Ray Hobbs

Nick Burnett is a part-time research student, studying the ways in which his local community was affected by Cromwell's Protectorate and his Puritan followers. He is particularly horrified when he hears the story of the brutal slaughter of local magistrate Sir William Newbury and his family, and follows the ongoing restoration work on Newbury Hall closely, in the hope of finding evidence of the outrage. Unfortunately, however, original sources of information from the period are tantalisingly rare.After a while, he begins to wonder if his quest is becoming an obsession, affecting his reasoning, when he experiences strange sensations - dramatic changes in temperature, the feeling he is not alone, and the displacement of a particular ornament. Could he have become unhinged, albeit temporarily, or is he really being targeted by Lady Newbury, dead these 330 years? And if it is the latter, why does she insist on impeding his love life?These are the questions that torment him secretly as he works towards a Master of Philosophy degree and tries to solve a 300-year-old riddle.

In this sequel to Second Wind, Frank Morrison finds himself once again with a problem. For various reasons, mainly connected with the ageing process, the New Albion Dance Orchestra is now seriously depleted, and Frank must find new musicians who want to play the music of the Golden Age.At the same time, he and his ex-wife Helen are trying to sell the house that was their marital home, a transaction that should offer little difficulty during a property boom, except for the malign interference of, chiefly, Helen's mother.Despite the difficulties in his path, Frank performs a juggling act, fulfilling his professional obligations and taking the band through a number of social events at the Wool Exchange Club and a TV documentary, as well as attending the screening of Hey, Young Fella, the film for which the band recorded the music score nine months earlier. Matters are then complicated further when a misunderstanding creates yet another major personal problem for him.Just when life is at its most trying, Frank is reunited with his old school and college friend Gavin and his wife Leah. Their friendship alone acts as a tonic, and possibly a pathway to happier times.

An accident on London's Oxford Street puts Leah Hinchcliffe in hospital with multiple injuries. Her immediate condition is worrying enough, but at sixteen and tipped as a future prima ballerina, she is naturally devastated.In this latest addition to the Hinchcliffe saga, we see her family and friends gather around her, determined to help and support her through this overwhelming experience.Set against the usual Hinchcliffe backdrop of musicals, pantomimes and performances by her father's dance band The Dalesmen, she begins her recovery at home whilst studying for 'A' levels, helping with rehearsals, caring for her godparents' disadvantaged daughter Janice, and becoming involved in the delights and upsets of family life.With no guarantee that she will ever fully recover, she must address the immediate future and decide on her next career step. Perhaps more importantly, she has to discover whether or not she can make the most of a future she sees as second-best, or suffer a life of disappointment.

Returning to the island of Jersey for his mother's funeral, Hugh Laverne is reminded of the Nazi occupation and what it meant for those living through it. By association, he feels prompted to revisit wartime friends in Brittany in Northern France.Reunited with former Resistance members, he learns that Louise, his friends' adopted niece, was captured and killed by the Gestapo shortly after his departure for Britain. The news is all the more devastating when he hears that she was pregnant at the time of her capture, and the knowledge now haunts him, blighting his relationships even seven years later.When he hears of the untimely death of his erstwhile first lieutenant and prot g Neil Godfrey, he fears that nothing but bad news will ever emerge from his fateful year of covert operations. However, his attendance at Neil's funeral results in an unexpected meeting.

Recently discharged from the Army, Rob Parker, clarinettist and saxophonist, arrives at a northern variety theatre to be auditioned for the post of First Reed. It is 1949, men are returning from military service, and there are more musicians than there are jobs, but he is fortunate enough to be hired.He receives the barest introduction to the job from the surly conductor, and he has much to learn about the ways of the theatre, but he nevertheless proves himself capable and resourceful, rising to a series of challenges.Life outside the theatre becomes hectic, too, as he moves from one romantic situation to the next against the inescapable backdrop of post-war rationing and austerity.Despite changing fortunes, however, he never loses sight of his ambition to become, one day, a conductor in a London theatre.

Rhona Loveday is a hard-headed Geordie, well-equipped to survive in the male-dominated world of 1970s secondary education.However, the romantic side of her character is aroused when she hears that the one-time Savoy Cinema, purchased by Akengarth Amateurs for conversion into a theatre, stands derelict for lack of funds.Aided by jobbing builder Matt Brocklehurst and his unlikely apprentice Bev, a girl whom Rhona remembers as a struggling child and a stranger to self-belief, she sets about persuading the society that their dream can still be realised.Faced with the economic adversity and industrial strife of 1973-74, the project is threatened from the start. With only the members' determination, Rhona's steadfast vision and Matt's down-to-earth planning in its favour, the success of the venture hangs very much in the balance.

