Valley Press

How does it feel to go to work as an agency carer on Monday morning, only to be accused of robbery and murder by coffee-time? Betty Reilly; incredibly clever, undervalued and overworked, has an absent husband and a demanding job. She finds herself suddenly embroiled in the complex and erratic lives of the comically and dangerously eccentric inhabitants of Eagle''s Nest, Cornwall. Betty knows she didn''t kill Lady Legeia, but the daughters, and their friend the Police Commissioner appear determined to pin the crime on her. Set against the backdrop of a community and a castle harbouring secrets, and the shadowy activity of a global mining company, our magnificent heroine Betty must use her wit,wiles and investigative skills to prove her innocence.

Simon, Tim and Ruth are childhood friends, growing up in a small, quiet English village in the 1960s. Their pleasure are found in the natural world around them; climbing and caving, motor-bikes, and each other. Their lives remain intertwined even when Simon and Tim leave the confines of the village to attend university in Manchester and Cambridge. Breaking Shells is a tender, challenging novel, dealing with the heartbreaks and confusions of first love, interracial relationships, religious strictures and the shame and dangers of buried secrets. Set within a period of huge social shifts, Breaking Shells charts the coming of age enduring friendship of a trio who prove that bonds and loyalty can triumph over adversity.

Characterised by its warmth, wisdom and wit, Norah Hanson''s poetry has earned her thousands of devoted readers over the past three decades.With not a word wasted, the poet takes in the landmarks both of her native Hull and life itself, finding joy in the company of family and friends – but also in unhooking clasps, undoing buttons and donning pyjamas in an empty house (albeit one in which chores are never quite finished).In one perfectly-staged scene after another, love and beauty rub shoulders with tragedy and loss, while eighty years of history – an "era" in the truest sense – happen all at once, childhood and retirement walking hand-in-hand together across the page.