Showing titles in Literature & Fiction

In the spring of 1990, we return to Champton, where the characters we've come to love are all aflutter as a glamorous Hollywood movie takes over Champton House as its set location. As the actors and extras hired from the village don their farthingales, gowns and crowns for a masque set in the 1600s, a murder interrupts filming on set - and it's an ingenious one. Can Daniel solve the mystery with help from his sidekick Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo - even when things are so sticky between them?

The must-read LGBTQ+ novel of 2024

Achingly tender, powerfully erotic, and disturbingly dark, INSIDE HER follows closeted Jess as she escapes an abusive fiancé to find love with a woman – only to have her newfound bliss shattered beyond repair. As much a tale of paradise found as it is of paradise lost, this gripping novel plunges readers into the turbulent depths of a coming-out journey where desire and devastation collide.

Only two things matter to me in this shitty town: freestyle motocross and my best friend. They're my only escape from my father's fists, but one slip in junior high almost changed everything. I confessed a secret to a beautiful boy, and I've been punishing him—and myself—ever since. I can't have Huckslee the way I want, so I take from him in the only way I can—with violence.

Brought up in a devout household in Ireland, Jay is now living in London with her girlfriend, determined to live day to day and not think too much about either the future or the past. But when she learns that her beloved older brother, who died in a terrible accident, may be made into a Catholic saint, she realises she must at last confront her family, her childhood and herself . . .

One night at a dinner party, when Peter meets charming and opinionated Carter, sparks fly in more ways than one. Their undeniable chemistry soon lead to a captivating exploration as handsome stylish Carter freely offers his sharp-tongued critiques and playful commentary, challenging Peter in ways he's never experienced. But far from being offended, Peter finds himself enthralled by Carter's confidence and unfiltered honesty.

A disturbing tale of a young man's uncanny ability to remain both young and beautiful while descending into a life of heartless debauchery, The Picture of Dorian Gray was considered proof of both Wilde's genius and his perversion. Oscar Wilde's scandalous best seller of 1891 was one of the most damning pieces of evidence used against him in the trial that brought about his downfall.

In the kingdom of Eynhallow, Princess Ythsie is preparing to choose a husband, in order to secure the kingdom’s future. Everything changes when Stroma, a skilled fighter from a remote village, becomes her new bodyguard. As mysterious deaths rock the palace, Ythsie and Stroma uncover a web of ancient magic and deadly court intrigue. The princess discovers she has a rare and dangerous gift - the ability to communicate with the Deathless, Eynhallow's cursed undead army.

Otto Digmore is back, still trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood (despite his facial scars), but frustrated by all the schemers who'll stab you in the back to get ahead. But then Otto's good friend, Russel Middlebrook, sells a screenplay, a heist movie set in the Middle Ages - and Otto has been cast in an important supporting role! For 12 weeks, Otto and Russel will be on location together in England and Malta. Problem is, once production is underway, it quickly becomes clear that the director is ruining Russel's script.

It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert's, comes to stay. Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley's friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she see him as he is—a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.

Frankie has lived a long life and her small London flat is crammed full of art, furniture and memories. Damian, her young Irish carer, listens as she gradually tells him parts of her story - a story that takes us into a progressive, daring world of New York artists on the brink of fame, aspiring writers and larger-than-life characters.

My worst nightmare and your greatest fear became a reality: You don’t remember me. You don’t remember the accident or the weeks afterward. You don’t remember my bed as your safe place, or when, against all odds, you fell for me. You remember me only as the casual acquaintance you saw as you grabbed your daily coffee. Three sugars, two creamers. Perhaps an acquaintance is all I’ll ever be to you now. Maybe I can shoulder the heartbreak and the loss of you, if it means you’ll be happy. Unless...you remember me when.

Evie is trapped. Held captive by the vampiric Court of Night, she has experienced nothing but pain and terror for over a year. Treasured for her rare and delectable blood, Evie knows she will never see the outside of the dark estate that is her prison. She is fated to be forever ruined by cruel monsters. Her freedom is a concept lost.

Whisk Me Away is must-see TV. When the famous host arranges a retreat for up-and-coming pastry chefs, Regan Callahan applies. Everything she’s been working for is served up hot and delicious right under her nose: recognition of her self-taught skills, learning from a master, there’s even been a secret prize hinted at that just might give her the means to buy her boss’s bakery when he retires. It’s not supposed to be a competition, but if it is, she’ll do anything to win. Ava Prescott has no intention of allowing that to happen. Not that she’s worried. Regan doesn’t have what it takes.

Free-spirited and easygoing Taylor Vandenberg left her hometown of Faircombe, Tennessee, as soon as she could, and in the twenty-five years since, she has rarely looked back. She wouldn't change anything about how her life has turned out—having traveled to nearly every country, never staying anywhere long enough to feel stifled. Brooke Watson has known Taylor for her entire life, and lifelong knowledge means that Brooke knows she's trouble: irresponsible, takes nothing seriously, and irritatingly attractive.

When Claire, an overachieving psychologist with OCD tendencies, hires Lana, an impulsive, out-of-work actress for a fake relationship, she figures the worst she'll have to endure are the messes Lana leaves around. It's only for a few months anyway. And it's not as if she'll enjoy all those fake kisses and loving looks. Right?

Ever since the tragic death of his parents, Porsche's life has been a balancing act between attending college and bartending to support his younger brother and pay off his deadbeat uncle's gambling debt. When he witnesses a gang of thugs attacking a handsome young man in the alley behind his bar, he's reluctant to intervene--until he's offered fifty thousand baht to help the stranger escape. The stranger is known as Kinn, the second son of a notorious crime family.

After much searching, Amber and Stevie find the perfect house - a bit shabby but with potential - in Grimaldi Square. Just the two of them; a place where they can start their lives together. Recently married, they want to begin a family (with the help of their gay best friend, Jack). Despite the rundown pub across the way, the overgrown garden and a decidedly nosy neighbour, it's the house of their dreams. But they are not alone in this dream.

When academic Nadia is disowned by her puritanical mother and dumped by her lover, she decides to make a getaway - accepting a UN job in Iraq. Tasked with rehabilitating ISIS women, Nadia becomes mired in the opaque world of international aid, surrounded by bumbling colleagues. But then Nadia meets Sara, a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just fifteen, and she is struck by how similar their stories are. Both from a Muslim background, both feisty and opinionated, with a shared love of Dairy Milk and rude pick-up lines, Sara and Nadia immediately connect.

Freelance journalist Lindsay Gordon is strapped for cash. Why else would she agree to cover a fund-raising gala at a girls' public school? But when the star attraction is found garrotted with her own cello string minutes before she is due on stage, Lindsay finds herself investigating a vicious murder. Who would have wanted Lorna Smith Cooper dead? Who had the key to the locked room in which her body was found? And who could have slipped out of the hall at just the right time to commit this calculated and cold-blooded crime?

Dr. Jillian Byers only considered two careers: indie rock sensation or physician. Both dreams led her to Los Angeles. She never plotted a course that led back home. With her father's health declining, Jillian picks up her life and returns to Crystal, Maine. At first, it seems time has stood still in her hometown. It doesn't take long for Jillian to realize nothing is quite the way she remembers.