Mirror Books

"I am a mum of two beautiful daughters, Larose and Lorena. "My eldest, Larose, is the light of my life. She is so like I was as a child and with her big brown eyes, the double of her father too. And she loves to be the centre of attention... just like me. "But my youngest, Lorena, is harder to picture. I was able to hold her as a baby and see her tiny face, but I don't know what the colour of her eyes would be now or who she would look like today. I've never heard the sound of her laugh, or her cry."In Mum of Two, Lauren Goodger shares the story of losing her daughter, recounting the unimaginable, as she revisits navigating the hardest thing any parent could ever experience. This moving book explores not only the event itself, but the way in which the people around her responded, and how their actions drove her to become the strongest version of herself. Lauren recounts this life-altering tragedy from the moment the midwife couldn't find a heartbeat through to the most difficult days, months and years of her life that followed in its wake. In the aftermath of the worst thing that could happen to any mother, she realises none of those books, and none of those Instagram or TikTok videos, will tell you about what will happen if your baby doesn't make it. The reality is that you find out that no one will ever want to talk about it, or even talk to you, because no one knows what to say. Losing your baby doesn't turn off biology, your boobs still leak milk and you still bleed for days on end. You still have sleepless nights but it's your cries that keep you up, not your baby's. You might be terrified, like Lauren, of having that tiny wicker casket in your house and not knowing where to put it. Mum of Two is an exploration of motherhood, loss, and grief - but also of immense inner- strength, courage, and resilience.

'I have 90 years to share: 90 years of joy and sorrow, triumph and disaster, love and loss, laughter and tears; 90 years of watching the world change around me beyond my wildest imagination. Ninety years and still counting...'Amanda Barrie, the iconic Cleo in Carry on Cleo and much-loved Alma in Coronation Street, was born in 1935, above her grandfather's tailor's shop in Ashton Under Lyne, during a ferocious thunderstorm. And ever since her journey through life has been a stormy one. This book will tell the whole story for the first time, from her expulsion from two schools and running away from home aged 13 to be a Soho showgirl, to rising from the chorus to star in the West End, to Carry On Cabby and Carry On Cleo, to Corrie, Bad Girls and more. Amanda has become something of a national treasure, entertaining us all, whilst not hesitating to speak up for herself and others on national television, including on celebrity editions of Hell's Kitchen and Big Brother. Having performed in her teenage years alongside fellow national icon Barbara Windsor, Amanda's life has in many ways followed a similar trajectory to become a huge household name. Amanda will pay particular attention to the whole new life she has led since she left Coronation Street in 2001. Packed with anecdotes and memories of her nine decades on stage and screen, she will share the moments that came to define her life. She will fully explore her struggle to come to terms with who she was, relating in painful detail the traumas faced by a young gay woman in the 1950s and early 60s. She will explain why she kept that side of her a secret for most of her adult life, and how she feared that she would lose her job and her home if the truth became known. For the first time, she will tell the full story of how she met her wife, novelist Hilary Bonner, fell in love, overcame all manner of difficulties, and built a new life together.

Big Guy tells the story of Marcus Redwood, widely known as the UK's most notorious nightclub doorman. Over a career spanning around 40 years, he had an estimated 3,000 fights on the doors of clubs and pubs in Southern England, and knocked out approximately 1,000 men, never losing in a one-on-one confrontation throughout his entire door work. Growing up on a small farm near the seaside town of Ramsgate, Marcus was subjected to vicious bullying at every school he attended. Angry and frustrated by the violence and intimidation he endured, he eventually resolved never to be bullied again and took up boxing. After his first unofficial door work for the landlord of his local pub when he was 16 (in return for free beer), his formal door security work started at age 18 - no training, uniforms, radios or metal detectors. He worked during the day cutting down trees for the local council, and at night on the doors of clubs and pubs. He was 6ft2ins and weighed 19.5 stone in his prime. Guns and knives were an ever-present danger to Marcus. Troublemakers who were thrown out of clubs often threatened to return with guns or knives; and some actually did. A stranger thrown out of a club might be a gangster or part of a gangster family. There was always a risk of revenge and retribution. Marcus was the target of London hitmen outside his home, who tried to shoot and kill him. Well-known underworld friends and acquaintances during Marcus's career included the Kray twins, Freddie Foreman, Frankie Fraser and the 'celebrity gangster' Dave Courtney. Looking back on his 40-year career on the doors, Marcus has not only been involved in thousands of fights, but he has also seen the best and worst of the club world, and even the tragic loss of life. He worked with some of the very best and very worst doormen. He has escaped death. His life story is not only fascinating and entertaining; it is an inspirational story of persistence battling against all the odds and living to tell the tale.

