Mrs. Saint and the Defectives by Julie Lawson Timmer

Mrs. Saint and the Defectives

by Julie Lawson Timmer

Critically acclaimed author Julie Lawson Timmer returns with a tale of how community can heal the brokenness in all of us.

Markie, a fortysomething divorcée who has suffered a humiliating and very public fall from marital, financial, and professional grace, moves, along with her teenage son, Jesse, to a new town, hoping to lick her wounds in private. But Markie and Jesse are unable to escape the attention of their new neighbor Mrs. Saint, an irascible, elderly New European woman who takes it upon herself, along with her ragtag group of “defectives,” to identify and fix the flaws in those around her, whether they want her to or not.

What Markie doesn’t realize is that Mrs. Saint has big plans for the divorcée’s broken spirit. Soon, the quirky yet endearing woman recruits Markie to join her eccentric community, a world where both hidden truths and hope unite them. But when Mrs. Saint’s own secrets threaten to unravel their fragile web of healing, it’s up to Markie to mend these wounds and usher in a new era for the “defectives”—one full of second chances and happiness.

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

Julie Lawson Timmer grew up in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, and graduated from McMaster University before earning a law degree from Southern Methodist University in Texas. By turns, she is a writer, lawyer, mom/stepmom, and fledgling yogi. Her first novel, Five Days Left, received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal; her second novel, Untethered, was praised by Kirkus Reviews as a “thoughtfully written and ultimately uplifting celebration of families that are not bound by blood or by law but by love.” Timmer lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her husband, Dan; their children; and two dogs. Visit her online at www.julielawsontimmer.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JulieLawsonTimmerAuthor, on Twitter @JulieLTimmer, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/julielawsontimmer.

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Another winner from the very talented Julie Lawson Timmer. Fans of Matthew Quick's The Silver Linings Playbook will devour this sweet, surprising story.” —Sarah Pekkanen, internationally bestselling author of The Perfect Neighbors

"Warm, witty, and with the most satisfying ending I’ve read in years, Mrs. Saint and the Defectives is absolutely delightful. This novel won’t just keep you turning the pages; it will inspire you to be a better person.” —Camille Pagán, bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences

“I savored every page of this delicious novel. Charming and poignant, funny and wise, Mrs. Saint and the Defectives is perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman and Anne Tyler.” —Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List and Sweet Forgiveness

AMAZON BUY LINK

Lake Union Publishing

General Fiction (Adult), Women's Fiction

Publication Date: 01 August 2017

Editions: Kindle/Paperback

ISBN: 9781477819968

Price: $14.95

Wives Of War by Soraya Lane

Wives Of War

by Soraya Lane

London, 1944. Two young women meet at a train station with a common purpose: to join the war effort as nurses. For Scarlet, it’s a chance to find her missing fiancé, Thomas, and to prove to her family—and to herself—that she’s stronger than everybody thinks. For Ellie, nursing is in her blood, and her humble background is a million miles away from Scarlet’s privileged upbringing. But though Ellie puts on a brave face, she’s just as nervous as Scarlet about what awaits them in France.

When the two friends arrive in Normandy and encounter the seemingly unflappable Lucy, they’re in awe of her courage and competence. But the experienced nurse is well aware of the dangers of the job they’ve chosen—and even she is terrified they won’t make it home alive.

Pushed to their limits by the brutality of a world at war, Scarlet, Ellie and Lucy will need to rely on each other—and the power of their friendship—to survive.

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

Soraya M. Lane graduated with a law degree before realising that law wasn’t the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women’s fiction, and her most recent historical novel, Voyage of the Heart, was an Amazon bestseller. Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four-legged friends. When she’s not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading. For more information about Soraya and her books, visit www.sorayalane.com or www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor, or follow her on Twitter at @Soraya_Lane.

AMAZON BUY LINK

Lake Union Publishing

General Fiction (Adult) , Women's Fiction

Publication Date: 01 July 2017

EDITION	Paperback
ISBN	9781503942769
PRICE	$14.95 (USD)

The Glassblower by Petra Durst-Benning

In the village of Lauscha in Germany, things have been done the same way for centuries. The men blow the glass, and the women decorate and pack it. But when Joost Steinmann passes away unexpectedly one September night, his three daughters must learn to fend for themselves. While feisty Johanna takes a practical approach to looking for work, Ruth follows her heart, aiming to catch the eye of a handsome young villager. But it is dreamy, quiet Marie who has always been the most captivated by the magic—and sparkling possibilities—of the craft of glassblowing. As the spirited sisters work together to forge a brighter future for themselves on their own terms, they learn not only how to thrive in a man’s world, but how to remain true to themselves—and their hearts—in the process. 

The Glassblower by Petra Durst-Benning is the first book in The Glassblower Trilogy and was originally published in 2003 in German. This astounding work of cultural and historical romance is beautifully rendered into English by Samuel Willcocks, and the novel will be of immense delight to anyone with a bit of interest in German history and culture. There is much more than I anticipated in the book. Apart from the joy of reading it, the book leaves a comforting feeling that everyone can be happy in his own way, if one is brave enough to set one’s priorities right.

