Last Chance Cafe

In Primrose Creek, Nevada, a dispute over property lines between Chance Qualtrough and Jace Stratton is exacerbated by the arrival of Hallie St. George, a young woman fleeing the pain of her past to make a new life for herself.

From the bestselling author of A Month of Sundays, with new novel At the End of the Day out now. "Thought provoking characters ... an intelligent, engaging read" Sydney Morning Herald Margot detests shopping malls. Any distraction is welcome, and the woman who has chained herself to the escalator, shouting about the perils of consumerism, is certainly that. She recognises Dot immediately - from their campaigning days, and further back still, to when Margot married Laurence. Dot is in despair at the abandonment of the sisterhood, at the idea of pole dancing as empowerment and the sight of five-year-olds with false eyelashes and padded bras. She's still a fierce campaigner, but she isn't sure where to direct her rage. Meanwhile Margot holds a haunting resentment that her youthful ambitions have always been shelved to attend to the needs of others. And as the two women turn to the past for solutions for the future, Margot's family is in crisis. Laurence travels in a bid to repress his grief, daughter Lexie loses her job after twenty years, and younger sister Emma hides her pain with shopping binges. With aching empathy, Liz Byrski assembles a fallible cast of characters who are asking the questions we ask ourselves. What does it mean to grow older? Are we brave enough to free ourselves from the pressure to stay young? And is there ever a stage in life when we can just be ourselves? PRAISE FOR LIZ BYRSKI "Her plots and characters get stronger with each book" The Sydney Morning Herald "Liz Byrski has a guaranteed cheer squad for her novels which champion...women taking charge of their life and growing old creatively" Daily Telegraph Fans of Monica McInerney, Liane Moriarty and Joanna Trollope will love Liz Byrski.

Mystery writer Kimberly Sawyer lives alone and likes it that way. But when she is threatened by a hooded figure, she knows she needs protection. So it seems like perfect timing when Napa Valley vineyard owner Darius Cavenaugh returns to Kimberly's life.

Margot detests shopping malls. Any distraction is welcome, and the woman who has chained herself to the escalator, shouting about the perils of consumerism, is certainly that. She recognises Dot immediately - from their time campaigning for women's rights, and further back still, to the heyday of the Sydney Push when Margot married Laurence. Dot...

Never in one place long enough to make friends or put down roots, Colie doesn't expect her trip to the North Carolina coast to change a thing. Always the outcast, she's resigned to a holiday with only her eccentric aunt Mira for company. But when she finds a job waitressing at the Last Chance cafe, she also finds acceptance, new friends, and the beginnings of romance...

Last Chance Cafe by Curtiss Ann Matlock released on May 23, 1997 is available now for purchase.

Stories about independent women whose painful experiences are forged into inspiring strength.