Janine Birkett

Driving home during a swirling blizzard, Vera Stanhope's only thought is to get there quickly. But the snow is so heavy, she becomes disoriented and loses her way. Ploughing on, she sees a car slewed off the road ahead of her. With the driver's door open, Vera assumes the driver has sought shelter but when she inspects the car she is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat. Afraid they will freeze, Vera takes the child and drives...

A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper - and Vera played a part in his downfall. Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall...

As an only child, 15-year-old Angeline Stewart is heartbroken when her beloved parents are killed in a coaching accident and she is given into the care of her uncle. Naive and innocent, Angeline is easy prey for the handsome and ruthless Oswald Golding who is looking for a rich heiress to solve the money troubles his womanizing has caused. On her wedding night, Angeline enters a nightmare from which there is no awakening. Oswald proves to be more...

It's Christmas Eve 1920 when nine-year-old Abby Kirby's family is ripped apart by a terrible tragedy. Leaving everything she's ever known, she takes her younger brother and runs away to the tough existence of the Border farming community. Years pass and Abby becomes a beautiful young woman and falls in love, but her past haunts her, casting dark shadows. Furthermore, in the very place she's taken refuge is someone who wishes her harm. With her heart...

'She's not worth more than tuppence, that child!' Those are the words that haunt Sadie Linthorpe. She is the talk of Ryhope when she arrives there, aged seventeen, alone, seeking work and a home in the pit village. But Sadie is keeping a secret - she is searching for her baby girl who was taken from her at birth a year ago and cruelly sold by the child's grandmother. All that Sadie knows about the family who took her daughter is that they live in...

Karen Bloom expects perfection. Her son, Ewan, has been something of a disappointment, and she won't be making the same mistake again with her beloved, talented child, Bronte. Bronte's every waking hour will be spent at music lessons and dance classes, doing extra schoolwork and whatever it takes to excel. But as Karen pushes Bronte to the brink, the rest of the family crumbles. Karen's husband, Noel, is losing himself in work, and his teenage daughter...

'Any rag and bone!' Everyone recognises the cry of Meg Sutcliffe as she plies her trade along the back streets of Ryhope. She learnt the ropes from her dad when he returned from the War. But when tragedy struck, Meg had no choice but to continue alone. Now the meagre money she earns is the only thing that stands between her family's safety and a predatory rent collector...Many say it's no job for a woman - especially a beauty like Meg. When she catches...

It has been ten years since Jeanie Long was charged with the murder of 15-year-old Abigail Mantel. Now residents of the East Yorkshire village of Elvet are disturbed to hear of new evidence proving Jeanie's innocence. Abigail's killer is still at large. For Emma Bennett, the revelation brings back haunting memories of her best friend.