Literary Fiction

Literary Fiction

Are you the type of person that needs a lot of depth in your ebooks?  Are you interested in contemplating significant social or political issues while you enjoy fiction?  Then, you've come to the right place.  We feature bestselling authors of ebooks in our Literary Fiction genre, and they bring their epic works to you either free or discounted.  

 

Definition of the "Literary Fiction Genre": A central aspect of the Literary Fiction genre of ebooks is that they do not focus on plot as much a they focus on theme.  Thus, commentary on a social issue, or the growth of a character from a human aspect during a story are the central parts of Literary Fiction ebooks.  This, naturally, stands in stark contrast to "mainstream" fiction, which focuses more on plot and how the plot is driven by action or tension.  Other important aspects of Literary Fiction ebooks is that their pace tends to be slower, and due to the substance they address, they are "darker" or "heavier" than fiction ebooks in other genres.

 

Some examples of bestselling ebooks in the Literary Fiction genre are J.D. Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye), Aldous Hudley (Brave New World), Anthony Doerr (All the Light We Cannot See), Catherine Ryan Hyde (When I Found You) and Kimberly McCreight (Reconstructing Amelia: A Novel).

American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

by Jeanine Cummins

 

#1 New York Times Bestseller
OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK

Extraordinary.”
Stephen King

“This book is not simply the great American novel; it’s the great novel of las Americas. It’s the great world novel! This is the international story of our times. Masterful.”
—Sandra Cisneros

También de este lado hay sueños. On this side, too, there are dreams.

Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy—two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia—trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?

American Dirt will leave readers utterly changed. It is a literary achievement filled with poignancy, drama, and humanity on every page. It is one of the most important books for our times.

Already being hailed as "a Grapes of Wrath for our times" and "a new American classic," Jeanine Cummins's American Dirt is a rare exploration into the inner hearts of people willing to sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope.

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In an Instant

by Suzanne Redfearn

 

A deeply moving story of carrying on even when it seems impossible.

Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive.

Impossible choices are made, decisions that leave the survivors tormented with grief and regret. Unable to let go, Finn keeps vigil as they struggle to reclaim their shattered lives. Jack, her father, who seeks vengeance against the one person he can blame other than himself; her best friend, Mo, who bravely searches for the truth as the story of their survival is rewritten; her sister Chloe, who knows Finn lingers and yearns to join her; and her mother, Ann, who saved them all but is haunted by her decisions. Finn needs to move on, but how can she with her family still in pieces?

Heartrending yet ultimately redemptive, In an Instant is a story about the power of love, the meaning of family, and carrying on…even when it seems impossible.

 

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The Secret Billionaire

by Teymour Shahabi


Best Young Adult Book, Reader Views, 2016-2017
Best Young Adult Book, Florida Book Festival, 2016
Best Young Adult Book, Great Midwest Book Festival, 2016
Best Young Adult Book, Northern California Book Festival, 2016
Gold Medal, Juvenile / Young Adult Fiction eBook, Independent Publisher Awards, 2017
Gold Medal, Juvenile / Young Adult Fiction, eLit Awards, 2017


March 24. Billionaire Lyndon Surway takes off in his private plane and never returns.

His will leaves the entirety of his wealth—one of the largest fortunes in history—to his “dear friend Lucian Baker.” Only there is no trace of anyone by that name. And the fortune itself is nowhere to be found.

Andrew Day knows nothing of wealth and privilege, but he won a scholarship to study at the most exclusive school in the country, in the town where the mystery, decades later, remains unsolved. There he discovers friendship and danger with the aristocratic Cameron and the beautiful Olivia. But watchful eyes follow him everywhere... Until, one night, he comes across a secret that will change his life. As he begins to unravel what really happened to the Surway fortune, the question remains: who is Lucian Baker?

Reader reviews:

"When your heart is pounding and you can't turn the page fast enough you know you've discovered a book worth telling people about."

"To be classified as genuinely great fiction"

"Harry Potter-esque in how much of a page turner it was - I got my copy while traveling and I couldn't put it down (almost missed a flight!)... "

"The highest praise one can give a book is they could not put it down. Well, I went on a vacation with my girlfriend and was actively considering skipping most of our plans because I literally could not put this book down"

"Will appeal to mature readers who are hungry for well written fiction, and a younger audience that loved books such as the Harry Potters and is looking for an even more engaging plot line and cast of characters."

