The Author's Wife
Two women. Two betrayals. One storm that brings the truth to light.
The author’s wife, eighty-year-old former actress Ivy Montclaire, returns to the small Scottish island where her husband, Terence Nightingale, fell to his death in 1976. She and Terence adored each other. They were the picture-perfect celebrity couple of the 1970s, partying with the rich and famous at their friends’ house, Hollow Pines.
Now a hotel, Hollow Pines is the last place Ivy wants to be. But she is determined to confront the ghosts - and the guilt – that have haunted her for fifty years.
Meanwhile, Catrina, a young barista, is visiting the hotel for a weekend of wine-tasting with friends, meant to distract her from the disappearance of her fiancé. But when a raging storm cancels the ferry home, she finds herself trapped in the hotel’s library… with one of Terence Nightingale’s novels.
What she discovers changes everything.
As past and present collide, Ivy is forced to confront the truth she has avoided for half a century, and Catrina must decide whether some secrets should stay buried or be brought into the light. Both women will learn that grief can warp a life… but the truth can set it free.
Haunting, atmospheric, and ultimately hopeful, The Author’s Wife is a dual-timeline tale of betrayal, reconciliation, and the courage to begin again—at any age.
The Murder of Mrs Chadwick
In Lancashire, 1976, a ​quiet village is rocked by the shocking murder of Miriam Chadwick in her own home in the early evening.
Leading the investigation is Detective Inspector Elena Holt. She is determined to untangle a web of secrets and lies.
There are three suspects:
Jack Chadwick, Miriam’s reclusive son, who is found covered in blood;
Angela Bennett, a florist with a criminal past, who is seen in the wrong place at the wrong time;
Reverend Adam Hargreaves, a man of God, who has sins to hide.
Elena’s estranged friend, Claire Simons, is now a private investigator in the village. Elena hopes she can shed some light on the investigation, but what Elena discovers drives a wedge further between them.
As the case deepens, old wounds resurface, and loyalties are tested. For some, the truth is salvation. For others, it is ruin.
In a village where everyone has something to hide, who will pay the price for the ultimate betrayal?
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The Brief
On an ordinary Friday afternoon, a gunman gains entry to Whites Chambers in Manchester. His job is to find a particular barrister. But which one?
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The barristers work hard defending and prosecuting the unfortunate beings who find themselves at the mercy of the English criminal legal system. But when professional lines between them and Manchester’s organised crime group are crossed, it can only lead to trouble.
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Samantha has no idea that her husband is working for the gang. He wants to stop. But once you’re in, you’re in, they tell him. There’s no way out.
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Robert's gambling habit is ruining his career. One bad decision leads to another - and another.
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Sebastian used to love being a barrister. But then he receives two death threats in one day.
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Jamilla doesn't know about her father's death threats. She has a lot on her plate right now. When Samantha mysteriously disappears, she has to find out why. Does Alistair know where she is?
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An Unfortunate Situation
In Windermere in 1908, a young housemaid named Violet grapples with secrets and sacrifices in a world that offers her very little choice.
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She is pregnant, unmarried, and in love with Ernest Compton, the son of her employers. She hopes to be able to marry him, but Violet is given a cruel ultimatum by Ernest's mother - she must sell the baby to them, to be raised by Ernest's childless aunt and uncle, or be cast out with no reference.
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Violet agrees, hoping that Ernest will fight for her, and is sent away to the family's holiday home in Bowness-on-Windermere to have the baby alone.
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In Cumberland, she finds unexpected strength and support from Clara, who wants to be a suffragette. She promises Violet that times are changing for women like them.
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This is an emotional story about female friendship, love and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of a beautiful old house.
Just Breathe
Charlotte is a young lawyer living in London, with the world at her feet. She has a luxury flat, a sports car and plenty of money, yet she is unhappy and the job that she used to love now gives her panic attacks.
On the advice of her doctor, she takes some time off work to de-stress and hires a cottage in a small coastal village of Warkworth, Northumberland. But will the lack of wi-fi and London conveniences cause her even more stress?
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Linda, a resident of Warkworth, is a middle-aged woman who has never had a career, never travelled out of the country and lives under the control of her violent and abusive husband. When her husband goes missing, an over-zealous police officer begins to suspect that she is hiding something and is determined to arrest her for his murder.
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As Linda struggles to convince him of her innocence, the two women cross paths and forge a friendship, despite the twenty year age gap.
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A beautiful novel with strong female characters.
Unexpected Storm
Unexpected Storm is the sequel to Just Breathe.
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After escaping her stressful life in London and ditching her job as a solicitor in a prestigious city centre law firm, Charlotte has settled in Warkworth, a small village on the Northumberland coast. Her relationship with Liam is going well and she is looking forward to working for herself.
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Linda is embracing middle-age. She has taken early retirement and bought herself a bungalow overlooking the river. After finally leaving her vile husband, Phil, she too is her own boss.
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Both women have taken control of their destinies and are setting their own pace of life.
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But unexpected storms always arise when everything is just beginning to look perfect.
Forever Hold
Your Peace
Audrina and Gwen both have careers in the public eye, loving husbands, and reputations to maintain. When you have it all, there is so much more to lose.
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Neither of them has talked to anyone about what happened at university all those years ago. The catastrophic events following their night out at The Pendle Bar have haunted them ever since.
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The public would find it hard to believe that the newsreader they see every morning on their television, and the beautiful, famous model who smiles at them from magazine pages are responsible for such a terrible crime. But then again, people love a fall from grace.
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For almost twenty years, Gwen and Audrina have avoided each other and have kept their secret hidden. Until a wedding invitation arrives, which brings the past hurtling into the present.
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Guilt, desperation, love, and loss entwine this story. Revelations, twists and turns come throughout.