Maisie and the Sand Dragon Maisie makes a ‘WISH’, and her life changes forever. Fairy magic is real, and 12 year old Maisie is on the road to discovering how to use her creative fairy powers. After creating a dragon that she goes on adventures with, Maisie discovers Fairies, Mermaids, Unicorns and a Sea Dragon, all while making new friends. Amazingly her most significant discovery is learning to stop a Bully without using her unique abilities. With six pages of activities following the story, this wonderful adventure is sure to become your favourite.
Young Maisie Gibbs is a conscientious young woman, though life is harder since both her parents passed away. She is relieved when she finds a position as a housemaid in Kensington, under the watchful eyes of the formidable housekeeper, Mrs Carpenter, and she quickly settles in. When she meets a handsome young soldier, she is tempted to give him his marching orders. But gradually Corporal Daniel Adams starts to win her over. When tragedy strikes the Fairfax household, Maisie is lucky she has Daniel to rely on - a good sign of things to come? A delight for fans of the Adams family - the heartwarming story of Daniel and Chinese Lady.
Finally, convicted murderess Louisa Collins can tell her own story. But will she confess?To lose one husband may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like murder.Louisa Collins was hung in New South Wales in 1889. She was tried four times for the alleged murders of her two husbands. In three of those trials the juries could not agree that she was guilty. At her fourth trial the testimony of Louisa’s young daughter, May, contributed to Louisa’s conviction. Intimately reimagined from Louisa’s perspective, with a story that just might fit the historical facts, this clever and compelling novel visits Louisa in her prison cell as she reflects on her life and the death and loss that have dictated her fate. Will she confess? Or was an innocent woman brutally hanged?
It is 1944, and the Adams family, along with the rest of the people of the United Kingdom, are beginning to weary of the seemingly never-ending war against Hitler's Germany. Bobby Somers and Helene, living dangerously in the French countryside with a group of Resistance fighters, find themselves in great peril. Boots returns from the war in Italy, to the delight of Polly and their two little rascals, twins James and Gemma - but he brings with him a German prisoner who has a horrifying story to tell of the concentration camps. And while Sammy and Susie Adams are keeping the family business going as best they can during the privations of wartime London, their son Daniel catches the eye of a lively young American girl who brings a welcome breath of fresh air to the Adams household, so many of whose younger members are doing their bit for the war in various far-flung places of the world. As plans for the long-awaited invasion of France get under way there is excitement and danger, but love continues to blossom in the most difficult of circumstances.
A young girl and her dog are on the hunt for stolen jewels and a saboteur in this mystery set in the theater world of Victorian London. “Isn’t it a bit strange that all these horrible things are happening to Miss Massey now . . . Just in time to make her think that the curse is working.” Sarah Massey, talented lead actress in Circus Sweethearts, is a mess. She should be dancing on air—after all, her boyfriend just proposed. But she has lost his gift: a beautiful emerald necklace with a storied history. Rumor has it whoever loses the necklace will be cursed, and now everything around Miss Massey is falling apart. She turns to Maisie Hitchins and her dog, Eddie, for help. But when Maisie shows up at the London theater, things only get stranger. Maisie begins to wonder if it’s really the lost emerald causing all of these problems, or if someone in the troupe is green with envy . . . This follow up to The Case of the Stolen Sixpence is the second book in the Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins series.
In this coming of age story, fourteen-year old Joe Mac struggles to find his own voice in a hostile world that constantly disempowers him. After years of neglect, Joe, his brothers and sisters are taken into care and separated. Despite betrayals and failures of the system supposedly protecting him, Joe vows to get all his family back together.
The second Auguste Didier mystery. Auguste Didier, master chef, has been enticed by Robert Archibald to desert Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Stockbery to bring his talents to the Galaxy Theatre in London's West End. In the two years that have passed, Auguste has all but forgotten he was once suspected of that most foul of crimes - murder. Then, amid the glamour of the chorus line, the excitement of a first-night opening, and the electric atmosphere of the stage, a killer strikes. And Auguste is drawn once more into a murder investigation. Watching the petty jealousies and fears that abound in the theatre, he follows each clue with the same fastidious dedication that he applies to his culinary art, and soon uncovers a multitude of motives. But will he catch the killer before there is another death...?
