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Lesley Pearse's novels have sold over ten million copies worldwide and include most recently Dead to Me, Without a Trace, Survivor, Forgive Me and The Promise. Her new novel The Woman in the Wood is a powerful, passionate and sinister tale of a young woman's courage, friendship and determination.
Author Photo © Charlotte Murphy
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND WOMAN & HOME BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER Betty is running for her life. When Betty's husband returns from the war broken and haunted, she knows her marriage is doomed. Taking a fleeting chance to escape, she goes on the run armed with a new identity. Yet penniless and alone, Betty quickly finds that starting again is much harder than she thought. And she never imagined it could end in murder . . . But sometimes you have to keep running if you want to survive.
THE ENTHRALLING NEW NOVEL FROM 10 MILLION COPY & NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR LESLEY PEARSE Is there a murderer across the street? It's 1964 and twenty-three-year-old Katy Speed is fascinated by glamorous Gloria and the goings-on at her house over the road. Who are the mysterious women that keep coming and going in the strange black car? Then one night, Gloria's house burns to the ground. Bodies are found in the wreckage. And Katy's horror turns to disbelief when her own father is arrested and charged with murder. Determined to prove his innocence, Katy sets out to uncover the truth about the mysterious house across the street and find the real murderer. But that means risking her own life . . .
'A gripping new novel' HELLO! Magazine _______________ London, 1960 The lives of teenage twins Maisy and Duncan change forever the night their sick mother is taken to an asylum. Sent to live in the New Forest with their cold-hearted grandmother, Mrs Mitcham, they feel unloved and abandoned. And when one day Duncan doesn't come home from exploring in the forest, no one - least of all his grandmother - appears to care about his disappearance. The police, who've found the bodies of other missing boys, offer little hope of finding Duncan alive. Yet Maisy refuses to give up. Though she doesn't know the woods well, she knows someone who does. The strange old woman who lives at their heart. Dare Maisy enlist the help of the woman in the wood? _______________ 'A real page-turner, a family story that is multi-layered just as you'd expect from Lesley Pearse, who is deservedly one of the world's favourite story tellers' My Weekly 'Characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very best' Daily Mail
An engaging, poignant and moving family tale set in the 1960’s on the south coast of England. 15 year old twins Maisy and Duncan are sent to live in the New Forest with their disapproving grandmother. After the difficulties of their childhood, the beauty of the forest captures their imagination, however when Duncan goes missing and the bodies of young men are discovered, lives are changed forever. This story touches heartbreak, can be uncomfortable to read, yet Lesley Pearse always handles difficult subjects with sensitivity and empathy. This is such a readable tale, I simply raced through the drama and intrigue. ‘The Woman in the Wood’ is a captivating and intense story, bringing alive a time period still within touching distance. ~ Liz Robinson
Another dramatic and engagingly expressive historical novel by Lesley Pearse. Set before and during the Second World War, we follow Ruby and Verity during the ups and downs of their young lives. Ruby has a less than auspicious beginning, while Verity appears to live a charmed life, yet they become friends and each brings the other a much needed perspective on their upbringing. Lesley Pearse has the ability to cover brutal and emotional aspects in a gentle and intimate way, not holding back, yet ensuring hope remains. The captivating and varied cast of characters are brought to vivid life, with the romantic interest taking time to come to the boil. ‘Dead to Me’ swings from despair to anticipation and looks at life during the Second World War from the home front, creating a stimulating and evocative read.
Another dramatic and engagingly expressive historical novel by Lesley Pearse. Set before and during the Second World War, we follow Ruby and Verity during the ups and downs of their young lives. Ruby has a less than auspicious beginning, while Verity appears to live a charmed life, yet they become friends and each brings the other a much needed perspective on their upbringing. Lesley Pearse has the ability to cover brutal and emotional aspects in a gentle and intimate way, not holding back, yet ensuring hope remains. The captivating and varied cast of characters are brought to vivid life, with the romantic interest taking time to come to the boil. ‘Dead to Me’ swings from despair to anticipation and looks at life during the Second World War from the home front, creating a stimulating and evocative read. July 2016 eBook of the Month.
