painful evenings together reminiscing. Until an unexpected violent attack brings everything they thought they knew into question.

A murder has taken place in a tony Mumbai neighbourhood. A prime suspect, Prashanth, keeps his silence in the interrogation room as Inspector Khan plays the tapes of his therapy sessions. The explosive tapes, surreptitiously recorded by therapist Shaily Gupta, slowly reveal shocking information about Prashanth, about his relationship with his girlfriend Sonya, about the therapist and about the gruesome murder in question.

世界35ヶ国で翻訳決定！柚木麻子の新境地にして集大成。男たちの財産を奪い、殺害した容疑で逮捕された梶井真奈子(カジマナ)。若くも美しくもない彼女がなぜ──。週刊誌記者の町田里佳は親友の伶子の助言をもとに梶井の面会を取り付ける。

A Richard and Judy Summer Read Selection.
Doug Parker is a widower at age 29, and in his quiet suburban town, that makes him something of a celebrity - the object of sympathy, curiosity, and, in some cases, unbridled desire. But Doug has other things on his mind. First, there's his 16-year-old stepson, Russ, who now is getting into serious trouble on a daily basis. And then there's his bossy twin, Clair, who's just left her husband...

Born into the lowest class of her society, Flora 717 is a sanitation bee, only fit to clean her orchard hive. Living to accept, obey and serve, she is prepared to sacrifice everything for her beloved holy mother, the Queen. But Flora is not like other bees. Despite her ugliness she has talents that are not typical of her kin. While mutant bees are usually instantly destroyed, Flora is removed from sanitation duty and is allowed to feed the newborns, before becoming a forager, collecting pollen on the wing. She also finds her way into the Queen's inner sanctum, where she discovers secrets both sublime and ominous.

Von der Autorin des Bestsellers Die sieben Männer der Evelyn Hugo und Daisy Jones & The Six kommt ein epischer neuer Roman über die außergewöhnlichen Anstrengungen, die wir unternehmen, um über unsere Grenzen hinaus zu leben und zu lieben. Joan Goodwin sieht zu den Sternen auf, seit sie...

There is an important decision to be made. The Cornish Foundation must choose a worthy undertaking upon which to expend a portion of its considerable funds. As the Foundation's chairman, Arthur Cornish believes they should select a project worthy of the risk taker whose name the Foundation bears. And so it is decided: the Foundation will fund the doctoral work of one Hulda Schnakenburg, a grumpy, grimy, thoroughly difficult, and extraordinarily talented music student. Her task is to complete the score of an unfinished opera by the Romantic composer, writer, and music critic E. T. A. Hoffmann. In addition to this, the Foundation, against all common sense, will undertake to stage the opera. As the production takes shape, Hoffmann's restless spirit hovers rather too close for comfort, and his dictum "The lyre of Orpheus opens the door of the underworld" proves prophetic for many a participant.

On a normal day, in a normal house, on a normal street, wife and mother Fran has had enough. She packs a case, leaves a note for her bullying husband, Pete, and one for her beloved 21-year-old son, Harry, and heads to the airport - and freedom. In another house, on another street, Helena is desperately baiting her husband, Jack, into a fight. These days it feels like the only way to get Jack to take notice of her. Passionate, volatile, increasingly fragile, Helena is fast running out of hope.

Everything can change - in just one day. Flora has always adored her brother Billy. Born just 18 months apart, their childhood was spent like two peas in a pod - no one could separate them. Now, as adults, they remain the best of friends. And as Flora is immersed in family life, Billy is always there to lend a hand. But, in just one day, everything changes. In just one day, Flora’s life falls apart. In just one day, Flora has to learn how to live again.

From Richard & Judy Book club author Catherine Isaac comes the emotional and uplifting story of love, loss, friendship and a letter that changes everything. In late 1983, a letter arrives from Italy, containing secrets so unthinkable that it is hidden away, apparently forever. More than three...

After being shot Sevyn washes her hands with Nasir. Missing her simple life before him she tries to move on, but quickly learns it's not as easy as it seems. Nasir refuses to let her go, but with his crazy ex-girlfriend still lurking in the shadows, he may not have a choice but to grant Sevyn's wish. When more unseen circumstances are thrown at both Sevyn and Nasir, the two learn life has a funny way of humbling you.

When two best friends decide to share their wedding day, what could possibly go wrong? Jade is over the moon to be tying the knot alongside her best friend, Sarah, at the stunning Bluebell Cliff Hotel in Dorset—a venue where no detail is too small and no expense is spared in the pursuit of perfection. But as the big day draws closer, so do the complications. A long-lost relative, a troublesome brother, and some wildly unexpected animal antics all threaten to derail the brides' dream celebration. With emotions running high and chaos around every corner, their perfect day begins to unravel.

C’est un endroit à l’abri du temps. Ce minuscule hameau, qu’on appelle Les Montées, est un pays à lui seul pour les jumelles Ambre et Aelis, et la vieille Rose. Ici, l’existence n’a jamais été douce. Les familles travaillent une terre avare qui appartient à d’autres, endurent en serrant les dents l’injustice. Mais c’est ainsi depuis toujours. Jusqu’au jour où surgit Madelaine. Une fillette affamée et sauvage, sortie des forêts. Adoptée par Les Montées, Madelaine les ravit, passionnée, courageuse, si vivante. Pourtant, il reste dans ses yeux cette petite flamme pas tout à fait droite.

Being immortal isn't all it's cracked up to be. Life's hard for a Greek god in the 21st century: Nobody believes in you any more, even your own family doesn't respect you, and you're stuck in a dilapidated hovel in North London with too many siblings and not enough hot water.

Can a mother ever hand over her son to another woman? In this emotional and thought-provoking novel, multi-million copy bestselling author Joanna Trollope expertly weaves a study of familial relationships with a lightness of tone and real sense of compassion. Fans of Elizabeth Noble, Erica James...