Showing results for "A Friend of the Family" in Literature & Fiction

Gerry and Bernie London are proud parents of Tony, Sean and Ned, three wayward lads whose lives have suddenly reached crisis points. Newly divorced Tony is fantasising about someone he really shouldn't. Prize-winning novelist Sean's got a hot new girlfriend and a dose of writer's block. Ned's just back from Australia, without the girl he took with him - or a clue what he's going to do with his life. If that wasn't enough for one household, the Londons also have a new lodger - a mysterious rockabilly called Gervase. Will he turn out to be a friend - or foe - to the family?

From the Sunday Times best-selling author of The Pool House, this dark and twisty thriller is perfect for fans of BBC's The Replacement, The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. You trust your friend, so you'd trust her daughter. Wouldn't you...? When an old university friend gets in touch with a request for work experience for her daughter, magazine editor Amy agrees. Twenty-year-old Josie walks into Amy's office, moves into the basement of her Notting Hill house and is soon helping out with her children after Amy's nanny is hit by a car.

Meet Grace Bernard. Daughter, sister, colleague, friend, serial killer. Grace has lost everything. And now she wants revenge.

Linc Kingston doesn’t accept anything less than perfection. Not in his billion-dollar business or in his personal life. He has it all, except one thing: his personal assistant and best friend in his bed, moaning his name. No matter how much Linc wants her, she’s completely off-limits. Jordan Greene grew up the daughter of the housekeeper at the Kingston estate, where she met and bonded with Linc at a young age, despite their economic differences.

Erin lives an idyllic life by the seaside with her baby boy and handsome Australian fiancé. She's upbeat and happy - a natural mum. At least that's what her thousands of followers on Instagram think. In the real world, Erin is struggling with anxiety and finding it difficult to connect with her screaming son. So when a famous agent offers to make her the biggest instamum out there, she's over the moon.

Banished from longbourn at a young age, Elizabeth Bennet is raised among the Fitzwilliams at the Romsley estate, growing up alongside Fitzwilliam Darcy and his cousins. Entering adulthood, Elizabeth soon finds herself in possession of a secret love for him that even she knows is futile, and she must settle for his friendship.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Faking Friends by Jane Fallon, read by Sally Scott and Kristin Atherton. Best friend. Soulmate. Confidante. Backstabber. Amy thought she knew who Melissa was - then again, Amy also thought she was on the verge of the wedding of her dreams to her long-distance fiancé. When her career begins to unravel, she pays a surprise trip home to London. Her boyfriend Jack is out, but another woman has been making herself at home....

Winner of the British Book Awards, Popular Fiction Award, 2007.
Anna Walsh is officially a wreck. Physically broken and emotionally shattered, she lies on her parents' Dublin sofa with only one thing on her mind: getting back to New York. New York means her best friends, the most fabulous job in the world, and, above all, it means her husband, Aidan. But nothing in Anna's life is that simple.

Matthew was my biggest regret. For years he was my best friend, but I never told him how I really felt. That I loved him. When all the words should have been said, I said nothing at all. For fifteen years I kept him in my dreams, letting my life coast along and pass me by. Until he came back. But Matthew wasn't the man I remembered. Cold and aloof, his hatred of me burned little holes into my heart. We had just fifteen days to reconnect. Probably too short a time to bridge the gap to the past. Could we get back to who we used to be, when we were young?

Like stars in the night sky, freckles are scattered across Allegra Bird’s arms, a legacy from her beloved father. Her legacy from her mother is more complicated–until one question from a stranger inspires a change. What if it isn’t about fitting in, but finding the people who make you who you are? Who would those people be? As she searches for connection, Allegra is about to find out that it is our differences that make life worth living–if only someone can help you to join the dots . . .

Award-winning actress and comedian Maureen Lipman has been entertaining audiences for over half a century. Her career has encompassed film, theatre, TV and radio; she has written several bestselling autobiographies; and in 2020 she was made a Dame in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. In this sparkling collection, the irrepressible 'Queen of Coronation Street' takes to the airwaves with her hilarious monologues, diverting duologues and amusing anecdotes - all recorded in front of a live audience. Also included are four comedy dramas showcasing her manifold talents.

When Frank Woods at number 79 Primrose Square comes home to a surprise birthday party thrown by his wife and adoring children, it is his guests who get the real surprise. Finding himself alone, he befriends the cantankerous Miss Hardcastle, who hasn't left her home for decades, and Emily Dunne - fresh out of rehab and desperate to make amends. As gossip spreads through Primrose Square, every relationship is tested, and nothing in this close-knit community will ever be the same again....

Adele and Justine have never been close. Born 20 years apart, Justine was already an adult when Addie was born. The sisters love each other, but they don’t really know each other. When Addie dropped out of university to care for their ailing parents, Justine, a successful lawyer, covered the expenses. It was the best arrangement at the time, but now that their parents are gone, the future has changed dramatically for both women.

The day Stacey Grant loses her job feels like the last day of her life. Or, at least, the only life she'd ever known. For who was she if not a City high-flyer, Senior Partner at one of the top private equity firms in London? As Stacey starts to reconcile her old life with the new - one without professional achievements or meetings but instead long days at home with her dog and ailing mother, waiting for her successful husband to come home - she at least has The Girls to fall back on. Beth, Melissa and Gaby.

When Chris wakes up in hospital, Emily is the first person he asks for. She is the love of his life. But Emily is dead, and Chris is the sole witness to what happened in the park that night. He claims it was a suicide pact: they were both meant to die. Then the investigation turns up motive for murder, and there is only one suspect....

Max Sall is powerful, wealthy, and utterly ruthless. A man without a past. Max's women are very different, but they all demand his attention. While Amber and Paola are growing up in the 1970s, their mothers somehow find a way to share Max between them. But when Amber and Paola fall in love with the same man two decades later, they're determined that this time there will be no sharing.

Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That’s what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they’re both nine years old. But in their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd. Flash-forward 15 years. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents’ house, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat.

Hilary and Colette O'Mahony have been friends since childhood. But when irrepressible Jonathan Harpur breezes into Hilary's life and goes into business with her, Colette is not best pleased. After their first encounter, Colette thinks he's a "pushy upstart" while he thinks she's "a snobby little diva". And so the battle lines are drawn, and Hilary is bang in the middle.

Louisiana, 1875: in the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest. Louisiana, 1987: Arriving in Augustine, Louisiana, first-year teacher Benedetta Silva finds herself teaching students whose poverty-stricken lives she can scarcely comprehend. The town is impossibly set in its ways, suspicious of new ideas and new people. But amid the gnarled live oaks and ancient plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey and a hidden book that could change everything.

Their children are friends first. They hit it off immediately, as kids do. So the parents are forced to get to know each other. But as they get closer, they start to take their eyes off their children. And while they have been looking the other way, evil has crept in. Every parent's biggest nightmare is about to come true....