Margot Livesey Books

"From the New York Times best-selling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy, a novel about a young woman whose gift of second sight complicates her coming of age in late 19th century Scotland Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven farm, Lizzie Craig discovers at a young age that she can see into the future. Her gift of sight is selective-she doesn't, for instance, see that she has an older sister who will come to join the family on her beloved farm. But she does see "pictures" that foretell various incidents and accidents and begins to realize a painful truth: she may glimpse the future, but she can seldom change it. Nor can Lizzie change the feelings that come when a young man named Louis, visiting Belhaven for the harvest, begins to court her. Why have the adults around her not revealed that the touch of a hand can change everything? After following Louis to Glasgow, though, she learns the limits of his devotion, and when faced with a seemingly impossible choice, she makes what turns out to be a terrible mistake. But while Lizzie can't change the past, her second sight may allow her a second chance. Luminous and transporting, The Road from Belhaven once again displays "the marvelous control of a writer who conjures equally well the tangible, sensory world . . . and the mysteries, stranger and wilder, that flicker at the border of that world." (The Boston Globe)"-- Provided by publisher

The arrival of Mercury, a beautiful thoroughbred with a mysterious background, disrupts the seemingly perfect life of Donald, an optometrist, and his wife Viv, who manages a local stable. As they navigate the challenges brought by the horse, their relationships and perceptions of family are tested, revealing deeper truths about love and devotion. The story explores themes of self-discovery and the complexities of human connections, prompting Donald to reconsider what he truly understands about seeing and relationships.

Set against the backdrop of the American Revolution, the narrative explores the intertwined lives of two families grappling with profound themes of loyalty, liberty, and love. As they navigate the tumultuous landscape of war and its moral complexities, their personal struggles reflect the larger conflicts of the era, showcasing the impact of revolutionary ideals on individual relationships and choices. The story delves into the sacrifices made for freedom and the bonds that either strengthen or fracture under pressure.

A poignant and probing psychological drama that follows the lives of three siblings in the wake of a violent crime

The friendship between Abigail Taylor, a confident actress, and Dara MacLeod, an intense counselor, evolves as they navigate their romantic lives. Abigail believes she's immune to love while Dara, marked by her past, dives deeply into relationships. Their luck seems to change with new partners: Abigail with Sean and Dara with Edward, a charming violinist. However, complications arise when Dara moves in with Abigail, putting both their romances and their friendship at risk, challenging their bond and personal beliefs about love.

Five lives are suddenly caught up in a whirligig of increasingly dangerous emotions. This thriller is set in Scotland, London, America and Italy.

Taken from her native Iceland to Scotland in the early 1950s when her widower father drowns at sea, young Gemma Hardy comes to live with her kindly uncle and his family. But his death leaves Gemma under the care of her resentful aunt, and she suddenly finds herself an unwelcome guest. Surviving oppressive years at a strict private school, Gemma ultimately finds a job as an au pair to the eight-year-old niece of Mr. Sinclair on the Orkney Islands—and here, at the mysterious and remote Blackbird Hall, Gemma's greatest trial begins.

Celia Gilchrist's life takes a dark turn after moving in with Stephen and his daughter Jenny. What begins as a promising relationship quickly spirals into a tense atmosphere filled with missing money, ruined belongings, and escalating lies. This debut novel paints a chilling portrait of the complexities of jealousy, fear, and the deep longing for love, as Celia navigates the unsettling dynamics in her new home.

A couple begins an intense affair, only to be separated abruptly -- and perhaps irrevocably -- in this surprising, suspenseful love story. Zeke is twenty-nine, a man who looks like a Raphael angel and who earns his living as a painter and carpenter in London. He reads the world a little differently from most people and has trouble with such ordinary activities as lying, deciphering expressions, recognizing faces. Verona is thirty-seven, confident, hot-tempered, a modestly successful radio show host, unmarried, and seven months pregnant. When the two meet in a house that Zeke is renovating, they fall in love, only to be separated less than twenty-four hours later when Verona leaves abruptly, without explanation, for Boston. Both Zeke and Verona, it turns out, have complications in their lives, though not of a romantic kind. Verona's involve her brother, Henry, who is tied up in shady financial dealings. Zeke's father has had a heart attack and his mother is threatening to run away with her lover, all of which puts pressure on Zeke to take over the family grocery business. And yet he finds himself following Verona to Boston. As he pursues her, and she pursues Henry, both are forced to ask the perplexing question: Can we ever know another person?

Mercury is at once a tense psychological drama and a taut emotional thriller exploring love, obsession, and the deceits that pull a family apart.