Love Actually meets Elf in this Christmas affirming, laugh-out-loud comedy from the bestselling author of The Wife Who Got a Life and No-one Ever Has Sex on a Tuesday
'I love Tracy Bloom!' Milly Johnson
'Pure joy' Katie Fforde
A name drawn from a hat
Someone you barely know
A Christmas you’ll never forget
This December, Jolene can’t wait for the office Secret Santa moment — the festive present-swapping exercise made up of unlikely pairings and inappropriate gifts.
But this year, her colleagues are in need of more than a novelty wine glass and a box of Celebrations to get their tinsel twinkling.
So Jolene’s a woman on a mission, and she’s hatched a secret plan to make this their best Christmas ever…
*READERS LOVE THE SECRET SANTA PROJECT*
'The most perfect Christmas read, so easy to cosy up to' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I devoured this…a Christmas cracker!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This book was SO good…like a hug in a mug' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'An extremely funny, festive and feel-good story' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'It made me laugh and cry, just perfect!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'There are no words to describe how much I absolutely loved this book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Full of moments that make you laugh out loud and warm your soul' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'It will leave you smiling long after the last page!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A wonderfully warm novel, filled with Tracy's trademark warmth and humour' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An inoffensive man is murdered in a seemingly motiveless attack. Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel and her team are baffled, until DNA from an apparent stranger is discovered on the victim's body. Geraldine is not convinced the suspect is guilty. When a witness comes forward to offer the suspect an alibi, Geraldine lets him go. That night, a second murder is committed. The evidence points to the suspect who has just been released. As Geraldine attempts to make sense of the suspect's complex history, he goes on the run. Even his wife appears to condemn him. Only Geraldine still doubts that he is to blame for the murders, but is she prompted by her own guilt for having released him to kill again? As the story races towards a breathtaking twist, Geraldine is tormented by self-doubt, and struggles to focus all her attention on the case. Someone is lying and the police must uncover the truth before anyone else is killed . . .
When a homeless man is found strangled to death, Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel is caught off guard by the cold-blooded nature of the crime. A second murder suggests the existence of a killer whose motive is as elusive as he is dangerous. In an investigation plagued by police scepticism, only Geraldine is relentless in her pursuit of the truth. As she is forced down unexpected avenues into the lives of three people caught in a toxic triangle of love and deceit, she discovers there is more to this case than any of them could have imagined.
Living with her colleague and long time love interest, Detective Inspector Ian Peterson, it seems that Geraldine Steel has finally found happiness. But life is never that simple. As a psychopath starts killing random women on the streets of York, Geraldine is abducted by a drugs syndicate who have been threatening her sister. Geraldine has everything to fight for, and her life is on the line . . .
When a hysterical mother reports her baby's sudden disappearance, suspicion immediately falls on the absent husband. But Detective Geraldine Steel's gut instinct tells her this case is not as simple as her colleagues think . . . Complications in the mother's life begin to surface, including her relationship with her controlling father, a controversial political figure. As the police investigate, their urgent attempt to find the missing infant grows ever more perplexing. Steel is forced to suspect everyone associated with the family and when a body is discovered, matters take a deadly turn.
When a sex worker dies in suspicious circumstances in York, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel struggles to remain focused on the murder investigation: she is distracted by her worries about her colleague and life partner, Ian Peterson, who has disappeared. As Geraldine becomes close to her new DS, Matthew, she is unaware that Ian is working undercover in London, trying to identify a criminal gang who have been targeting her. As a second victim is discovered in York, and Ian's life is threatened by a psychopath the tension mounts. If he fails in his mission, both he and Geraldine may die . . .
A man is killed in an apparently random attack, and suspicion falls on a gang of muggers. Only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel thinks this is the work of a more deliberate murderer. Two more victims are discovered, after further seemingly indiscriminate attacks. The muggers are tracked down, with tragic consequences. And all the while the killer remains at large. When Geraldine finally manages to track down a witness, she finds her own life is in danger. . .
Two murder victims and a suspect whose alibi appears open to doubt...Geraldine Steel is plunged into a double murder investigation which threatens not only her career, but her life. And then her previously unknown twin Helena turns up, with problems which are about to make Geraldine's life turn toxic in more ways than one.
Mark Abbott is dead. His sister refuses to believe it was suicide, but only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel will listen. When other members of Mark's family disappear, Geraldine's suspicions are confirmed. Taking a risk, Geraldine finds herself confronted by an adversary deadlier than any she has faced before. . .Her boss Ian is close, but will he arrive in time to save her, or is this the end for Geraldine Steel?
When two people are murdered, their only connection lies buried in the past. As police search for the elusive killer, another body is discovered. Pursuing her first investigation in York, Geraldine Steel struggles to solve the baffling case. How can she expose the killer, and rescue her shattered reputation, when all the witnesses are being murdered?
Paris, 1917. The notorious dancer Mata Hari sits in a cold cell awaiting freedom...or death. Alone and despondent, Mata Hari is as confused as the rest of the world about the charges she's been arrested on: treason leading to the deaths of thousands of French soldiers. As Mata Hari waits for her fate to be decided, she relays the story of her life to a reporter who is allowed to visit her in prison. From Indian temples and Parisian theatres to German barracks in war-torn Europe, international bestselling author Michelle Moran who expertly balances fact and fiction (Associated Press) brings to vibrant life the famed world of Mata Hari: dancer, courtesan, and possibly, spy.
After losing her fiance in a shocking tragedy, Alex Morris moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Formerly an actress, Alex accepts a job teaching drama therapy at a school commonly referred to as "The Unit," a last-chance learning community for teens expelled from other schools in the city. Her students have troubled pasts and difficult personalities, and Alex is an inexperienced teacher, terrified of what she's taken on and drowning in grief.
Her most challenging class is an intimidating group of teenagers who have been given up on by everyone before her. But Alex soon discovers that discussing the Greek tragedies opens them up in unexpected ways, and she gradually develops a rapport with them. But are these tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge teaching more than Alex ever intended? And who becomes responsible when these students take the tragedies to heart, and begin interweaving their darker lessons into real life with terrible and irrevocable fury?
Natalie Haynes' The Furies is a psychologically complex, dark and twisting novel about loss, obsession and the deep tragedies that can connect us to each other even as they blind us to our fate.
