<div><b>One secret can bury an entire family forever . . .</b><BR>Desmond is a man ill equipped for today&rsquo;s world. He is reclusive and unsocial, traits exacerbated by his domineering mother. As a result, Desmond is at his happiest when he&rsquo;s absolutely alone. During a birdwatching outing along the Devon coast, Desmond wanders into a cave. Inside, he finds something that appalls and terrifies him: a skeleton dressed in a nun&rsquo;s wimple. With this one twist of fate, Desmond becomes the focus of the wealthy Pilkington family&mdash;the clan who lives near the cave, with connections and devious secrets to spare. Under legal and familial pressure, the members of the Pilkington family start to crack, and their lies and deceits pile up. Who is the skeleton, and why has its existence been kept a secret for so long? The truth brings Gillian White&rsquo;s riveting tale to a startling conclusion.</div>

Nasty Habits

<div><b>One woman&rsquo;s harmful past comes back to haunt her, despite her best efforts to leave it behind</b><BR>When Molly Tarrent was boarding at the Farendon School, she made her share of mistakes. One included forming a witch-band with her friend, Erica. Together, they would practice their profane rites with a combination of drugs and magic. And when Amy Macey, one of their classmates, went missing, Molly and Erica were more involved than they could admit. Years later, Molly, middle-aged, divorced, and bitter, has tried to put that episode aside. That is, until Erica shows up, frightened by cryptic messages that could only come from someone who knows their secrets. With the Farendon reunion looming, Molly and Erica&rsquo;s past is coming after them . . .   </div>

The Crow Biddy

<div><b>In the calm village of Middlehempston, a former social worker&rsquo;s past comes back to haunt her</b><BR>Jem loved her job. She was a social worker, and she always took care of her cases. One boy, Fergus, took to her instantly. From the age of eight, when his mother died and he landed at the social services office, he loved Jem fiercely. But Jem&rsquo;s marriage to Gerry, in Fergus&rsquo;s mind, was the deepest betrayal.<i> </i>Years later, when a callous tycoon&rsquo;s life is falling apart around him, it&rsquo;s Gerry who steps in to help. And Jem must deal with the return of an old acquaintance: Fergus, armed with a shotgun and a thirst for vengeance.</div>

Dogboy

<div><B>Moving house links many lives&mdash;and sets off an unexpected series of events&mdash;in this compelling tale from &ldquo;a novelist of the highest quality&rdquo; (<I>The Independent on Sunday</I>).</B><BR />  <BR /> What makes a house a home are the stories of the people who live there. And for the briefest of moments&mdash;when a house changes hands&mdash;the worlds of the sellers and buyers collide . . .<BR />  <BR /> A woman too old and frail to live on her own sells her apartment to a middle-aged couple forced to downsize due to financial woes. Their modest house proves the perfect place for an upper-middle-class family to start over after the son is accused of a dreadful crime. The home they flee catches the eye of a washed-up pop star who can no longer afford his country estate, one that has been secretly purchased to hide a scandalous royal dalliance.<BR />  <BR /> With her trademark wit and verve, Gillian White shows the unexpected ways we can affect each other&rsquo;s lives when one FOR SALE sign sets off a chain reaction . . .<BR />  </div>

