Danielle Steel
The House

Perched on a hill overlooking San Francisco, the house was magnificent, built in 1923 by a wealthy man for the woman he adored. For her and for this house, he would spare no expense and overlook no detail, from the endless marble floors to the glittering chandeliers. Almost a century later, with the once-grand house now in disrepair, a young woman walks through its empty rooms. Sarah Anderson, a perfectly sensible estate lawyer, is about to do something utterly out of character. An elderly client has died and left her two gifts. One is a general inheritance. The other a priceless message: to use his money for something wonderful, something daring. And in this old house, surrounded by crumbling grandeur, Sarah knows just what it is.

Alexander McCall Smith
Love Over Scotland

Since the comings and goings at 44 Scotland Street first appeared in daily episodes in the pages of The Scotsman newspaper in 2004, the inhabitants of that Edinburgh New Town house have become familiar to Alexander McCall Smith's growing army of fans. The first serial novel, 44 E Scotland Street, was collected in book form and became an instant hit both in Great Britain and the United States. By popular demand, a second series soon followed and it was duly published ~s as the novel Espresso Tales. In this third volume, Bertie, that most talented six- year-old, continues his heroic struggle against his insufferable mother and her henchman, the psychotherapist Dr Fairbairn; Pat becomes the object of the attentions of a handsome and mysterious admirer; Cyril, that remarkable gold-toothed dog, has a brush with disaster; and Big Lou, as ever, provides coffee and advice for the whole cast of characters.

In 1870 Emma Grady has spent seven years as a convict in Australia. Now, having earned her ticket of leave, she is still bound by chains of honour and friendship. Yet Emma lives for the day when she will return to England, to face those who cheated and betrayed her. And to Marlow Tanner, the man she loves - and whose tragic child she had borne and then lost. Emma struggles to make something of her life in Australia despite the sinister presence of her employer's evil son Foster. His determination to 'have' Emma leads to dark and terrifying consequences. Will Emma ever be reunited with Marlow? Even if she finds him, will he still love her? And what of the child lost to them both? Emma is plagued with fears but her love for Marlow never weakens - and can never be forgotten....