Deirdre Purcell – författare

An irresistible love story by the acclaimed author of A Place of Stones where the cruel hand of fate destroys a newfound love. A young man and woman's passionate beginnings are ruined by a terrible secret that their parents buried for nearly two decades.

It's ten years on from the first winter gathering, when four of Maggie Quinn's closest friends rushed in to spend Christmas with her after her husband walked out just days before. And at Christmas, it doesn't take long for an event to become a tradition.But this Christmas Day, for the first time, there's an addition to the party, in the form of a young, very handsome man. Only one of the women knows what he's doing there, and she's remaining tight-lipped.So begins a new chapter in the lives of the five friends. As the winter moves towards spring, each faces personal hurdles, from family difficulties to illness to the unexpected reappearance of Maggie's ex. Throughout, each proves that friends truly are the family you choose -- and that, ultimately, the magic of Christmas can arrive at any time of year.

An evocative and dramatic novel told in the voices of two narrators: Violet, who in 1944 is imprisoned in the tower of a rambling country house by her family; and Claudine, a modern-day property negotiator who becomes involved in handling the sale of the derelict Whitecliff in 2004. Violet's story is of young innocent love for a local lad taking an unfortunate twist, while Claudine is a thoroughly twenty-first-century character: daughter of a loving father with a less loving stepmother, she marries in haste after her father's death, and is at a turning point in her life when she starts to find out the true story of Violet. Is happiness a possibility for these women in their separate and very different worlds?

The Husband is a gripping human story of love in its many guises, of losing everything and ultimately - in the small Midlands village of Glanmilish - of rediscovering the meaning of family.Marian Lescher's steady if predictable life in her native Chicago is upended when she is unexpectedly swept into a love affair with Irishman Daniel Lynch, a star medic renowned for his charismatic personality. Soon she has divorced her husband and, in the throes of newfound passion, finds herself quickly remarried to this extraordinary man.Her new husband has unlocked something in Marian and she feels high on life as never before, even when a darker side to his nature begins to reveal itself.Nothing can prepare her for what is to follow, though, as devastating circumstances lead her on a trail to Daniel's home in Ireland, and in turn back to the US, as she tries to come to terms with the enigmatic nature of the man for whom she threw it all away - only to discover that nothing was what it seemed.

'Thought-provoking, absorbing, superbly written ... Deirdre Purcell at her best' Patricia ScanlanA winter cruise sounds like a dream come true. But this gift from Grace's ex-husband is less a selfless act and more an effort to keep their highly destructive daughter Leonie away from his new family over the Christmas season.Despite her reservations, Grace accepts, hoping that a change of scene will be a good thing for herself and Leonie. Though what she really longs for is some time alone, away from her responsibilities as a mother and carer.Their cruise holiday has barely begin when Leonie's beauty attracts the attention of Ben, a fellow passenger. But as Ben does his best to get to know Leonie, Grace finds herself developing an unexpected bond with the young novelist, one which awakens feelings in her that she had thought buried forever.Then, it's discovered that Leonie has gone missing -- and what happens next will change the course of Grace's life...

Part of the Open Door series of short books for emerging readers. Billy is an average-looking sixteen-year-old who lives in an ordinary Dublin estate on the northside of the city. Jesus, on the other hand, is a beautiful boy with Continental manners, from the poshest part of Barcelona. He travels from Spain to live with Billy's family for three weeks one summer. The plan is that at the end of the holiday, Billy will go back with Jesus on a return visit. However, no one should make plans...