Muswell Press – The Bell Bookshop

The Lifeline

Emma — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Mark Chalmers, 36, dark haired, athletic, keen on skiing and winter sports, speaks fluent French and German and has a taste for wine, food and women. Sounds familiar? It is 1938, pre the Munich Agreement and post Anschluss. Chalmers, a master at Eton, is recruited by an old friend at the Foreign Office and introduced to his boss ‘B’. Chalmers reluctantly agrees to take on a hazardous mission for British Intelligence – to parachute into Nazi-occupied Austria and pass on information to a British agent. In case of trouble he is given a suicide pill. Chalmers has no intention of committing himself beyond this one job but once he reaches his destination, he finds himself sucked into the cause fighting fascism with the Austrian-German Underground – until there is no turning back.

Scent

Emma — Thu, 19 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

When ClÃ©mentine and Ãdouard's last child leaves home, the cracks in their marriage become impossible to ignore. ClÃ©mentine's work as an artisan perfumer is no longer rewarding and her sense of self is withering. Life tilts irreversibly when, decades after the disturbing end of a bisexual love triangle, her former lover Rachal resurfaces. But what does she want from ClÃ©mentine, if not revenge? This is a captivating and intimate portrait of a woman navigating conflicting desires and a troubled past whilst dreaming of a fulfilling future.

The Rhino Conspiracy

Emma — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In the last decade over 6,000 rhinos have been killed in South Africa. Relentless poaching for their horns has led to a catastrophic fall in black rhino numbers. Meanwhile a corrupt South African government turns a blind eye to the international trade in rhino horn. This is the background to Peter Hain’s brilliantly pacey and timely thriller. Battling to defend the dwindling rhino population, a veteran freedom fighter is forced to break his lifetime loyalty to the ANC as he confronts corruption at the very highest level. The stakes are high. Can the country’s ancient rhino herd be saved from extinction by state-sponsored poaching? Has Mandela’s ‘rainbow nation’ been irretrievably betrayed by political corruption and cronyism?

Partisan Heart

Emma — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The Italian Alps,1944. The Resistance is fighting a bitter battle against German forces on the treacherous mountains of the Valtellina. Eighteen-year-old Sandro Bellini falls in love with the wife of his Commander. No good can come of it. London,1999. Michael Keats is mourning the death of his wife, killed in a hit and run accident in Northern Italy. His discovery that she had been having an affair devastates him and he sets out to find the identity of her lover. That journey leads him to the villages of the Valtellina, where the brutal repercussions of war still reverberate. As Michael discovers the truth of his wife’s affair, he uncovers five decades of duplicity and deception.

Beer In The Loire

Emma — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Frustrated by a dead end job, fed up with renting and the loathsome daily commute and, to cap it all, failing to make it as a stand-up comedian, Tommy Barnes was at breaking point. But he didn’t break – instead he made himself redundant and took off to France with girlfriend Rose to pursue his dream of brewing beer. Settled in a dilapidated house in the Loire they are beset by calamities (mainly of Tommy’s making), mad neighbours and an unexpected pregnancy. Not to mention, Burt the Satanic dog who truly has it in for his master. Featuring colourful characters, a stunning location a collection of beer recipes, this is an irresistible feast of humour and heart.