"The Secret Billionaire is an amazing read that is not only incredibly well written (cannot believe it's a debut novel) but also has you on the edge of your seat during the entire time."

 
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An Exaltation of Larks (Venery Book 1)

by Suanne Laqueur

GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the 2017 WRITER'S DIGEST BOOK AWARDS

September 11, 1973: Eleven-year-old Alejandro Penda watches from his apartment window as Santiago, Chile falls to a military coup, destroying his family and his childhood. Arriving alone in America, he's taken in by the Larks: a prominent family in the town of Guelisten. Though burdened by unresolved grief for his disappeared parents, he becomes fiercely loyal to the Larks, eventually marrying one of their daughters, Valerie.

September 11, 2001: Javier Landes watches from his apartment window as New York City falls to terrorism. As one of Manhattan's top-paid male escorts, this professional lover has never lacked for company and is loyal only to himself. But in the wake of 9/11, Jav is named guardian for an orphaned nephew in Guelisten and must open his carefully-guarded heart to pain he's long suppressed.

Alex, Valerie and Jav meet first in their twenties, with a sudden attraction each finds strange and compelling. When they meet again in their forties, they discover not only is their bond still strong, but their life experiences are strangely similar. Each was shaped by a 9/11, and their unfinished business from the past will change everything they know about love, loyalty and friendship.

"Life has rules. You cannot come in the middle of the night and take what we agreed isn't yours."

Across three decades and two continents, Suanne Laqueur's fifth novel explores the unpredictability of sexual attraction, how family ties are forged, torn and mended, and how love's downfall can turn to exaltation.

 
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Where The Story Starts

by Imogen Clark


A strange encounter. An unlikely friendship. But will it survive when they both know the truth?

As single mother Leah struggles to get her children ready one morning, the doorbell rings. Standing on the doorstep of their terraced house in Whitley Bay is a well-dressed stranger, Clio, who feels an emotional tie to the house that she can’t explain. The story should end there, but a long-buried secret is already on its way to the surface…

In some ways the two women couldn’t be more different: Leah’s a mother of two and the daughter of a barmaid; Clio’s a perennially single heiress to her baroness mother’s estate. But where Leah lacks grown-up company, Clio lacks any experience of the real world, and the unlikely friendship sparked by their curious first meeting offers both of them a welcome respite from the routine of their lives.

It is a friendship that will answer questions neither of them knew to ask, uncovering secret stories from the past that have stayed hidden for decades. But will it also be the catalyst for them to finally feel that they belong?

 

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The Memory Keeper's Daughter: A Novel

by Kim Edwards


A #1 New York Times bestseller by Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is a brilliantly crafted novel of parallel lives, familial secrets, and the redemptive power of love

Kim Edwards’s stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964 in Lexington, Kentucky, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century—in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that winter night long ago.

A family drama, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter explores every mother's silent fear: What would happen if you lost your child and she grew up without you? It is also an astonishing tale of love and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets are finally uncovered.

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HAIKU WORLD

by kuo kenih

''Haiku world'' celebrates nature, relationships, social events and the weather. The haiku invoke the sense of smell, touch, sight, smell and feel in this little book. This book is rich and it is a most have and a most read for those new to the haiku genre.

 
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Skid Out (Heavy Influence)

by Ann Marie Frohoff


A novella prequel to the edgy Heavy Influence Trilogy about young, intense and reckless love between a rising rock star and his younger muse. Follow their journey through temptation, deception & forbidden love.

17 year old high school senior, Jake Masters, front man of a rising rock band, finds new interest in his younger freshman next door neighbor Alyssa Montgomery. Their relationship breaks hearts; stirs jealousy and band infighting. When they’re brought to new found awareness of body and soul, will rightful boundaries be crossed? Will the right decisions and choices, which are detrimental to the band and its future, be made through the haze of infatuation? Will Jake’s absences on the road lead to another filling his shoes? Jake and Alyssa’s lifelong friendships are strained and tested; secrets are kept, admitted and shared. Family bonds are broken, as others grow stronger. Who knew a first love could cause so many problems? Then again, in their eyes, there are no problems as long as they’re together. In the end, will his new found muse bring down everything he’s worked so hard to achieve or will she inspire positive creative change; that will carry him and his band to stardom.