Times are challenging for the Watkinson family. As Adam recovers impatiently from Covid, Jimbo's TV show Opera Stage is axed by the sponsors as being of 'minority interest', Brexit has resulted in Nicola's redundancy, Leanne and Paul want desperately to adopt their foster-child Isla, and Gareth and Lisa are still running the canine rehabilitation centre on the slenderest of shoestrings.There are, however, signs of encouragement. Adam is asked to write another musical, Jimbo has been offered a part by the outrageous director Jason Harmsworth in La Boh me, and Nicola has secured temporary employment as a holiday rep in Southern France. Meanwhile, Leanne and Paul are nursing Isla patiently through the heartbreak of orphanhood.As ever, there are complications. Adam is not sufficiently recovered to face the combined demands of writing music, book and lyrics; La Boh me is set in 1980s Liverpool, where Jimbo is required to sing one of Puccini's finest arias whilst posturing with an electric guitar; Nicola has to endure demanding tourists and an over-attentive colleague; resources at the canine centre are stretched to breaking point and, for Leanne and Paul, the pathway to adoption is beset by obstacles.If any family deserves better, it must be the Watkinsons, but they've triumphed in the past, so why not again?

In this sequel to Unknown Warrior, Eileen Dewhirst, now enlisted in the WRNS, is serving on Orkney, where she meets pilot Reg Underwood in unusual circumstances. They meet twice and it is immediately apparent that a special attraction exists between them.All too soon, he is posted away, initially to an escort carrier on the North Russian Convoy route, but they promise to keep in touch. After a brief time together in London, he is posted, firstly to Rhode Island, USA, to be trained on the new fighter, and then to the Far East, where a distance of almost 12,000 miles and fierce fighting in the Pacific shorten the odds against his return, but they are as determined as ever to be reunited.

Jeffrey Mortimer, aka 'Jeff Mort' is an ex-baker turned rock idol, whose band Tantum Somnium has just split up. However, far from being disappointed at the turn of events, he is relieved, because he can now escape from everything he dislikes and resents about the music industry - whatever his girlfriend says.Now minus his band and his girlfriend, he sets out to find a new way of life, although he has no idea what kind of life it will be.His quest takes him from one town and village to another, where he becomes unavoidably involved in the lives of those he meets, often turning his baking skills to their advantage.His odyssey soon takes on epic proportions, causing him to wonder if he will ever find the life he seeks.

Recently discharged after twelve years with their regiment in India, Sergeants Seth Campion and Henry Fowler journey to the Dakota Territory of North America with the intention of pursuing their ideal, by joining the celebrated Colonel Custer and the Seventh Cavalry. However, they arrive in Bismarck, only to learn of the massacre at the Little Bighorn.They take the stagecoach to the town of Pentecost to seek employment in their former calling, as farmhands. They are successful in this, but life in the West during the 1870s is less than peaceful and often unfriendly, especially towards two Englishmen, and their survival relies heavily on their training and experience as cavalrymen in India.From time to time, they also feel obliged to assist the weak and vulnerable. This, and their idealistic approach to life invites comparison with the knights of old and, like those worthy champions, they press on, ever hopeful of finding their ideal.

Recently demobbed after serving in the WAAF, Dorothy Needham learns of the disappearance of Sarah, her favourite Aunt since early childhood. As she is seemingly the only family member who is concerned for Sarah's wellbeing, she sets out to discover her whereabouts.Initial inquiries take her to Orl ans and Paris, where she finds herself at a dead end.Back in England, she enjoys the support and encouragement of her old friends Kate and Jack Farthing, and she learns something remarkable about herself.A chance meeting with the mother of another old friend, Alan Lofthouse, leads to another reunion and another clue regarding Aunt Sarah's journey. The search moves to war-scarred Hanover and L neburg, and together they continue the quest despite poor communications, grudging co-operation, and open hostility, with Dorothy determined to find out if her aunt managed to survive the ordeal of the concentration camp.

Four years have elapsed since Fred Fuller returned from New Zealand to join the Royal Naval Air Service. It is January 1918, and he finds himself at Dover Seaplane Base in Kent, searching the English Channel for U-boats in a vital struggle to keep the approaches open. He meets Agnes Morley, the young widow who runs the Navy and Army Canteen, and they are immediately attracted to each other. He surprises her with his liberal attitude towards society and his cavalier disregard for authority, and their relationship grows ever stronger. One significant hurdle stands in their way, however, and that is her reluctance to leave her familiar surroundings and take up a new life with him in New Zealand. As the war continues with no sign of resolution, they wonder if they, too, will ever reach agreement.