DEFINITELY OLDER. NOT NECESSARILY WISER...Sisters Cleo and Robyn may be close in age but their attitudes to life could not be further apart. While Cleo's a fully-fledged adult with a family, a business and a signature scent, Robyn is still waiting for the instruction manual to Adult Life and success is keeping her houseplant alive. Skating by at her job as an estate agent, she's adept at avoiding housework, ignoring admin, and evading her mother's anxious questions about her love life. But then Robyn's fired in the most publicly humiliating way imaginable - and her chaos catches up with her. Although Cleo steps in to give Robyn a temporary job in her cleaning firm, it comes with very firm instructions: Robyn must BEHAVE RESPONSIBLY. And that includes meeting the high standards of Jim, her enigmatic supervisor. But when Robyn learns to navigate the catastrophic kitchens and judgemental dogs of total strangers she learns some unexpected truths about her own messy world. No one's life is spotless...Is it time - finally - for everyone to stop sweeping their secrets under the carpet?
Lucy Dillon Book order
Lucy Dillon crafts novels that delve into the lives and relationships of women, often set in the charmingly fictional town of Longhampton. Her work is celebrated for its warmth, keen eye for detail, and deeply drawn characters. Dillon masterfully captures the complexities of human connection and the search for belonging, offering a style that is both accessible and profoundly moving.







- 2024
- 2022
But with her boyfriend AWOL, her family fragmented, and only a cat for company, Tara's own life is crumbling. Then the storm... On top of everything, Tara's father - last seen as he walked out on her when she was ten years old - is suddenly back, with a surprising offer that could change everything.
- 2020
It seems too perfect, too magical, to be real. But now Jeannie is on her way to the wedding she can't shake off the tight sensation crushing her chest. Is it just nerves - or is this all happening a bit too fast? Jeannie has one last chance to shout, 'Stop!
- 2018
'You know those cracks in your heart, Lorna, where things didn't work out, but you picked yourself up and carried on? That's where the fear gets out. And where the light gets in.' It was Betty, defiant to the end, who sent Lorna back to Longhampton. If Lorna's learned one thing from Betty it's that courage is something you paint on like red lipstick, even when you're panicking inside. And right now, with the keys to the town's gallery in her hand, Lorna feels about as courageous as Betty's anxious little dachshund, trembling beside her. Lorna's come home to Longhampton to fulfil a long-held dream, but she knows, deep down, there are ghosts she needs to lay to rest first. This is where her tight-knit family shattered into silent pieces. It's where her unspoken fears about herself took root and where her own secret, complicated love began. It's not exactly a fresh start. But as Lorna - and the little dog - tentatively open their cracked hearts to old friends and new ones, facing hard truths and fresh promises, something surprisingly beautiful begins to grow around the gallery, something so inspirational even Lorna couldn't have predicted the light it lets into her world . . . An inspiring, life-enhancing novel that will make you see your life afresh . . . Fans of Jojo Moyes, Lucy Diamond and Veronica Henry will love it.
- 2016
All I Ever Wanted
- 454 pages
- 16 hours of reading
From the bestselling author of A Hundred Pieces of Me and One Small Act of Kindness comes a heartwarming, bittersweet and uplifting story of missed chances and unexpected opportunities. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Sophie Kinsella.
- 2015
One small act of kindness
- 512 pages
- 18 hours of reading
When a woman is hit by a car and knocked unconscious, passer-by Libby feels a sense of responsibility towards her. Libby was the one who called the ambulance, after all. When the woman comes round, she's suffered complete temporary memory loss, and can't remember who she is, where she's come from and why she's in Longhampton. Libby feels sorry for the scared woman, who doesn't seem to have any worried friends or family coming to claim her, and offers to put her up for a few days at the rundown B&B she and her husband Jason are trying to convert into a chic romantic hideaway. But as the women's friendship blossoms, Pippa, as they're calling her, starts to get the feeling she was looking for someone.
- 2014
First she got her health back, then jettisoned the cheating husband, and now Gina wants a fresh start. She decides to simplify her life by giving away everything she owns, bar one hundred items. But in moving to Longhampton - complete with friendly neighbours and a handsome love interest - Gina finds that as fast as she gives her possessions away, she gains things too. Over the course of a year Gina will find a sense of happiness she's never felt before, and what it means to finally live life to the full. And it could all be just in time.
- 2011
When story-lover Anna takes over Longhampton's bookshop, it's her dream come true. And not just because it gets her away from her three rowdy stepchildren and their hyperactive Dalmatian. Unpacking boxes filled with childhood classics, Anna can't shake the feeling that maybe her own fairytale ending isn't all that she'd hoped for.
- 2010
Walking Back to Happiness
- 405 pages
- 15 hours of reading
A delightful new novel from the author of "Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts."Juliet's hiding from her feelings about the recent loss of Ben, the love of her life. If it weren't for having to walk Ben's loyal dog, Minton, she'd never leave their half-finished house. Then her mother asks her to take her elderly lab, Coco, along. One dog leads to another, and soon Juliet's the unofficial town pet-sitter. And when she takes on a lonely spaniel, and gets to know its attractive owner, she realizes that her emotions aren't as easy to handle as her canine charges...
- 2009
Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts
- 412 pages
- 15 hours of reading
ROMANTIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2010. When the abandoned strays from a local dogs' home are matched with brand new owners, it turns out it might not just be the dogs who need rescuing. Rachel's aunt has left her a house, a Border Collie and, despite knowing nothing about dogs, a crowded kennel. But since her life has collapsed she's not sure she can deal with any more lost souls. Zoe's ex-husband has given their children a puppy. The kids are in love, but she's the one stuck training Toffee the impossible Labrador. She's nearly at the end of her tether - until Toffee leads her to a handsome doctor . . . Meanwhile Natalie and Johnny's marriage hasn't been easy since they started trying for a baby. But is a fridge-raiding, sofa-stealing Basset hound like Bertie really the child substitute they're looking for? As the new owners' paths cross on the town's dog-walking circuits, their lives become interwoven. And they - and their dogs - learn some important lessons about loyalty, companionship and unconditional love . . .

