LESLEY PEARSE

Lesley PearseLondres, 1990. À la mort de celle qu'elle croyait être sa mère, Daisy, 25 ans, découvre qu'elle a été adoptée. Face à l'indifférence d'un père, la jalousie d'une s?ur et l'incompréhensio

Laura Brannigan is in jail for a murder she claims she didn't commit. For two years she's been battling for justice - insisting the police made a terrible mistake; pleading that she didn't kill her best friend, Jackie. With her spirits at their lowest ebb, she's resigned to her miserable fate - until, out of the blue, a letter is delivered to the prison. At the sight of the letter's handwriting, Laura's heart lurches - taking her back to a different, happier time and memory of an old love . . . 1972 was the year Laura met Stuart and experienced her first summer of love. It was a heady time as she'd only recently been able to stop running. For Laura had always been a survivor: leaving an abusive home at fifteen and then life on her own - until she met Jackie. She and Jackie became best friends, swore they'd be sisters for ever. So what went wrong in the intervening years? And why is Stuart writing to Laura now? Does he have faith in her innocence? And can he help free Laura from prison - and her past?

When a beautiful blonde girl is found half-drowned on a beach, she has no memory of who she is or what horrors have left her there. But an article about her in a Brighton newspaper rings alarm bells for beautician Dale, who shows the police photographs of Lotte Wainright. The girls met working on a cruise ship and their friendship blossomed as they sailed the seas of South America, until Lotte fell under the sinister influence of an older American couple. To her regret, Dale hasn't seen Lotte since leaving the ship months earlier … but the girl on the beach - although badly bruised - is indeed her much missed friend. Their reunion only marks the beginning of a dangerous tidal wave of secrets, lies and nightmares. Where has Lotte been? Who is the man who seems to want to kill her? And what has become of the baby she's recently given birth to? Dale and Lotte must dig deep and find the strength to hold on against the odds if they are to rebuild their friendship and survive Lotte's stolen - and deadly - past …

When tragedy takes away Beth Bolton's parents, she and her brother Sam set off for a new life in America, leaving their baby sister in the arms of an adoptive family. Aboard the steamer to New York, Beth and Sam cross paths with charismatic gambler, Theo, and sharp-witted Londoner, Jack, and the four forge an invaluable friendship. Beth has always dreamed of playing her fiddle to large audiences and when Sam finds a job in a bar, she entertains the crowds, who nickname her Gypsy. But the foursome fall foul of gangsters and are forced to flee to New York. And when they are again hunted out of Philadelphia, the only option is to head for Canada. As they trek across the country, word escapes that gold has been found in the Klondike. They embark on a dangerous journey, navigating snowy mountains and treacherous rapids to reach Dawson City. Who will break first? Theo, the handsome yet greedy bounder with claims on Beth's heart? Dreamy Sam, so easily influenced by others? Practical Jack, a man devoted to his friends? Or Beth, the woman with the gypsy in her soul, who cares more for music than gold?

The Queen of Storytellers is back - with a triumphant tale of one woman's struggle over adversity. In 1786 a fisherman's daughter from Cornwall called Mary Broad was sentenced to be hung for theft. But her sentence was commuted, and she was transported to Australia, one of the first convicts to arrive there. How Mary escaped the harsh existence of the colony and found true love, and how she was captured and taken back to London in chains, only to be released after a trial where she was defended by no less than James Boswell, is one of the most gripping and moving stories of human endeavour (based on an amazing true story) you will ever read.

Coronation Day, 1953. Molly Heywood has always been a pillar of strength for her local community, so when her friend Cassie fails to attend the Coronation Day party in the village, it is Molly who heads out in the rain to look for her. But nothing can prepare Molly for what she is going to discover. Now with Cassie gone and her six-year-old daughter Petal missing, it is up to Molly to head to London to uncover the past Cassie kept so well hidden. But will Molly discover the truth before it's too late? Or has Petal disappeared forever?

A compelling new story from international number one bestselling author Lesley Pearse Spring 1935. Two girls meet by chance on Hampstead Heath. To an outsider, they could not appear more different. Verity is well-mannered and smartly dressed, living with her parents in a beautiful house close to the heath. Ruby is dishevelled and grubby, used to a life of squalor where she is forced to steal to survive. Yet there's an instant affinity between them, and when their fortunes are shockingly reversed, it is the strength of their friendship that keeps them resilient to the challenges and hardships they face. As Britain prepares for war, Ruby finds herself in Devon with the world at her feet and enjoying her first taste of romance. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Verity is forced to leave behind everything she has ever known and a shadow from the past threatens her chances of a new beginning. But through it all, the girls are always there for each other. Until the day Verity does the one thing that will break Ruby's heart. In a country torn apart by fighting, will Verity and Ruby survive long enough to find a way back to each other? Or do some betrayals go with you to the grave ...? Praise for Lesley Pearse 'Epic romantic drama set in post-war London' Heat Magazine 'A heart-warming and evocative tale that is a real delight to read' Sun 'A narrative that gallops along, this is quintessential Pearse that will delight her army of readers' Daily Mail 'Must have' Sunday Express 'Yet another great Lesley Pearse novel' Woman Magazine 'Evocative, compelling, told from the heart' Sunday Express 'Utterly riveting, brilliant' Closer 'Full of love, passion and heartbreak' Best 'Glorious, heartwarming' Woman & Home 'This gripping tale of war and friendship is perfect for a long day of beach reading.' Marie Claire

