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The unmissable brand new novel from rachel hore, sunday times bestselling author of last letter home, a 2018 richard and judy book club pick ‘a gorgeous and deeply absorbing story’ tracy rees a young mother’s sacrifice. a child’s desperate search for the truth . . . london, 1917 when nineteen-year-old alice copeman becomes pregnant, she is forced by her father and stepmother to give up the baby. she simply cannot be allowed to bring shame upon her family. but all alice can think about is the small, kitten-like child she gave away, and she mourns the father, a young soldier, so beloved, who will never have the chance to know his daughter. edith and philip burns, a childless couple, yearn for a child of their own. when they secretly adopt a baby girl, irene, their life together must surely be complete. irene grows up knowing that she is different from other children, but no one will tell her the full truth. putting hopes of marriage and children behind her, alice embarks upon a pioneering medical career, striving to make her way in a male-dominated world. meanwhile, irene struggles to define her own life, eventually leaving her suffolk home to find work in london. as two extraordinary stories intertwine across two decades, will secrets long-buried at last come to light? brilliantly evoking the changing attitudes of the time, the love child is a novel about love, family, separation, despair and hope, full of tenderness and deep feeling. ‘simply stunning . . . i savoured every moment of this moving story of love, loss and, ultimately, forgiveness. the love child is an absolutely beautiful book’ dinah jefferies ‘this tender account, spanning two generations, reveals how the loss affects mother and child across the years. a story that stirs the deepest emotions’ woman & home ‘a poignant story, rich in period detail’ sunday mirror ‘an emotive and thought-provoking read . . . my heart went out to both these two women as they faced such difficult personal decisions that would change their lives forever’ rosanna ley ‘i really enjoyed this book. hore tackles difficult subjects with a clever, light touch and a sunny positivity. her women are brave and good and you desperately want them to win’ daily mail ‘a novel that stirs the deepest emotions’ woman ‘rachel’s stories are always absorbing and intricately woven and the love child is no exception. this is a wonderfully moving tale of love and loss, hope and eventual reconciliation, and i very much enjoyed it’ barbara erskine ‘i found her writing warm, compassionate in this story about one girl’s search for her true identity amidst the secrets and dynamics of her adopted family. it had a realism about the poignancy of illegitimacy in this pre-war setting’ leah fleming ‘the love child is a hugely compelling, poignant and moving read. rachel has great skill as a storyteller and readers are sure to be engrossed and swept away by her clever double-stranded tale’ jane johnson

‘he did kill. kill and kill and kill.’ tess’s number one priority has always been her three-year-old daughter poppy. but splitting up with poppy’s father jason means that she cannot always be there to keep her daughter safe. when she finds a disturbing drawing, dark and menacing, among her daughter’s brightly coloured paintings, tess is convinced that poppy has witnessed something terrible. something that her young mind is struggling to put into words. but no one will listen. it’s only a child’s drawing, isn’t it? tess will protect poppy, whatever the price. but when she doesn’t know what, or who, she is protecting her from, how can she possibly know who to trust . . . ? ‘an intense, brilliantly crafted thriller that hums with menace from start to finish’ tm logan, author of trust me and the holiday ‘what an intriguing, compelling page-turner. i ate it up in two days’ liz nugent, author of our little cruelties ‘i love nicci french’s books, and with the unheard they are right at the top of their game. few crime writers can match their psychological acuity, of their ability to lead a reader through dizzying plot twists without ever losing pace. it’s an absolute masterclass of crime writing’ kate rhodes, author of the locked-island mystery series praise for nicci french: ‘confirms nicci french as the giant of the genre’ erin kelly ‘part ingenious locked-room mystery. part you’ve-got-the-wrong-person nightmare drama. part intricate memory game. yet all seamlessly woven together. french’s best book yet’ a j finn ‘expertly paced, psychologically sharp, thoroughly enjoyable’ louise candlish ‘meticulously plotted, psychologically astute’ sarah vaughan ‘great writing, razor-sharp plotting, and powerful characterisation. i was 100 pages in before i even drew breath, and i defy anyone to see the ending coming’ cara hunter ‘it’s nicci french perfection – which, as we all know, is the best kind of perfection. so, so gripping and brilliantly clued’ sophie hannah ‘a novel that blissfully plays with two genres: on the one hand an against-the-odds legal thriller à la john grisham… and on the other a miss marple whodunnit’ sunday times ‘nicci french husband-and-wife writing team responsible for some of the uk’s best psychological thrillers have created a gem of a protagonist in tabitha’ observer ‘first-class’ independent ‘gripping’ literary review ‘gritty and moving – the husband-and-wife team have scored another hit’ best ‘a twisty and shocking read’ bella ‘engrossing’ good housekeeping

A sudden outbreak of maliciousness strikes the town of lochdubh in the form of a rash of poison pen letters. things turn deadly when the local postmistress is found hanged in her room… with a vicious note beneath her dangling feet. though his superiors call it suicide, pc hamish macbeth pronounces it murder. but hamish is soon distracted by jenny ogilvie, a friend of his ex-fiancee, who arrives in lochdubh to seduce him. and then he’s ambushed by local reporter elspeth grant, who sets out to land the story – and hamish – for herself. caught in the middle of this volatile case, hamish faces dangerous romances… and a blackhearted culprit wielding a mighty – and lethal – pen. praise for the hamish macbeth series: the much-loved hamish macbeth series. beguiling blend of wry humour and sharp observations about rural life. – good book guide. it’s always a special treat to return to lochdubh. – new york times book review. the detective novels of m c beaton, a master of o. utrageous black comedy, have reached cult status. – anne robinson, the times

Kate miller has lived in new york for three long years. now with her father ill, its time to come home and face everything she left behind – her friends, her family, her job, and the man she thought was the love of her life.