Debby Holt Libri

Fin dall'infanzia Annie May ha sempre annotato su un diario, per la verità un "libro nero", tutti i nomi e le date degli sgarbi o dei torti imperdonabili subiti. 15 ottobre 1974: Miss Baker, per avermi ripreso per come mi soffiavo il naso. 8 marzo 1983: Mr Cawthorne, per avermi detto che sono la persona più sciocca che abbia mai incontrato. 12 aprile 1987: Peter Elton, per avermi sempre chiesto le sigarette senza mai comprarle. Fra tutti i nomi ce n'è uno che ricorre con insistenza: Ben Seymour. Dopo averle chiesto di sposarlo, Ben ha abbandonato Annie praticamente sull'altare. Sono passati diciassette lunghi anni da quel triste giorno, e Annie si è ricostruita una sua vita. Insegna teatro, vive in un bel posto, esce spesso con degli uomini, continua ad aggiornare II suo libro nero, ma il destino ha in serbo per lei una mossa beffarda. Ben ricompare improvvisamente, conquistandosi la simpatia e la fiducia dei suoi amici e comprando una casa nella stessa strada dove abita Annie. Nonostante le resistenze e tutto il rancore che ancora si porta dentro, Annie dovrà forse lasciare aperto uno spiraglio...

A novel about love, loss and starting again - whatever age you are.

Cornelius Hedge finds it difficult enough to talk to people he does know let alone people he doesn't. So he's plunged into gloom when he is dragooned into driving the female friend of a colleague's wife through France. How on earth is he expected to make small talk from Boulogne to Montelimar? First impressions are not auspicious: the moment he introduces himself, the woman inexplicably bursts into tears. But by the time they've reached their destination, Cornelius has grown increasingly fond of the unassuming Katrina. She is interesting, entertaining, amusing; he'd actually like to see more of her. At their age however, the past has a habit of intruding on the present. Ex-husbands, ex-wives, selfish sisters and sulky teenagers all seem to conspire to thwart the budding romance. What's worse, both Katrina and Cornelius are hiding secrets from their past. Secrets that burst into the open - with rather surprising results.

What happens after the 'happy ever after'? When Robin asked Tilly to marry him, it was the happiest moment of her life. Ten years on, the sparkle has faded - household bills, household chores, two small children and a boisterous dog have seen to that - but Tilly is convinced their love can survive even the attentions of interfering in-laws and a glamorous ex-girlfriend. When dramatic news ignites the simmering undercurrents into a full-blown crisis, Tilly is forced to face the fact that her marriage is under threat. Can she and Robin find a way to recapture the love, lust and sense of fun that filled their early years together? Can Tilly find the strength to overcome the obstacles in the path of true happiness? And when temptation arises in an unexpected form - can she, should she - find the will to resist?

Two months before Sarah's twin sons leave home for their gap year travel, her husband Andrew, a keen amateur thespian, announces that he's leaving her for his leading lady. Happily married for the past twenty years, Sarah has no idea how to fill her empty house, her empty days, nor play the role of discarded wife. As Sarah is to discover, the way forward is strewn with hazards and humiliations. If she is not to be bludgeoned to pieces, she must acquire skills for survival ... fast. Happily for Sarah, help (and hindrance!) is at hand in the form of well-meaning neighbours, a misbehaved mongrel, an eventful trip to Majorca, an unassuming plumber, and an unwelcome role as Mrs De Winter in the forthcoming Ambercross Players' production of Rebecca. In this wickedly funny and hugely entertaining comedy of manners, life in a small Wiltshire village is exposed with a highly infectious sense of humour and a devastatingly accurate eye for detail.

Living with her partner, Tony, his parents and their precocious teenage son, Alberta Granger considers she belongs to the perfect modern extended family. With her catering business booming and her daughter embarking on a glittering career in London, Bertie reckons she can cope with the mild irritants of her difficult stepson's visits and her father's ongoing disapproval of Tony.But some truly shocking news is about to rock Bertie's world to its foundations. As a torrent of tabloid headlines engulfs the family in a very public scandal, Bertie is forced to face the fact that some of her nearest and dearest, those closest family members she thought she knew so well, have been keeping secrets, leading mysterious double lives she knew nothing about.As revelation follows revelation, old wounds re-open and former grudges re-surface. Is Bertie's family unit tight enough to survive? Is her relationship with Tony solid enough to withstand the battering? And, when temptation arises in the form of a handsome stranger, is Bertie herself strong enough to resist?

Zwei unterschiedliche Erwachsene im besten Alter, Katrina und Cornelius, unternehmen eine Reise von London nach Montelimar. Trotz familiärer Turbulenzen und vergangener Geheimnisse könnte diese Fahrt für sie der Weg zum Glück sein – wenn die Herausforderungen nicht dazwischenkommen.