The Oyster Catcher

It's sink or swim in the search for love. . . Ebook bestseller The Oyster Catcher is Jo Thomas's first irresistibly feel-good novel, set on the coast of Ireland. 'A world you long to live in with characters you love' Katie Fforde Dooleybridge, County Galway: the last place Fiona Clutterbuck expects to end up, alone, on her wedding night. But after the words 'I do' have barely left her mouth, that's exactly where she is - with only her sequined shoes and a crashed camper van for company. One thing is certain: Fi can't go back. So when the opportunity arises to work for brooding local oyster farmer, Sean Thornton, she jumps at the chance. Now Fi must navigate suspicious locals, jealous rivals and an unpredictable boss if she's to find a new life, and love, on the Irish coast. And nothing - not even a chronic fear of water - is going to hold her back. Join Fi as she learns the rules of the ocean - and picks up a few pearls of Irish wisdom along the way... What readers are saying about The Oyster Catcher: 'A fantastic debut novel which was the perfect escapism read; I literally could not put it down and read it at every opportunity I could get' 'Beautifully written. You feel like you are breathing in the sea air and walking along the sand' 'A realistic romance with some strong and colourful characters, set in a fascinating, modern Irish coastal community'

A Vintage Shorts Original Called upon to assist in an investigation of oyster thieves at the Bay of Arcachon by the Commissaire Pleven of the Bordeaux police, beloved chief of police Bruno relishes an opportunity to momentarily reunite with the beautiful and ambitious Isabelle. Bruno is only a rural policeman, and he’s there for support and, if he’s being frank, skeptical of the whole mission. But when he and Isabelle witness strange activity out in the bay one evening--Bruno gets thrust into the center of action he had never bargained for. An ebook short.

Her marriage to Jo Harries, an oyster catcher, takes Emmeline Powell into a community which resents and rejects her. Her life becomes more isolated, more unhappy, until she meets Will Davies, who is to open a new world for her.

The second novel from highly acclaimed young writer Susan Fletcher, author of the award-winning ‘Eve Green’

Susan Cerulean’s memoir trains a naturalist’s eye and a daughter’s heart on the lingering death of a beloved parent from dementia. At the same time, the book explores an activist’s lifelong search to be of service to the embattled natural world. During the years she cared for her father, Cerulean also volunteered as a steward of wild shorebirds along the Florida coast. Her territory was a tiny island just south of the Apalachicola bridge where she located and protected nesting shorebirds, including least terns and American oystercatchers. I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird weaves together intimate facets of adult caregiving and the consolation of nature, detailing Cerulean’s experiences of tending to both. The natural world is the “sustaining body” into which we are born. In similar ways, we face not only a crisis in numbers of people diagnosed with dementia but also the crisis of the human-caused degradation of the planet itself, a type of cultural dementia. With I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird, Cerulean reminds us of the loving, necessary toil of tending to one place, one bird, one being at a time.

Sometimes you just need to get away... 'Warm and life-enhancing, I wanted to move to Spain with these wonderful characters' Katie Fforde 'A fabulous read celebrating the good things in life - fun, friends, family and food' Jill Mansell From the bestselling author of Escape to the French Farmhouse comes a deliciously feel-good new story... Eliza has a full house! When her three children grew up and moved out, she downsized to a smaller property... but now they're all back. Every room in the house is taken and Eliza finds herself sharing her bed with her eldest daughter and her daughter's pug. Combined with the online course she's trying to finish, plus her job to fit in, there just isn't the peace and quiet that Eliza needs. So when an ad pops up on her laptop saying 'house-sitters wanted', Eliza can't resist the chance to escape. She ends up moving to a rural finca in southern Spain, looking after the owner's Iberico pigs, learning about secret gastronomic societies ... and finding a new zest for life and love along the way. ------------------------------------- Readers have fallen in love with Retreat to the Spanish Sun 'Perfect for a summer holiday read' 'You'll be craving tapas, Flamenco and the southern Spanish sun after reading this 5-star book' 'A lovely read from Jo Thomas, her books never fail to make me happy' 'A lovely, warm and sunny read' 'Fabulous location, delicious descriptions of food & drink & wonderful characters, an all round feel-good book' If you love Jo's books, her newest summer novel, Summer at the Ice Cream Cafe, is available now!

Longlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize 'I can't remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will' Chris Packham 'Fabulously direct and truthful, filled with energy but devoid of self-pity . . . I was impressed and enchanted. Highly recommended' Stephen Fry 'Succeeds – triumphantly – in articulating with great honesty what it is like to suffer with a mental illness, and in providing strategies for coping' Mail on Sunday When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds. How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is. The positive change in Joe's wellbeing was so profound that he started a blog to record his experience. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street. In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.

In the medieval splendour of St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, three women gather to mourn the untimely passing of Robbie: Robbie's widow, Tessa; Tessa's old childhood friend, Christine, and Christine's unstable and unreliable sister, Lindsay. But as secrets are gradually revealed the past and present collide with unexpected and devastating results. The Oystercatcher Girl is a story of betrayal and redemption, and is as beautiful and secretive as the Orkney of its setting. -The Oystercatcher Girl is a wonderfully evocative and deftly woven story- (Sara Bailey)