Kindle Purchases

The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy (99p)

Local librarian Hanna Casey is wondering where it all went wrong …
Driving her mobile library van through Finfarran’s farms and villages, she tries not to think of the sophisticated London life she abandoned when she left her cheating husband. Or that she’s now stuck in her crotchety mum’s spare bedroom.
With her daughter Jazz travelling the world and her relationship with her mother growing increasingly fraught, Hanna decides to reclaim her independence.
Then, when the threatened closure of her library puts her plans in jeopardy, she finds herself leading a battle to restore the heart and soul of the fragmented community.
Will she also find the new life she’s been searching for?

Broken Arrow by Matthew Pritchard (FREE)

The discovery of a disinterred corpse at one of Andalusia’s Spaghetti Western theme parks catapults investigative reporter
Danny Sanchez into a story with potentially earth-shattering consequences…

Initially set on the trail of a brutal killer who burns his first victim alive, Danny soon begins to realise that much more lies behind the killer’s actions than the work of a madman.

He soon starts to question whether the man he is chasing is, after all, the true villain.

As Danny pokes and prods in his quest to get the documents and interviews he needs to prove his story, he unsettles a number of powerful people who would much rather see him dead than let the public know the devastating truth of what’s happening in the urbanisation of Bellavista.

This places not only his own life at risk, but that of his photographer friend and colleague, Paco Pino, and even his girlfriend, Marsha.

Yet even this fails to deter him from his quest to reveal the truth about a corporate cover-up that endangers the lives of thousands…

Based on a real-life accident in which the American Air Force dropped three H-bombs onto southern Spain in 1966, contaminating substantial swathes of arable land with highly dangerous plutonium dust, Broken Arrowkeeps its readers guessing until the end as Danny races to uncover the story that others are willing to kill to keep hidden…

The May Queen by Helen Irene Young (FREE)

It all began beside the mill pond. Honest, fair and eager to please, fifteen-year-old May has a secret, and not of her own making. She wears it like an invisible badge, sewn to her skin, as though Ma stitched it there herself. It rubs only when she thinks of Sophie, Pa or the other name that’s hidden there; that no one knows about.

Caught in an inevitable net of change, May joins the Wrens, leaving her Cotswolds home for war-torn London and the Blitz. As a dispatch rider, she navigates
the city by day and night, surviving love and loss throughout a blackout of remembered streets and wrong turns.

Night after night, the bombs drop and, like those around her, she takes cover in the shadows when they do. But May is waiting for a greater shadow to lift, one which will see the past explode into the present.

A tale of one girl’s search for love and belonging, The May Queen is a debut novel that goes to the heart of what family means and finding your place in it.

Catching the Sunlight by Amy Myers (FREE)

This is the tale of two great love stories.

There’s Lucia, a young optimist looking to make her mark with her new biography, and falling for David, a man who seems irrationally against the project.

And there’s the subject of her biography, Charles, a talented artist with a mysterious past who had a love affair with a dazzling countess.

Both love stories seem doomed. David’s lack of faith in Lucia sours their relationship, turning them almost into enemies. But Charles has much bigger problems – his love story takes place in Budapest in World War Two and terrible forces are at work.

Somewhere in this book lies a cruel betrayal. Somewhere in this book lies a tender love story. Perhaps Charles’ artwork, kept after his death, holds the key to both.

Lucia’s job is to find that key and unlock the truth, with or without David’s help…

Set against the backdrop of World War II Budapest, Catching the Sunlight is heartfelt tale of true love.

Deadly Intent by David McGlone (FREE)

Mark Rennie is a serial killer. After taking the lives of four women during his college years, he’s now a free man…

While in prison, he wrote a book attempting to clear his name, as he wants to change his image. He also wants revenge on the people who put him away.

Dr Aldous ‘Al’ Andrews wrote the profile that led to Rennie being caught. He also wrote a book about the case, becoming a little bit famous in the process. When he sees Rennie walking free, he knows his old nemesis is in no way a changed man.

DCI Peter Marlin helped bring Rennie to justice. While working on another case with Al, the case of a serial killer named the Phantom who targeted prostitutes, fellow DCI Sue Scott was killed. Scott believed that Al was a likely suspect in the killings, and when she died, with Al nearby, Marlin started to wonder about his friend and colleague, Dr. Al.

It’s not too long before Rennie is on the talk show circuit, peddling his book. When he appears on the Linda Dear Show, Dr Al is also a guest. Al hopes to show the world that Rennie is still an evil, twisted man, but Rennie gets the upper hand, making a fool of Al. It’s now a battle between the two, a battle that will only end in death.

