Best Book Publishers UK | Austin Macauley Publishers
  • Are We to the Gods
    eBook
    Are We to the Gods
    M S Lamdin

    When Emma Dunn arrived in London from the far reaches of Upper Assam in 1902, at the  age of fourteen, with a heart broken mother and two younger siblings, she also brought with her memories of a childhood overshadowed by a father who ruled over a tea empire with ruthless disregard for those he should have cared for the most and a mother whose passions and affections were reduced to dust by the man she adored.


    It was inevitable that Emma’s future would be dictated, not only by the whims of fate but also by the legacy she inherited as a Dunn woman.


    In the summer of 1933, at the age of forty-six, she returned to Assam, an exile from a first love lost to her on the battlefields of Flanders and a second marriage mired in scandal, a scandal which deprived her of her son.


    Could Emma reunite with the father she barely knew? Could she begin her life again, and would she ever find the happiness fate had so cruelly denied her?


    How was she to navigate a path to becoming not only the wife of an extraordinary man with hidden secrets but also be reconciled with a son she hadn’t seen for fifteen years and become one of the most influential plantation owners in post-independence India?

    £7.99
  • North London Nightingale - 1
    eBook
    North London Nightingale - 1
    Sheila Constance Nickolay-White

    Wartime has changed so much of Connie’s life and given her a certain sense of freedom, but it also brings challenges. An exciting life with a famous band, perhaps a career in America, far from the bombs and destruction of her beloved London?


    The dance halls and clubs in the West End bring many temptations, but her heart is with Harry in Egypt—or is it? Music is in her soul, and she must finally decide whether to sign the contract to record with Ambrose’s band as the North London Nightingale.


    A young band in the seventies, happy with their day jobs and weekend gigs, until a chance meeting with a shamed member of a once-famous band alters their outlook; maybe they could make the ‘big time’ and fulfil the dreams of at least some of them.


    Music weaves through all their lives and the lyrics echo life as they experience the dramas, triumphs and tragedies of life in the music industry.

    £4.99
  • The Way Beyond
    eBook
    The Way Beyond
    Nicholas Johnson-Ferguson

    Nick’s first memory, at the age of three, was a feeling of absolute peace that he spent his whole life looking for.

    His life, however, turned out to be one of conflict, revenge, sadness and joy, made up of seven acts – each a victim of a small demon, forcing him to find a new and completely different path each time. A massive game of snakes and ladders.

    £4.99
  • Strained Relations
    eBook
    Strained Relations
    Ann Yates

    Can a mistake you made at fifteen haunt you for the rest of your life?


    Can the mistake your grandmother made at fifteen really have consequences two generations later? Can a mistake you made at fifteen really have consequences three generations later?


    Polly hoped marriage would put the past behind her, but was she simply stepping out of the frying pan into the fire? Her children bring her great joy, each so different, yet so alike and all so loved. They are her reason for being. Surely nothing can change that—or can it?

    £4.99
  • Through the Valley of Shadows
    eBook
    Through the Valley of Shadows
    Olga Mhilli

    Civilisation runs on polished façades. Beneath them lie quieter truths polite society finds too unpalatable to admit.


    The three novelettes in this collection—Rain, Where Missiles Miss, and The River—are inspired by true events and the lived experiences of people carrying the punishing burden of trauma through the Valley of Shadows—that is, life itself.


    In the slow-burn police procedural Rain, a relentless downpour mirrors the characters’ emotional turmoil. A mass stabbing at a local shopping mall sets off an investigation led by Detective Sergeant Gibbs. As Gibbs and his team follow the clues, they untangle the web of personal tragedies that led to the heinous crime.


    The dystopian story Where Missiles Miss begins and ends in the sanctuary of Bella and Jan’s home—their only refuge amid the chaos of global war. From there the story moves into Bella’s past—her time in detention, her escape, and her later participation in government-mandated therapy. Bella’s psychological awakening culminates in vocal resistance and personal healing, bringing the story full circle—back home, where Jan awaits her.


    The psychological thriller The River follows the life of a successful corporate executive who moves between the restless cityscape of Paris and the pastoral calm of rural France. This lyrical tale of loss and redemption conveys a timeless message: justice will always be served—if you wait by the River of life long enough.

     

    £3.50
  • A Tangled Web of Heart Strings
    eBook
    A Tangled Web of Heart Strings
    Peter King

    Lose yourself in this heart-wrenching adult fictional novel centring around Daniel that delves into his early difficult home life, following his journey into old age.


    He and his younger sister Joyce, while living at home with their mum, have to endure a very hostile and abusive relationship with their dad. It is not helped by the fact that he refuses to accept them as his biological children.


    The dad leaves to live with his girlfriend, but when the mum passes, he is back to try and evict Daniel and his sister from the family home and then tries to sell it under their nose.


    While facing a court battle, Daniel’s love life is shredded with broken romances. He gets close to Rachel, but that doesn’t run smoothly due to a baby that turns out not to be his.


    The reader will easily feel sympathy towards Daniel with his feelings stretched to a limit.


    The later years are kinder to him with marriage and children, but again his life is thrown into turmoil with a serious family illness.


    The emotional twists and turns will keep you captivated until the end, perhaps touching on personal experience.

    £3.50
  • The Sulking House
    eBook
    The Sulking House
    Lance Hattatt

    Betrayal, adultery, arrogance, rape and seduction rip apart lives of contentment and fulfilment in a quiet corner of Middle England.


