Contemporary sagas

These books are gritty and contemporary stories of sorrow and loss as well as hope and redemption. They are a bit darker than my classic sagas, and I hope you'll appreciate the drama and heartbreak that make the characters strong and appealing despite their tough lives.

 

The Lost Soul | Buy Online

Hardback - 13/05/10 | Paperback coming- 09/12/10

When a mysterious fire kills her adoptive parents, Madeleine’s worst fear comes true – she and her beloved brother Oliver are separated. Worse still, Maddie is blamed for starting the fire and, labelled a difficult child, she is sent to a children’s home. Far from idyllic, and buried deep in the countryside, the home well conceals the misery of its young occupants. Subjected to a harsh regime of abuse and degradation, Maddie makes a brave attempt to escape. But her brief weeks of freedom are thwarted when she is caught and taken back to River House.

Maddie clings to her determination to one day be reunited with Oli, and it is this which gives her the strength to endure what lies ahead. For she knows she can rely only on herself – there is no one else to keep her safe...

The Boy from Nowhere | Buy Online

Hardback - 14/05/09 | Paperback - 10/12/09

Alex never stood a chance. After one 'accident' too many, he's taken into care aged four. Although his mother promises to get him back, he's adopted by a childless couple and renamed Franky. It should be a fresh start, but his new dad has a twisted idea of fatherhood. Abused and alone, Franky escapes - but his freedom is short-lived, and after a series of foster homes no one can get through to him. He says he's 'the boy from nowhere', but deep down he's still waiting for his mum to take him home.

Franky slips into a dangerous world on the streets of London , earning a living the only way he can. One day he might find a way out, but can he ever trust again?

Crying Shame | Buy Online

Paperback - 27/11/08

Claire Nightingale is haunted by the memory of childhood abuse and the painful choices she was forced to make. Longing to find peace, she knows she must first confront her demons.

Moving to Solihull with her adopted daughter Nikki, she tries to make amends with the family she left behind. But Claire is not the only one hurting: Nikki is scarred by her own abusive past, and their relationship, once loving, becomes fraught with tension and resentment. Struggling to come to terms with their pain, it is not long before ghosts from the past bring a new threat that jeopardises the possibility of any future happiness...

A heartbreaking tale of abuse, courage and, above all, the redemptive power of love.

Our Little Secret | Buy Online

Paperback - 26/06/08

At just twenty years old, Claire McMullen is the new owner of the Seabourne Hotel. She's a mystery to everyone around her - and that's how she wants to keep it. Abused as a child and forced to sell her body to survive, Claire has built a barrier around herself that she is sure no one will ever penetrate.

But folks are curious about why such an attractive young woman would move to Blackpool to run a hotel. Where are her friends? Her family? Claire is determined to keep the truth from them all until she attracts the attention of wealthy businessman, Gregory Nightingale, and she finds her past coming back to haunt her...

Forsaken | Buy Online

Paperback - 29/11/07

Born on a Friday, Sophie Winters has always been a loving and giving child, who'd do anything for her family. Yet her father, Bill, has always seemed to resent her. For her mother's sake, Sophie learns to live with Bill's animosity - until the night he drunkenly forces himself upon her.

Left pregnant and ashamed at seventeen, Sophie doesn't know where to turn. So when she meets the charming Ben Lewis and he offers her refuge at his mother's hotel, she accepts. At first it seems that Ben and his mother are quite the good Samaritans. But there is little goodness in the Lewises' hearts. As Sophie realises their dark intentions, a web of danger and deceit wraps itself around her. She knows if she is to survive, she will have to fight for all she's worth...

 

See Also: Classic Sagas | Catherine Cookson Titles