Showing results by publisher "Bookouture" in All Categories

When the down-on-his-luck Emory Fulton moves into the crumbling Magpie Lodge and starts running historical tours, the locals are none too pleased. He’s inventing grisly tales about their lovely little village and disturbing everyone’s peace. But then he’s found dead in his bath, and everyone is suddenly running scared. Could something strange be happening? After all, the murder mirrors one of Fulton’s stories about Saxford’s dark past.

Fifteen-year-old Rosie lies in hospital fighting for her life. She’s trying to tell her mother what happened to her, but she can’t speak the words out loud. Toni is a doting and over-protective mother, terrified for her daughter’s life. Having lost her husband in a tragic accident, Toni has dedicated her life to keeping Rosie safe from harm. She needs to know what secrets Rosie has been keeping and how she ended up in a hospital bed - but Toni has a secret of her own....

Jessie has always known she doesn’t belong, but she thought that would change when she met Adam. But pretending to be someone you’re not isn’t easy. Dolly works hard to keep up appearances, but what’s the point of only eating salad when her boyfriend Josh always seems distracted? Emily couldn’t be happier, and then her boyfriend Mark proposes just as some shocking news sends her life spiralling out of control. Jessie, Dolly, and Emily’s paths will cross in the most unexpected of ways. And as their stories collide, their lives will take a turn you’ll never predict.

Melanie Oak appeared to have the perfect life. Married to her childhood sweetheart, Jacob, the couple live with their beautiful, loving, teenage daughter, Beth, in a pretty village. Nothing can shake her happiness -- until the day that Beth goes missing, and is discovered beaten almost to the point of death, her broken body lying in a freezing creek on the marshes near their home. Consumed with grief, Melanie is determined to find her daughter's attacker. Someone in the village must have seen something. Why won't they talk?

When a girl's body is found at a Midlands storage unit, it is too decomposed for Detective Robyn Carter to read the signs left by the killer. No one knows the woman in blue who rented the unit; her hired van can't be traced. But as the leads run dry, another body is uncovered. This time the killer's distinctive mark is plain to see, and matching scratches on the first victim's skeleton make Robyn suspect she's searching for a serial killer.

When twenty-three-year-old Hannah Kelly finds out that the beautiful rolling hills around her hometown could be destroyed by a new building development, she rushes back to Emerald Bay to rally the community. But arriving home at The Shamrock Inn, there’s another shock in store… the handsome and sparkling-eyed lead developer, Tom Flynn, has checked in as a guest. Is this Hannah’s chance to save the village?

I look at our neighbours gathered in the garden for our annual summer barbeque, sipping chilled wine and smiling at my two daughters sprawled on the grass. I go inside to help refill glasses and then I hear it. A shrill scream that stops me in my tracks. I race outdoors to silence, a sea of bewildered faces. My first thought is for my girls, but they are there unhurt. With relief, we push the chilling sound to the back of our minds, returning to our drinks and conversations like it never happened.

London, 1942: Thirteen-year-old Nell and five-year-old Olive are being sent away from home to escape the devastation of the East End during the Blitz. Leaving behind their beloved mother and brothers, they don’t know if they will ever see them again. As the sisters adjust to their new life in a close-knit Welsh village, they gradually find hope in the friendships they make. And Nell kindles a special bond with fellow evacuee Jimmy, who makes her smile even at the hardest of times. But when little Olive’s safety is threatened, Nell makes a decision that will change their lives forever.

France, 1939: When Jewish refugee Hannah Lerner and her beloved younger sister Lotte arrive in a small French town alone, with no family to turn to, Hannah takes her sister’s trembling hands in hers and promises they will not be separated, no matter what… But when a children’s home offers refuge to Lotte, Hannah has no choice. To keep her sister safe, she has to let her go. And as she leaves Lotte weeping at the gates, she vows that one day they will be together again. Terrified and alone, Hannah is soon rescued by Michel, a charming Frenchman who welcomes her into his home.

When Emmy Jamieson arrives at La Cour des Roses, a beautiful guesthouse in the French countryside, she can't wait to spend two weeks relaxing with boyfriend Nathan. Their relationship needs a little TLC, and Emmy is certain this holiday will do the trick. But they've barely unpacked before he scarpers with Gloria, the guesthouse owner's cougar wife. Rupert, the ailing guesthouse owner, is shell-shocked. Feeling somewhat responsible - and rather generous after a bottle (or so) of wine - heartbroken Emmy offers to help.

