Showing results by publisher "Zaffre" in All Categories

August 1914. Twelve-year-old Mattie and her little sister, Evie, lead an idyllic life in the Suffolk countryside, playing in the meadows and picking watercress in the streams. Living with their family in Plough Cottage, little do they know that this perfect childhood will soon come to an end with the start of the First World War. As the years pass the girls go on to live very different lives. Mattie travels from Suffolk to Plymouth and then to Canada and America, whilst Evie remains in England and pursues her career.

Wales, 1883: Young Ruth Owen, a talented musician with a scholarship to a prestigious music school, has a sparkling career ahead of her. But after a run-in with her mysterious tutor, she flees to London, leaving everything and everyone behind. Fourteen years later, Ruth, now married with two children, finds herself struggling for money and a place to live. Left with no other option, they decide to return to Wales and live on a canal boat. Life on the canals may seem idyllic, but what troubles await her return? And can the past ever truly be forgotten?

Elisha Rowe has her heart set on one thing and one thing only: putting her hometown back on the map. So, when she gets the chance to secure the long-hoped-for sequel to Sleighbells Under Starlight, she's willing to do whatever it takes to make sure everything goes smoothly. Unfortunately, that includes claiming to have already gotten permission to film at the town's historic Christmas House-permission she was very much denied by the mysterious new owner.

Ramona Matthews has a dream: to launch a size-inclusive clothing line. She even had a plan - she was down to the final two pitching their designs at the fashion house she works for. She's a shoo-in, surely? Apparently not. Realising there is little inclusivity in the exclusive world of haute couture, Ramona bids ciao for now to her old life and heads to Italy for inspiration (and gelato). Determined to prove herself, Ramona rents a room in a Tuscan village where the locals are sceptical - particularly the infuriating Marco, who seems to be there whenever she makes a fool of herself.

Spring 1900. Ever since she was nine years old, Mairi McGloughlin has known she wants to be a farmer, but by the law of the land it's her scholarly brother, Ian, who will someday inherit. The next best thing might be to marry a farmer, and charming, confident Jack could be the perfect answer. But then there's Robin, her brother's best friend, more a man of books than of the land - and yet there's something about him.... But with the outbreak of the Great War, their choices change completely, and neither Mairi, Ian nor Robin can hope to escape unscathed.

When criminal justice lawyer Joanna Chylka is tasked with defending the son of Zelasny & McVay's biggest client, she is stumped for the first time. Assisted by average law graduate and the firm's newest mentee, Kordian Orynski, they find himself in a maze of tangled evidence. Piotr Langer Junior has been charged with Article 148: murder with exceptional brutality. He is alleged to have sat in his apartment for ten days with two rotting corpses, before calmly opening the door to the police dressed in a light blue dressing gown, as though nothing had ever happened.

Sunny grew in the mother and baby home on Grove Lane, London. The daughter of a wartime nurse and a Polish pilot, she was abandoned by her mother shortly after her birth and taken in by Nan, the warm and gentle proprietor of the home. Never having known her parents, Sunny has always felt like she doesn't quite fit in, but now, at 16 years old, she is ready to find her place in the world. Heading out to start her first job, she finally feels she has some idea of who she wants to be. As 1950s post-war London is changing at a rapid pace, so is Sunny.

Freya Butterly has always dreamed of being a head chef, but despite running every service at the Mediterranean restaurant, she still doesn't get the recognition she deserves. Craving adventure and a real taste of the Mediterranean, Freya takes matters into her own hands, ditching both her job and unsympathetic boyfriend and packing her bags for sunny Cyprus in pursuit of the prestigious Golden Spoon culinary award.

For psychological profiler Hanne Lagerlind-Schön, life is good. She and her partner, investigator Peter Lindgren, have just returned from a dream holiday in Greenland, and the symptoms of her early onset dementia seem to be under control. Then they are asked to go to the small, sleepy industrial town of Ormberg to investigate a cold case: 10 years earlier a five-year-old girl's remains were found in a cairn near the town. With her dementia creeping back again, Hanne starts to keep a diary noting down everything she is likely to forget.

