Showing results by author "Mike Gayle" in All Categories

In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Birdpaints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship, and fulfillment. But it's a lie. In reality, Hubert's days are all the same, dragging on without him seeing a single soul. Until he receives some good news - good news that in one way turns out to be the worst news ever, news that will force him out again, into a world he has long since turned his back on.

Still reeling from the sudden death of her mother, Jess is about to do the hardest thing she's ever done: empty her childhood home so that it can be sold. As she sorts through a lifetime of memories, everything comes to a halt when she comes across something she just can’t part with: an old set of encyclopedias. To the world, the books are outdated and ready to be recycled. To Jess, they represent love and the future that her mother always wanted her to have.

Father of two Joe Clarke is about seventy-eight per cent sure he's just had an affair. After all that is the hopelessly attractive office intern in bed next to him, isn't it? But then again if he did have an affair why can't he remember anything at all about the night in question? Mortified by his mistake Joe vows to be a better man, but when his adored wife Penny puts two and two together and leaves him, things start to take a turn for the decidedly strange.

Tom Hope is broken. Ever since his wife, Laura, died he hasn't been the same man and definitely not the same father. Luckily for Tom his mother-in-law, Linda, is around to pick up the pieces and look after his two struggling daughters, Evie and Lola. But Tom getting arrested on the first anniversary of his wife's death is the last straw for Linda. In a last bid attempt to make Tom reconnect with his daughters, she takes drastic action and leaves for Australia.

Matt Beckford's sole ambition is to turn forty with his life sorted. With a Porsche on the drive and a high-flying job, it looks like things are perfect. But when Matt's wife unexpectedly calls time on their marriage, a chain of events is set in motion that very quickly sees him facing forty broke, homeless and completely alone. But all is not lost because Matt has a plan…

The incredibly moving and uplifting new novel from the author of The Man I Think I Know. Kerry Hayes knows exactly who she is: a single mum, a cleaner and Mariah Carey's biggest fan. Noah Martineau thinks he knows who he is: a successful barrister, with a wife, daughter and big house in Primrose Hill. Strangers with nothing in common. Strangers living worlds apart. But it wasn't always this way...and Noah and Kerry are about to discover just who they really are.

Despite the example of their own parents' enduring marriage, the three Bachelor brothers show no signs of settling down. Adam has a string of unsuitable girlfriends; Luke bears the scars of a savage divorce; and Russell is in love with the one woman he can't have. When their father announces that he wants to try his hand at single life, everything is thrown into turmoil. Are the Bachelor brothers totally hopeless cases or just late starters?

Some people just look destined for great things. And sometimes, life has other ideas. Ever since The Incident, James DeWitt has stayed on the safe side. He likes to know what happens next. Danny Allen is not on the safe side. He is more past the point of no return. But it's funny the way life is sometimes. Just when you think you know how everything is, it surprises you. And redemption can come in the most unlikely forms.... Warm, witty and wise, Mike Gayle's new novel is a powerful story of male friendship.

When Rob's girlfriend asks him to leave London and live with her in Manchester not only will it mean moving cities and changing the only job he's ever had, it'll also mean leaving behind his best mate in the entire world. Believing in love concquering all Rob takes the plunge and, convinced of his ability to make new friends, tries his best.

Melissa and Paul: Five years after they split he's still looking for love in all the wrong places while all she wants is him. Chris and Vicky: They are deliriously happy, so why is Chris risking it all for an affair? Cooper and Laura: He wants to settle down, she wants to take a gap year - can their relationship survive a year apart?

After 10 years together, Charlie Mansell has been dumped by his live-in girlfriend, Sarah. All he wants to do is wallow in misery, but mates Andy and Tom have a better idea: a week of sun, sea, and souvlaki in Malia, party capital of the Greek islands. But Charlie and his mates aren't 18 any more. Or even under 30. And it shows....

On the eve of his 36th birthday, author Mike Gayle picked up a pen and contemplated his life. He is nowhere near being an adult - even though his tenth wedding anniversary is looming and his second child due shortly. Appalled by this lack of maturity, Mike draws up a to-do list containing every item he's been meaning to do but keeps putting off.