One morning before classes start, Emily Turner sees something in her school's hallway that brings her to a dead stop—Locker 24 is open. That locker has been shut for over two decades, and no one is allowed to talk about it or ask about it...and certainly not touch it. But Emily's heard the rumors. She knows she should report it immediately. As a straight-A student and yearbook editor, Emily always does The Right Thing. But this time she just can't. Instead, she finds herself unable to resist looking in the forbidden locker—and begins a journey that will change her life forever.

Liera has never known a time without tormentors. As the pandemic shuts her away, she expects to finally be free from the bullying. Instead, isolation, cyberbullying, and her own doubts leave her in shambles as depression and self-harm tear her apart. Convinced she would only be a burden in their already stressful lives, she tries to hide how much she is hurting from her family. But in order to save her from the lies in her mind, Liera must open up or her family may never notice the signs. "The Voices I Face" is the eighth story in Moments Late, a series of short stories.

Part memoir, part sweeping journalistic saga: As Casey Parks follows the mystery of a stranger's past, she is forced to reckon with her own sexuality, her fraught Southern identity, her tortured yet loving relationship with her mother, and the complicated role of faith in her life.When Casey Parks came out as a lesbian in college back in 2002, she assumed her life in the South was over. Her mother shunned her, and her pastor asked God to kill her. But then Parks's grandmother, a stern conservative who grew up picking cotton, pulled her aside and revealed a startling secret. "I grew up across the street from a woman who lived as a man," and then implored Casey to find out what happened to him. Diary of a Misfit is the story of Parks's life-changing journey to unravel the mystery of Roy Hudgins, the small-town country singer from grandmother’s youth, all the while confronting ghosts of her own.For ten years, Parks traveled back to rural Louisiana and...

'Incredible. One of those rare books that should be dispensed on prescription to every household - captures the full glossary of emotion that goes with this role.' - Lucy Easthope, author of When the Dust Settles'Hilarious, bitter, poignant and profound . . . like an existential soap opera - only with more laughs.' - Philip Hoare, author of LeviathanIt was the kind of phone call we all dread. Your elderly father has been admitted to hospital. He's not well and he needs your help. Your mum is about to be left at home alone. She needs you too. The answer? Simple. Drop everything. Go. Just be there. Just help. The reality? Not so straightforward. Suddenly, you're a kid again, stranded in the overheated house you grew up in. They need you 24/7, that much is obvious. And you want to help, of course you do. But soon your life starts to unravel almost as quickly as their health.In between bouts of washing, feeding, cooking and fighting there...

Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, is the Nizam of Hyderabad, the largest Princely State of the Crown. It sits in the belly of newly independent India to which Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel want Hyderabad to accede. The Communists have concurrentlymounted a state-wide rebellion.But the Nizam's family has ruled Hyderabad for 200 years. As the wealthiest man in the world, whom the British consider numero uno amongst India's princes, he will not deal with two-penny Indian politicians! An ancient prophecy, however, hangs over the Nizam -the Asaf Jahi dynasty will last only seven generations. So, he keeps his jewel-laden trucks ready for flight even as he schemes with his army of militant Razakars.Meanwhile, in the palace thick with intrigue, the maid Uzma must decide where her loyalties lie: with the peasantry or the Nizam. Among the Communist recruits, Jaabili finds love in unexpected quarters. Violence escalates and lawlessness mounts. Caught...

A Royal Dickens Romance! Krissy Kringle's dream of owning her own business and settling into a community with her ten-year-old daughter, Merry, came alive when she moved to the Christmas village of Dickens. The dream happened with hard work, sacrifice, and a bucket-load of luck—but Kringle's Diner now exists, and business is booming, even if she is beyond weary doing the work of three people. So, she hires a man who frequents the diner. He needs the work, or so it seems. Thing is, he comes with a huge Bernese Mountain dog named Prince, who takes up residence in the corner booth every day with Merry. Krissy tells herself she can deal with it—help in the kitchen trumps a few dog germs. Right? Contrary to popular belief around Dickens, Max Alexander (aka Alex Maxwell) is not homeless, but royalty. Alexander Henrik Vincent Maxwell III, Prince of Beldova, heir apparent to the throne, is searching for something....

