Katerina

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces and Bright Shiny Morning comes Katerina, James Frey’s highly anticipated new novel set in 1992 Paris and contemporary Los Angeles. A kiss, a touch. A smile and a beating heart. Love and sex and dreams, art and drugs and the madness of youth. Betrayal and heartbreak, regret and pain, the melancholy of age. Katerina, the explosive new novel by America’s most controversial writer, is a sweeping love story alternating between 1992 Paris and Los Angeles in 2018. At its center are a young writer and a young model on the verge of fame, both reckless, impulsive, addicted, and deeply in love. Twenty-five years later, the writer is rich, famous, and numb, and he wants to drive his car into a tree, when he receives an anonymous message that draws him back to the life, and possibly the love, he abandoned years prior. Written in the same percussive, propulsive, dazzling, breathtaking style as A Million Little Pieces, Katerina echoes and complements that most controversial of memoirs, and plays with the same issues of fiction and reality that created, nearly destroyed, and then recreated James Frey in the American imagination.

In this acclaimed Greek novel, Auguste Corteau imagines his own mothers inner life, observing with wit and earthyhumour the saga of her extended familys ups and downs in the city of Thessaloniki over three generations.

Katerina's Story: Life in Poland During WWII and the Aftermath is a historical novel based on a real person's account. For most of her life, this Polish woman keeps her past secret, even from her children. Only now, at age ninety-three, is she willing to revisit her memories with her friend Lou Ellen. The bittersweet journey begins in childhood during the early 1930s when she grieves over her mother's mysterious death, withstands a stepmother's cruelty, and broods over her father's indifference to her grievances. Her happiness from a peaceful and loving life at a convent is brief, when in 1939, German armies invade and capture the entire country. Within days, Nazis nab her, force her into a stinking boxcar, and steam toward Dachau, the notorious concentration/labor camp in Germany. As one of Hitler's slave workers, Katerina's harrowing fight for survival begins. She witnesses torture and savage deaths and endures disease, near starvation, and brutality. Many captives abandon hope and commit suicide, but not this tough, courageous young woman. She relies on her faith and trust in God, the power of prayer, and wit. When war ends, she marries a former POW, and they enjoy a loving, promising life in Italy with their two children for thirteen years when tragedy thwarts her happiness again. Subsequently, by the time she arrives in the United States as a refugee ready to build a new life, Katerina has a new husband, two additional children, and another child on the way. Her troubles are far from over. She and the family face language difficulties and discrimination at school and in the workplace. In addition, Katerina realizes she must deal with destructive aftermath issues, such as failing to trust people and holding onto an intense hatred for Hitler and his Nazi regime. Eventually, Katerina discovers inner peace through grace and forgiveness.

A must read for fans of Cecila Ahern, Fiona Valpy and Lucinda Riley - this is an evocative and exciting romantic adventure from the multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. READERS ARE LOVING KATERINA'S SECRET! "Loved it - you feel like you are part of the storyline" - 5 STARS "I couldn't put this book down and read it in two days." - 5 STARS "You will not be disappointed with this book." - 5 STARS. "As always Mary Jane Staples has written a very good book that takes you back in time." - 5 STARS ********************* A WARTIME HERO AND A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN... 1928: Edward Somers, passing the winter at the Hôtel de Corniche on the French Riviera, happens upon a nearby villa within which lives the elusive and beautiful Countess Katerina. Despite the fact she does not seem to be allowed visitors, he manages to forge a friendship and the pair grow closer and closer. But Edward cannot help but wonder: why is she confined to the villa, guarded by a man with a rifle? Who is observing her with a telescope? Why is she so reluctant to be photographed? A sinister chain of events unfolds: is Katerina's life in danger? Must she always be on the run and forced into hiding? Will she ever be allowed to find the love she craves? Katerina's Secret was previously published as Shadows in the Afternoon.

Thirteen-year-old Trina's family left Bohemia for a Colorado coal town to earn money to buy a farm. But by 1901 she doubts that either hard work or hoping will be enough, even after a strange fish seems to grant her sisters' wishes.

In Arcadia, winter has no heart.I make magic dresses for a living. I'm not rich or pretty enough to wear them, but I love what I do, working out of my family's shop on Carnaby Street in London-until the fae show up.It's a straight-up kidnapping, and before I know it, I'm brought to this wintry place of cold hearts and beautiful nightmares, but that's not the worst part.The worst part is, they think I'm fae, and I'm supposed to participate in some competition against a host of other women who have been training their whole lives for this. The prize? The winner is to marry the Prince.On the surface that sounds almost like a fairytale, only this competition is brutal and bloody, and the Prince is the jerk that kidnapped me. I can't get too close to him or he'll know I'm not fae, and then I'm dead. But I want to get close to him. His body burns with the fire of a cold star, and I'm drawn to him.I need to fight the pull and survive long enough to find a way out of here, but these winter fae won't make that easy.

The 1840s: a time of increasing social awareness, particularly for progressive cotton mill owner Adrian Bennett and his son Christopher. One social issue Christopher has never considered is violence against women. A Robert Browning poem and a chance encounter with Katerina Valentino change everything. Katerina fears for her life because of her father's violent behavior. When Christopher is entranced by the delicate, dark-haired beauty, he decides to rescue her - by marrying her. But Katerina's years of abuse have left her physically and emotionally scarred, threatening the newlyweds' happiness. Is Christopher's tender affection enough to help heal Katerina's broken spirit? This book contains graphic sex and is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

The #1 bestseller with over a quarter of a million copies sold ‘A terrific story, originally told. All hail the new Queen of Crime!’ HEAT ‘A web of a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. This formidable debut is a page-turner, but don’t read it before bed if you’re easily spooked!’ SUN