Tags:city life
The Woman In My Home
An unputdownable thriller from Diana Wilkinson, author of the Number One bestseller The Girl in Seat 2A It was all meant to be so easy. Payback with a difference.I’d stay in Ballyholme, Northern Ireland, to decide whether to forgive my cheating husband, Ryan. Ciara, my new best friend, would stay in our London home, free of charge, until I made up my mind.The ruse certainly had its plus points: Ciara’s unexpected appearance would freak Ryan out, and my disappearance should make him regret his roving eye.But now I learn Ciara has evidence ... evidence that my husband has committed murder. And she’s no longer answering my texts and calls. Is it some sort of blackmail plot? More worrying, if Ryan is indeed a killer, could he strike again?A gripping thriller perfect for fans of Freida McFaddenPraise for Diana Wilkinson'A beautifully written thriller where even the clues are out to get you!' Gemma Rogers'A fast paced, edge of the seat thriller that's extremely well executed. I was gripped from the very first page!' L H Stacey'...this didn't disappoint. Clues upon clues upon clues kept me glued to the story. What a very clever book ... not a read for the faint-hearted!' Valerie Keogh'With a unique plot and superb writing, Ms Wilkinson has nailed this one! I'd give it 10 stars if I could' J A Baker‘This is one hell of a twisted book... I just could not put it down, superbly written right to the end.’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review‘This was one of those books that just flies in! There were some really good twists that I didn't see coming and literally had my jaw on the floor! A perfect summer read.’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reader Review
The Sidney Sheldon & Tilly Bagshawe Collection
From New York Times bestselling author Tilly Bagshawe, who upholds the late beloved author Sidney Sheldon's legacy, comes four blistering stories of revenge, passion, and betrayal that are a tribute to one of America's most popular and bestselling authors. Get four quintessential Sheldon novels in one e-book, including: Sidney Sheldon's After the Darkness, Sidney Sheldon's Angel of the Dark, Sidney Sheldon's Mistress of the Game, and Sidney Sheldon's The Tides of Memory.
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop
**AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER**WATERSTONES BEST FICTION BOOKS OF 2023 PICK WOMAN & HOME NOVEMBER BOOK OF THE MONTH iPaper TOP FICTION PICK'An absolutely charming novel that all bookworms will adore' Red'A balm for the soul and a glorious love letter to books and reading' iPaperThere was only one thing on her mind.'I must start a bookshop.' Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop.In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju - they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live.A heart-warming story about finding comfort and acceptance in your life – and the healing power of books.'Delightful, reflective and heart-warming' Woman's Weekly'Profound and healing ... a beautiful story at its heart' Woman & Home 'An incredibly exciting debut novel. At once gentle and invigorating. I devoured it' Sarah Crossan, author of Here is the Beehive Reader Reviews:'Love love love this book! Cosy, heart warming, wholesome...Will be recommending this to everyone. It makes me smile when I think about it!' 'Such a beautiful book, I adored the story and characters, The writing style was gorgeous. 100% recommend.''A love letter to books, bookshops and all who love them''Such a warm and cosy read! Was completely here for it...and the appreciation for books was magical''A heart-warming cosy read that makes you think about how important it is to be happy, and that we can all find a place to call 'home'.'