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Stormer’s Pass: Aidos Trilogy: Book 1

by Benjamin Laskin


If you can't wait for a hero, you must become one.

The sleepy town of Pinecrest is jolted from its slumbers by two unlikely citizens--star high school quarterback, Max Stormer, and Aidos, an extraordinary girl who has been living unobserved in the surrounding hills.

The mysterious Aidos opens Max's eyes to potential he didn't know he possessed, and then through him the eyes and hearts of his friends. In doing so, she puts herself and them on a collision course with the town's own ambitious plans. The resulting clash draws the attention of the entire country, and Max finds himself captain of something much bigger than a football team.

To save Aidos and his town, Max must lead his team into the most dangerous game of their lives. Whether maverick or hero, outlaw or savior, being a champion was never harder.

Stormer's Pass is an enthralling adventure of two people's uncommon faith in each other, their friends, and in the miracle-making powers of courage.

 
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Little Lovely Things: A Novel

by Maureen Joyce Connolly

 

"A shattering adventure." — Jacquelyn Mitchard, bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

A mother's chance decision leads to a twist of fate that is every parent's worst nightmare

It is the wrong time to get sick. Speeding down the highway on the way to work, her two little girls sleeping in the back seat, medical resident Claire Rawlings doesn't have time for the nausea overtaking her. But as the world tilts sideways, she pulls into a gas station, runs to the bathroom, and passes out. When she wakes up minutes later, her car—and her daughters—are gone.

The police have no leads, and the weight of guilt presses down on Claire as each hour passes with no trace of her girls. All she has to hold on to are her strained marriage, a potentially unreliable witness who emerges days later, and the desperate but unquenchable belief that her daughters are out there somewhere.

As hopeful and uplifting as it is devastating, Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by unthinkable tragedy, and the unexpected intersection of heartbreak and hope.

Perfect for readers of Watch Me Disappear and After Anna!

Additional Praise for Little Lovely Things:
"Little Lovely Things is an insightful and moving read that is well worth the journey." — Vivian Schilling, bestselling author of Quietus

"Combining the suspense and razor-sharp outlook of a Gillian Flynn novel, Maureen Connolly's debut sizzles. I finished Little Lovely Things in one heartbreaking, tear-batting gulp. Connolly takes risks that make the reader's heart start anew. Finding shards of hope amidst the chaos of tragedy is a testament to both the writer, and the characters she creates." — Jenny Milchman, USA Today bestselling author of Wicked River

 

 
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The Seven Lives of Grace

by Elena Shelest


She has only seven days to choose her destiny...     
 
Grace Ainsworth leads sufficiently fairy-tale-free existence as a legal file clerk in rainy Seattle. Her orderly life turns into a roller coaster of unusual events when a mysterious package arrives from her eccentric Aunt Louise.
    
Named the next "carrier of the gifts", she has only one week to sort through her inheritance or lose it all.
    
It's finally her chance to get her dream job and maybe even her prince--if she doesn't screw things up. But that "Happily-Ever-After" plan soon turns as ill-fitting as the pair of disagreeable high heels she's forced to wear.
    
As she blunders through unpredictable magic that challenges her beliefs and uncovers the wounds of her past, Grace has to fight unexpected foes and save her workplace.
When everything she holds dear is put on the line, will she be able to rise up to her true calling before the clock strikes midnight on her 25th birthday? A perfect mixture of feel-good vibes, intrigue, clean romance, and a pinch of magic. Empowering book for all ages. Dive in to be entertained and inspired.
From the readers:
"The book goes well with a cup of tea and a slice of cake to enjoy while reading."
"The story will make you laugh, tear up, and go after your own dreams."  

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The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

by Donna Tartt


A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this "extraordinary" and beloved Pulitzer Prize winner that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review).

Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by a longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into a wealthy and insular art community.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love -- and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention. From the streets of New York to the dark corners of the art underworld, this "soaring masterpiece" examines the devastating impact of grief and the ruthless machinations of fate (Ron Charles, Washington Post).

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The Group: A Novel (Harvest Book)

by Mary McCarthy


This smash bestseller about privileged Vassar classmates shocked America in the sixties and remains “juicy . . . witty . . . brilliant” (Cosmopolitan).

