The Quiet Woman begins when two people conspire to steal a fortune in cash. It ends in double murder. The payroll of the Jauncey Engineering plant is missing. According to the guard, found bound and gagged at the scene, two trusted employees, Harold Graham and Yvonne Marshall, are responsible for the crime, and the police proceed as if this were just another payroll theft. To crime reporter Quinn it sounds like the usual story of a married man and a younger woman who plot to steal the money in order to finance a new life together. He and his friend, insurance assessor Piper, question the missing woman's husband and the missing man's wife and her sister. Soon they are patching scattered clues together, and Quinn sets out to investigate the possibility that Yvonne may have already double-crossed Harold. Then the first corpse is discovered. All clues point in the same direction, but when the second body is found in a watery ditch, that theory must also be discarded. Another hypothesis is then proposed and painstakingly investigated. It, too, turns into a blind alley. A third cul-de-sac, equally convincing and just as false, makes the action by turns frustrating or suspenseful, but always gripping. And Quinn, who wanted only a human-interest angle for his column, becomes more and more intimately involved in the case. A telephone call from the police provides him with further evidence and leads Quinn reluctantly but inevitably to the conclusion of this fast-paced novel. The Quiet Woman is a story of ordinary people engulfed in frightening events. It will challenge even the most astute.

The internationally acclaimed bestselling author of Smilla's Sense of Snow returns with this "engrossing, beautifully written tale of suspense . . . captivating" (The Miami Herald). Set in Denmark in the here and now, Peter Hoeg's The Quiet Girl centers around Kaspar Krone, a world-renowned circus clown with a deep love for the music of Johan Sebastian Bach, and an even deeper gambling debt. Wanted for tax evasion and on the verge of extradition, Krone is drafted into the service of a mysterious order of nuns who promise him reprieve from the international authorities in return for his help safeguarding a group of children with mystical abilities -- abilities that Krone also shares. When one of the children goes missing, Krone sets off to find the young girl and bring her back, making a shocking series of discoveries along the way about her identity and the true intentions of his young wards. The result is a fast-paced, philosophical thriller blending social realism with the literary fantastic and pitting art and spirituality against corporate interests and nothing less than the will to war by the industrialized world. The Quiet Girl is a masterful, inventive novel that marks the triumphal return of one of the great writers of the international literary world.

Nurse Florence Shaw is baffled when a quiet patient dies in an apparent suicide pact with her husband. Can she uncover the truth behind this mysterious woman? Richard and Christine Clay have been married for decades. Their relationship has stood the test of time despite Christine appearing passive while her husband is unmistakably dominant - at times bullying and controlling. Nurse Florence Shaw has seen Christine at the surgery a number of times with minor complaints over the past year, none of which has led to a serious diagnosis. But when Florence hears that the couple appear to have entered into a suicide pact, she is shocked, though not surprised that Richard has survived. Was Christine's death really a suicide, or was there more to this quiet woman than meets the eye?

Award-winning poet and author Helen Mort describes the collection of poetry, paintings, artwork, and ideas found in The Quiet Woman as, “life-changing and affirming, alive to grief but full of defiance”. The comedy screen-writer Maggie Rowe describes the book and its author as, “a miracle”. Emily’s 40 poems and 40 pieces of art grapple openly with and embrace questions of womanhood, faith, doubt, motherhood, radical theology, suicide, embodiment, female empowerment, abuse, domesticity, mysticism, ecology, love, loss, religion, inclusion, imperfection, spirituality, pain, deconstruction, self-love, and surrender. The Quiet Woman is for anyone who is reaching for words that bring comfort and hope. It’s for anyone seeking to redefine the traditional image of a Quiet Woman. A woman who is Quiet because she’s breathing in, filling her lungs, ready to roar. A woman who is Quiet because she doesn’t need to ask for outside validation. A woman who is Quiet because she’s busy getting the rest she needs in order to thrive. A woman who is Quiet because she’s focused on listening intently to her own voice.

'One of the most lovely and heartwarming books I have ever read! 5 STARS' - Between the Pages Lancashire, 1930. Leah Turner's father has been killed in an accident at the laundry, and since her mother died years ago it falls to her to become sole provider for her little sister. But women's wages are half those of men and pawning the few belongings she has left will only keep their vicious rent collector at bay for a few weeks, so even if she finds a job, they'll lose their home. Out of the blue Charlie Willcox, the local pawnbroker, offers her a deal. His brother Jonah, an invalid since being gassed in the Great War, needs a wife. Charlie thinks Leah would be perfect for the job. The idea of a marriage of convenience doesn't please Leah, but she finds Jonah agreeable enough and moving with him to the pretty hamlet of Ellindale may be the only chance of a better life for her sister. But other people have plans for the remote Pennine valley, and the two sisters find themselves facing danger in their new life with Jonah. Can the three of them ever look to a brighter future? Further praise for ONE QUIET WOMAN 'A book of family, love, friendship and loyalty. 5 STARS' - Stardust Book Reviews 'I was gripped from the very first word on the very first page and I wasn't released until the last word on the last page . . . When I finished I felt like I had been through an emotional wringer. 5 STARS' - Ginger Book Geek 'Yet another brilliant book' - 5-star reader review

Three enchanting Christmas stories by Louisa May Alcott.