It is 1865, the American Civil War has just ended and 18-year old Vita Tenney is determined to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a country doctor like her father. But when her father tells her she must get married instead, Vita explores every means of escape - and finds one in the person of war veteran Jacob Culhane. Damaged by what he's seen in battle and with all his family gone, Jacob is seeking investors for a fledgling business. Then he meets Vita - and together they hatch a plan that should satisfy both their desires.

Four men gather in Stockholm. Each has existed on the fringes of Stockholm society. Each has a past that just won't let him go. Then a plan falls into their laps. A plan to steal millions from the largest cash facility in Sweden. At first the scheme seems foolproof, every contingency covered, every detail planned perfectly. But is everyone involved who they say they are? Can they ever really hope to pull off such an extraordinary crime?

Not everything is down to Fate but, when it comes to love, the right people must collide to keep the world running to plan. Immortal cupids, known as Apollo agents, spend their afterlife matching up pre-destined couples to sign off their daily quota. Love cynic, Erron Grover, and hopeless romantic, Casey Hart, are two such agents based in London. They live an afterlife of luxury until several of their assignments result in a bizarre series of deaths.

By day Judith Rashleigh is a put-upon assistant at a London auction house. By night she's a hostess in one of the capital's unsavoury bars. Desperate to make something of herself, Judith knows she has to play the game. She's learned to dress, speak and act in the interests of men. She's learned to be a good girl. But after uncovering a dark secret at the heart of the art world, Judith is fired and her dreams of a better life are torn apart. So she turns to a long-neglected friend. A friend that kept her chin up and back straight through every past slight. A friend that a good girl like her shouldn't have: rage.

Who have you spoken to about me? What do you know about Operation Wahasha? What have you told Detective Sara Nowak? These are the last words priest Jürgen Stiller hears before he is executed by a former terrorist known only by the codename 'Faust'. Then the killer begins the hunt for Detective Sara Nowak.

Orphaned at a young age, Rosa has always looked out for her younger sister, Grace, protecting her from the dangers and bullies of the workhouse. So when Grace is suddenly faced with a world without Rosa, she finds herself alone and forced to make difficult decisions about her future. Can she really walk away from everything she has built to protect the children Rosa has left behind? Returning to the gang-ruled streets of East London, Grace is determined to build a better future for herself and for the children of Bell Lane - no matter what the cost....

When ex-soldier-turned-teacher Jenni Wales sees 15-year-old Destiny's black eye, she's concerned. Destiny isn't your average student: she's smart, genius IQ smart, and she's in care. But concern turns to fear when Jenni witnesses an attempt to abduct Destiny from school. With social services and the police not taking the threat seriously, Jenni does the only thing she can think of to keep Destiny safe: she takes her. But the men that are after Destiny are close behind them. What can Destiny know that would make them hunt her? And can Jenni keep her safe?

As Christmas comes to the west cost of Iceland, a corpse is found in a fish farming pond. Detective Hildur Rúnarsdóttir and trainee Jakob Johanson barely have time to start their investigation before another body is discovered. And soon a third. While investigating the case, Hildur's lost sister weighs heavy on her mind. Meanwhile, Jakob travels to Finland for the hearing of his fraught custody battle, that leaves him facing dire consequences. As the number of deaths continues to grow, Hildur and Jakob are desperate to catch the killer before they strike again.

When Freya arrives at her dream job with the city's hottest start-up, she can't wait to begin a new and exciting life, including dating her new colleague Jay. However, Nicole, Jay's ex and fellow employee, seems intent on making her life a misery. After a big deadline, where Nicole continually picks on her, Freya snaps and tells Jay about the bullying, and together they concoct a revenge prank. The next morning, Nicole is found dead in her apartment....

It's 1915, and Ada, Jessie and Beatrice Saward live in a small Norfolk village with their parents. Their father, Harry, is the station master at Wolferton, the local stop for the Sandringham Estate. With members of the royal family and their guests passing through the train station on their way to Sandringham, the Saward family have a unique position within their small community.

Life is going well for Maria. Welcomed into the Saward family, she has secured herself a job as a maid for Queen Alexandra and is living with her family in a beautiful cottage on the Royal Sandringham estate. The luxuries and privilege associated with the royal family are a far cry from the poverty and suffering she endured before, though the royals, like the nation, are tightening their belts. But when a mysterious relative turns up, seemingly on the run from the law, Maria's new-found happiness could be under threat.