Karen Cass

Dora O'Brien had a good start in life, but things went bad when she began to mix with the wrong company. Pregnant by her gangster lover, she found herself on the streets and then in the grips of a bent copper called Donny Maguire. When her daughter Angel is born, Dora is already under the influence of drink and drugs, and handed around to Donny's mates. Growing up in the shadow of her mother's abusive relationship, Angel is nothing like her mother,...

Amory Ames is contentedly preparing for the arrival of her baby at Thornecrest while Milo, her husband, is away on business. But then a woman appears on her doorstep, also claiming to be Mrs Ames, Milo's wife. Amory's marriage has had its ups and downs, but her faith in Milo has been restored. Though the supposed second Mrs. Ames seems earnest, Amory is convinced she must be mistaken. However, when a second unexpected visitor arrives, and secret identities...

It is 1939 and in the town of Dartford, Grace, Sally and twins Daisy and Rose, are determined to do their bit when war is declared. Grace, desperate to get away from her sad home life, signs up for the Land Army. Sally's dream of stage school is thwarted by the war, but she finds hope in an unexpected place. Rose signs on at the local munitions factory, but with her brothers away fighting, Daisy is needed at home in her father's greengrocer shop.

For all those who imagine escaping to a château and living the dream ... to find that even dreams can have their complications. Steph, Jo and Meredith have been friends since school. Their lives have all taken very different paths across the years, but when Meredith buys a romantic château in an idyllic village in the Dordogne she finds she can't do it alone - so who better to enlist for help than her two old friends? Together they hope to bring...

How far will some go to safeguard a secret? In the latest novel in Dianne Freeman's witty and delightful historical mystery series, the adventurous Countess Harleigh finds out. Though American by birth, Frances Wynn, the now-widowed Countess of Harleigh, has adapted admirably to the quirks and traditions of the British aristocracy. On August 12th each year, otherwise known as the Glorious Twelfth, most members of the upper class retire to their country...

Frances, the widowed Countess of Harleigh, needs a venue for her sister Lily's imminent wedding, away from prying eyes. Risings, George Hazleton's family estate in Hampshire, is a perfect choice, and soon Frances, her beloved George, and other guests have gathered to enjoy the usual country pursuits - shooting, horse riding, and romantic interludes in secluded gardens. But the bucolic setting harbours a menace, and it's not simply the arrival of Frances's...

Orphaned young, H is sent to live with her doting aunt in London. H's life is a happy one until her lecherous cousin robs her of her innocence, and the plague takes away the city and the people she loves. H is cast out - friendless, pregnant and destitute - into the rapidly emptying streets of London under quarantine.