WRITTEN WITH SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ANN CUSACKGenerations of abuse. A murdered mother. A daughter determined to get justice. Growing up as one of eight children with drug abusers for parents, Tara has no choice but to learn to be self-reliant from a young age. Despite her mother’s negligence, Tara remains fiercely loyal to her, even more so when she discovers the terrible sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her own father. But when the same predator turns his attention to six-year-old Tara, a horrifying spiral begins and history repeats itself. Her mother stayed silent and Tara keeps her own abuse and pain a secret too. Until one day an unimaginable tragedy changes everything. Tara knows she can rely only on herself. Can she finally get justice for both of them?

They degraded her to the point where she'd become this sex thing - this thing that wasn't human, but an object - to the point where she believed that's what she was. The world of abuse and grooming gangs couldn't have seemed further away from Kate's start in life but, as so many young women now know, that matters little. As Sir Keir Starmer's national inquiry into grooming gangs begins, victims from across the country will share the stories of how they were targeted and their lives ruined. For Kate it was a situation that came out of the blue when, aged 18 and at college, her home life deteriorated and she found herself in supported housing for homeless teenagers in Telford. That's where she came into contact with an Asian gang who were grooming young girls for sex. One of the gang, who'd recently come out of prison, forced his way in and raped her before dragging her to a flat next door which the gang used for sex with underage girls, to publicly humiliate her in front of his friends. They threatened her with violence if she went to the police. It was the beginning of a cycle of serial and brutal abuse and rape that is almost impossible to imagine. She suffered mentally with PTSD being passed around between more than 70 men and taken to Morocco as a sex slave. Kate finally was able to report the abuse and some of the gang members were tried and sent to prison. Kate became a Mental Health Nurse in a secure unit in forensic mental health, which ironically includes working with sex offenders. She's become highly skilled in what she does, having an in-depth and first-hand knowledge of the thought processes of groomers.

Full of fascinating anecdotes of murder, mystery and occasional mayhem, ex Chief Crime Correspondent Jeff Edwards reveals the details of cases that will grip readers from start to finish. The Murder Guy is an action-packed ride through some of the biggest cases from the 1970s to recent years. It tackles everything from the search for the 'Mardi Gra' bombers to Chechen hitmen, from the murder of PC Stephen Tibble to the inside track on Heathrow Airport's biggest crimes of all time, and the unsolved murders of three young women still baffling Scotland YardWith unrivalled access, Jeff takes readers on a journey to explain what really goes on behind the headlines. It is sprinkled with funny stories about his relationships with cops, bank robbers and serial killers, as well as world changing events. Jeff Edwards became the Daily Mirror Chief Crime Correspondent after starting out in local papers in the East End of London in the 1960’s and 70’s. Now retired, he is ready to share the true stories behind some of the most high-profile crimes in Britain.

In 1979, Brenda Spencer, a seemingly average teenage girl living in a nice suburban neighbourhood, made and executed plans that would place her in infamy and set a violent and terrifying national precedent. She receives a rifle for Christmas and a month later set her sights and opens fire on the elementary school across the street. The event is forever glorified by the song 'I Don't Like Mondays' by The Boomtown Rats and marks the bloody beginning of the American phenomenon of school shootings. Long before Columbine and Sandy Hook, there was Brenda Spencer... I Don't Like Mondays lays bare this seemingly average teenage girl's brutal motives and subsequent arrest.

