Hidden Gems

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Hidden Gems

Unearth some undiscovered treasures. Now the rush has died down these books are waiting to be read and enjoyed.

Fabulous Fiction

Mrs England
Stacey Halls

West Yorkshire, 1904.

When newly graduated nurse Ruby May takes a position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs.

But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear there's something not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs England.

Ostracised by the servants and feeling increasingly uneasy, Ruby is forced to confront her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself.

After all, there's no such thing as the perfect family - and she should know.

Simmering with slow-burning menace, 'Mrs England' is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, weaving an enthralling story of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception.

The serial killer's sister
Alice Hunter

She thought she'd left her past behind. She was wrong.

Despite a childhood in the care system, Anna Price has beaten the odds and built for herself the perfect life, complete with beautiful seaside home, devoted husband and a job she loves.

Then a policeman appears at Anna's door: her estranged brother Henry is a wanted serial killer.

For the past three years, a woman has been murdered on two specific dates - one of which is Anna's birthday. The second is now only four days away, and the police need Anna's help to catch Henry before he strikes again.

Then an envelope turns up on her doorstep and suddenly Anna finds herself caught in a sick game, one that she remembers all too well from childhood - one that, this time, she must win at all costs.

The forgotten bookshop in Paris
Daisy Wood

Paris, 1940: War is closing in on the city of love.

With his wife forced into hiding, Jacques must stand by and watch as the Nazis take away everything he holds dear. Everything except his last beacon of hope: his beloved bookshop, La Page Cachee.

But when a young woman and her child knock on his door one night and beg for refuge, he knows his only option is to risk it all once more to save a life.

Modern day: Juliette and her husband have finally made it to France on the romantic getaway of her dreams - but as the days pass, all she discovers is quite how far they've grown apart.

She's craving a new adventure, so when she happens across a tiny, abandoned shop with a for-sale sign in the window, it feels fated.

And she's about to learn that the forgotten bookshop hides a lot more than meets the eye.

Dark music
David Lagercrantz

Professor Hans Rekke: born into a wealthy Stockholm family, world authority on interrogation techniques, capable of vertiginous feats of logic and observation.  But he might just fall apart when the going gets tough, leading to substance abuse and despair.

Micaela Vargas: community police officer, born to Chilean political refugees in a tough suburb, with two brothers on the shady side of the law.  Vargas feels she has something to prove. She's tenacious and uncompromising, but she needs Rekke's unique mind to help her solve the case.

Rekke has it all - wealth, reputation - but also a tendency to throw it all away. He needs Vargas to help him get back on an even keel so he can focus his mind on finding the killer before they're both silenced for good.

Exciting times
Naoise Dolan

Ava, newly arrived in Hong Kong from Dublin, spends her days teaching English to rich children.

Julian is a banker. A banker who likes to spend money on Ava, to have sex and discuss fluctuating currencies with her. But when she asks whether he loves her, he cannot say more than 'I like you a great deal'.

Enter Edith, a lawyer. Refreshingly enthusiastic and unapologetically earnest, Edith takes Ava to the theatre when Julian leaves Hong Kong for work. Quickly, she becomes something Ava looks forward to.  And then Julian writes to tell Ava he is coming back to Hong Kong.

Should Ava return to the easy compatibility of her life with Julian or take a leap into the unknown with Edith?

The discreet charm of the big bad wolf
Alexander McCall Smith

The Department of Sensitive Crimes is downsizing in light of a recent downturn of sensitive crime, and staff members are wondering who among them will be transferred elsewhere.

As the bickering between colleagues intensifies, Ulf tries his best to stay above the fray. But when Anna, a longtime friend and coworker, appears to blame him for an old case that went sideways, it seems she may be putting her own job prospects above their friendship.

In the midst of all this, Ulf embarks on an important inquiry: a man's cabin has mysteriously disappeared and Ulf is tasked with finding out what happened. How exactly does one steal a house? And, more to the point, how does one track down a stolen house?

Meanwhile, a promising veterinary treatment for deafness in dogs has been announced, and Ulf's dog, Martin, might be the perfect patient.

Echoes in the Cotswolds
Rebecca Tope

This instalment in the 'Cotswold Mysteries' series sees Thea Osborne agreeing to do a second spell of house-sitting for Lucy Sinclair, in her new home in Northleach.

Lucy is scheduled for an operation on her back in Oxford and needs Thea to look after things for a few days. Thea is glad of the change of scene and soon meets several of the townsfolk, and it appears that few of them have any liking for Lucy.

When a man is found dead in a Northleach house and turns out to be Lucy's stepson, Thea is once again at the very heart of a police investigation.

The people next door
Tony Parsons

Lana and Roman Wade have fled the city for a little corner of paradise, exchanging their flat with its unhappy memories for a small honey-coloured house among the rolling green hills of Oxfordshire.

Their new home, set in a residential Close known as The Gardens, is their dream and their new neighbours are charming. So why is Lana feeling so uneasy?

Lana and Roman may seem like an attractive, popular couple. But they are also a couple with a secret; a secret buried in the life they have left behind, a secret they have shared with no-one.

But their new neighbours - these charming, affluent men and women in the Gardens - have secrets of their own. Terrible secrets; unimaginable secrets that include the apparently happy family who lived - and tragically died - in Lana and Roman's new home.

Em & me
Beth Morrey

Delphine and Em have lost their way. But what comes next is up to them. You can't change your past - but your future is there for the taking.

Once upon a time, Delphine Jones had big dreams. Clever and ambitious, she was going to make her mark on the world. But somewhere along the line, it all went wrong.

Now she's a single mum, serving coffee for a living, fishing coins out the back of the sofa to make ends meet for her daughter, Em.

But there is one thing she never gave up - hope. When she's sacked from a job she hates and forced to start again, Delphine begins to remember who she is and what she's capable of - if only she can put the past behind her.

Can hope bloom into something more for Delphine and Em?

The younger wife
Sally Hepworth

Tully and Rachel Aston are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend.

The fact that Heather is half his age isn't even the most shocking part. Stephen is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer's disease.

Announcing his plan to divorce and then remarry, the news of Stephen and Heather's engagement sets a chain a family implosion. With their mother unable to speak for herself, Tully and Rachel are determined to get to the truth about their family's secrets and what this new woman really wants.

Heather knows she has an uphill battle to win over Tully and Rachel, all the while carrying the burden of the secrets of her past.

But, as it turns out, they are all hiding something. A garage full of stolen goods. An old hot-water bottle stuffed with cash. A blood-soaked wedding. And that's only the beginning.

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More undiscovered gems

Check out more of our fabulous fiction which is waiting for you to borrow.

New Books Coming Soon

Take a scroll through our upcoming releases and bestsellers - all available to order.

Everything you need to know about holds:
how to reserve a book

When you're looking for a specific book, it can be disappointing when it's not on the shelf at your local library.  Not to worry - our easy-to-use holds system has you covered.

• When you place a hold on a book, if we have a copy on the shelf at another of our libraries, we'll send it over to your local library for you to collect.
• If all of our copies are on loan, you will join a queue and when it's your turn, we'll send a copy over to your local library for you to collect.
• You'll receive an e-mail when your hold is ready to collect, and you have 13 days after the hold arrives to collect it.
• Holds are free for children, and a small charge is made for adults.  
• You can place up to 20 holds on your library account.
• You can place holds online - all you need is your library card number and password.
• Alternatively, our friendly staff are always happy to place holds for you.
  You can ask in the library, or e-mail us with your request at: libraries@cheshiresharedservices.gov.uk

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