Freelance writer Jayne Casey is about to get a lucky break writing an Easter story for a prestigious New Orleans magazine. But as she dives into her research, strange things start to happen around her. First, there are the vivid supernatural dreams of ancient times and cryptic warnings from her friends. Then her elderly psychic godmother, MamaG, falls into an unexplained coma on Palm Sunday. Things go from bad to worse as her friend’s twin nieces go missing without leaving any clues behind. A retired police chief and his sidekick from Sorry’s Run, Kentucky are called to New Orleans to help discover what’s happened to the missing twins. Is it voodoo or some forbidden ritual from the church? What happened to MamaG? And most importantly, can they find the girls in time? All will be revealed as tension builds and Easter Sunday approaches. Amidst the gripping backdrop of New Orleans, with its colorful and lively characters, “Lifted Veils” is an intriguing and compelling page turner.
The FINAL instalment in the bestselling Tobacco Girls series! It has finally happened! The war is over and Europe rejoices. May 1945 – VE Day After battling against the odds, the three friends are uncertain of their futures. Maisie Miles must wait on tenterhooks for Japan to surrender and for poor Sid to return home. Will they still be sweethearts and have a future together? But tragedy strikes when Maisie's lodger Carole dies leaving 2-year-old Paula orphaned, Maisie is determined to keep the child she has grown to love as her own. Meanwhile Bridget O’Neill’s husband has been patiently waiting her arrival in America but Bridget’s been struggling to leave her family and friends behind. Will she stay or will she go? Phyllis Fairbrother receives the devastating news that husband Mick has relapsed and suffering a life changing diagnosis. Their dreams of a new life in Australia lie in tatters, or so she thinks. With a new dawn, there are high hopes and boundless dreams. Can the Tobacco Girls unite once more to overcome life’s troubles and find the happiness they so deserve? Praise for Lizzie Lane: 'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked' Rosie Goodwin 'The Tobacco Girls is another heartwarming tale of love and friendship and a must-read for all saga fans.' Jean Fullerton 'Lizzie Lane opens the door to a past of factory girls, redolent with life-affirming friendship, drama, and choices that are as relevant today as they were then.' Catrin Collier 'If you want an exciting, authentic historical saga then look no further than Lizzie Lane.' Fenella J Miller
Several years have passed since the old plantation-style mansion at 1324 Blessing Path was lovingly restored, but the mysterious old place is apparently still calling the shots. Years ago, when it was discovered that the house had supernatural tendencies, two retired ladies set out on a quest to determine its history. Tracing its lineage from central Texas to Charleston, South Carolina, they uncovered a love story worthy of comparison to Gone with the Wind and eventually realized that there were “plans” for the structure that had been set in place as far back as 1950. This time, however, events lead one of the ladies not to the east coast but to the deserts of west Texas where she befriends a beautiful, young woman from Guatemala. Wondering whether their meeting was serendipitous, Jamie returns to Sweet Grass Memories, the name given the House, and shares a handwritten letter with Ms. G that the young woman gave her the last time they spoke. The letter, together with a photograph of a lone boat on the shore of the Rio Grande, lead the two of them, Reid, Tracy, and the kids of the House, on another adventure, one that rivals any television docudrama. The story winds its way from the dry, blowing sand of west Texas, into Mexico, and finally returns to the estuaries and humidity of Charleston, South Carolina, and its indomitable Gullah people. People whose ancestors endured like blades of grass pushing through concrete; endured and sang songs about faith and hope as they journeyed toward freedom. Just like the Gullah peoples during the slave era, today many others endure. Walking or riding northward through deserts, they journey toward a different kind of freedom; freedom from devastating drought and hunger, and freedom to live again in places that are absent the perils associated with trying to survive where malevolence thrives.
