Showing results by publisher "Zaffre" in All Categories

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.

1906. A high-spirited, unconventional girl who can turn her hand to anything, Molly Sparkes is on the verge of a big adventure. At just eighteen, she is leaving her convent school in the heart of rural Kent to accompany the formidable Mrs Alexa Nagel on a tour of Australia, acting as her companion and nursemaid to Alexa's motherless granddaughter, Fay.

Erma Bridges dreams of violence. After years of dedication to academic research, her career is falling apart, all because of a mysterious workplace complaint. Erma suspects Jenny, a vindictive colleague, who has seemingly disappeared. Panicked, overworked and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Erma sets out to find Jenny. Through her search, she uncovers a dark series of crimes on campus - do they have something to do with Jenny's disappearance?

When her family is torn apart, can she find her place in the world? Emma is growing up in the beautiful Norfolk countryside with her family. Life seems idyllic, but little does she know things are about to change. Soon she finds her family split. Her younger siblings are destined for the workhouse whilst Emma takes a job as a cook in a wealthy London household. Then she meets a dashing young fireman. As Emma marries and her family grows, so does her happiness. Until tragedy strikes. Will Emma turn her life around once again?

The beach is quiet at night. The moon shines, the tide falls back, and a woman stands, waiting, watching for those who come to the shore only to walk into the sea. Nancy has lived on the coast for more years than she can remember. A famous actress in her younger days, she has since retreated from the world. Now her only aim is to persuade those who come to her beach to end their lives to go back to dry land, and try, once more, to live. But each time gets harder, and Nancy begins to fear she is no longer strong enough to save the lives of the desperate and hopeless.

There are rumours of war besetting the country but sisters Daisy, Violet and Holly Graham have other things on their minds. With the family smock mill keeping them busy and the local brewer boys turning their heads, the girls are looking forward to a summer of fun. But their plans soon come crashing to the ground as war is declared. As their brothers, Asa and Clem, and the three Brewer lads Ren, Alder and Rosen, all volunteer to do their part for the war effort and are shipped off, the women are left with the problem of how to keep the business running.

For over fifty years Egypt has known nothing but war and devastation at the hands of the Hyksos, a bloodthirsty barbarian people from the distant east who continue to advance, crushing armies in their wake. Times are desperate, but throughout the conflict, a brave resistance fights on under the great Taita, a slave who has risen far beyond his ranks. Piay, entrusted into Taita's care by his parents at the age of just five, has been trained to become a great spy, unmatched by any other.

Ipswich, 1923: After an unlucky start in her first role as a nursemaid, sixteen-year-old Elin Odell looks forward to seeing in the New Year at home. Little does she know, her family is changing and she has no idea what lies ahead. Having been offered the role as governess for the Lamberts in Middlesex, Elin quickly accepts, leaving her own family behind in Ipswich. But when tragedy strikes at her new home, Elin steps up to hold everyone together at the expense of her own happiness.

Nicole and her friends are living the dream. No dull, tedious retirement for them - instead the nine friends have clubbed together to purchase a magnificent (if crumbling) château in Normandy. And after three years of shared dinners, fine wine and gorgeous scenery, they have finally settled into a routine. But money for the upkeep of the château soon runs low and the make-shift family need to come up with a plan to keep their dream on track. They decide to set up as a B&B and soon the arrival of visitors brings a welcome new dynamic to their community.

You know Lara King. The top billing of the showbiz pages, you've seen her every morning: over your breakfast, on your commute to work. You know everything about her; you've dissected her life. Her perfect relationship with film star Matthew Raine. Her beautiful six-year-old daughter, Ava. And so when a terrible incident shatters the family's carefully constructed facade, a media frenzy ensues. What happens when the perfect woman begins to unravel? When her whole life is really just a lie? One she will do anything she can to stop you from finding out?

When a boarding school master at an exclusive boys' school is shot dead, it is deemed accidental. A lazy and usually drunk detective is sent to write up the report. Cardilini unexpectedly does not cooperate, as he becomes riled by the privileged arrogance of those at the school. He used to have instincts. Perhaps he should follow them now...With no real evidence he declares the shooting a murder and puts himself on a collision course with the powerful and elite of Perth. As he peels back layers, the school's dark secrets begin to emerge.

Mia Cordova's world imploded when her father was shot dead in front of her while singing a karaoke classic. The police insisted that his death was the result of a random barroom brawl - an open and shut case - but when, years later, another man is killed in the same way, singing the same song, Mia is convinced the two killings must be connected.

First, she must return home to spend the week with her siblings Zoe, Phinn and Poppy who, despite their best intentions, are quick to return to long-established battle lines. Waiting on the arrival of her best friend, Nora, for support against her family, Claudia starts to doubt her engagement and question her past relationships. What if her ex-boyfriend is really the one she should be with? Is downloading Tinder just before your wedding actually that bad? What if she wants to move to Malta? Or volunteer in the Philippines?

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.

Detective Hildur Rúnarsdottir and her trainee Jakob are plagued by their own demons while working on the chilly west coast of Iceland: Hildur by the disappearance of her younger sisters twenty-five years ago and Jakob by a custody battle that has left him unable to see his son. When a local politician is found shot dead on a ski trail, the two must put aside their personal problems to investigate the murder. While initially thought to be a crime of passion, there are much darker secrets hiding beneath the surface. Hildur and Jakob soon realise that even the dead can't stay buried forever.

Lottie has always followed the rules, her life is comfortable and she is - finally, finally - marrying her long-term, reliable boyfriend, Dean. Tina is carefree, wild and, maybe, just a little bit careless. She doesn't understand Lottie's obsession with settling down with 'dull Dean' - there's so much to explore in the world. The two sisters have drifted apart, living in different countries until the death of their older sister, Mia. Mia was the glue that held them together, made them a family, and without her Lottie and Tina realise how little they know each other.

At the dark heart of the Holocaust, there was a wooden hut whose walls were painted with cartoons; a place where children sang, staged plays and wrote poetry. Safely inside, but still in the shadow of the chimneys, they were given better food, kept free of vermin, and were even taught meditation to imagine full stomachs and a day without fear. The man who became their guiding light was a young Jewish prisoner named Fredy Hirsch. Historian and biographer Wendy Holden tells the inspirational and uplifting true story of Fredy Hirsch: The Teacher of Auschwitz.

Gillian Larkin is used to going unnoticed, until she is sent away to school and befriended by her roommate, the vibrant and spirited Violet Claybourne. As the Christmas holidays approach, Gilly can't believe her luck when Violet invites her to spend them at her home, the crumbling Thornleigh Hall. At Thornleigh, Gilly is dazzled by the family's faded grandeur, and above all by Violet's beguiling older sisters who seem to accept her as one of their own. But following an accident in the house's grounds, Gilly begins to realise the Claybourne sisters aren't quite what she thought they were.

Years of Hyksos rule have seen the ruin and suffering of a once-mighty Egypt. Though Pharaoh is now restored to his rightful throne, his power fragile as some seek to take advantage of the ensuing chaos following the overthrowing of the Hyksos. Desperate to unite the two divided kingdoms of Egypt under Pharaoh's rule, great mage Taita sends his protégé, Piay, to discover the answer to a millennia-old riddle which has the power to secure the fate of Egypt forever. But in the chaos of war, a dark evil has thrived.