Peter Bessell was a British Member of Parliament, publicly described as a rogue; an MI6 agent; an MI5 agent; a secret advisor to the US government; a South African BOSS spy; a fraud; a charlatan; a lounge lizard; a murderer; a compulsive liar; a fantasist; a 'grass'; a 'man who operated in the shadowy world of politicians, bankers, fixers, conmen, and criminals'; and a sex addict. These descriptions were not made as some tittle tattle between courses at private dinner parties, they were made by respected people and mainstream publications. It was a judge who called him a liar, and Henry Kissinger who referred to him as a charlatan. What kind of man attracts this level of abuse, and how much of it was true?'Finding Dad' is the extraordinary story of Paul Bessell's uncomfortable discovery of the truth about Peter Bessell, his father, set against a background of astonishing business and political corruption. As a one-time pillar of the establishment and jet-setting financier, Bessell gained international notoriety as the chief prosecution witness in the Jeremy Thorpe trial. But his life was much more than the Thorpe affair. Drawing from extensive research from previously unseen, extensive archives left by is parents, the US and UK National Archives, Paul takes us on a compelling quest to reconcile all the upsetting things he has been told, and read, about his father against his own memories of the gentle, generous and kind man he loved. The story takes readers through the glamorous political and business worlds of 1960s and 70s London and New York, through mysterious work on behalf of governments, and-via fraud, murder plots and sex-to the Old Bailey and the 'trial of the century'.

Diego's Story is the thirteenth instalment in the popular Thrown Away Children paperback series. Diego and his siblings live in desperate poverty, but nobody seems to notice or care as they come close to starving, scouring food banks to survive. But he’s wrong – someone has noticed him. County Lines gang members can see his vulnerability. With an absent father, alcoholic mother and dependent young siblings, Diego is the perfect mark. Entrapped, used, abused and witness to terrible crimes, young Diego escapes a murder scene and runs. Experienced foster carer Louise Allen steps in when 14-year-old Diego is placed with her. Can she help him overcome his disturbing past and finally feel safe again? And what will happen if the County Lines gang finds him – with Louise and her family?

A Sunday Times bestseller. The courage and audacity of a small group of ordinary people were the last hope for hundreds who had risked all for the Allied cause in World War II. As they watched the railway station fill up with men and women, they pledged that the train would never reach Germany... They had the next few hours to work a miracle. The true story of how more than 1,400 men and women of the Resistance, SOE agents, and airmen from Britain, the US and Canada were saved from death in a concentration camp by the courage and cunning of a small group of civilians. The Nazi Ghost Train unfolds in a pulse-pounding narrative, describing the terror of being shot down on bombing missions, the fight to stay free and alive with Gestapo on your tail, and the gut wrenching horror of betrayal. Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources and extensive interviews, The Nazi Ghost Train brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters.

In their own words, the very personal story of the ups and downs of the Nicholson family at Cannon Hall farm spanning almost 70 years. From the death of Roger's beloved dad Charlie to the daily struggle for survival amid farming's rapidly changing landscape, the Nicholsons have weathered storm after storm. They came perilously close to losing it all as a lifetime of framing tradition seemed to slip through their fingers. But in a daring last roll of the dice, they bet the farm - and won - creating against all odds one of Britain's best-loved tourist attractions. Here, Roger and wife Cynthia, along with their sons Richard, Robert and David, take turns reflecting on some of the dizzy highs and crushing lows that have made them who they are today: champion livestock breeders, TV stars and - above all - devoted farmers.