Chain Reaction

<div><B>Three chilling novels of psychological suspense from &ldquo;a novelist of the highest quality&rdquo; (<I>The</I><I> Independent on Sunday</I>).</B><BR />  <BR /><I>Copycat</I>: Martha&rsquo;s new neighbor, Jennie, seems to love everything about her: her beautiful house, impressive children, attractive husband, even the way she dresses. It&rsquo;s all a bit much. But when Jennie starts changing, gaining confidence and succeeding in love and work, Martha&rsquo;s life begins to come apart at the seams, and their frayed friendship hurtles toward an extreme confrontation.<BR />  <BR /> &ldquo;White handles her gruesome ingredients with control and intelligence.&rdquo; &mdash;<I>The Independent on Sunday</I><BR />  <BR /><I>Dogboy</I>: From the age of eight, when his mother died and he landed at the social services office, Fergus has fiercely loved his social worker, Jem. So Jem&rsquo;s marriage is the deepest betrayal. Now nineteen, Fergus has just been released from prison, and he&rsquo;s coming to set things right between them.<BR />  <BR /> &ldquo;A tone of punchy malice governs White&rsquo;s literate black comedy. . . . [She] wields a wickedly sardonic pen.&rdquo; &mdash;<I>Publishers Weekl</I>y<BR />  <BR /><I>Unhallowed Ground</I>: London social worker Georgina Jefferson battles guilt and public disgrace when one of her charges, an abused five-year-old girl, is beaten to death. She retreats to an isolated cottage that once belonged to her deceased brother. But her neighbors&rsquo; hostility and a series of chilling incidents cause her to question who or what threatens her most.<BR />  <BR /> &ldquo;Gothic elements abound in this spine-tingling melodrama. . . . A suspenseful, tautly woven thriller featuring a suitably shocking conclusion.&rdquo; &mdash;<I>Booklist</I><BR />  <BR /> With these three unforgettable psychological thrillers, &ldquo;White evokes comparisons to Fay Weldon and Joy Fielding with her comic flair and touch of the grotesque&rdquo; (<I>Publishers Weekly</I>).<BR />  </div>

Selected Novels Volume One

<div><B>An unhealthy friendship takes a sinister turn in this psychological suspense novel perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn&rsquo;s <I>Gone Girl</I>. </B><BR /><BR /> Martha and Jennie live next door to each other in a small suburban neighborhood. Martha is everything Jennie isn&rsquo;t&mdash;attractive, outgoing, and popular, with a handsome husband and perfect children. So Jennie is honored when Martha befriends her, even if&mdash;behind Jennie&rsquo;s back&mdash;Martha can barely tolerate the clingy and friendless Jennie. But when Jennie starts gaining confidence and succeeding in love and work, Martha&rsquo;s life begins to come apart at the seams. Gradually, the harmless friendship between the two neighbors evolves into destructive obsession. Jennie will do anything to keep Martha to herself. And Martha has her own reasons for keeping Jennie around . . .<BR />  <BR /> Told in the alternating voices of Martha and Jennie, Gillian White&rsquo;s <I>Copycat</I> is the story of a fraught female friendship taken to its most extreme conclusion.<BR />  </div>

Copycat

<div><b>The sins of the past haunt an isolated farmhouse as a snowstorm rages outside . . . </b><BR>It&rsquo;s not shaping up to be a very merry Christmas. Clover Moon feels trapped in her life as a farmer&rsquo;s wife. She certainly doesn&rsquo;t enjoy hosting Fergus&rsquo;s mother, Violet, who always finds new ways to publicly humiliate her unsatisfactory daughter-in-law. But would Violet ever seek a more violent way of expressing her disapproval? Violet is a medium, and the voices of the dead sometimes encourage her to do disturbing things. During her stay at the farmhouse, she claims to sense an intrusive presence. Fergus then discovers the dead body of a woman floating in their flooded cellar, and elderly Miss Bates, resident of a nearby senior home and a client of Violet&rsquo;s, is missing . . . With her acute sense of human nature and gift for suspense, reminiscent of Barbara Vine, Gillian White will leave you guessing until the very end.</div>

The Sleeper

<div><b>Money changes everything in this darkly comic tale of romantic revenge</b><BR>When shy, insecure Liverpudlian Ellie Freeman unexpectedly wins more than a million pounds in the football betting pools, she sees it as a way to transform the life of her bitter, frustrated, and, above all, distant husband Malcolm. She hides the news of her win from Malc, and uses the money to invest in a firm that will give her husband a better job than the warehouseman position he currently holds. And, indeed, the new job does make Malc a new man&mdash;a new man who suddenly envisions a life without Ellie. Can Ellie, too, become a new person? Can she become a stronger, more confident woman who is capable of winning her husband back . . . and is that even what she wants anymore?</div>