Sixteen-year-old Emily had everything to live for, a bright, beautiful teenager with a promising future ahead of her. But in one night her life is cut short. The police say it’s an accident, but her parents think she was murdered. When Detective Rachel Prince is called in to investigate the shocking death at the height of the Edinburgh Festival, her instincts tell her that things are not as they first appear. Something is very wrong. Rachel discovers a chilling link with the suspicious death of another international student, who stayed in the same house as Emily two years earlier.

Little Lorna Bell is from a notorious family on a rundown estate. Everyone thinks she's a nasty piece of work. The schoolchildren call her a thief. But Lorna's hair is matted, her shoes pinch her feet, and school teacher Claire Penny can't help herself; some kids just need a bit more support, a bit more love, than the rest. As the bond between teacher and pupil grows stronger, Claire sees Lorna's bruises, and digs to uncover the disturbing tale behind them. Heartbroken, Claire knows she has to act. She must make Lorna safe.

When a child’s scream pierces the night, Mira does what any good neighbor would do: She calls the police. She wants to make sure that Rosie, the little girl next door, is safe. Opening her front door to the police the next morning, Gemma's picture-perfect family is forced under scrutiny of social services. As her flawless life begins to crumble around her, Gemma must fight to defend the family she loves and protect her daughter from the terrible secret she's been keeping. When Rosie disappears without a trace, Gemma thinks she only has herself to blame....

For Emily Tate, returning to her charming childhood home Oyster Bay is like coming up for air after the fast pace of her city life. At the farm her grandfather built, surrounded by sister Rachel’s chatter, Gram’s butter biscuits, and the soft, white sand, Emily is reminded exactly who she is and what she holds most dear. When Emily starts work at elegant Water’s Edge Inn, Charles Peterson, the handsome new owner, asks for her help. He wants to expand and needs Emily to teach him the local ways, so he can convince the planning commission....

Three sisters. Three childhoods ruined. One chance to heal the scars of the past. After their death of their cruel and abusive mother, estranged sisters Alex, Catherine and Beth reunite once again.

Six-year-old Lola Jade Harper is taken from her bedroom. Her mother is distraught. She is convinced her estranged husband, Gavin Harper, has abducted their daughter. Detective Rachel Prince is leading the investigation but is soon out of her depth as she searches for the most high-profile missing child in the country. To uncover the truth about Lola’s disappearance, Rachel must untangle the Harper family’s complicated web of secrets and lies.

Emma thought she had the perfect life: a beautiful home, a loving husband, and a gorgeous son. She was wrong. When she wakes up to find herself in hospital, Emma has no memory of how she got there or why her husband and son won’t come to see her. What happened to Emma’s family? Emma is desperate to find out what happened - and that her loved ones are safe - but remembering the truth could be the most dangerous thing of all....

When a young mother is found drowned in the bath, clutching a receipt saying 'all debts paid', Detective Robyn Carter knows it's just the beginning of a harrowing case. She recognizes the signs of a serial killer, and when a second victim with a receipt is found, her worst fears are confirmed. With the local press whipping the public into a frenzy, Robyn is under pressure to solve the crime yesterday. But her team can't find a link between the two bodies, and the cracks are starting to show.

Keira North falls to her death at a party. What initially seems like it could be an accident is soon revealed to be something far more sinister as Detectives Alex King and Chloe Lane are called in to investigate the secrets and lies that link a group of four friends. The detectives soon find that all of Keira's three closest friends have secrets that someone would kill to keep. As Alex and Chloe are fighting their own demons and struggling to stay on top of the case, Keira's killer is circling the group of friends, who one by one find that their lives are in danger....

The boy studied the bruise turning yellow at the base of his neck. With quick fingers his mother tightened his tie and pulled his collar high above it. Her eyes alone said, We will not speak of this.... Years later a man is found shot dead in a local park. On his phone is a draft text: I can’t keep this secret any longer. The recipient is unnamed. Detective Robyn Carter knows this secret is the key to the case, but his friends and family don’t offer any clues, and all her team have to go on is a size-ten footprint.