Bøker av Anna Jacobs

An unexpected inheritance from her grandmother offers Libby Pulford the opportunity to escape her abusive marriage and return to her Lancashire roots with her young son Ned. But her domineering husband Steven won't let her go so easily. She turns to her new neighbour for help, former police detective Joss Atherton, to whom Libby feels a growing attraction. But Joss has troubles of his own. Emily Mattison is trying to make contact with the daughter she was forced to give up for adoption so many years before. People's lives are destined to intertwine in ways they could never have imagined.

Molly Peel feels trapped by her family: her ex-husband Craig cannot seem to abandon his controlling ways despite abandoning her for a younger woman, her lazy son Brian has long been taking advantage of her generosity, and her selfish daughter Rachel is embarrassed by her. When she is blamed for ruining Rachel's wedding in circumstances beyond her control, Molly decides enough is enough and makes a clean break to Wiltshire to begin a new life. However, the persistent interference of her ex presents difficulties. Can Molly find the courage to stand up for herself and finally move on?

Rosalind's husband forces her to move from Australia to England because of his job with a multi-national company. But he's called away to deal with a crisis in Hong Kong and she's left to settle into a new country on her own. One by one, her three grown-up children need help with major life problems and there's only her to help them, because as usual, Paul puts his job first. Then she finds out that her husband's been unfaithful for years, and it's the final blow to their marriage, especially as she's met another man she finds attractive and kind. Her confidence grows as she wins acclaim as an embroidery artist and then she comes into an inheritance. Will her loyalty keep her with her husband, as it has before, or will Paul get more than he'd bargained for with the new, independent Rosalind?

Three women find new hope in Peppercorn Street, a small village in a beautiful corner of Wiltshire with a mixture of homes and people. Janey is 18 and living in a small flat with her baby daughter. Just as her new life starts to show promise, her past catches up with her. Nicole is renting one of the new luxury flats. She's just walked away from her husband and teenage sons, tired of being treated as a servant, suspecting her husband of having an affair. Winifred has lived in her large family home at the top of the street for over eighty years but it's all getting too much, though she doesn't want to leave. Things are not what they seem in any of the three women's lives and danger can strike at rich and poor alike. The trick is to survive it, and for this you need good friends and courage: all freely available in Peppercorn Street

During World War I, the ancient manor house of Greyladies in rural Wiltshire is requisitioned for a hospital. Its mistress, Harriet Latimer, her husband Joseph and their two sons are allowed to stay in part of the house, but when tragedy strikes Joseph's brothers, his future at Greyladies is at risk. Latimer family legend says a new mistress will be found to look after the house, yet how does this happen? In Swindon, Phoebe Sinclair is unaware of her connection to Greyladies and the Latimers. When her German employers are interned because of the war, she loses her job. Worse still, her brutish step-cousin Frank tries to force her to marry him and Phoebe has no choice but to flee to London. A chance encounter leads her to a new life as a nursing assistant in the VAD (voluntary aid detachments), and to a blossoming friendship with Captain Corin McMinty. When Phoebe is posted to the hospital at Greyladies, she feels she's come home. But Frank is still pursuing her and Corin has his own problems. With obstacles at every turn, can Phoebe find happiness and embrace the role of mistress of Greyladies?

Hampshire, 1900. With the sudden death of her father, the life of fifteen-yearold Harriet Benson changes forever. Forced from her home to escape the advances of her leering stepbrother Norris, Harriet is sent into service to provide for the family. Arriving at the grand Dalton House, she meets the owners' crippled son Joseph, with whom friendship soon blossoms. When circumstances force Joseph to leave the family home, Harriet is happy to accompany him and break free from the controlling influence of her stepmother. But Harriet is unprepared for the event which will alter her life even further: her unexpected inheritance of Greyladies, a supposedly haunted house in the country. Could this be the safe haven she so desperately needs, and does the ghost of its previous owner really roam the halls? While Harriet and Joseph grow ever closer, the plots and actions of both their families threaten to destroy their happiness. Will their love, and the legacy of Greyladies, be able to survive?