Lesley Pearse, No.1 bestselling author of Stolen and Belle, returns with the phenomenal novel The Promise. Heartbreaking, enduring and masterfully told, The Promise will take you on a breathtaking journey into the battlefields of the First World War. War threatens to take all she has loved and lived for . . . On the outbreak of war, Belle Reilly's husband Jimmy enlists and heads for the deadly trenches of northern France. But Belle knows she cannot stand idly by when so many are sacrificing their lives. Volunteering to help battlefield wounded, Belle is posted to France as a Red Cross ambulance driver. There, a tragic accident brings her face to face with Etienne - a man from her past she's never quite forgotten. Torn between forbidden passion, loyalty and love, Belle is caught in an impossible situation. Will she succumb to the dark forces of this most brutal of wars? Or will fate intervene and finally lead her to lasting happiness? The Promise vividly describes life behind the front line and the tragic choices that war forces people to make. 'Pearse will pull your heartstrings' Sun 'Characters it is impossible not to care about' Daily Mail 'An addictive tear-jerker with characters you'll adore, laugh with and cry for' Bella 'Full of love, passion and heartbreak' Best 'Glorious, heartwarming' Woman & Home Lesley Pearse's novels have sold five million copies worldwide. Her fourteen most recent books, including Belle, Stolen, Gypsy, Faith, Hope, A Lesser Evil, Secrets, Remember Me, Till We Meet Again, Father Unknown, Trust Me, Never Look Back, Charlie and Rosie, are huge bestsellers and available as Penguin paperbacks. Lesley lives near Bristol and has three daughters and two grandchildren

Fifteen-year-old Maisy Mitcham and her twin brother Duncan lose their mother to an insane asylum one night in 1960.The twins are sent to their grandmother's country house, Nightingales. Cold and distant, she leaves them to their own devices, to explore and to grow. That is until the day Duncan doesn't come home from the woods.With their grandmother seeming to have little interest in her grandson's disappearance, and the police soon giving up hope, it is left to Maisy to discover the truth. And she will start with Grace Deville. A woman who lives alone in the wood, about whom rumours abound . . .

Adele Talbot is twelve when her younger sister is killed in a road accident in London's Kings Cross, and her mother Rose - so devastated by the loss - begins to abuse her. Adele is sent to a children's home in Tunbridge Wells, but soon runs away to trace her grandmother- Honour who she has discovered lives in Sussex. But Honour is a bitter, eccentric woman who is not best pleased to see her grandaughter. Eventually the two forge some sort of bond and Honour allows Adele to stay. When Adele meets Michael Bailey on the marshes two years later and real love and friendship enter her life, she feels she can finally put her hurtful past behind her. But then war breaks out and as if that wasn't upheaval enough, Rose decides to rear her ugly head again. And she has a few unpleasant surprises for Adele?

Somerset, 1836, and baby Hope is cast out from a world of privilege as living proof of her mother's adultery...Smuggled away from the Harveys and Briargate House to a nearby village, Hope grows up in the arms of the warm and loving Renton family, unaware of her true identity. But fate has harsh plans for Hope and a chain of events sees her forced to lead a vagabond's existence until she finds the courage to fight back and prove herself a fearless and able nurse, a vocation that takes her to the horrific battlefields of the Crimea. But, the secrets of the past are not yet done with Hope Renton and she must return to England to face the legacy of her birth...With the storytelling magic that has won Lesley Pearse millions of fans, Hope is the portrait of a remarkable woman who will never let the world - or injustice - bring her down.

Smuggled away from the Harveys and Briargate House to a nearby village, Hope grows up in the arms of the warm and loving Renton family, unaware of her true identity. But fate has harsh plans for Hope and a chain of events sees her forced to lead a vagabond's existence until she finds the courage to fight back and prove herself a fearless and able nurse, a vocation that takes her to the horrific battlefields of the Crimea. But the secrets of the past are not yet done with Hope Renton, and she must return to England to face the legacy of her birth...

Beth Powell and Susan Wright were best friends - both from troubled families, their only happy times were the summers they spent together as children. Until fate intervened and separated them. It's twenty-nine years later when they meet again. Reclusive Susan is a loner who has shot two people in cold blood. Beth is the lawyer allocated to defend her. Yet their friendship still endures, even as the evidence against Susan mounts up - a friendship that must be stronger than the traumas of their past. Because for one of them, there can be no happy ending.