Rich Deceiver

<div><b>When three village women each make a wish on a local artifact, their desires come true in unexpected ways</b><BR>The Plague Stone squats at the center of the seemingly tranquil village of Meadcombe, haunted by legends of black magic. One night, three Meadcombe women each make a wish. Widowed Marian prays for the death of her mother-in-law, an unpleasant woman now suffering from dementia. Teenager Melanie yearns to escape the village and, in particular, her selfish, depressed father and her self-indulgently martyred mother. And social-climbing Sonia needs a loan from her despised father-in-law to save her husband&rsquo;s business and their desperately fragile, <i>nouveau-riche</i> lifestyle. By the next morning, all three women&rsquo;s wishes have come true . . . but in a less-than-pleasant fashion. Did chance grant their desires, or are darker forces at work? </div>

The Plague Stone

<div><b>In this dark comedy, five siblings who are fed up with their mother&rsquo;s negligent parenting conspire to teach her a lesson </b><BR>Caroline Townsend is a nightmare for her children. The former actress and current alcoholic hits her nadir on Christmas Eve. Her five young children hope for a Christmas celebration. Instead, they get a fight with their mother, who&rsquo;s absolutely plastered and fresh off yet another failed relationship. After lashing out at her children, Caroline passes out under the bent and mangled Christmas tree. For the Townsend children, this proves to be a rare opportunity&mdash;a chance to set things right with their mother. Together, they concoct an elaborate ruse designed to teach her a lesson, once and for all. <i>Mothertime</i> finds Gillian White at her uproarious best as she nimbly skewers motherhood and modern marriage.</div>

Mothertime

<div><b>Jessica&rsquo;s scheme was supposed to get her a new baby&mdash;but she didn&rsquo;t count on getting an entire family</b><BR>Jessica was living the perfect London life, with a great job at an auction house and a striking Italian boyfriend, Rudi. Only one thing was missing: a baby. Despite numerous visits to the doctor and repeated efforts to conceive, the couple was having no luck. That is, until Brenda, Jessica&rsquo;s secretary, became pregnant. Jessica&rsquo;s plan is as dishonest as it is effective. She will have Rudi sleep with the barely pregnant Brenda, and trick him into believing that the secretary is carrying his child. Then Jessica and Rudi can adopt the baby. But a twist of fate upsets Jessica&rsquo;s scheme when Brenda&rsquo;s brassy, working-class family becomes a fixture in her life, giving her endless headaches as they invite themselves over for visits and hospital trips. After one underhanded ploy, Jessica must deal with a family she never wanted and one that is almost impossible to avoid.</div>

Grandfather's Footsteps

<div><B>Desperate for a new life, a London woman engineers a cunning deception &ldquo;in this tangled tale that twists and turns up to the very end&rdquo; (<I>Booklist</I>).</B><BR />  Angela Harper&rsquo;s life has never been simple. She&rsquo;s an orphan who spent her childhood in foster homes. Her handsome, charming husband Billy can&rsquo;t hold down a job. And they&rsquo;re both stuck in a grimy London flat with no prospects for their future beyond the periodic welfare check. That is, until Ange concocts a lie that will change their lives. Her con targets the wealthy, twice-divorced businessman Fabian Ormerod, whom, with the approval of her husband, she is determined to trick into a very advantageous marriage&mdash;with a quick divorce to follow. Gillian White&rsquo;s cutting, sardonic style unfurls in <I>The Beggar Bride</I>, as she needles England&rsquo;s stiff upper crust, the titans of business, and the idle poor below them.</div>

The Beggar Bride

<div><b>Seeking refuge after a murder upends her life, a woman discovers that no matter how far she runs, she can&rsquo;t escape the demons of her past </b><BR>Widowed London social worker Georgina &ldquo;Georgie&rdquo; Jefferson battles guilt and public disgrace when one of her charges, abused five-year-old Angela Hopkins, is beaten to death. She retreats to Furze Pen, an isolated Devon cottage that once belonged to Stephen, the deceased brother she never knew. In this refuge, she hopes to learn something about Stephen. But the hostility of her neighbors and a series of chilling incidents&mdash;including the disappearance of her dog and a stranger lurking around the cottage at night&mdash;disturb Georgie&rsquo;s desperate search for peace. As winter closes in, Georgie must discover who or what threatens her most . . . the tragedies of her past or a new danger from her tormented present. Once again, master of suspense Gillian White depicts the dreadful, dependent relationship that can sprout between love and violence. </div>