 At Vassar, they were known as “the group”—eight young women of privilege, the closest of friends, an eclectic mix of vibrant personalities. A week after graduation in 1933, they all gather for the wedding of Kay Strong, one of their own, before going their separate ways in the world. In the years that follow, they will each know accomplishment and loss in equal measure, pursuing careers and marriage, experiencing the joys and traumas of sexual awakening and motherhood, all while suffering through betrayals, infidelities, and sometimes madness. Some of them will drift apart. Some will play important roles in the personal dramas of others. But it is tragedy that will ultimately unite the group once again.

A novel that stunned the world when it was first published in 1963, Mary McCarthy’s The Group found acclaim, controversy, and a place atop the New York Times bestseller list for nearly two years for its frank and controversial exploration of women’s issues, social concerns, and sexuality. A blistering satire of the mores of an emergent generation of women, The Group is McCarthy’s enduring masterpiece, still as relevant, powerful, and wonderfully entertaining fifty years on.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Mary McCarthy including rare images from the author’s estate. 

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Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel

by Jesmyn Ward


WINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD and A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

A finalist for the Kirkus Prize, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Aspen Words Literary Prize, and a New York Times bestseller, this majestic, stirring, and widely praised novel from two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, the story of a family on a journey through rural Mississippi, is a “tour de force” (O, the Oprah Magazine) and a timeless work of fiction that is destined to become a classic.

Jesmyn Ward’s historic second National Book Award–winner is “perfectly poised for the moment” (The New York Times), an intimate portrait of three generations of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle. “Ward’s writing throbs with life, grief, and love… this book is the kind that makes you ache to return to it” (Buzzfeed).

Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. He doesn’t lack in fathers to study, chief among them his Black grandfather, Pop. But there are other men who complicate his understanding: his absent White father, Michael, who is being released from prison; his absent White grandfather, Big Joseph, who won’t acknowledge his existence; and the memories of his dead uncle, Given, who died as a teenager.

His mother, Leonie, is an inconsistent presence in his and his toddler sister’s lives. She is an imperfect mother in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is Black and her children’s father is White. She wants to be a better mother but can’t put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. Simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when she’s high, Leonie is embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances.

When the children’s father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another thirteen-year-old boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love.

Rich with Ward’s distinctive, lyrical language, Sing, Unburied, Sing is a majestic and unforgettable family story and “an odyssey through rural Mississippi’s past and present” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).

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The Color of Water in July

by Nora Carroll


It’s been a long seventeen years since Jess last saw her grandmother or visited the family cottage set on an idyllic lake in Northern Michigan. For all that time, she’s been haunted by loss—of her innocence and her ability to trust and, most of all, of a profound summer romance that might have been something more. So when her grandmother leaves the house to her, Jess summons her courage and returns to a place full of memories—and secrets.

There, she stumbles upon old letters and photographs of a time not so much forgotten as buried. As she begins to unravel the hidden histories of her mother and her grandmother, she makes a startling discovery about a tragic death that prompted her family’s slow undoing. With every uneven and painful step into the past, Jess comes closer to a truth that could alter her own path—and open a door to a different future.

Revised edition: This edition of The Color of Water in July includes editorial revisions.

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Forbidden by Faith (Forbidden Love Book 1)

by Negeen Papehn


Sara knows her life would be easier if she married a man of her faith, but when has love ever been easy?

Raised by her immigrant Iranian parents, Sara has been taught that a good daughter makes decisions based on her family’s approval, and she’s spent most of her life in their good graces. Until she meets Maziar, and her world is turned upside down.

An instant electricity ignites between them, and it seems like fate when she discovers he’s also Iranian. Just as her mind begins to soar with the possibilities, he shatters her hopes.

Sara is Muslim. Maziar is Jewish. Will faith tear them apart?

Despite centuries of unrest behind them, Sara and Maziar embark on a forbidden love affair, attempting to navigate through cultural and religious prejudices.

Deep within the trenches of their battle, Sara finds herself more empowered and careless than ever before, but will her love and newfound life be worth the ultimate cost—her family?

