When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils, Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town's council...

Maisie is asked to investigate a potential land purchase. Her inquiries take her to a village in Kent during the hop picking season. Mysterious fires erupt in the village and a series of petty crime suggest a darker criminal element at work. A peculiar secrecy shrouds the village, and Maisie needs to use her skills to solve one of her most intriguing cases yet.

Corduroy Mansions is the affectionate nickname given to a genteel, crumbling mansion block in London's vibrant Pimlico neighborhood and the home turf of a captivating collection of quirky and altogether McCall-Smithian characters. There's the middle-aged wine merchant William, who's trying to convince his reluctant twenty-four-year-old son, Eddie, to leave the nest; and Marcia, the boutique caterer who has her sights set on William. There's also the...

When young Rebecca goes to live with her aunts, she finds she has much to learn about polite, ladylike behavior. But it is her aunts who will learn more than they ever dreamed possible once their charming and dauntless niece comes into their lives. "The novel provides a fascinating window into a vanished America and reflects the author's burning belief that adults have a responsibility to cherish, not crush, the unique qualities that each child...

A supreme femme fatale has been cursed with premonitions. She forsees her own murder, singles out the two most likely murderers, and attempts to make them pay in advance.

Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers-- a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father's death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking...

Three days before Christmas, in the freezing slums of London's East End, thirteen-year-old Gracie Phipps encounters Minnie Maude Mudway, who is eight, alone, and determined to find her friend Charlie. Charlie is a donkey who belonged to Minnie Maude's Uncle Alf. The day before, someone murdered Uncle Alf and made off with his rag-and-bones cart and the beloved beast who pulled it. Minnie Maud means to rescue Charlie, and Grace decides to help. In...

Pagford is a seemingly idyllic English village with a cobbled market square and ancient abbey. Behind the pretty facade, however, is a town at war: rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils. Pagford is not what it first seems.

"In a captivating departure from the Deep South setting of his previous fiction, Steve Yarbrough now gives us a richly nuanced portrait of a marriage being reinvented in a small town in the Northeast, in his most surprising and compelling novel yet. When Kristin Stevens loses her job in California's higher-education system, she and her husband, Cal, relocate to Massachusetts. Kristin takes a position at a smaller, less prestigious university and promptly...

In the sixth series, the doctor tackles fatherhood and his complicated relationship with local teacher Louisa.