Hunting Shadows is a gripping true crime memoir by Jane Hamilton, one of Scotland's most experienced and well-known crime journalists. The book chronicles her decades-long career reporting on some of the country's most harrowing and high-profile criminal cases - with a central focus on the chilling investigation into serial killer Peter Tobin. Following Tobin's arrest, she was one of the first journalists to question whether his crimes were more extensive than publicly known. Her reporting uncovered early warning signs and disturbing patterns that would later help prompt Operation Anagram - the nationwide police operation that sought to uncover the full extent of Tobin's crimes. She gained unprecedented access to Tobin's personal world through exclusive interviews with his estranged wife and son - interviews no other journalist secured. Their revelations offered a rare insight into Tobin's double life and helped reveal how a serial killer hid in plain sight. Hunting Shadows takes readers behind the scenes of major investigations, crime scenes, courtrooms, and newsrooms. It offers a rare inside look at the world of crime journalism, the pressures of reporting under scrutiny, and the responsibility of telling the stories of victims and survivors with truth and integrity.

A Model Spy is the never before told story of Gisela Klein, Germany's secret weapon. A woman of brains, beauty and charm, who befriended everyone from members of the British Royal household to the man who should have been the President of the United States of America. A self-professed "anti-Nazi" and a networker of genius, she was the first steady girlfriend of the serial philanderer and British member of Parliament Jack Profumo. She was an intelligence asset for Germany in the 1930s who camouflaged her own link to Adolf Hitler's second in command, Herman Goering. She wasn't a full time spy, the tall green-eyed, blond-haired Gisela had a glittering career as an international model and was at the core of Nazi attempts to use fashion as a weapon of culture and a source of hard currency for the armaments Hitler needed. In 1935 the MP Nancy Astor told people her beautiful guest at Cliveden was a spy. In 1938 MI5 tried but failed to arrest her. Only in 1944, as the allies fought their way towards Germany, would the Bletchley Park codebreakers provide clear evidence of her shrouded role for German military intelligence, the Abwehr. Gisela Klein weaves her way through the turbulent history of the 1930s and 1940s via London, Paris, Cairo, St Moritz, Cannes, New York, Berlin and Vienna as she combines intelligence gathering with couture.

‘This is my story, messy and unfiltered. It’s offered to you with an open heart in the hope that somewhere between these lines, you might find something you need.’Helen’s story begins in January 2024, at the lowest point in her life following a breakdown. Years of stress and struggle against the pressures of fame and her own mental health have left her shattered. The only way forward is to reflect and rebuild. Head and Heart is a powerful, frank, and moving memoir that follows Helen from childhood right up to present day. From her life-changing audition for Coronation Street and the incident that led to her leaving Rosie Webster forever, to her relationship with her fiance Bristol Rovers’ winger Scott Sinclair and its eventual collapse and becoming a mum to her three children. In her memoir, Helen retraces every bump in the road and reveals the real woman behind the constant headlines. And, having experienced more ups and downs than most, Helen hopes to help others facing struggles in their lives and to show there really is a way back from rock bottom.

"This book is different from most other books on ageing because it's a reflection on my own health and happiness from the long perspective of my life as a doctor, wife, mother, author, business woman, TV presenter, journalist, grandmother and widow, sharing with you the best bits of what I've learned has been a stormy one."After decades on TV, as well as being a columnist and health and relationship expert for the Daily Mirror newspaper, Dr Miriam Stoppard is one of the most recognisable and trusted voices on health, wellbeing, parenting and everything in between. Now, as she approaches her 89th birthday, Dr Miriam turns her attention to an often-overlooked section of society - the over 60s. Dr Miriam has watched as life for so many in her generation has changed and people are able to live better for longer - something she hopes her advice will help even more people to achieve. Sex, Drugs and Walking Sticks is a one-stop guide to living well and feeling confident in your older years is a liberating read. It frees you from being what you "ought' to be, to being whatever you like. You've earned that freedom. Dr Miriam's approach is to get you feeling happy about as many aspects of your life as you want to, whether that be confidence in health, happiness, relationships, looks and more.