The Stolen Letter

‘I knew in the first couple of pages that this story was going to make me cry and I was right... So emotional... I was left speechless. I absolutely loved every minute... One of the best historical fictions I’ve read.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Italy, 1944: Stella stared at the envelope addressed to her, dated from the day of his death. With a trembling hand she opened it, tears rolling down her cheeks. She read the letter that should have made it to her years ago – the letter that had been ruthlessly stolen from her. It held his last words, and it changed everything. 1938: When Stella arrives in Italy, it’s love at first sight. She is wowed by the rolling hills dotted with olive trees, the buttermilk villas with shuttered windows and terracotta roofs that glow gloriously in the sunlight. Even the breeze holds the scent of freedom ­– freedom from England, where the shadow of her past haunted her. Then there is Ted, an American journalist who is wild and mischievous, with an arrogance bordering on rude. Stella is infuriated by him – yet she cannot deny the lure of the danger and excitement he promises. But there is something dark under the bright surface of this beautiful country, with unspeakable tragedies just around the corner. When the Nazis take control of Italy, Stella and Ted – and whatever dreams the future held for them – are ripped apart. Ted is torn away, to report from the perilous frontline. Meanwhile, Stella is paralysed with fear as screeching bombs descend, destroying everything in their wake. There is nothing left to do but sit in darkness, praying to see tomorrow. And it seems that even in Italy, Stella’s past has found her. Somewhere in the winding streets of Florence there is a letter that will change the course of her fate. Unknown to her, it holds a secret with the power to rewrite her past, and everything she has been running away from. But will it come too late? And with the odds stacked against her, will she ever see Ted again? This totally gripping and heartbreaking tale is about the impossible tragedies of war and the miraculous possibilities of love. Fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, Rhys Bowen’s The Tuscan Child, and The Letter by Kathryn Hughes will be utterly captivated by this spectacular historical page-turner. Readers absolutely love The Stolen Letter: ‘Oh my word I honestly cannot express how much I loved this book. A historical fiction book that was just simply brilliant. The story and the characters were fantastic and I read this book in one day it was that good. I will be recommending this book to everyone who loves reading, it is a must-read.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Breathtaking and heartbreakingly beautiful… Be prepared to go on a very emotional journey where your heart will be ripped out and patched up over and over again. The characters are captivating and relatable. The twists and turns throughout the story are truly unforgettable. Clara Benson is an author that I would love to read over and over again.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Oh my, what a gem of a story… I cannot recommend this book highly enough nor write a review that can justify why you should read it. Historical fiction at its best. This book has it all… Such a good book. High 5 stars!!!!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this book… It was so good I didn't want to stop reading, I read way too late into the early morning… Heartbreaking.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘This novel is truly amazing… Stole my heart from the very beginning with this beautiful story… I could not put it down… Not one to miss.’ Breakfast w Rachel, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘So gripping – started reading and couldn't put it down.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this book… You won't be able to put this book down.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Heartbreaking… Hooked me from the very first page… Captivating and brilliantly written.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Brilliant… Out of this world… Loved it.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

New York Times bestselling author Paige Shelton returns with the next installment of The Scottish Bookshop Mystery series, The Stolen Letter Delaney Nichols is confident she’s doing what she loves—case in point, just one day after returning from her fabulous European honeymoon, she’s eager to get back to the Cracked Spine, the bookstore where she works. But as she disembarks her bus and hurries toward the shop she and another woman collide, sending a stack of books the woman is carrying to the ground. Delaney’s hapless victim’s name is Mary, and the two women can’t help but notice that they bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. According to Mary, they both also look like the long-beheaded Mary Queen of Scots. Even stranger, Mary believes she is the reincarnation of the Scottish queen. But peculiar as Delaney’s doppelganger is, she doesn’t have time to dwell on it: on her arrival to the bookshop, she learns the Edinburgh city council wants to close the Cracked Spine, citing code violations, and she’s determined to stop them. But when Mary’s husband dies in a car explosion—and Delaney learns he was the very member of city council who proposed that the city take a closer look at the bookshop’s construction—she starts to wonder if her meeting with Mary wasn’t an accident. Edinburgh has become as filled with intrigue and deception as any European court, and Delaney is determined to get to the bottom of this royal mystery.

"The Purloined Letter" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that recounts the ingenuity of detective C. Auguste Dupin in recovering a stolen compromising letter, exploring themes of intellect, psychological analysis and the confrontation between the detective and the cunning thief.

A stunning debut novel with an intriguing literary hook: written in part as a letter from a victim to her abductor. Sensitive, sharp, captivating!Gemma, 16, is on layover at Bangkok Airport, en route with her parents to a vacation in Vietnam. She steps away for just a second, to get a cup of coffee. Ty--rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar--pays for Gemma's drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what's happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. The unknowing object of a long obsession, Gemma has been kidnapped by her stalker and brought to the desolate Australian Outback. STOLEN is her gripping story of survival, of how she has to come to terms with her living nightmare--or die trying to fight it.

My name is Inge. I am sixteen. I live with Mama and Papa in Munich. Food is still rationed, though the war ended over ten years ago. My boyfriend is Jewish. I have to hide this from my parents. I think they are hiding something from me, too. Letters arrive every year on my birthday, but they are not addressed to me. They are for a girl named Kasia. This is her story.

This early work by Wilkie Collins was originally published in 1854. Born in Marylebone, London in 1824, Collins' family enrolled him at the Maida Hill Academy in 1835, but then took him to France and Italy with them between 1836 and 1838. Returning to England, Collins attended Cole's boarding school, and completed his education in 1841, after which he was apprenticed to the tea merchants Antrobus & Co. in the Strand. In 1846, Collins became a law student at Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1851, although he never practiced. It was in 1848, a year after the death of his father, that he published his first book, The Memoirs of the Life of William Collins, Esq., R.A., to good reviews. The 1860s saw Collins' creative high-point, and it was during this decade that he achieved fame and critical acclaim, with his four major novels, The Woman in White (1860), No Name (1862), Armadale (1866) and The Moonstone (1868). The Moonstone, meanwhile is seen by many as the first true detective novel – T. S. Eliot called it "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels...in a genre invented by Collins and not by Poe.” Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions.

A companion to Making Bombs for Hitler and The War Below, this novel follows a Ukrainian girl who was kidnapped as a child to be raised by a Nazi family. Nadia is haunted by World War II. Her memories of the war are messy, coming back to her in pieces and flashes she can't control. Though her adoptive mother says they are safe now, Nadia's flashbacks keep coming.Sometimes she remembers running, hunger, and isolation. But other times she remembers living with a German family, and attending big rallies where she was praised for her light hair and blue eyes. The puzzle pieces don't quite fit together, and Nadia is scared by what might be true. Could she have been raised by Nazis? Were they her real family? What part did she play in the war?What Nadia finally discovers about her own history will shock her. But only when she understands the past can she truly face her future.Inspired by startling true events, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch delivers a gripping and poignant story of one girl's determination to uncover her truth.

Steeped in history and filled with heart-wrenching twists, The Stolen Marriage is an emotionally captivating novel of secrets, betrayals, prejudice, and forgiveness. It showcases Diane Chamberlain at the top of her talent. One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever. It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out. The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not. When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love—and the life—she was meant to have? A Library Reads Top Ten Book of October 2017 Praise for The Stolen Marriage: "[A] well-crafted crime-tinged tale." —Publishers Weekly "The Stolen Marriage is the kind of story that will grab you and refuse to let you go until you turn the last page." —All About Romance "Readers will be sucked in immediately...you just can't go wrong with a book with [Chamberlain's] name on the cover." —Southern Pines Pilot