"Find Moira for me. Tell her I'm sorry." These are Walter Drummond's dying words to his daughter, Eleanor, on his deathbed in Woodstock in 1936. Eleanor has never heard the name Moira before, and she dare not even say it to her mother. Yet she becomes haunted by the mysterious woman who consumed her darling Daddy's thoughts in his final hours. Who on earth was Moira? How strong a hold did she have over Walter Drummond? And why?So begins Eleanor's quest to uncover the truth about her father and his past. What starts as a promise becomes an obsession, and in Eleanor's determination to find Moira, she discovers things about her father she would much rather never have known. It is a journey that takes her to Cornwall, to a tiny artist's cottage by the sea, to a passionate first love affair – and the discovery of a devastating secret.'The Choice', set in 1936 when Edward VIII abandoned throne and empire to marry Wallis Simpson, is a gripping family saga from the author...

More than anything, sixteen-year-old Jenna wants to dance, not just in her studio in St Ives, or in her local class, but professionally, in London, under the eyes of the best teachers in the world. She knows her father will support her all the way; that her aunt will help with the fees and give her a home in the big city. Her mother, however, is a problem. She remains unconvinced of Jenna’s talent and pours scorn on her dreams.    But then a fatal accident blows Jenna’s Cornish life and family apart. Left in her care one hot summer’s afternoon, her beloved younger brother, Benjie, drowns behind some lethal rocks. Blaming herself entirely, guilty and grief-stricken, Jenna puts all her plans on hold. She relinquishes her hard-fought place at ballet school to support her father and their family-run café, trying valiantly to pretend this is the life she wants.     Until she finds Benjie’s diary and starts to probe its secrets. It seems he was being bullied at school; that a pair of twins could have been involved. But Jenna finds it impossible to discover who they are and whether they can shed further light on her little brother’s death.     But a chance meeting with someone who was there with her that tragic afternoon could help. Who is he and what can he reveal? What does Jenna discover that puts the accident in a whole new light? And will she find the courage and determination to pursue her dancing dream?

Where Peacocks Scream is told by twelve-year-old Daniel Williams who lives in The Riverside, a pub by the river in Wolvercote, North Oxford. The pub's gardens include a bridge that leads to a wild patch called The Island, which Daniel considers to be his private territory and one of his passions. His others are for the peacocks that live in the grounds and his friend Josh, and Chloe, the Boatman's daughter.The story opens with the death of Cora, Daniel's special peahen, whom he buries secretly on The Island. That summer, while he is fishing, he notices that he is being watched and photographed by a man in a white cap. The man turns out to be Frank Jasper who arrives to stay at The Riverside and begins to make Daniel's life a misery.What is Frank Jasper plotting? Why did he bring those peacock feathers into the pub? Can Daniel save The Riverside from Frank Jasper's evil plans?Author Valerie Mendes started writing when she was six years old and continued to write poetry...

When her mother is killed in a horse-riding accident, nine-year-old Amy is mute and traumatised. She cannot remember what happened, and she is haunted by a nightmare she cannot explain. She becomes obsessed by her father, clinging to their relationship for dear life.Six years later, confident that she has passed her school exams with flying colours, and basking in her father's love, Amy is horrified to discover there is a new woman in his life. Hannah is not only young and attractive but she is a qualified doctor who also threatens to become Amy's step-mother.Reeling from the blow, Amy makes the chance discovery of a postcard written to her mother before her untimely death. Realising with a shock that her older brother will not help her to reveal the truth behind it, Amy abandons a potential love affair to follow the clues the postcard has given her. Mustering all her determination and courage, she travels on her own to Italy, to find a man she has never met before...

Thirteenyearold Nathan is furious when Mum hauls him off to Cornwall for Christmas and then tells him they are to move there for good. He knows he must accept the fact that his dad has left them to live with another woman, but he is desperate to be back with him in London. He has never been separated from his best friend, Tom, either. Life, it seems to him, has become intolerably unfair.After a blazing row with his mum, Nathan runs away for the afternoon—only to discover, entirely by chance, a cottage, a garden by the sea, and an enchantingly beautiful girl who seems more miserable than he is himself.The girl in the attic. Who is she, and what is the family secret that haunts her life?Nathan suddenly realises that seeing the girl again and finding out about her have become an obsession. He lays a careful plan that enables him to return to the cottage, where he discovers her name—Rosalie—and that her problems put his own in the shade. He longs to help...