Unhallowed Ground

<div><b>It&rsquo;s not just writing, it&rsquo;s witchcraft . . . </b><BR>Kirsty flees her brutally abusive husband, Trevor, to take a job as a maid at the Burleston Hotel in Cornwall. She befriends two other new employees at the Burleston: overweight Avril, whose ego is crushed by her domineering family, and pretty, love-starved Bernadette, recently dumped by her upper-class boyfriend. In the hotel library, Kirsty discovers <i>Magdalene</i>, an obscure but utterly compelling volume about the life and times of a passionate, depraved nun. Desperate for extra money for her children, she persuades Avril to join her in rewriting the book and submitting it to a publisher as a new work, while Bernadette poses as the author. A glittering future lies before the three women . . . but are Kirsty, Avril, and Bernadette prepared to pay the price for their success? Is it possible that the malign spirit behind <i>Magdalene</i> is somehow influencing their actions?</div>

Veil of Darkness

<div><b>&ldquo;How the people love a sinner, especially when she is a woman. <i>Witch! Witch!</i>&rdquo;</b><i><BR>The Dark End of the Street</i> is a television program thatpries into the business of Barry and Cheryl Higgins and their three small children, uncovering every nasty aspect of their lives on welfare in front of a fascinated and disgusted audience. The couple didn&rsquo;t get rich off the wildly successful reality show, though, so why would anyone want to kidnap the kids? When the two older children are found, there is little doubt that Cheryl planned their disappearance to win the public&rsquo;s affection and boost the show&rsquo;s ratings. As the media and the legal system condemn Cheryl, one question remains: Where is baby Cara? Gillian White adeptly demonstrates how the public&rsquo;s need to know and to judge&mdash;and how people can profit from those impulses&mdash;is a modern kind of witch hunt.</div>

The Witch's Cradle

<div><b>&ldquo;Grabs you by the throat and won't let go.&rdquo; &mdash;<i>Woman&rsquo;s Journal</i></b><BR>During their thirty years of marriage, Rose Redfern has confided everything (well, nearly everything) to Michael, and is certain that he would never hide anything from her. That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s such a shock when, shortly before Rose and Michael are set to take a romantic trip to Venice, she receives strong evidence that he&rsquo;s having an affair with a woman their daughters&rsquo; age. Rose feels emotionally unmoored, and her sense of betrayal swiftly turns vengeful. She stumbles across a stash of powerful barbiturates, previously used to medicate an epileptic dog, and wonders if she might not find a new use for them . . . But is Michael truly unfaithful to Rose, or is someone seeking to destroy the Redferns&rsquo; lives&mdash;and can that person be stopped before it&rsquo;s too late? <i>Night Visitor</i> is a frighteningly plausible scenario of how secrets and jealousy can tear people apart.</div>

Night Visitor

<div><b>Does true evil exist in the world? Are people really what they seem?</b><BR>Abandoned by each of her children&rsquo;s fathers, Shelley Tremayne&rsquo;s having a tough time raising six kids alone. When she sees a TV newscast about five boys committing a horrible crime and recognizes her eleven-year-old son Joey in the surveillance camera footage, her life becomes infinitely worse. Although Joey swears he only witnessed the incident, the other boys point to him as the instigator, a charge supported by the evidence. But Shelley simply can&rsquo;t accept that her Joey could be responsible for such a heinous act. Shelley and her children can&rsquo;t return to their grubby home, where their neighbors are waiting to express their outrage. Fortunately, good Samaritans John and Eunice Bolton volunteer to shelter the family at their farm, and offer them the help and caring that they&rsquo;ve given to so many others in desperate straits. But who will believe Shelley when she discovers that the Boltons are not as kind as they appear?</div>

Gillian White

Books By Gillian White (17 Books)