-
The Cry of the Curlew
The Cry of the Curlew tells the harrowing tale of Marnie, an Albanian refugee whose life is marked by constant upheaval and danger. The story begins with her dramatic rescue from an Essex Marsh by an elderly woman, setting the stage for a life perpetually shadowed by misfortune.
Marnie’s journey is a tumultuous one. Just as she begins to find solace with a new family, the intrusion of the council upends her life once more. Her situation grows even more perilous when an inheritance draws the attention of the Albanian Mafia, demanding repayment for her father’s debts to people smugglers.
Faced with overwhelming threats, Marnie is forced into slavery. Yet, her indomitable spirit leads her to escape and find refuge with another family, hoping for a life far removed from her turbulent past. However, the shadows of her debt loom large, and the sense of danger is ever-present.
This novel delves deep into themes of love, loss, and the devaluation of human life at the hands of people smugglers. It portrays the desperate struggle of individuals trying to escape poverty and their relentless search for love and belonging. The story oscillates between moments of humor and profound sadness, highlighting the resilience and kindness of people even in the face of the harsh realities of the modern world.
Through Marnie’s eyes, The Cry of the Curlew offers a poignant reflection on the immense challenges faced by refugees. It is a moving narrative that calls for empathy and understanding towards those who endure unimaginable hardships in their quest for a better life.
£9.99 -
Sliding Across Mountains
Sliding Across Mountains is a book about the power of friendship. In a small town in Tennessee, a writer, a mother, a widow, and a parish nurse form an unlikely friendship and a curling team. These four ladies learn more than sliding rocks down a sheet of ice. They learn what they can accomplish with a team of support and love is not always on the rocks.
£11.99 -
Let Life Intervene
After quite some time and a bit of wobbling, John had made a crucial decision: he was going to leave Madrid after more than 20 years abroad and go back to Stockholm. There were plenty of reasons for this monumental step: a divorce, no real job, and a daughter in New York; nothing kept him there anymore.
A fascinating rollercoaster voyage begins when he is hired as a private eye, searching for money launderers and tricksters, unravelling mysteries of gambling on the internet, travelling like a rover between Madrid, Hong Kong, Stockholm, London, and Paris, bumping into women, while discovering his father was a former spy at MI6.
As any man, John is a distilled version of many things: a sportsman, a father, an optimist, a man of reading who perhaps seems more intelligent than he actually is, but nonetheless a good asset, when there are new frontiers to explore, with a potential future in politics.
Amazed by life’s uncertainty, he believes if he had the guts to leave his country, he must have the courage to come back, let the wind take him and let life intervene. He is navigating the Asian, Swedish, and Spanish cultures first-hand.
A feel-good read. The hero whirls into a tour de force of travel and business intrigue peppered with worldwide romantic adventures.
£11.99 -
Heart to Let
Volume 2 of this quartet follows the fortunes of its heroine, Amy Spencer. After the sudden death of Rupert, who rescued her from obscurity, she is faced with having to move from London, where she was a partner in a prestigious firm of solicitors, to a small town in the home counties and seek work as an assistant solicitor. Here, she meets Jack, a very different character, and her personal and professional life moves in a very different direction. Does she find happiness? Read the book and find out...
£12.99 -
The Man Who Never Contemplated Suicide
Transport yourself to a country beyond the boundaries of civilization, where civil war rages and armed gangs rule the streets. This is a place of absolute poverty and despair, where the outermost provincial city lies in ruins, a desolate and barren city that resembles hell itself.
On a frosty winter morning, Apollo is forced to leave his home by his wife, wandering the empty streets of the devastated city, cold and hungry. Seeking solace in his memories, Apollo recounts a series of surreal and diverse episodes, including a great love story, scenes of bizarre funerals, and countless unbelievable stories that could only have occurred in this forsaken city.
Amidst the harshness of this day, Apollo experiences two strange encounters that will change his life forever. The first is a chance meeting with a dog, also abandoned and alone on the streets, who will ultimately save Apollo from certain death. Apollo names the dog Angel and they embark on a journey together.
The second encounter is even more profound, as Apollo meets Esma, a person living on the margins of society, excluded from family and community. Esma’s story of humiliation, life in a totalitarian empire, and years spent in psychiatric facilities leaves a deep and lasting impression on Apollo, causing him to question everything he once believed.
This captivating and haunting tale offers a poignant commentary on the human condition and the power of hope in the midst of darkness. Written with exquisite prose and a deep understanding of the human experience, it is a story that will stay with you long after the final page is turned.
£9.99 -
The Girls in the Hall
A group of women in their 30s live in a cosy apartment building long enough to become good friends. In comes a young, live-in landlord who proves to be a perfect fit for their happy ‘community’. He cooks and bakes for them – even gets a cat he calls Oprah. Much of the book is taken up with their sunny escapades.