An enjoyable, comforting read, even with murder, intrigue and abuse, sneaking and scheming their way through the pages. Set after the Second World War in 1953, the author deftly takes you back to a time when rationing and making do was still a part of every day lives. The engaging cast of characters, from isolated countryside villages to the blitzed East End, are vividly portrayed. While Molly starts to really live and experience life, the background detail brings a vibrancy to the story, in particular the war torn and deprived streets of London. This is pure escapism, allowing you to float away to another time, to experience hopes and dreams along side one woman’s determination to discover exactly what has happened to her murdered friend’s missing daughter. ~ Liz Robinson
May 2015 eBook of the Month. An enjoyable, comforting read, even with murder, intrigue and abuse, sneaking and scheming their way through the pages. Set after the Second World War in 1953, the author deftly takes you back to a time when rationing and making do was still a part of every day lives. The engaging cast of characters, from isolated countryside villages to the blitzed East End, are vividly portrayed. While Molly starts to really live and experience life, the background detail brings a vibrancy to the story, in particular the war torn and deprived streets of London. This is pure escapism, allowing you to float away to another time, to experience hopes and dreams along side one woman’s determination to discover exactly what has happened to her murdered friend’s missing daughter. ~ Liz Robinson
The third in the Belle series but you really do not need to have read the earlier two. This follows Mari from New Zealand to London on the brink of World War Two. She has loved before her journey, loves again on board ship and eventually, through the Blitz and much trauma, ends up in Lyme Regis. Here she is recruited by MI5 and off she goes again, now into France to escort wounded airmen and Jews back to England. Through much drama and incident we do get to the end of the war in a riveting read. Lesley Pearse really is very good.
Lesley Pearse, No.1 bestselling author of The Promise and Belle is back with Survivor, the story of Mariette, a born fighter. It is 1938 and Mariette Carrera is a defiant, strong-willed and selfish eighteen-year-old. And sooner or later, if she stays in the small, gossipy town of Russell, New Zealand, she'll get herself into some serious trouble. Her doting parents, Belle and Etienne, fear for her reputation. So, with the world on the brink of war, Mari leaves home on the SS Rimutaka, bound for her aunt and uncle's house in London. Armed with the freedom she's longed for since childhood, Mari quickly falls for Morgan, the handsome cockney steward on board ship. But once she reaches London, there are other temptations. Mari loves her new life - caught up in a whirl of dances and parties in the glittering West End, relishing her freedom as she earns her own money as a typist. Finally, she feels she is mistress of her own future. Until it is all snatched away by the war. As London endures the Blitz, Mari's new life is cruelly blown apart. Forced from her loving new home, she ends up alone in the East End, and it's worlds away from the London she knows. But there, even in the face of so much despair, she finds the chance to make a difference. Amidst the destruction, Mari learns that the only way to survive this war is to fight, with all the strength, selflessness and compassion within her...and only then will she find true happiness. Because Mari is a survivor...From internationally bestselling author, Lesley Pearse, Survivor is a story of bravery and love.
August 2013 Book of the Month. Another compelling, evocative and heartfelt story from Lesley Pearse, the No. 1 UK bestselling author of The Promise and Belle. On returning home from work Eva Patterson finds her mother dead, by her own hand, and a suicide note saying simply ‘Forgive Me’. The reading of the will leads her on an emotional journey to discover more about her Mother who, unbeknownst to Eva, was a successful artist in the 60s. Forgive Me is an intense and gripping story of love and forgiveness. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Forgive Me a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'This is a fast paced modern novel using a tried and tested formula to yet again to produce stunning results'. Scroll down to read more reviews.
February 2013 Book of the Month. Another compelling, evocative and heartfelt story from Lesley Pearse, the No. 1 UK bestselling author of The Promise and Belle. On returning home from work Eva Patterson finds her mother dead, by her own hand, and a suicide note saying simply ‘Forgive Me’. The reading of the will leads her on an emotional journey to discover more about her Mother who, unbeknownst to Eva, was a successful artist in the 60s. Forgive Me is an intense and gripping story of love and forgiveness. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Forgive Me a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'This is a fast paced modern novel using a tried and tested formula to yet again to produce stunning results'. Scroll down to read more reviews.
Heartbreaking, enduring and masterfully told, The Promise will take you on a breathtaking journey into the battlefields of the First World War.
Lesley Pearse, author of Number One bestseller Stolen, has done it again with Belle - a heroine for our times: a strong woman trying to be good in a world gone bad.
Lesley Pearse, author of the UK and international best-sellers A Lesser Evil and Remember Me, tells a powerful and moving story of identity and self- discovery in her thrilling number one best-seller Stolen. In addition to our Lovereading expert opinion for Stolen a small number of Lovereading members were lucky enough to be invited to review this title - 'This is a book which will not fail to profoundly touch and move all those who read it'. Scroll down to read more reviews.