In 1848, African American slaves Ellen and William hatch a plan to break free from their captivity and ensure that their future children will never be torn from them. The escape plan is ingenious, if borderline ludicrous. They depart Georgia in broad daylight with Ellen, born of a white slave owner and Black woman, disguised as a white Southern gentleman. With William at her side, she must adopt the mannerisms and bigotry of her enslavers, hiding the fact that neither she nor William can read or write, and overcomes multiple, near-death obstacles in the bid for freedom. Based on Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, this original, intimate vignette paints a portrait from the female perspective of an infamous escape, and displays the bravery of one woman in the face of impossible odds.

Joyous, warm and utterly charming - I smiled for days.' - Toni Jordan

Lies and double-crosses, secret police and explosions, a carriage chase, a mattress stuffed with cash and a one-eyed master of disguise...In 1907, the revolutionary Joseph Djugashvili – who would later take the name Joseph Stalin – met with an old friend, a clerk at the Tiflis branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, for a glass of milk. Over talk of national pride, the spirit of the new century and Djugashvili's poetry, they agreed the beginnings of a plan. With the aid of the Outfit, Djugashvili's hardened crew of "expropriators," they would pull off the biggest, bloodiest and most daring robbery in Georgia's history, and ruthlessly change the direction of the Bolshevik revolution forever...

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Buzzfeed · Bookbub · BookTrib · and more!Two women, two countries. Nothing in common but a call to fight.A heart-stopping new novel based on the extraordinary true stories of an American socialite and a British secret agent whose stunning acts of courage collide in the darkest hours of World War II. 1940. In a world newly burning with war, and in spite of her American family’s wishes, Virginia d’Albert-Lake decides to stay in occupied France with her French husband. She’s sure that if they keep their heads down, they’ll survive. But is surviving enough? Nineteen-year-old Violette Szabo has seen the Nazis’ evil up close and is desperate to fight them. But when she meets the man who’ll change her life only for tragedy to strike, Violette’s adrift. Until she enters the radar...

A hauntingly beautiful, gripping novel about Lapland's buried history of Nazi crimes against the Sámi peopleWinner of the Savonia PrizeFinnish Lapland, 1944: a young soldier is called to work as an interpreter at a Nazi prison camp. Surrounded by cruelty and death, he struggles to hold on to his humanity. When peace comes, the crimes are buried beneath the snow and ice.A few years later, journalist Inkeri is assigned to investigate the rapid development of remote Western Lapland. Her real motivation is more personal: she is following a lead on her husband, who disappeared during the war. Finding a small community riven with tension and suspicion of outsiders, Inkeri slowly begins to uncover traces of disturbing facts that were never supposed to come to light.From this starkly beautiful polar landscape emerges a story of silenced histories and ongoing oppression, of human brutality and survival.

BOXING DAY - LONDON 1923Camille has planned a visit to Selfridges, the celebrated department store in Oxford Street, London. The store is decorated like a winter wonderland she has heard tell, the epitome of sophisticated chic. After the intense few days she and Cecily had had in Brighton, followed by a hectic Christmas Day where board games and fun and laughter were the order of the day, she decided a trip to the Selfridges Christmas Grotto would be quite the thing, The centrepiece of Harry Selfridges Christmas store had been the talk of London, a pièce de résistance she had read in The Times. An exquisite theatrical event they should not miss. She felt that nothing would delight Ottiie and Amandine more. Accompanied by her loyal maid and friend, Cecily Nugent, they arrive at Selfridges giggling with excitement, but unknown to them their afternoon of delights was to take a very different turn. Yet again Camille and Cecily are called upon to utilise their sleuthing skills to find a murderer. But will our girls discover who turned the Christmas Dream into a nightmare? And will Christmas ever be the same again?Amazon Review - THE CHRISTMAS TREE MURDERS - A really lovely book set in the 1920's. Camille and her maid plus other acquaintances have the murders of three women and a horse to help the police with. Then there is also a missing ladies maid to be found. Camille has a few obstacles to get past including men who think they know best. I really enjoyed reading this book.MURDER AT THE CHRISTMAS GROTTO is the fourth book in the Camille Divine Murder Mysteries series. Camille and Cecily expect a well-earned rest after their adventure in Brighton, but it is not to be. And of course, when a mystery is there to be solved, our fabulous lady sleuths must solve it.The Camille Divine Mysteries Series will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie, Agatha Raisin, Downton Abbey, Father Brown by G K Chesterton, The Miss Fischer series, and the contemporary series, Midsomer Murders.