Patience Tomlinson

The powerful, heart-breaking memoir of Dita Kraus, the real-life Librarian of Auschwitz. Born in Prague to a Jewish family in 1929, Dita Kraus has lived through the most turbulent decades of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Here, Dita writes with startling clarity on the horrors and joys of a life delayed by the Holocaust. From her earliest memories and childhood friendships in Prague before the war, to the Nazi-occupation that saw her and her family sent to the Jewish ghetto at Terezìn, to the unimaginable fear and bravery of her imprisonment in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and life after liberation.

Dita writes unflinchingly about the harsh conditions of the camps and her role as librarian of the precious books that her fellow prisoners managed to smuggle past the guards.

Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. In fact, according to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. Here, Jennifer Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds and how it came about, as she travels around the world to discover what birds can reveal about our changing world.

Five years ago, Molly Gabriel lost her twenty-year-old son, Joey, to a terrible sailing accident. His empty boat was washed ashore on the rocks, but his body was never found. Unable to accept he is gone and desperate for answers, she turns to Joey's best friend, Ben, to try and find out what really happened that day...

In the nineteenth century it was criminally easy to bump off unwanted relatives. In this account of one of history's most notorious poisonings, Sandra Hempel tells the story of the birth of toxicology - the science of poison - and of a mystery which gripped the nation.

Lady Jane Grey was a pawn in a dynastic game with the highest stakes. Growing up with the future Queen Elizabeth, her honesty, intelligence and strength of character carry her through all the vicious twists of Tudor power politics, to her nine-day reign and its unbearably poignant conclusion...

Matilda, daughter of Henry I, is determined to win back her crown from Stephen, the usurper king. Adeliza, Matilda's stepmother, is now married to William D'Albini, a warrior of the opposition. Both women are strong and prepared to stand firm for what they know is right. But in a world where a man's word is law, how can Adeliza obey her husband while supporting Matilda, the rightful queen? And for Matilda - what price for a crown? What does it cost to be "Lady of the English"?

Despite differences in their circumstances, Kate and Josie have been friends since childhood. But their past binds them together in ways they must never know. A chance meeting forces Kate and Josie to confront a truth that turns both their worlds upside down and threatens to destroy their friendship forever...

When arrogant Dr. Laurence Deverel joined the company where Celia worked, and usurped the job held by Celia's father, she found it distasteful to be polite to him. How disturbing it was for her when her feelings towards him turned to love, especially as he thought of her as a liar and a thief…

When a body is discovered on a rocky little island in the middle of Nethergate Bay, the media swoop on the seaside town. Soon Libby Sarjeant, the middle-aged actress and crime-solver, finds herself up to her knees in more mud and murder than she could possibly have anticipated.

When sleuth-come-pantomime director Libby Serjeant learns of threatening letters sent to Cy, a friend of her friend Harry, she is furious, but assumes this anti-gay prejudice won't escalate. Despite her anger, Libby is reluctant to get involved - there's a lot going on as she tries to juggle the stress of directing a pantomime at the same time as suddenly having a full house. Her partner Ben has just moved in, and her son Adam has come home with a broken leg. However, when threats lead to murder, Libby and her psychic investigator friend Fran are drawn into another investigation, one with dangerous consequences for them both...

Libby Sarjeant and psychic investigator Fran Castle befriend Bella Morleigh, who has inherited a derelict theatre. When an unknown body is discovered inside the theatre, they feel duty bound to help with the investigation. However, when a second body is found it is one of Fran’s psychic moments that makes the connection between the deaths; a connection with startling results.

Ex-actress Libby Sarjeant's fresh start in a picturesque Kent village includes an exciting new venture - The Oast House Theatre. But she never expects it to include a new romance in the form of Ben: and mystery, intrigue, and the shadow of an old murder...

When television personality Lewis Osbourne-Walker buys Creekmarsh Place, near Steeple Martin, Libby Sarjeant's son Adam is employed to help with the renovation of the garden. What he doesn't expect is to uncover a long buried skeleton. Libby, naturally, wants to know more about it..

Former barrister Aidan Cresney takes up beekeeping as a retirement hobby. He confidently boasts that bees will never attack an apiarist 'who knows what he's doing'. Yet one day he is found dead after suffering multiple stings. When a second family member dies in similar circumstances, Melissa Craig, the Cotswolds' intrepid crime-writing sleuth, starts to uncover some disturbing secrets.

Mahelt Marshal is the privileged daughter of one of the most powerful men in England. But her life changes dramatically when her father is suspected of treachery by King John. Her brothers become hostages and Mahelt is married to Hugh Bigod, heir to the earldom of Norfolk. Adapting to her new life is hard, but Mahelt comes to love Hugh deeply. However, when King John sets out to subdue the Bigods, Mahelt faces a heart-breaking battle, fearing neither she, nor her marriage, will be likely to survive the outcome....

Life wasn't easy as a single mum, but Win had managed to raise a son that any mother could be proud of. Now Charlie's father was back on the scene - and demanding a share in his child. In a few days, James had managed to turn her calm, self-assured world upside down. But was her concern more about Charlie's future - or her own?

For centuries, the village of Waterslain has hidden a dark secret. When Annie and Sandy set out to solve the mystery of the angels missing from the church roof, they soon discover someone else is on the same trail. Someone who will stop at nothing to get there first.

Ten-year-old Archie lives in The Skallies, a collection of tumbledown cottages clinging to the cliffs. His interest in the mystery of a boy who drowned in 1900 leads to a shocking murder and an abduction. It is only many years later when he returns to the ruined Skallies, that he finally unravels the puzzle.

From the summer of 1938, British women from all walks of life joined the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS). This disparate band of women came together for the common good - to help serve and protect their communities. By 1941 a million women had enrolled. These brave and dutiful women played a vital role in Britain's victory in WW2.