When novelist Sophie Carr rescues a man hiding in her garden from a group of paparazzi, she finds that her new neighbour is ageing pop star Jez Winter. She's loved his music for years and knows he's had a tough time lately, with an intruder slashing his face, then a car accident putting his ability to play music at risk. Life's not been easy for Sophie either, losing her husband just as she was taking off as a novelist and having difficulties with her control freak son William and her daughter Andi, who is into recreational drugs and has lost her way in life since her father's death. And Sophie also has a secret to hide. One that makes her very wary of getting involved with Jez.

Childless Maeve Corrigan, though rich and successful, is dying of cancer. She wants to leave her business empire to one of the offspring of her two estranged brothers, Des and Leo. But which young relative should she choose? Des has four children and he is overstretched financially. Leo is the unambitious owner of a hardware store in a remote Australian town and has two children. As the younger generation begin to gather around Maeve, old secrets are revealed, new allegiances made, and there are surprises for every member of the family. The Corrigan legacy is not what it first appears.

When Gabrielle Newman throws her cheating husband out, Stu cares more about the money than the break-up, getting more than his fair share from their house sale. An unexpected bequest offers Gabrielle a new start and she tries to leave the past behind, heading north with Des Monahan, the private investigator sent to find her. Meanwhile, Stu has got entangled with organized crime in Eastern Europe and is desperate to pay his gambling debts. Gabrielle needs Des's help to protect herself and her inheritance. She's very attracted to Des - but dare she trust any man again? Then Stu tracks down his ex-wife and Gabrielle discovers just what the man she once loved is capable of, as her life is threatened. Can she and Des find a way to stop Stu and his ruthless new friends?

1901, Wiltshire. Young Kathleen Keller is being forced into marriage with a man she despises by her cruel father. In an act of desperation, she runs away in a bid for a safer life, although one she might not have otherwise have chosen. But when tragedy strikes, Kathleen is left vulnerable and one man threatens the fragile peace she has made for herself. Meanwhile, Nathan Perry works for his father's accountancy firm but yearns for something more satisfying. He is brought in to help with the purchase of Honeyfield House, intended as a safe house for women in trouble by a charitable benefactor, and there encounters Kathleen. Their lives are set to intertwine and neither will be the same again.

Wiltshire, December 1915. Olivia Hanbury is widowed and has been persuaded by her cousin Donald to move in with his meek little wife while he is serving in France. When he's wounded, he returns home to convalesce. Tensions rise between him and lively Olivia. Her friend Babs involves her in starting the new Women's Institutes and introduces her to Alex, an antiques dealer. Meanwhile, Phoebe Latimer is holding the fort at Greyladies, an ancient manor house, while her husband is away at war. But someone is attempting to rid Greyladies of the German internees based there. Their nasty tricks put Phoebe's life and that of her unborn child at risk. A chance meeting brings Olivia to Greyladies, and she feels as though she's finally come home. Alex joins her there. Will these three help one another through these troubled times? Or will violent men destroy Greyladies and all it stands for?

Now that Nell's three sons are in work, she's ready to build a new life for herself. She's been left a house in England by an elderly aunt and decides to leave Australia for a while. But her house on Peppercorn Street isn't fit to live in and Nell is happy to sell it and allow a builder to create Cinnamon Gardens. Her elderly neighbour Winifred however wants to stay in the only home she's ever known. Violence escalates as someone tries to frighten the old lady into selling, and to make matters worse, her young friend Janey is being stalked. Can Nell build a new life with a new love? Will she find out why her parents quarreled with their relatives? And, more importantly, what can she and her new friends do to help each other stay safe?

When novelist Sophie Carr rescues a man hiding in her garden from a group of paparazzi, she finds that her new neighbour is ageing pop star Jez Winter.

A stolen child, a family torn apart, love in all its guises, and anguish, too . . .