Yeonnam-dong's Smiley Laundromat
*THE HEARTWARMING KOREAN BESTSELLER**A new book from Shanna Tan, translator of Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop*Situated at the heart of a rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, the Yeonnam-dong Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold. It is already a haven of tranquility and reflection for locals, but when someone leaves a notebook behind, the laundromat becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbours who were once just faces in the crowd. But there is more to the diary than first appears, and before long the laundromat's regulars are teaming up to solve a mystery and help the notebook's former owner find peace. A heartwarming, healing debut that instantly captured the hearts of Korean readers, this is a novel about the preciousness of human relationships and the power of solidarity in a world that is increasingly cold, fast-paced and virtual.Readers love this cosy, slice-of-life K-drama:"Talk to someone. Help someone. Do a good deed. If this book doesn't inspire you, nothing will. A true testament to the power of books.""This is a wonderfully comforting read, and one that makes you truly believe in the goodness of others""Very similar to Before The Coffee Gets Cold or The Kamogawa Food Detectives. So if that's your vibe, you'll enjoy this one too!"Translated from the Korean by Shanna Tan
Marigold Mind Laundry
The NEXT irresistibly uplifting read for fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD set in a magical laundryThe #1 International word-of-mouth bestsellerHeartwarming and inspirational, MARIGOLD MIND LAUNDRY will remind you there is always a reason to feel positive'A life-changing novel' ***** reader review'A book that makes me reflect on my life' *****'Even better when you read it with a loved one' *****'I took leave from work because I needed to finish it in one sitting' *****_______________________We will wash away your pain and iron away any creases in your heart.Overnight, in the village of Marigold on top of a hill, old Jieun has conjured up a magical Mind Laundry, where she cleanses painful experiences from her customer's hearts, transferring them into stains on a T-shirt and transforming them into dazzling red petals.We meet five of Jieun's customers to her laundry: a frustrated young filmmaker; a tortured social-media influencer; a distraught mother who has discovered her husband’s other family; a young woman two-timed by her lover, and Yeonghui, a victim of bullying, who works as a delivery man to escape his pain in routine.After washing away their pain and ironing out their creases, Jieun discovers an astonishing revelation about memory, pain and moving on.As we laugh, wonder and grow with the vivid characters in this book, MARIGOLD MIND LAUNDRY shows how we too can tap into the positivity and magic that lies in us all.Which bad memories would you like to wash away?__________NOW A #1 STRAITS TIMES BESTSELLER, SINGAPORETranslated by Shanna Tan, award-winning translator of WELCOME TO THE HYUNAM-DONG BOOKSHOP
Saha: A Novel
From the international best-selling author of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 comes this chilling dystopian fable for fans of Netflix’s Squid Game. A National Book Award Finalist hailed as “a social treatise as well as a work of art” (Alexandra Alter, New York Times), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 announced Cho Nam-Joo as a major literary talent. In her signature sharp prose, brilliantly translated by Jamie Chang, Nam-Joo returns with this haunting account of a neglected housing complex in the shadows of Town: a former fishing village bought out by a massive conglomerate. Town is prosperous and safe—but only if you’re a citizen with “valuable skills and assets,” which the residents of Saha Estates are not. Disenfranchised and tightlipped, the Saha are forced into harsh labor, squatting in moldy units without electricity. Braiding the disparate experiences of the Saha residents—from the reluctant midwife to the unknowing test subject to the separated siblings—into a powerful Orwellian parable, Nam-Joo has crafted a heartbreaking tale of what happens when we finally unmask our oppressors.
Saha
From the author of international bestseller Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 '[A]n affecting portrait of people doing their best to survive in a world that would rather pretend they didn’t exist.' New York Times In a country called ‘Town’, Su is found dead in an abandoned car. The suspected killer is presumed to come from the Saha Estates. Town is a privatised country, controlled by a secretive organisation known as the Seven Premiers. It is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots and those who have the very least live on the Saha Estates. Among their number is Jin-Kyung, a young woman whose brother, Dok-yung, was in a relationship with Su and quickly becomes the police’s prime suspect. When Dok-yung disappears, Jin Ky-ung is determined to get to the bottom of things. On her quest to find the truth, though, she will uncover a reality far darker and crimes far greater than she could ever have imagined. At once a dystopian mystery and devastating critique of how we live now, Saha lifts the lid on corruption, exploitation and government oppression, while, with deep humanity and compassion, showing us the lives of those who, through no fault of their own, suffer at the hand of brutal forces far beyond their control.Praise for Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 'It describes experiences that will be recognisable everywhere. It’s slim, unadorned narrative distils a lifetime’s iniquities into a sharp punch.’ The Sunday Times ‘A ground-breaking work of feminist fiction’ Stylist ‘Along with other socially critical narratives to come out of Korea, such as Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film Parasite, her story could change the bigger one.’ The Guardian 'This witty, disturbing book deals with sexism, mental health issues and the hypocrisy of a country where young women are “popping caffeine pills and turning jaundiced” as they slave away in factories helping to fund higher education for male siblings.' The Independent 'Enthralling and enraging.' Sunday Express ‘Cho’s moving, witty and powerful novel forces us to face our reality, in which one woman is seen, pretty much, as interchangeable with any other. There’s a logic to Kim Jiyoung’s shape-shifting: she could be anybody.’ Daily Telegraph
