Headline Books

What price do we pay for freedom?

For fans of Washington Black, The Underground Railroad and Days without End.

In the dying days of the American Civil War, newly freed brothers Landry and Prentiss find themselves cast into the world without a penny to their names. Forced to hide out in the woods near their former Georgia plantation, they're soon discovered by the land's owner, George Walker, a man still reeling from the loss of his son in the war.

When the brothers begin to live and work on George's farm, the tentative bonds of trust and union begin to blossom between the strangers. But this sanctuary survives on a knife's edge, and it isn't long before the inhabitants of the nearby town of Old Ox react with fury at the alliances being formed only a few miles away.

Conjuring a world fraught by tragedy and violence yet threaded through with hope, The Sweetness of Water is a debut novel unique in its power to move and enthral.

Brimming with romance, adventure and vivid historical detail, Christina Courtenay does for the Vikings what Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and Clanlans does for Scottish history. The best-selling author of Echoes of the Runes spins a thrilling and epic new timeslip tale, perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine.

Time is no barrier for a love that is destined to be.

When jewellery Designer Sara Mattsson is propelled back to the ninth century, after cutting herself on a Viking knife she uncovers at an archaeological dig, she is quick to accept what has happened to her. For this is not the first Sara has heard of time travel.

Although acutely aware of the danger she faces when she loses the knife - and with it her way to return to her own time - this is also the opportunity of a lifetime. What better way to add authenticity to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon motifs used in her designs?

As luck has it, the first person Sara encounters is Rurik Eskilsson, a fellow silversmith, who is also no stranger to the concept of time travel. Agreeing that Sara can accompany him to Jorvik, they embark on a journey even more perilous than one through time. But Fate has brought these two kindred spirits together across the ages for a reason...

Brimming with romance, adventure and vivid historical detail, Christina Courtenay does for the Vikings what Diana Gabaldon's Outlander and Clanlans does for Scottish history. The best-selling author of Echoes of the Runes spins a thrilling and epic new timeslip tale, perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine.

Time is no barrier for a love that is destined to be.

When jewellery Designer Sara Mattsson is propelled back to the ninth century, after cutting herself on a Viking knife she uncovers at an archaeological dig, she is quick to accept what has happened to her. For this is not the first Sara has heard of time travel.

Although acutely aware of the danger she faces when she loses the knife - and with it her way to return to her own time - this is also the opportunity of a lifetime. What better way to add authenticity to the Viking and Anglo-Saxon motifs used in her designs?

As luck has it, the first person Sara encounters is Rurik Eskilsson, a fellow silversmith, who is also no stranger to the concept of time travel. Agreeing that Sara can accompany him to Jorvik, they embark on a journey even more perilous than one through time. But Fate has brought these two kindred spirits together across the ages for a reason...

One Saturday morning, TJ McConnell wakes up to find his mother, Mary, gone. He doesn't know where - or why - but he's the only one who can help find her.

Mary grew up longing for information about the mother she never knew. Her brother could barely remember her, and their father numbed his pain with drink.

Now aged thirty-seven, Mary has lived in the same house her whole life. She's never left Belfast. TJ, who's about to turn eighteen, is itching to see more of the world.

But when his mother disappears, TJ begins to realise what he's been taking for granted.

MOTHER MOTHER takes us down the challenging road of Mary's life while following TJ's increasingly desperate search for her, as he begins to discover what has led her to this point.

This is a story about family, grief, addiction and motherhood, and it asks an important question - if you spend your life giving everything to the ones you love, do you risk losing yourself along the way?

One Saturday morning, TJ McConnell wakes up to find his mother, Mary, gone. He doesn't know where - or why - but he's the only one who can help find her.

Mary grew up longing for information about the mother she never knew. Her brother could barely remember her, and their father numbed his pain with drink.

Now aged thirty-seven, Mary has lived in the same house her whole life. She's never left Belfast. TJ, who's about to turn eighteen, is itching to see more of the world.

