When Joe Thorne was fifteen, his little sister, Annie, disappeared. At the time, Joe thought it was the worst thing in the world that could ever happen. And then she came back. But she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, say what had happened to her. Now Joe has returned to the village where he grew up, to work as a teacher. Joe has bad debts – and bad people – he needs to escape. He’s also received an anonymous email: I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SISTER. But coming back to the place he grew up means opening old wounds, and confronting old enemies and the things they did. Joe is about to discover that places, like people, have secrets. The deeper you go, the darker they get. And sometimes, you should never come back.
Joe Parker is Manchester’s most ingenious criminal defence lawyer. Sam Parker is Manchester’s most tenacious homicide detective. Both bear the burden of the unsolved murder of their sister and both have a stake in the murders that have shaken the city to its core. Ronnie Bagley is awaiting trial for murder. Two weeks before he’s due in court, he takes on Joe Parker to defend him. Little does Joe know that Bagley is smarter than anyone has given him credit for, and soon Joe will find himself pitched against his own brother, Sam, in a race to outwit the most terrifying killer the city has ever seen.
When three female schoolteachers disappear without a trace, Sergeant Lindsay Boxer takes the lead in the investigation. But with no clues and no suspects, the odds of finding the women alive are getting slimmer by the second. Under tremendous pressure at work, Lindsay needs support at home. But her husband Joe Molinari is drawn into an encounter with a traumatized woman who’s seen a ghost – a notorious war criminal from her Eastern European home country, walking the streets of San Francisco. When Joe’s mystery informant disappears, the two investigations collide. The clock is ticking, and with the chief of police eager to make an arrest, it will take the combined skills of Lindsay, Joe and the entire Women’s Murder Club to protect their city, and themselves, from a monster.
Fifteen months ago, Detective Lindsay Boxer’s life was perfect. With her beautiful baby daughter and doting husband, Joe, she felt nothing could go wrong. But Joe isn’t everything that Lindsay thought he was, and she’s still reeling from his betrayal as a wave of mysterious heart attacks strikes seemingly unrelated victims across San Francisco. And at the trial of a bomber Lindsay and Joe worked together to capture, the defense raises damning questions about the couple’s investigation. A deadly conspiracy is working against Lindsay, and soon she could be the one on trial…
Since she was a child, Lucy Charlton has dreamed of working with her father in the family solicitor’s firm. But when a scandal shatters her hopes, she finds herself on the streets, fighting for survival. Joe Hardy has returned to London after the Great War to find his life in tatters. Then Joe learns he’s unexpectedly inherited an old river house in Durham from a mysterious stranger. With nothing left for him in London, he travels north to claim it. As their worlds collide, Lucy and Joe find comfort in their growing friendship. But the past comes back to haunt them, with shocking consequences…
Gosport, Hampshire, 1943. Ruby has been living and working at the Point of No Return pub since her parents were killed by a bomb. She loves the bustle of the pub; it helps take her mind off worrying about her fiance, Joe, away fighting in France. Singer Sylvie is out for all she can get, including Joe, but party girl Marge is a great friend to Ruby and makes sure they have fun, though she’s not as fond of her other role as a mother to two young children. The three face many obstacles to fulfilling their dreams, but the bonds of friendship keep them going through the darkest of times…
Joe O’Brien is a Boston cop; his physical stamina and methodical mind have seen him through decades of policing the city streets, while raising a family with his wife Rosie. When he starts making uncharacteristic errors – mislaying his weapon, having trouble writing up reports, slurring speech – he attributes them to stress, though he finally agrees to see a doctor. The unexpected, terrifying diagnosis is Huntington’s disease. Not only is Joe’s life set to change forever, but each of his four grown-up children has a fifty per cent chance of inheriting the disease. Observing her potential future play out in her father’s escalating symptoms, his yoga-teacher daughter Katie wrestles with how to make the most of the here and now, and how to care for her dad who is, inside, always an O’Brien.
When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the steam room of her local pool, she wonders if, for once, it’s a death from natural causes. But closer inspection reveals ligature marks around the victim’s throat. Vera pulls her team together and sets them to interviewing staff and those connected to the victim, while she and Sergeant Joe Ashworth work to find a motive. While Joe struggles to reconcile his home life with the demands of the job, Vera revels in being back in charge of an investigation. Death has never made her feel so alive. When they discover that the victim had worked in social services – and was involved in a shocking case centred on a young child – it seems the two are connected. But things are rarely as they seem…
Heartsease House is in desperate need of renovation. Its owner, widower Joel, is struggling with life as a single dad. Mum to twin girls, Lauren’s life is a constant juggling act. When her ex, Troy, turns up wanting to see his daughters, she’s determined to keep her distance. Then guerrilla gardener Kezzie bursts into their lives, with her infectious enthusiasm to restore the gardens. But who is Kezzie? And what is she running away from? As the warm days of summer draw on, Heartsease House and its garden are transformed. But will Joel, Kezzie and Lauren be able to restore their own hearts?
Brand new saga to coincide with ITV’s three-part historical drama Christmas at Emmerdale is the first in a sweeping new saga, exploring the lives of Emmerdale’s much-loved families during the run up to the Great War. August 1914, and a terrible war begins, one that will affect the lives of everyone in the village of Beckindale. For Maggie Sugden, left to run Emmerdale Farm on her own while her husband, Joe, is at the front, it will bring grief and loss but also independence and the chance to find a place to belong – and perhaps even to love again.
