A gripping crime novel inspired by the "Jack the Stripper" killings in 1960s London. Bad Penny Blues is the latest gripping crime fiction from Cathi Unsworth, London's undisputed queen of noir. Set in late 1950s and early 1960s London, it is loosely based on the West London "Jack the Stripper" killings that rocked the city. The narrative follows police officer Pete Bradley, who investigates the serial killings of a series of prostitutes, and, in a parallel story, Stella, part of the art and fashion worlds of 1960s "Swinging London," who is haunted by visions of the murdered women.
Nothing good comes after the third date. Date three is the crucial point when things get real, which is exactly why I bounce out the door, twiddling my fingers at whatever poor boy I've left behind. Because if I stick around, one of three things will happen: he'll profess his undying love, he'll get weird and stalky, or I'll go crazy. Like, Sid and Nancy crazy. Like, chase-him-through-the-streets-begging-him-to-love-me crazy. Seriously, it's better for everyone this way. So when I meet Bodie, I figure it'll be the same as it ever was. It doesn't matter that he doesn't put a single string on me. Doesn't matter that he's funny and smart and jacked or that he can play my body like a grand piano. Because even though I'm built for love, love has only carved me up like a Christmas ham. Resistance is something I can only hang on to for so long, and he has persistence in spades. But my heart isn't as safe as I want to believe, and neither is his. And the second I ignore my cardinal rule is the second I stand to lose him forever.
A bad penny always turns up, so the saying goes. A Bad Penny is the third book in a series by Pat McDonald. In her first book, A Penny for Them, Benjamin Matthews (nee Pollock), discovers after several startling revelations that he isn’t who he thought he was, which stops him from leaving with his wife and children for the United Arab Emirates. Determined to join them, Ben manages to escape the clutches of Sergeant Daphne Johnson, when in book two, The Penny Drops, he sneaks out of the UK to “live the dream” in the desert country’s opulent culture. Feeling sheer relief upon arrival, and lured by his new exotic surroundings and the mysteries of the desert, Ben sees no point in telling his wife who he really is. Believing him to be an orphan, she remains blissfully ignorant of both his families, until his two mothers show up together, complete with suitcases. This sparks the beginning of another inevitable run of bad luck for Ben. Just when things seem to be going okay, something always turns up to spoil it! In A Bad Penny, Ben’s easy escape to United Arab Emirates is short lived, when, like a bad penny, everyone turns up!
No good deed goes unpunished. When Benor saves a man's life he finds himself the target of assassins. Poetry, politics and the quarrels of academics make a lethal cocktail.
Joel Anderson doesn't take anything seriously. Not his relationships, which have been few and far between since his brutal divorce. Not the drama of working in a tattoo parlor, which seems to be around every corner. When things get him down, he smiles and cracks a joke. But he's not the kind of man you cross, or you'll find yourself at the wrong end of his fists. Annika Belousov takes everything seriously. Like her job as a reality television producer, given that she typically has something to prove. Or her love life, which is defined by a series of requirements - affluent, ambitious, accomplished, to name a few. Definitely her family, who worked their whole lives to afford her every opportunity, a sacrifice she doesn't take lightly. When she's tapped to produce a reality show at Joel's shop, she doesn't think twice, just goes in for the kill, as if there were any other way. The second Annika walks into Joel's shop, he makes it his mission to crack her open, but she's not having it. He's all wrong - too crass, too hairy, too un-serious. But it doesn't take her long to find out there's more to him than smirks and tattoos. And what she finds could put her career and his heart on the line. Not that Joel cares. Because for the first time in a long time, he's found his tonic. *** A standalone Romantic Comedy ***
Angus McDonald is a man once suspected of murdering his soon-to-be ex-wife. Annie Colston is a murder mystery author with a knack for character profiles. They’re not your typical amateur sleuths. When Angus’s brother, Duncan, starts to fall apart, the pair of determined sleuths hit the road. Is Duncan’s manipulative wife planning to murder him and take over his company? How do you prove a man is being slowly driven mad with dangerous drugs? Angus and Annie race against the clock, desperate to extract him from the woman they call the lady vulture. And along the way, they indulge their inner foodies with culinary delights. What better way is there to celebrate Christmas Eve than with a Feast of the Seven Fishes? This will be a December they’ll never forget!
From her humble roots in the Bronx to Laverne and Shirley and her unlikely ascent in Hollywood, the beloved actor and director tells the story of her incredible life.