But when his mother disappears, TJ begins to realise what he's been taking for granted.

MOTHER MOTHER takes us down the challenging road of Mary's life while following TJ's increasingly desperate search for her, as he begins to discover what has led her to this point.

This is a story about family, grief, addiction and motherhood, and it asks an important question - if you spend your life giving everything to the ones you love, do you risk losing yourself along the way?

Musician Tom and comedian Jess have brilliant timing on stage - but soon after a chance encounter, they learn the hard way that, when it comes to love, timing isn't so easy....

Perfect for fans of will -they-won't-they love stories, romantic comedies and Josie Silver.

For Jess and Tom, timing is everything.

For her, it's the moment she delivers the perfect punchline. For him, it's the heartbeat in the music he makes with his band.

And from the night they meet, sharing the same stage at the Edinburgh Festival, their attraction is undeniable. At first, it seems their timing is as perfect in the wings as it is in front of a crowd.

But as Jess and Tom's careers take off, the moment for true connection is always just out of reach. With fate pushing them together, only to pull them apart, will the timing ever be right?

After all, when it comes to love, the timing has to be perfect...doesn't it?

Musician Tom and comedian Jess have brilliant timing on stage - but soon after a chance encounter, they learn the hard way that, when it comes to love, timing isn't so easy....

Perfect for fans of will -they-won't-they love stories, romantic comedies and Josie Silver.

For Jess and Tom, timing is everything.

For her, it's the moment she delivers the perfect punchline. For him, it's the heartbeat in the music he makes with his band.

And from the night they meet, sharing the same stage at the Edinburgh Festival, their attraction is undeniable. At first, it seems their timing is as perfect in the wings as it is in front of a crowd.

But as Jess and Tom's careers take off, the moment for true connection is always just out of reach. With fate pushing them together, only to pull them apart, will the timing ever be right?

After all, when it comes to love, the timing has to be perfect...doesn't it?

Seven friends. A castle in the woods. An uninvited guest....

A thriller perfect for fans of Ruth Ware's In a Dark, Dark Wood and Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party.

Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last girls' weekend before Georgina's wedding. Near the castle, through a path in the woods, is a loch. After a few bottles of Prosecco, the girls head down to the water to take photos. The loch is wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. They set their camera to self-timer and take some group shots. Later, looking back at the pictures, they see something impossible.

Behind them, eyes wide, a small, drenched boy emerges from the water.

How did he get there; where is he now; and what does he want?

The girls thought they knew each other's darkest secrets, but one of them has been hiding something terrible. Consumed by grief, she's been waiting for the perfect moment to wreak her revenge....

Seven friends. A castle in the woods. An uninvited guest....

A thriller perfect for fans of Ruth Ware's In a Dark, Dark Wood and Lucy Foley's The Hunting Party.

Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last girls' weekend before Georgina's wedding. Near the castle, through a path in the woods, is a loch. After a few bottles of Prosecco, the girls head down to the water to take photos. The loch is wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. They set their camera to self-timer and take some group shots. Later, looking back at the pictures, they see something impossible.

Behind them, eyes wide, a small, drenched boy emerges from the water.

How did he get there; where is he now; and what does he want?

The girls thought they knew each other's darkest secrets, but one of them has been hiding something terrible. Consumed by grief, she's been waiting for the perfect moment to wreak her revenge....

Friendship can blossom in the most unexpected places....

When Jemima loses her beloved grandfather, keeping his allotment alive seems like ideal way to feel close to him. She's never fitted in before - is this her chance to find where she really belongs?

Finally Melissa has the allotment she's been longing for to distract her while her husband works away - even if it is chest-high in weeds. But when she looks for help in the wrong place, she finds she's the hottest topic of gossip.

For Dottie, her allotment and part-time job of 'a little light dusting' at Lerwick Manor keeps a spring in her eighty-year-old step - and her ears open for secrets.

Though generations apart, these three women are about to find a common bond in a new-found passion and that true friendship can grow anywhere.