Most Popular Books by Kate THOMPSON

"Four years after It Means Mischief, Deirdre O''Dare is now an established actress with a long-running slot in the soap Ardmore Grove. When Deirdre learns that she''s to be killed off, she retires to the beautiful Irish countryside for a few weeks to try her hand at producing a screenplay, and is surprised to discover that she has a talent for writing. ith her love life as tangled as ever, and still angry at her on-off actor boyfriend, the seductive but faithless Rory McDonagh - now on the verge of success in Hollywood - she falls into a passionate relationship with the young lord of the manor, the gorgeous Gabriel Considine. But will the course of true love run smooth?"

Maddie Godard: chief copywriter, The Complete Works advertising agency. Smart. Sussed. Scared. Because when your self-esteem''s been trampled and your world is overturned, you have to act fast. Maddie escapes from busy Dublin to seemingly tranquil Saint-Géyroux, an idyll in rural France. There, she is led into temptation by beautiful, roguish Sam, cajoled into becoming a life model by renowned artist Daniel Lennox, and haunted by a portrait of a mysterious beauty with a secret to share. Can she help Maddie exorcise her demons? In this moving, bittersweet, joyously romantic tale, Maddie Goddard confronts her innermost fears, makes new friends, and learns that life really is worth living...

Nell Gunn, Snowball and Esther will be back, along with more characters from Britain''s biggest beauty factory, as they battle the twists and turns of war in Stratford. Will Nell find lasting love? Will Snowball reveal what forced him onto the streets? And will Esther be able to tame the wild child she takes under her wing as part of her new bursary? As flowers and vegetables blossom in the Shoot''s new Dig for Victory allotment, can the inhabitants really bury their pasts?

''Mama, it''s me.'' I held her hand in mine, hoping it would give her the strength to hold on. Finally, she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. ''Do not cry when I die.'' ''Quite simply the most important book you will read this year'' Hazel Gaynor ''An extraordinary read'' Lorraine Kelly ''Deeply moving'' Daily Mail From invasion to liberation, September 1939 to April 1945, as Renee was marched from ghetto to camp, there was one constant. One hand that clutched hers - her mother''s. Every day for nearly six years, mother and daughter were bound together in hell. From Auschwitz-Birkenau to Bergen-Belsen, they were a powerful source of solace and hope for one another. The strength of Sala''s love gave them both something fragile yet beautiful to cling to in an ugly, depraved world. It was her mother who hid Renee, lied to the SS, went right when she was directed left - whose small actions had life-saving consequences. Now, for Renee, the need to share has finally overcome the desire to forget. A Mother''s Promise is a love letter to a mother eighty years in the making. ***** ''Will stay with me for a long time... A beautiful account, so movingly told'' Anna Stuart ''Powerful, poignant, and deeply important. A must-read'' Elizabeth Bellak ''This is a story the world needs to know'' Madeline Martin ''This book travels to the very heart of existence'' Joshua Levine

Home is where the heart is... Free spirit Rio Kinsella finds herself settled in the picture-postcard village of Lissamore on Ireland''s West Coast. It''s where she took her first step, had her first kiss and conceived her beloved son Finn. But now Finn''s spread his wings and flown the nest, what''s to keep her here? An old flame and a new prospect may provide the answer... City girl Dervla is poles apart from her bohemian sister. A businesswoman with a quick mind, a hard heart and a nose for a good deal, she has no time for love. But is there anywhere she can really call home? And will the arrival of a new client throw her glossy magazine life-style into disarray? Torn apart by a long-standing feud, the Kinsella sisters are reunited upon the death of their wayward father. But on clearing the family home, they discover a secret so intriguing it could change their lives forever... Welcome to blissfully unpredictable Lissamore. It''s guaranteed you''ll never want to leave...

1942. Sixteen-year-old Poppy Percival turns up at the gates of Trout''s clothing factory in Bethnal Green with no idea what her new life might have in store. There to start work as a seamstress and struggling to get to grips with the noise, dirt and devastation of East London, Poppy can''t help but miss the quiet countryside of home. But Poppy harbours a dark secret - one that wrenched her away from all she knew and from which she is still suffering ... And Poppy''s not the only one with a secret. Each of her new friends at the factory is hiding something painful. Vera Shadwell, the forelady, has had a hard life with scars both visible and concealed; her sister Daisy has romantic notions that could get her in trouble; and Sal Fowler, a hardworking mother who worries about her two evacuated boys for good reason. Bound by ties of friendship, loyalty and family, the devastating events of the war will throw each of their lives into turmoil but also bring these women closer to each other than they could ever have imagined.