However, under the surface of this carefree life lurks another reality, hiding in plain sight, in the person of a fifth woman who has taken the last, vacant apartment. She seems able to smooth her way into the mix and be accepted. But, as different as they all are, the group sense something is not quite right about this newcomer. In fact, something is very wrong.
One of the women is a psychologist by training and builds case evidence against her that culminates in a dramatic arrest on the roof garden and a trial. Shaken, the women manage to go back to living normal lives – most marry and all move out. With this exodus, the landlord sells the apartment block that would seem to bring this troubled idyll to an end but with a riveting twist.
£9.99 -
Reciprocated
Upon discovering a substantial vein of copper ore nestled beneath the conserved lands of the Blue Mountains, a zealous mining tycoon sees a fortune within his grasp. However, his ambitions are thwarted by a dedicated local environmental group.
A diverse coalition, ranging from scholarly academics to homeless drifters, rallies against the formidable forces of big business and government, vowing to safeguard the extensive sanctuary of flora and fauna residing within the unspoiled mountain forests. Yet, the battle they’ve embarked upon isn’t without its shades of moral ambiguity and legality.
As the trail is strewn with hurdles of murder, love, and greed, a close-knit cadre of impassioned strangers forges an alliance to wage a valiant defensive. No stone is left unturned, no alliance too audacious in their pursuit to unearth the culprit behind the sinister murder and shield the beloved environment from desolation.
Immerse in a narrative that introduces you to the most unexpected of heroes, evoking both love and despair as you witness the lengths some would traverse in the face of greed and the quest for opulence.
£12.99 -
Breakfast Chaos of Love and Trust
A black Holden Caulfield reminisces on a life filled with emotional turmoil, from a childhood scarred by hardship to an adulthood tangled in complex relationships. He reflects on the systemic barriers and coping mechanisms that coloured his world across decades - the pain and vulnerability, trust issues and raw humanity. There was love, yet it never fully conquered the chaos.
This fictional memoir gives words to the underrepresented, following an underdog who refuses to give up. It explores the immigrant experience of working tirelessly to overcome discrimination. The narrator clings to his father’s advice to study and gain knowledge as power. As he pets his bulldogs, he contemplates a past that shaped him, for better or worse. This is the story of one man’s perseverance through life’s unpredictable journey.
£13.99 -
Transcending Me
This breathlessly compulsive novel, by turns savage and tender, funny and wise, horrifying and uplifting, tells the story of Aloisio, born male in Latin America, who is convinced from an early age that she is a woman in a man’s body. Moving to the United States to work in the theatre, the butterfly emerges; she finds love and her place in the world, but also depravity and danger, as the book’s narrator, Aloisio—Holly to her friends—navigates the ups and downs of her life with style, wit, perceptive intelligence and blazing honesty.Taking inspiration from the impact of transgenderism on the women’s movement, Elba Barnes has created a wonderfully rich, fully alive protagonist and surrounded her with a supporting cast of vividly realised characters.
£8.99 -
Threeways
Tim has lived in Threeways Mental Hospital for thirty odd years. And, as he will tell you, these are odd years.Threeways Mental Hospital, 1975. Tim Cavendish has spent most of his life within the nicotine-stained walls of the institution. With friends Mike and Sid, he endures the never-ending boredom and grinds out his days. It has been a long time since he thought about the possibility of leaving, until well-meaning nurse Ron comes along.Now, faced with the prospect of leaving his girlfriend, Millie, and abandoning his friends to the sadistic man in the hospital workshop, Tim has a decision to make, and something has to give...
£9.99 -
The Smallest Show on Earth
From the 60s through to the present day Patrick Church has worked in the cinema from Peterborough through to Bury St Edmunds. In The Smallest Show on Earth he takes us through that experience in an autobiography that draws the reader into the trials and joys of a being a projectionist screening blockbusters like ‘Jaws' and a curious period of Indian films where half the time is spent splicing the films back together.The role of projectionist was always a low paid, but with the advent of TV and bingo and other demands on people's time it also became a precarious one as the decades rolled by. Sometimes Patrick had to plead his case as cinemas changed hands from ABC, to Odeon and bingo conglomerates, just to keep his job going and the buildings in operation. The fact that he succeeded is testament to his love for cinema and this passion shines through in this engaging book.
£9.99 -
The Pleasure Cats of Nova Playa
The Pleasure Cats of Nova Playa is a story of sex, drugs, alcohol, violence and techno music. Set in the fictional sun soaked Mediterranean resort of Playa Nova where underground, under town, cats mirror the excesses of the sunseekers above. Into this bustling, vibrant underground city arrives the beautiful Napoleona, a charming and cunning cat with a past, but with her eyes fixed squarely on the future, and in particular the coming winter. In the summer the cats feast and party, but the cold desolate winter threatens to thin them out. She encounters new dangers, especially Count Luciano, the second in command to King Louie, gangsters with pretensions of nobility. The pursuit of power and pleasure seems to have no bounds in this subterranean city. How far will Napoleona go to ensure the party never ends?
£9.99