Gypsy by Lesley Pearse – author of bestsellers Hope and Remember Me – is a historical novel of survival in a compelling nineteenth century setting.
1995, Scotland. The prison of Cornton Vale. Laura Brannigan is in jail for murder. For two years she's been battling for justice - insisting that she didn't kill her best friend, Jackie. Yet with her spirits at their lowest ebb, she receives a letter that takes her back to a different time and memory of an old love...
Hope by Lesley Pearse - author of bestsellers Gypsy and Remember Me - is a historical novel of past scandal and its consequences in a compelling nineteenth century setting. Her existence would be the ruin of her mother...Baby Hope, the unfortunate proof of Lady Harvey's adultery, is smuggled out of a privileged aristocratic household to a nearby village. There, her true identity a secret, she grows up in the arms of the poor, but loving, Renton family. But the day comes when Hope must pay her way. What could be more natural than being taken into service by the Harveys? However when she sees something she should not, she is threatened and blackmailed into leaving her beloved Rentons forever. Destitute on the streets of an unfriendly city, Hope's courage and kindness are recognized by a doctor. A talent for healing sees her taken on as nurse and destined for the horrific battlefields of the Crimea. But will Hope ever come home and uncover the true story of her birth?
London gangland terror of the 60s opens the eyes of a middle-class miss who learns some hard lessons. It’s slow to start but once Dan and Fifi get to Kennington the story really heats up and becomes utterly gripping. Comparison: Martina Cole, Kevin Lewis, Hilary Norman. Similar this month: Sheila Quigley, Adele Geras.
Set in the 1930s, the classic novel from bestselling author Lesley Pearse tells the story of one girl's struggle against cruelty and, her quest for love. Twelve-year-old Adele Talbot's unhappy mother Rose succumbs to madness after a family tragedy and Adele is placed in a bleak children's home. But when her trust is betrayed she runs away - hoping to find her grandmother in Sussex. By the time she does so, Adele is desperately ill and has to be nursed back to health among the beautiful Rye Marshes. And then she meets the wonderful Michael Bailey. As friendship blossoms into love and they come of age together - Adele becoming a nurse and Michael joining the RAF - she believes she can put her troubled past behind her. But with the outbreak of war and the sudden appearance of Rose, bearing shocking family secrets, suddenly all of Adele's hopes appear impossibly fragile...
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.
Susan Wright walked into a doctor's surgery and gunned down two members of staff in cold blood, then waited for the police to arrest her. Later that day a lawyer, Beth Powell, is assigned to defend her. Susan won't talk to anyone, even to Beth - until both women realise that twenty-nine years earlier they had been childhood friends. Talking about their troubled families and those happy summers they spent together as children rekindles Susan and Beth's friendship. And as the evidence against Susan mounts up, both women share their traumatic secrets about what sent them down such different paths in life. Their friendship grows stronger, but for one of them, there can be no happy ending ...
Two young sisters sent far, far from home ...When tragedy deprives little Dulcie Taylor and her sister May of their parents, they are sent first to an orphanage and then shipped off to begin a new life in Australia. But the 'better life' the sisters are promised in this new and exciting country turns out to be a lie. It seems everyone who ever stood up for them, who ever said 'trust me', somehow betrays that trust: their parents, teachers and the sisters at the convent. But then Dulcie meets Ross, another orphanage survivor, and finds a kindred spirit. Can Dulcie ever get over the pain of the past and learn to trust again? And does she have the strength to fight for her own happiness as well as that of her sister?
* PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY * The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy, Number One Bestselling Author Praise for Lesley Pearse 'Storytelling at its very best' Daily Mail 'Evocative, compelling, told from the heart' Sunday Express 'Glorious, heartwarming' Woman & Home 'Intriguing, heart-tugging, beautifully written' Closer
The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy, No. 1 bestselling author One of the nation's favourite storytellers is back with a spell-binding new novel Praise for Lesley Pearse 'Storytelling at its very best' Daily Mail 'Evocative, compelling, told from the heart' Sunday Express 'Glorious, heartwarming' Woman & Home 'Intriguing, heart-tugging, beautifully written' Closer
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND WOMAN & HOME BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER 'Storytelling at its best' Daily Express Did you ever wish you could run away from your life and start again? When Betty's husband returns from the war broken and haunted, she knows her marriage is doomed. Taking a fleeting chance to escape, she goes on the run armed with a new identity. But penniless and alone, Betty quickly finds that starting again is much harder than she thought. And she never imagined it could end in murder . . . Sometimes you have to keep running if you want to survive. Praise for Lesley Pearse: 'Storytelling at its very best' Daily Mail 'Evocative, compelling, told from the heart' Sunday Express 'Glorious, heart-warming' Woman & Home
The enthralling new novel from the 10-million-copy No. 1 bestselling author. Betty Wellows is running for her life . . . Young Betty dreams of settling down to an ordinary life in Hallsands with her fisherman husband. But when he returns broken and haunted from the Great War, she finds herself persecuted by his distraught mother - and yearns to escape. It is only when a storm devastates the village that Betty sees her chance. Fleeing to Bristol and changing her name to Mabel Brook, she seeks a new life - only to discover destiny has other plans. Penniless and alone, Mabel suffers a brutal attack before being rescued by a psychic named Nora Nightingale. She gets her first taste of those who receive messages from the dead and realizes she may have this power herself. But Mabel fears her gift may be a terrible curse as it becomes ever harder to hide from the truth about who she once was - and the tragic life she left behind. Soon Mabel receives her own message and is forced back to the very place she has escaped. A place of heartbreak and perhaps even murder - but to secure her future Mabel must confront her past one last time. Heart-pounding, exhilarating and ever suspenseful, Lesley Pearse's You'll Never See Me Again is a tale of one woman's fight to find her destiny. _____________ Praise for Lesley Pearse 'Storytelling at its very best' Daily Mail 'Evocative, compelling, told from the heart' Sunday Express 'Glorious, heart-warming' Woman & Home
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The House Across the Street by Lesley Pearse, read by Rosie Jones. Twenty-three year old Katy Speed is fascinated by the house across the street. The woman who lives there, Gloria, is the most glamorous neighbour on the avenue, owning a fashionable dress shop in Bexhill-on-Sea. But who is the woman who arrives in the black car most Saturdays while Gloria is at work? Sometimes she brings women to the house, other times they have children. Hilda, Katys mother, disapproves of Gloria. She wonders if these mysterious visitors have just been released from prison. Is Gloria secretly bringing criminals, or worse, into the heart of the community? Then one night, the house burns down. In the wreckage, the bodies of Gloria and her daughter are found. Katy is sure the unexplained visitors must be responsible until her father is arrested and charged with murder. Have the police arrested the correct person? Are the rest of the street safe? Can Katy find the truth before its too late? Heart-warming and evocative, a real delight to read Sun A narrative that gallops along, this is quintessential Pearse that will delight her army of readers Daily Mail Glorious, heartwarming Woman & Home
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Never Look Back by Lesley Pearse, read by Holli Dempsey. One good deed takes her into another world . . . Sixteen-year-old Matilda is a poor Covent Garden flower girl until the day she saves the life of Tabitha, a ministers daughter. Welcomed into Tabithas family, Matilda is offered the chance of a lifetime. She leaves behind Londons slums and enters the darkest corners of New York. From there she travels across the plains to the Wild West, where San Francisco is in the grip of the gold rush. Streetwise and strong-willed, Matilda forges a new life for herself and Tabitha among pioneers like Captain James Russell - a man to whom she is deeply attracted. Yet a civil war will soon rip apart this new nation. Can Matilda and those she loves brave separation and carry on, never looking back? With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very bestDaily Mail Heart-warming and evocative . . . a real delight to read Sun Lose yourself in this epic saga Bella
* * * * * - Heat 'This novel will have you up all night guessing what happens next' My Weekly 'A gripping new novel' Yours The 10-million-copy, number 1 bestselling author is back with another beautifully-written, heartwarming and passionate epic. 'Heart-warming and evocative, a real delight to read' Sun 'A narrative that gallops along, this is quintessential Pearse that will delight her army of readers' Daily Mail 'Glorious, heartwarming' Woman & Home 'Evocative, compelling, told from the heart' Sunday Express
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Till We Meet Again by Lesley Pearse, read by Samantha Womack. Susan walks into a busy doctors surgery and guns down two members of staff. Then she calmly waits for the police. Beth is the lawyer assigned to defend Susan. But her client is uncooperative until both women realise that twenty-nine years earlier, they were childhood friends. As the evidence against Susan mounts up, both she and Beth begin to talk about the secrets and the traumas that sent them down such different paths in life. Their friendship grows stronger. But for one of them, there can be no happy ending . . .