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FRIDAY was his birth name, Noah was what he was called, and he was terrified. Because of "crimes" he had committed against his adopted family in America, he found himself abandoned back in his birth country of Liberia, waiting, hoping someone from his birth family would rescue him from this terrible aloneness. The three weeks he roamed the streets, spending his money from America on food, became an endless fear as he faced a gun held to his head, and witnessed the relentless crushing poverty that was daily life on the streets of Monrovia. His great aunt finally came and took him to the depths of the African interior where almost immediately he became sick with malaria, and tackled other challenges he was ill prepared to handle. After nearly five months, he woke up to the news that another family was bringing him back to America. Terror flooded him again, because his first adoptive father had threatened him never to return. FRIDAY''S trust in anyone was shattered, and he silently vowed he would always keep control of his life. Finding Friday is the story of a boy''s movement from hopelessness to hope, the challenges a loving foster family encountered in helping him along his life''s journey, and the unexpected door God opened for him

Kate''s character is a vibrant businesswoman that refuses to let anyone control her. Her abusive husband''s truck is found burning in the woods, and she is a prime candidate for murder. Anna, Kate''s best friend, comes to stay with her and they hire two detectives to protect them. Several murders take place and cause Kate and her friends to run away until they can solve this twisted plot that has wrecked their lives. After months of searching for the truth and many unexpected situations, the truth comes out and everyone is shocked.

The Allotment Girls is an inspiring and heartwarming novel of wartime hardship, friendship and fortitude from Kate Thompson, author of the Secrets of the Sewing Bee. During the Second World War, life in the iconic Bryant & May match factory is grimy and tough. Annie, Rose, Pearl and Millie carry on making matches for the British Army, with bombs raining down around them. Inspired by the Dig for Victory campaign, Annie persuades the owners to start Bryant & May allotment in the factory grounds. With plenty of sweat and toil, the girls eventually carve out a corner of the yard into a green plot full of life and colour. In the darkest of times, the girls find their allotment a tranquil, happy escape. Using pierced dustbin lids to sieve through the shrapnel and debris, they bring about a powerful change, not just in the factory, but their own lives. As the war rages on, the garden becomes a place of community, friendship – and deceit. As the garden thrives and grows, so do the girls'' secrets . . .

Big, friendly eyes will delight children as they read the amusing story about a little kitten! In addition to fun googley-eyes, the rhyming text and bright, friendly illustrations will ensure that this adorable book becomes a bedtime favorite.

A remarkable literary novel, Thin Air touches on the pain a family shares when their eldest daughter goes missing. Set on the west coast of Ireland, this novel is evocative of the landscape and ancient Irish legends.

Orphan Flossy Brown arrives at Trout''s garment factory in Bethnal Green amidst the uncertainty of the Second World War. In 1940s London, each cobbled street is strewn with ghosts of soldiers past, all struggling to make ends meet. Dolly Doolaney, darling of the East End, and infamous tea lady, gives her a particularly warm welcome and helps Flossy settle into wartime life. Dolly sets up a sewing circle and the ladies arm themselves with their needles and set about stitching their way to victory. But when the full force of the Blitz rains down on London, the women of the sewing bee are forced to bear unimaginable horrors.

Big, friendly eyes will delight children as they read the amusing story about a little puppy! In addition to fun googley-eyes, the rhyming text and bright, friendly illustrations will ensure that this adorable book becomes a bedtime favorite.

A Dublin, durant l''été, une troupe de théâtre répète une pièce de Shakespeare. Deirdre, jeune actrice débutante, vient de décrocher son premier rôle important et tente d''éblouir David, le metteur en scène dont elle est follement amoureuse. Mais David n''a d''yeux que pour la star de la compagnie, l''incandescente Eva Lavery Sur qui, alors, jeter son dévolu ? Sebastian ou Rory ? Entre ces deux séduisants acteurs, le cœur de Deirdre balance. Dans les coulisses, espoirs et déceptions se succèdent... Comment, dans ces conditions, garder la tête froide et ne pas compromettre sa carrière ? Désorientée, Deirdre voit ses illusions s''évanouir l''une après l''autre. Avant de comprendre, enfin, qu''il y a une différence entre le désir et l''amour...

Lottery winner Cleo is living her dream, running a bookshop in the sleepy village of Kilrowan with her painter husband, Pablo. Bestselling author Pixie Pirelli is a media consultant''s delight, but her big smile masks a terrible hurt. City girl Hazel MacNamara has a list of celebrities with ex-directory, top secret phone numbers in her organizer. Which of these luminaries will dazzle obligingly and make the Kilrowan Arts Festival the must-attend event of the Irish social calendar?

Uncle Phil tells Hugh about his ancestors: early Britons, at a Saxon Farm, in a Norman castle, in Whittington''s London in 1739, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and during the great London fire of 1666.