Books to look forward to from Allison & Busby

By July 1914, the ties between Kezia Marchant and Thea Brissenden, friends since girlhood, have become strained - by Thea's passionate embrace of women's suffrage, and by the imminent marriage of Kezia to Thea's brother, Tom, who runs the family farm. Yet when Tom enlists to fight for his country and Thea is drawn reluctantly onto the battlefield, the farm becomes Kezia's responsibility. Each must find a way to endure the ensuing cataclysm and turmoil. As Tom marches to the front lines, and Kezia battles to keep her ordered life from unravelling, they hide their despair in letters and cards filled with stories woven to bring comfort. But will well-intended lies and self-deception be of use when they come face to face with the enemy.  The Care and Management of Lies is by Jacqueline Winspear and was published in July 2014.

Crooked Herring is by L C Tyler and is due to be published in September 2014.  Ethelred Tressider, mid-list crime writer, is surprised when fellow author Henry Holiday unexpectedly turns up on his doorstep. He's even more surprised when Henry confesses that he may have committed murder while drunk on New Year's Eve. Though he has little recollection of the night, Henry fears he may have killed drinking companion and fellow crime writer Crispin Vynall, and asks Ethelred to discreetly make enquiries in order to discover the truth. As Ethelred and his trusty agent Elsie begin to investigate, they discover that Henry has been set up, and now all that remains is for them to find out why and, more importantly ...whodunnit?

The Coniston Case is the third book in the Lake District series by Rebecca Tope and was published in July 2014.  Valentine's Day is fast approaching and Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown's flower shop near Lake Windermere is doing good business. But when Simmy receives a string of anonymous delivery orders, each one causing their recipient great distress, she begins to suspect that the messages they contain mask a sinister intent. When one of the recipients disappears, it would seem that her worst fears have been confirmed. As if that isn't enough, Simmy's friend Kathy turns up, on the trail of her wayward daughter Joanna, who she fears has grown unhealthily close to one of her university tutors. When Kathy attempts to reason with her daughter she finds that Joanna's older lover may be even more menacing than she had imagined. With both Kathy and Joanna in peril, Simmy and her friends find themselves caught up in a web of deception, blackmail and murder. It seems that Simmy Brown faces her most puzzling, and perhaps her most dangerous, case yet.

Eva Jackson is Rosemary's cousin ( 'umpteen times removed' ) and she has moved back to her childhood home in Taviscombe after the untimely death of her beloved husband Alan. As is the way of the village, Eva has been pounced upon by the local charities, and it is during a coffee morning that she mentions to Sheila Malory that she fears Alan might have died an unnatural death ...Sheila is intrigued and sets out to find out more. But when Eva's body is discovered after a supposed insulin overdose, Sheila wonders if the killer might still be at large in the charming Devon countryside ...  Death is a Word is by Hazel Holt and is due to be published in September 2014.

Twenty-two brand new short stories which are guaranteed to delight fans and win the author many more. The indefatigable detective Inspector Sloan reappears in many of these stories with his sidekick Crosby. But there are also new characters to be met, such as the mysterious Malcolm Venables of the Secret Service. Full of delicious twists and turns, Last Writes will be a collection to curl up with and savour.  Last Writes is by Catherine Aird and was published in July 2014.

Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who regrets her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo.  Looking for a change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiance, Gil Trent, to stay at the Brightwell Hotel in Devon and help circumvent his sister’s marriage toa disreputable ladies’ man Rupert Howe. When the groom-to-be is murdered and Gill arrested for the crime, Amory is embroiled in the investigation not knowing that will test not only her friendship with Gil, but will upset the status quo with her husband and she must catch the killer before  she becomes a victim herself.  Murder at the Brightwell is by Ashley Weaver and is due to be published in October 2014.

Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Tangled Web is by Michael Bond and was published in July 2014.  When Monsieur Pamplemousse is summoned into the head office of Le Guide by the director, Henri Leclercq, he is unaware of the chaos that is about to erupt. Accompanied by his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites, Pamplemousse attempts to solve Leclercq's plaintive conundrums - all of which relate back to his mobster uncle-in-law. The crime-solving duo gallivant around Paris and become tangled up in seemingly arbitrary problems; a letter about a juicy steak horrifyingly turned into a brisket; a dead restaurant owner; a giant truffle delivered by post and the imminent arrival of the vivacious Caterina, the mobster's niece.With all these obstacles at hand, Pamplemousse attempts to unravel each dilemma but it quickly proves impossible as they overlap and tangle at every turn. As he battles with this confounding case, it becomes apparent that these events are much more sinister and inextricably linked than first thought ...

In June 1916, a young woman is found murdered in a cinema. Harvery Marmion and Joe Keedy set out to find the killer who so elusively fled in the dark. Before long, two more victims, of striking similarity but differing backgrounds, are found dead around the city.  Meanwhile, miles from home, Marmion s son Paul prepares for life on the front line as he marches towards the Battle of the Somme. Suffering a vicious blow in No Man s Land, Paul is left blinded for the rest of his life. Marmion must come to terms with the permanent darkness of his son s life, while continuing to search for the brutal killer who only strikes in the dark."  Deeds of Darkness is the fourth book in the Home Front Detective series by Edward Marston and is due to be published in October 2014.

The Balmoral Incident is by Alanna Knight and is due to be published in October 2014.  Rose McQuinn is invited to stay with her friend Olive who has a small cottage on the Balmoral Estate. As Rose travels on the train with her trusty dog Vane and her niece Mabel, she wonders what exciting adventures await them at the Royal household. Little does she realise that within just 48 hours of their arrival, death will have visited the great castle ...can Rose find out what happened and prevent any more bloodshed?