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Father Unknown by Lesley Pearse, read by Lucinda Dryzek. Orphaned, lost. Who is she really? One young womans search across the globe for a past - and a future . . . Losing her adopted mother threatens all shes ever had . . . Daisy was adopted. But when her mother dies, she finds her secure existence thrown into turmoil by the discovery of a scrapbook. Inside it is information about her real mother. However, when Daisy drops everything to go in search of her roots, she uncovers a harrowing story of greed, misery and corruption. She also risks hurting her adored Dad, the only true family she has left. Can she cope with the truth about her real parents? And more importantly, who is the real Daisy?
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Rosie by Lesley Pearse, read by Gabrielle Glaister. Her brutal, violent family will be the death of her . . . Without a mother, Rosie is at the mercy of her father and thuggish brothers. Then one day a friend comes to the farm in the form of cockney housekeeper Heather Farley. But soon enough Heather vanishes, abandoning Rosie to her fate. Only when Thomas Farley comes to find his sister several years later, does Rosie learn the terrible truth about Heather - and her family. Running away from home, she finds herself pursued by the man who brought ruin on her family. Is he out to get her too? Or could he have some other reason for chasing her?
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Secrets by Lesley Pearse, read by Sophie Ablett. Without her mother she is alone in the world . . . Twelve-year-old Adele is placed in a bleak, cruel childrens home after a family tragedy drives her mother to madness. But when trust is betrayed Adele has no choice but to run away . . . Alone and friendless, she heads for Sussex, to seek out the grandmother she has never known. However the journey, without food or shelter, leaves her desperately ill. Surrounded by the beautiful Rye Marshes, Adele is nursed back to health. Can she now dream of a new life? But what will happen when her mother reappears, bearing shocking family secrets?
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Trust Me by Lesley Pearse, read by Sally Scott. She lost her parents and then was sent far, far away . . . When their father tragically kills their mother, Dulcie and her sister are sent to an orphanage. Told that a better life awaits them in another country, they are shipped off to Australia. But the promises made to the sisters turn out to be lies. And it seems to Dulcie that everyone who ever said trust me somehow betrayed that trust. So when she meets Ross, another orphanage survivor, and finds he is a kindred spirit, hope swells in her heart. But can she ever get over the past betrayals and learn to trust again? And can she fight not only for herself, but also for her sister?
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Remember Me by Lesley Pearse, read by Kerry Howard. She made one mistake, and now shell never see home again . . . Mary, a Cornish mariners daughter, makes the biggest mistake of her short life when she steals a silk hat. Convicted and sentenced to be transported to Australia, she endures horrific conditions aboard ship before landing in a brutal and barbaric country. It will take all her courage just to survive. But Mary is also determined to make something of herself in this rugged mans world. And she dreams that one day she will find a way of crossing the cruel seas that lie between her and home . . .
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Charlie by Lesley Pearse. Her family is threatened and only she can save it . . . When sixteen-year-old Charlie witnesses a brutal attack on her mother by two strangers she is shocked and terrified. But after talking to the police she realises that her fathers business dealings cant be so innocent. With her father away it is left to Charlie to protect her mother. And somehow she must find out who wants to hurt her family - and why - without losing faith in her beloved parents. Can she unravel the mysteries of the past that haunt her family? Or will the truth wreck everything she loves?
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Lesser Evil by Lesley Pearse. She defied her parents to marry for love . . . Following her heart, Fifi moves with Dan to London where they rent a seedy flat in Dale Street, Kennington. Though Fifi must now become acquainted with squalor, she is soon drawn into the goings on behind the shabby front doors of her new neighbours. But it is the Muckles, at number 11, who are the streets focus. Rumours of criminal depravity and shocking behaviour are rife. So when Fifi steps in to help their youngest child, she risks the wrath of this frightening family. Suddenly, not only her marriage and her family but the lives of all the inhabitants of Dale Street are at the mercy of the immoral Muckles . . .
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Hope by Lesley Pearse, read by Lucy Brownhill. Her existence would be the ruin of her mother . . . Baby Hope, the unfortunate proof of Lady Harveys adultery, is smuggled out of a privileged aristocratic household to a nearby village. There, her true identity a secret, she grows up in the arms of the poor, but loving, Renton family. But the day comes when Hope must pay her way. What could be more natural than being taken into service by the Harveys? However when she sees something she should not, she is threatened and blackmailed into leaving her beloved Rentons forever. Destitute on the streets of an unfriendly city, Hopes courage and kindness are recognized by a doctor. A talent for healing sees her taken on as nurse and destined for the horrific battlefields of the Crimea. But will Hope ever come home and uncover the true story of her birth? An emotional and moving epic you wont forget in a hurry Womans Weekly