Soot The Times's Historical Fiction Book of the Month

Phillipa Ashley (Author)

The Christmas Holiday

Pour yourself a mug of hot chocolate and settle down in front of the fire with this perfect, uplifting festive read! 'Wow, just the most perfect fabulous festive read, heart-warming, charming, a real tonic to add cheer and love to your day!... I really didn't want it to end' NetGalley review⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ She's planned the perfect Christmas. But fate might have other ideas... Krystle didn't have a normal childhood and longed for warm family Christmases with presents under the tree. Now she makes sure everyone else has the perfect Christmas she never had, bringing beautiful decorations to cheer as many people as possible.With her festive business booming, she decides to celebrate by renting a secluded house in the Lakes, with a plan to make this the ultimate yuletide getaway.But fate immediately throws a spanner in the works in the form of a broken-down car, a flooded river and Max; a man who despises Christmas.Krystle becomes determined to show Max the joys of the holiday. She won't take no for an answer.Can she melt Max's Grinch-like heart? And can he show her that life doesn't need to go to plan to take you somewhere magical... Let Sunday Times ...

Sheena Wilkinson (Author)

Mrs Hart's Marriage Bureau

They'll find you love even if they can't find it for themselves. April McVey hasn't a romantic bone in her body. So how has she found herself at the door of Mrs Hart's Marriage Bureau, job application in hand? Matchmaker Martha hopes the lively Irish girl will breathe fresh air into a business struggling to keep with the times amid the tumult of 1930s Britain. So when lonely widower Fabian arrives at the bureau, the pair's matchmaking skills - and professionalism - meet their first true test. Mrs Hart's Marriage Bureau is a charming and witty romantic comedy about friendship, loneliness, and the unexpected places where we find fulfilment.

Tony Medawar (Editor)

Bodies from the Library 6: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection

Bodies from the Library brings into the daylight the forgotten, the lost and the unknown, and the 2023 volume is another indispensable collection for any bookshelf.The sixth volume of Bodies from the Library includes the usual eclectic mix of pre- and post-war stories by classic crime and thriller writers. Unearthed from ephemeral publications, newspapers and magazines, some of these 'lost' stories are by authors who have appeared in previous volumes, with others who are new to the series: We welcome back to the Library familiar Golden Age detective writers in the form of stories by Christianna Brand, Alice Campbell, Joseph Commings and Cyril Hare, a previously unknown novella by Anthony Gilbert, a short novel by Margery Allingham, and a hitherto unpublished Detection Club radio play by John Rhode.We also welcome for the first time George Bellairs, Victor Whitechurch and Andrew Garve, with E. C. Bentley's 'Greedy Night' providing a humorous parody of Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey, before five thriller writers including Geoffrey Household and Dennis Wheatley round off the collection with an unusual and exciting round-robin novella.And, whether this is your first encounter ...