Headline The Handfasted Wife McGrath Carol

London, 1350. Agnes, daughter of a stonemason, is struggling to keep her father's trade in a city decimated by plague. And then she receives a mysterious message from the disgraced Queen Isabella: mother of King Edward III, and widow of Edward II. Isabella has a task that only Agnes can fulfil. She wants her truth to be told • Much has been whispered of the conflicts in Isabella and Edward's marriage. Her greed and warmongering. His unspoken love for male favourites. But as Agnes listens to Isabella, she learns that she can be of help to the queen - but can either woman choose independence, follow her own desires, and survive? • The sweeping third instalment of Carol McGrath's acclaimed She-Wolves Trilogy: the gripping series exploring the tumultous lives and loves of three queens of England - and of three women who lived in their shadow

'You lay hands on a princess of the realm? It is treason.' • 'But this princess disobeys her King. Treason indeed.' • 1266. Eleanor of Castile, adored wife of the Crown Prince of England, is still only a princess when she is held hostage in the brutal Baron's Rebellion, and her baby daughter dies. Scarred by privation, a bitter Eleanor swears revenge on those who would harm her family - and vows never to let herself be vulnerable again • As she rises to become Queen, Eleanor keeps Olwen - a trusted herbalist, who tried to save her daughter - by her side. But it is dangerous to be friendless in a royal household, and as the court sets out on crusade, Olwen and Eleanor discover that the true battle for Europe may not be a matter of swords and lances, but one fanned by whispers and spies

A marriage made in Heaven, or Hell? • 1075 and Dowager Queen Edith has died. Her niece Gunnhild longs to leave Wilton Abbey but is her suitor Breton knight Count Alain of Richmond interested in her inheritance as the daughter of King Harold and Edith Swan-Neck, or does he love her for herself? • Is her own love for Count Alain an enduring love or has she made a terrible mistake? The Swan Daughter is woven around a true 11th century tale of elopement, love and courage

September 1068 • Thea, also known as Gytha, the elder daughter of King Harold II, travels with her brothers and grandmother into exile carrying revenge in her heart. She is soon betrothed to a prince of Kiev. Will her betrothal and marriage bring her happiness, as she confronts enemies from inside and outside Russian territories? Will she prove herself the courageous princess she surely is, win her princely husband's respect and establish her independence in a society protective towards its women?

The stunning final novel in the highly acclaimed and bestselling Six Tudor Queens series by historian and Sunday Times bestselling author, Alison Weir • Alison Weir, historian and author of the Sunday Times bestselling Six Tudor Queens series, recounts the story of Henry VIII's last wife - Katharine Parr, the queen who survived him • A Woman Torn Between Love and Duty • Two husbands dead, a boy and a sick man. And now Katharine is free to make her own choice • The ageing King's eye falls upon her. She cannot refuse him... or betray that she wanted another • She becomes the sixth wife - a queen and a friend. Henry loves and trusts her. But Katharine is hiding another secret in her heart, a deeply held faith that could see her burn • Katharine Parr

From the author of The Secret Wife, a gripping journey through decades and across continents, of love, devastating loss and courage against all odds • 1918 • With the country they once ruled turned against them, the future of Russia's imperial family hangs in the balance. When middle daughter Maria Romanova captivates two of the guards, it will lead to a fateful choice between right and wrong • Fifty-five years later • Val rushes to her father's side when she hears of his troubling end-of-life confession: 'I didn't want to kill her.' As she unravels the secrets behind her mother's disappearance when she was twelve years old, she finds herself caught up in one of the world's greatest mysteries

A magical short novel from the author of All My Friends are Superheroes • A robber charges into a bank with a loaded gun, but instead of taking any money he steals an item of sentimental value from each person. Once he has made his escape, strange things start to happen to the victims • A tattoo comes to life, a husband turns into a snowman, a baby starts to shit money. And Stacey Hinterland discovers that she's shrinking, a little every day, and there is seemingly nothing that she or her husband can do to reverse the process • The Tiny Wife is a weird and wonderful modern fable. Small, but perfectly formed, it will charm, delight and unnerve in equal measure

The Thousand Lights Hotel is the gorgeous new novel from Emylia Hall, author of Richard and Judy Summer Pick THE BOOK OF SUMMERS. Set in idyllic Italy, it's the perfect holiday read, for fans of Louise Douglas and Hannah Richell • When Kit loses her mother in tragic circumstances, she feels drawn to finally connect with the father she has never met. That search brings her to the Thousand Lights Hotel, the perfect holiday escape perched upon a cliff on the island of Elba. Within this idyllic setting a devastating truth is brought to light: shaking the foundations upon which the hotel is built, and shattering the lives of the people within it • A heartbreaking story of loss, betrayal, and redemption, told with all the warmth and beauty of an Italian summer

The locals of the Cornish village of Polperran are grieving the sudden loss of Bea Kimbrel, a cornerstone of their small community • Now her reclusive, estranged daughter Alice has turned up, keen to tie up Bea's affairs and move on • But Alice receives a strange bequest from Bea - a collection of unfinished tasks to help out those in Polperran most in need • As each little act brings her closer to understanding her mother, it also begins to offer Alice the courage to open her clamped-shut heart. Perhaps Bea's project will finally unlock the powerful secrets both women have been keeping • The Kindness Project will draw you deep into the lives of two compelling women who should never have missed their chance to say goodbye. It will break your heart - and piece it back together again

The gritty new mystery in Quintin Jardine's bestselling Bob Skinner series, set in Edinburgh and the Scottish countryside; not to be missed by readers of Ian Rankin and Peter May • Nine years ago, divorcee Marcia Brown took her own life. A pillar of the community, she had been accused of theft, and it's assumed that she was unable to live with the shame. Now her former husband wants the case reopened. Marcia was framed, he says, to prevent her exposing a scandal. He wants justice for Marcia. And Alex Skinner, Solicitor Advocate, and daughter of retired Chief Constable Sir Robert Skinner, has taken on the brief, aided by her investigator Carrie McDaniels • When tragedy strikes and his daughter comes under threat, Skinner steps in. His quarry is about to discover that the road to hell is marked by bad intentions

Young widow Elizabeth Williams is determined to make a success of the business she inherited from her merchant father. But an independent woman draws the wrong kind of attention, and Elizabeth soon realises she has enemies - enemies who know the dark truth about her dead husband • Happiness arrives when Elizabeth meets rapidly rising lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage begins in mutual love and respect - but it isn't easy being the wife of an ambitious courtier in Henry VIII's London. The city is both merciless and filled with temptation, and Elizabeth soon realises she must take care in the life she has chosen . . . or risk losing everything

She's beautiful and beguiling... but can you trust her? • Young London lawyer Laura flies to her parents' homeland for the most important defence case of her life. On trial is Marija Popa, the beautiful widow of a murdered dictator, who created fear and division in his impoverished Eastern Bloc country, hiding untold riches for himself and his family • For Laura, the case is an opportunity to make sense of her broken childhood and her distant relationship with her mother, who will not speak about her old life under the regime. But Laura is distracted by the enigmatic Marija, who claims she knew nothing of her husband's dark affairs • As Laura is led deeper into her investigation of the past, she realises that to uncover the truth, she must draw closer to the dictator's wife