An Episode of Sparrows
By the author of Black Narcissus and The River'A masterpiece of construction and utterly realistically convincing' JACQUELINE WILSON'Godden here tries her deft writing hand at landscaping a child's heart' TIMESomeone has been digging up the private garden in the Square. Miss Angela Chesney of the Garden Committee is sure that a gang of local boys is to blame, but her sister, Olivia, isn't so sure. She wonders why the neighbourhood children - 'sparrows' she calls them - have to be locked out: don't they have a right to enjoy the garden too?Nobody has any idea what sends Lovejoy Mason and her few friends in search of 'good garden earth'. Still less do they imagine where their investigation will lead them - to a struggling restaurant, a bombed-out church, and, at the heart of it all, a hidden garden.'Only Rumer Godden could make a simple tale of a forbidden garden pulse with suspense' NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE BOOK REVIEW
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
The million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time.Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s heart-warming Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?In a cosy back alley in Tokyo, there is a cafe which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time.Prepare to meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the cafe’s time-travelling offer in order to:- confront the man who left them- receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been taken by Alzheimer's- see their sister one last time, and- meet the daughter they never got the chance to know.But the journey into the past does not come without risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the cafe, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold . . .‘This book broke my heart, took the pieces, and put them back together in a messy and beautiful way. . . '[email protected] on Instagram Continue the beautifully moving storytelling with Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, Before We Say Goodbye and Before We Forget Kindness.
Before Your Memory Fades
The million-copy bestselling series.The heart-warming Before Your Memory Fades, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that’s not all. Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time.From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe comes another heartfelt story of lost souls hoping to take advantage of the cafe's time-travelling offer. Among some familiar faces, readers will also be introduced to:The daughter who begrudges her deceased parents for leaving her orphanedThe comedian who aches for his beloved and their shared dreamsThe younger sister whose grief has become all-consumingThe young man who realizes his love for his childhood friend too late . . .Featuring Kawaguchi's signature wistful storytelling, Before Your Memory Fades is full of heart and emotion.Catch up on the rest of the series set in the charming Tokyo cafe, with Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Tales from the Cafe, Before We Say Goodbye and Before We Forget Kindness.
Before We Forget Kindness
The million-copy bestselling series.Curl up with the fifth book in the sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the cosy Tokyo café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests:- The father who could not allow his daughter to get married- A woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one- A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents- A wife holding a child with no name . . .They must follow the café's strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold.Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before We Forget Kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to find closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.‘I don’t want it to ever end. Emotional, heart-warming, hopeful’- @samzreadsbooks on InstagramCatch up on the rest of the series with Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades and Before We Say Goodbye.
Before We Say Goodbye
The million-copy bestselling series.Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s poignant Before We Say Goodbye, translated from Japanese, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time?The regulars at the magical Cafe Funiculi Funicula are well acquainted with its famous legend and extraordinary, secret time travel offering. Many patrons have reunited with old flames, made amends with estranged family, and visited loved ones. But the journey is not without risks and there are rules to follow. Travellers must have visited the cafe previously and most importantly, must return to the present in the time it takes for their coffee to go cold.In the tradition of Kawaguchi’s sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, readers are introduced to a new set of visitors:- The husband with something important left to say- The woman who couldn’t bid her dog farewell- The woman who couldn’t answer a proposal- The daughter who drove her father away . . .In the hauntingly beautiful Before We Say Goodbye, Kawaguchi invites us to join his characters as they embark on a journey to revisit one crucial moment in time.Catch up on the rest of the series with Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Tales from the Cafe, Before Your Memory Fades, and Before We Forget Kindness.