"FORBIDDEN BY FAITH shows how family, love, and faith can collide, even in this modern age." - Romance Author, A. K. Leigh ★★★★★

Be sure to scroll up and hit that BUY NOW button to discover a world in which love faces the ultimate test.

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Writing to Heal the Pain: Stories & Poems (Transformation Book 1)

by Mateja Klaric

Sometimes the best way to transform emotional pain and is by writing about it. This book is a collection of stories and poems the author published after the traumatic loss of her career, income, status, friends, and, ultimately, personal identity. Going through it was tough but writing and sharing her thoughts and feelings about it changed her life in the most unexpected and beneficial ways.

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Crossing In Time: An Edgy Sci-Fi Love Story (Between Two Evils Book 1)

by D. L. Orton

The past isn't over, it's an opening. The future isn't hidden, it's a trap.
If she ever wants to see him again, she'll have to take the risk...


Publishers Weekly Starred Review: "Funny, Romantic & Harrowing!"

When offered a one-way trip to the past, Iz sacrifices everything for a chance to change her dystopian future—and see her murdered lover one last time.

After a perilous journey through a black hole, she wakes up on a tropical beach, buck naked and mortally wounded—but twenty years younger! With only hours to live, she must convince an enraptured but skeptical twenty-something guy to fix their future relationship and thereby save the planet (no one is quite sure why.)

But it's easier said than done, as success means losing him to a brainy, smart-mouthed bombshell (her younger self), and that's a heartbreaker, save the world or not.

Across the infinite expanse of space and time, love endures...

(Unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough.)

FALL INTO THIS EDGY, action-packed, darkly comedic, dystopian love story, and be prepared to encounter a finicky time machine, a mysterious seashell, and a very clever dog (some sex, some swearing, some violence, but no vampires and absolutely no ditzes.)

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We Shall See the Sky Sparkling

by Susana Aikin


Set in London and Russia at the turn of the century, Susana Aikin’s debut introduces a vibrant young woman determined to defy convention and shape an extraordinary future.
 
Like other well-bred young women in Edwardian England, Lily Throop is expected to think of little beyond marriage and motherhood. Passionate about the stage, Lily has very different ambitions. To her father’s dismay, she secures an apprenticeship at London’s famous Imperial Theatre. Soon, her talent and beauty bring coveted roles and devoted admirers. Yet to most of society, the line between actress and harlot is whisper-thin. With her reputation threatened by her mentor’s vicious betrayal, Lily flees to St. Petersburg with an acting troupe—leaving her first love behind.
 
Life in Russia is as exhilarating as it is difficult. The streets rumble with talk of revolution, and Lily is drawn into an affair with Sergei, a Count with fervent revolutionary ideals. Following Sergei when he is banished to Vladivostok, Lily struggles to find her role in an increasingly dangerous world. And as Russian tensions with Japan erupt into war, only fortitude and single-mindedness can steer her to freedom and safety at last.
 
With its sweeping backdrop and evocative details, We Shall See the Sky Sparkling explores a fascinating period in history through the eyes of a strong-willed, singular heroine, in a moving story of love and resilience.

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Hand In The Till (The Irish Lottery Series Book 2)

by Gerald Hansen


PLEASE NOTE: Although this book is part of the IRISH LOTTERY SERIES, there is no cliffhanger. It is true that the characters get older as the series progresses, but each book is a complete story, and can be enjoyed without having read the previous book.

With a family like this, who wouldn't need absinthe?

Fionnuala Flood, mother of seven unruly thugs, takes stock of her life on her 45th birthday, and it couldn't be more of a misery. She's been fired from the corner shop for stealing, her two oldest sons are in prison, her husband's hands are fondling more than frozen fish at the packing plant, and her lesbian daughter has just published a book exposing the family's attempts to get their claws into Auntie Ursula Barnett's lottery winnings the year before. Daughter Dymphna, unwed mother, has just been kicked out of her boyfriend's house, adding two more mouths to feed.

Desperate to raise money to travel to Malta for the launch party and wreak havoc, Fionnuala puts into motion a get-rich-quick scheme that preys on the weaknesses of others and will hopefully add a bit of luxury to her empty coal bin of a life. The scam, however, unleashes dark secrets that bring Ursula back to town for a final showdown.

Hand In The Till is a darkly comic look at revenge, retribution and, perhaps, reconciliation. With a shot of absinthe.

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