Hazel Prior

Veronica McCreedy can't resist the promise of adventure... Nine-year-old Daisy and nearly ninety-year-old Veronica make an unlikely pair of friends. Fiercely independent and impeccably dressed, Veronica has lived an incredible 87 years. Most of them alone, in her huge house by the sea. But with the arrival of brave and resilient Daisy into her life, Veronica finds she has a renewed thirst for adventure - and that they both share a passion for penguins! So when Veronica and Daisy are invited to travel to the other side of the world together and visit the penguins of the southern hemisphere, they both jump at the chance. Veronica had thought her days of new friendships, family and love were over, but perhaps it's never too late for one more adventure?

Meet Ellie. She's perfectly happy living a quiet life with her husband, Clive. (Well, she does sometimes wonder about the way he talks to her, and about all the things she hasn't achieved yet. But, she's happy enough.)

Meet Dan. He's definitely content - content with his predictable, ordered existence, making harps in his isolated barn on Exmoor. Content being on his own, far away from other people and - crucially - far away from any risk of surprises.

What Ellie and Dan don't know yet, is that a chance encounter is about to change all of this...

19-year-old Phoebe and her courier father Al have recently moved to Devon, to a small cottage with a river at the end of the garden. Struggling with her health, Phoebe doesn't go out much these days. Instead, she spends her time playing detective - trying to deduce from her father's deliveries what kinds of lives her neighbours lead.

When Phoebe finds an abandoned baby otter by the river, it's just the push she needs to finally step into her new community. Taking the otter to the local sanctuary, she feels a joy that she has not felt in a very long time. But she soon starts to suspect that something is amiss at the local sanctuary - and she will need to put her detective skills to good use if she wants to save the otters. A gorgeous feel-good novel about a young woman finding the courage to step back into the world, with the help of new friends and some very cute otters.