    When businessman Hugh Steadman rekindles an adulterous relationship, he sets in train a series of events which will not only threaten his marriage but will also lead the way to his eventual downfall and destruction. Florence, Hugh’s intellectual wife, is immersed in writing about the C18 world of consuls and courtiers. Alexander, his social-worker son, is despairing of his gay partner, Gary, caught up in a life of crime. For the Steadmans, Hugh’s actions become an unstoppable force for change.


    Against a backdrop of a house in the country, a garden open to the public, and a Midsummer Madness party, The Sulking House develops the themes of temptation, human frailty and failure. It also points the way towards resilience, resolve and the nature of forgiveness.

    £4.99
  • The Promise and O Holy Night
    eBook
    The Promise and O Holy Night
    Elizabeth Bray

    THE PROMISE: Women’s Fiction.


    Ever since childhood, Tiffany Summers has dreamed of escaping the big city and living in a country cottage, pursuing a career as an award-winning author. When she inherits a cottage in Bowral, in the New South Wales Hinterland, she knows her time has come. She resigns from her busy job in Sydney, renovates the cottage, and begins to move in. Finally, she will have solitude, peace and quiet, and the opportunity to write her novels. Or will she? There are big surprises waiting up ahead of Tiffany. Can she embrace the unexpected challenges in her new life and still live the dream?


    O HOLY NIGHT: Women’s Fiction.


    Vera is a middle-aged woman who owns a café in the CBD of a busy Queensland city. Ever since her husband died, she has run the café alone and managed it well. She expects this year to be like any others, but as the year unfolds, Vera is prompted to turn over a new leaf. By the end of the year, she will be a different person, and her life will change in ways she never expected. Come and share Vera’s journey. It’s a journey worth taking.

    £4.99
  • Where Did the Vice President of the United States Go?
    eBook
    Where Did the Vice President of the United States Go?
    Rafael Webb Berman

    A new Republican president comes to power in America and declares that he will do twice over everything that Donald Trump did. As his administration hardens its stance against the transgender community, a full-scale culture war erupts between America and Europe, culminating in a mass demonstration of millions in Amsterdam.


    The vice president is sent to the Netherlands in an attempt to broker a compromise, but once there, he vanishes from the watchful eyes of the U.S. Secret Service.


    In a breathless political drama, the vice president’s secret summer romance is revealed: a tender, unexpected love affair with a long-haired Dutch schoolteacher whose sister has undergone gender transition. As American Secret Service agents struggle to protect the vice president under impossible conditions, the personal and the political collide.


    Can the love story dubbed by the global media as the “Romeo and Juliet of the 21st century” overcome hatred, fear, and the forces determined to tear it apart?

    £4.99
  • Harriet's World
    eBook
    Harriet's World
    Celia Andrews

    Harriet, recently returned to an English village after a life spent with her widowed clergyman father in cities across Europe, where he has served in British embassies, quickly becomes involved in local life. She makes friends, including a scatty girl who is under her mother’s thumb, attends all the classiest social events and attracts many admirers. Life for her seems to have settled down, but then a local feud involving her father, the village church where he is the vicar, and several parishioners leads the two to return to Europe and more official postings for her father and friendship and romance for Harriet. Then a traumatic event changes her life dramatically.


    Celia Andrews has based the novel on Plan of a Novel, a publication of notes left by Jane Austen by Oxford University Press in their book Minor Works.

    £3.50
  • Fear Me!
    eBook
    Fear Me!
    Matt Rocks

    Over the melee, I could hear my own blood roaring in my ears and my breathing thundering and bellowing in my chest. My heart was filled with horror and despair. Cold sweat was running down my body, drenching my shorts and shirt, as I panicked and fought with myself, forcing myself to continue. Tears were streaming down my face, dripping unheeded off my chin, falling onto Paddy’s upturned face, filling his staring, pale eyes. Desperation filled my entire body as I repeated the same moves over and over, my legs and back shaking and quaking with fatigue, unused to the unusual position. All around me, people pushed and shoved, shouting advice at me, screaming at me to keep going. I glimpsed George in the crowd, his phone pressed to his ear, shouting incoherently into it.


    I kept shoving down into poor Paddy’s chest, breathing for him. Deep down, I knew there would be no response, but I refused to give up on him, refused to let him go. There was a wild, animal-like roaring scream deafening me, and my ears filled with a thundering, drumming sound, like standing under the Niagara Falls.


    Then, I could do no more.

    £4.99
  • The Secret of Greasy Jack
    eBook
    The Secret of Greasy Jack
    Terry Richardson

    The town of Billaroo was devoid of a railway: or was it?


    A group of bored schoolchildren stumble upon evidence of an ancient rail line passing through the town. They explore the countryside and find many more signs that some form of railway once existed. They consult the oldest residents of their town and are continuously told no such railway ever existed.


    One of the girls, who is the daughter of the town’s doctor, recalls that the well-known but constantly avoided local tramp, “Greasy Jack”, is older than the other long-time residents. Reluctantly the group decided to visit the tramp in his filthy shack out behind the town cemetery. After winning his trust, the group are told of a sad, tragic tale which confirms their suspicions and also horrifies them.


    Meanwhile, the trio of boys are engaged in an ongoing feud with some older boys. When two of them are bashed by the thugs, Greasy Jack intervenes, saving them from a more severe beating. The cowardly thugs swear retribution, and tragedy strikes. This triggers the decision by the group of teenagers to call a meeting of their parents and the police to tell all, not only about the mysterious railway but also the truth about Greasy Jack.

    £4.99

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