Showing results by publisher "Isis Publishing Ltd" in Women's Fiction

What if Emma isn’t the person she thought she was? Her younger son has just been diagnosed with autism. She’s accidentally quit her job. The marriage she was dedicated to suddenly seems like a sham. She’s pretty sure that she is going to have an affair with a hot new dad at the school. The only thing that stays the same is everyone else. Emma realises it’s not them - it’s her. But if she’s not who she thought she was, can her old life fit in with the new Emma?

When Willow Lake asks her daughters for help renovating the family home, each has a reason to hesitate about returning to Maplewood. For quiet and bookish Emmy, going back to the town that ridiculed her fills her with dread. The youngest, Noelle, is perfectly comfortable in herself now but once wanted to fit in so badly that she walked away from her first love. A first love who still lives in Maplewood. And outspoken Rae is painfully aware of how much the townspeople hurt her little sisters growing up.

When Pearl’s grandmother Nell dies unexpectedly, she and her family - mother Diana, sister Lucy - return to Kangaroo Island to mourn and say farewell to her. Each of them knew Nell intimately but differently, and each woman must reckon with Nell’s passing in her own way. But Nell had secrets, too; and as Pearl, Diana and Lucy reflect on their feelings about the island, Pearl starts to pull together the scraps Nell left behind - her stories, poems, paintings - and unearths a connection to the island’s early history.

At the peak of her career as lead singer of a legendary 1980s indie band, Meredith Vincent was driven off the international stage by a horrific incident. Now living a quiet existence in a cottage on the grounds of an old stately home, she has put her past behind her and come to terms with her new life. When a body is found in the manicured gardens of her home, and a series of inexplicable and unsettling events begin to occur, it becomes clear that someone is watching, someone who knows who she is…. Someone who wants vengeance.

Single mother Sally Lachlan has a secret that has haunted her for a decade, although perhaps it is time to let it go. A chance meeting with a fellow scientist, the charismatic geneticist Anthony Blake, reawakens her desire for love. But as Sally finally lets down her guard, her teenage daughter, Charlie, begins to ask questions about her late father.

Workaholic accountant Hannah Charles takes a leap of faith and a much needed holiday in a house swap from the Cotswolds to converted St. Anne's Church in Tingara, Australia. Easygoing architect-come-artist Will Bennett has family estrangement issues and lives an alternative lifestyle in the small country town. Can an untidy artist and a guilt-ridden runaway overcome their differences and distance to let love grow?

Thirty-something jeweller Emma Hamilton returns to her childhood home town of Tingara, a charming historic village in the foothills of the Victorian Alps. Builder Malcolm Webster commutes to Tingara from nearby Bendigo each weekend to work on restoring a beautiful old Victorian homestead. When Emma and Mal meet, attraction flares; but he is younger, and, wary after her failed marriage, Emma is not in the market for romance. Will Mal's humour and charm break down her barriers?

It is 1841. Patty Clare is married to John Clare: peasant poet, genius, and madman. Travelling home one day, Patty is shocked to find her husband sitting at the side of the road, having absconded from a lunatic asylum. Delighted to see him, she is devastated when it becomes clear that John's mental health has deteriorated, and he now thinks himself married twice: to both Patty and his childhood sweetheart. Patty still loves John deeply but he seems lost to her, obsessed with the idealised memory of another woman. She finds herself consumed with jealousy and struggling to cope with her unruly family.

Liz Ward believed that it was possible to have it all. A glittering career, a successful marriage and a happy family. But it doesn't take too long for Liz to realise that taking the job of programme controller at Metro TV could be the biggest mistake of her life. When she confesses to her friends, they are scandalised - Liz is their role model, and she is shattering the myth they must all live by. But she is tired of pretending that there is no price to pay for her success.

Raped then murdered in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, Lin Shui’s “Hungry Ghost” clings tenaciously to life. Just in time she finds a host off whom to feed. It is 12-year-old Alice Safford, the deeply troubled daughter of a leading figure in government. The parasitic ghost follows her to her home on The Peak. There, the lethal mix of the two, entangled in the Safford family’s web of secrets and lies, unleashes chaos. As successive tragedies engulf Alice, her ghostly entourage swells alarmingly.