In the book author Petra Durst-Benning tells the story of the three young Steinmann sisters who live in the glassblowing village of Lauscha in Germany at the end of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century. Johanna, Ruth and Marie must look after themselves when their father Joost Steinmann passes away unexpectedly one September night. But making a livelihood in the village is easier said than done as glassblowing is a male-dominated craft. The Steinmann sisters are so well-conceived and developed that their characters are so lifelike and believable. As you leaf through the pages, you will laugh and cry with them, and at times feel the need to reprove them.

Beautifully written and well-researched, Petra Durst-Benning painted a sweeping portrait of the fascinating characters that populated the book as well as the profession which they are involved in. The Glassblower is a fascinating lesson in German culture and history, and without ever exceeding the limit of credibility, the author brilliantly crafted a powerful story of women’s emancipation, the ideals and aspiration that is burning within each individual even within the confines of a hopeless situation and how one can be happy and content in one’s condition if one’s heart is in it.

AMAZON LINK

The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

Almost a century ago in January 1920, the famous fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot was introduced by Agatha Christie in the novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. After forty-two adventure-filled novels set between World War I and World War II, with some of the later novels set in the 1960s, The New York Times splashed an obituary on its front page when he died of heart complications in the final novel Curtain which was published in September 1975.

Almost forty years later, detective Hercule Poirot is resurrected and makes a triumphant return in The Monogram Murders: The New Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot Mystery by poet and crime novelist Sophie Hannah. Best known for relying on his `little grey cells' for solving crimes, the story is set in the early years of Poirot's career and is told from the perspective of a new character, Inspector Edward Catchpool of the Scotland Yard, from whom Poirot takes over a case concerning a troubling series of murders as it's "a diabolically clever puzzle that can only be solved by the talented Belgian detective."

The Monogram Murders is a classic Christie novel and begins on an ominous note when one February evening in 1929 a distraught woman named Jennie enters a London coffee shop where Hercule Poirot is having a quiet supper. With a disheveled appearance and strange look, it's not difficult to guess she's terrified. When Poirot offers to help her, Jennie made cryptic and puzzling remarks and was adamant that no one can help her because she's as good as dead and that the crime must never be solved. When two women and a man are found murdered in three separate rooms about the same time in a hotel with monogrammed gold cuff links inserted into their mouths that same night, it becomes all too apparent that no ordinary sleuthing work will help solve the case.

Detective Poirot is unable to make sense of the murders and wonders if it has any connection with the woman he encountered at the coffee shop. While he tries to piece together the jigsaw puzzle, the murderer is preparing to snuff the life out of a fourth victim. The story follows Poirot as he wades through layer after layer of baffling clues and mysteries in his quest to solve the strange murders and it will require all his wit, wisdom, brilliance, subtlety, creativity and deductive prowess if he is to find the murderer before it's too late.

Bestselling author Sophie Hannah's fine writing and the compelling plot line are the strong points of this new Hercule Poirot mystery. Recreating and resurrecting an iconic detective who has been laid to rest by the queen of crime is a daunting task, yet Sophie has done a commendable job by going back to the early years of Poirot's career which has allowed her the freedom to toy around with her characters and at the same time avoid the pitfalls of having to deal with his death. What we have in the end is an absorbing story true to the legacy of its original writer, and in the process created a major event for crime fiction lovers the world over.

SOPHIE HANNAH

Amazon
Sophie's Website

A History of Loneliness by John Boyne

Odran Yates enters Clonliffe Seminary in 1972 after his mother informs him that he has a vocation to the priesthood. He goes in full of ambition and hope, dedicated to his studies and keen to make friends.

Forty years later, Odran’s devotion has been challenged by the revelations that have shattered the Irish people’s faith in the church. He has seen friends stand trial, colleagues jailed, the lives of young parishioners destroyed and has become nervous of venturing out in public for fear of disapproving stares and insulting remarks.

But when a family tragedy opens wounds from his past, he is forced to confront the demons that have raged within a once respected institution and recognise his own complicity in their propagation.

It has taken John Boyne fifteen years and twelve novels to write about his home country of Ireland but he has done so now in his most powerful novel to date, a novel about blind dogma and moral courage, and about the dark places where the two can meet. At once courageous and intensely personal, A History of Loneliness confirms Boyne as one of the most searching chroniclers of his generation.

RELEASING ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE


John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. He is the author of nine novels for adults and four for younger readers, including the international bestsellers The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which has sold more than six million copies worldwide, The Absolutist and, most recently, Stay Where You Are and Then Leave. His novels are published in over forty-five languages. He is married and lives in Dublin.

@john_boyne

John Boyne has sold over 7 million copies of his books worldwide including the extraordinary bestseller, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.