Jeff Stanley is a reporter for the Herald. Tired of hack journalism, he decides to write a series of articles about the people connected to the Phantom case, and reveal the kinky secrets he discovers. And no one is safe, including Lara, Al’s young, gorgeous girlfriend, Al, Rennie and DCI Marlin.

When a body appears, a body bearing the same MO as the now dead Phantom, DCI Marlin is not sure what to think. Marlin is not sure if they have a copycat, or if maybe the Phantom was the wrong man to begin with.  And when he learns one of the dead prostitutes had been booked by a man named Al Andrews, Marlin and the police take notice.

Ella’s Ice Cream Summer by Sue Watson (99p)

Ella’s life just hit rock-bottom, but can a summer by the sea mend her broken heart? When life gives you lemons… make ice-cream!

Life hasn’t always been easy for single mum Ella, but she has just hit an all-time low; she’s jobless, loveless, very nearly homeless and, to make matters worse, now the owner of a pocket-sized pooch with a better wardrobe than her.

Packing her bags (and a bigger one for the dog), Ella sets off for the seaside town of Appledore in Devon to re-live the magical summers of her youth and claim her portion of the family ice-cream business: a clapped-out ice-cream van and a complicated mess of secrets.

There she meets gorgeous and free-spirited solicitor, Ben, who sees things differently: with a little bit of TLC he has a plan to get the van – and Ella – back up and running in no time.

The Will by Jane Mann (FREE)

Set in 1996, Jane Mann’s crime and mystery novel, The Will, follows the story of Hannah Delaney, aged 27, who returns from Hong Kong to England to unravel a mystery surrounding her father and his will. Her investigations lead her through layers of obstruction, deceit and manipulation, which reveal disturbing psychological motives and criminal intent that puts her life in danger. How will she cope with the mysteries that unfold in front of her? Will love from a new encounter change her perspective, or will she find only hate and deceit?

Readers will identify with Hannah as she has to come to terms with grief, uncertainty and isolation in her pursuit of the truth and justice. The Will is a story of suspense and action but one which explores also a seeming evil and the affect of the past on one’s imagination and its conflict with the future. It deals, in addition, with the problem of a very obsessive and self-centred character, Hugo, and how he impacts on Hannah’s story.

Seasons of Change by June Walker Smith (FREE)

Set in England and the south of France, Seasons of Change is a contemporary romance following the lives of four women, three of whom are approaching forty. All four have very different lifestyles. Their stories interweave and are tinged with joy, humour, sadness and regrets.

Chloe is struggling in a long-term relationship with a married man. Will she find the courage to end the relationship and move on, or will she continue to remain the brow-beaten ‘other woman’?

Sarah appears to have it all – she’s attractive, wealthy and an incorrigible flirt but will she ever be truly happy? What price is she prepared to pay to achieve ultimate happiness?

Linda has only ever loved one man – her husband Mike, who died in an accident when she was pregnant with their daughter. Whilst excitedly preparing to become a grandmother for the first time she is hit by a serious illness. How will her own daughter, Emma, react when faced with emotional turmoil?

Sam is searching for someone to share her life with and is desperate to meet ‘Mr Right’. Her quest follows her experiences with dating agencies until she meets Dan. But is he really the right man for her?

Whilst celebrating their fortieth birthdays in the south of France, Sarah is viciously attacked and left for dead. Is her attack the catalyst that causes her life, and eventually Chloe’s, to be changed irrevocably?

Giveaways/Wins

Little Gold by Allie Rogers. With many thanks to the author for a signed copy and Wendy at Little Bookness Lane who alerted me to the giveaway.

The heat is oppressive and storms are brewing in Brighton in the summer of 1982. Little Gold, a boyish girl on the brink of adolescence, is struggling with the reality of her broken family and a home descending into chaos. Her only refuge is the tree at the end of her garden.

Into her fractured life steps elderly neighbour, Peggy Baxter. The connection between the two is instant, but just when it seems that Little Gold has found solace, outsiders appear who seek to take advantage of her frail family in the worst way possible. In an era when so much is hard to speak aloud, can Little Gold share enough of her life to avert disaster? And can Peggy Baxter, a woman running out of time and with her own secrets to bear, recognise the danger before it’s too late?

That’s all for this week. Hope you find something that might tempt you to try a different genre or lead you to discover a new author.