Jane Cowan's abusive ex-husband has always tracked her down whichever town she lives in, whichever job she takes, whichever name she uses. However, now he is in prison for a long stretch, she feels brave enough to accept a promotion: she is to be head teacher of the Wrayford Primary School in Gloucestershire. While facing everyday battles from a lack of resources to teachers who are set in their ways, Jane encounters a persistent intruder on the school grounds.

A year after the tragic death of her husband, Kate Nichols, still overwhelmed with grief, meets Richard Marshall. A divorced father of two, Richard’s messy involvement with his bi-polar ex-wife troubles Kate but, despite these obstacles, she can’t stop herself from falling in love. Meanwhile, as Kate’s father battles with the final stages of cancer, her divorced mother has found a new love in Ben. But Kate’s suspicions are roused as her mother’s behaviour becomes increasingly furtive.

Ellen Thomas, experienced war correspondent, returns to Afganistan’s dangerous Helmand Province on assignment, keen to find the murderer of her friend and translator, Jalil. In her search for justice in a land ravaged by death and destruction, she uncovers disturbing truths. Hasina, forced by tradition into the role of wife and mother, lives in a village which is taken by the British Forces. Her only son, Aref, is part of a network of underground fighters and she is determined to protect him, whatever the cost.

Daisy Lane is battling to keep her family together. About to be released from prison, her oldest son Eddie is desperate to escape his past. But Eddie soon discovers that giving up the life of a gangster isn’t going to be easy. Daisy’s youngest son Jamie is determined to step out from under the shadow of his older brother and make a name for himself. And when Jamie gets wind of his brother’s plan to pull off a heist, his involvement threatens to be Eddie’s undoing.

Daisy Lane's fortunes take a spectacular fall when Roy decides to run his criminal empire from London. Without him, the punters disappear and so, too, does the cash. Still, Daisy can take comfort in the fact that her son Eddie is growing up to be as courageous as his late father was. But Eddie’s younger brother, Jamie, is a deeply disturbed young man. Meanwhile, there’s a killer at work in Gosport. It’s Daisy who spots this nasty Casanova at work. She takes it upon herself to have him apprehended - with devastating consequences.

Stella Ainsworth has settled for suburban peace with a pedantic husband, a dissatisfied daughter and a clutch of beloved grandchildren - who all take her presence in their lives for granted. Then Cameron Keene, her boyfriend from her teenage years who'd left for America to become a rock icon of the '60s, returns to England. Much to Stella's astonishment, Cameron announces in an interview that his most famous song, which became a legendary love anthem across the world, was written about Stella and that he has come back to find her.

Wild and Free is the festival du jour. Everyone piles through its gates - and Cupid lies in wait. Teacher Ginnie is desperate to forget her crush on headmaster Mark and hopes glamping might do the trick. But Mark is also heading for Wild and Free to reform his college band...desperate not to be recognised. Mark's bandmate, James, dreams of a festival blowout with his son, Guy...until his wife, Victoria, kills the dream.

Passengers boarding the 10.35 train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston have no idea that their journey is about to be brutally curtailed. Holly has just landed her dream job, and Jeff is heading for an interview after months of unemployment. They end up sitting next to each other.

Zu Forbes has a complicated relationship with love. Her mother died when she was a teenager, leaving her with a lonely father and emotional baggage. So at the earliest opportunity she switched the baggage for luggage and took off around the world. But now she’s home and working for a dating agency. If only she can pair her dad off, she can run away again with a clear conscience. While Zu busies herself fixing her dad’s love life, she almost misses Cupid creeping up behind her. They say it takes ten minutes to fall in love, so how can she be falling for someone she’s known for years? And why is it taking so damn long to matchmake her dad?

Five women, best friends for decades, meet once a month to talk about books...and life, love and the jagged bits in between. Dissecting each other's lives seems the most natural thing in the world - and honesty, no matter how brutal, is something they treasure. But each woman harbours a complex secret, and one weekend, without warning, everything comes unstuck. Izzy has to make a decision that will change everything whilst Veronica, recently divorced and dedicated to raising the best sons in the world, has forgotten who she is.